Category: M/M Book Reviews

In the Spotlight: The Balance (The Eternal Dungeon #3) by Dusk Peterson (excerpt and contest)

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The Balance (The Eternal Dungeon #3) by Dusk Peterson
 Release Date: April 11, 2016 (reissue)

Goodreads Link
 Publisher: Love In Dark Settings Press
Cover Artist: Dusk Peterson

Blurb

“‘The Eternal Dungeon is my home now,’ the High Seeker said. But as he spoke, he lifted his face and looked at the Vovimian carving, as a man might look at a beloved he must leave forever.”

The Seekers (torturers) in the Eternal Dungeon have always expressed contempt toward the Hidden Dungeon in the neighboring kingdom of Vovim, whose torturers abuse prisoners without restraint. But the balance between mercy and hell is not so clear as might be thought in either dungeon, and now that balance is about to tip. Only the strength of love and integrity will determine the paths of two Seekers whose fortunes are bound together.

A winner of the 2011 Rainbow Awards (within the “Eternal Dungeon” omnibus), this tale of love and adventure can be read on its own or as the third volume in The Eternal Dungeon, a speculative fiction series set in a nineteenth-century prison where the psychologists wield whips.

The Eternal Dungeon series is part of Turn-of-the-Century Toughs, a cycle of alternate history series (Young Toughs, Waterman, Life Prison, Commando, Michael’s House, The Eternal Dungeon, and Dark Light) about adults and youths on the margins of society, and the people who love them. Set in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the novels and stories take place in an alternative version of America that was settled by inhabitants of the Old World in ancient times. As a result, the New World retains certain classical and medieval customs.

 

Pages or Words: 90,000 words
Can be read as a standalone
 Categories: Alternate Universe, Gay Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Queergender

Excerpt

He had awoken, on that day after, to find himself lying alone in bed.

It had all been a dreaming, then: the promise of everlasting love, the passion that had followed upon that promise, the warmth of Elsdon’s body – and more importantly, the warmth of his companionship. Layle had expected it to happen one day: his dreamings had become so real that he had begun to believe them.

The bedsprings creaked.

He reacted automatically, which meant he reacted violently. Reaching toward the only loose object at hand – the night-table next to the bed – he grasped it by its leg, wrenched it from the floor, and had begun to swing it toward the intruder before he checked himself in time.

He opened his eyes. Elsdon, fully clothed and hooded but with his face-cloth raised, sat beside him. He looked, Layle realized with amazement, more amused than fearful.

“By all that is sacred,” Elsdon said, speaking the mildest of oaths, “is this how you always greet your love-mates upon awakening?”

Layle slowly lowered the night-table, feeling the blood thunder within his body. “I’ve never had a love-mate before who slept with me.”

“I can see why, if this is how you wake from your sleep.”

Layle slowly raised himself into a sitting position. Elsdon was still smiling, he noted with growing incredulity. The Seeker-in-Training had made a joke about the fact that Layle was a killer born.

Buy the book

http://duskpeterson.com/eternaldungeon/#thebalance

Universal / Global Amazon – http://myBook.to/TheBalance_DPeterson
BN – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-balance-dusk-peterson/1115247368
kobo – https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-balance-the-eternal-dungeon-volume-3
iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/balance-eternal-dungeon-volume/id1102706878?mt=11
smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/629188

 

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Meet the Author

Honored in the Rainbow Awards, Dusk Peterson writes historical adventure tales that are speculative fiction: alternate history, historical fantasy, and retrofuture science fiction, including lgbtq novels and young adult fiction. Friendship, family affection, faithful service, and romance often occur in the stories. A resident of Maryland, Mx. Peterson lives with an apprentice and several thousand books.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, A.M. Leibowitz, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Full Moon Dreaming, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, My Fiction Nook, Jessie G. Books, MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Charley Descoteaux, MM Book Escape, Bonkers About Books, Velvet Panic, The Hat Party, Outrageous Heroes, Open Skye Book Reviews

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: An e-copy of “Life Prison.”  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
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A MelanieM Review:Locked (Telluric Realm #1) by Anyta Sunday

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

LockedA curse threatens the Winter Kingdom.
A brother is turned to ice.
A rebel uprising is on the horizon.

