Review: Red Light

Title: Red Light
Author: Thom Lane
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 8 February 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 32,268 words

Blurb:
Jeff is a deliberate loner: he's had his heart broken once, and he won't let it happen again. Ready to rebuild his life, he goes on holiday. Alone. Until he meets Benet -- and finds that the human heart is not so easily controlled.

Unable to resist the siren call of Benet's sweet, beautiful nature, Jeff decides a fling can't hurt, but all he wants is sex and company; anything more just leads inevitably to disappointment and betrayal. But Benet slithers under his guards and breaks all Jeff's new-set rules. Will he obey his brain and stop for the Red Light or will he give in to the heart's impulse and run it?


Rating: 4 out of 5


Review:

Main Characters:
Jeff is still recovering from his lover Tony's infidelity, coping by building a wall around his heart. A fling is fine, as long as it's understood by both parties that sex is all it is; he's not looking for romance or commitment, not when it means his heart could be broken again. The long hours he works as a hospital doctor don't help in any case. He travels to Provence as a little bit of revenge against Tony--the trip had been planned for the two of them, well before the fight that ended their relationship--but finds himself at loose ends there, at least until he meets Benet.

Jeff is a steady narrator, if a bit self-deluding, but I don't feel that I ever really got to know him very well, despite the fact that the entire story is presented from his point of view. His personality never came far enough through the prose for me. I liked him well enough, but never really connected.

Benet is another British transplant, working for a year at a vineyard in Provence to experience the French way of doing things. He's sweetly unrelenting and earnest, yet entirely wanton when the situation warrants. Much like Matthieu in White Flag, he knows what he wants and goes for it. He tends to be a bit impulsive, though my favorite instance of it is at the end:

A message from Benet.

His voice sounded nervous and impatient and amused—all three at once. "Oh, hell, Jeff, where are you? I thought I'd be getting you out of bed. Are you still in bed; are you sleeping? Well, wake up, then. Please wake up. I'm at Stansted Airport, and I've done this stupid thing. I've flown in to see you. I have to see you. Only, I don't know how to find you. I don't have your address. It was just a wild impulse and it's raining buckets out there and I don't know what to do now, so I'm just going to sit here until you come to rescue me. Please come. Please come soon...?"

I found his conflict and determination to be absolutely adorable.

Although we never get to experience Benet's point of view and thus he remains more of a mystery, I nevertheless think I prefer him to Jeff; he seemed more developed as a personality, rather than a reaction to an event.

Chemistry:
Despite my ambivalence toward Jeff, I really do like them as a couple. Their mutual delusion that their relationship is just a fling is charming, especially when Jeff confronts Benet on it:

We stopped for dinner at a restaurant somewhere halfway between the château and the gîte. To be honest, I really wasn't paying attention: not to the drive except for the simple mechanics of it, not to the scenery or the towns we passed through, not to the food on my plate. I was focused entirely on the young man in the seat beside me, or now the other side of the table. How candlelight touched his hair, how the skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled, how he gestured with his cutlery as he talked.

How he made me feel as young as he was. Younger. Full of joys and doubts, and helpless in their grip.

How he frowned, trying to understand me as he listened, as I tried to explain.

"It's not that I don't trust you," I said helplessly. "It's the situation, the promises... I don't believe in promises, not anymore. If Tony and I could go that sour, then anything can. And I don't believe in long-distance relationships, either. Tony and I couldn't keep it together when we were living in the same house. He said I was never there, but—well, you and me, neither of us would ever be there for the other. Two different countries, it's impossible..."

He had an odd little smile on his face as I finished. He gave his head an odd little shake; he said, "You know, I've always heard doctors were arrogant, but I never really understood till now."

"What? I just—"

"What you're saying, Jeff dear, is that there's no point my falling in love with you, because all you want is a fuckfest, and when we're done you'll just waltz off back to England and leave me with a broken heart if I've been silly enough to let that happen. That's it, isn't it?"

I flinched from that bald exposé, which was almost cruel in its revelation of my character; but I couldn't really argue with it. At heart, yes, that was what I was saying. What I wanted, except:

"I don't want to break your heart," I said, as earnestly as I could. "I'm just saying, be careful, because—"

"Trust me, Jeff," he said, "my heart is in no danger. That's the arrogance, the way you assume that I must be doing what you're far too self-controlled to do yourself. Maybe a fuckfest is all I want too. Did you think of that? Speaking of which"—draining his lonely glass of wine, which I'd bought him to soften the blow because no one should have to take such news on water—"why don't we settle up here and get in the car, go back to your sweet little gîte, and get started?"

It's easy to see they care for each other, even if they both deny it. The fact that they really heat the sheets doesn't hurt, either; Benet pushes Jeff's boundaries in appealing ways.

Secondary Characters:
The secondary cast of Red Light is identical to that of White Flag, comprised primarily of Matthieu's family. I particularly enjoyed seeing Charlie and Matthieu again to see how they were doing after White flag (and couldn't help snickering over Jeff's twigging to their relationship because Charlie kept grabbing Matthieu's butt at the airport). Unfortunately, other characters didn't come through nearly as well.

Juliette in particular pushed my buttons.

In White Flag, there's a reference to Juliette as spoiled but not ruined. I think that by the time Benet and Jeff are on the scene, she's edged more toward the ruined mark. She inserts herself into everything and gets upset when things don't go precisely the way she thinks they should. She has her good moments--she takes the first steps toward including Jeff in Benet's adoptive family--but overall I found her to be appallingly domineering and generally inconsiderate of others when their desires didn't necessarily correspond with her own. As she's such a large part of the story, swathes of it were unfortunately soured for me.

Story:
The story is simple enough, following Jeff as he overcomes his broken heart to find love with Benet. Just enough happens to keep things interesting, flowing nicely from point A to point B. It never lagged for me, and the passage of time (it takes place over about two weeks) was handled well, not dragging out every little detail but also not completely disregarding that the time was filled with other things.

Writing:
I love the writing in both this book and White Flag, but taken in comparison Red Light came up a bit short for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. The writing was still plush and enjoyable, but I never really found the same spark, the passages that made me want to reread them enough to commit them to memory. This isn't to say it doesn't have its moments; this made me smile:

I had an American boyfriend once, early on at college, who didn't like tongues at all when he kissed. Just a brush of the lips, a token of affection: California kisses, he called them. Dry and sensitive and all about the romance, really nothing to do with sex. That set my baseline for a scale, from Californian up to English kisses—as far as an uncertain teenager dares to go when he knows that tongues have something to do with the project but he really isn't sure what exactly, and he's just hoping the other guy is more experienced; there are people who spend their whole lives kissing like that, thus far and no further—and then the classic French, the full-on let's-see-if-I-can-reach-your-tonsils-this-time, which is nothing to do with romance or affection and really just all about the sex.

And here we were in France, and here was Benet trying to eat his way inside me, trying to entangle us so deeply he could turn us both inside out just with a tug on our inextricably knotted tongues. It was so far beyond French, it didn't even qualify for a country of its own; this was pan-galactic kissing, alien and soul shaking.

Overall:
Taken on its own, this book has a lot to offer: pleasant characters and a well-drawn setting, great chemistry and (mostly) likeable secondary characters. It pales a bit when held up next to its predecessor, but it's still a strong offering, an enjoyable, if brief, read. I certainly wouldn't object to more time spent in their world.

Review: The Missing Butterfly

Title: The Missing Butterfly
Series: The Missing Butterfly
Author: Megan Derr
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: 19 January 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 51,000 words

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Cassidy Monarch had dreams—to sing, to be famous, to tour the world at the head of his own rock band. Then his parents were killed in a tragic accident, leaving him to raise his two siblings. Determined to hold on to what remained of his family, Cassidy settled into an ordinary life, his dreams of fame reduced to occasional nights of singing at karaoke dives. But his careful, ordinary life began to fray with his new job, and the beautiful, charming boss who reminds him of all the things he tried to stop wanting.

Malcolm Osborne is a classic rags to riches story, a foster child who wound up with the perfect family and more money than he knows what to do with. He's wealthy, beautiful, successful, and completely miserable. Then he hires a new worker for his office, a young, hard-working man with a sadness in his eyes that Malcolm aches to banish, hoping that in doing so he will be rid of his own loneliness as well.

Review:

Main Characters:
Cassidy is a man who had adulthood thrust upon him well before he was ready when his parents were killed by a drunk driver, leaving him to raise his two younger siblings at the tender age of 18. Working a food service job from Hell to make ends meet and keep Social Services off his back, he had to set aside his dreams of rock super stardom with his band, Four Butterflies. Dreams are not always so easily pushed away, though, and Cassidy keeps picking the scab by spending weekends singing karaoke in a city two hours away or writing songs. His coworkers have no idea that beneath his frightened-rabbit exterior beats the passionate heart of a bad boy.

Although he'd like someone to be with, especially with his younger siblings growing up and leaving the nest, a bad ending to his single attempt at a relationship has left him gun-shy. Random hook-ups have lost their appeal, and the fact that he's lusting after his boss is just salt in the wound.

