Review of In Excess by Quinn Anderson

Rating: 4.25 stars

Nikolas Steele, street smart foster kid, finds himself in the Dean’s office at the Academy of Holy Names, a private exclusive college, enrolling for the sophomore year. Nik had been expelled from his previous university and now through the goodness of a donor with a fondness for troubled youths, has a full scholarship for all three years of his undergraduate degree here at the Academy if only he can keep his grades up (easy) and out of trouble. Staying out of trouble has never been easy for Nik for most of his unsettled history but the atmosphere at this exclusive school with its silverware and china at the student dining room and dorms full of overprivileged kids just emphasizes to Nik his “fish out of water” status on campus.

To make matters worse, Nik has come to the attention of the local kings of the campus. Seth, Dante, and Theo are the three kings who rule over all who attend the Academy of Holy Names. Together out of mutual self preservation, they epitomize all that is beauty, intelligence and power at the school but not necessarily kindness. When bored, the three play a game with high stakes, the winner taking the Class Valedictorian spot all three want. Currently the game is tied between them but with the arrival of Nik, the three of them start the game again. The goal? The first to get Nik into bed wins the game. The rules? No alcohol, no underhandedness among each other, and above all, no falling for the prey. But Nik is smart and figures out he is the center of the game and switches roles. What happens when the hunted becomes the hunter?

In Excess looked like a male version of Mean Girls in the beginning of the story, with a nice outsider becoming the prey for a gang of overly privileged rich kids who are the ruling click in school. Nik Steele is an immediately likable main character. He’s a foster kid, who has been moved around most of his life and from the little background history you are given, he has recently been expelled from a college he was happy at, at least for a while. So when he arrives at the office of the Dean of the college, with it’s opulent furnishings to go along with the rich descriptions of the college campus and buildings, you get it! He is the poor kid on campus you are supposed to root for and do. Every part of the Academy of Holy Name is over the top, from the hallways, marble floors, top chef dinners and even the uniform to be worn while attending. Only the finest materials, only the best furniture, and the most exquisite of landscaping to the vaunted architecture of the college that highlights the difference between Nik and the rest of the student body.

The kings themselves are physically interesting, especially Theo with his artfully colored red hair and mint green eyes. Seth and Dante are equally gorgeous if not a little more generic in appearance. One of my quibbles with Quinn Anderson is with the characterizations. All of the main characters has some really interesting components to their personalities, especially Theo with his calm demeanor tied in with his deep thoughts and hidden agenda. The problem is that Theo is not part of the main couple, Seth is. And Seth is given so little back history that it is hard to feel something other than disgust at his behavior. Anderson needs to give us a reason to understand why his pride is so important to him that all his actions are geared towards shoring it up. We need to understand him in order to like him despite his actions towards Nik, and that full understanding is never reached, at least in my opinion. Dante too seems little more than a cardboard character comprised of his handsome visage, his perfect taste in clothes, wine and apartment decor. Yet as one of the “Kings of Campus” surely we should be given more of his backstory as well. We are given to understand that Theo, Seth and Dante grew up together but other than a few sentences telling us they sabotaged each others science projects, stole each others text books or slashed each others tires, we have no idea where they came from or how their little group came into being. Only Nik comes forward as a living, breathing person, flawed with a chip on his shoulder that we totally get. But as with the others, I wanted to know more about Nik’s history. What happened to make him a foster child? He seems so very grounded in his own skin and personality for someone shifted from place to place. Where does that strength of character come from? The characters and story needs a solid foundation upon which to build the framework for the plot and it doesn’t have one.

That said, the author does deliver some great little touches with the plot and timeline. Anderson throws us some great surprises just when we least expect it and ends up with a plot much deeper in complexity than its outlines suggest. In fact, the manner in which Anderson delivers the narrative underscores the problems with the lack of depth in characterization when held up against the rest of the novel. It’s that very unevenness between the two that pulls the entire story down. I absolutely loved parts of this story, I love the surprises that pop up within Anderson’s tale, and I liked the main characters for the most part. The sex is hot and steamy, so much so that I kept thinking “what age are these kids?” so experienced did the sex play come across. A slight quibble but in keeping with the inconsistencies I found throughout the novel.

This is the first book I have read by Quinn Anderson and now I am going to search out more by this author based on the promise and details I love from In Excess. I do recommend reading In Excess because there is so much to admire about the story and Anderson’s descriptive writing. Let me know what you think, ok?

Cover. Normally I am a fan of London Burden but this cover leaves me cold.

Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars

All it took was one look at Deacon Winter putting Lucy Star through her paces in the workout ring for Carrick Francis to fall in love. At first Carrick, aka “Crick”, thought it was the horse he loved and the farm called The Pulpit where the horse lived. But it wasn’t long before the “little Mex kid” as his stepfather Bob called him, realized that the beautiful boy in the ring was his true and final love. Deacon Winter was everything that was fine as far as Crick was concerned. He was patient, beautiful with his green-hazel eyes and sun streaked blond hair. Deacon was also silent, being painfully shy. For Deacon hardly ever talked but when he did, Crick listened. When Deacon’s dad took Crick home one evening and realized how bad the situation was with Crick’s stepfather, Parrish Winter told Crick’s mom that he would be taking the boy every weekend to help at the farm. Those weekends became Crick’s salvation, and refuge as Crick’s stepfather became ever more abusive. Crick stayed only to protect his younger sister from Bob’s rage.