Marble-maker Rye Cunnings is at the center of it all—and doesn’t know it.

He doesn’t know he’s the lost summer prince. Doesn’t know his blood can unlock Winter’s curse. Doesn’t know why the marbles he makes flutter with magic. All he thinks is that he’s crazy. That he sees things others don’t, like dragons and strange markings on his skin.

But when a dark dragon snatches away Rye’s only friend Milo, he is forced to face the crazy in his life and figure out a way to bring Milo back.

Help comes in the form of Cerdic Leit, a warrior who finds Rye to take him “home” to the Telluric Realm and their kind. All Rye has to do is follow him into Gatreau, the gateway to the four Telluric kingdoms, and all his questions will be answered.

In the hopes of saving Milo, Rye steps into this new and dangerous world. A world where he learns of the Tellurics and their Hansian foes. A world that is swept up in a bitter battle of justice and hate.

And a world that won’t let Rye leave again.

I adore a wonderful fantasy saga and Anyta Sunday’s latest novel, Locked, has all the markings of making it into my top  fantasy list.  Its the first in her new series, Telluric Realm, and it sets the ground work not only for her series universe, which includes multiple dimensions, but a cast of characters complete with dragons, kingdoms at war, lost princes and curses that will break your heart.

We jump into Rye’s life as he’s running, fleeing actually, towards the comfort of his marble shop, Marvels Marbles:

Rye Cunnings shivered and hoofed it down the cobblestone road, fixed on the slice of his marble store ahead. This was just another morning. Just another morning.

A drizzly dawn fingered through the low-hanging mist creeping along Bristol’s narrow streets. Lamppost lights flickered and blinked out, sucking their murky reflections from deep puddles. Rain hit Rye’s neck and face and the palm he pressed against his chest. The drops snaked down his sleeve and mixed with the blood at his wrist. It tingled, and Rye dabbed his cuff over the cut—a circle intersected with twelve loops.

A cut that he’d gouged out with his keys, following the shimmery pattern that had marked his skin for as long as he could remember.

 

Already, the author has told us so many things, there’s a  spooky pattern playing out in Rye’s life, he has an odd design on his wrist and his cuts the pattern repeatedly.  That’s just the opening paragraphs, the following ones just cement your curiosity about this haunted man, the incredible marbles he makes that give him so much peace and perhaps act as a balm in more ways than one.

The action starts in too.  Anyta Sunday is not content to “tell you” but picks up the pace of her narrative (which was already fast), to whip along at dragon flight speed.  There is plenty of action, oodles of subterfuge,  political bad history between the kingdoms, lost princes and other back history for the author to lay out.  Oh and romances as well. Three of them to be exact if I’m following the threads here, not just the main characters, which is a total delight.

But, a cautionary note, the romances are of the slow building type.  You can see it happening, the chemistry the  author has created between several couples in her story is delicious.  Its the wonderful dialogs, great scenes, that deliver in some cases (ok, more than one) the prickliness and snark, the huge misunderstandings and the betrayals, but the actual falling, verbally, in love?  The commitment and the kissing? Don’t expect to see here.  It will have to be won, and too much will have occurred between all of the characters here  for that to have happened.  Trusts need to be rebuilt, and in some cases, people will need to be…well never mind, laughing, I’ll let those bits to the story and storyteller.

As I said before this is a long tale, with a saga’s worth a world building to layout for the reader.  At times, it gets a bit bogged down under the weight but it quickly picks up steam again.  And, honestly, you need that information later on in the story and series.

Sunday’s descriptions of fights and action are tremendous, I see the action happening as though it was just in front of me.  There are more than a few white-knuckle moments here and they were outstanding in making me wonder at the outcome, for the book and our hero (even as I knew there was a sequel coming).