I'm conflicted on Cassidy. On one hand, I really like him--it's admirable that he was able to raise his siblings without resentment, and he really is a sweetheart. On the other hand, the aforementioned frightened-rabbit exterior gets a bit wearing. I kept waiting for him to grow up just a little bit more. The kicker that really made me want to shake him was in the scene in which Malcolm finally connected the dots:

Chasing Cassidy out the side entrance, he raced down the alleyway, lunging at the last moment. "Cassidy!" Grasping Cassidy's arm, yanking hard, he nearly sent them both crashing to the crowd, but managed at the last moment to twist enough he landed hard against the wall. His breath wooshed out of him, and he barely managed to keep hold of Cassidy. "Cass!"

Abruptly Cassidy froze, looking like nothing so much as a terrified, wide-eyed cat.

Moving without real thought, Malcolm reached up with one hand to lightly cup Cassidy's face. "Why did you run? Why...why would you hide this?"

Cassidy only stared at him a moment longer, then abruptly began to tremble. "B-because I'm not supposed to do it," he said, then began to try and struggle to get free. "Let me go."

His youngest sibling is 18, well past the point at which he could be removed from Cassidy's home. Obviously his employer doesn't care that he has tattoos and sings karaoke, given that his employer is in the dive to recognize him, so why the overwhelming fear?

Once Cassidy and Malcolm have begun their relationship, the fear makes a little more sense--Malcolm is, after all, Cassidy's boss--but his similar reaction to a situation with his former band just struck me as also a bit over the top.

Malcolm is a foster care kid who discovered he had a wealthy globe-trotting uncle when he was a teenager. When his uncle died shortly thereafter, Malcolm was left with millions--and a hole in his life. He has enough money to never need to work another day, but he can't imagine the life of a lonely jet-setter. He passes time as head manager of accounting for Amberton-Lord Entertainments for lack of anything better to do. He occasionally splurges to playfully poke at his siblings (especially when it comes to his car) and owns houses around the world that he rarely visits.

Malcolm has a string of bad relationships to his name; he prefers bad boys but doesn't have the best taste in them, resulting in more than one unsavory break-up. The latest tops the cake, though, when Malcolm has to fend off not only his ex but also his buddies with nothing but a baseball bat. He's ready to begin to re-evaluate his tastes, but can't seem to shake that bad boy craving.

Malcolm was much steadier than Cassidy, but I'm still conflicted on him, too. He is good for Cassidy, I think, with a gentle regard for him and a protective streak that's quite charming. I'm less fond of other aspects of his personality, though. He's snarky to a fault with his brothers (more on this later), he strikes me as a little irresponsible (given how often he hides in Antoine's office), and then there's the manipulation. After he finds out where Cassidy worked that gave him such a dismal outlook on employment, Malcolm buys the diner just so he can fire the manager that so scarred Cassidy. Further, after he realizes that Cassidy is the missing member of the band playing the company's picnic, he buys off the group's current lead singer to ensure that they'll need a new one for the picnic--and there Cassidy will be. They're sweet gestures on paper, but kind of creepy in reality. It would've been nicer to see the situations resolved in some way that didn't involve throwing money at them.

Chemistry:
Cassidy and Malcolm are adorable together. The attraction between them is apparent (to everyone but Cassidy and Malcolm, at least) and the tension is perfect. My issues with Malcolm's monetary solutions aside, I think they balance each other well, both bringing something to the table to contribute to the relationship. The sex is hot (and not overly graphic, although some of it is still not safe for work), but I find I prefer them in their downtime. (My favorite little blurb is this:

"Yes," Malcolm said, carefully not thinking about the few moments when he heard Cassidy sing—catching Cassidy singing in the kitchen while he cooked or cleaned, singing in the car, the shower, and most precious of all were those nights they lay in bed and Cassidy sang just for him.

Just too sweet!)

Secondary Characters:
My trend of being conflicted on characters continues with the supporting cast. I hated some of them. Antoine and Carlos (Malcolm's foster brothers), though I suspect they are popular, drove me absolutely batshit insane. I don't think they had a single conversation with Malcolm that didn't involve one threatening to kill another or general threats of some variety or just a level of snark that went completely overboard. I never felt that I got a sense of them beyond snark generators... and I really didn't like the snark. I found myself skimming scenes that included them. The rest of the supporting cast was much better. Lindsay and Denny (Cassidy's siblings), for example, were also snarky but not so overblown; they struck a much better balance.

Story:
The story follows not only Cassidy and Malcolm's relationship, but also Cassidy's dream. It's generally well-paced, although there are parts where it does drag a little, particularly before Malcolm twigs to the reality of Cassidy. There are also some rather silly parts--Cassidy tipping the pizza delivery guy with his tongue springs to mind--but it's otherwise quite well done, tying together nicely as it speeds toward the ending.

Writing:
There are a lot of technical errors in this book--typos, grammatical errors, missing words, things that should have been caught in editing. (Hell, even one of my illustrative selections has an error in it.) It's distracting and occasionally aggravating. A few pieces of information got lost in the shuffle, too--the name of Cassidy's band post-Cassidy is referred to a few different ways, for example. If you don't read when a mental red pen, though, it's easy to move past the writing flaws to get into the meat beneath.

Overall:
This book is a light, inoffensive story with likeable characters that are easy to root for, with more focus on romance than conflict. Despite my complaints, I love this book--flaws and all, it's one of my desert island reads.

Review: Convincing Leopold

Title: Convincing Leopold
Series: Convincing
Author: Ava March
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 28 June 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 33,689 words

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Mr. Leopold Thornton finally has the man he's loved for a decade, yet he can't believe his good fortune. A reformed rake and a conservative solicitor? Can it possibly last? To add to Leopold's worries, Arthur's spending more time at the office...with a handsome new secretary. Desperate not to lose Arthur, Leopold does the only thing he can think of -- use pleasure to keep him.

Mr. Arthur Barrington truly wants their relationship to work. Sinfully beautiful and devoted to him, Leopold's the opposite of Arthur's staid ex-lover. And Leopold's given up his old vices, putting those concerns to rest. Yet lately, all Leopold wants is sex -- in the study, in the carriage, and at Arthur's office, no less. The sex is amazing, but juggling demanding clients and a demanding lover leaves Arthur exhausted and worried perhaps he and Leopold aren't suited after all.

It takes one disastrous night for Arthur to realize how much Leopold means to him. But convincing Leopold he loves him, all of him and not just his body, proves difficult. For Leopold’s disappeared and Arthur hasn't a clue where to find him.

Review:

Main Characters:
Arthur has come far in the three months since he and Leopold began their relationship. Work is as taxing as ever, and his new secretary, Fenton, isn't helping to alleviate the load as much as Arthur had hoped. The bright point is the time he spends with Leopold, whether at his bachelor's apartment or Leopold's townhouse. He's ruffled by Leopold's constant pressure for sex, but can't find it in himself to turn Leopold down outright, leaving him exhausted and tetchy, wondering if he and Leopold aren't compatible after all.

Although he finally has the relationship he'd been craving with Arthur, all in Leopold's world is not roses. He's filled with doubt that Arthur sees him as anything but a convenient body, as he's convinced that surely he has nothing more to offer--something that he sees as proven when Arthur allows work to pull him away. He spirals into depression, masking it at first with brash seduction and later succumbing to it when it seems to him that Arthur has pushed him away for good. He's terribly vulnerable, defining himself by what he has to offer Arthur, desperate to keep them together, whatever it takes. I absolutely adore him, especially when he's irrational; it breaks my heart to see him suffer, and I can't help but hold my breath to see how things turn out for him.

Chemistry:
Arthur and Leopold are still an attractive couple, but, while the dynamics between them have shifted since they first came together, they haven't shifted enough. Leopold is extremely aggressive sexually, seducing Arthur anywhere and everywhere, including Arthur's office (much to Arthur's chagrin). Arthur, on the other hand, wants Leopold's company more than he does sex. Exhausted after long hours at his desk, sex is perhaps the last thing he wants most nights, but Leopold fails to read Arthur's signs and bulls his way through Arthur's resistance to give them both a tumble. As the story progresses, it's interesting to see how the dynamics play out and how they shift as the motivations behind them are revealed. I particularly enjoyed Arthur's actions after Leopold's disappearing act, and Leopold's revelation of why he behaved the way he did.

Secondary Characters:
There is actually a supporting cast this time, with a few notable players, though not many have a consistent role. Arthur's former lover, Randolph Amherst, makes a move. Arthur's assistant, Edward Fenton, pines. Leopold's footman, Jones, interferes. There are a few others who come and go, but most are really only window dressing. This isn't really a problem; again, this isn't a long book, and too many secondary characters could easily overwhelm the relationship between Arthur and Leopold. I think that a good balance was struck here.

Story:
The story is driven by assumptions and miscommunications, rather than events. Much of it is taken up with Arthur's waffling and Leopold's overcompensation; it's quite late in the story when the disastrous night rolls around. Because there's such a lead up, it does drag a bit in the beginning, but it's interesting enough to see how they evolve and interact with each other and the world at large that it is never terrible.

Writing:
Although the fragments I'd complained about in Convincing Arthur are still present, they for whatever reason didn't bother me as much. This book read in generally much more smoothly than Convincing Arthur did; even when the plot dragged a little bit, the writing kept things interesting and moving along.

