Madde (#3)

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

And if you didn’t win this one today, you can buy it via Amazon: Every Move He Makes

A Guest Review by Andrea

Review Summary: A nice and heartwarming romance, but the gay for you part of it wasn’t quite believable.

Blurb:
Justin Foster has nineteen years of nothing but trouble behind him. After escaping his abusive father, he finds himself in Rock Bay, Washington, with his cousin Travis. Justin is bruised and has a hard time trusting, but with the help of his family and the small town, he might be able to heal.

Logan O’Brien is also new in town, hoping he can finally get away from his past and the memories of the girlfriend who shattered his heart. It doesn’t take him long to realize Rock Bay can be more than safe harbor: it can also be home. And for the first time in his life, he finds himself captivated by a man—by Justin.

Justin is attracted to Logan too, but he’s also wary. Physically, Logan reminds him a bit too much of the closeted jerks who used to beat him up after school. But after one awkwardly amazing kiss, he’s smitten, despite how his past and insecurities continue to haunt him. Logan’s love, faith, and stubbornness are just what Justin needs to believe their love is worth fighting for.

Review:
This is the third book in the series. The previous books would give you background on the supporting characters, but this could be read as a stand alone.

In the past, Logan has always hovered in the background as Mason’s best friend. He was the guy who supported and defended Mason throughout high school and college. Anyway, his longtime girlfriend dumped him right at the end of the school year. He thought that was the girl he would marry, so he was devastated. He needed to get away from her and the life they had shared, so he picked up and moved in with Mason for the summer. He also got a temporary job, which he loves, working at Lex and Tally’s coffee shop. Not only does he love the work, he has also met some great people. The move, which was supposed to be temporary, is starting to feel like home.

Justin is Travis’s cousin, who moves into town to get away from his abusive father and indifferent mother. Travis works with Logan at the coffee shop and is really good friends with Tally and Lex. They’ve heard about Justin’s situation and want to help, so they offer him a job at the shop too. The basic connection throughout the series has been this fantastic group of friends. They look out for one another, but show their love through constantly teasing and giving each other a hard time. Relationships like that are comfortable for me, so I like reading about them.

Sparks fly the minute Justin and Logan meet, but neither of them know how to deal with it. Justin has never had any type of healthy relationship. Friendship is almost more than he can process at this point, so he is nowhere near ready to deal with a romantic relationship. He is terrified by his attraction to Logan and the vulnerability it brings on. Logan is surprised by his attraction to Justin. This is his first time he has ever had a crush on a guy, but that doesn’t phase him. His only concern is how to get closer to a very prickly Justin. Their initial interactions are awkward and uncomfortable for everyone. They have to work together, so they decide a tenuous friendship is the way to go.

This was my favorite book of the series. It was so close to being perfect, but I had one big issue with it. I had a really hard time believing that Logan could have gone his entire life without ever having the slightest inkling he might be attracted to men. I wasn’t buying it, and that hurt because I really like Logan. His easy acceptance of suddenly being gay never made sense to me. I had to just ignore that point and move on. I was able to enjoy the romance after that. The pace of their relationship was perfect. Justin was slow to warm up to strangers, but Logan was determined enough to stick it out. Seeing them tiptoeing around one another, afraid of pushing the other, was almost more than I could stand. How they could both be clueless to the other’s feelings for so long was beyond me! Logan has always been one of my favorites, so it was great to see someone appreciate him. Logan has been stuck in a nice guys finish last type of cycle, and I loved seeing finally get what he deserves.

I absolutely recommend Finding Shelter to fans of the series, but it would be a good read for anyone who can enjoy a bit of angst and doesn’t mind a gay for you romance.

Daniel is a sorcerer, good at magic and taking all the credit—or so it seems to Liam. In Daniel’s eyes that’s vastly preferable to being Liam, a hunter who excels at killing beasts and sleeping with everything else. They cooperate only to keep their country safe—until a new and greater danger calls for desperate measures that takes them to the land of gods, and the only way home again is by facing monsters, gods, and truths they’ve been avoiding.

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

A Guest Review by Sammy

Review Summary: Bitter and violent enemies find the way to understanding and love.

Blurb: His deadliest enemy will become his heart’s desire.

Caius doesn’t feel like much of a Christian. He loves his life of learning as a monk in the far-flung stronghold of Fara, but the hot warrior blood of his chieftain father flows in his veins. Heat soothed only in the arms of his sweet-natured friend and lover, Leof.

When Leof is killed during a Viking raid, Cai’s grieving heart thirsts for vengeance—and he has his chance with Fenrir, a wounded young Viking warrior left for dead. But instead of reaching for a weapon, Cai finds himself defying his abbot’s orders and using his healing skills to save Fen’s life.

At first, Fen repays Cai’s kindness by attacking every Christian within reach. But as time passes, Cai’s persistent goodness touches his heart. And Cai, who had thought he would never love again, feels the stirring of a profound new attraction.

Yet old loyalties call Fen back to his tribe and a relentless quest to find the ancient secret of Fara—a powerful talisman that could render the Vikings indestructible, and tear the two lovers’ bonds beyond healing.

Review: To say much more than the blurb would be to give away the story…but the story…the profoundly beautiful story that deserves so much more than my meager words of endorsement. I am not a fan of historical novels. I so often find that there are inconsistencies and they tend to pull me out of the story and so, as a general rule, I tend to avoid them. Then this novel came along–from an author I respect and enjoy reading…and I thought…well, let me try this genre one more time.

When one looks up the definition of lyrical prose you find this:

“…lyrical prose is that in which the author employs a knowledge of not just the meaning of the words that are put together, but elements that are usually associated with music or poetry: tone, meter, diction, rhyme, rhythm, tempo. And when you read it out, it just flows; it’s not halting or choppy.”

I have just two words to add to that definition: Harper Fox. Brothers of the Wild North Sea is lyrical prose at its finest. The richness of the language, the depth of the characters, the way in which every word is placed not only moves the story along but creates incredibly lush pictures in your head of this bygone era in a country that has seen Vikings and monks and the harsh existence both endured. Along side this rich tapestry that Fox creates is the story of a love so inspiring, so selfless, so sweet that your heart aches over the decision these two men must make in order for their people to survive.

Never is there a moment in this novel that does not stay true to the legends it invokes. Our viking here, Fenrir continually battles his wild and bloodthirsty nature, and even in the loving of his Cai he remains what he was born to be–a viking prince, rough and domineering, sure of himself and his place in their world. The inherent beauty of this character, the thing that draws you again and again to him, to understanding his thinking, to falling just a bit in love with him, is how very true he remains throughout this story. The author sets him on a path, gives him life and never compromises him–so he remains fierce and strong and you just cannot help but be immersed in his life and passions by novel’s end.

