Category: 5 star Rating

A MelanieM Review: Wheels Up (Out of Uniform #4) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Their love is forbidden, but their hearts aren’t listening to rules and regulations.

Lieutenant Dustin Strauss is a reformed man. No longer a twentysomething hell-raiser, he’s his SEAL team’s new XO-and a man with a secret. Or seven. He’s kept his bisexual identity under wraps for years, along with his kinky side and a fondness for the military-themed semi-anonymous hookup website Joe4Joe. His latest chat buddy is more than a sexy online distraction-they’re taking their very not-safe-for-work relationship into real time.

Petty Officer Wes Lowe has a smart mouth, a take-charge attitude and an uncanny ability for making things go boom. The life of an enlisted man isn’t always enough to satisfy him, but one wild, no-questions-asked weekend with his online love comes close. When a transfer order comes in, Wes feels ready and centered. He’ll make a good impression on his new SEAL team and keep his growing feelings for Dustin on the down low.

But as they log more time online and some very real emotions surface, Dustin and Wes struggle to pretend they’re just a harmless fling. And when his commander introduces Dustin to his team’s newest member, they’re in for the shock of a lifetime…and a crushing disappointment: their difference in ranks means even a friendship without sexual contact could end their navy careers for good.

With their hearts on the line, Dustin and Wes may not survive their next mission, let alone find a way toward a future together.

Wheels Up is the fourth story in Annabeth Albert’s Out of Uniform series and it’s just outstanding.  One of the things I look forward to in every story is a different window on Navy life, in particular the SEALs.  Here the element is fraternization, something I hadn’t really given any thought to, why the military (all branches) would have such a rule in place and its impact on those who fall in love with the wrong rank.  Of course it doesn’t start out that way.  It all starts out in complete lovely ignorance and lust.

Lieutenant Dustin Strauss and Petty Officer Wes Lowe meet through an ap called Joe4Joe, a  Grindr sort of hookup place and startup an “online” relationship, part lust/part growing friendship.  They have no idea of their real names or jobs, just that they seem to get along and might be sliding into something real if they let it.  Albert’s believable characters and wonderful dialog brings us wholly into Dusty and Wes’ lives, both together online and separately as a SEAL (Dusty) and a demolitions man (Wes).

We need the alternate perspectives because both men lead such full, stress-filled lives.  For Wes, that includes a younger sister Sam, with a life threatening illness as well as being a ordinance or demolitions man, meaning explosives.  For Dusty he’s now a XO,  and as the oldest and “last straight” son of the family, the pressures from his father to be that family man is forcing him to hide the fact that he’s bisexual and he’s resenting the fact that out of all the other sons, he’s the one shouldering the burden.  Two men, lives of unbelievable strain and responsibility and their outlet is each other via the internet and anonymity, a wall they no longer may want to hide behind.

The author makes their online “connection” hot, sexy and emotionally intimate.  We can feel the bond that’s formed between them and the fear that rises when the moment comes to meet in RL.

Of course, nothing prepares either man  for what happens afterward, after the “after meeting” and the coincidence of Wes ending up under Dusty’s command.  And that’s where I think this story really takes flight.  Because the fraternization policy is in place for a reason.  To protect those of lower rank from being abused from their officers (something that does occur in the service).  It’s a good rule and it should be enforced.  But Albert looks at it from the flip side.  What happens when a couple who loves each other also has to abide by the same law, there’s no addendums that apply.  This storyline comes across as fresh and authentic.  The pain each man feels is anguished and in the moment.  Their need for each other immediate and unlawful.  Plus you have to look at the impact it has on their teammates which Albert also covers in a frank manner.

We travel every hard step with each man, through the family drama, the military minefields, the emotional and mental roads they must traverse.  There’s some kink, some bdsm as Dusty needs to let go and have someone else been in charge.  It’s understandable and hot.  Wes and Dusty together are an unforgettable pair.