Other Thoughts:
I really appreciated the reveal of Leopold's need for Arthur's undivided attention and his reactions to its lack. Depression--mental illness in general--isn't commonly addressed in male/male fiction, especially historical male/male fiction. Although it was never explicitly stated that Leopold suffered from depression, he certainly exhibited symptoms. Even better, I liked Arthur figuring out that Leopold's father was coddling him rather than living vicariously through him, and Leopold's disappointment at his father's motivations. (I felt so bad for Leopold, really. To find out at nearly-thirty-years-old that your father caters to your every whim because he doesn't think you can make it on your own is rough. Fortunately, he doesn't let it overwhelm him.)

Overall:
Evolving characters and an interesting relationship dynamic kept the pages turning in this book, even when the plot itself got a little bogged down. I found it fascinating to see the journey from where they began to where their story ended, and only wish that it was possible to see how they continued to evolve.

Review: Convincing Arthur

Title: Convincing Arthur
Series: Convincing
Author: Ava March
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 21 July 2009
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 24,949 words

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Mr. Leopold Thornton missed his chance ten years ago. He isn't about to let this one pass him by.

Given Leopold's reputation for vice and debauchery, Mr. Arthur Barrington has a fair idea why the sinfully beautiful man invites him to his country estate. A shooting excursion? Unlikely. Especially considering Arthur is the only guest invited to the estate. He shouldn't consider the invitation, but a few days of mind-blowing sex could be just the thing to help him get over the heartbreaking end of a ten-year relationship. Then he can return to London to his thriving law practice, and quietly search for an amiable man who understands the meaning of the word discreet and who recognizes the value of commitment.

There was a time when Leopold wasn't such a rakehell. When every night didn't end with an empty bottle of whisky. When he believed in the rewards of patience. When he didn't give himself over to just anyone who'd have him. Old habits die hard, especially when tempted by six feet of solid muscle, but Leopold will only have a few days to convince Arthur he can be the man he's looking for -- that his love is genuine and he's worthy of Arthur's heart.

Review:

Main Characters:
Arthur is a rather sedate fellow who works as a solicitor. He enjoys shooting though he rarely finds the opportunity for it. He also enjoys the intimate company of other men and recently ended a ten-year relationship when he discovered that his partner intended to marry.

He's a bit of a Clark Kent, actually, as those mild manners hide the heart of a passionate romantic, a man who wants someone to grow old with but who isn't above indulging in a long weekend of vice before settling in for the search. He recalls a past friendship with Leopold fondly, and hopes that the weekend in Yorkshire will be just what his heart ordered to get over his unfaithful former-lover.

I enjoyed time spent with Arthur, though I did occasionally want to shake him--it's hard to pass a weekend of debauchery when one is holed up for nine hours with paperwork. I also wish that he hadn't been quite so blind when it came to Leopold's feelings, as he could have saved them both needless angst and separation, but one can't have everything.

Leopold, on the other hand, is quite the wastrel, promiscuous and prone to visiting gambling hells and drinking to excess. He's defined his life by what he'd missed his opportunity for: Arthur. For ten years, he's filled the Arthur-shaped hole in his life with degenerate pursuits and bided his time, waiting for his second chance at love.

I particularly enjoyed Leopold, though I wanted to shake him even more frequently than Arthur. He falls on the bottle entirely too quickly whenever he doubts himself--or more accurately whenever he doubts Arthur. When he's not able to put forth his brash, daring persona, he exhibits a level of vulnerability that makes it easy to root for his happiness, even of he does need to be smacked for shooting himself in the foot so often.

Chemistry:
Arthur and Leopold certainly generate a lot of heat together. Between Leopold's ten years of unrequited love and Arthur's need to forget the poor ending to his affair, they're two men who are perfect for each other, even were they only to lick each other's wounds. As a romance, they're surprisingly sweet, considerate of each other--in bed, at least--and balancing well. I do wish that Leopold was a little more confident and independent, though, as building his entire life around Arthur is hardly healthy.

Secondary Characters:
There really is no supporting cast; most are only mentions, like Arthur's ex-lover, or unnamed servants. Given the length of the book, that's not surprising and a larger cast really wasn't necessary.

Story:
This is definitely a character-driven story, and as such not a lot happens in it. It's mostly Arthur and Leopold learning about themselves and each other--whilst having a lot of sex. This isn't to say that the story is overwhelmed by sex, but there is a fair amount of it. After all, the long weekend of debauchery is rather the center of the story, and it focuses it very well.

Writing:
The writing is solid and enjoyable, but there is a predominant element in it that drives me nuts: sentence fragments. They're not only in dialogue or sex scenes, where I have an easier time overlooking them, but throughout the narrative. I read with a mental red pen, smoothing out the fragments, which got to be a bit distracting at times. If fragments don't bother you, though, then the writing is a delight.

Overall:
Interesting, complex characters and an amusing concept make this an easy book to like. It's fairly short, perfect for squeezing some Regency romance into a little free time, and really quite enjoyable. I'm looking forward to seeing where they've ended up in the sequel.

Review: Saving Liam

Title: Saving Liam
Author: Sasha L. Miller
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: 25 April 2012
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 120,000 words

Rating: 3 out of 5

Blurb:
Leyton lived a quiet, simple life as a prosperous, thriving merchant alongside his twin brother Liam. But that life is shattered when Liam goes missing, and Leyton is told that the only way to save his brother's life is to seduce a king. The task proves to be even more difficult than Leyton feared, and soon he is swept up in a tide of political machinations, betrayal, and a looming threat of execution once the men who blackmailed him are caught.

But the threat of his pending death is nothing alongside the constant fear for his missing brother's safety—and the tangle of intrigue in which he is caught is nothing like the tangle he put himself in after breaking the heart of a king...

Review:

Main Characters:
Although the blurb would have you believe that Leyton and Mijah are the main characters, the primary cast is rather broader. In addition to Leyton and Mijah are Leyton's brother, Liam, Mijah's brother, Temel, and Luam's partner, Shakil. Yes, they're all main characters, not secondary.

Leyton is the soft-spoken one of the bunch. He's got some steel under his mild mannerisms, though, and is also a savvy businessman who's taken over running the family wine trading business after the death of his mother. He's half of a set of incubi twins (Liam being the other half) and shares a soul bond with his brother that he uses for everything from communication to tracking to pain-blocking.

Shakil is a Kingsman, a clandestine agent of the kingdom of Samaria. He's huge and not above looming to get what he wants, but he's also a mage with the ability to see energy across different magical frequencies. He's upbeat and teasing, rarely serious. He owns a jacket in which he can store anything, up to and including a tent.

Temel is Mijah's brother, the eldest son of the late king of Adina who was passed over in succession due to his being a mage. He's short-tempered and irascible, and doesn't like to ask for or accept help. Although a mage, he's not a particularly advanced one, noticeably weak in aspects like offensive magic, as his father refused to allow him to train in anything he thought might be a threat, leaving him to focus more on theory.

Liam is Leyton's twin brother and Shakil's partner in the Kingsmen. He tends toward smugness and manipulation, though rarely maliciously, and will do anything to protect Leyton--except tell him the truth about what he is.

Mijah is the new king of Adina, following the death of his father and elder brother, Ghalib. He never wanted the role thrust upon him but is making the best go of it he can.

Chemistry:
There are actually three main couples: in the beginning, Leyton and Mijah; in the middle, Temel and Shakil; and in the end, Leyton, Liam, and Mijah.

Leyton and Mijah are a charming couple, even if they came together under less than savory circumstances. They both bring a vulnerability to the table, Leyton because he's desperately trying to seduce a king to save his brother only to find that said king is more than a mark, and Mijah because he's reeling from the death of his family. Leyton is adorable when he realizes that Mijah is seducing him as surely as he is Mijah, and it's obvious that Mijah is quite brokenhearted when Leyton's deception is revealed. Although I knew it wouldn't end well (at least initially), I ended up quite invested in their brief affair.

Temel and Shakil were less appealing for me. Although I saw their romance coming (mostly when Leyton choked over Temel's implied reaction to Shakil's threat to tie him down), I never really felt that they had any chemistry leading up to their first kiss, and that what chemistry there was afterward was rather tepid. I liked their dynamics as a couple, but it felt to me more like a romance of convenience than passion.

And, finally, Leyton, Liam, and Mijah. This is a very late development in the story, not even being mentioned as an option until less than fifteen pages before the end of the book. There was some foreshadowing in Mijah's reactions to Liam and Liam's occasional musing, but this was another that could have used more development. As opposed to Temel and Shakil, though, I did feel that they had more in their relationship than power dynamics and sex; they balanced each other well, all contributing equally to the relationship rather than centered on one person.

It should be noted that there is incest in this book; it's implied that Leyton and Liam are or have been intimate, though there is nothing more graphic than a kiss. Those who are bothered by incest in any form will probably want to either read with blinders or give this a pass.

Secondary Characters:
Given the size of the primary cast, the secondary is surprisingly limited; I can't think of any characters that last the length of the book. Some are more fleeting than others, but I never really felt that even those that stuck around longer had enough development; their characters and motivations came across as a little flat.

In some cases, they just completely eluded me. I'm still not quite certain I understand Grenville's motivations. Or Princess Marceline's. Not to mention Aifric's. None of the villains really had enough exploration into their characters to make them believable threats.