And then there is Caius…Cai the monk, the physician, the firstborn son of a man who cannot see the value of knowledge but loves his son nonetheless. A monk who doubts his calling but strives to be what his people need. A man who loves deeply and fully despite the pain it may cause him. A man who struggles with the idea that he must lead when his heart tells him he is never going to truly be a leader. It is Cai’s flaws that make him so endearing. It is his humility that makes him so compelling to watch and learn about. It is his innate sense of right and wrong that makes you cheer him on, even as he must fight against the family of the man he loves. And it is his loyalty, his deep abiding love for Fen that slowly develops over the span of this novel to drown out the hate he should feel for this very same man that makes your heart sing and also weep at the beauty of his capacity to love.

This novel was, simply put, magnificent. It was a well written piece of literature whose characters and story line leapt off the page and thrust its way into your heart and mind leaving behind a lasting memory of a love that is ageless, of a brotherhood that is unbreakable, of a land that is beautiful beyond compare. Here is a story where the author so obviously loved every word she wrote and, by doing so, made us love it too. Dear reader, I highly recommend Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox. It is brilliant.

Penumbra (#20)

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

As you know, there are so many stories released weekly in this little, ol’ genre of ours, so many so that it seems we’ll never be able to keep up.  Never to back away from a challenge, we’re gonna try, but to do so, we need to add to our already fabulous, talented team.

Recently I put out a general call asking if anyone was interested in critiquing for us. We are happy to say that we had several takers! Please meet and help me welcome Zen, Zac, Orion and K.C. to our insane asyl…er, loving family.  Look for reviews soon from these newbies. Here is what they have to say about themselves:

ZenHarley

I blame it on Patricia Nell Warren and a lop-eared rabbit named Herbert. One summer afternoon, many years ago, I was attempting to lure Herbert out from his hiding place behind the old bookcase in my attic bedroom. Reaching in, I discovered a paperback jammed in behind the other books. Being the third kid to use the attic bedroom meant the occasional lucky find from previous residents, so the book was quickly retrieved, and I found myself in possession of “The Front Runner.” The rest of the day was spent wide-eyed, following the groundbreaking story of love, loss, and pride in 1970′s gay America.

Then followed 40-odd years of science fiction and doorstopper fantasy, until the unexpected gift of a copy of “Caught Running.” It was like finding a long-lost friend, only now there were lots of other friends out there too. Add a Kindle, and it’s been a happy journey ever since.

I like most flavors of m/m: contemporary, historical, BDSM (light and otherwise), and science fiction. As far as paranormal goes, I think there’s still some tread left on the weres and shifters and the vamps — but I’m definitely more drawn to the offbeat, the different take, the unexpected.

Most of all, however, I’m lured in by good writing. A top-notch writer can take even the goofiest story setup and produce an absolute gem. But as we all know, an unskilled (or inexperienced) writer can take the best idea in the world and reduce it to fish-wrap within the first few pages.

So here’s hoping for more gems, less fish-wrap, and many happy discoveries to share with the lovers of m/m romance. (Oh, and thanks, Herbert!)

– Zen

Orion

Orion reads too much and sleeps too little. Most days you’ll see him with a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He likes all genres of fiction except historical, and is especially fond of scifi, contemporary fiction, young adult, and fantasy. He is also fond of the people and pets in his life.

Zac D

Hello there, I’m Zac, an aging old dude in denial. I love the written word, be it printed and smelling deliciously of old musty paper, or those new fandangled things, ebooks. In fact, Mr. Zac informed me just this morning that the keyboard of my Kindle is almost permanently imprinted on my face.

K.C.

I’ve been a reader since I was four, a writer since I was eight, and a published author since I was… well, that happened in 2010. I’ve since branched out into reviewing, proofreading, and editing, so when I say I’m addicted to books, I think I have all the bases covered. Fan fiction opened a whole new world of non-heteronormative stories that I had no idea even existed (and this sheltered, non-heteronormative person was positively THRILLED with this discovery). I love M/M romance, and not just because it’s the most prominent genre in the rainbow. I’m not exactly a girly-girl, so more often than not, I enjoy a good book where girly-girls are nowhere to be found. I love contemporaries, urban fantasy, YA, crime/mysteries, and horror (I’m absolutely on the zombie bandwagon… GIMME!), and I love to gush, rant, rave, and squee about the books I read. I look forward to spilling my guts for fellow readers and will happily do so until either the books run out, or Wave duct tapes my mouth shut.

Keeping an eye on his charge isn’t easy. Keeping his hands off? Impossible…

It took attending his own funeral to force Logan to accept a new life as an undercover MI6 agent. That doesn’t make his latest assignment any less aggravating. Babysitting a Russian pop star with delusions that someone’s trying to kill him.

Other than an inexplicable attraction Logan ruthlessly suppresses, he couldn’t have less in common with the irritating, arrogant rich kid. He’s even prepared to walk away—until very real bullets start flying.

After his mother’s death, Zak Kochenkov’s life unravels in an impenetrable haze of grief, drugs and alcohol—until one bodyguard candidate stands out. Except his hopes of having some fun with that guard’s body evaporate when he realizes Logan is buttoned up tighter than a clam.

The first thing Logan learns is that his charge won’t do as he’s told. And there’s some secret behind his haunted eyes that shakes Logan’s resolve to keep him at arm’s length. Because he knows if he lets passion close his eyes, that’s when danger will find them both…

Product Warnings: Contains a sexy bodyguard with a tortured past, and a spoiled rock star with a tortured conscience. Stir (don’t shake), and prepare for spontaneous combustion.

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

A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn

One Sentence Review: PWP at its nastiest best

THE BLURB

Star Irish rugby player, Conor Murphy, lives and breathes rugby. He spends his weekends playing rugby, drinking beer, and singing songs with his teammates. There is only one thing he loves more than rugby, and that is hot rugby players. But after the final whistle sounds, the real competition begins: the hunt for the hottest men.

Conor’s muscular body and roguish good looks ensure he can have his pick of the sexiest players. But what happens when this alpha male meets his match on and off the field? Who will come out on top when he meets the horniest rugby players from the USA? Can two alpha males have the night of their lives?

THE REVIEW

Okay, so I was unprepared for this story. I saw it on the list Wave sends out as available for review; I liked the blurb and was in the mood for a sports story, so I grabbed it. Wave then said to me “um, this is going to have a lot sex in it, it has their highest ‘heat’ rating, do you still want it?” and I’m all like “sure, how much sex can it have?” Silly, silly me.