The only thing that keeps this from an absolute 5 stars rating is that I wanted a look a little into their future I guess, not far, maybe months or a year.  I guess I wasn’t ready to let them go yet.  Maybe the author is listening and I’ll see them again soon.  Here’s hoping.  Until then, pick it up and begin your new Out of Uniform journey with Dustin Strauss and Wes Lowe, a hot, sexy, team in and out of the bed!  I highly recommend them and this series.

Cover art is perfect for both men and this story. Loved it.

Sales Links: Carina Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Expected publication: November 6th 2017 by Carina Press
Original TitleWheels Up
ASINB072MFM798
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Out of Uniform

A MelanieM Review: Crave (Brawlers #1) by J.M. Dabney

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Welcome to Brawlers Bar…

A quick pit stop for a comfortable bed to sleep turned into an eight-year stay. Vincent “Crave” Butler hit the road the day after college graduation and hadn’t looked behind him since. He’d swore to never stop moving, but the night he drove into Powers, Georgia changed the course of his life. He’d hit a bar called Brawlers with its rundown exterior and pride flag beside the door, the next day he had a job. Second in command to the Head of Brawler security, Crave found the place he didn’t have to run from. No one would call Crave sane. He lived to make people as uncomfortable as possible just for his own twisted amusement. That all changed when a certain cute as fuck bartender walked in for an interview.

No one wanted Twitch Harrison around. He was small, femme and annoying on his best days, downright abhorrent on his bad ones. When college turned out to be a no-go, and the parents canceled his credit cards he’d needed a job. Walking into Brawlers, the roughest gay bar in his hometown, was like a game of pick the thing that didn’t belong—him. The two owners, Scary and Tank, hired him on and four years later he was still that thing that didn’t belong. No one made it more apparent than bouncer Crave Butler who didn’t hide the fact he barely tolerated Twitch’s presence.

Crave threatened every man who thought they’d get the pretty Twitch but would Twitch rather be in their beds than his? Only one way to find out and he hoped Twitch was ready for forever because that’s what Crave was determined to have.

Crave (Brawlers #1) marks the new start of my backwards journey towards the starting point of all of J.M Dabney’s interlocking series. I say new because (you all know I can start at the most awkward moments in a series) I actually found this author through their first story in their latest series The Executioners and that story blew me away.  That was Ghost, a remarkable introduction to the town of Powers, Georgia that was swiftly followed by the equally 5-star novel Joker (Executioners #2).  Yes, I was well hooked by the author, the town, and the backhistory of the people and couples I was meeting that I only had bits and pieces of.  Then I find out there’s not one but two preceding series that give me all the back stories and history I could want.  Be still my heart.  So here we go backward one series, one book at the time.

Brawlers is a bar/club and each story in the series is named after a guy who works there and forms a part of the Brawler family (note: Executioners is a band that plays in the club). J.M Dabney specializes in brutal, damaged men, people whose lives have been full of trauma and ugliness.  Their bodies often reflect the scars their lives have left on them emotionally and mentally.  Some are self abusers (cutters) and others have sealed themselves off, preferring isolation to emotional pain.  Crave is one of the huge, rough, scary ones.  Hired as a bouncer, he’s brutal, violent, loves to fight, and has his reasons to be this way.  The author is clear on this.  Her characters aren’t thugs but men twisted and harmed by life, redeemable under the facade. Unable to communicate like most people, when he does say anything, it’s with no filters and guaranteed to start a fight.  It’s very safe way to stay behind walls but it makes it hard when there’s someone you want to protect as Crave finds out with Twitch.

Twitch is tiny, complicated and in pain.  I fell in love with this character immediately. He telegraphs both his vulnerability and the utter devastation he feels. He’s trying in so many ways to work through the damage done to him by his upbringing and more. Twitch has found the unlikeliest of homes and support at Brawlers if his past will leave him alone.

