Review: Dark Chocolate and Raspberries

Title: Dark Chocolate and Raspberries
Author: Sui Lynn
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Publication Date: 23 April 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 62,515 words

Blurb:
18-year-old Dylan's talent for music almost equals his diva mentality. A spoiled rich kid, Dylan enjoys pushing people around. Or does he? When Taj is charged with taking Dylan under his wing, he discovers the shy boy behind the diva mask.

But Dylan walks in on Taj kissing Ben, their budding feelings may not be able to withstand the blow. Stunned, Dylan runs from the room. Taj gives chase, trying to catch him to tell him the kiss he saw was the result of a game played in the dorm called 'Raspberries'. Will their love blossom into kisses, drown in drunken chocolates, or erupt in raucous raspberries in Dark Chocolate and Raspberries?


Rating: 2 out of 5


Review:

Main Characters:
Dylan is a young man fresh out of high school, fleeing a less-than-ideal home life to attend Trinity University, where he'll be able to focus on his singing. He maintains a diva personality, looking down on anyone who's not at his level and pushing away everyone else, to mask his personal pain, trapped with a mentally ill mother and estranged father. He's also not gay, or so he says.

As a character, I just could not connect to him; I spent much of the book actively hating him. His diva personality is inconsistent and often silly, and his level of obsession with Taj makes me think that his mother isn't the only mentally ill one in the family; there's a point in the story at which he becomes so jealous of girls flirting with an uninterested Taj that he vomits--a little extreme to me, and certainly not healthy behavior.

Taj is a bit older and better balanced. He performs with various choir groups, helps out in different aspects of university, and has a tight circle of friends. He's apparently dated before, though nothing of his past boyfriends ever comes out. Although he's better balanced emotionally, his character is still inconsistent--he very rarely acts his age, coming across as much to mature to be believable. At the story's climax, Taj rides to the rescue when Dylan is trapped into taking care of his unstable mother. He drags Dylan away from his mother as she's abusing him, then dials a psychiatrist (presumably, as her actual job description is never revealed) he just so happens to know who just so happens to work in the psychiatric unit of the nearby hospital. How does he know this woman? Why should he need to call her before he calls 911 when the first responders are perfectly capable of notifying the hospital prior to their arrival that they have a psychiatric case and there's no guarantee that she would be staffing the unit at the time? Further, he seems awfully knowledgeable about admittance procedures for mentally ill patients, especially violent ones who are forcibly committed. It's rather different than his taking a depressed friend for treatment, and the overlap isn't enough to explain his knowledge. To add to my suspension of disbelief, he also all but blackmails Dylan's father (despite his disclaimer that it's not blackmail) into leaving Dylan alone. Altogether, it was just way too much for me.

Chemistry:
The attraction between Dylan and Taj goes from zero to sixty in a very short span of time. There's almost no tension for a good portion of the beginning, and suddenly Taj is desperate to kiss Dylan while Dylan has erotic dreams of Taj. The lack of lead-up made their getting together a bit jarring, and their obsession with each other even more so.

The level of obsession is what honestly put me off the most. Taj is worried that Dylan will be jealous that Taj is leaving their make-out session to be with another man, when what he's doing is taking the other man to the hospital. Dylan, fully aware that Taj has other responsibilities one day, is determined to have a shit day because Taj isn't there with him. It escalates ridiculously.

And then there's the testing. As soon as Taj and Dylan identify as a couple, Taj is insistent that they both get tested before they have sex (or even come together, apparently). Okay--a little weird, but okay. Later, it comes out that Taj has been intimate with other men and worn a condom. My question became: why is it okay for Taj to wear a condom with other men but require testing before he can so much as cop a feel with Dylan? I was further baffled when Taj and Dylan got a hotel room after submitting the blood for testing--why couldn't they do that before, if they didn't have results anyway?--and when they planned to use a condom after the testing. Wasn't the whole point of the testing to establish their lack of need for a condom? It's not like Dylan's going to get pregnant. The extreme emphasis of the testing and the contradictory behaviors when it came to sex became rather aggravating after a while.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast was nearly as frustrating as Dylan and Taj, full of caricatures without much substance. Dylan's parents in particular fall short of what they could have been; his father was reduced to a manipulative, blustering asshole, while his mother became an insane whore. Although the characterizations made sense in concept, there just wasn't anything there to flesh them out, to make their behaviors believable as functional human beings. I also found Paul to be downright annoying--again, a caricature with nothing behind him to make his mannerisms anything but stereotypically queeny and almost offensive.