Confessions of a Gay Rugby Player is a title in the Charlie Harding Presents line from Wilde City. According to the publisher’s site, Charlie Harding titles are part of “a selection of premium, black label books presented by internationally-renowned and award winning adult entertainer, Charlie Harding. Each sizzling story has been personally chosen by Charlie for the quality of its storytelling, its steaminess… and the fact that it got Charlie Harding hard!” Um, yeah.

There are 37 very well-written pages in total; the first five introduce us to some of the characters and the setting – the fun drinking/clubbing/smexxin aftermath of an international gay rugby tournament in New York. The next seven pages describe the game against the San Francisco team in detail. The last 25 pages are essentially a couple of long, very graphic, at-times unusual sex scenes. I loved it, so much so that I bumped another book in line for review this week (a saccharine-sweet romance, which was almost as far removed from this one as possible) to get the word out.

Conor, our first-person narrator and a flanker for the Dublin Chiefs rugby team, is very funny and has a very healthy self-esteem, as shown by the first sentence while looking in the mirror: Conor, you are one hell of a ride. This was the first of numerous Irish and rugby slang terms I had to look up, but I didn’t mind (ride = good looking, btw). If he isn’t thinking about and playing rugby, he is thinking about or doing the nasty (even while playing); if he isn’t fucking, he is drinking.

Now, in case you get the wrong idea, it isn’t all sex.  There is a touch of character and plot development for the length (if you squint with one eye closed), and it’s also surprisingly a teeny bit romantic in parts (if you switch eyes). Additionally, it’s quite hilarious with numerous laugh-out-loud moments, especially during scenes at the club prior to the hook-up with Tonio, the hot SF player Conor has his eye on.

A few things that might put you off: no lube, serious felching, the C-word among tons of cussing. Oh, and it’s in present tense, if that matters to you.  None of those bothered me, but I am just one reader.

OVERALL

If you have no interest in sports or rugby in particular, this is not a story for you. And if you need hearts and flowers with your tame, purple prose love making, this is not the book for you. If you are good with hard, in-your-face, unapologetic sex with some hard, in-your-face rugby, you need to pick up Confessions of a Gay Rugby Player.

Hurray for Spring and great weather which makes me want to drink alcohol (I don’t really need an excuse)

To our authors: Last week I wrote an article about author royalties  Writing is a Great Career but how much does it pay? There were over 125 comments on the post and more than 1300 hits, I assume mostly from authors. However, while it’s nice to know that you found the post and the comments interesting, and a lot of you said it gave you a different perspective of how much to expect in future royalty payments, only about 110 authors completed the survey. Since the number of M/M authors is at least 1000 and probably a lot more, this response is disappointing. I was hoping that a lot more of you would have completed the survey because you’re doing so for your fellow authors and yourself. As with any survey, without really good empirical data the information is inconclusive and not very credible: the larger the survey group and number of respondents, the more reliable the results. Thanks to those of you who completed the survey to date, but the results would be a whole lot more meaningful if the majority of M/M authors did so as well. I’m sure your colleagues would appreciate your willingness to contribute to this survey. Thank you.

Rick R.Reed wrote an insightful essay last Thursday about a very popular M/M trope: Gay for You in which he tells us why it’s not for him. If you haven’t read it, the post is linked. The comments are very interesting!

Reviews posted on the weekend: A Little Bit of Country by Christiane France reviewed by Cryselle; Lenny For Your Thoughts by Anita Sunday reviewed by Sirius; Paid Leave by Hayley B. James reviewed by Aunt Lynn; A Beautiful Disaster by Willa Okati reviewed by Sammy; and Grime and Punishment by Z.A. Maxfield reviewed by Raine;

Free Books This Week:

Every Move He Makes by Barbara Elsborg – Samhain Publishing
Red Dragon:The Company Man by Becky Black – Loose id
Son of a Gun by A.M.Riley – Loose id
Stone Heart by Sui Lynn – eXtasy Books
Words of Divinity by Kayla Bain-Vrba – Less Than Three Press
Dracones anthology – Storm Moon Press
Moral Authority by Jacob Z. Flores – Wilde City Press

Reviews This Week

Andrea: Finding Shelter by M. J. O’Shea
Raine: Who Moved by Holepunch by Anne Brooke
Larissa: The Fight for Identity by Andrew Grey
K.C: Hunt and Pray by Cindy Sutherland
Gene: Small Miracles by Ellen Holliday
Sammy: Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox
Zac: Roughed Up by Hank Edwards
Sirius: Nowhere to Run by Erin Lark; White Buffalo Calf Warriors by Rose Christo
Cryselle: Play Me, I’m Yours by Madison Parker
Aunt Lynn: Confessions of a Gay Rugby Player by Patrick Darcy
Zen: Threadbare Gypsy Souls by T.A.Chase

I just saw the movie Star Trek Into Darkness which I highly recommend. It’s action packed, lots of fun and true to the original series, plus Zachary Quinto is h-o-t. Don’t miss it!

Have you tried the new Skinny Vodka? I thought it was a diet aid but I’ve had quite a few drinks and haven’t lost a pound. What am I doing wrong?

Till next week that’s a wrap.

Gaycrow (#23)

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

And if you didn’t win this one today, you can buy it via Amazon: Fennel and Forgiveness

Midia (#16)

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

And if you didn’t win this one today, you can buy it via Amazon: Falling in Love with Crazy

Out of the Cage: Even the best laid plans can go awry, sometimes in the most wonderful of ways.

Raven cares about one person: himself—his comfort, his desires, and his freedom to do as he pleases. He’s fed up with scientist Sampson Marlow making decisions for him and ready to start a new chapter in his life. One last assignment goes horribly wrong, and he’s the one who ends up in a cage…of sorts. Seeing the silent war between the two parties from the shifter’s point of view gets his conscience involved—not that he’d ever admit that to anyone. Upon escaping the wolves and returning to the scientist’s facility—fully intending to hand over his resignation—Raven finds himself drawn to a small Arctic Fox shifter held captive by the scientists. Although it puts Raven’s plans to move on and forget that paranormals exist on the back burner, he can’t seem to help himself. Raven does something he never thought he’d do. He goes to the enemy for help in freeing the shifter. Raven just wants to return the little fox to his skulk. He sure as heck-fire ain’t gonna keep him. Then he’ll move on with his life. What could possibly go wrong?

For a chance to win these books, please leave a comment on the post.