Dabney takes these most unlikely of mates, brings them together in somewhat combustible circumstances (a bar like Brawlers  where fights are common and the local police are corrupt at this point in the series) and makes it believable and heart wrenching.  Both men damaged in very different ways and yet looking for real love and stability.  Crave is someone who not only know what those scars are on Twink’s wrists and sides, but recognizes what they stand for.  He understands the dark places he see in Twitch because he has them as well.   This is not an easy romance.  It can’t be with characters like these and surrounded by others just as broken or out of the norm as they are.  There are fights, misunderstandings, pain galore.

I also found it fascinating because as the first story in the second series, many of the elements that make Ghost and Joker so great are being laid down here, so I’m watching the evolution of a town and “family”,  one I’m already familiar with as I started with a present time novel.  So I’m getting a time capsule effect here.

J.M Dabney has three connected series. Twirled World Ink (a tattoo shop) which is the first series which spun off into Brawlers the bar/club and now into Executioners which is the band who plays at Brawlers.  All the characters appear in all the stories so it helps to read all the books. I see the potential for another here after the Executioners with a Security Company. Right now each has four books each.  I’ll be reviewing them all.  It’s quite the universe!  The stories are gripping, the sex is hot and the characters are unforgettable.

If you love your hurt/comfort, your damaged men looking for love, you will love this story, this series and this author.  Follow along as I lead you through the books and loves of the men of the connected series of J.M Dabney!

Cover art is perfect for Crave.  Love it.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 129 pages
Published March 21st 2017 by Hostile Whispers Press, LLC
ASIN B06XJQCZW9
Series Brawlers #1
setting Powers, Georgia(United States)
  • Twirled World Ink Series – first series
Berzerker (Twirled World Ink #1)
Trouble (Twirled World Ink #2)
Scary (Twirled World Ink #3)
Lucky (Twirled World Ink #4)
  • Brawlers – second series:
  • Executioners – third series

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Joker (Executioners #2) by J.M. Dabney

Rating:   5 Stars out of 5

Joker, what a misnomer, but Jackson Webb’s friends were idiots. He’d joined Executioners almost three years earlier after the lead singer King caught him playing his guitar behind his garage. It broke up the monotony of his life, but once he got bored he’d move on to another distraction. He wasn’t nice. He sure as hell wasn’t friendly. He was what he was, his friends handled his attitude and standoffish nature just fine. At thirty-eight he was pretty sure he was too stuck in his way to change shit now.

Demetri “Dem” Urban was settling into a new life in the middle of nowhere. Okay, he was hiding from everywhere in a kitchen as far removed from his five-star kitchen back in New York. Gideon invited him to stay with him and his wife for awhile just until he could get everything back on track. He didn’t see it happening, but he had to admit the scenery wasn’t bad even if the man had the personality of a rabid, man-eating bear. Dem did like a challenge and that fit Joker Webb perfectly.

My first sighting of Joker was in Ghost (Executioners, #1), a deeply moving story that served as my first introduction to D.M. Dabney and that author’s interlocking series (Twirled World Ink, Brawlers and Executioners and hopefully more).  Of course, I started with the most recent in the series which has turned out a fascinating, fortuitous move and I’m now moving backwards to the beginning series.  And Joker aka Jackson Webb has appeared everywhere, a dark, violent presence, sometimes just a fleeting reference, sometimes more as a participant in a rescue or beatdown, but Joker has been an enigmatic thread running through three series who now when ready in Dabney’s mind, explodes into the cacophony that is his heartrending, beautiful and oh so memorable story.

Forewarning.  If you’ve read Ghost, which is where I fell in love with Joker, you knew peeling back the edges of Joker’s armor would be like staring into the abyss.  His past is stomach churning and even though the abuse and descriptions of what happened to him is handled “off stage” , there is no space for your mind and heart to run from his scars…physical, mental, emotional that are revealed here.  They feel intense, all too real, and full of suffering of the unimaginable kind.  For some of you, these are triggers and you should be aware of the impact they will have.  Even if they aren’t triggers, prepared to have the abuse that Jackson suffered stay with you  long after the story is over, which is as it should be I suppose.