As the years flew by, Crick’s love for Deacon thrived and deepened. As did Deacon’s love for Crick, as everyone around them but Crick knew. Just when Crick was set to leave for college, Deacon’s father dies and Crick stays in Levee Oaks to help run The Pulpet with Deacon. The sexual tension between them grows to the breaking point and Deacon gives in to Crick’s advances with tragic consequences for both of them. Crick takes Deacon’s stunned behavior after they make love as a rejection and makes an impulsive decision that will haunt both of them for the rest of their lives. Deacon is actually just stunned to recognize the depths of the feelings that Crick has carried within him for Deacon all these years. When Deacon realizes that his hesitation has been taken as rejection he runs after Crick but it is too late. He is gone.

The loss of Crick almost destroys Deacon. The separation does the same for Crick, the two men left demoralized and despondent by one rash decision. But the men had also made a promise to each other. “I need you, like I want you. Always and forever. I want you like I love you. Always and forever. Consider that a promise.” Now if only the world will listen and let them make that promise a certainty.

Keeping Promise Rock is one of my all time favorite reads. It’s my “go to” book when I need comfort, it’s the book I grab when I need to revisit old friends, curled up on a long winter’s night. It’s the book I reach for when I want to lose myself in beloved universe, full of people I have come to love and events that take me one more time on an immensely satisfying roller coaster ride of emotions. There’s tears of joy to go with the heartbreak and overwhelming love to conquer the despair of the events within. How I cherish this book.

Amy Lane is a master of characterization and the people she has created for Keeping Promise Rock are as timeless as they are memorable. We meet both Deacon and Crick as teenagers and watch them mature into men dealing with the tumultuous events that life has thrown at them. And not once does it ever feel less than completely real. It’s not just the depth and dimension of each character that makes them so authentic, it’s their dialog too. I could have someone read a conversation from the book between Crick, Deacon, and Deacon’s friend, Jon to me and I would never be confused as to which “voice” I am hearing. In fact, most of the time I am so completely enveloped in the story that I am shocked to find that the hours have flown by as I read.

Amy Lane understands people so well that how her characters react to life’s roadblocks and misunderstandings comes across as being as true to life as possible. It doesn’t matter whether Deacon is reacting to Crick fighting in the high school hallway or a devastated Crick sitting at Deacon’s hospital bedside after a car accident, trying to find the courage to tell Deacon what he had done. Every circumstance the boys find themselves in is a place others would find familiar. There is bullying, both at home and at school. And being out and gay in a high school where tolerance is an issue along with the consequences that comes with trying to deal with the issues stemming from intolerance in the classroom and on the playing field. The author gives us parental abuse where there should have been love and support. And we see how growing up under those conditions will leave their mark on the person, both in behavior and trust.

With that foundation laid, then certain actions become not only understandable but relatable. Lane never lets us forget that her characters conduct or behavior stems from a source that has a basis in reality. The fact that life is unfair can be visited upon the unwary in so many ways and Amy Lane delivers that emotional moment to us time and again and never to less than shattering impact. But if Amy Lane is outstanding in delivering life’s blows and making us feel them along with her characters, she is also balances the pain they feel with life’s joys and successes. We celebrate as they do when life and love comes triumphantly together, knowing full well that the path getting to that point was as hard and tortuous as real life itself.

What can be better than this? With Amy Lane’s books we acknowledge life’s fleeting moments and their impact in peoples lives as well as those relationships that speak of permanence and the costs carried with them. We get insight into human interactions no matter the age through characters like Deacon, Crick, Benny, Jon, and many others we want to visit again and again. Luckily for us, Amy Lane feels the same way, as Keeping Promise Rock is the first in the Promise series. Start with Keeping Promise Rock and read them all. You will love them as much as I do.

Here is the Promises series in the order they were written and should be read to throughly understand the characters and the events mentioned:

Keeping Promise Rock (Promises #1)

Making Promises (Promises #2)

Living Promises (Promises #3)

Paul Richmond’s wonderful cover is perfect for the story within.

Review of Fallen Sakura by April Moone

Rating: 2.75 stars (and that’s generous)

Sitting in his favorite spot, Manga artist Kobayashi Haru is watching the cherry blossums fall when he spies Sakurai Aki near him. Sakurai Aki’s cool beauty is mesmerizing and soon Haru is trying to engage the man in a conversation and asking for his phone number which Sakurai reluctantly gives him. Hokayashi Haru knows he falls in love easily and is just coming off a bad relationship but something about the withdrawn Sakurai draws Haru in and captures his affections.

But Sakurai Aki seems to be straight and Haru tries to hide his feelings even as their friendship progresses forward. Haru is forthcoming about his feelings, his friends, his family, even his ex but Sakurai remains a mystery. Sakurai doesn’t offer any information about himself to Haru and Haru accepts this even when their relationship turns sexual. Haru starts to think he has found his perfect man in Sakurai until his past is revealed to Haru in a manner unspeakably painful and shocking. Feeling betrayed , Haru cuts off the relationship and all communication with Sakurai Aki, listening to his friends. But his heart has a different idea when Sakurai returns to him asking for forgiveness.

What a mess of a book. I was really looking forward to this as a Japanese setting and characters hit many of my buttons but I can say that this entire story is a real miss in almost every respect. What I can’t figure out is where to place the blame? It’s not with the plot, that’s ok. It’s not even with the secondary characterizations or even the character of Sakurai Aki. The whole blighted mess falls directly on the shoulders of the main character of Kobayashi Haru. This character and the author’s viewpoint is the issue here.

Take one hot mess of a main character and tell the story from his POV. This can work if the character’s problems are part of the storyline. Great books are full of characters full of faults, compulsions, and phobias if that is used to the plot’s advantage and makes sense within the whole of the story, whether you are dealing with hubris or redemption or both. It can be used effectively in humorous stories full of whacky characters doing wonderfully crazy things or books about society and cultural expectations. I am sure that just reading this brought a number of books to mind in every genre. Whether the characters are flying over the cuckoo’s nest or having sex in the city, solving crimes and chasing pigs about the English countryside, I normally take these creations to heart with all the appreciation and verve of a starving woman at Thanksgiving dinner.