Only the ending left me a little hanging. It felt less complete  and more like a setup for the next story.  Its really the only reason this story didn’t get a 5 star rating.  But I suppose that as saga’s go, I’ll settle for that and eagerly await the next installment in the Telluric Realm.

I’ll leave you with a  dream that Rye constantly has:

 

He lay back, practiced emptying his mind, and tossed and turned toward sleep.

Then, like a heavy weight plunging into deep water, Rye sank into The Dream.

She was there again, standing in a narrow alley, a slip of light overhead and a black shaft gripped in her hand. She held herself straight, chin up, honeycomb hair spilling over her shoulders. With a flick of her wrist, the shaft extended to the length of a cane and she stilled, statuesque for a long moment, and then spun into a fluid dance, the sharp end of the shaft cutting easily into the ground.

From inside her coat she pulled a vial and poured a glittering fluid over the markings she’d made. She flipped the shaft to its bristly end and traced the glitter over the wreath of symbols at her feet.

She came close, filling his vision.

“Shhh,” she said softly. “He won’t get you.”

His vision blurred to a curtain of golden hair, then sharpened, and her figure shrank away. The edges of the dream warped, distorted. There was a flash of orange light, followed by the woman’s wretched, agonized scream.

The alley entrance darkened as a scaled body slunk past, and then swiveled…

Fierce black eyes glared at him through thick plumes of smoke. One massive ball of fire shot out and bounced back at him. The dragon reared back, wings shooting out, belly expanding. Its jaws parted, jetting out a mighty burst of flame…

Again, the fire bounced.

The ground shook as the animal slammed against the alley entrance and roared. Then he flew overhead, diving down toward them. Again, something blocked him. Over and over he tried, retreating and slamming, retreating and slamming, retreating. . .

The dream warbled again, jerky

Do I recommend this book?  Absolutely!  Its exciting, its adventurous, highly imaginative and kept me glued to my Kindle until it was over.  Just how I love my fantasy tales to be told.

 

Cover Design: Natasha Snow is lovely, with just a hint of the designs that cover Rye’s body.

Map Design: Renflowergrapx

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 330 pages
Published April 26th 2016
ASIN B01DX3EAZQ
Edition Language English
Series Telluric Realm #1
Author’s Telluric Realm Website

A Lila Review: Enemies of the State by Tal Bauer

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Enemies of the StateThe prologue sets the suspense arc in the story and brings the reader into the heart of Washington DC.

We first meet Special Agent Ethan Reichenbach on Christmas Eve as he guards President-Elect Jack Spiers. They’re at the President’s Austin, TX apartment getting ready to travel for the presidential inauguration. This night marks the starts of a friendship frown upon the Secret Service, but that would change their lives.

Life as President of the United States isn’t what Jack expected. He had not problems dealing with his political counterparts or advisors, but the lack of a personal life is keeping him off balance. As a widower with no children, he has no family living with him at the White House residence, and he spends most of his spare time with Secret Service agents that wouldn’t engage him in a simple conversation. It’s up to Ethan, his detail supervisor, to find a way to help the president adjust to his new reality.

This new friendship would keep them sane as they deal with the realities of their jobs. As time passes, they found themselves at the mercy of external forces trying to change the world’s political balance. Their relationship turns into an exploration of something more, and simple decisions would affect, not only their partnership but world peace.

Enemies of the State is a political thriller that happens to have two male main characters. There are three sets of narrators in this book. One brings the chaos into the MCs’ lives, as well as, into the world of politics. The second tries to stop the plans from the first group before they can accomplish their goals. And lastly, we have Ethan and Jack dealing with world threats as their friendship morphs into a loving relationship.

There’s no easy way to review this story without spoiling the outcome. Each chapter starts with a briefing of the political events taking place between chapters. Some of them are short and to the points, but others introduce too much political information for a leisure reader. In order to truly enjoy this story, you need a basic knowledge of global politics and current threats. That’s the only reason I took away from the stories rating.

