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Power Play by Rachel Haimowitz & Cat Grant

September 7, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: My very first foray into m/m romance was with Anah Crowe’s Uneven, a book recommended by Sarah Frantz, former Dear Author reviewer (and, as it happens, current Riptide Publishing editor who, I understand, had a hand in editing either the second or both of the Power Play books). Uneven was a book which didn’t work for me that well, because I didn’t “get” BDSM and especially the pain side of things. Plus, there was blood. One MC kept hitting the other and making him bleed and I just didn’t understand why that would be fun for anyone. Since then, I’ve read a bit more and have learned a little more about it, although I can’t say that I’m any kind of expert or that I really understand it. Still, I’m a curious and adventurous reader. I heard that this book/series “explained” BDSM in a way that made it accessible without being boring. I downloaded it (as well as Power Play: Awakening) from NetGalley but I’ll admit it took me a while to be brave enough to open it, especially after reading the advisory:

Reader discretion advised. This title contains heavy kink. While consent is clearly established and frequently reaffirmed, some moments in Power Play push hard against the outer edges of consent.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Give me six months, and I’ll give you the world.

Brandon McKinney has scraped and sacrificed for what little in life he’s ever had. Though it’s been fifteen years since he escaped his father’s abuse, the damage remains. Trust seems as far out of reach as his dream of becoming an architect, and though he’s come to accept being gay, he can’t deny the shame and confusion he feels at other urges–the deeply repressed desire to submit.

Jonathan Watkins is a self-made Silicon Valley billionaire whose ex-wife took half his money and even more of his faith. Comfortable as a Dominant but wary of being hurt again, he resorts to anonymous pickups and occasional six-month contracts with subs seeking only a master, not a lover.

When a sizzling back-alley encounter cues Jonathan in to Brandon’s deep-seated submissive side, he makes the man an offer: Give me six months of your life, and I’ll open your eyes to a whole new world. Brandon doesn’t care about that; all he wants is the three million dollars Jonathan’s offering so he can buy the construction company he works for. But he soon learns that six months on his knees is no easy feat, and shame and pride may keep him from all he ever wanted-and all he never dreamed he had any right to have.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Well, my “innocent” eyes were certainly confronted by some of the pain play in this book. I can’t say that I honestly understand why anyone would consent to having a taser to their intimate parts (makes my eyes tear just thinking about it) but, it was clear that Bran’s consent was present at all times. Jonathan and Bran agree on rules at the outset and Jonathan sticks to them. He responds immediately to Bran’s use of safewords and always makes sure he has the ability to “say” it – sometimes by use of a panic button or a red bandanna if he’s gagged.

Even though they set up the rules, it becomes clear over the course of the story, that Bran really didn’t know what he was getting into – yes he consents but he doesn’t understand at all the reasoning behind the actions Jonathan is taking. And, it’s clear (particularly at the beginning of the second book) that Jonathan realises that his initial approach was in error.

The writing is smooth and compelling – even when I was reading about things which made me uncomfortable as a reader, the story flowed so well and the characters were so interesting that I found the book very difficult to put down. And, it wasn’t the voyeuristic horror of a car wreck which made me not want to look away either. I surprised myself actually that I didn’t look upon it like that at all. I was still querying why? at the end of the book, but I didn’t feel that Jonathan crossed into villain/serial torturer territory. The parts of the book from his perspective, particularly toward the end, made it clear that he wasn’t getting much out of it because of Bran’s resistance and was using the more severe punishment as a way to make Bran give up and leave – to put them both out of their misery. Because, despite Bran’s resistance to what Jonathan is trying to do (and again, I can’t say I was anymore clued in on this than Bran), he will not quit. This idea of resisted consent intrigued me. The things Jonathan required of Bran were things he almost universally resisted – he wasn’t happy about kneeling naked on a cushion and keeping still for long stretches, being hand-fed, he wasn’t happy about daily enemas (Twitter tells me this could lead to lazy bowel so I did worry for Bran a little on this), he certainly wasn’t happy about being beaten, slapped or whipped. But, he did consent. He had the ability to make it all stop on a word (or a gesture if he was gagged) and he was free to leave at any time. And, I don’t think staying had as much to do with the $3 million as Bran perhaps thought. It seemed more about pride, a “you WILL NOT break me” kind of thing.

Of course, everyone has their breaking point.

One character I did not like was the housekeeper Sabrina. I didn’t really understand why she had so much power and authority over Bran. Jonathon I could understand (if I squinted a little) but Sabrina? No, And, I didn’t like her smugness about it either. It’s quite possible that there is something (else) about this total power exchange business that I’m missing when it comes to other people however.

What else? I started reading Awakening as soon as I finished Resistance. Awakening is a complete story with a distinct beginning, middle and end, but it is not their complete story. At the beginning of Awakening, Brandon tells Jonathan that he broke him and now he has to fix him and I felt the same way in my reading experience. Resistance is all about breaking down and Awakening (I hope) is about the rebuilding. I really don’t feel you can read one without the other and so I decided that the reviews had to be concurrent also.