Story:
The characters were unfortunately not the only weakness; the story showed its cracks, too. It's disjointed and jerky, with the climax having very little to do with the rest of the story leading up to it. Just a little bit of foreshadowing couldn't have hurt.

The reactions of some characters also don't necessarily make sense. To convince Dylan to take care of his mother, Dylan's father threatens to expose Dylan's relationship with his mother to the world. Given that Dylan's father's concern is his own reputation, I fail to see how making the world aware that he let his wife abuse their son for years after abandoning them both would further his cause. I also don't understand Dylan's reaction. I can understand the shame aspect--who wants the world to know that they've been a victim for most of their life? But why on earth would being the victim of abuse ruin any career he might have?

For a story that focused so much on Dylan and Taj being musicians, too, the music fell by the wayside awfully quickly. Before they get together, there's plenty of mention of Dylan singing, or Taj's groups. Later, there's an offhand mention of them singing together in choir, but no further mention of anything else choir-related. It seemed lax.

Writing:
Commas, commas everywhere, but not a pause to need. I'm a comma queen, and even I found the usage of commas to be excessive here. Commas frequently combined sentences; what should have been two or three sentences is spliced into one awkward sentence. For example: He smiled to himself, the aloof attitude Dylan exuded when people were near had a firm hold, but despite Taj telling him he was gay, Dylan had let him in when they were alone.

Even without the comma issues, I found the writing to be a bit disjointed.

Dylan couldn't help becoming irritated. He wanted the girls to leave them alone. Taj belonged to him. Dylan glared at the two babbling girls and his ire increased, but they ignored him. Their incessant drivel rubbed Dylan's nerves raw. Taj chatted politely for a while, but seemed to sense Dylan's growing discomfort and soon tried to end the conversation.

The reiteration and repetition is prevalent throughout, and the style is just not one that corresponds with my tastes at all.

There are also quite a few errors in general: missing punctuation, missing possessives, incorrect verb tenses, words that should have been deleted but weren't. Some proper nouns are also used improperly which, while not a big deal, didn't improve my opinion. (The two that really stuck out for me were Xbox (not X-box) and HIPPA (not Hippa).)

Other Thoughts:
One thing that threw me early on is a line of Taj's in which he proclaims that he thinks that words like gay and homosexual are just words people use to hurt other people. I can't pin down why it bothers me. It just seems so contrived, I think.

Overall:
In the end, it took me two weeks to read this book simply because I grew increasingly frustrated as I read, to the point that I'd have to put it down and walk away or abandon it entirely. If you don't mind obsessive characters and uneven storytelling, this might be the book for you. For me, there's just not enough of a happy medium to endear it to me.

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: 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: American Love Songs

Title: American Love Songs
Author: Ashlyn Kane
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 31 December 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 251 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Jake Brenner has too many wild oats to sow to fall in love—or so he claims. Besides, he's much too busy with his band, the Wayward Sons, to go looking for romance. His reticence has nothing to do with his embarrassing crush on Chris, the band's lead singer and Jake's erstwhile best friend. But that was before enigmatic wanderer Parker McAvoy signed on as the band's new lead guitarist.

He can only deny his attraction to sweet, dorky Parker for so long before the urge to do something about it becomes impossible to ignore. The trouble is, Parker knows all about Jake's philandering ways—and oh, yeah, he's not gay. Or so Jake thinks until a string of related events provides encouraging new insight. Can he convince Parker to overlook his colorful past and give him a chance? Or will this love song fade out before it even begins?