None of that happens here. Let me give you a list of Haru’s characteristics and I think you will get an idea of where I am going here. Kobayashi Haru is:

A 28 year old Manga artist, supposedly shy with a predilection for relationships with men who beat him, abuse him, are into rough sex and pay no attention to his sexual needs. Haru is also a binge drinker with limited friends. Actually he has one friend, Jeff his American co worker and his Japanese wife. They are rightfully concerned about him but he disregards their advice and assistance. He talks to his dead mother (his father left early on) and while he says he is ok with his sexuality, it comes across as a timorous acceptance of his gayness. Haru feels that the beatings inflicted upon him by his latest boyfriend were his fault, and while Haru can’t stand to have his ex’s name mentioned, he wants to talk to him and explain the event that precipitated their breakup. And that breakup? Kenichi the ex boyfriend becomes jealous about not being invited to a party, so he beats and kicks Haru unmercifully until Jeff intervenes and then spits on Haru before leaving Haru broken and crying on the floor, not for the first time. In addition to being a victim of domestic violence, Haru also has all the emotional maturity of a teenager who throws tantrums, throws money in his friend’s face (a serious cultural no no) upon hearing advice he knows to be true and then starts drinking himself into a stupor all over again. This guy doesn’t need one 12 step program, he needs a gazillion of them to cover all his issues.

Right about now, you are probably thinking either that Haru needs to find a therapy group to attend 24/7 to work on his issues or that we will be looking at a serious take on domestic abuse within the Japanese culture or at least domestic violence within the gay community, an under reported crime no matter the country. Nope, not at all. You see, Haru is supposed to be a “happy, positive, naive” man child character that all look at with adoration and love. All the serious issues and character flaws are given light hearted treatments that never addresses the serious nature of the problems this character has been endowed with. The significant question as to why Haru needs to fall in love quickly with men so obviously damaged, why he lets them treat him in an abusive manner? All brushed under the rug with a simplistic “oh I deserve better” epiphany at the end. The binge drinking and immaturity? Nope, never addressed. And the fact that he relentlessly pursues an emotionally withdrawn “straight” man in Sakurai Aki? I think we are supposed to find that commendable, that he goes for what he wants even though it is also stated that Haru is intensely shy. *head desk*

Believe it or not, it actually gets worse. When Sakurai Aki’s “secret” is revealed, Haru is shocked to find out that Sakurai is gay even though Sakurai never said that he was straight. This was an assumption on Haru’s part and a strange one after they have made love innumerable times with Sakurai being the most attentive and tender lover Haru has ever had. You see, Haru thought that turning “straight” Sakurai Aki gay meant that Haru is special. So finding out that he was gay all along somehow negates that “specialness” for Haru. And the rest of the secret? Well, lets just say Haru’s blithe disregard of condoms, to Sakurai’s dismay, was not a good idea at all, but was in keeping with his emotional immaturity. Haru wants Sakurai when he thinks he’s straight? And is upset to find out he’s gay? Emotional immaturity and teenage expectations seem to reign supreme here.

You won’t find this hard to believe but the character I liked (other than the reasonable Jeff) is Sakurai Aki. Had he been a real character, I would have been telling him to report Haru as a stalker and giving him cab money out of the city, along with the advice to “run, just run”. But no, this is a HEA which begs more questions as to why than I have space to answer. Mostly, I want to know what the author was thinking. How do you bring up all these issues and imbue your main character with all these serious flaws and not address them? And no, “I like me, I really like me” is not addressing them. The spitting on the face? Serious cultural taboo not dealt with in a book that makes a big issue of the American character’s intentionally incorrect Japanese terminology. I did some investigation and found that domestic violence in Japan is a growing problem not addressed by laws and regulations but that was never brought up here either. All in all I am just floored by April Moone’s cavalier treatment of so many serious issues. This is the first book by April Moone that I have read so I have no other reference to judge her writing by to see if this is a typical story of hers. I certainly hope not. I wouldn’t wish this book on any reader that I know of.

“A fallen blossom does not return to the branch; a broken mirror cannot be made to shine”. —Japanese proverb. This proverb opens the story Fallen Sakura. It’s too bad that the author did not take it to heart. Or maybe she did not understand it. For this broken mirror was shattered from the start and nothing that followed could ever put it right.

Cover: Beautiful cover by Anne Cain. This book does not deserve it.

The Nationals are in the Playoffs,Teddy Won the Race and the Week Ahead in Reviews!

It’s Sunday and the weather has turned much cooler, the wind has picked up and the leaves seem to be just flowing off the trees. Yes, fall is here. But all is well, the Nationals are in the playoffs and Teddy has finally won a race. Now some folks think that until the playoffs were over, Teddy should have kept losing so not as to jinx the series. I have to admit I am kind of on their side. Superstition I know but if the Nats lose, you know who everyone will be pointing the finger at. Oh my. So I am looking for a 4 leaf clover and some luck to bind it with. Now where’s that pesky rabbit?

Mother’s birthday is today so I am off to lunch at the farm(bringing it with me actually). So without further ado, next week’s schedule:

Monday Animal Magnetism Anthology

Tuesday: Fallen Sakura by April Moone

Wednesday: Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane

Thursday: In Excess by Quinn Anderson

Friday: By The River by Katey Hawthorne

Saturday: Fair Catch by Del Darcy

The Tin Star – My Favorite M/M Books

Recently I was asked to name my all-time favorite book and I was stumped. Not because I couldn’t come up with a name but because I came up with far too many and in a multitude of categories.