Darius Cooper, Maitre d’ of upscale Montgomery House, isn’t entirely pleased when owner Rhys Montgomery decides to allow the Gourmet Network to use the restaurant for an episode of a reality show. But if he thought that was bad, discovering the show’s director is his former lover, Max Boyd, is nearly catastrophic. Max is the only man Dare has ever loved, and he’s spent seven years fruitlessly trying to erase Max from his mind and heart.

Max was young and immature when he and Dare were together, but now he’s a different man, and ready to settle down into the kind of relationship he wasn’t prepared for back then. He’s never found anyone else who affects him the way Dare does, and he wants Dare back in his life. The only problem is Dare isn’t the forgiving sort. Between dealing with bridezillas and Executive Chef Stephen Pierce, Max has his hands full. Fortunately he has a ninja-Cupid in the form of Stephen’s PA Robert Logan on his side – but Max still isn’t certain if Dare will forgive him, or if he’s blown his only chance at true love after all.

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

A Guest Review by Cryselle

Review Summary: Interesting setup but I didn’t believe the conflict and the ending was unsupported.

Blurb

When misfortune ended Max Mayler’s career as a singer, he bought The Showtime Bar, an establishment with a long history of giving aspiring artists an opportunity to showcase their talents. It’s where Max got his chance, and he wants to continue the tradition.

Jay Ferman has the exceptional voice and the sexy good looks to make it big, and although he’s been performing every Saturday night for weeks, no one pays him any attention. It could be canned music for all they seem to know or care.

Max quickly realizes the problem is Jay’s failure to truly connect with his audience. But, as Max tells one of his servers, he operates a bar and not a school for wannabees. He likes Jay, but his performance deficit is none of Max’s business.

But will Max make it his business and give Jay some much-needed advice, especially after the men connect in a very personal way?

Review

Max uses his bar as a talent launch, since he got his start here and gives other performers the opportunity. So it’s a little contradictory that he’s so standoffish about actually giving critique to someone who’s got most of what it would take to make it. It’s not explicitly an open mike night, or an open mike place in general, so Max’s refusal to say even “You might want to make some eye contact,” is a little weird. If he’s trying to give folks a start, they wouldn’t be surprised he’s supportive, and since he was fairly successful, he might even know what he’s talking about. Most aspiring musicians would treat this like gold.

Max seems to be trying to blend into the woodwork, and his explanation of why doesn’t ring true. Getting punched in the mouth for an opinion suggests he was pretty overbearing when he gave it, and now he’s willing to let a promising singer fall flat without a word. Big change, and one I wasn’t convinced of.

So I found Max contradictory and hard to warm up to, and since a lot of things were stated two and three times over, in his first person dialog and in the surrounding text, it kept me at a distance.

Jay was easier to connect to. Clueless but willing to learn, he was a warmer character, and was the one to reach out to Max, who’s still pulling away. Jay can take instruction, up to a point, and that point was where it fell apart for me. He misconstrues a helpful comment in a bizarre way, and Max’s rationalizations for it made me grit my teeth. The whole segment was forced, and even though Jay later admits he was wrong, he then proceeds to go overboard in the opposite direction.

And Max goes for it. Instant happy ever after, completely unsupported. This was so out of the blue that I couldn’t buy into it at all, as if the story was missing several thousand words of getting from point A to point B.

The sections of this story I was happiest with were the sex scenes, which didn’t go for too much too fast. Their first time was sweet, for a quicky in the office, and their second was hot and a little fumbly, which made me smile.

The sex wasn’t enough to rescue the story, unfortunately. Between the repetitions in the text and hard to believe plot points, this story didn’t work very well for me. 2 stars

A guest review by Sirius.

Summary: Interesting story with a charming narrator and a lot of flashbacks which I enjoyed.

Blurb:

Lenny’s life in the small village of Waldau hasn’t changed in years. While friends grew up and moved on, Lenny and his oma remain in the same place. Now Lenny’s going to make things different: a new life, in a new city, and a chance to forget his cousin Julien–the boy he loved, and who left him behind. But just as Lenny’s future looks like it’s becoming reality, Julien returns, bringing with him all the sweet, wonderful, and painful memories of their past.

What does his cousin want? And is it something Lenny can give him?

Review:

As you can see from the blurb the story takes place in Germany. I was happy that the author did not  incorporate a lot of German words in her story, but there are some in the chapter titles and very few that the characters do say. I have no idea whether those words were correct or not, I guess if it was not correct, the German speaker would see it right away. I did not think that the setting was portrayed with a lot of detail in it, but I did like it.

Overall I liked this book quite a lot, but beware that if you do not like a lot of the flashbacks in your stories, this one is definitely not for you. The book starts in 2013, but then it starts going back to the time Lenny and Julien were children and then chapters go like this for the whole book – one chapter from the past, one chapter from the present time, past, present, past, present and it goes in this order till the very end of the book. Flashbacks can easily pull me out of the story, but in this one it worked very well, maybe because the flashbacks were linear – it goes pretty much chronologically from the time they were kids till the year 2013.

I also thought that flashbacks provided a lovely tension in the book. I wanted to know why Julien and Lenny broke up and was reading impatiently trying to get to the point in the book when it happened. I was not annoyed that the story went back and did not give me the answers I wanted right away, instead I was intrigued. While we learned that several pretty mundane reasons contributed to their break up and nothing extraordinary and over the top happened, I still felt that the book built up very nicely to the explanations. I actually want to argue that this book is a great example of how tension/conflict does not have to equal over the top angst at all. You just have to feel the tension between the main characters in my opinion and that to me is one of the signs of the good romance.

There is some angst in this book, after all these boys were in love since they were young teens and friends even earlier, however for this writer I expected much angstier book and was pleasantly surprised. I guess you should also consider whether you are okay with the “childhood love is forever” trope in this romance. I am not always okay with it, but again, in this one it worked for me. I think it is because I found Lenny so very charming. I really liked being in his head and thought that some of the things, some metaphors he came up with were quirky and adorable. Julien for me was likeable enough too. I definitely wanted to smack Julien several times during the course of the story, but for me his flaws worked within the story and I often like flawed character. I think it is easy not to like Julien, but I understood his behavior and just wanted for him to finally figure out what he wanted.

I really liked how much Lenny cared about his grandmother and I thought what he wanted to do for her was just so incredibly sweet. I thought this story had several likeable and interesting secondary characters and I thought their presence made the story richer. I really appreciated Lenny’s best friend Ben and his sister Carolyne, I thought their presence made the story of these four kids growing up more interesting than if they were not in the story.

Recommended.

A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn

One Sentence Review: While I liked some of the characters, there were numerous issues that prevented me from rating it higher.