Story:
Given the title, you'd think that the story was about, well, saving Liam. And it is, initially. Liam, however, is quite thoroughly saved in the first third, leaving the rest of the book to focus on the plot behind his injury. It's an interesting story, but it dragged in parts (particularly between Liam's saving and the final confrontation with Aifric).

And then there were the holes.

Liam is found in a Healing House, not rescued from Grenville's clutches. How he came to be there is never revealed, as far as I can tell. It's stated that Grenville thinks he's dead, but the transition from tortured prisoner to Healing House patient is never really clarified.

It's apparently a non-modern world--they travel on horseback and fight with swords and daggers--but they have a heater under the tub? There's no mention that it's charmed, so I can't help but wonder about its origins.

After Aifric's plot falls apart, everyone is certain that he remained in Adina, but I couldn't find a reason why. Why linger there? And why the absolute certainty that he did so?

Aifric is stated to be a scholar and not a soldier, and hides as someone about as far from a solder as one can get. When he pins down Leyton and Mijah, though, he not only holds them at swordpoint (despite being a blood mage and presumably able to deal with them magically) but also has the fine control to whip the blade across Leyton's cheek and open a fine warning cut. Where does that skill come from?

Leyton and Liam as incubi twins are regarded with suspicion, but no real alarm, implying that they as another race aren't particularly noteworthy. So, if incubi are common enough to not engender panic and awe, why do we never have so much as a mention of any other instance of another race? There could have been a little more worldbuilding there.

Writing:
Although mostly pleasant, there were some quirks in the writing style that drove me nuts.

Statements frequently ended with question marks. It's a particularly annoying affectation? There are other ways to convey uncertainty that might work better than giving the impression of a valley girl speech habit? I'd thought initially that it might only be Leyton because of his general lack of confidence, but as the story progresses other characters do it as well. There were a few places where it made sense, but most of the time it was just bad.

Revisiting the non-modern world thought from above, there's a lot of modern language used. The first time someone was referred to as a jerk completely threw me.

There's a lot of redundancy in word usage (e.g. Mijah's thoughts travel to certain thoughts). It happens to all of us, but a little more editing might have caught a lot of it.

Punctuation is quite questionable at times, and there are some habits that made me blink each time they showed up. (Commas belong anywhere, but in the middle of this sentence.)

Each of the main characters has a section that's presented entirely from their point of view, but I felt at times that the switch was arbitrary, coming about just as I was getting to know each character and not when a particular character's focus had actually been completed. I did appreciate that within each section the point of view was limited, but I still could have done with fewer points of view overall.

Other Thoughts:
Early in the story is an offhand mention that Leyton's incubus magic ensured that he and Mijah came at the same time. I couldn't help thinking that this could be more inconvenient than not, depending on one's preferences and any games that might be being played.

Overall:
Despite my complaints, this isn't a bad story. I found it difficult at times to move past the flaws to really get into the story underneath, but if you can do so you'll find plenty to enjoy here.

Review: Kindred Hearts

Title: Kindred Hearts
Author: Rowan Speedwell
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 2 May 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 125,403 words

Rating: 5 out of 5

Blurb:
Charming rascal Tristan Northwood seems to have it all: an ancient name, a noble inheritance, a lovely wife, and a son he adores. Women love him, men admire him, and it seems there is nothing he can’t do, whether it’s seducing a society wife or winning a carriage race. Little does Society suspect that the name means nothing to him, the fortune is in his father’s controlling hands, and he has no interest in his wife except a very distant friendship. Society bores him, and he takes dares because he only feels alive when he’s dancing on the edge... until his wife’s brother comes home from the wars.

Decorated war hero Major Charles Mountjoy jerks Tris out of his despair by inspiring feelings of passion Tris had never suspected himself capable of. Almost as terrifying as those feelings for Charles are the signs Charles might return his affection—or, even worse, that Charles sees the man Tristan has been trying so valiantly to hide from the world.

Review:

Main Characters:
Tristan is a broken man at the end of his rope: forced into marriage by his father with a woman he likes well enough but doesn't love, living a life of drinking and whoring, taking on any challenge, no matter how foolish--or dangerous. By the time he meets Charles, he's prepared to end it all, arranging his affairs toward that end to ensure that his wife, Charlotte, his son, Jamie, and his unborn second child will be taken care of once he's gone. He'd never thought of another man romantically before he met Charles, despite an encounter that left him with an inconvenient memory, one that he's struggled to put behind him.

As the story progresses, Tristan grows. It's not an overnight transformation--he has too much bad history for that--but given time and positive reinforcement he becomes a man to respect. He still has his immature moments, his moments of doubt and defensive haughtiness, but they're fewer and farther between. He does cry a lot, but I found it to be mostly understandable; he's lived a life of emotional neglect and inadvertent abuse, and to be treated by Charles with kindness and love is overwhelming, thrusting him into unfamiliar territory through which he has no means to navigate. The only time I found it a bit silly was toward the end of the book: after his argument with an invalid Charles comes to a head and results in Tristan bringing him off with his mouth, Tristan breaks down weeping. It seemed a bit belated to me, and a bit extreme for the situation.

One thing I found particularly charming about Tristan came about in his first sexual encounter with Charles: Tristan becomes upset because he climaxed and Charles did not. His father had instructed him years prior that he was always to see to his partner's pleasure first, and only then address his own, and Tristan took it to heart. His religious following of the edict makes him more than a shiftless rake and adds a sweetness even to his promiscuity.

Charles is much steadier than Tristan, not surprising given his position as a major and ADC to Wellington. He's also known for years that he's quite bent, though his last love affair ended tragically when his lover saw the romance as a mistake and left their regiment for a situation that would eventually lead to his death. He has a fascination with medicine and herbal treatments, and hopes to study as a physician once he's sold his commission. He never displays quite as much growth as Tristan, though, again, this is not surprising as he started off in a much better place, confident in who he is and what he has to offer.

It's only quite a bit later in the story that we see another side of Charles, after he's recuperating from an injury taken during the battle of Waterloo. Up to that point, he was patient and steadfast almost to a fault. During his invalidity, he shows a crotchety side that's almost cute; it's good to see him as something other than the Perfect Man.

Chemistry:
Tristan and Charles are an incredibly tight couple, and the tension between them, even when they're unaware that it's mutual, is perfectly strung. Charles already feels familiar with Tristan due to his sister's letters about her husband, but Tristan begins in quite a different position, getting prickly whenever anyone mentions Charles. Rather than take rooms elsewhere, Charles moves into Tristan's home, where daily exposure to his sudden attraction begins to drive Tristan to the brink. By the time Charles discovers his plans and confronts him, the tension between them has drawn so tight that it can only snap, driving them unavoidably together.

Even after they've consummated their relationship, the tension remains, a construct of the times; although certain key people know of their bonds, they have to shield it from all others or risk being hanged as sodomites and criminals. What they do behind closed doors is definitely satisfying, building beautifully on their characters without overwhelming the story.

There are actually times at which Tristan seems too naïve, though. Revisiting the scene of their first sexual encounter, there's a revealing moment tied into the aforementioned delay of Tristan's pleasure that I found it just a little hard to believe:

Then Charles kissed him, one slick hand curving along Tristan's jaw and slipping down his neck, his fingers stroking, teasing sensation from Tristan's skin. He smoothed along the curve of Tristan's shoulder, then down over his pectoral muscle and paused. Drawing back, he whispered, "Do you like it when you're touched here...?" and his fingers brushed Tristan's nipple.

Tristan's body arched in response. The touch was gentle, but the sensation of the warm, slick fingers was too much. He cried out softly, then went limp again as Charles's hand moved away. "I've never... no one ever..."

There was a moment of stillness, then Charles said in disbelief, "No one's ever touched you there? No one?"

His face burning, Tristan shook his head, his hair scrubbing against the linen of the pillowcase. "Sometimes, when I'm making love, they rub against the woman's skin... it feels good."

"Then why don't you let them touch you there, if it feels good?"

Tristan let out a long sighing breath. "No one ever offered. Besides—my responsibility is their pleasure—it's just a bonus that I take my own."

"My God," Charles said flatly.

It's sweet, but I can't believe that someone as promiscuous as Tristan is supposed to have been hasn't had that kind of contact at least once in his life.

On another note, I'm in love with how they're in love. Tristan's vulnerability in love is perfectly portrayed more than once, but this is my favorite:

Tristan fumbled for Charles's cheek to guide himself in for a kiss; light, at first, but then Charles's tongue took possession of Tristan's mouth, and they shifted so that Charles sprawled over Tristan. Tris drew his legs up and wrapped them around Charles's back, sliding his hands down to cup Charles's muscular arse. He rocked against Charles, loving the solidity, the stability, the strength of his lover's body. "Love me, Charlie," he murmured, and took Charles's mouth again, his hands and tongue eager. He felt Charles's rumbling laughter and drew back. "What's so funny?"

"You, love," Charles said, dipping his head to lick at Tristan's throat. "Love you? As if I had any choice in the matter."

That little love me, Charlie gets me every time.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast is broad and evolves as the story does. Between Tristan's family (by blood and otherwise) and friends, Charles's military comrades, and the physicians and surgeons with whom they later become acquainted, there are plenty to keep straight. A few threw me, particularly those introduced later in the story--I just can't keep them straight, and I'm not quite certain how the relationship between Tristan and Chamberlain developed as it did given the situation--but they're overall well-drawn and appealing.