So we switched gears and was asked to name my top favorite book that I would recommend for someone to read. Nope. Still couldn’t do it. But it was a smaller list this time. Well, I spent the night mulling it over, then got up and toddled over to my overloaded bookshelf (pre-Kindle days) for inspiration. I didn’t have to look long as the stories I loved have the look of someone who stayed too long at the party. You know the signs, they appear off color from too much wear and tear plus they are a little bent around the edges. Perfect.

The first one I grabbed will be the first I recommend. The Tin Star by J.L. Langley. I am so fond of this book that it is a comfort reread for me. I am sure you have those. You are home sick, have the sniffles so you haul out the hot tea and curl up in a chair with old friends in a favorite story. Like Pooh and his Hunny Pot.

The Tin Star is the story of rancher Ethan Whitehall and James Killian, brother of one of Ethan’s best friends. Ethan is from one of the oldest families in town and his ranch, The Tin Star, makes him one of the most respected and powerful men in town. Ethan is gay but given the small town homophobic atmosphere, he keeps his sexuality under wraps.

Then Jamie comes out to his family and is promptly kicked off his home, the Quadruple J Ranch and out of the only life he had ever known. Gone is his home and job as the ranch foreman. Jamie turns to the one man he has always looked up to and secretly crushed on for years – Ethan Whitehall. Now Ethan has a choice to make. Does he stake all he has when it turns out that Jamie needs not only shelter but protection from those whose hatred and bigotry spell danger to Jamie and those around him.

J.L. Langley’s characters are so well written that they eat, breathe, and ooze so much sex appeal that they almost jump off the page. Ethan and Jamie have their flaws, they are real people. But the men here have the ability to make you laugh as well as they struggle towards a relationship. The secondary characters surrounding them, such as John Killian (Jamie’s brother), Bill the foreman and even Spot, Ethan’s ornery horse become real to you as you move into the story. This book has everything…..love, humor, suspense, and hot, hot men. What’s not to love?

J.L. Langley has written two books in this series so far, the second is The Broken H which has crossover characters from this novel. Published by Loose Id in 2006, it is still available from them as well as Amazon and All Romance Publishing. And don’t miss the Christmas short, The Christmas Tree Bargain, as Jamie and Ethan celebrate their first Christmas together.

Winner of My Regelence Rake Contest

I said I would be announcing it on Friday so here it is. The winner of the free copy of My Regelence Rake is K Anderson. K, I have your email address. Please look for an email from me shortly that will tell you how to get your copy from Samhain.

Thanks to all who commented. This was a great week. My next contest will be as a part of the Howloween Blog Hop Tour. How I love October!

Review: Ranch Series by JL Langley

Rating: 5 stars for the series

We’ve looked at JL Langley’s wolf shifters and her Sci-Regency series, so let’s finish up back where I first started my love with all things JL Langley. And that would be with her cowboys which is fitting with an author who resides in Texas and has a state of imagination to equal it. Tomorrow I will be talking about why I love The Tin Star, the very first Langley book I read. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for cowboys. I think it come along with my love for horses and never left. I spent a summer as a junior wrangler at a dude ranch called Stupid Charlie’s in Colorado at the impressionable and yes, hormonal age of 15. And if I had had a dick, I would have had a raging woody all summer long from being in the middle of a crew of young,handsome (aren’t they all at that age wearing chaps and boots) cowboys more experienced than I was at that age. I fell in love with a bay horse named Senagita and a cowboy (all of 16) named Lane and wanted to take both of them home with me at the end of the summer. Needless to say, my folks said no to both. Aw shucks was I heartbroken, although I can’t begin to tell you whether it was over the loss of the horse or the boy. All I know is that I was inconsolable for the longest period of time until I found a local stable to hang out at, Susan a fellow hunter, and a horse we both loved called Tiptop. But I never stopped dreaming of cowboys and would go to the rodeo whenever it came to town (oh yes they did, even in DC).

JL Langley’s Ranch series gives me plenty of cowboys to love and hang out with, from Jamie and Ethan of The Tin Star to Grayson Hunter and Shane Cortez of The Broken H while bringing back so many fond memories of life on a ranch. As she does with all her series, she populated her Ranch books with characters flawed, human and still memorable, ones we give our hearts and affections to easily and completely. In addition to the cowboys, we also get wonderful idiosyncratic animals too. There is a horse named Spot who plays keep away and a female dog called Fred who steals each and every scene they are in. Gather them all together in a small town in Texas surrounded by family and friends who comes across as equally authentic and realistic as the main characters and you have a series that will mean as much to you as your first cowboy hat and boots.

The Tin Star (Ranch Series #1) stars Jamie Killian as the youngest son of Jacob Killian of the Quadruple J and Ethan Whitehall, owner of The Tin Star ranch. The Quad J borders The Tin Star and the two families have been intertwined their entire lives. John, Jamie’s older brother has been Ethan’s best friend so as long as they can remember, even going off to college together. And hopes had run high between the two fathers that one of the Whitehall boys would marry Julia, the Killian sister and bring the ranches together. But Ethan’s brother was killed overseas on a tour of duty and Ethan, well, Ethan found out he was gay, something the older Killians were fine with but that Jamie never knew. Until Jamie comes out to his father and is kicked off the ranch he thought he would never leave. When Ethan offers Jamie sanctuary and tells Jamie that he is gay as well, then the sparks really begin to fly as Jamie has harbored a crush on Ethan from the moment he knew he liked boys instead of girls.

Ethan has always been circumspect about his sexuality, neither hiding it or rubbing it in the face of their conservative town folk. But when Jamie comes to the ranch to live, Ethan finds not only a friend but a lover for life in the form of his best friend’s brother. But the sparks of hate are flying in town too. Former ranch hands are looking to get even with Ethan for being fired and homophobia presents itself as stores won’t sell grain to the newly outed Ethan. Langley makes us feel the hatred rising off Jacob Killian and other townspeople so far gone in their homophobia that all reason and humanity becomes lost. But where there is the worst of human beings on display, JL Langley is quick to show that others can come forward with their tolerance, and objectivity to welcome Ethan into the town’s fold, and Jamie too no matter their sexuality. Powerful stuff made real by Ethan and Jamie’s situation as they work towards a loving relationship and a future together. Great story, great characters, great book.