THE BLURB

Albuquerque police officer Benji Miller made the choice to hide his sexuality and devote his life to his career. He guards his secret carefully, believing he is protecting his job and happiness. Then, during a routine traffic stop gone awry, he shoots a suspect to protect a young girl, and his life spins out of control. A department-mandated paid leave rips away the only distraction he had, and he has to deal with the unsympathetic media who criticize the police department’s every move.

One day, needing to get out of the house, Benji walks into a café, where he meets Neal McCoy—a gay man living without shame, unafraid to speak his mind or stand up against prejudice. Benji quickly falls for Neal but struggles to combine his new love interest and his career. With the media threatening the careful illusion he’s built around himself, Benji can’t stand the pressure.

Benji has to decide: sacrifice his happiness in the name of his career and an easy life, or find the courage to give up the lonely existence he knows and take a step into the unknown.

THE REVIEW

This was a difficult review for me to write and one of my longer, less coherent ones, I think. Apologies upfront. Paid Leave is the first book by this author I’ve read and while I thought it was generally well-written and I was engaged (my first reading had me up waaayyyy later than I intended to be finishing it), I did have mixed feelings about it.

I’m going to try and stay away from big spoilers, but to talk about what did and didn’t work for me may include talking about some things that are not in the blurb, so here’s another warning that spoilers may be ahead.

But lest you think I hated this book that borders on a police-procedural in parts from my rambling after this – because I didn’t – there were good points for me, mostly around some of the characters. Neal is wonderful, funny, kind and sweet, but flawed in a very realistic way. He doesn’t want to make concessions for Benji, essentially going back into the closet for him, but he does in a way because he really likes him. I like his understanding both of Benji and himself, and he knows he’s making backwards steps, and is…okay with it, to a point. While I generally don’t like characters who compromise their principles, I was okay with it here.

And Kyle, Neal’s BFF. Loved very out and proud Kyle. Poor somewhat sheltered Benji, he was in for just one shock after another with in-your-face Kyle. And Neal’s 15-year-old “niece,” who is painted in a perhaps accurate representation of the differences of thought in today’s youth. And Benji’s colleague, Cazé, who is supportive, and I liked some of the conversations they had.

Now onto what didn’t work for me. I think one of my issues is that the book, even after three readings, felt like a general downer, which I am not sure it was supposed to be. While there are some cute and more light-hearted scenes, and even when Benji isn’t obsessing over…pretty much everything – his sexuality, the bad stuff he sees on the job, his colleagues who are shunning him, the negative media reports – it felt heavy to me (and contrary to the “fun” Paul Richmond cover). The last quarter of the story shows a somewhat more up-beat Benji with his changed outlook, but it was a little too late for me.

Related to this, I had a lot of trouble warming up to and respecting Benji. I love me some flawed heroes, but Benji came across as mostly sour and unsympathetic. He isn’t a jerk and I don’t want it to seem that I hated him, because I didn’t. I think perhaps it’s more accurate to say that I didn’t feel like I knew him, even by the end, but yeah – sourpuss. Part of this is because I got tired of him complaining to himself and others about the fact that he couldn’t have a “normal” life with a partner, children, etc, and another part is that I didn’t feel that enough information was given to his backstory to warrant such negativity. We are fed teeny morsels at a time about the “why”s, little peeks into his story, but even after I finished the book, I still didn’t understand him and his very strong positions. He doesn’t talk with or about his parents because they don’t accept him. Okay, expand on that, please. He can’t be an out police officer. Perhaps true in certain communities and maybe even deservedly so, but give me more details as to what experiences or tales make him believe this. He refuses to meet Neal’s family and has a very strong reaction to even the idea of it. Why? He feels shame about being gay. Give me some more information as to the reasons he feels this way.

I also had trouble buying Benji and Neal as a couple – and not because I didn’t adore Neal, because I did – but because Benji is not a happy person and refuses to share most everything – feelings, history, where he lives, even his words – other than his body. Neal is this outgoing, fun, affectionate man and Benji…isn’t. I get it that Benji is very protective of his sexuality and thus more inexperienced and cautious and uncomfortable in a loving relationship, and as a result is quieter and more shy, but I didn’t understand necessarily what drew Neal in and kept him there, especially since he had to compromise his principles to do so.

I’m okay with reading about closeted characters as long as there is a journey and they are out before the end of the story (if it is not a series). I enjoy watching long-held opinions and feelings change over time with the influence of positive experiences and other characters, and we do get that here – somewhat. Up until Chapter 15, Benji, while gaining eye-opening new experiences with Neal and Kyle, stood pretty firm to his guns, so to speak, then he started changing/thinking, but I felt we weren’t privy to some of that internal debate or even external conversation with others. For example, in Chapter 15 Benji says things to Neal indicating that he wants to change – slowly, but change nonetheless – yet there is little that the reader is privy to in his head prior to this, so it seems sudden and unfounded.

To further this, Benji and Neal break it off for a short time because of Benji’s inability to change, yet when they get back together, Benji is like magically turned around. Yes, there are some things that happen during the three weeks they are apart, and yes, I know Benji is conflicted (talk about whiplash: he wants Neal.  He can’t have Neal.  He wants a normal life.  He can’t have a normal life), but these couple of happenings are external to the relationship and again, I would have liked to have seen more of Benji’s thought process around what changed for him. I felt there was too much telling, not enough showing. I wanted to hear the conversations he and Neal had in bed that was alluded to. I wanted to know what thoughts went into his decision-making. I want to know why he changed his mind.

Also, my opinion is that the whole situation with slimeball reporter Charles, a character we are obviously supposed to hate – and I did – was unnecessary and the story could have been built without Benji’s soul-sucking arrangement with him, a relationship that just made me lose respect for him. I could kind of see it being a one-time thing (there is only so much denying oneself that be done before you break), but to continue on had me frustrated and angry. Charles could have just been the baddie on the outskirts and honestly, I felt that too much on-page time was devoted to the asshat, derailing most of the first five chapters for me. Plus, I couldn’t figure out what was going on, romance-wise, when the blurb talks about Neal and no mention of this Charles.

Lastly, two smaller issues, but noteworthy for me. First, Neal’s mother. Even after reading the story thrice in prep for this review, I do not understand her actions, nor is it satisfactorily explained, and the resolution after felt unreal considering Benji’s reaction to it at the time. Second, Benji’s co-worker Mathews. He makes tons of homophobic comments and acts like a jerk, then says he isn’t angry that Benji is gay, that it’s a trust thing and he’s angry Benji didn’t tell him sooner. I didn’t buy it; he didn’t just act mad, he acted like he hates gays.