Charlotte is the definite high point for me, with her implacability and insight. The conversations she has with Tristan and Charles provide impetus and a perspective that propels much of the story, without being gratuitous or transparent. Early in the story is one of my favorites:

"He does care for you, then." Strange—he'd got the impression that he had disturbed Tristan fully as much as Tristan had affected him. But if Tristan loved Lottie...?

"Oh, we are quite good friends," Lottie said.

"I meant," he said patiently, "that he loves you."

Lottie considered this a moment. "I think he does, but not in a romantic sort of way," she said meditatively. "He is a very romantic sort of person, but I don't think he feels romantic about people. I think he just expects people to disappoint and so doesn't have very high expectations of them."

"Do you disappoint him?" Charles asked curiously.

"I don't think so." Lottie thought a moment. "I think, probably, because I never promised him anything. He doesn't expect anything of me, nor I of him, and so we can be quite comfortable." She patted her rounded abdomen contentedly. "As comfortable as I get these days."

"Don't you want anything more from your marriage, Lottie?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

She smiled up at him. "Of course not. I am not a romantic sort of person, Charlie, not like you and Tristan. I don't care for the marriage act, and don't really need much of anything. Tristan suits me quite well." She shook her head. "I sometimes think that he needs more than just fondness, but there isn't much I can do about that. When we were first married… well, that's all done now, anyway."

"What's all done?"

"You know that he was unfaithful to me," Lottie said. “I think he was still... I don't know. Looking. As if he thought maybe he could find someone who could love him in a romantic sort of way. But he never did. It is a shame. He does so want to be loved."

On the other end of the spectrum is James Ware, Tristan's father. I like him initially--I can certainly understand his awkwardness, his lack of knowledge about children on top of the grief of losing his wife. I can even understand the neglect of Tristan's emotional needs. How that devolves into verbal abuse (which Tristan very carefully catalogs) never quite made sense to me. By the time Charlotte forces a confrontation between Tristan and his father, Ware's behavior makes no sense to me; he bursts into tears while they're at dinner in a restaurant, sobbing that he had destroyed them. I just can't believe that he didn't see that their relationship was that bad, given Tristan's patterns of behaving a particular way simply to aggravate him and the emotional distance they'd shared for over two decades.

Story:
There is quite a bit that happens to back the romance. From Tristan's recovery to finding a shared purpose with Charles to Charles's past catching up with him, things move along at a good clip. They do drag a bit here and there--Tristan's recovery from illness springs to mind--but overall it's well-paced.

There is a fair amount of focus on politics and military actions, particularly later in the story, which is really unavoidable given Charles's position and the times. There's enough to dress the stage, but not so much that it ever felt overwhelming to me, although someone with no interest in either topic may find it annoying.

Writing:
I found the writing to particularly enjoyable, well-crafted and evocative of the period. It's apparent that the author did a large amount of research, but it's not intrusive--it provides the window dressing without every piece of research being inserted whether it was applicable or not.

Overall:
Well-drawn characters and a story of growth combine to make this a lovely book. Wound through historical events but not overwhelmed by them, flavored by angst but not overwrought, this book has a lot to offer to lovers of historical romances. A few flaws here and there are easily overlooked in the whole, leaving a riveting read, one I look forward to revisiting.

Review: The Luckiest

Title: The Luckiest
Series: Lucky Moon
Author: Piper Vaughn & M.J. O'Shea
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 27 March 2012
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 91,476 words

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Rock star Nick Ventura has finally hit rock bottom. Jealous of his brother’s new love, he starts overindulging in his usual vices and winds up crashing his car into a department store in a drunken haze. Publicly humiliated and on the verge of jail time, he enters into a court-ordered rehabilitation program.

Nutritionist Luka Novak is flamboyant, effeminate, the type of gay man that bisexual Nick would normally sneer at. His sunny nature hides a deep hurt from a previous relationship. Luka knows he should be wary of Nick’s reputation, but he’s drawn to Nick despite himself. Their tentative friendship turns into romance, but Luka soon comes to realize that Nick's fear of losing his bad boy reputation means he'll probably never go public with their relationship.

Nick never thought he needed anyone, until Luka Novak came into his life. Now he has to reconcile his carefree past with the future he suddenly wants more than anything. And the first lesson he has to learn is how to become the man that both he and Luka need him to be, rather than stay the boy he always was. Alone.

Review:

Main Characters:
Nick starts out as a very angry man, aggressive in his rebellion. There are masterfully woven hints that he's more than an asshole with a substance abuse problem, especially when he's on the topic of his brother, Shane. As the story progresses, though, he turns into a marshmallow, far more than I can buy, even with the hints of vulnerability. I do like said vulnerability and his inability to marry his old public persona with the man he's become for Luka, but I found that in execution he just became way too sappy. I still liked him rather a lot, but I preferred him with a little more attitude.

Luka, on the other hand, tends toward mellow but has a spine and is not afraid to stand up for himself. He works as a nutritionist at a rehab facility, but also teaches dancing on weekends and the odd weekday with his best friend, Jeana. (Actually, I'm not quite certain if his best friend is Jeana or Stephanie, his dog, but he has a lot of love to share.) He's described in the blurb as flamboyant and effeminate, but it doesn't come out much in the story itself, aside from his calling everyone 'hon' and 'sweetie' and liking musicals; it's enough to be a flavor of his flamboyance without overwhelming his character.

Chemistry:
Nick and Luka are certainly an entertaining couple, playing Luka's stubborn calm off of Nick's equally stubborn aggravation. The evolution from nutritionist and patient to lovers is lovely; I particularly enjoyed Nick's late-night/early-morning phone calls to discuss things he'd be damned if he mentioned to his therapist. The initial build of their relationship is very slow, but the burn of it is appealing, feeding back in on itself until it finally comes together.

I did wonder at times, though, how they actually stayed together as a couple. Nick fucks up. A lot. And Luka makes him suffer for a while but takes him back every time. By the time Nick's final fuck-up is resolved and they're back together for their happily ever after, I was getting a little frustrated. Nick the rock star and Nick the person never quite found a happy medium, despite his final acceptance and announcement of his life with Luka. It goes back to my preferring Nick with a little more attitude.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast is mostly returning characters from Moonlight Becomes You. Shane and Jesse both have decent parts (particularly in the later part of the story), and Dre has more of a presence as Nick's best friend. (Will, the fourth member of Luck, still got shafted, though.) On Luka's side, it's primarily Jeana and Stephanie. The secondary cast is mostly fleshed out well, with unique personalities and interesting interactions. I particularly enjoyed Shane in this story; it was interesting to see his evolution from Moonlight Becomes You, as he displayed rather a lot of growth. (I'd imagine he'd display even more if I had knowledge of the free stories that bridged the gap between Moonlight Becomes You and The Luckiest--I haven't read them yet--but what there is with only the two main books is satisfying.)

Story:
The story itself traces Nick's growth as a person by way of his relationship with Luka. It has its ups and downs and is generally well-paced, though it did drag in a few areas. (Honestly, I skimmed a lot of the sex; it got a bit repetitive after a while.)

There were a few unanswered questions for me. A situation comes up with Dr. Miller (the therapist at the rehab facility) in which he's harassing Luka about having someone better who should take his job. Luka resolves to discuss it with his boss, but that's the end of it. It struck me as unfinished and, as such, something that really didn't need to be included. I'm also still confused about the Rohypnol. Never mind that I find the premise that it just so happened to be in a random drink that Luka picked up ridiculous, it also seemed to peter out to nothing but a little bit of angst for Nick that perhaps he was too rough in bed.

There were also some elements that were too evocative of Moonlight Becomes You. There's the revealing talk about the Venturas' shitty childhood. There's the sudden craving for submission. There's the final grand gesture on stage to prove that their love really is true. Had I not read them back to back I might not have noticed or minded as much, but with The Luckiest right on top of Moonlight Becomes you, the redundancy was glaring.

Writing:
The writing style was a high point for me; it was easy to get sucked into. My main complaint is that, as the story progressed, it got harder and harder to tell Nick and Luka's narrations apart. When the story begins, there's a different energy in Nick's narration that's mostly disappeared by the end, leaving Nick and Luka almost identical.

Other Thoughts:
If the third book in the Lucky Moon series is not about Em, I will be very sad.

Overall:
Appealingly flawed characters with interesting evolution both separately and together kept me engaged. Although I missed Nick's attitude by the end and wish that a few loose ends had been tied up, it was still a story that I enjoyed very much. I look forward to picking up the final book in the trilogy.

Review: Moonlight Becomes You

Title: Moonlight Becomes You
Series: Lucky Moon
Author: Piper Vaughn & M.J. O'Shea
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 9 August 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 139 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Eleven years ago Shane Ventura made the biggest mistake of his life when he caved in to pressure from his record label to kick his best friend Jesse Seider out of their band, Luck. Though he had a gorgeous voice, Jesse wasn't beautiful and didn't fit the label's ideal look. But Shane's never wanted anyone else more, and all the sex and alcohol in the world can't fill the void Jesse left behind.

As his thirty-second birthday approaches, Shane's more miserable than ever. Even the prospect of teaming up with Britain's hottest band, Moonlight, for an epic world tour can't get him out of his depressive funk. Until he meets lead singer, Kayden Berlin, and falls into instant lust.