The Broken H involves several of the people we meet in The Tin Star. Grayson Hunter was one of the sheriff’s investigation the crimes of hate on The Tin Star. The Broken H is Gray’s family ranch, owned by his parents and run by Shane Cortez. Shane Cortez had been brought onto The Broken H by Gray’s father when Shane was a young boy. Gray never knew the entire story but accepted Shane’s presence and was soon following him around everywhere, a clear case of puppy love. But then one summer changed everything between the two men and Gray left the ranch and went to college. His parents knew something had happened but never pushed either boy for answers. Now Gray has returned to town and accepted a job in the Sheriff’s office. It also means a return to his family, The Broken H, and to face the man he ran away from all those years ago, Lovers reuniting after time spent apart draws me like a moth to a flame and JL Langley’s treatment of this theme will push all your buttons if you love it too. There is misunderstandings, and one person trying to protect the other, and above all a deep abiding love between the two men involved. That’s just so wonderful.

And lurking just behind all of this is the theme of the awful price GLBTQ youth pay for coming out to those who mean the most and won’t accept them, their families. Over and over gay youth are kicked out of homes and families due to hatred concerning their sexuality. Some survive when others intervene, some do whatever they can to exist on the streets, and some just don’t make it. The plight of gay youth discarded because of who they love is brought home more forcibly when characters we have come to love have the same backstory as they do and we feel what they have gone through by the power of an author’s writing. We see Ethan, Jamie, John, Aunt Margaret and many of the other townspeople we came to care for in the previous book and we get a glimpse of a possible couple that people want to see united. That would be John and Royal. JL Langley has put the cut pages from the book on her website and they will make you want more, so much more of John and Royal. She tends to do that with her peripheral characters because they are bursting with life as much as the main couples to our continued appreciation and joy.

The Christmas Tree Bargain is the third story in the series. It was published as a stocking stuffer by Loose id. A heartwarming short story, it brings together all the cast of characters from the two novels at Christmas time. We get to catch up in their lives on a very special occasion. This story is not to be missed if you love the other two as much as I do.

So there you have it, the Ranch series by JL Langley. Her fans have been screaming for more, especially John and Royal’s story but so far to no avail. She says she’s busy with Sterling and Rhys, Trouble and Rexley, and Bannon and Lord Demon among others. Since I want all those stories too I wouldn’t think of interrupting her. If they start speaking to her, I know she will listen, eventually. I’m good with that. I have these books and all the rest to reread until a new one comes out. Pick out a series and start from the beginning and I know you will feel the same.

Review of With or Without Series by JL Langley

ating: 5 stars for the series

My first introduction to JL’s shifters came when I picked up the Hearts From The Ashes anthology and read With Love, the first in Langley’s shifter series. It featured a young clutzy Omega wolf named Laine Campbell who was perpetually in hot water over things he said or creating chaos with the things he did. Everything about Laine was adorable, from his hair to his manner of speech and I fell in love immediately. So did Dev, the Alpha wolf moving to Ashton with his betas and business partners. He was hooked on Laine and I was hooked on Dev. I could not believe it when the story was over. I wanted more shifters, specifically I wanted JL’s shifters and I wanted them now. This is a reoccurring theme with JL Langley’s books so be prepared.

Then came Without Reservations in 2007 and my addiction was official. Without Reservations is the story of Chayton Winston, a veterinarian living in New Mexico. He is also a shifter and all his life he has been dreaming of a fair haired mate, much to his Native American parents chagrin. His entire life Chay has considered himself heterosexual until an injured wolf is brought into his office. The wolf is a gorgeous male shifter and his mate. He is also Caucasian something he is sure his mother will never accept.

Keaton Reynolds wakes up in a veterinarian ‘s office to find himself injured and being treated by his mate. He should be overjoyed except he just got out of a relationship from a shifter who had a girlfriend on the side but also said he was Keaton’ mate. Keaton is not one to repeat his mistakes and a hetero shifter is not someone he wants to take a chance on, no matter what his body and even his heart may think. But Chay won’t give up on Keaton and finally Keaton agrees to get to know Chay better. And slowly they start to build a relationship together. But there is Chay’s mother’s disapproval to overcome and a power struggle in Keaton’s Georgia pack that threatens them both. How will they overcome the odds to find the happiness they both deserve?

I reread this book all the time. Chayton Winston and Keaton Reynolds are such wonderful creations that I return to their story time and again. Chayton is one of the nicest people you will meet in the author’s novels. He is both elementally patient and rock solid in his beliefs so that when presented with a man as a mate, he accepts it. If it switches his sexuality over to gay, ok as long as he gets his mate, something no wolf shifter would ever turn down. And you believe this paradigm shift absolutely as being in character for Chayton because he is so real from the moment we meet him. Keaton also engages our hearts and affections with his prickly nature and forceful personality packed into a slight build. A small white wolf, he has the personality and power of an Alpha without needing to lead. Keaton would rather teach and help educate so the fact that his mate would be a healer, a veterinarian makes complete sense. JL Langley surrounds these two with people as authentic and believable as they are and gives us a mystery to boot. Just an outstanding novel.

With Caution came next. It remains my favorite of the series and again one I read over and over again. With the characters of Remington Lassiter and Jake Romero, JL brings a level of complexity and depth to her characterizations that I had not seen before. And added to our main characters, she introduces us to the rest of the men who will become their pack. Each man is a unique unforgettable creation as they sit astride their motorcycles and roar into our hearts. Remy is a shifter we meet in Without Reservations and he makes a rather disastrous first impression upon us in that story. But here we discover the dark background that surrounds him in shocking detail as well as the reasons for his actions.

