What I Am Reading ~ L.M. Prieto & Jayson Taylor: Shadow Hunt
May 29, 2007
L.M. Prieto & Jason Taylor: Shadow Hunt
From: Loose-Id
Bastard son of the king and member of the magic-wielders Council, Peregrine the witch has a lot of power. He also has powerful rivals. When one summons a demon to kill him and destroy his line, he must find a way to stop him and gain the throne.
Bound to serve a powerful witch, the demon Winter wants to complete his mission, kill the one who bound him, and return home. The longer he hunts Peregrine, though, the more he comes to appreciate him.
Now Winter doesn’t want to kill Peregrine, and Peregrine finds himself drawn to the dangerous, seductive demon. With a mortal’s compassion, and a demon’s cunning, Peregrine entraps Winter more securely than his rival ever could.
What do other people say…
TCM Reviews
Elisa Rolle
My Book Cravings
Paranormal Romance Reviews
What I Am Reading ~ Sarah Black: The Lincoln County Wars
May 28, 2007
Sarah Black: The Lincoln County Wars
From: Loose-Id
The men of Lincoln County grow up strong and proud, their characters forged by tradition and the harsh and beautiful land of the High Lonesome. But gay isn’t part of the Cowboy Way.
Graham and Tommy have been together their whole lives, best friends, and lovers. But they live in Lincoln County, and the strain of keeping their relationship hidden was already beginning to tell on them when Tommy was called up to go to war. A year in Iraq, and Graham fears that time and distance have severed their connection. He’s not giving up, though; it’s not in his nature.
Tommy came back from the war changed, they all did. But Tommy Lathrop is the Sheriff of Lincoln County and that hasn’t changed. When vandalism targeting gays turns ugly, and a returning vet seems to be implicated, Tommy steps in. He’s determined to protect his lover, his platoon mates and all of Lincoln County — the life and people he loves. No matter the cost to himself.
Together, Graham and Tommy, their friends and family, will save Lincoln County, and in the process restore themselves.
I love the expression on this guys face. It just says “Who farted?” loud and clear. What is with his pose? One hand is scratching his balls and the other his butt. Maybe we caught these two at an awkward moment just before the blow job was to occur.
Tags: Gay, Loose-Id, Sarah Black, Western RomanceWhat I Am Reading ~ D.J. Manly: My Father’s Lover
May 15, 2007
D.J. Manly: My Father’s Lover
From: Loose-Id
Tags: D.J. Manly, Gay, Gay Romance, Loose-IdWhen a female impersonator and owner of drag club is murdered, his will specifies that his estranged son, Michael, will have to co-manage his club for a specific period of time, or forfeit his inheritance.
Anthony, the son of his heart, who he took in off the street, has always loathed Michael for rejecting his father’s advances. When Anthony learns Michael is coming for the will reading, his opinion of the man as a gold-digger is confirmed.
Michael, on the other hand, has no idea who Anthony is. One look at the gorgeous young man, and he assumes the worst. It’s no better when he learns that Anthony had been taken in by his father and his father’s late lover. Anthony can be nothing more than a manipulative whore, his father’s much younger lover.
The only thing hotter than their hatred is their lust. And Michael’s father has assured that they will have to work together.
Sienna Black: To Touch The Stars
May 15, 2007
To Touch The Stars by Sienna Black
From: Liquid Silver
The air around him cooled as Talkirk moved away. Lucan wondered whether the man really put out heat or if he imagined it, just a trick of the mind. That too would take some testing. Investigating.
His thoughts centered in his cock again. He thumped his head gently against the wall where he leaned. He had lived twenty Cycles. He’d proved himself adept, controlled. He could ignore any distraction and yet one touch from this coarse man and he could hardly think for wanting.
The staff clattered to the floor, somewhere across the room. Glass rasped against wood, then Talkirk poured something liquid. “Sit.”
Lucan shook his head. “Do you always give orders?”
There was a pause. Utter silence from the big man. Lucan could hear the sounds of the cairn outside in the quiet. Then Talkirk moved, settling down in front of him. “I’m Talkirk,” he answered. “I don’t have to ask.”
Lucan grinned. Another battle for another day. He straightened off the wall. “Then where would you like me to sit?”
“Here. With me.”
Straight ahead. Lucan stepped forward. Two paces, three, then his toe caught a riser and he stumbled forward. He caught his weight on his hands and knees, sinking into a thick mattress.
Talkirk was half a breath away. Lucan heard him inhale. Felt the rumble before he heard it. His pulse kicked up, beating hard at the base of his throat. Talkirk exhaled, hot against his cheek and asked, “When were you going to tell me you were blind?”
Sienna Black is not a well known author in M/M Romance but she should be, the few books I have read have amazed me in their quality and complexity of the characters and the worlds she creates. This new book To Touch The Stars from Liquid Silver Books is simply yet another example of her powers as a writer.