I don’t expect that I will ever completely understand BDSM and I don’t think it’s for me outside of fiction but right now (and as I’m writing this, I am only a couple of chapters into the second book) I do feel like I just might be able to “get” it in a way I never have before, or at least almost – like something which is on the tip of your tongue. Also, now I think I need to read Master Class.

I couldn’t grade Resistance until after I finished Awakening either. For me, they are 2 essential halves with how much I enjoyed this book ultimately depending on what happens at the end of their story. (You might want to not give that last too much thought, as it doesn’t make a great deal of sense. Just go with it).

Grade: B

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Brandon McKinney is a man reborn. Newly awakened to the notion of consensual power exchange and the submissive urges inside him, he begs for a second chance from the man who opened his eyes to this world: Silicon Valley superstar Jonathan Watkins. But no birth is absent pain, and Brandon’s is no exception. He fears he’s not strong enough to see it through.

Jonathan knows better. He’s seen the iron core inside his new submissive, and the wounded heart inside him too. He means to teach Brandon to heal the one with the other. They have five months left on their contract, after all, and Jonathan has done more with less before.

It’s tough to stay objective, though, when you’re falling in love. Shame Brandon doesn’t feel the same. He’s only there for the three-million-dollar payout at contract’s end—a fact that Jonathan, nursing his own wounded heart, reminds himself of each day. For even as Brandon’s barriers break and his mind expands, even as he grows to love his place at Jonathan’s feet, he’ll never love life with a sadist—especially one who cannot escape the public eye.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): There is something about these characters which compels me. I can’t say that it’s the power exchange, although that may be part of it. I really think that is more of an adjunct than the reason however. I find myself thinking about them, pondering the how and the why like I do with any book whose characters blow me away. Even when they are confronting me, I want to spend more time with them.

This book is more about Jonathan and Bran’s emotional relationship than Resistance and the emphasis isn’t so much on the S/M part of proceedings, although there is some of that (clothes pegs – ouch!). The focus is much more on Bran’s growing ease and peace and acceptance – of himself and of what he shares with Jonathan.

Ultimately, I felt Awakening was somewhat less satisfying than the promise of the first book – while I preferred the emphasis on the emotional side of things in this book, the ending felt a little underdone to me and somewhere along the way, I lost my tenuous grasp on the “why” of it all. It’s quite possible (even probable) that I’ll never “get” it and certainly, these 2 books had me closer to understanding than I had been before, so there is that.

I understood that Bran found a great deal of peace and freedom in his relationship with Jonathan but I would have liked a little more of the how of their relationship once Bran has resumed his life outside of their one-on-one relationship. I think I fell down a little there in my understanding of how it all works.

There were a couple of things about which I was left curious by the end and, because I’m the type of reader who does like things tied up in a neat bow, I found myself niggled by the questions. For example, what happened with the swear jar? Was it re-set to 0 or did Bran take his punishment?

I also wondered whether Jonathan understood that Bran’s reaction to Solange was jealousy and if so, what he thought of it. That wasn’t addressed in the story and I would have liked to have known. It is apparent that Jonathan is bisexual – he was married to Susan for 5 years and he says he still has feelings of love for her; he obviously had some kind of sexual relationship with Solange. But he also said that when he was quite young, he realised that he preferred men. I wondered if Bran ever worried about this. If he did, it wasn’t mentioned in the story.

The biggest thing which felt somewhat undeveloped to me, was that Jonathan comes to the overt realisation about halfway through this book, that he and Bran are not compatible sexually – Bran is NOT a masochist – he does NOT like pain. Jonathan IS a sadist. He DOES like (other people’s) pain. He reflects that they cannot be for each other what each other needs. Obviously, he changes his mind and I admit I wanted him to do so, but I did not see enough of the how of that change in the text.

What else? I am glad I read these 2 books. I liked Jonathan and Bran and I enjoyed reading about their emotional journey, even though some of the physical aspects of the trip had me squinting my eyes a bit. I would happily have stayed in their world and learned more about them and how they manage their lives together. I enjoyed the writing style and the characters and – while I can’t say I “get” BDSM completely, if there is a continuum, then I think I have moved along it. The books took me outside my comfort zone in some ways but ultimately, at its heart, the story of Jonathan and Bran is a romance – a story of love, acceptance, courage and faith. If only there had’ve been a little more closure…. but perhaps it is a story I will re-read and perhaps in doing so, there will be gleanings I missed the first time around. I certainly hope to meet up with these characters again in the future.

Grade: B

Even though I found Awakening a little less satisfying than Resistance in some ways (but not in others – Awakening was definitely the more “romantic” of the two), I ended up with the same grade for both – the stories are so interdependent on one another, I felt I needed to grade Power Play as a whole.

Beautiful Mess by Lucy V. Morgan

September 5, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Jayne from Dear Author had a great review of this one. And, after I read that, realising I already had the book on my TBR I moved it on up to the top of the pile.

A review mainly in quotes: This cute funny short story is about Bailey, who lives with 3 male roommates (well, one doesn’t actually live there but he’s there so often he might as well) and what happens after her boyfriend of 2 years dumps her. The boys decide to cheer her up with some pizza and Jagermeister. As Bailey is a one pot wonder, before long she’s confessing that her ex never gave her an orgasm. The boys’ responses are hilarious. I had many laugh out loud moments in this one.