Review:

Main Characters:
Jake is an easygoing guy, the mediator of his band of friends--and his friends in the band. He's a college dropout who hasn't looked back since he made the decision to pursue a career in music, a bit of a player, and completely oblivious to certain aspects of himself. He's a great, fun character, and one I came to adore as the story progressed.

Parker is much quieter and far more reserved, suffering from occasionally-crippling shyness. He is a musical genius with a gift for songwriting to go with his talents with instruments, and keeps secrets about his past close to his chest. He's downright adorable in his insecurities, and it's easy to root for him, especially as his past begins to come out.

Chemistry:
For much of the story, Jake and Parker are friends with no real inkling that they could be anything more. Their friendship is frankly sweet; I love the scene where Parker is dragged into bed by a sick Jake to play bedwarmer. Once they begin to recognize their attraction and act on it, though, things definitely sizzle. It's a slow progression, but a very appealing one; I found myself holding my breath each time they kissed, wondering if it would be that time they'd be carried away by it.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast is fairly large, including their bandmates, support staff, families, and other incidentals, but most are so well drawn that they're easy to keep track of despite the quantity. Several are stellar--I particularly liked Allanna and Mickey.

Story:
The story follows not only the development of Jake and Parker's relationship, but also the rise of their band from local notoriety to international glory. It was generally well-paced and engaging, but I found it lagged a little by the time Jake and Parker really started heating up; I found my attention wandering more than once toward the end.

Writing:
The writing was lovely, with engaging dialogue and lively prose. The prose was interspersed with occasional blog posts, which was interesting, and also sported the occasional footnote, for commentary by the characters.

Although I enjoyed the writing, the premise did throw me a little. It was presented as a story told to the fans, into which the blog posts and footnotes fit, but some of the things included that made sense in a traditional format didn't make sense as it was presented; would Parker really be comfortable with an account of him coming in his jeans being presented to the fans when he has to go onstage sans glasses to help control his nerves? I just couldn't quite equate the two.

Overall:
Likable characters and a fun story made this a pleasure to read. Although the premise still throws me, if you can move beyond that you'll certainly find plenty to like. I only wish it were possible to see more of Jake and Parker's growth together.

Review: One Wild Wish

Title: One Wild Wish
Series: One Wish
Author: Devon Rhodes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 1 June 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 72 pages

Rating: 3 out of 5

Review: The gig Rory's band, One Wish, scores at a remote mountain retreat sounds too good to be true, even with the weird conditions in the contract--like the one stating that everyone must be in a committed relationship. Faking it with his bandmate and longtime friend-with-benefits Benny, Rory isn't quite prepared for Jared, but neither is Jared for Rory. The heat between them threatens to overcome the act with Benny, especially when Rory's ex arrives on the scene and Jared's nephew goes missing. Will they be able to wrest some semblance of control or will they let their base instincts take over?

Rory is the frontman for the band One Wish, along with his friend Benny. He's attractive and charismatic, enough to take the band far. He's also dealing with the fallout of the bad end of his relationship with his ex, Richard. He's never very well developed, unfortunately, but he's likable enough that that doesn't really matter too much.

Jared is an alpha shapeshifter, watching over other alphas as they come of age, the celebration of which brings One Wish to his home. He's controlled and protective of his nephew Curtis, one of the celebrants, but not immune to puppy eyes and cajoling. He's also a bit underdeveloped, but still an appealing character.

As a couple, Rory and Jared an interesting complement. The tension between them is lovely, conflicting with the fiction of Rory's relationship with Benny, which gives Jared plenty of opportunities for jealous posturing. It's a slow burn that is unfortunately a bit rushed in the end; certain aspects that develop following the consummation of their relationship are accepted a little too quickly to be believable. Still, they're an attractive couple that fits well together.

The supporting cast has its strengths and weaknesses. Benny and Curtis are appealing enough (and have their own sequel) but the other members of One Wish annoyed me a little in their brief appearances. Richard was a cardboard villain who could have used a little more development, though he served his purpose well enough.