The amount of characters involved can be overwhelming, and sometimes you have to read a passage twice to keep them all straight, but the further you read, the easier it’s to follow all the events developing concurrently. There’s never an idle moment. Something is happening at all times even when the main characters are relaxing and spending a comfortable afternoon together.

The location descriptions are accurate, and even simple things like weather patterns and smells play an important part in the story. The amount of detail is impressive and well distributed. We get to see exactly what the characters saw and what they experienced. The reader is always on the narrator’s side, being part of the events.

Yes, this story has a good dose of romance and sexual exploration, but it’s more than that. The political events are as important as the main characters’ relationship and without them, it would be another bodyguard/protectee cliché. The author did an excellent job creating a world, realistic enough, to set the love story. Their relationship goes beyond lust, and it’s based on everyday interaction and complete trust– a slow build with a fulfilling HEA ending.

The images in the cover matched the main characters descriptions very well, and the rest of the composition shows the main ideas of the story perfectly.

Sale Links: NineStar | Amazon | ARe

Book Details: 

ebook, 324 pages
Published: February 15, 2016, by NineStar Press
ISBN: 9781911153337
Edition Language: English

Series: The Executive Office
Book #1: Enemies of the State

 

E.J. Russell On Characters, Inspiration, and ‘Stumptown Spirits’ (guest blog and giveaway)

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Stumptown Spirits by E.J. Russell
Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist L.C. Chase

Read An Excerpt/Buy It Here

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have E.J. Russell here this morning to talk about her novel, Stumptown Spirits, and the inspiration behind her characters.  Welcome, E.J.!

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Maybe because I was an actor for years, or maybe because I’m an introvert and all my best conversations occur in my head, my first drafts are always dialogue-heavy. In fact, some **cough**most**cough** scenes might be dialogue only on that first pass. I have to force myself to write description. Consequently, to make that process as easy as possible . . .

I cheat.

It’s a method I use all the time in my day job — copy and paste.

Okay, with descriptions it’s a little more effort than that — I still have to write the words. But if I find pictures of major story elements, I can look at them and just, you know, describe them.

So before I start the actual first draft of any book, I have to find pictures of my main characters. For Stumptown Spirits, I happened on a picture of Dylan O’Brien and Tyler Hoechlin cuddled together on a boat, Dylan’s arm around Tyler’s shoulders, Tyler’s finger on Dylan’s lips.

Hello.

Then I found a picture of Dylan O’Brien in glasses and that was it. Game over.

That’s right—I was totally shipping Sterek—Stiles and Derek from Teen Wolf.

Since this particular ship is extremely popular in Teen Wolf fandom—and the two actors obviously get a huge kick out of teasing the fans along—locating other images wasn’t too difficult. My Pinterest inspiration board got littered with all kinds of fabulous pins. Things like Tyler kissing a smiling Dylan on the cheek. The two of them lying in bed, Dylan’s hand on Tyler’s shoulder and Tyler gripping Dylan’s wrist (with the bonus of the very nice definition in Dylan’s upper arm, courtesy of a rucked-up T-shirt sleeve). Oh, yeah. And that fan art illustration of a shirtless Derek pinning Stiles against the wall, obviously one breath away from a pretty steamy kiss? Unfortunately, I didn’t find that one until after I wrote the book.

But what the heck. I’m always game for another Sterek shot.

Here’s the board, if you’d like to take a look. https://www.pinterest.com/ejrussell/stumptown-spirits/

And that first picture? Dylan and Tyler on the boat (shipping themselves, the sly devils)? The description of that picture makes a cameo appearance in Stumptown Spirits—as the wallpaper on Riley’s laptop.

About Stumptown Spirits

What price would you pay to rescue a friend from hell?