Lucan, a blind pureblood from The Warren, an underground society, wanders out of the waste to pledge his support to Talkirk Cymren leader of those surface dwellers who live in The Cairn. The Talkirk likes men and makes sure when Lucan offers himself and his services that it means everything. There is an immediate sexual tension between the two warriors and the book hits it right off with a very hot sex scene. Their immediate connection though is not a bed of roses. Others like Delano, The Talkirks second in command, and Athel, The Talkirk’s favorite lover, understandably worry about Lucan’s motives and his loyalty.
The world building here is stunning. The characters are complex and the only bad part of this whole book is it’s short length and the lack of back story for each of these characters we are introduced to. Sienna even jokes about us someday knowing how Athel became The Talkirk’s lover. I know I wanted to hear that story too because none of these characters were written as throw-aways. These characters breath and have underlying and even conflicting motives at times.
The BDSM in this story is not in your face but the relationship dynamics are there though. The sex is raw and even the Ménage à Trois sex scenes are very masculine and the society is highly militaristic and warrior oriented so there is no overwhelmingly tender emotional drama in evidence here. You come away feeling at the end, they did not so much win the battle but simply survived long enough to face another day. I loved this!
Will Lucan realize his dreams? Will Talkirk live a long and healthy life with Lucan and Athel by his side? Will Delano, The Talkirk’s ex-lover and second in command, come to terms with this new Ménage relationship?
I wanted more, I felt this book was far too short and I hope maybe someday to see a longer more complete revision or even a sequel for these people and this fascinating world. Sienna Black you are not only an excellent writer and an extremely kind person but you are so damn good at telling a story it’s scary and please let me know what’s the next book. I will be waiting.
Grade B, as in Got To Be More!
What do others think…
Elisa Rolle
Joyfully Reviewed
Marty Rayne: A Master’s Love
May 14, 2007
A Master’s Love by Marty Rayne
From: Loose-Id
“Why are you here, Kyle?”Another shiver ran down Kyle’s spine at the sound of his name. The tone was soft and near adoration, but he knew better. It was this man’s job to make his clients feel good about themselves, to feel needed, to feel whatever that particular person wanted to feel. Sydney had been very clear about what they did here at Angel’s Heart.
Kyle studied Nate’s laid-back posture and wished he could be as comfortable. Nate was sitting back in the chair, one ankle propped on the opposite knee with his fingers laced together in his lap. He looked almost disinterested, but Kyle could discern a sparkle to Nate’s eyes that contradicted his aloof appearance.
“I’m not really sure,” Kyle answered truthfully. “I’m hoping that you can help me. I’m curious about the relationship between Dominants and submissives. I’m wondering if I’m a submissive.”
In Marty Rayne’s latest book, A Master’s Love from Loose-Id, Kyle Turner at the urging of a mutual friend goes to see Nate Jacobs “The Dom for hire” at a posh New York BDSM club. Kyle tells Nate he wants to “Find out if he is a submissive”. You definitely get the feeling from Kyle’s introduction that he has had several unsuccessful attempts at a “vanilla” Gay relationship and he is exploring the potentials of a Gay relationship based on the exchange of power found in BDSM.
So Kyle and Nate embark on a series of “BDSM therapy sessions” aimed at discovering if Kyle “really” is submissive. Unfortunately most of the sessions simply involve Kyle kneeling or laying around answering Nate’s various questions. I was amused by all this since from my experience the last place I would go for any type of “therapy” involving relationship issues or emotional baggage would be a BDSM scene. I did come to understand relationship dynamics better after being involved in BDSM but I already had a significant amount of self exploration under my belt to begin with. I find people do not tend to just “show up” suddenly to get into being flogged.
Anyway, Kyle and Nate do all these really boring scenes together where nothing much happens except Nate “The Dom for hire” gets all angst ridden over Kyle “The confused submissive” because he is unable to maintain this “professional distance”. His cock says yes, but the employee handbook says no, THE ANGST! Eventually their mutual friend sets them up to meet in public where they very quickly jump each others bones and end up having sex in a public restroom.
I thought that the public restroom sex was pretty hot but the writer starts hinting that Kyle “The confused submissive” was all sexually aggressive towards Nate and that was a good thing and so hot for Nate “The Dom for hire”. Hold on, did Kyle not go to “The Dom for hire” to find out if he was “really” submissive? I mean, if he is not “really” submissive and Nate realizes this at this point… Is Nate just milking Kyle for his money if he intends to see him again professionally? Oh Kyle, I thought you said you tried it this way, the sexually aggressive stuff, and it was a problem…
I start scratching my head really hard and wondering where the writer is going here.
This was completely out of his league. He could easily seduce a man or woman to do his will; he’d had years to perfect that. But Kyle was more than a client. Kyle, he found out from Sydney, came to him out of curiosity, of his own free will. The discovery that Kyle held more of a dominant nature than he’d originally thought was intriguing. Nate was impressed with Kyle’s strength, to allow someone to dominate him completely for the length of their sessions and still follow all the rules set for him. Those who were truly submissive rarely exhibited the dominance that Kyle had shown at the club, which only attracted Nate more.