There are parts of this novel so bleak and despairing your hearts will bleed for Remy and his brother Sterling even as our hero bleeds out from the abuse. Remy’s sexuality and his acceptance of a male mate is a huge part of this story and his past as well. I cannot give Langley enough credit for the sensitive way she deals with child abuse and recovery as an adult. There is also a murder mystery to be solved, and the exploration of a naturally submissive nature. There is some mild bdsm that works beautifully within the plot of the story and the glimpses of new couples, mates, for future stories. One couple in particular has had the fans clamoring for their story since this book was published. This story has depth, multi-layered characters and a multitude of themes running through it, not the least of which is how Reservaton law can also isolate the members it is supposed to protect, control issues and child abuse. Heavy themes indeed but this book is also packed with love and redemption. With Caution is an incredible read you won’t want to put down.

Next comes a series of free stories that can be found on the Fiction With Friction website until JL Langley’s site is back up and running. These are in order:

A Lot To Be Thankful For (With or Without Series 3.1) Sterling Lassister and Rhys Waya (the fans just wouldn’t shut up for their story)

A Sterling New Year (With or Without Series 3.2) with Sterling Lassister and Rhys Waya (love, love these two and so will you, get on the bus)

With Abandon (With or Without #4) brings back Aubrey Reynolds and the rest of the Georgia pack that we met in Without Reservation. Aubrey is Keaton’s brother and our introduction to him in Without Reservation was not exactly a positive one. Matt Mahihkan, one of Gadget’s sons from With Caution is back and going to college in Georgia. Matt was a quirky young man who we got to know only superficially but JL Langley brings him together with Aubrey Reynolds and that combination sparks all sorts of problems not the leasts of which is that Aubrey is not out to his family or the pack. And Matt is not only out and proud but turns out he is Aubrey’s mate. It took me a while to like Aubrey, perhaps some of that was left over emotions from Without Reservation. But his reluctance to accept Matt officially as his mate made him hard to like. He has to grow on you, something none of the other characters has had to do. Matt, of course, is absolutely adorable and we entrust our affections with him from the get go. And with Matt, comes some of the members of the New Mexico pack we have come to love as well.

Next come three free short stories in succession. I am convinced JL Langley thought the fans would be showing up on her doorstep if she didn’t at least throw them all several bones. I will admit to being one of them:

Christmas Dinner at Reynolds Hall (With or Without, #4.1)

Attack of the Killer Dust Bunnies (With or Without, #4.2)

Christmas Cookies and Garland (With or Without, #4.3)

So what and who are coming next? That would be Sterling and Rhys. This is the story everyone has been yelling for, myself included. I believe JL Langley said it will be done in a few month from now but isn’t sure when it will be published. That will depend upon Samhain Publishing’s schedule. Be still my heart.

Without Fear (With or Without series #5) – coming from Samhain Publishing.

So that’s JL Langley’s shifters in a nutshell. I am not sure I did them justice. Shifters of all species hit my buttons. Native American shifters hit them twice. I don’t care if they are wolves, big cats or even weresloths of London (thank you, Charlie Cochrane for that memorable story). But thinking back to the beginning, it all started with JL Langley’s wolves who come to life on the pages of the With and Without series, grabbed both my attention and my heart and have never let them go. I have these books in paperback (prior to my Kindle) and I have them now in eBooks as well. From their killer covers to their outstanding characters and plots, I return to them often. To reacquaint myself with old friends and find comfort in their presence.

Some find JL Langley through her cowboys and others through her sci-Regency series. I found her through her shifters. If you are new to JL Langley as an author, try them all. Start from the beginning of each series and work your way down. You will find yourself with a new addiction just as I did. Write me. Let me know what you think. I will be waiting.

Review of My Regelence Rake (Sci-Regency #3) by JL Langley

Yes, I know this should have come later but I couldn’t help it. I loved this book. The contest winner will still be announced on Friday. Enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars

Prince Colton Townsend has loved Lord Sebastian Hastings since he was fifteen. The Captain of the Guard is everything Colton has ever wanted. He’s handsome, dashing, and an excellent horseman. His affections have never been returned by Hastings but Colton has never figured out if that was because the Captain sees him still as a young boy instead of a man or perhaps because Sebastian has declared never to remarry. Still his crush continued right up until the day he and his brothers spied Captain Hastings in a tryst in a garden during a ball. Now Colton decides to focus only on his horses and opening a racing stable will help him forget about his love for the Captain of the Guard.

Lord Sebastian Hastings’ schedule changed from busy to overwhelmed when asked by King Steven to provide security for all of the Royal Family on a constant basis, including Prince Colton. Sebastian isn’t certain when exactly he became aware of how handsome the young man had become. Sebastian knew the young Prince had a crush on him as the lad followed him around like a puppy when younger. But lately, Colton has seemed distant, even downright curt and that bothered Sebastian more than he wanted to admit. Then an argument with Colton over disobeying his orders flared into a kiss, and then another and all of Sebastian’s carefully erected barriers began to fall.

During a visit to Tattersalls to bid on horses for his stable, Colton and Sebastian find an abused horse and determine to save it. The consequent events turn the horse’s abusive owner into a enemy who spreads rumors about the men and their relationship throughout society. When the nasty gossip causes people to shun Colton at a ball, Hastings acts to quell the rumors by asking for Colton’s hand in marriage. But instead of solving things, the marriage is only the beginning of the problems for the couple, as Sebastian is keeping secrets from Colton, an old flame reappears, and a family close to the Admiral and Sebastian have disappeared, perhaps murdered as part of the INS conspiracy against the throne. Colton hopes that one day he will have a marriage like his fathers, one with two men deeply in love with each other. Colton knows his marriage is only halfway there. Now if only Sebastian would help make the rest come true.