OVERALL

While I liked some of the characters, there were numerous issues that prevented me from rating it higher. Fans of the author and those who like closeted characters may enjoy this better than I did.

Economics professor Ryuu Tanaka suffers through the embarrassment of playing softball with his students to get closer to the man sitting under a nearby tree. Ryuu finds Daniel to be more attractive, more intelligent, and more mysterious than any human being has a right to be. Despite the fact Daniel isn’t gay, possibly isn’t all there, and isn’t interested in any future conversations, Ryuu has no intention of letting Daniel walk out of his life for good.

Avoiding arrest as a stalker is only the first hurdle Ryuu must overcome to be with Daniel. Once he does, their friendship quickly turns into a love that has Ryuu planning long nights with the perpetually horny and submissive Daniel bound and at his mercy. But Daniel’s failing mental stability forces Ryuu to delve into Daniel’s past. Ryuu learns Daniel’s real last name, the possibility of a child and that the man in his bed may not be Daniel at all.

Ryuu is desperate to keep the certifiably insane Daniel from slipping into his fantasy world with Armor, the version of Ryuu Daniel has created in his mind, but a homicidal student with a crush has other plans.

For a chance to win these books, please leave a comment on the post.

A Guest Review by Raine

Summary Review: Very engaging portrait of a damaged guy dealing with a tough time and involving gritty unusual crime scene clean up business but this just felt a little off the mark on some character motivations for me.

Blurb: The Brothers Grime is Jack Masterson’s way of helping people in crisis after disability ends his career as a firefighter. Jack’s people get to a scene long after the physical trauma ends. They don’t solve crime or rescue the victims. They help people move on. The new job is all Jack wants or needs, until he gets the call about old flame Nick Foasberg’s suicide.

Ryan Halloran’s cousin Nick has been on a downhill slide for a long time. Despite that, Ryan does everything he knows to help. Ryan only understands part of what happened between Nick and Jack in high school, but after Nick’s suicide, Ryan agrees both he and Jack need closure. They work together to clean the scene and despite the situation, heat flares between them.

Jack is keeping a painful secret and fighting his attraction to Nick’s lookalike cousin, Ryan. Ryan calls himself a magnet for lost causes and worries Jack might be the next in a long line of losers. Despite his misgivings, despite the past and the mistakes they’ve both made, Jack gives Ryan something to look forward to, and Ryan gives Jack a reason to stop looking back, in Grime And Punishment.Blurb:

Review:

This book is set within a particularly challenging time for the main character ex firefighter Jack, that of ongoing recovery from a life changing trauma. A damaged, darkly funny guy, he has suffered two dramatic incidents in his life; one involving a very personal physical and emotional betrayal, while another work related injury has forced him to cope with a permanent disability and set up a new business. The time scale is unusual in that it is not about the immediacy of his injury, dealing with disability, and the intensity of setting up a new business with his cousin Gabe and friend Eddie. That is all done and dealt with. Jack is in the no man’s land of an emotional journey gone so far but no further.

I found the fascinating details about his work and the business were a clever way to reveal a lot of Jack’s personality and gave an unusual and dramatic way in to the story. His relationship with Ryan is developed very believably, it happens quickly, but there is a lot of history and situational intensity that holds this up. This makes the timescale almost irrelevant. Their attraction has a certain amount of real life to and fro within it that prevents it escalating into high note fervour. I liked these guys together. Ryan is an almost understated personality, with a personal integrity that served to emphasise his difference to his cousin Nick. He does also have to bear the weight of being the personification of Jack’s emotional springtime which perhaps flattened his character a little. That said there are some gorgeous descriptions of them together,

Neither of them spoke. They lay frozen in time, locked together in the throbbing, watercolour lassitude of fucked – out repose.

However I must say I was personally surprised that when earlier the cat jumped on Ryan’s naked sweaty back his response was one of ‘pleasurable writhing’……

There was perhaps a mismatch of how I saw Jack and how the guys, including the Token Girl, saw him. Consequently, one of the things I puzzled over was the feeling of quite serious intervention in the actions of Jack’s friends/family; this was demonstrated by the thoughtful thing with the cat, but more dramatically by his friend Dave’s later outburst. I did not really get his urgency about Jack’s actions. The importance placed on Jack’s ‘secret’ seemed overplayed to me and not up to sustaining it’s pivotal place in the plot.

I found Jack’s internal life backed up a view of him as coping well with his life albeit being in a holding pattern emotionally. Given that it is closeted, closed in Dave who is very much part of the friends with benefits status quo, his fervour for truth and openness seemed contrary, unless we are meant to regard Jack as deceiving himself as well as us. Silly old romantic me regarded his stasis more as he hadn’t met Ryan yet so how can he change – Ryan is the kick start.

The other characters in the story, mainly those involved in the business were vividly created – especially Skippy who I wish was not straight and happily married – giving what is a short novel, a well established but teasing depth, with some good hopes for future books.You may have noticed I found Dave’s determined enigmatic facade a little irritating. I guess this means that next book in the series will be about him….sigh.

I was very engaged by the gradual and intense build up of the first half of this book, the descriptive language is distinctive and just added a touch of class. However the action later on including the big scene towards the end left me with some questions which drew me out my original total immersion. This doesn’t stop me Iooking forward to see how this series develops, any new book by this writer is a treat, even if the title of this one gave me a reluctant groan.

RakketyTam (#6)

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

And if you didn’t win this one today, you can buy it via Amazon: Nowhere to Run

A Guest Review by Sammy

Review Summary:  Two wounded men meet…one bent on escaping his past, the other bent on embracing his. Only one of them can move forward. Will his strength be enough to carry the other with him?

Blurb: After being betrayed and abused by an ex-lover, Sean trusts no one–but he can’t help wishing he could trust gentle-hearted tattoo artist Riordan. When these two vulnerable men, scarred inside and out, find each other, neither is willing or able to walk away.

Both starved for touch and lonely in his self-imposed exile, Sean can’t help wanting Riordan both body and soul and in his bed, and Riordan is captivated by the sweet nature and the beauty he can still see beneath Sean’s scars. Yet despite his hunger for affection, Sean can’t break free of a cycle of shame and despair, not even as Riordan’s falling in love with his beautiful disaster.

Will Sean be able to break through the barriers he’s built around himself and let Riordan in–and will Riordan find the key to unlock Sean’s frozen heart?

Review: Okay–I swear I wrote my review summary before I saw this blurb. And, as usual, most of what you need to know about the plot is right above–so make sure you read it because I am going to chat about this author Willa Oakti and why she inspires such loyal fans…cause this little novel? Yes–this one got it right–spot on!