“It does take a while sometimes,” said Olly.

“But you have to find the buttons before you can push them, so to speak. Preferably before you get a hand cramp.”
“Or neck cramp,” said Tom.

“It’s better if you get some feedback. It’s like the videos me and Ol make.” Linc paused. “The better a reaction you get for the first bit, the more you enjoy doing the second bit, and then…”

“It does get dull if she’s not doing anything,” Olly cut in. “You’re like, ‘fucking hell, we‘re not doing the ironing!’”

and

“So what do you suggest I do, then?” I said finally. “Go out and molest men until I find one with your sexual prowess, Ol?”

“Oh God, I don’t know.” He rolled his eyes at me. “I mean, you might do all sorts of weird things like not let them go down on you, or you might not actually know where your clit
is.”

“Or sometimes it’s just too hairy and you wish that she’d wouldn’t let you,” Tom said glumly.

“I’m not a freak,” I muttered. “And I’m not that hairy either.”

“Not that hair is bad,” said Olly quickly,“just that nobody wants friction burns. Or to suddenly be transported to the Mongolian wilderness when she takes her knickers off.”

I loved the way the boys were portrayed – completely authentic, geeky and funny. I’m looking forward to Olly’s story which I believe is coming out soon. There are also some fun shorts and deleted scenes on the author’s website. It also has the best insult ever, vis: Tosspot wank-bastard fucktarded nonce captain

What else? The author is based in the UK and unlike my experience in Never Enough, the British idiom was spot on. The only thing I questioned was her use of the word “ow” for an exclamation of pleasure. Normally I see it used for pain. I’m not sure if that’s a British thing or a Lucy V. Morgan thing.

It’s only 52 pages so it’s easy to read in one sitting. And worth it. Did I mention it’s funny?

I mean, it’d been a week since I broke up with a guy who not only chewed my heart up and spat it out, but slowly re-ingested it so he could shit it on to crackers and feed it to parrots with attachment issues.

Grade: B+

August Reads

September 3, 2012 / Kaetrin

on Paper/eBook

Men of Smithfield: Mark & Tony by LB Gregg – B Originally published by the now defunct Aspen Mountain Press, LB Gregg has found a new home for her Men of Smithfield series at Carina Press. All 4 books (as well as some new ones yet to be written – yippee!) will be released by Carina and the first is Mark & Tony (originally titled Gobsmacked).

Told from the first person POV of Mark, a surgeon at the Smithfield Hospital, the story details how he comes home unexpectedly to find his live-in lover Jamie bonking the landlord in his bed and the revenge he takes (it involves hitting Jamie with a bible at the Ash Wednesday Mass and taking his things to the rubbish dump), only to find out that Jamie has also stolen all of his savings and appears to be in some serious trouble. State Trooper and long time crush Tony Gervase becomes involved when Jamie’s desperation leads him to assault and a little B&E. It turns out that everyone but Mark knew that Jamie was a cheating dickwad and everyone but Mark knows that Tony’s loved Mark since forever.

Because Mark and Tony have been best friends for years, it is easy to accept the speed of the romance in this story, which spans only a few days. There is a definite HFN with the promise of a HEA but they don’t rush into forever after, which was nice.

Mark and Tony manage to find time to steam up the bathroom, the sheets and the lounge room, Jamie gets what’s coming to him (more actually) and it’s all wrapped up in LB Gregg’s trademark humour – which is quirky and laugh out loud. Recommended for who likes a fast-paced funny contemporary M/M romance with some depth. **NB this review first appeared in the August ARRA members newsletter**

August Ice by Dev Bentham – See my full review here.

Lucky in Love (Lucky Harbor #4) by Jill Shalvis – see my review here.

At Last (Lucky Harbor #5) by Jill Shalvis – see my review here.

Forever and a Day (Lucky Harbor #6) by Jill Shalvis – see my review here.

Kissing Santa Claus (Lucky Harbor 2.5) by Jill Shalvis – C+ Cute short holiday themed story featuring Logan Perrish, Tara Daniel’s NASCAR driver ex-husband and his Lucky Harbor flame (and town clerk) Sandy Jansen. It’s only about 30 pages, but it’s cute and fun.

Don’t Call Her Angel by Cara McKenna – B- I felt like a change of pace after reading the Lucky Harbor books so I picked up this off my TBR pile. It’s erotica more than a romance – there is no relationship arc with a HEA – essentially, it is about a couple (Rasul and Emily) who invite an acquaintaince (Jeremy) into their bed for one night (no m/m action though so don’t get too excited). While Rasul and Emily remain happily married at the end of the story, the story itself isn’t really about their relationship. It was hot and enjoyable and I particularly liked the way that the characters of Emily and Rasul were untypical. Rasul is middle eastern and works as an interrogator for the CIA (I think) and has some serious OCD. The more stressed he is, the more times he needs to check the locks on the doors and windows and the gas burners on the stove. He appears to be cold and remote but he is devoted to Emily. Emily looks to be a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth Georgia peach but she actually wears the pants in the relationship. Rasul dominates her but only because she wants him to. Rasul gets off on Emily’s pleasure and doesn’t mind a bit of the domination himself. I liked the way that Rasul explained to himself that Jeremy’s presence in the bedroom was akin to him hiring a floor sander – Jeremy was essentially, a sex toy, for Rasul and Emily to use. I liked the way the ground rules were laid out. I enjoyed the story well enough. The grade probably reflects my bias toward romance more than anything.