With My Regelence Rake JL Langley has done it again. She has given us a book not only worth the wait but one that leaves us immediately clamoring for the next in the series as soon as we have finished reading it. All the elements that make this series so addictive are present and accounted for. Great world building – check, outstanding characters – check, hot, hot sex – check, ongoing intrigue and mystery – check and finally romantic love – oh absolutely check. Yes, all there and then some. We are back on the planet Regelence after the events in The Englor Affair which took us off planet in search of more information about the political unrest being instigated between the planets. Each subsequent book finds new suspects in the sinister happenings in the INS (the galactic navy) and points to corruption at the highest levels of the service. The royal Townsends of Regelence are being backed into a corner and no one is certain who is to be trusted. And with each new piece of evidence that appears, another mystery surfaces to widen the scope of the investigation and make the infiltration of the royal family defenses an easier target. As she builds the suspense, Langley ups our anxiety for the safety of the people we have come to care about greatly. The terror of loss is never far from our thoughts when Aiden is giving chase down a alley way or Sebastian is attacked in the streets. Is it part of the conspiracy or something entirely different? Langley keeps us guessing and on the edge of our seats the entire time.

And then there are all those marvelous characters we have come to love over the series and new ones as well. Everyone is present here, except perhaps for Simon and Payton. Yes, this is Colton and Sebastian’s book and their romance is terrific. We have watched Colton grow up in the last two books and the tantalizing glimpses we had of Sebastian come to fruition here. Sebastian is a complex character. His background is muddied and his marriage, which left him a widower, unhappy. Together they form a new endearing couple for us to cheer for. But we also get a closer look at the relationships of Nate and Aiden, and Steven and Raleigh. We see clearly how well Nate and Aiden have settled into a marriage still so passionate and full of love but now time has allowed them a new security in with all things shared between them as a loving established couple. Steven and Raleigh are here, demonstrating their love and passion in ways both humorous and joyful while still exhibiting the strength of their feelings for their children and family. How I love these two and I am thrilled JL Langley will give them their own story. The real surprise here? A closer look at Trouble and Rexley’s relationship. Even now, I just feeling giddy over the scenes and revelations about them in MRR. I will not spoil this for you all but trust me, it is worth the price of the book alone for these reveals! Oh, and I have to mention Apollonia, the star of the stable and a new favorite character of mine. I want one just like her. She is adorable and a great addition to the family. JL Langley’s characterizations never feel anything less than real, their emotions always come across as authentic as ours and their relationship issues ones we can relate to and understand. All these and more are reasons why the author’s characters stay with us long past the end of the books.

Does this book, all hot and sexy, all romance and love have a happily ever after? Why yes it does! But JL Langley also raises some much larger questions about the INS and those arraigned against the Townsends and their allies. She has left us some mystery concerning Sebastian and his family, given us a far more complex Rexley than I had imagined, and as to that missing family? Well, they too have a larger part in this conspiracy puzzle JL has created and now there is an encrypted computer chip to decipher. So the mystery snowballs along with the romance. How I love this series. More please, JL, much, much more!

Cover: Another hot cover by Angela Waters to go along with those of My Fair Captain and The Englor Affair. Definitely some of the hottest naked torsos in the business.

JL’s Sci-Regency Series Review

JL Langley’s Sci-Regency series is such a wonderful creation. In it Langley combines the extremely formal social rules, etiquette, manners, and dress of Regency England with science fiction’s space and galactic travel to create a universe both familiar and removed from our experiences. And she did it so well, so convincingly that it become a genre beloved by many. I found Regency England early on in my teens with Georgette Heyer, creator of the Regency romance genre and her fabulous heroine, The Grand Sophy. I loved her books and the world they presented. Heyer wrote books full of humor, delightful dialog, and of course romance. Her women were strong willed and intelligent, trying to find their way in the very masculine world of England in the Regency Era (1795-1830). Lord Byron was making women (and some men) swoon with his dark romantic poetry and sexy brooding image he projected. The fabulousBeau Brumnel was busy defining and shaping fashion in his own image, the Dandy promenaded through the balls, and authors like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens started writing works of social commentary in their fiction.

The Regency Era saw the rise of Almack’s as a marriage mart, Tattersall’s was the place to purchase exquisite horse flesh, gentlemens clubs like Boodles, Brooke’s. the Four Horse Club and of course White’s were the places to be seen and heard. There were duels on the Commons and the aristocratic young were strictly chaperoned in accordance with the rigid societal rules of the day. To be discovered in flagrante meant a run to Gretna Green and a quickie marriage. Considering the short length of the Regency Era, it still projects a profound influence to this day upon so many areas of literature and society. The gambling hells and with its rakes, the opera singers and Covent Gardens, the clothes, and oh the poets and artists creating then. It is no wonder that era captures the hearts of so many authors and readers to this day.

H.G.Wells was born in 1866 and helped usher in thoughts of time travel and alien worlds. Science Fiction novels in every sense of the word and from almost every author you can imagine fills my bookshelves as well. Alien societies, space travel, and yes, alien romance captured my imagination and my heart too. I love each and every new universe a author creates and the beings they fill it with.