Though Kayden acts like he’s not interested, Shane knows he feels the spark between them. The harder Shane pushes, the more Kayden pulls away. Then one explosive night things finally come to a head and Shane is left nursing a broken heart. That seems to be Shane's lot -- lucky at everything but love. But there's a lesson in store for Shane: when it comes to love, you can’t always leave things to chance.

Review:

Main Characters:
Shane is the quintessential bad boy rocker--well into sex, drugs, and alcohol. As we meet him, he's grown tired of the lifestyle, though, and depressed at how empty his life is. His biggest regret is leaving behind his best friend, Jesse, when the band forced him out as a contract requirement. He's uneven as a narrator, which conveys quite well his confusion and frustration over the situation with Kayden. I do wish that he'd had a backbone and stood up for Jesse when they were signed, rather than rolling over and taking what the others decided without a fight. I did ultimately like his evolution, though, from spoiled, jaded rock star to acknowledging and moving past his failings.

Kayden runs hot and cold, quite literally--one moment he's freezing Shane out, the next heat is flaring between them. When it comes to everyone but Shane and Nick, Shane's younger brother, he's a darling, sweet and funny, which makes his treatment of Shane jarring. He's not afraid to stand up for himself and tell Shane no, even if it is a struggle for him at times. He has a large secret to keep from Shane, though, and the revelation of it... well, although I saw it coming from the beginning, I wish it had gone in a different direction, or at least that the motivations behind it had been different, as the latter made me completely re-evaluate him as a character and ultimately like him less than I had up to that point. Honestly, I read him after the revelation as obsessive to the point of being unhealthy--manipulating the joint tour simply to be able to get revenge for the hurt that Shane caused him all those years before is not the sign of a well-balanced psyche. When I skimmed over the story again, the way that I regarded him had changed completely and left me with a not-quite-pleasant taste in my mouth. Yes, Shane was an asshole. Yes, Shane is still an asshole. That doesn't make it any more palatable.

Chemistry:
There's no denying the attraction between Shane and Kayden, even when Kayden is shooting Shane down. It's nearly halfway through the story before they so much as come close to a kiss, but the tension is intoxicating, and makes their late consummation more than worth it. Although sex does happen in the story, there is comparatively little sexual content, so those looking for more action than tension may be disappointed. I, however, found it to be the perfect balance.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast is comprised mostly of the band members of Luck and Moonlight, the latter more than the former (given Shane's point of view). The largest presence is Nick, the other members of Luck fading into the background enough that I can barely remember who Dre is and completely forgot the fourth member's name. (Given that the next story in the series is Nick's, this isn't much of a surprise.) Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like Nick; he was living the rock star lifestyle well before he had the rock star cred and comes across more as a blitzed-out complete waste of oxygen than an interesting character.

Story:
The story follows Shane's evolution as he attempts to get to know Kayden on their shared tour and is interspersed with flashbacks to his relationship with Jesse before it went to shit. Points A and B are fairly transparent from early on, but the path between them is fun, with some nice twists.

Writing:
I particularly enjoyed the writing in this book; it wasn't perfect, but the flow of it was still smooth and light, with just the right touch of detail. It was easy to get lost in it; it wasn't until I had to set it down due to an outside stimulus that I came out of the story, which is a nice change from those stories where I'm constantly checking my current location to see how much I had left.

Overall:
Mostly-appealing characters and a pleasant if transparent story made this book easy to like. Although I'm still torn on the reality of Kayden, I enjoyed my time spent reading it and look forward to spending more time in their world.

Review: Maxxed Out

Title: Maxxed Out
Series: Inside Out
Author: Treva Harte
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 21 September 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 21,836 words

Rating: 2 out of 5

Blurb:
Max knows his family and friends aren't sure what to make of his moods and impulses. But he's in college now and ready to show them he's grown up and ready to make mature choices. At least he's ready for a serious relationship and almost ready to tell his family he's gay. He could use a little help, though.

With his loving big brother gone forever, who is left to ask for help? Daniel Rocco, his brother's best friend and his longtime crush, of course. Daniel is solid and reliable--the opposite of Max. But for some reason, Daniel seems terrified of what Max might do next.

Review:

Main Characters:
Max is a 19-year-old college student who is ready to come out to his parents. He's messed around with guys in the past--in a "we're drunk and no women are around" sort of way--and he's ready now to admit to the world that he wants something more meaningful. To help him in his coming out, he enlists the aid of his late older brother's friend Daniel... or so we're told. In actuality, he comes across as manipulative and bratty, using the situation to seduce Daniel. The way he went about his manipulation made me rather dislike him, in truth.

Daniel is older (though it's never clarified just how much), working as an ER tech after leaving the military due to an encounter with a land mine that left him with a critical injury to one leg. He doesn't believe that he's good for anyone now and pushes people away when they threaten to get close. He cuts a fairly pathetic figure, actually. I liked him in general more than Max, though there were moments of behavior that made me want to smack him.

Chemistry:
Max and Daniel are an interesting couple, even if I do find the way they get together (Max's aforementioned manipulation) to be unappealing. Max has had a crush on Daniel for years and runs with it, while Daniel struggles to equate the 12-year-old he remembers with the college student trying to get into his pants. Their sexual dynamic is also interesting, if it sometimes makes me frown; I'll just be getting into the scene and actually buying into the characters, and then Daniel calls Max "boy" and my distaste skyrockets. Not what I look for.

There were also a few actions that I couldn't buy into, including the first blowjob. Seriously. They're sitting in a restaurant, Max drops his knife, and suddenly decides that while he's down there he just has to get his mouth on Daniel's cock? It was so absurd that I had to reread it to make sure that it wasn't just a fantasy.

Secondary Characters:
The secondary characters are few in number--not surprising given the length of the story. The most important one for much of the story is actually Max's late brother, Matt, despite not actually being present and dwelling in the spaces between. It worked for him and for Max and Daniel.

Story:
The bulk of the story is Max's seduction of Daniel and the sex that results, though there is an event later in the story that leads to the resolution that Max was purportedly originally going for. The event, however... While in a bar to celebrate Max's successful fucking of Daniel, they argue, Max starts to leave, then comes back to shove his tongue down Daniel's throat. As a result, when he starts to leave a second time, he's attacked by three locals, out of whom Daniel promptly beats the shit. It just seemed gratuitous, like an awkward contrivance to bring them together with Max's parents for the big revelation.

Writing:
The writing was mostly solid, a few errors here and there but nothing terrible. Something seemed to be missing, though; I was never wowed by a turn of phrase. Competent, but not really anything special for me.

Overall:
Characters I never quite came to like and motivations behind the story that I found distasteful meant that I just couldn't get behind this. Those who mind manipulation less may find more here, but it's unfortunately just not the book for me.

Review: Faith & Fidelity

Title: Faith & Fidelity
Series: Faith, Love & Devotion
Author: Tere Michaels
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 23 September 2008
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 229 pages

Rating: 2 out of 5

Blurb:
New York City Vice Detective Evan Cerelli has lost his wife, the only person he ever loved and slept with. He's trying to get on with his life, build a life for his children. Former Homicide Detective Matt Haight is a ladies' man, all sex/no commitment. He's depressed, having a midlife crisis, and not sure where his life is headed.

The two find friendship in the bottom of a shared bottle. When the friendship turns to love, it shakes two straight men to the core and flips their lives inside out. Kids, families, careers that are not gay-friendly -- can all the love in the world overcome the obstacles to faith and fidelity?

Review:

Main Characters:
Evan is an officer with the NYPD, working in Vice. He lost his wife, Sherri, to an accident, and has been struggling since then to pull himself together to raise their four children. He's never had romantic thoughts about anyone but his wife--much less another man--and doesn't know what to make of it when attraction blooms between him and Matt. He's a mire of doubt and self-flagellation, and doesn't know how to go about helping himself. I found him hard to relate to; although his grief was palpable and well-done, it was also almost entirely who he was for the vast majority of the story.

Matt is a former Homicide detective, drummed out of the force after taking down a crooked cop and working now in private security. He's on a downward slide; he's alone and lonely, and the drinking he uses to cope with his life is beginning to take its toll. Although he does cut a rather pathetic figure, at least in the beginning, I found him much easier to invest in. I wouldn't say necessarily that I like him, but I at least didn't want to shake him as often as I did Evan.

Chemistry:
Evan and Matt begin as friends, bonding over each having lost their purpose for living--Evan lost Sherri, while Matt lost his position with the NYPD. It develops fairly quickly into attraction on Matt's part, lingers as one-sided for a short while, then bursts into a shared passion during a night of comfort. I wish the friendship had lingered longer, actually, as once they both recognized and acknowledged the attraction, things moved very quickly, almost too much so for my tastes.

Although they are attracted to each other, there is not a lot of sexual contact in this book; it focuses more on their growth as a couple, rather than their heat between the sheets. In fact, they never actually have penetrative sex. Handjobs, blowjobs, and frottage all make an appearance, but they never actually have intercourse. It's a surprising change, and actually rather refreshing. That being said: some of the situations in which they have sex throw me. The downstairs couch plays a big part in many of their sexual encounters, sometimes when the kids are asleep upstairs. If I were them, I'd be constantly on edge, waiting for someone to come downstairs (as kids are wont to do) and catch me in a compromising situation. I just couldn't believe that a man who cared so much about his children would leave such a chance open.