Jackson is the town vigilante/Paladin and his friends’ worry now that Harper has found love, happiness and safety with Ghost. Jackson aka Joker is still on his mission to protect and deliver his own forms of justice to those thugs/bullies in town who have been under the protection of the old corrupt (and now dead) Sheriff.  Given that mission it’s no surprise that he’s often found in one of the jail cells,  with his friends called to bail him out.  Outside of jail, his little dog Killer is his constant companion and yes, unacknowledged therapy dog.  He’s violent, untouchable, moody, and broken.  Yet everything about him shouts need.  I wanted his story from the minute I met him in Ghost.  And love him completely.

Then comes Dem, a man from a loving home who sets his eyes on Joker, knows that he and that broken man are somehow ‘meant’ for each other like his mom and dad. Dem is unique. Some see him as broken too. Dem is also a character you come across in Ghost, but here Dem becomes a complete person.  I loved his parents, the background Dabney supplies for him and his reasons for being in this small town. He’s pretty easy to fall in love with himself.   In the book, it all makes perfect sense as do the characters.  Dabney’s characterizations and writing is so good, so perfect for the themes the author chose and the paths the story needs to take, that all I could do is be pulled in, totally absorbed by the drama and evolving relationships.

Dem’s pursuit of Joker shakes the man to his emotional and mental foundation.  It’s everything he fears and has no reason to understand.  Love. J.M. Dabney creates two of the most perfect, broken, believable characters and then takes us on their journey towards a love only they can find with each other, and a  small dog named Killer.  At times, your heart will break over the blackness and evil suffered, sometimes your breath will catch with hope as they get close at times a relationship only to see it crash under the weight of the past and reality, and finally  your heart gets to soar with laughter and love at what the author has wrought out of darkness and pain.

How I love Joker (Executioners #2) by J.M. Dabney and the entire series.  I highly recommend it and Ghost.  Start with Ghost and then read Joker.  And look for all my reviews of the Twirled World Ink, and Brawlers series by J.M. Dabney to come.  I’ll be covering them all and the evolution of a universe.

Cover Design: Winterheart Design.  I think the cover captures Joker perfectly.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Published August 29th 2017
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL https://www.jmdabneyauthor.com/executioners
setting Georgia (United States)

Series Executioners:

Review Tour and Giveaway for Joker (Executioners #2) by JM Dabney

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 38,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Winterheart Design
 
Executioners Series
 
Ghost (Book #1) – Amazon US | Amazon UK 
 
Blurb


Joker, what a misnomer, but Jackson Webb’s friends were idiots. He’d joined Executioners almost three years earlier after the lead singer King caught him playing his guitar behind his garage. It broke up the monotony of his life, but once he got bored, he’d move on to another distraction. He wasn’t nice. He sure as hell wasn’t friendly. He was what he was, his friends handled his attitude and standoffish nature just fine. At thirty-eight he was pretty sure he was too stuck in his ways to change shit now.

Demetri “Dem” Urban was settling into a new life in the middle of nowhere. Okay, he was hiding from everyone in a kitchen as far removed from his five-star kitchen back in New York as he could get. Gideon invited him to stay with him and his wife for a while just until he could get everything back on track. He didn’t see it happening, but he had to admit the scenery wasn’t bad even if the man had the personality of a rabid, man-eating bear. Dem did like a challenge and that fit Joker Webb perfectly.

Author’s Note: This story contains scenes of a violent nature, mentions of rape and torture (All off page from characters pasts) and severe abuse. If you, as a reader, find this objectionable or triggering in any way, you can skip this story without losing the transition to the next book

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 5 star Review here.