What a Girl Wants by Selena Robins – C- I reviewed this one for ARRA and will post a copy of the review after the September members newsletter is out.

Never Enough (Brown Siblings #4) by Lauren Dane See my review here.

Beautiful Mess by Lucy V. Morgan – full review to come.

Blood and Fire by Shannon McKenna – C What to say about this book? Anyone who’s ever read a book by Shannon McKenna will know that she writes over-the-top romantic suspense plots with uber-alpha heroes who zero in on their heroine almost immediately and stay locked on better than any guided missile developed by the US military. Like this: When the chick with the black pageboy sashayed into Tony’s Diner, no matter how blitzed from lack of sleep he was, his glands promptly pumped a substance into his body that made him want to break into an oldtime movie dance number. An incredible rush. A tingling sense of infinite possibility combined with a mega-boner. A huge, awestruck “wow” from the depths of his being.

When Bruno Ranieri first spies Lily Parr, he’s hooked. I am a sucker for that concept of a hero being so blinded by love, lust and passion for his woman that he just about doesn’t even see any other lady. Once Bruno and Lily joined up on p40 of the book, I mentally rubbed my hands together with glee. The first portion definitely satisfied, with lots of hot sex and over the top action but, even for a McKenna, the suspense portion of the book was on the eyebrow raising side of OTT. Think clones. There were a few plot holes as well – Lily is holed up at Tam Steele’s impegnable fortress at one stage. In order for the bad guys to get her, she has to leave. So I get that the plot needed that, but the reason Val gave for insisting that everyone leave was thin to say the least. The thing which least satisifed is that Bruno and Lily were apart for a fairly large portion of the book IMO – that’s not my thing generally and it meant that for me, the tension didn’t ratchett quite so well as in other McKenna books.

Still, it was a fun ride and I’m looking forward to reading Alex Aaro’s story – it’s going to be hilarious to watch his no-women-except-for-sex policy go up in flames. He also has the best line in this book: “It comes from hanging out with the McClouds,” Aaro said. “When I took up with them, my cars started blowing up. My house. These days, I sleep with a girl I meet at a bar, and pow, she explodes in front of me.” 😀

A Younger Man by Cameron Dane See my review here.

Spontaneous by Brenda Jackson – C This was my first African American romance but I can’t say that it read any differently to me. Kim (Kimani) is best friends with the Duan’s brother. They’re both attendants at the wedding and have been sending each other smouldering looks since they met at the engagement party. My first problem with the book was that they literally did not have a conversation until after they’d had sex twice – once during the wedding reception and again after it ended. Unless you count “my room number is…” as a conversation. Perhaps because I have not read the earlier books I missed some earlier characterisations? I was told they had the hots for each other but not really shown. I was told they liked each other apart from their physical attraction but there was very little of that shown in the book. It made it hard for me to buy the HEA.
When Kim says “You’re a man who probably appreciates a willing woman.” I wasn’t quite sure how to take that. I mean, don’t ALL men appreciate a willing woman? Isn’t a man who appreciates an UNwilling woman a rapist? There were also some strange gymnastics which I had trouble imagining – eg “Duan reached out and wrapped her legs around his neck. Then he parted her thighs and entered her…” That made me think Kim has the thighs of Elastagirl.
I thought the suspense plot was far too easily resolved to be completely believable but the sex was very hot, I liked Duan and Kim well enough and at only 142 pages it was an easy evening’s read.

But My Boyfriend Is by KA Mitchell – see my review here.

Feeling Hot (Out of Uniform #7) by Elle Kennedy – see my review here.

Heat of the Moment (Out of Uniform #1) by Elle Kennedy – B- After enjoying Feeling Hot so much, I went on a buying spree and picked up the previous 6 books in the series. They’re pretty cheap so they only cost me about $13 in total. I gather that Heat of the Moment was originally published in an anthology. It’s very short, at only 54 pages (the rest is excepts) so easy to read in one sitting. Because it’s short, there’s not much chance for character development – so as much fun as I had reading about Garrett and Shelby and their fun with Carson, it didn’t satisfy as much as the longer (221 pages) Feeling Hot. Still, a sexy short read and I did like John Garrett quite a bit.

Heat of Passion (Out of Uniform #2) by Elle Kennedy – B At 64 pages, this one was a little longer but basically, I had the same issue – Carson and Holly’s story was fun (sadly, no threesome) and certainly sexy but just not long enough for me to love and adore. Holly’s problems with her family were solved a little too quickly considering how long she’d been dealing with them but the chemistry between the two MC’s made up for it.