“If he could help someone…then maybe he wasn’t as broken as he’d thought.”

Riordan, a victim of a drive by shooting, spends each and every day moving between his nursing job and his co-owned passion, the tattoo parlor. The place where he takes broken bodies and shattered spirits and creates a masterpiece with his ink–not to cover up their scars, no, rather to afford them the beauty of seeing them be a part of something magnificent.

He does not want to “save” others, rather, he wants to show them that there is life and a way of living even after something has been taken from you–something that has come so close to breaking your spirit once and for all. Then he meets Sean…

Sean is not only broken, he is barely clinging to what can hardly be called a life. He sees in Riordan what he desperately hopes is not pity but truly salvation…for he needs saving so very badly.

Now I get it–this novel made me see very clearly what Oakti fans adore this author for and what they flock to read. Characters so broken yet so alive. Passion that slowly burns and builds, much like a normal relationship would. Hope in the midst of great sadness and loss. And a compelling story that swoops in and grabs your heart and refuses to give it back until it has wrung every bit of emotion from you and you sigh in complete satisfaction at the end.

A Beautiful Disaster is not just a novel about second chances or finding that one person who can make you feel complete. It is about how we choose to deal with loss and how we find the well of strength deep within ourselves to push on, pick ourselves up and live another day despite the crushing weight of our sadness.

For such a short novel, A Beautiful Disaster, packs an incredible amount of living into its pages. And for each moment when the author suspends us over the very real idea that these two men may not make it–may not fall in love, may not ever really heal; she gives us an equal amount of time immersed in their passion for each other and their journey to becoming whole. This is the Willa Oakti I have been hearing about from her fans. She is quite the author–and this, dear reader, is quite the story.

Natacha (#24)

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

And if you didn’t win this one today, you can buy it via Amazon: Community Service (Broken Mirrors)

From Goodreads: In the ‘Gay for You’ (GFY) genre, a character who was not previously gay, or at least didn’t know they were, meets ‘the one’ and embarks on a gay relationship with him/her. The implication is usually that one or both protagonists wouldn’t be in a same-sex relationship except with this one special person.

Recently, someone on one of my Facebook groups posted a solicitation looking for a good “Gay for You” novel and it bothered me, not as a writer or a reader, but as a gay man.

This post will probably cause some controversy, so I’d just like to say first of all that I am not trying here to convince anyone of what they should read or write, but simply to present my own and deeply personal perspective on why I am bothered by the whole “gay for you” thing.

For me, it’s not real. For me, it’s a bit of an insult to the many, many gay men and women who have struggled to define and accept their identities.

Over the years, I would venture to say I have known hundreds of gay men and women and been friends with

Here I am on my wedding day. Was I straight for her?

dozens of gay couples. Of those couples, do you know how many I am sure would say their union was the result of a “gay for you” epiphany or realization?

None. Zero. Zilch.

Looking at my own life, I could probably shape it into a gay for you story. I met a wonderful and beautiful woman when I was in college. We fell in love, had mad sex, and later got engaged and then married in a big summer wedding. It was magic and I thought I’d found true happiness. Things only got better when our son was born.

Fast forward to eight or so years later, when I would meet the first man I would fall in love with. This could be construed as a “gay for you” moment. After all, none of my friends or family knew I was gay (or if they did, they weren’t saying) and I had pretty much followed the roadmap for young, straight, suburban husband.

And then I met Ron—and the stars aligned. I was in love—with a man.

Gay for you? No way. The truth of the matter is I had struggled since adolescence with same-sex feelings. But I fought with myself. I hated myself. I thought of killing myself. I struggled like an animal in a trap to free myself from these shameful, secret longings. I consulted therapists. I looked into ex-gay programs.

The long and short of it was that I was a man filled with self-loathing, a man who wore a mask to hide the person buried deep in the closet. I was a man terrified of himself, of being something I desperately did not want to be. The thing is, to an outsider, it may have looked like, when I met Ron, I became gay for him, leaving behind my straight life.

But here’s the difference: I didn’t become gay for anyone. I was, as Lady Gaga sings, born that way. I can remember, as far back as early childhood, having inexplicable feelings for other boys, feelings I masked as wanting to be friends with this or that particular boy. With adolescence, the feelings became more pronounced, more sexual. Still, I denied them—and sometimes it was only in the relief and horror of dreams were these feelings ever allowed to come to the fore.

The crucial point I am trying to make is that I doubt very much that anyone becomes gay for someone else. Sexual attraction doesn’t work that way (or if, in some rare case it does, it’s the exception, not the rule). And when I run across such a plot device in a book, I seldom finish it. The book loses credibility for me.

Can you have characters that struggle with their sexual identities? Absolutely. I am one of those characters. Can you have characters that maybe bury their sexuality so deeply that they might be surprised when the force of someone’s magnetism is so powerful it breaks down the barriers and causes the person to lose a battle they were most likely already losing? Yes. There’s drama there; there’s fascinating, credible reading.

A crucial distinction I learned on my long, protracted, and often very painful journey from the closet to proud and self-accepting gay man was that knowing is one thing and accepting is something else entirely. I can’t deny that I had these feelings, these urges, these attractions, from a very young age, but I hid them from myself and, under no circumstances, would I ever accept them.

See, I told myself, I could change. I could get married and I could be, well, straight for her.

It didn’t work. The harder I fought myself, the harder my inner core persisted in staying alive.

My sexual identity was a hard-won battle. And I guess when I hear of a gay for you novel, I cringe, because those books simply don’t get it. They’re not real.

At least not for me. How about for you? And why?

Rick R.Reed’s contact information

Visit Rick’s website at http://www.rickrreed.com
or follow his blog at http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/.
You can also like Rick on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rickrreedbooks
or on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/rickrreed

A Guest Review by Larissa

Review Summary: a story with a lot of potential that fails to deliver

Blurb: Dale O’Toole, aka Diederik, the Demon Duke of Denmark, takes his Renaissance festivals seriously. He has been on the jousting circuit for five years and enjoys his gypsy lifestyle, traveling to faires around the country. It’s fun and he has good friends.

Austin Renfro has worked in a pirate gift shop at the Colorado Renaissance Festival for several years but has a life outside the medieval fantasy world. When Austin spies Dale during the first joust of the season, he knows he must find a way to meet him, even if the jousters and royal cast don’t normally associate with the working class.

Their first chance meeting causes more than a little embarrassment for both men, but they don’t let that stop them. They try to let their budding love find its place while keeping it from becoming common knowledge. But when a particularly conservative knight catches them in flagrante, it’s bound to cause problems. After all, jousts are dangerous….