So just consider the heart palpitations I experienced when I found JL Langley and My Fair Captain, the first in her Sci-Regency series. I had no idea what awaited me beyond that unbelievably sexy cover. It teased us with a glimpse of a young man in Regency dress in back of a masterful, naked torso who dominates the design. How perfect as submission to those older and higher in society was a given during the Regency Era. My Fair Captain, published in 2008 by Samhain Publishing introduces us to the world of Regelence and it’s ruler King Steven and his Consort Raleigh, their four sons and ward. Intergalactic Navy Captain Nathaniel “Nate” Hawkins has been chosen by the Admiral to act as an undercover agent investigating the disappearance of a huge cache of arms on the male oriented planet of Regelence. On Regelence, male/male coupling is the norm with children born by genetically combining their parents DNA. Nate Hawkins comes from a planet where the opposite (m/f) holds true and homosexual acts are disgraceful to the point of disownment. A youthful indiscretion with another young man ended in a duel and a death and saw Nate escaping his father’s influence as heir to his dukedom by entering the Navy. To go undercover, Nate must use his aristocratic background to get close to the rulers of Regelence and their world caught up in political intrigue and suspence. What Nate doesn’t anticipate is falling in love with Prince Aiden, the middle son of King Steven. Prince Aiden is consumed by his art, and the thoughts of marriage to another well born son, as expected of him, leave him cold. Then he falls literally into the arms of Nate Hawkins, and Aiden can think of no one else. Amid court intrigue and intergalactic murder mystery, can a rakish Navy Captain and a virginal Price find love among the stars?

Just thinking about this book makes me fan myself rapidly. Langley’s characters are so utterly realistic, so believably hot and sexy that my pulse jumps just thinking about them. And she sets them in a world that any fan of Regency fiction would recognize accompanied by elements any Science Fiction fan can identify, such as space ships and communication devices. But as great as her world building is, it is J.L. Langley’s characters that claim your affections, clamor for your attention, and grab onto your heart, never to let go. And I am not talking about just the main characters either, although they are fantastic and sexy. It not just Nate and Aiden (a favorite couple of mine), no it is all Aiden’s siblings, and their ward. It is their fathers Steven and Raleigh who have a fan club as big as many of Langley’s other creations, and then there are the sons friends and well I am sure you are getting the picture. No cardboard cutouts here, no one dimensional portraits to spoil the reader’s enjoyment. No, just a complete world occupied by addictive, compelling characters the reader just can not get enough of. Lucky for us, JL Langley has promised each son a book as well as one for their fathers and several of the other characters I have mentioned.

After My Fair Captain, we had a small wait until JL finished with other characters yelling for attention in her mind (they do that, you know) but April 2008 found the release of The Englor Affair and our love affair continued with Steven and Raleigh’s pack of boys, their friends and the continuing mystery behind the political shenanigans that threaten the stability of Steven’s rule. The Englor Affair finds us transported to the planet Englor, birthplace of Nate Hawkins and the origin of much of the troubles occurring on Regelence. Englor, another Regency oriented society is more typical of the times, and has just barely accepted some homosexuality. Nate Hawkins returns to Englor after the events of My Fair Captain saw Aiden kidnapped by the conspirators behind the arms theft. That kidnapping and Aiden’s rescue opened up the investigation to reveal a much larger conspiracy then anyone had imagined. Now an Admiral, Nate works for Steven and Raleigh after his marriage to Aiden and he had returned to Englor to further their investigations as to who is directly behind the threat to Regelence. Accompanying him is Payton, third in line to the throne of Regelence. Payton is a genius at computers and Nate needs his gifts to break into the files on Englor. Payton is hiding his true identity as he pretends to be the Admiral’s assistant. A simple assignment turns complicated when Payton meets Englor Marine Colonel Simon Hollister. A virgin, as are all artistocratic youth, Payton is unprepared for the feelings Hollister engender in him. A chanced kiss turns into something more and hidden identities are revealed to both young men’s horror and consternation. For Simon Hollister is none other than the heir apparent to Englor. His future mapped out for him as Englor’s future King. He will marry a women and have the children needed to continue the line. Into the murky waters of political intrigue and possible galactic war, two princes try to find love and the road to HEA.

With The Englor Affair, Langley delivers an outstanding story that furthers the theme of interplanetary conspiracy and subterfuge while giving us memorable characters that engage our affections from the very first page. Nate, Aiden, King Steven and Consort Raleigh are back as are all their fascinating brood. Payton is the focus here and we come to love him as much as Aiden. A slight build hides a passionate nature and a quick highly intelligent mind. Payton loves going undercover as he finds the limitation of being a crown prince repressing. For all that, Payton is still sexually native and unpreparing for the lustful reactions he feels when meeting Simon Hollister. Holliston is also attracted to Payton but thinks him just an Admiral’s assistant, perhaps the son of a lesser noble. So Simon acts upon his attraction and kisses Payton to Payton’s utter astonishment, for a such bold and disrespectful act would have heavy consequences would it be known. Princes do not act that way nor do they receive such attention without the benefit of marriage or engagement bans on Regelence. Their actions have far reaching consequences and are one of the real joys of this book. We watch as sexual attraction grows into something much larger and Simon has to adjust his thinking not only about homosexuality but about himself as well.

One of the things that so impresses me about JL Langley’s stories is that all the elements are juggled perfectly throughout the story. The focus may be temporarily on the romance contretemps of the couple but the mystery and mayhem of the terrorist group is never forgotten. All threads are woven beautifully within the novel so we end up with a rich, colorful, and complex tapestry to enjoy. And return to time and time again.

Lucky again for us that today sees the release of My Regelence Rake, the third in the Sci-Regency series. It is the reason this post came out later than expected. I couldn’t put that book down long enough to finish writing this. My review will be up later in the week, but trust me, this is a 5 star read. My Regelence Rake stars Prince Colton and you are going to love him as much as the others, I promise.

So if you haven’t already found this series, start with My Fair Captain. It will introduce you to a cast of characters who breathe, bleed, love, and cause trouble across the galaxy. You will have a universe you will never want to leave and a horizon of people whose stories are clamoring to be told. What a wealth awaits you between the pages of these books. Go and get them. You will love them all.

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