Heat of the Storm (Out of Uniform #2) by Elle Kennedy – C- (with a dash of D) This story is Will Charleston and Mackenzie Wade’s. Will has been in love with Mackenzie since they were both 15 in high school but he was relegated to the friend zone. Mackenzie is a psychic and has horrible visions. She is unable to change the course of the future even if she has the vision in time. Her experience is that her “gift’ has led to all previous boyfriends leaving her and because she doesn’t want to lose Will, she refuses to have a relationship with him, even though they are perfect for each other, he’s stuck with her for 15 years already and they love each other. Sounds thin? It is. It gets a little more silly when Holly decides to help Will by pretending to be his girlfriend to make Mac jealous.
The sex is certainly hot but the plot was a bit on the fail-y side for me. The “dash of D” comes in where Mac has a vision of Will’s helicopter crashing. What happens with this, how cavalier Will is about it, how it was glossed over and the throwaway line used about it, made me grumpy. To be more specific would be spoiler-y though. Again, short – at just under 70 pages and certainly sexy – but again with the no threesome :(.

Slow Burn by Dawn Douglas – B- An m/m version of a Harlequin Presents, turned on its head. If it had’ve been a little longer it could have been a B+. If not for this line, it would have been a B:

You drug me over and made me spend two hours playing Win, Lose, or Draw with the Mississippi cousins! [my emphasis]

The word is dragged. /rant

Otherwise, this was a delightful, funny and sexy short read about 22 year old Nathan, who gets roped into doing his sister’s Starbuck’s delivery to Griffin Trust one morning. There he meets the gorgeous and older (37) Charles “Griff” Griffin and pretty soon they’re having “interludes” in his office.

Coercion (Curio Vignettes #1) by Cara McKenna – B-/B I loved Curio and snapped this one up from Ellora’s Cave on release day. There are 4 more (I think) to come over the next few months. I think it wouldn’t work as well as a stand alone – Curio is wonderful anyway, so I’d recommend reading that first. What’s special about this one is that it is from Didier’s POV instead of Caroly’s. I’m a sucker for the male POV in general and for Didier in particular. The reader advisory talks about rape fantasy but for me, it was never really that. Immersed in Didier’s head as I was, I never felt that he was crossing a line. Thet were role playing and slipped in and out of the roles from time to time. The feel and tone are quite different to Willing Victim where the the rape fantasy is much more overt. There is a melancholy feel to this vignette – Didier is struggling with leaving the apartment and worries that Caroly will outgrow him. He worries that she will not believe what he feels for her is different and more special than the love he freely acknowledges he feels for his clients. I love Didier’s vulnerability and humility. I guess, for me, that melancholy ambience meant that the erotic side of the story didn’t work quite as well – melancholy is just not terribly sexy to me. But, I did enjoy it and if I could pre-order from EC, I would have because I am definitely getting all of them. There is such a rich atmosphere to this series, the flat where Didier lives, his isolation and something which I find difficult to describe other than to say that it feels distinctly Parisienne (-which is a bit of a stretch really because I’ve never been to Paris, but there you go). Oh, heck maybe it is a B after all.

Power Play: Resistance & Power Play: Awakening by Rachel Haimowitz & Cat Grant – full review to come.

on Audio

Origin in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B+ Continuing my listen of the series. Another excellent story, excellently narrated by Susan Ericksen. It was nice to refresh my memory of this one – the famous “Icove case” which features so strongly later in the series and which I had mostly forgotton. And Morris meets Amaryllis Coltrane. Awww.

Memory in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B- This, for me, was one of the weaker books in the series. There was a lot of fun stuff about Peabody testifying in Court, Eve & Roarke having Christmas together – all really interesting in terms of the relationships but the crime part was a little lacking, for me, in this one. I liked this one better the first time I read it – it’s one of those that doesn’t hold up quite so well on a re-read/listen IMO. It’s still enjoyable – just not as good as others in the series.

Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels World #1) by Ilona Andrews, narrated by Renee Raudman – See my full review here.

Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh, narrated by Angela Dawe – B I reviewed this one for Speaking of Audiobooks over at AAR.

Haunted in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B- continuing my series listen – novella about a murder at a “haunted” building.

The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires by Molly Harper, narrated by Amanda Ronconi – B Not quite as much fun as Driving Mr. Dead, this story was nevertheless a very entertaining return to Half Moon Hollow, Kentucky. Iris, owner of BeeLine, the vampire concierge service goes to meet a new client. She finds Cal collapsed on the floor of his kitchen, having been poisoned. He’s investigating something funny going on with Faux Type-O and convinces Iris to shelter him while he recovers and continues his investigation. It is set before the events of Driving Mr. Dead but both are stand alone stories. It’s fun, with Molly Harper’s trademark quirky humour but I wasn’t quite as engaged as I have been with other characters in other books. Still, a fun recommended listen.

Born in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B Why did Leonardo suddenly develop an Italian accent? Fun to see Eve and Roarke panic over childbirth classes and birth coach duties. Mavis and Leonardo have their baby.

Innocent in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – A- All the books in this series are good. Some are great. This is one of them. I have a full review going up at the AudioGals site soon.

Eternity in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B – novella about a vampire. He hits on Eve and Roarke’s not happy. 🙂

Creation in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B This is one of the more controversial books in the series and at least a few readers broke up with the series after this one. Not me, but I can understand that Eve’s actions near the very end of the book don’t really fit with her well established character. Still, it’s hard to feel too sorry for the serial torturer/killer who’s the chilling bad guy in this book.