The story itself needed to be longer, I think. Although the pieces fit well together, certain portions--particularly the ending--were very rushed and a bit of a letdown because of that. It was still a pleasant story, just abrupt. It featured both Rory and Jared's points of view, but the breaks were well broken by chapter or section, without random head-hopping. The writing itself was also enjoyable, with solid editing.

Although both story and characters could have used a bit of expansion, this was still a pleasant diversion. I certainly look forward to picking up the sequel and revisiting this world.

Review: Blue Notes

Title: Blue Notes
Author: Shira Anthony
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 30 December 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 227 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review: Jason just needs a break from it all after coming home one night to find his fiancée in bed with another man. Paris in winter isn't most people's idea of a break, but there's nowhere else Jason would rather go. Visiting a club one night, he's pleasantly surprised by the modern jazz played there--and the jazz trio's violin player, Jules. A chance meeting becomes a whirlwind romance, until Jason can't imagine leaving Jules behind when he returns to the States. They both have ghosts, though, and their own troubled pasts. Will they be able to move beyond what they were and become all that they can be?

Jason is too good to be true--a gifted lawyer who by his own admission makes more money than he can spend, a talented pianist with perfect pitch, and a faithful friend, brother, and lover. He's open-minded, intelligent, attractive to a fault, dedicated and willing to do anything to help someone he cares for. He does have some demons, but those are such that his daily life can easily go on without their being an issue; it's not until he's met Jules that they start coming out again. His perfection isn't necessarily a detriment, just requiring a bit more suspension of disbelief.

Jules is far more immediately conflicted. He has a family nightmare to deal with, irregular gigs to earn money, and a decided lack of housing options. Despite that, he's charmingly optimistic and grateful for what he does have. He's sweet and supportive when Jason needs him to be, as well. Still shaded a bit unbelievable, but appealing nonetheless.

Jason and Jules are adorable together. Although he'd never been attracted to a man before, Jason is quick to fall in lust with Jules, with love not far behind. The sex is just infrequent and varied enough to stay hot without becoming overwhelming, interesting throughout. They also balance each other well, despite Jason's tendency to take over.

The supporting cast is fun, the high point being Jason's sister, Rosie. I would've liked to have gotten to know Henri and David better, but that would've been a bonus, not a requirement.

The story is mostly told from Jason's point-of-view and moves along well. My main complaint is the occasional third-person omniscient point-of-view; it's not constant, just cropping up here and there, which almost makes it more confusing. The writing is otherwise tight and lovely, though, and makes it easy to be sucked in.

Okay, one other quibble: the quasi-epilogue didn't make much sense to me. Although the ending is apparent much earlier in the story, the logistics of it when it actually happened just weren't there for me. Just a little bit more expansion on it wouldn't have been a bad thing.

Although the head-hopping did throw me periodically, the appealing characters and well-paced plot kept me engaged. I enjoyed my time spent with Jason and Jules, and look forward to revisiting their world.

Review: Squire

Title: Squire
Series: Indigo Knights
Author: Jet Mykles
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 7 September 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 165 pages

Rating: 3 out of 5

Review: Rabin's looking to reinvent his band, Indigo Knights, when he arrives in Chicago. Working closely and living (temporarily) with Brent Rose, guitarist for the famous band Heaven Sent, things are looking up--especially when Rabin meets Izzy, Brent's cousin who is also sharing his house. Although Rabin isn't interested in men, there's something between him and Izzy that he just can't ignore, and it's not long before they're heating the sheets. Things are fine with their secret relationship until Rabin receives an offer that will take him half a continent away from Chicago--and from Izzy. It's his musical dream or Izzy, but which will triumph in the end?

Rabin is a character from the Heaven Sent series, having appeared in Genesis. I never quite got around to reading that one, so I'm not sure how much development he had there, but it struck me that much of the original ground laying must have been done there, as his character came across as already established by the first few pages of this story. If you've read Genesis, great, but if you're ignorant of that or Heaven Sent as a whole, it's a bit of a detriment.

That being said, I do like Rabin as more of his character is explored. He's down-to-earth and open-minded, fairly easy-going but not a pushover, and excited by new opportunities. I enjoyed him tooling around with Brent as much as I enjoyed him fooling around with Izzy; it was pleasant to see the different facets of his personality.