September 25 – OMG Reads, Sexy Erotic Xciting, Bonkers About Books, Wicked Faerie’s Tales & Reviews
September 29 – Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Jessie G Books, BooksLaidBareBoys, Au Boudoir Ecarlate, MM Good Book Reviews
October 4 – Dog-Eared Daydreams
October 6 – Bayou Book Junkie, Sarandipity Reviews
 

Author Bio

J.M. Dabney is a multi-genre author who writes mainly LGBT romance and fiction. She lives with a constant diverse cast of characters in her head. No matter their size, shape, race, etc. she lives for one purpose alone, and that’s to make sure she does them justice and give them the happily ever after they deserve. J.M. is dysfunction at its finest and she makes sure her characters are a beautiful kaleidoscope of crazy. There is nothing more she wants from telling her stories than to show that no matter the package the characters come in or the damage their pasts have done, that love is love. That normal is never normal and sometimes the so-called broken can still be amazing.

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A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Antisocial by Heidi Cullinan and Iggy Toma (Narrator)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

I really enjoyed this audiobook.  No wait—let me rephrase that—I immensely enjoyed this outstanding audiobook performed by the incomparable Iggy Toma. He brings characters to life, making them real people I’d enjoy meeting—even those like Xander, who is antisocial.

Xander Fairchild is an Introvert with a capital I.  He really dislikes people and his only friend is sharp-tongued Zelda, a person who might, or might not, be friendly to him on any given day.  Zelda is one of several people who work with Xander at Benton College to create a manga serial.  Zelda’s forte is not art, however; that right belongs solely to Xander, who is highly talented and creative, though repressed socially and very self-deprecating. 

Skylar Stone was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and his every move has been planned by his very overbearing lawyer father. Skylar must score high on the LSAT test, and he must get into Yale and then, upon graduation, he must join his father’s law firm.  Period the end.  Per his father.  But Skylar takes one look at Xander’s art and falls head-over-heels in love with it.  And eventually, through a series of enlightenments about his own inner turmoil and life choices and new information about his feelings toward men and women and his own sexuality, he also falls in love with Xander. 

The journey Xander and Skylar take to love and acceptance is not typical.  The author gives us a totally different and unique perspective on love and sexuality.  Xander learns that he can express his love for Skylar through painting and his sexual connection can be expressed through touch and through use of his paint brushes.  Skylar learns what really makes Xander who he is and comes to love and accept him fully without attempting to change either his appearance or his personality. 

This is a very yaoi manga-slanted story and I loved the information passed to the reader through the characters in the delightful voices created by Iggy Toma.  I am an older woman who reads MM romance and LGBTQ lit for pleasure.  When I read, and certainly when I listen to an audiobook, I am looking for a real story to go along with whatever sex scenes an author may use to advance a plot. In other words, I’ve moved beyond choosing books because the sex scenes may be hot.  In this case, I’m pleased to say that I not only didn’t have to listen to gratuitous sex on page, but I was also gifted by a completely unique perspective on sexual pleasure and the simple enjoyment of connecting with one’s life partner. 

I can’t go heavy into details on the plot since I don’t have the book to refer back to for notes on character names, especially the Japanese character names affectionately given to Xander and Skylar and their friends.  That’s one of the few disadvantages of listening to an audiobook over actually reading an e-book version.  I will say, however, that the story was well-sprinkled with references to cherry blossoms and whether intended to be symbolic or not, I felt that watching Xander and Skylar come to a maturity and self-acceptance—each at his own pace and in his own way—was like watching a cherry blossom bloom. 

I highly recommend this audiobook!

~~

The very attractive cover depicts two young men drawn in manga-style but wearing clothing typical of each character in this book and, appropriately, cherry blossoms are sprinkled all over the page.   

Sales Links: Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audible Audio, 14 pages
Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Published August 21st 2017 by Heidi Cullinan (first published August 8th 2017)
Original Title Antisocial
ASINB074VCZXSD
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review :Renewal : 3rd Annual Queer SyFy Flash Fiction Anthology

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Re.new.al (noun)

1) Resuming an activity after an interruption, or
2) Extending a contract, subscription or license, or
3) Replacing or repairing something that is worn out,
run-down, or broken, or
4) Rebirth after death.