WTF? Um no, “truly submissive” people do not sexually enjoy being dominant at all and “truly dominant” people do not find it “attractive” if the submissive attempts to be dominant with them. Don’t blame me for pointing that out. I did not use the term “truly”, you did. Frankly, I as the reader, am getting even more confused with the use of BDSM terminology in this story and I do not understand where it is going at all.
Then at last, Kyle and Nate decide to quit doing the “really” boring “BDSM therapy sessions” and get on with their growing sexually confused attraction for each other. I breath a sigh of relief that the HEA will be over soon and I can get back to waiting for the next Joey Hill book.
Then the writer backhands me with this…
He and Kyle still had fun with the Master/sub roles, but it was only that. Play. Something to keep from falling into the ruts many couples faced. It also gave them room to experience new adventures together. Nate’s role as a Dominant had played a big part in bringing the two together, but it wasn’t the focus of their life. They respected each other as equals and had found a happy home together, filling the voids that had once plagued them.
So Nate was not “really” a Top and Kyle was not “really” a submissive and they head off into the HEA sunset “not solving” one god damn thing the book started off telling us they had issues with. Kyle came to Nate dissatisfied with “Vanilla relationships” and being “The confused submissive”, on the other hand Nate started the book happy to be alone and doing his BDSM “The Dom for hire” thing that he supposedly was very good at and “really” into.
Um yeah…
Oh, I get it, the only way Gay men can have a “happy”, “healthy”, relationship is if they “respect each other as equals” and only “play” at BDSM.
Good god! Does anyone get that the biggest illusion for any relationship is this stupid idea of “equality in all things”?
If anything I have learned from BDSM is that there are constant inequalities in any relationship and you have to negotiate and compromise all the fucking time. Two very competitive males trying to provide for each other in a Gay male relationship gets pretty hairy and the stepping on of toes occurs more often than not leading to all sorts of problems and issues. Implying that being “equal” is the ideal way to true happiness when there is always someone in the relationship making more money, or is more sexually aggressive, or someone better at cleaning house or someone more capable of paying the bills and balancing the checkbook… Does that sound like a realistic expectation to anyone?
Well damn it, real life is never that easy, it can never be that planned out no matter how many how-to books you read, and the best thing to do is to learn to maintain clear communications… another lesson taught to me by my involvement in BDSM.
So I do not “get” this book at all or what the point of dragging BDSM into it was all about if in the end the characters were not “really” what we thought they were, “the problems” were not really “the problems” we were told they had.
I definitely came away from this book feeling kind of insulted.
Grade D, as in Depressing.
What do others think…
Night Owl Romance
Elisa Rolle
Joyfully Reviewed
Fallen Angel Review
Coffee Time Romance
What I Am Reading ~ Samantha Kane: Love’s Strategy
May 4, 2007
Samantha Kane: Love’s Strategy ~ Brothers In Arms
From: Ellora’s Cave
Valentine Westridge and Kurt Schillig are lovers, and have been since the Peninsular War when lonely young officer Valentine let himself be seduced by the equally lonely Kurt. Now they’re back from the war and intent on beginning the future they dreamed of together, one that includes a quiet country estate, horses, dogs, children, and each other. Their plan, however, also requires a wife. At the suggestion of a mutual friend, Valentine and Kurt believe the financial security they can offer to impoverished widow Leah Marleston will help her accept the unusual sexual relationship they are suggesting.
Leah is at her wit’s end, creditors having taken everything she owns to pay off her late husband’s gambling debts. She must find a way to support herself and her two children, or be forced to marry her abusive and obsessive brother-in-law. In Valentine’s and Kurt’s arms, Leah discovers a passion she never knew existed. Brought together by necessity, bonded by desire, these three lonely people find themselves fighting against all odds for a love that was never part of their plans.
Like an oasis to a man lost in the desert that is Ellora’s Cave: New Arrivals Section they finally publish a book from one of their better writers. Party Time!
The Three R’s ~ Rockin Raunchy Regency
Oh man, that cover SK! Is she making out with Giraffe Boy or what?
Oh look! Giraffe Boy got a thorn stuck in his paw and wants her to take it out.
Carol Lynne: Men In Love - Ben’s Wildflower
May 2, 2007
As for him, he’d promised himself he’d never try to fuck her. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, because the pulsing cock in his hand sure as hell wanted to. It was because he’d never hurt Kate. Ben had discovered when he was seventeen just what kind of damage a cock as big as his could cause a woman, especially a woman as petite as Kate, and the experience had permanently scarred him.
Since that horrible day he’d fucked only big, very, very experienced women. Besides the size of his cock Ben enjoyed his sex pretty rough. He wasn’t into any kind of bondage or anything. He just liked to fuck a woman when and where he felt like it and to fuck her hard. The women of his past had put up with his sexual demands simply to get to his mighty cock.
Kate was a forever kind of woman. That he didn’t have a problem with because he was more than ready to become a forever kind of man.
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***Please note this is a really bad book deserving a really bad joke***
Tags: Contemporary Romance, Ellora's Cave, Grade Incomplete, Straight