But My Boyfriend Is by KA Mitchell

August 31, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Love KA Mitchell’s books – love the Florida series. Pre-ordered and bumped to the top of the reading list as soon as it became available.

What it’s about: For those who’ve read the earlier books in the series, Dylan Williams, Aaron Chase’s brother (Collision Course). Dylan and his mirror twin Darryl are in Texas – Darryl is about to graduate from college and Dylan is a line cook at The Cheesecake Factory. Dylan is NOT GAY. Except, he sometimes trawls local gay hangout Webber Park and to get a blowjob. When Darryl cuts through the park one night, he is mistaken for Dylan and bashed.

Mike Aurietta witnesses the bashing, calls 911 and the ambulance and helps scare he bad guys off. He and Dylan meet in the hospital where Darryl is being treated.

Mike is a trainer at UT for the Longhorns. He’s out to his friends and family but not at work, because he doesn’t want the football players to worry about him checking them out or feeling them up when he’s strapping a hamstring. And, this is Texas, where homophobia is strong.

Mike’s gaydar pings with Dylan and there is instant attraction between the two. But Dylan is NOT GAY. Dylan feels pretty guilty for Darryl’s circumstances and he’s also struggling with Darryl pulling away from him – apart from one week in foster care early on, they’ve never been separated. As the family screw-up Dylan is pretty down on himself. He finds himself drawn to Mike, someone who doesn’t share the family baggage. And having sex with Mike certainly relieves the tension. But Dylan is NOT GAY. Even though he likes buttsecks and blowjobs.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Actually, I didn’t think Dylan was gay either. It seemed to me he was bi, perhaps with a gay leaning – Dylan had relationships with girls and seemed to enjoy sex with women – while Mike certainly turned his crank, it didn’t seem beyond the realm that Dylan could have a meaningful and sexual relationship with a woman. Before he fell in love with Mike at least.

I gather from my tweetstream that Dylan is disliked by some readers. For me, it wasn’t so much that I didn’t like him, it was more that I didn’t get to see enough of his transition. Even at the end, I’m not sure he comfortably identified as gay and I can’t say I was super confident that he and Mike would work out in the long term – even though I wanted them too. The set up of showing how resistant to being gay-identified Dylan was worked so well, that I needed more in the last part of the book to show the turnaround and make me believe that it would stick.

There was some subtext in the book which I didn’t quite get. Perhaps I need to be bashed over the head with something but I didn’t understand (for example) Dylan to be asking Joey to come out to Aaron on his behalf – but that’s apparently what happened. And there didn’t seem to be anything which came from that – I didn’t feel that Dylan was comfortable with his sexual identity at the end of the book either and one of the reasons for that was that he didn’t really come out to his family himself – except for a private chat with Darryl, kind of.

Dylan did come to grips, somewhat, with “Operation: Amputation” – separating his life from Darryl’s but I wondered if his reliance on Mike was a product of that rather than the catalyst for the relationship. Dylan did not like to be alone. I don’t think that changed throughout the book. I wonder if Mike got a good deal. Mike was certainly worth it. He’s a genuinely nice guy who was possibly more patient with Dylan than was deserved. I did feel that Mike’s career change at the end was somewhat glossed over given his angst about it.

I’ve seen a few reviews and tweets to the effect that the book finished abruptly. They wanted another sex scene and/or more of Dylan and Mike happy together. And I agree 100% with that sentiment. (KA Mitchell writes hot sex so I’m always happy for there to be another sex scene!) The story seemed somewhat unfinished to me – I wasn’t confident that Dylan could stand as an out and proud gay man. I wasn’t even sure what he was doing with his own career at the end; whether he would maybe pursue his computer aided design in some way maybe. Dylan felt unfinished – he started off the book drifting and uncertain and unfortunately he didn’t end up settled and confident. He was well on the way, but it wasn’t quite done.

But.

I did like Dylan. (I had less sympathy for Darryl actually. Darryl was keeping his own secrets too and I didn’t quite get why he was so freaked out by his secret fear he might be gay too. He seemed pretty homophobic and I wondered by Aaron hadn’t kicked his ass about it.) I mean, I was sympathetic to the fact that Darryl was horribly beaten and he did not deserve that. But blaming Dylan for it and not even calling on their birthday? Not so much.

I also had some sympathy for Dylan; being a black gay man in Texas doesn’t sound easy. He has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about being black too and wonders for a little while if Mike only has a case of “jungle fever” (a new-to-me term) but it doesn’t take him long to realise that Mike is not like that.

And I loved Mike. He was steady and strong and just what Dylan needed. Dylan bounced around like a fly in a bottle and Mike was just… there. He grounded Dylan and helped him breathe.

There’s also a bit of Joey and Aaron which is always fun – and Joey is at his talkative best – to the point where Dylan notes:

Joey kept right on. It was a miracle Aaron hadn’t found a reason to get Joey’s jaw wired shut.

Joey helps Dylan quite a bit, with his velvet steamroller charm, smoothing the way for Dylan and Darryl to reconnect and helping him avoid trouble with Aaron and giving Dylan boyfriend advice.