For Logan Conner, the answer is almost anything. Guilt-ridden over trapping his college roommate in a ghost war rooted in Portland’s pioneer past, Logan has spent years searching for a solution. Then his new boyfriend, folklorist Riley Morrel, inadvertently gives him the key. Determined to pay his debt—and keep Riley safe—Logan abandons Riley and returns to Portland, prepared to give up his freedom and his future to make things right.

Crushed by Logan’s betrayal, Riley drops out of school and takes a job on a lackluster paranormal investigation show. When the crew arrives in Portland to film an episode about a local legend of feuding ghosts, he stumbles across Logan working at a local bar, and learns the truth about Logan’s plan.

Their destinies once more intertwined, the two men attempt to reforge their relationship while dodging a narcissistic TV personality, a craven ex-ghost, and a curmudgeonly bar owner with a hidden agenda. But Logan’s date with destiny is looming, and his life might not be the only one at stake.

About EJ Russell

E.J. Russell holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer, and business-intelligence consultant. After her twin sons left for college and she no longer spent half her waking hours ferrying them to dance class, she returned to her childhood love of writing fiction. Now she wonders why she ever thought an empty nest meant leisure.

E.J. lives in rural Oregon with her curmudgeonly husband, the only man on the planet who cares less about sports than she does. She enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.

Connect with E.J.:

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Stumptown Spirits, EJ is giving away $25 in Riptide credit. Leave a comment to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 21, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Legend Tripping

The ghost that walks at midnight . . . The man who transforms into a beast . . . The sinister figure lurking in the shadow of dreams . . .

The door between our world and . . . something other.

There’s a reason why such legends persist in every country, every region, every town.

They’re real.

For most, they’re the stuff of nightmares, terrors to be avoided. But for others, they’re an irresistible challenge—a chance to raise the ghost, stalk the beast, open that inter-dimensional door, and say “It’s all true, and I’ve lived to tell the tale.”

These legend trippers are in it for the thrill, the adventure—and sometimes, when they least expect it, for love.

–

A MelanieM Review: Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business (Brandywine Investigations #1-3) by Angel Martinez

Rating:  5 stars out of 5    ★★★★★

Brandywine InvestigationsWhen humans forsake the temples, the gods need to find other employment. Hades opens Brandywine Investigations after his divorce and his subsequent move to the modern world. If he was hoping for boring infidelity cases and lost dogs, he’s sorely mistaken as murder and mayhem find his agency and his extended family at an astonishing rate.

Includes:
Canines, Crosshairs & Corpses: Brandywine Investigations #1
No Enemy But Time: Brandywine Investigations #2
Dragons, Diamonds & Discord: Brandywine Investigations #3

Please note: The stories in this omnibus have been reedited, and expanded by about 18K (total.)

Its no secret, if you’ve been reading this blog, that I’m a huge fan of three things: fantasy, mythology, and the author that always manages to combine them in her imaginative and often addictive novels,  Angel Martinez.  So, I was thrilled to see a omnibus of tales that I had not encountered before, Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business (Brandywine Investigations #1-3) by Angel Martinez.  What I found was pure Angel Martinez heaven.

While the main focus is the Pantheon of Greek gods, others like the Egyptian god Set for example make appearances, along with the Gilgamesh mythic figures, and norse legends, all set elements of a Martinez narrative.  The author takes the whole of world’s theology and mythology and weaves it together in a wonderful literary tapestry, connected by larger than life characters as well as human.  Then she makes them so real, so heartstopping believable that you fall deeply in love with them and boom,  the connection between you and the characters and their world snaps into place.

The stories are stacked logically and chronologically.  I would rate them all equally, really I had no favorites here.  I loved them all.

Canines, Crosshairs & Corpses: Brandywine Investigations #1:  This one introduces all the characters and sets up a mystery that will thread itself through all the stories.  Here we meet Hades and Charon shortly after Persepherone has asked for a divorce.  It was, as we all know, never really a love match but Hades is bereft and has left the Underworld.  Martinez makes us believe in his emotional devastation, his climb to understanding and rebuilding his “new God life” and the street boy Ti he rescues.  The emotions here are killer, in so many ways.  There is humor, pain, angst, and yes, love.