Secondary Characters:
There is a large supporting cast, mostly on Evan's side. Although large, they're never quite overwhelming and mostly well-drawn, though the motivations of some are questionable. (Sherri's parents elude and frustrate me. They apparently blame Evan for not only killing Sherri, but for taking her away in the first place. Don't people usually leave their parents' home when they marry? Why bear such a large grudge that they actually try to keep his children from him? It doesn't make sense.) The kids were the high points, although I also rather liked Vic and Helena.

Story:
The bulk of the story is Evan working through his grief. There is a lot of dwelling upon Sherri and their life together. A lot. Things come to a head after Evan is injured in the line of duty, leaving Evan and Matt to deal with the fallout of Evan's latest crisis. The events are a logical, appealing progression, but the pacing is frequently dragged down by the focus on Evan's all-consuming grief.

There doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of closure in this story. There are a number of threads left loose, and the ending is rather abrupt. The third book in the series apparently revisits Evan and Matt, which hopefully means that those issues left unaddressed with be resolved, but at least a little more tidying up at the end of this book couldn't have hurt.

Writing:
The writing was perhaps the weakest point of the book. There are frequent errors--typos, grammatical errors, word substitutions or misspellings, even a couple of what appear to be Find and Replace errors. The author had trouble keeping straight some facts, ages in particular. (Miranda is 16 or 17 depending on the scene. Sherri is 34 when she dies and apparently the same age as Evan, but Evan is later referred to as "nearly 40". Matt is identified as 42, but later is described as approaching 45.) And the ellipses... God, the ellipses. Every conversation--sometimes every line of dialogue--is littered with ellipses. There are 832 ellipses in this book. That's a lot of ellipses.

There are also a lot of shifts in the point of view. Most of the time they're delineated by section breaks, but there are also switches within the same narrative. Sometimes those switches are even to secondary characters, which makes them particularly jarring.

Other Thoughts:
I read this as a PDF, and the formatting is all sorts of crazy. There's white space where there shouldn't be white space and line breaks and indents where there should be a continuous flow. I'd thought it might be due to something with my Kindle Fire (which has thrown funky formatting at me on other PDFs), but viewing it on my laptop has the same formatting errors. Until I got the hang of reading where there was supposed to be white space and where there wasn't, things were a bit confusing.

Another thing that bothers me is the set-up for the sequel: After Evan pushes Matt away, Matt mopes about and after a while ends up at a bar to get his drunk on and maybe pick up some tail. While there, he meets James, in town for an unknown reason (at least that I can recall). They bond over beer and broken hearts, and eventually end up going back to James's hotel room and getting freaky. Not only was it very transparent as a set-up for James's story, but the ease with which Matt fell into bed with James was kind of startling. I was half-expecting the story to end with Matt and James getting together, while Evan went on with his miserable life.

Overall:
Uneven pacing bogged down by angst and problematic writing made this a difficult book for me to like. Although the characters are interesting beneath their grief, a little more growth and a little less wallowing would have helped make this ultimately-unsatisfying story shine.

Review: Heart Doctor

Title: Heart Doctor
Series: City Hospital
Author: Drew Zachary
Publisher: Torquere Press
Publication Date: May 2009
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 132 pages

Rating: 2 out of 5

Blurb:
Drey Banerjee, head nurse on the cardiac floor at City Hospital, loves his job. He loves it even more when heart doctor Brady MacDonald joins the team. Brady is cute, good at his job, and also gay. Soon the two are flirting like crazy and Drey's showing Brady the ropes, the local diner, his bedroom...

Brady's got rules, though, about not dating his co-workers. Not to mention the hospital frowns on fraternization between employees who work the same floor. Where does that leave Drey and Brady when innocent flirting begins leading to much, much more? With a cast of secondary characters egging Drey and Brady on, Heart Doctor is a heartwarming and delightful tale of falling in love.

Review:

Main Characters:
Drey is out and proud, loving his job as head nurse in the cardiac floor at which Brady is a new arrival. He's half-Indian and loves to cook... and that's about the extent of what we know about him. He's sassy and upbeat, but in a rather generic way; there's nothing in particular that makes him stand out as anything but half of an erotic equation.

Brady is equally difficult to get a hold on. Although he's initially more interested in circumspection than Drey, his rules quickly fly out the window. Beyond those rules and his relationships with Drey and, to a lesser extent, Eve, we're never really shown much about him. We know he likes to work out and doesn't cook, but we know nothing about his actual life--does he have friends? family? past lovers?--and that leaves him decidedly hollow, a vehicle for smut and not much else.

Chemistry:
Drey and Brady spend the vast majority of the book having sex in one form or another, but I never really felt drawn into it. Their lack of individual personalities made the depicted sex kind of sterile to me, like watching digital wire models going at it, unfinished and unsatisfying. I would've been much happier to have some character development to go with the smut, as the lack of it is definitely noticeable.

Secondary Characters:
Honestly, I strongly disliked most of the supporting cast. They were limited primarily to women--Brady's neighbor/friend Eve, the other nurses on Drey's floor--and the women were embarrassingly unrelenting fag hags. The nurses ran pools around Brady and Drey's relationship and took notes when pressing Drey for intimate details, then shot sly looks at Brady whenever they saw him. (This bothers me for another reason entirely, too: we're told that Drey is head nurse, which is a position of some authority. How can his authority be believed at all when we're never shown that the other nurses feel even a hint of respect for him? Friendship I could buy, if a particularly haggy friendship, but respect? No.) Eve pressed for details and, from the sound of it, listened avidly and shamelessly when Brady had Drey over for Chinese and loud sex. Some variety in the secondary characters and less of the fag hag stereotype would've helped my enjoyment quite a bit.

Story:
This is a book in which not a lot happens. They meet, they have sex, they move in together, the end. Things that might have been conflicts (the aforementioned fraternization being revealed) were neatly nipped in the bud, addressed quickly and forgotten. I get that conflict distracts from the sex, but a little more distraction couldn't have hurt.

Writing:
I was unfortunately not terribly impressed technically. The writing tended toward awkward, with conversations going on in parallel threads that were all too-neatly addressed in response. Some things were inserted for, I'm guessing, the sake of being cute, but where they were inserted didn't always make sense. (For example, while looking at an apartment, the manager has to leave Brady and Drey to attend to a matter. Brady tells him that the manager can trust him, he's a doctor. I get where the author was trying to go, but I don't think the situation was one where the destination was a possibility.) There's a lot of awkward phrasing, too, which makes the characters sound a lot younger than they're supposed to be (I still can't buy Brady as mid-30s), and a fair number of typographical errors.

Other Thoughts:
In addition to being a stereotype, Eve as a concept and as a character pushed a number of my other dislike buttons. First, she met Brady when he'd moved in next door to her, about a week before the story picks up... and the first conversation we're shown with her is Brady going on about how hot Drey is, in detail. I can't believe that anyone would share that much information with someone who is at best an acquaintance at that point. She also tends to come up with nicknames that strike me as intended to be cute and that come across as rather more insulting: Gay Drey and Drey the Fey and the Screamer. Way to trivialize a guy.

Overall:
Weak characterization and a lack of plot left me cold. Developing the main characters more, working in some secondary characters that weren't unrelenting stereotypes, and adding a touch of conflict could only have helped make this a more appealing story. Instead, it's a flat story with too much sex and not enough of anything else.

Review: Mongrel

Title: Mongrel
Author: K.Z. Snow
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 8 December 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 202 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5

Blurb:
Hunzinger's Mechanical Circus, a rollicking seaside carnival where imagination meets machinery, shines as the only bright spot in the dreary city of Purinton. A shadow is cast there one day when a tall, cloaked figure approaches the stand of Will Marchman, a young patent-medicine salesman. Fanule Perfidor, commonly known as the Dog King, isn't welcome at the Circus. No resident of Taintwell is; they're all Branded Mongrels, officially shunned. But Will is beguiled by the stunning, mysterious Perfidor. Their mutual wariness soon gives way to desire, and a bond forms.

Soon the naive but plucky pitchman becomes embroiled in a dangerous quest. Fanule suspects Alphonse Hunzinger and Purinton's civic leaders are responsible for the disappearance or incarceration of countless Branded Mongrels. But why? As Will's passion and regard for his tormented lover grow, he's determined to help Fanule get answers and prevent any further persecution... or worse. They just have to stay together—and stay alive long enough—to see their plan through.

Review:

Main Characters:
Will is a young man with no one in the world. After the death of his parents, he was raised by his uncle, a patent-medicine salesman. Upon his uncle's death, he took over the business and found a place at Hunzinger's Mechanical Circus, where he sells the Dr. Bolt's Bloodroot Elixir that the circus's owner endorses. He's also a twor--a man who prefers the company of other men. Although he lacks experience, he's not without gumption, and once he's set on a path he doesn't hesitate. He's a refreshing character, with an appealing blend of naïveté and determination.

Fanule--Fan--is the Eminence of Taintwell, leader of the village in which mongrels--people who are part human and part... other--live. He tends toward arrogance, though it's not unfounded, and making his own rules. He's determined to help his people despite frequently being unable to help himself, as he suffers from a debilitating mental illness that leaves him reliant on a powdered treatment to maintain an even keel. He also has a vulnerable side that comes out primarily around Will, with a tenderness that comes initially as quite a surprise.