I could see, in the intimate scenes (which were hot hot hot) Dylan’s sexual progression – fumbling, uncomfortable and embarrassed but horny at first, then gradually becoming more comfortable with his own body and Mike’s and his own desire for Mike. But like I said above, I didn’t feel the journey was quite complete by the end of the book.

What else? In the book Darryl has short hair (like on the cover) and Dylan has long hair done in cornrows. I wish the cover had shown a picture of Dylan instead.

My favourite in the series is still No Souvenirs. And now I need me a Dr. Kim fix. Stat.

Grade: B-

Feeling Hot by Elle Kennedy

August 28, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: After MinnChica tweeted about this book a couple of weeks ago, I had to pick it up. The hook? This is a m/f erotic romance in a series featuring Navy SEAL’s who apparently all like threesomes – in this one, because the f in the equation thinks it’s hot, the 2 straight m’s get busy. Oh. My. *fans self*. So, I pre-ordered and downloaded and scheduled it in immediately after the new KA Mitchell (hey, I can’t read 2 books at once and I’ve been hanging out for Dylan’s story!).

What it’s about: The story starts when Navy SEAL Cash McCoy (he has a really great story about how he got his name) is home feeling frustrated. After being deployed for 6 months (he has a strict no sex when deployed overseas rule), he’s horny and it’s not helping that his buddy, his buddy’s girlfriend and another male friend are going at it loudly in a nearby bedroom. After considering –

As it was, he was distracted as hell, and kinda wondering if he ought to knock on the door and ask to join in.

Naah. Probably inappropriate.

– and rejecting Plan A, he decides to go out to a club and get himself laid. He’s not doing so well – in fact, he’s running away from a Navy groupie when he finds himself hiding in the same storage room as a beautiful sexy blonde woman and after some sexy conversation, they find themselves making out.

When his SEAL Lt “orders” him to babysit his younger sister who has a stalker ex-boyfriend, Cash isn’t too bothered by the “hands off or I’ll drown you” threat – until he comes face to face with the beautiful storage room girl. Okay, the set up is a bit unbelievable, but the writing was so much fun I was happy to go along with it.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Right from page one I was smiling and enjoying this book and for the most part, that continued right the way through. The set up was cute and I liked how Cash and Jen sorted out any misunderstandings frankly and early. The chemistry between the couple is off the charts and it was fun watching Cash squirm with desire – he’s made a promise to his Lt and he’s trying desperately to keep it, but Jen is NOT HELPING. He doesn’t last long :D.

“Have you ever been in a threesome? I haven’t,” she said matter-of-factly.

Cash briefly closed his eyes. Would it be rude if he excused himself and spent the rest of the night jacking off in the shower?

Probably.

Cash thinks he’s not good at relationships because he finds it hard to talk to women except for to get them into bed and during sex (he’s very good at that). He’s blunt and doesn’t understand the female games about “does my butt look big in this dress?” But Jen appreciates his frankness and they find themselves getting along very well very quickly.

Jen, having a military father and brother, knows first hand how hard the military life can be on relationships and has vowed not to date any military men. But, Cash is so hot, she decides a fling can’t hurt – they’re going to be living together for 3 weeks – surely they’ll get it out of their systems by then? (Riiight). Actually Jen’s concerns were very realistic and this was one part of the book which was a little weak for me. In the end (it should be no surprise given it’s a romance) Jen decides Cash is worth the effort and heartache of being with an active-duty SEAL but I would have liked to have seen a little more of the journey from point A to point B. The story has a subplot involving trouble in the marriage of her brother Carson and his wife Holly (MC’s from a previous story) which serves to illustrate just how hard it can be to keep a relationship healthy when one partner is off for months risking his life and unable to contact the other for long stretches and pretty much unable to talk about his work. It did such a good job I began to have extra sympathy for Jen’s position. I thought, in the end, there was almost but not quite enough to satisfy me regarding Jen’s turnaround. I mean, I knew she would – I wanted her to change her mind after all, but I would have liked more about the how of it – it was such a dearly held belief after all. And it was never an option for Cash to leave the teams. Cash himself says “the military is my life”.

That said, I appreciated that in amongst the fantasy of hot Navy SEALS all being sex gods who put their lady’s pleasure before anything else and who regularly have threesomes (please tell me that’s not real or I may have to cry), there is realism as regards the challenges facing the wives and girlfriends of the SEALS.

The suspense plot is integrated well into the story – it doesn’t take it over and I actually liked the way it ended up being resolved – Jen’s a pretty tough cookie all on her own.

Another thing I liked was how Cash turns out to be Jen’s No. 1 supporter. She’s used to being treated like the family screw-up – changing jobs all the time and not settled in any way, taking her “silly pictures” as a hobby. Cash recognised in Jen’s photographs true talent and passion and encourages her to go for it. For the first time, in Cash, Jen has someone who will stand up for her – even against her Lt brother if necessary.

Cash himself is pretty straight forward, likeable and hot. Oh my. Add to that his sexy SEAL friends and we have a winner. Ding Ding. His friend Dylan is also sex on a stick (I want to read his story. Oh, yes I do!). When he visits for football night, the subject of threesomes comes up and before anyone knows it, there he is, giving Cash a sexy BJ. *fans self again*. This author can certainly write the hot sexy scene.