Izzy was a bit more of a cliché, and I never really grasped him as much more than a fairy stereotype. He was likable enough, but I never really felt that he had his own personality, or at least not enough of one to make a huge impression. He's sweet and seductive, just a bit generic.

Together, Rabin and Izzy were comfortable. Despite Izzy being Rabin's first male lover, the relationship was surprisingly without drama, slipping easily from Izzy's harmless flirting to their spending nights hooking up in hotel rooms. There was never much tension, which is unfortunate in my book; everything was instant (or very nearly) gratification. Even the reactions surrounding their separation were low-key, when just a hint more conflict would have been nice.

Most of the conflict came from the supporting cast, in particular the other original members of Indigo Knights. Even then, aside from some musical squabbling, most of it came in the form of raging homophobia, so over-the-top given the mildness of every other thing in the story as to be a little ridiculous.

Personally, I was also a bit dismayed that Brent and Hell were the couple carried over from Heaven Sent; they're my least favorite couple, and Hell is my least favorite character overall. Fortunately, though they (Brent, in particular) are central to the story, the time spent with them (Hell, in particular) isn't great.

The story itself is pretty predictable, especially if you're familiar with the author, and as comfortable as the characters themselves. You might know exactly what's going to happen between points A and B, but that doesn't make the journey any less pleasant. It's also set up much like Heaven Sent, with sequels (not yet written as of this posting) for each of the band members, so there will be plenty more time to spend in their world.

Although it's nothing earth-shattering, this is still an enjoyable read, perfect to devour during a long soak in the tub (and just short enough that you may still even have some hot water left at the end of it). I look forward to the release of the sequels to see how Rabin and Izzy are doing.

Review: Adder

Title: Adder
Author: Ally Blue
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publication Date: 7 April 2009
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 141 pages

Rating: 2 out of 5

Review: Adder does not have good luck when it comes to drummers. After spectacularly firing the band's last one, bandmate Harpo suggests that they try Kalil, a high school friend. Adder agrees, but he has no way of knowing what other changes the new member of the band will bring. Will Adder and Kalil be able to remain true to themselves and their dreams without losing each other?

Adder is a larger-than-life up-and-coming rockstar with the personality and charisma to attain his goals. He has horrible fashion sense, green hair, a steel tooth, and a penchant for colorful condoms. He's also unrepentantly promiscuous, and quite used to getting what he wants. I can see him as a leading man... but I just never liked him. He was a bit too much for me, I think, as though every stereotype of a rockstar had been rolled into one overwhelming package. He vaguely annoyed me for the vast majority of the story, and just as I was starting to like him pulled a stupid stunt that made me roll my eyes and demote him again.

Kalil is a bit of a control freak with jealousy issues. He spends most of the story with a quietly simmering anger, which made him rather difficult to root for. When he wasn't angry, he was a mire of doubt and emotional extremes, which was enough to actually be draining.

The chemistry between Adder and Kalil went a long way toward making up for their failings as individuals. Although the relationship itself was spawned by the fact that Adder wanted to sleep with pretty much anything with a pulse, and evolved into mutual self-flagellation and does-he-doesn't-he, the sex was hot. The frequency was just enough to fit into the rockstar image, without completely shutting out the plot. To me, it got a little silly at the end, though, between Adder's aforementioned stunt and the epilogue.

The supporting cast was fairly small, but mostly appealing--Vi was my favorite, I think. They served their purposes well without fading too much into the background or taking over.

The story itself was mostly good, if limited by the personalities of Adder and Kalil. The plot moved along at a fairly steady clip, though it did have some repetitiveness or unnecessary dwelling upon certain points here and there. Aside from the relationship woes, things could have gone a little less smoothly--some points and resolutions were a little too pat--but, then, that would have distracted from the personal strife. Perhaps had it been a longer story, but ultimately not truly a terrible thing.