Review: Renaissance Faires! Knights! As soon as I saw this title, there was no doubt that I had to read it. Being a reenactor myself, I love stories that feature knights in any form, however as wonderful as the blurb sounds, The Jouster’s Lance (still chuckling over that title) just fails to deliver the magic of a good story.

The story is nicely set up and starts slow. It gives a detailed image of the world Austin and Dale live in and of the Renaissance faires. It was in a way pretty funny how Dale and Austin met too. However, it soon became clear the story didn’t really take off. Part of this has to do with the writing itself and part of it with the plot. While the setting for this story is pretty unique, it features themes that are pretty common and well used. There is the evil religious fanatic homophobe, the burned ex and the attacks.

Right from the start it is pretty clear who the big evil bad guy is going to be and the story takes on preachy qualities that just frustrated me. The homophobe and the burned ex were too obviously there for me to really get into the story.

An obvious bad guy and often used themes don’t necessarily make a story bad, but the writing in The Jouster’s Lance just didn’t work for me. The writing is a little on the static side with the names of characters often repeated. It makes that it’s a bit like reading a script for a play or a movie. The writing failed to draw me into the story and keep me there, despite the interesting characters.

Because I did very much like Austin and Dale and Jasmine and Chip. They are good characters and despite the plot and writing, they were set up well, fleshed out with their own voice in the story and flawed. And you all know how I love characters that have flaws.

It is unclear if there is going to be a sequel or not, but the story leaves a lot unfinished. The story very much focusses on the romance between Austin and Dale and by the end they are nicely set up, but there are still several loose ends to tie up and it gives a sloppy air to the story even if there is going to be a sequel.

I really wanted to like this story, but the themes and the writing made it so I wasn’t drawn into the story. If there is a sequel, I hope it’s going to be better than this one.

For the last six years, Simon has struggled to keep his identity a secret along with a past that, so far, has stayed right where it belongs. Beaten within an inch of his life, he left everything behind when he fled to Washington. Including his family. So when the shrill ringing of his phone wakes him in the middle of the night, the last person he expects to hear on the other end of the line is his baby sister.

After living together for over five years, David figures there isn’t much more to learn about Simon Taverdy. That is, until he overhears Simon talking on the phone. Tied to this life they share by a family of his own, David refuses to pack their things and leave, even if it means putting Simon’s life in danger.

With only four weeks left until Christmas, going home for the holidays takes on new meaning, especially when it involves the cops and an abusive ex who’s still on the run. Can Simon and David survive the fallout of Simon’s past, or will he bolt again to the middle of Nowhere?

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

A guest review by LadyM

Review summary: Intriguing beginning of the new series which requires a bit of effort on reader’s part. Well-written but it might be overwhelming for some readers.

Blurb: HORN GATE: Open at your own risk.

Librarian Isaac Stein spends his lumpy, lonely days restoring forgotten books, until the night he steals an invitation to a scandalous club steeped in sin. Descending into its bowels, he accidentally discovers Scratch, a wounded demon who feeds on lust.

Consorting with a mortal is a bad idea, but Scratch can’t resist the man who knows how to open the portal that will free him and his kind. After centuries of possessing mortals, he finds himself longing to surrender.

To be together, Isaac and Scratch must flirt with damnation and escape an inhuman trafficking ring—and they have to open their hearts or they will never unlock the Horn Gate.

Review:

“The real secrets could not be communicated, they could only be discovered.”

So says the line from Horn Gate and it seems appropriate for the story itself. It’s well-written in Suede’s distinctive voice, with appealing protagonist and mysterious, demonic love interest. It works well as an opener to the series, though esoteric elements of the story might be too much for some readers. If you want to know more about the evolution of Horn Gate, you should read Damon’s article Starting from Scratch posted here. I found it very interesting and it sure made me even more eager to read the series.

On his 22nd birthday Isaac decides to treat himself, so he steals a colleague’s invitation to a sex lounge. Isaac is a pudgy librarian with bad skin and issues about being touched and a visit to Gehenna is his chance to do something wild. At first, he is mightily disappointed, though he feels something strange in the club’s atmosphere. He decides to venture further down into the club and there he has an encounter which dramatically changes his life.

I liked Isaac a lot. He is sad and lonely, yet he is not without humor or imagination. He has his little luxuries and when faced with extraordinary, unnatural events he chooses to take action. Some of it is motivated by lust, sure, but also by Isaac’s compassion. He is smart, nerdy and I loved how his mind works:

Hebrew in a sex lounge. Maybe some kind of bizarre Israeli role play? Hasidic sex games? Kinky kabbalah? Isaac had visions of doddering rabbis being spanked while strict blondes forced them to eat sausage.

Scratch, a demon, a shedim, an incubus, is an appealing and mysterious figure. What we learn about him we learn together with Isaac – through Scratch’s enigmatic remarks and Isaac’s own research. Frankly, I had to read the story twice before I could connect the dots and have some idea about who Scratch really is. Although I am all for the stories that challenge the readers, I’m still not sure that I caught everything. Regardless, what is clear is that Scratch is as lonely as Isaac. He is driven to help his own kind forced to serve human desires, and Isaac’s appearance offers him the possibility of a shared existence. In a way, Isaac is as much a temptation for Scratch as the sexy demon is for bookish librarian.

The best element of the story is Suede’s writing. It beautifully conveys the atmosphere and history of New York, Isaac’s personality (I could almost hear him speak), his experiences including his attraction to Scratch, integrate numerous references (kudos for Coleridge) and pulls the reader into the story. If I have a bigger complaint (other than the one I already mentioned) it’s Isaac’s ‘magical makeover’. Every time Scratch feeds on Isaac, the librarian’s physical flaws start to diminish until they completely disappear. It made a lie out of Scratch’s claim that his kind seeks a connection with humans with the mind as the most important thing. It seems to me that Scratch’s ‘healing’ of Isaac made only cosmetic changes – it would have been better if he ‘healed’ young man’s self-esteem and if it became clear to the reader that pudgy Isaac is lovable for his mind and personality, regardless of his physical flaws.

There will be more mysteries to discover about Scratch and his world in the future stories, like who and what Pyre – The Judge – really is, why can Isaac open the Gate, where did our protagonists end up, etc. As the opening story, the Horn Gate offers enough to pique the reader’s interest. If the author had somehow toned down the esoteric elements, I would have rated the story higher. Still, I recommend that you try the story. It is short and, even if it takes some effort to understand, it is certainly worth it.