Four definitions to spark inspiration, a limitless number of stories to be conceived. Only 110 made the cut.

Thrilling to hopeful, Renewal features 300-word speculative fiction ficlets about sexual and gender minorities to entice readers.

Welcome to Renewal.

I am such a fan of flash fiction, the ability to  tell a complete story in 300 words or less.  Renewal is Queer SyFy’s Fourth year’s collection of flash fiction and what an incredible winner it is. Like a library full of tiny jewels, Renewal‘s flash fiction is glorious in it’s presentation of the dizzying array of imaginative themes and world building by it’s host of authors, the authors represented, the timeliness and resonance of some of their flash fiction storylines and the huge spectrum of genres included from horror to fantasy to science fiction.

Also by the sheer poetry of some of it’s stories.  As you can imagine, given the shortness of the fiction, the quantity of stories within is immense.  So are the number I call favorites, far too many to list here.  And it’s funny, you read them so quickly, that you can be several stories past one before the impact it leaves kicks in.  The “huh, no, let me think about that” that leads to you flipping back to that tale and pondering the thoughts of the author may have had writing it.  Trust me, there are many of those.

Over and over again, authors stopped my in my “reading tracks”, left breathless by what was before me.

Under Science Fiction Part II (yes it’s divided into sections like Horror and Fantasy etc), there is this story whose lyrical imagery has stayed with me:

I Will Be Your Shelter by Carey Ford Compton.  I would have bought this collection for this flash fiction alone based on this.  I will give you but this small moment from the story that still makes me weep with appreciation:

The operating room is blue, sterile. We are awake for the procedure. Surgeons slice into our numbed, shaved scalps. The drill bites. Lights, metallic tongue, clicks of bone.

Then: she bleeds into me like watercolor.

Such power, such beauty.  And this collection is full of such haunting tales.

As J. Scott Coatsworth said in his introduction “this collection includes many colors of the LGBTIQA (or QUILTBAG, if you prefer) universe—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual characters populate these pages—it was our most diverse contest yet.”

I also think it was Queer SyFy’s most outstanding. With pertinent quotes by authors at the beginning of each section and a easily accessible table of contents (I used it often to go back to stories I wanted to reread that I bookmarked), Renewal is a collection of stories that will make you think, occasionally laugh, push some boundaries, give you new authors to explore, and much, much, more.   Don’t you love it when that happens?

And yes, I highly recommend it!

Included Authors

‘Nathan Burgoine
A.M. Leibowitz
A.M. Soto
Abby Bartle
Aidee Ladnier
Alexis Woods
Andi Deacon
Andrea Felber Seligman
Andrea Speed
Andrea Stanet
Anne McPherson
Bey Deckard
Brigitte Winter
Carey Ford Compton
Carol Holland March
Carrie Pack
Catherine Lundoff
CB Lee
Christine Wright
Colton Aalto
Daniel Mitton
Dustin Blottenberger
Dustin Karpovich
E R Zhang
E.J. Russell
E.W. Murks
Ell Schulman
Ellery Jude
Eloreen Moon
Elsa M León
Emily Horner
Eric Alan Westfall
F.T. Lukens
Fenrir Cerebellion
Foster Bridget Cassidy
Ginger Streusel
Hannah Henry
Irene Preston
J. Alan Veerkamp
J. P. Egry
J. Summerset
J.S. Fields
Jaap Boekestein
Jackie Keswick
Jana Denardo
Jeff Baker
Jenn Burke
Joe Baumann
John Moralee
Jon Keys
Jude Dunn
K.C. Faelan
Kelly Haworth
Kiterie Aine
Kristen Lee
L M Somerton
L. Brian Carroll
L.M. Brown
L.V. Lloyd
Laurie Treacy
Leigh M. Lorien
Lex Chase
Lia Harding
Lin Kelly
Lloyd A. Meeker
Lyda Morehouse
M.D. Grimm
Martha J. Allard
Mary E. Lowd
Matt Doyle
Matthew Bright
Mia Koutras
Michelle Browne
Milo Owen
Mindy Leana Shuman
Naomi Tajedler
Natsuya Uesugi
Nephy Hart
Nicole Dennis
Ofelia Gränd
Patricia Scott
Paul Stevens
PW Covington
R R Angell
R.L. Merrill
Rebecca Cohen
Redfern Jon Barrett
Reni Kieffer
Richard Amos
RL Mosswood
Robyn Walker
Rory Ni Coileain
Rose Blackthorn
Ross Common
S R Jones
Sacchi Green
Sarah Einstein
Shilo Quetchenbach
Siri Paulson
Soren Summers
Stephanie Shaffer
Steve Fuson
Tam Ames
Terry Poole
Tray Ellis
Vivien Dean
Wendy Rathbone
Xenia Melzer
Zen DiPietro
Zev de Valera