One thing that bothered me, though this is totally a personal thing, is that I cannot for the life of me recall or find the band's name. Even after skimming the book once I'd finished it, I couldn't locate it. I took to calling it Here for Your Pleasure. Maybe I just missed it, I don't know, but it seemed odd for there to be a number of other band names in the story without Adder's being readily apparent.

In the end, despite my dislike of and later apathy towards the main characters, this wasn't a bad story. For someone who enjoys extreme personalities, it might even be a good one. For myself, well, hot sex can only carry things so far.

Review: Conquest

Title: Conquest
Author: S.J. Frost
Publisher: MLR Press
Publication Date: October 2009
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 377 pages

Rating: 2 out of 5

Review: Jesse is ready to take his band, Conquest, to the top of the charts--he just needs a break. Evan had it all, only to disappear from the public eye in the midst of a wildly successful career. When Evan stumbles across Jesse performing in a Chicago club, neither knows where--or how far--their connection will take them.

Jesse ranges from adorable and sweet to egotistical and annoying. I found that I overall far preferred his private moments with Evan, when he wasn't showing off the size of his ego. He came across as almost too good to be true, being so talented and supportive and forthright and and and, but given that that is fairly normal for the genre I can't really judge him on that.

Evan is much the same as Jesse, only with more of a nougaty center of vulnerability. He's also got a temper that is at once entertaining and alarming, given his reactions to certain situations. Despite that, I have to admit to preferring him to Jesse overall.

The chemistry between Jesse and Evan was by turns sweet and hot, the sex frequent enough to be appealing without being so frequent that I skipped chunks of it. They played well off of each other and provided nice complements with just enough variety to be interesting.

The supporting cast is mostly good, if there are some weaknesses. Tim was a notable one, as was Trish, whose motivations I could never figure out, and who really just annoyed me most of the time. That being said:

I spent the first third of the book hating almost everyone but for Jesse and Evan. This wouldn't have been bad if it were only Tim, but I was hating characters I was supposed to like. Brandon came across as a sleazeball, Kenny as a homophobic douchebag. I had to actually walk away on the middle of a chapter for a couple of weeks before I could press on.

Things do improve in the second half, as characters get straightened out and events develop. Said events are fairly transparently contrived, so even with the angst it's apparent the ending will be happy.

The writing itself was a bit of a problem for me. Grammatical errors were rampant, as were typos. I'm still not sure what it means to be torquered, for one. There were enough errors to be notable; this definitely could have benefited from more and/or better editing. It also fell victim to some of the worst third-person omniscience that I've come across; not only did the point of view shift between Jesse and Evan, but secondary characters (Brandon in particular) also were mixed in, which made things very confusing sometimes.

The first time I put the story down, I didn't think I'd ever go back to it. In the end, I'm glad I did, as I did enjoy the later parts quite a bit, enough that I'll probably be looking to pick up the sequel(s). It certainly could have used more polishing, but there's definitely something shiny underneath the grime.

Review: With The Band

Title: With The Band
Author: L.A. Witt
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 22 March 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 250 pages

Rating: 3 out of 5

Review: Aaron is back home after his last band self-destructed, along with his relationship with Jason, its guitarist. Joining Schadenfreude, the band his brother and sister started with their friends, brothers Andre and Bastian, seems like the perfect opportunity--especially when the temperature between him and Bastian skyrockets. The only problem? The others will never approve of a relationship between band members. Add to the mix a psycho ex-girlfriend and a battle of the bands, and it's not so much a question of if things will fall apart as it is when.

Aaron is an appealing character, young and fresh. He's a fairly mild personality, with hints of mischievousness but never really stand-out in any direction. He's likable enough, just a bit underwhelming.

Bastian is even more mild, defined more by those that surround him than by himself. He's also likable enough, but still underwhelming.

Most of the cast, actually, is pretty middle-of-the-road. Even Denise (the psycho ex-girlfriend) is fairly vanilla, without any real development or surprises. They behave as you would expect them to behave and never really grow. This isn't to say that they're bad characters--I certainly enjoyed my time with them. There's just lots of things left to explore with them.