The way it read, to me, both men were so confident in their heterosexuality they didn’t have a big problem with “taking a walk on the wild side” – Cash spent a little time worrying that it would screw up their friendship but it wasn’t explored further than that. Which, in the context of this book, was okay – that’s not really what the book was about. ~~But, oh, man – I’ve totally bookmarked that scene for re-reads~~. I expect I will read the book again.

There were a couple of small continuity errors I picked up – [parts of] Jen’s clothes seem to go mysteriously missing sometimes, but otherwise I didn’t notice any problems with the grammar or editing – at least none that bothered me.

I loved the way the guys were together – their banter and their bond. I loved that a lot of the book was from Cash’s POV – hero points of view are always a win for me. I also liked the obvious camaraderie the WAGS had for each other and it makes sense, given how much they rely on one another when their men are away. I was also pretty tickled by CO Becker who’s gone cuckoo over his baby daughter – the stuff about the approved list of birthday gifts was funny – “no lead paint”. I see he has his own book too…

What else? I enjoyed this one so much, I immediately went and downloaded the 6 earlier books and I can see from her website that the author has another in the series coming out later this year (Seth’s book). Yay!

This was a real winner for me. If you like fun super-sexy contemporaries with military heroes and perhaps a dash of suspense, this could be a winner for you too..

Grade: B+

A Younger Man by Cameron Dane

August 27, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I heard the buzz on Twitter. The words “carrot sex” were used. I bought.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Recently divorced and out of the closet, Noah Maitland is a regular-Joe, salt-of-the-earth guy who is newly navigating the world of dating other men. So far he hasn’t had a lot of luck. Noah is a father first — he has two teenage sons. As the owner of a handyman business in a small community, Noah wants someone to love who is also appropriate for where he is in his life.

Zane Halliday is a young man — much too young for Noah — who is struggling to take care of his brother and sister and meet his bills every month. Recently thrown out of his apartment, Zane stumbles on Noah, literally. Noah offers Zane a place where he and his siblings can temporarily live, and later gives him a part time job.

Each man is dealing with his own set of problems, and both crave someone to talk to and trust. Soon a friendship between Noah and Zane blossoms. But Noah could never fall for someone so much younger than he is — not to mention Zane is not gay. But what if sexually innocent Zane isn’t as straight as he assumed he was? How will Noah be able to resist this much younger man once Zane figures out the only person he wants is Noah?

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I read Grey’s Awakening some time ago and barely remember it now. I haven’t read others in the series but I think this one works fine as a standalone novel. Unfortunately, the novel didn’t work that well for me overall.

I felt that it dragged in parts – a lot of the first third/half of the book was spent with Noah and Zane separately angsting about how they ought not be together and how they should hide their feelings. I had thought, from the blurb, that there would be an initial development of a friendship which would then become attraction – on that basis the over 300 pages seemed appropriate. But the attraction was pretty much immediate and the angsting felt drawn out to me.

Parts of the dialogue felt very unrealistic to me – more suited to the narrative perhaps but not what people would actually say. Here’s an example of what I mean:

“I was going to tell you something like that a minute ago,” Zane chuckled, and new pink bloomed under the afterglow still making his skin glisten, “but when you started coming so powerfully, I lost myself, and all I could do was fall into the pleasure you were feeling and willfully let it suck me into the abyss too.”

I mean, who talks like that?

So, there were some problems. I did enjoy the way Noah was with his sons and I’m glad that Noah was able to reconcile with his father. It took time and that felt realistic to me. But, There was one point in the book where Zane is threatened with some naked/sex photos regarding the custody of his brother and sister. Given the estrangement between Noah and his dad, it did feel like a strange choice for him to come to the legal rescue for Zane – surely he would have had to see the photos?

The set up, with Noah meeting Zane and then immediately helping him out with a place to live and lending him his car indefinitely made me raise my eyebrows a bit – Noah’s “good guy radar” must be stellar. Zane wanted to be considered an equal to Noah in the relationship and I can certainly see how he would struggle with that. But, Zane clearly read as a much younger man to Noah – older than his years maybe but very much younger than Noah and I’m not sure that was really addressed in the book by anyone.

Zane and Noah do like to have sex outdoors – it’s a wonder they weren’t sprung more often considering. For an older man, Noah certainly has a short recovery time! And, then there’s the carrot sex. Yep, sex and a carrot. Enough said.

What else? I’m not a gay man so I can’t speak with any authority on this, but it seemed odd to me that a self described gay man (as opposed to say, a bisexual man) would refer to his heterosexual sex life as very satisfying. Admittedly, I haven’t spoken to ~~many~~ any gay men on the topic (can you imagine how that conversation would go? o-0) but I’ve heard Dan Savage say on his podcast that gay guys don’t like to have sex with women. Maybe he’s wrong? Anyway, it felt odd in the book and didn’t quite explain to me why he would leave an otherwise happy marriage to go have sex with guys if everything was so wonderful with his wife. Just sayin’.

Grade: C-