Cover art by Gus Li is just gorgeous!

Sales Links:Mischief Corner Books (info only) | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 196 pages
Published September 13th 2017 by Mischief Corner Books, LLC
ASINB074ZPB4ZM
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: Drama Luau (Nicky and Noah Mystery #4) by Joe Cosentino

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Theatre professors and spouses, Nicky Abbondanza and Noah Oliver, are on their honeymoon at a Hawaiian resort, where musclemen in grass skirts are keeling over like waterfalls. Things erupt faster than a volcano when Nicky and Noah, along with their best friends Martin and Ruben, try to stage a luau show. Nicky and Noah will need to use their drama skills to figure out who is bringing the grass curtain down on male hula dancers—before things go coconuts for the handsome couple. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining fourth novel in this delightful series. Curtain up and aloha!

Those LGBT Nick and Nora Charles of the Murder set professors are back in another wonderful madcap murder mystery from Joe Cosentino in Drama Luau (Nicky and Noah Mystery #4).  Newlywed, a set of unforeseen circumstances have led to Nicky and Noah paying for their own honeymoon instead of it being a gift from both sets of parents.  Ever resourceful, Nicky found a resort that gave them a honeymoon  on a beautiful Hawaiian resort, all they have to do is direct the production of male hula dancers on stage.  It’s native dancing ala Vegas style!  What could possibly go wrong?

Well, yes, it is Nicky and Noah, so lots, including the weird murders and mysterious disappearances of the bodies of said hula dancers! Right on stage!  The antics and drama keeps piling up as two Detectives (one male, one female and neither straight) jump into the fray and find true love,  there’s a extreme right wing religious group involved along with the resort owners from hell, a “Bloody Mary” type selling all sorts of disgusting trinkets (really, why doesn’t she sing “Bali Hai”), an adorable poppet, their two close friends from the college and much more.  Yes, the amazing farce is complete!  It’s a laugh out loud romp, with bodies falling,  naughty sexcapades a sizzling, and love a happening everywhere!

As usual, there’s also plenty of heart, with the adorable poppet in need of fathers and a home.  Nicky has some soul searching to do, Noah is way ahead of him here.  Will the two become three and a family by the end of the story?  Hmmmm….that’s one storyline you need to read to find out for yourself.

This is one hilarious series with a heart and it  just keeps getting better.  I can’t imagine what uncharted territory  Cosentino has left?  Wisconsin? Trips to see the parents?  Shakes head. Just the thought leaves me shaking in my shoes.  What would Judy say?  (series reference…read the stories to get it).

I highly recommend them all and please read them in the order they were written for full blown laugh out loud reading pleasure!

Cover art is amazing.  Perfect for the story and eye catching to boot!