The chemistry between Aaron and Bastian is great, fraught with tension and heavy with anticipation. The build-up to their first kiss was awesome, and there's always the sense of heat between them, whatever the situation. I also particularly enjoy that they converse; the entire scene in the hospital made me smile, as too often the couple is too busy screwing around to actually, y'know, get to know each other. It's because of things like that that I could actually see them working as a couple, rather than fuckbuddies.

The story itself is fairly predictable for a band story, with a happy ending that I rather enjoyed. I can't shake the sense that nothing ever really happened, though. What drama there was was quickly resolved, and the conflict, despite the secrecy and issues, was minimal, mostly explored in exposition rather than events. This isn't to say that I didn't like the story as a whole--I did--but I still can't shake the feeling that there could have been a bit more in the way of plot.

I feel I'm doing a bit of a disservice, really, as I read this in fits and starts over the course of a week, but it never quite grabbed me enough for me to read it in a sitting. This may have lessened some of the impact, but I did still enjoy the time I spent with it. The characters were likable, the sex was hot--there are certainly worse ways to pass time.

Review: The Replacement Guitarist

Title: The Replacement Guitarist
Series: Replacement Guitarist
Author: Lori Toland
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 1 February 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 220 pages

Rating: 1 out of 5

Review: From the moment Blaze Shinozuka walks into his interview for the position of guitarist for pop princess Cassie, he can't deny the heat between him and Jason Stockton, Cassie's manager. It doesn't take long for the heat to ignite, and Blaze and Jason are engulfed in the inferno. Will they be able to overcome all that stands in the path toward happiness together, or will the strain of their careers tear them apart?

I wanted so badly to like this story, but it was just so clumsy. The pacing was uneven when it wasn't much too fast, and the constant POV shifts were confusing when they weren't downright annoying. Although there were often breaks for major POV shifts, other times the POV would change in the same paragraph. It was more than omniscient narration, which is a pet peeve of mine anyway.

The characters were remarkably uneven also. Jason, despite being an apparently powerful manager, is a mire of doubt and self-flagellation. The inferiority complex just didn't make sense, and when he confessed it to Blaze, I rolled my eyes hard enough to get a serious case of eye strain. Blaze, on the other hand, is a woman with a penis. They're both prone to womanly mood swings and emotions, for that matter, to the point that I couldn't take either seriously. I like my men to be men, not hysterical females. I also never got the impression that Blaze and Jason actually knew each other, outside of the carnal sense. They frequently professed their love for each other, but what was really between them, aside from sex?

The supporting cast was virtually non-existent, and shallow caricatures when they actually had more than a throwaway scene. Cassie was a raging bitch for no apparent reason, and I think only one other band member was mentioned, much less named. It made it difficult to get into the story's world.

The sex didn't make the story any more appealing. It is actually possible to have too much detail, to the point of being almost clinical. I also kept wondering how none of the other staff members figured out they were fucking, given how noisy they were in Jason's office. Doors do not equal sound-proof bubbles! Is it so difficult for them to show a little decorum, given their professed concerns of the others finding out? I realize that these things work differently in romance stories, particularly in the male/male genre where it seems like everyone's a screamer, but pondering it was enough to throw me out of the story way too often. Add to that the fact that they could barely go three pages without getting their hands on each other, and it was just too much for me.

By the way, did you know that 'mahu' is Hawaiian slang for 'gay'? Once more: 'mahu' is Hawaiian slang for 'gay'! And now that it's been specifically pointed out twice, it will never be mentioned again. The repeated emphasis of little throwaway factoids was the equivalent of name-dropping, and just as aggravating.

Honestly, a third of the way through, I had to put it down and walk away, because I was getting so terribly frustrated with it. The scene where Jason literally runs into Blaze at the airport and proceeds to have a conversation with him while lying on top of him on the floor was the straw that broke the camel's back. Normal people don't behave like that, and such abnormal behavior just makes it that much harder to invest in the characters.

I realize that I'm being harsh here, but this story honestly just pushed so many of my crap buttons that I can't help but feel almost betrayed, or foolish for spending money on it. I can't think of a single thing that stuck in my mind as redeeming. I don't think I can recommend anything but giving this one a pass.