Chemistry:
The first time Will and Fan meet sparks intrigue in both--Will has never before met a mongrel, and Fan is perfectly willing to nurture his initial attraction. The second time they meet is explosive, with conversation turning quickly into kisses that lead to a hotel room and eager lovemaking. From there it's easy--perhaps a bit too easy, but only a bit--for them to fall from lust to love. They're a touching couple, balancing each other well and giving each other something to cling to.

Secondary Characters:
I loved many of the secondary characters, Lizabetta and Clancy Marrowbone in particular. Although I was initially prepared to dislike him, I also came to like Simon, particularly once it became apparent that the other shoe I was waiting to drop wasn't going to. My only real complaint with characters is that the motivations of the antagonists was never really revealed; what they did was apparent, but I never came to understand the why of it.

Story:
The story follows Fan and Will as they unravel the mystery behind mongrel arrests and disappearances, and how they're linked to Hunzinger's Mechanical Circus. It's unwrapped a bit at a time in perfect little chunks, woven well into the growing relationship between Fan and Will. It never lagged for me, moving along in a smooth flow from beginning to end. I could've done with a little bit more world-building--we learn very little of the city of Purinton and the village of Taintwell, and nothing of areas outside--but what there was was certainly enough to set the scene.

Writing:
The writing was an absolute delight, lush and evocative, and reading it felt sometimes as hedonistic as sinking into a milk bath sprinkled with rose petals. Will and Fan each had their voice represented, and each had a tone that made it easy to distinguish to whom the current point of view belonged.

Other Thoughts:
This is one of the first times I've seen bipolar disorder depicted in the genre, and I was thrilled to find it extremely well done. Fan is rapid-cycling, very nearly ultradian rapid-cycling, which in his case makes the slide from mania to depression and back again frequent enough to be almost crippling. I also loved Will's reaction to it; knowing when to soothe and when to leave him alone was the perfect response.

Overall:
Distinct characters and an engaging story are only bolstered by smooth writing and an intriguing, if not quite fully-fleshed, world. Reading it was a pleasure, one that I look forward to experiencing again.

Review: Daybreak

Title: Daybreak
Series: Eight Nights
Author: Keira Andrews
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 16 December 2008
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 135 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Lucas and Nate enjoyed eight steamy nights of forbidden romance last year at Hanukkah. Now after months of long-distance dating, they're living in their own apartment in Greenwich Village and beginning a new life together. Lucas hates lying to Nate's family about the true nature of their relationship, but being with Nate is worth it.

They revel in having a private place to explore their relationship -- and every inch of each other -- but Nate and Lucas soon discover that living together isn't always perfect. When an unexpected betrayal shatters their tentative happiness, they struggle to find their way back together as the holidays approach once more. As their first magical nights together become a distant memory, can Lucas and Nate's relationship survive the break of day?

Review:

Main Characters:
Lucas has grown up a bit since Eight Nights, transferring to NYU and finding a studio apartment to share with Nate. He does, however, still have a lot of growing up left to do, and a series of his bad decisions drive much of the story. It's interesting to see him growing into his possibilities.

Nate, on the other hand, still seems stuck where Eight Nights left him; despite spending the summer in Europe with his parents, he's no closer to telling them of either his orientation or his change in major. He's developed a jealous streak that is actually rather charming (most of the time), but he's also gotten prickly to the point that I sometimes found myself wondering what Lucas saw in him.

Chemistry:
Although the story begins with their living together, the sense that they didn't know each other was pervasive. They had sex--plenty of sex--and got on quite well in that aspect, but found themselves butting heads in other aspects of their lives. As events played out and they were separated, I wondered if it would even be for the best for them to get back together. That being said, they're still an attractive couple, just a very immature one, both with plenty of room left to find themselves.

Secondary Characters:
There is a large supporting cast, though they rotate through fairly quickly so that the numbers are never overwhelming. Some drove me nuts--I wish Casey hadn't played out the way he did--but others were surprisingly enjoyable; I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Nate's father or Sam. The secondary characters were breathed with just enough life to make them interesting without dragging the focus away from where it belonged, with Lucas and Nate.

Story:
As I'd mentioned, a large force in the story is Lucas's bad decisions, though they're not the only key points. Although some of the critical events, whether through Lucas's actions or an outside influence, came as a surprise, none of them struck me as gratuitous. My biggest complaint is the pat ending, when a particular player completely reverses a stance they'd taken regarding Lucas and Nate just in time for family sap; it seemed a little forced, and I'd rather have seen a more natural progression to resolution, rather than a switch being flipped.

Writing:
I enjoyed the writing in this book rather more than that of Eight Nights, though that may be simply because the author had rather more time to hit their stride. The balance of showing and telling was still excellent, and the dialogue was strong.

Overall:
Interesting (if sometimes frustrating) characters and a well-crafted story make this an easy book to like. Although the ending was a bit of a letdown, the rest of the story was charming enough to bear up through the stumble. I'm only sorry that we don't get to find out more about how Lucas and Nate grow into themselves.

Review: Beneath the Shield

Title: Beneath the Shield
Author: Diana DeRicci
Publisher: MLR Press
Publication Date: February 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 106 pages

Rating: 3 out of 5

Blurb:
Jack Torres has been harboring, zealously nurturing a hidden guilt for three years. This mire of emotions has hardened his heart and his want to reconnect to the living world, keeping him isolated and unapproachable.

Brant Teller is a chance encounter Jack keeps from growing physically violent in a crowded nightclub. Parting ways, Brant doesn't expect to see the brooding, silent officer again. Yet when a domestic violence call brings the surly officer right to his ER, Brant takes a chance. What begins as a Sunday of football has the possibility to become so much more. If Jack will open himself up enough to release the agony of his own personal nightmare.

Review:

Main Characters:
Brant is an ER doctor with a third degree black belt, a man who is used to taking care of himself. He's understanding to a fault but has no problem saying 'no' when the situation warrants it, and doesn't give up easily. He's an interesting, likable character, but somehow too good to be true when taken as a whole, which made it hard for me to invest in him.

Jack is a former DEA agent turned cop after the death of his partner and lover, Leo. He's closed himself off from the world, nursing his pain in silence with only his cousin Trevi for company--and even that is accepted only grudgingly. So much of his characterization is tied in to his psychological solitary confinement that it was difficult for me to get a hold on who he was otherwise. The flashes of him as a person outside of his pain are appealing, but they're also few and far between for the bulk of the book.

Chemistry:
Brant and Jack's relationship begins with a mutual attraction after Jack rescues Brant from a confrontation with an ex, though neither act upon it for some time as Jack is in denial. Brant's early insistence that Jack could at least have a friend was touching, and the way that they developed their relationship into a romance was sweet, even if my eyebrows lifted over how much (or, rather, how little) time it took for "Just keep me warm," to turn into "I'm seducing you." The sex was well-done, but it went on forever; by the end of their first encounter, I was skimming. (Thankfully, follow-ups weren't anywhere near as drawn-out.) I did greatly appreciate the fact that both Brant and Jack considered themselves reversibles, though; a lack of strictly defined roles opens up so very many possibilities.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast is small and, honestly, I'm conflicted by it. I enjoyed Janet (a nurse in the ER) in her brief scenes, but Trevi put me off; although he's 24, he came off as a bouncy teenager to me. Ryan (Brant's ex) was a handy impetus to bring Brant and Jack together, but it was never really shown why he was so fixated on Brant; a little more backstory might have helped me see him as something other than a cartoon villain.

Story:
The story is woven between Brant's determination to develop a relationship with Jack and Jack's desire to remain alone and mired in guilt over Leo's death. It moves along fairly well, although it is bogged down periodically by Jack's moping; it's much more even when Brant is the narrator. Once they work past Jack's angst, things seemed a bit rushed; the length of time from their first meeting to lifelong commitment struck me as just way too short to be believable.

Writing:
Although pleasant, there were quirks in the writing that distracted me fairly often. Comma usage is inconsistent, so that I found myself repunctuating as I read. Some word choices threw me (e.g. Brant's tongue shaking hands with Jack's cock) and the order of some phrasing seemed reversed to me, which lessened the impact. On the other hand, there were choices that made me smile, like Brant's wallowing like a happy pig in the mushy feeling Jack instilled in him. There were typos here and there, but nothing truly egregious.

Other Thoughts:
Brant's understanding stretched the bounds of belief at times, but there was one part that sucked me into their relationship: Jack is questioning his worth and insisting that he's a bad person who can't even stand to look at himself, and Brant tells him, "[...] learn to trust in what I see, Jack." It made me actually say 'awh'.

On the other hand, there's the balls-punching scene. Frustrated with his attraction to Brant and the erection resulting from it, Jack nails himself in the crotch. I had to reread the scene to convince myself that it was an actual event, and not something Jack was dealing with in his head. I'm still a bit baffled by the reaction.

Overall:
By turns sweet and confounding, I'm torn on this book. Although it was an appealing story, flaws kept me from being fully engaged and invested in Brant and Jack's relationship. A bit more development and a bit less moping would've helped my enjoyment, but it was still a nice little story to pass some time with.