Sales Links:

http://myBook.to/DramaLuau

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/711186

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drama-luau-joe-cosentino/1125994872?ean=2940154062050

Book Details:

ebook
Published May 20th 2017 by Joe Cosentino
ISBN139781370559190
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesNicky and Noah Mystery #4

A MelanieM Audiobook Review: Mahu by Neil S. Plakcy and Joel Leslie (Narrator)

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Mahu — a generally negative Hawaiian term for homosexuals — introduces a unique character to detective fiction. Kimo Kanapa’aka is a handsome, mixed-race surfer living in Honolulu, a police detective confronting his homosexuality in an atmosphere of macho bravado within the police force. A man of intelligence, strength, honesty, resourcefulness, and intense dedication to the people of Hawaii, Kimo is a hard-boiled hero you will never forget. Fast-paced, intricately plotted, thoroughly enjoyable, this is a sexy, surprisingly moving mystery about discovering oneself as much as catching a killer.

I have been singing the praises of Neil S. Plakcy’s Mahu series for a long time now.  One of my favorite series, I’ve been following the life of Kimo Kanapa’aka, a gay police detective in Honolulu, Hawaii for ten books now, the last being Ghost Ship (Mahu, #10).  By Ghost Ship, Kimo has settled down with his husband Mike, a foster son, and sharing parenting of twins with a lesbian couple.  It’s been quite a journey for Kimo and family, a remarkable one the reader has been on with him every arduous step of the way.  And it all started with Mahu, first published in January 2005.

There we meet a vastly different Kimo, one trying to figure out his sexuality, a supposed “straight” detective within the Honolulu Police Department back when they had Palm Pilots, VHS tapes, where being out or even homosexual definitely wasn’t something you expected to be accepted for with the family, let alone within a Police Department.

So Plakcy gives us a complicated, decent, torn man who at his mid thirties is trying to figure out who he really is.  And puts Kimo in the midst of a murder at the worst time of his life.  I remember reading this story and feeling every bit of the pain and anguish that Kimo was going through.  But listening to it?  A hundred times more real and immediate.  The suspense of Kimo being found out during the investigation becomes palpable when listening to the narration by Joel Leslie, whose acting is superb.

One of the huge strengths of the Mahu series and the Plakcy narrative is that the author’s marvelous use of the local Hawaiian colloquialisms, sinking the characters into the culture via the vernacular of the mixed races that is Hawaii.  The familiarity of the island topography along with the religions and politics lay a  authentic foundation for Kimo and his family and all the strong relationship dynamics that play out in this story and the series.  It does so in the books and here in the audio version.

I have to admit the first hurdle any narrator has to overcome (even the wonderful Joel Leslie) is my mental image of Kimo Kanapa’aka.  He was a complete person in my head, including a voice that didn’t sound like the one Leslie assigned to him.  That took some getting used to. Once that hurdle was surmounted, I was able to completely lose myself back into a story I had loved so much and now got to enjoy again.  Leslie did an outstanding job the the huge cast of characters and all polyglot of voices he had to produce.  From the Chinese (elderly and young) to the Japanese to the Islanders (Polynesian  etc), the Hawaiians have a name it seems for every racial mixture.  And perhaps even a different tonality.  Joel Leslie does them all justice!

I hope that all of the Mahu series make it into audio version, I can’t wait to listen to them all.  This was a wonderful way to revisit the beginning of the series.  If you are new to Mahu, why not start here?  If you’re a fan of the series, I think you’ll find this a delightful way to revisit an old friend.  Either way this is a audiobook I highly recommend!

Cover art is wonderful.  Artwork is both primitive and colorful.  Love it.

Sales Links: MLR Press | Amazon

Audiobook Details:

Listening Length: 11 hours

Audible Audio
Published August 8th 2017 by MLR Press (first published August 1st 2005)
Original TitleMahu
ASINB074KLGCMT
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesMahu #1 settingHawaii (United States)

This book is part of The Mahu series