No Enemy But Time: Brandywine Investigations #2: This involves all of the characters from the first story, but the focus is on Hades’ son, Zack (short for Zagreus, God of the Hunt or Resurrection) and his fallen Angel lover, Michael). This is one for breaking your heart several times over.  Turns out that Michael was Zack’s guardian angel but fell in love with his charge.  That cost his his wings.  Not in a nice way but in a come down from heaven and cut them off your body in front of your lover while you are screaming sort of way.  Still they have been happy.  But there are other fallen angels in the city and someone has been killing them and now they are coming for Michael.  The mystery is a wonderful one, the entire family comes together for Zack as its a race to help figure out who’s behind the plot against the fallen angels and how to stop it.  Just a 5 star story all around.

Dragons, Diamonds & Discord: Brandywine Investigations #3:  The collection ends with this story that pulls all 3 together, tying up the plot lines, the family stories, several relationships and ending with an altogether wonderful storyline about a dragon childrens author and Hermes, (yes that Hermes) nephew to Hades, corporate CEO and member in a band.  Really there is no end to Angel Martinez’ imagination, or depths to her stories.

Each line here sparkles with humor, a touch or more of pathos, swathed over  with layers of mythology and appreciation for the finer points of storytelling and relationship dynamics.  All that and a great tale too.  Plus dragons. I get dragons!

I don’t know if there are other Brandywine Investigations stories out there.  I certainly hope so, Angel Martinez has barely broken the surface of gods she can pull into Hade’s and Charon’s circle.  I know I need to know more.  And check in to see how Hades and Ti are getting on, along with Zack and Michael and the rest of the gang.

Do I recommend Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business (Brandywine Investigations #1-3) by Angel Martinez?  I absolutely do.  Its plain out terrific in every way.

Cover Artist: Mila May.  I am only so so on the cover.  I really don’t believe it does the stories justice, It was the title and author who grabbed my attention, not the cover which I would have passed on.

Sales Links:  Mischief Corner Books | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, First
Published April 27th 2016 by Mischief Corner Books, LLC
Original TitleBrandywine Investigations: Open for Business
ISBN139781310044854
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesBrandywine Investigations #1-3

An Ali Review: Bored, Stroked and Blueprinted by K.C. Kendricks

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

Bored Stoked and BlueprintedAs a boy, Mick Ambrose fell in love with cars. Now he owns and operates an auto restoration shop specializing in all things American Muscle. When the black 1969 Camaro Z/28 he years ago dubbed Onyx pulls into his garage, Mick forgets his first love in favor of her driver, Logan Gregg. Mick’s interested and cruises Logan at a speed worthy of the car he drives.

Logan Gregg’s plan to avoid entanglements in his life drives away when he stops at American Muscle to ask a few questions about restoring the Z/28 he inherited from his uncle. The owner of the shop is smooth as a well-tuned V-8 engine and twice as hot. Logan is quick to shift gears and take a closer look at Mick Ambrose and the road ahead.

But when Mick wants to get too close, too fast, Logan backs off. His past holds painful memories he can’t escape and the tattoos on his arms aren’t just for decoration. Working on the Z/28 brings the men closer, but Mick makes a mistake when he confesses his knowledge of the past Logan wants to keep buried. Mick knows a man has to settle his past to step into his future, but can he convince Logan?

KC Kendricks did a good job with this story, it’s a nice and sweet shorter story.  Mick is sure from his first meeting with Logan that he wants more with him and not just something casual.  Logan has trouble trusting others and has a bit of a push and pull relationship with Mick at the beginning.  The more time they spend together working on the car the closer they become.

Mick has been tired of hook ups for a long time, but never met anyone who he was interested in more with and Logan drives up in his dream car.  He can tell that Logan has some demons from his past to deal with but wants to help him move forward.  They both have to grow up a bit and accept that everything can’t be perfect all the time no matter how much you want it to be.

I quickly understood Mick’s feelings in the story, but it took a little longer to know Logan’s.  Neither want to do anything to hurt the other, but aren’t able to prevent it as much as they would like.  It takes time and patience for them to move forward.  I just wish we would have been able to know what Logan was thinking in some parts of the story.

Cover art by April Martinez is very nice and made me interested in the book.

Sales Links: Loose Id | Amazon | ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 97 pages
Published: 2nd Edition April 26, 2016 by Loose Id
ISBN: 9781682521274
Edition Language: English

A Stella Review: Black Dust by Lynn Charles

RATING 4,25  out of 5 stars

Black DustNo matter how busy he keeps himself, successful Broadway musician Tobias Spence can’t outrun the memory of a tragic car crash from his past that claimed a friend’s life and permanently injured his former boyfriend, Emmett.

Even after losing Tobias, Emmett Henderson made peace with that awful night, living in his Indiana hometown where he has become a revered choral director. When his students are asked to perform in New York City, he decides to chance reconnecting with his former love, if for no other reason than to get a proper goodbye.

When Emmett and Tobias finally meet 15 years after parting ways, it is clear to both of them that their feelings for each other have not changed. As they explore their renewed relationship, the two men face old hurts and the new challenges of a long-distance romance. Will Tobias lose his second chance at love to the ghosts he can’t seem to put to rest?

“If the past comes back to visit you, maybe you should invite it to tea.”

Black Dust is my frst book by Lynn Charles, I was curious and excited to read it. Now I can say I’m surely going to read her debut novel, Chef’s Table, in the coming weeks.

What I soon appreciated was the prologue. I adore authors who give me the basical facts at the start and don’t let me beg for crumbs of past events. In the prologue set in the 2000 Emmett and Toby are a young but solid couple, they met two years ago during the auditions at the local theater when they were just 16 and 18 years old. It’s the night before Emmett prom and they are going out with their best friend, Scott when they have a terrible car accident and Scott dies.

Fifteen years later Tobias is a Broadway musician, he plays piano all over the world. He left Indiana and Emmett behind. He came back to his life, but the struggle to forget what happened and the dreams shared with his lover forgotten, is still strong and the youthful, broken promises hard to forget. Now his home base is NY and his best friend Malik, a sculptor.

Emmett is living in Indiana, working now as a choral director. As soon as the chance of  a couple of days in NY come out, he hopeful and calls Toby, asking for a reconnection.

Among the two, Emmett was my favorite character, he’s strong, real, loyal and beautiful in his heart. I soon felt a connection with his attitude, in his everyday life, his relationships with his parents or with his students. Yes I fell for him.

Point is I haven’t fallen for Toby, at all. And this is the only reason I’m not giving the story five stars. I couldn’t feel his emotions, I found him to be cold-hearted and stiff in everything he does. To me he didn’t stand out as a good person and was almost impossible to me to see him with Emmett. I said almost because at the end, thanks to the author abilities, I was finally able to understand his loss, his guilt and the tragedy he is still trying to overcome. Hats off to Lynn for this and for giving Scott an importance and lovable portrait, I missed him like Emmett and Toby did.

The author put in the story her whole musical knowledge and beyond. The MCs’ passion and work had a huge role in the book, but it never overwhelmed my reading, on the contrary, with the help of a well developed and interesting secondary characters cast, gave the plot a foundation and realism needed. I liked the style and the writing a lot, I think she did really great. The “second chance at love” stories are one of my favorite trope in the mm genre and Black Dust greatly delivered. The book was definitely worth my time and I recommend it.

The book and cover design by CB Messer is a winner. I like it a lot, an amazing style. It’s one of the reason why I picked the novel.

Sales Links:  Interlude Press |  ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 312 pages
Published April 7th 2016 by Interlude Press
ASIN B01DR4USSO
Edition Language English