Category: M/M Paranormal Fiction

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audio Review: Jack of Thorns (Inheritance #1) by Amelia Faulkner and Joel Leslie (Narrator)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This was an interesting, fast-paced fantasy about Laurence Riley, a young man who operates a florist shop with his psychically gifted mom and pretty much coasts along through life knowing he needs to get his act together but struggling to figure out how.  He is also psychically gifted—with visions of future events that tend to come to reality. 

Desperate for a positive change, Laurence invokes his magic abilities and calls for help from a fertility god.  What he gets is Jack—green-eyed, self-possessed, egotistical Jack, who promises Laurence all will be well and he’ll meet his dream man if he has sex as often as possible so Jack can feed on the energy.

But Laurence has broken up with his boyfriend Dan, and isn’t really interested in anyone else, so Jack’s request may be a tall order.  And then he meets meets Brambury, who turns out to be Lord Brambury, actual name Quentin, and his life takes a bizarre turn.  Attracted to one another, it seems each time sex or the potential for sex arises, Quentin causes hurricane-like winds that destroy pretty much everything around him.  It’s Laurence who figures out that Quentin is afraid of sex and that his powers of telekinesis may be much stronger than he initially suspected.   Laurence can barely see the humor in the fact that he can’t very well keep Jack supplied with offerings of sex if the object of his affections is afraid of it.

Angry with Laurence about the situation, and having been the object of Quentin’s dangerous lack of control, Jack gives him one last chance.  Laurence has to grow a plant from a special seed.  And then the nightmare situation Laurence finds himself in gets worse.  As the plant grows out of control, he finds out that it’s powers are addictive and Jack will be feeding on the life energy of the people who use it.  Laurence knows about addiction.  After all, he fights his addiction and craving for heroin every day and he can’t imagine leading others to face a similar fate. Nor can he imagine giving more power to the already powerful and evil Jack. 

His nightmares and psychic predictions are getting worse and that, coupled with the irritating push-pull of his relationship with Quentin—one in which each man is attracted to the other but Quentin can’t bring himself to follow through on—is enough to make Laurence finally reach for the drug that will solve all his worries.  Thankfully, life and Quentin intervene and a very bizarre, yet exciting, confrontation occurs that ultimately leads our guys to a place where they can at least find their HFN. 

One strong word of caution here: the prologue contains graphic depictions of drug use and overdose.  And though cravings are described in multiple locations in this story, the most graphic are in that prologue.  Those in recovery from addiction may find this a trigger.

That being said, this is an enjoyable story.  It’s quite long, over twelve hours, but full of interesting events, twists and turns, and of course, a romance.  Both characters are interesting, but I must say that Quentin wins the prize for my favorite character in quite some time.  First, because Joel Leslie’s delivery is divine, and second because the author created such an endearing and humorous character. Though upper class Brit, complete with his often voiced perceptions of American ways and 21st century culture, he’s also a sweetheart wrapped in a very emotionally damaged package. 

Joel Leslie, as usual, delivers a flawless performance, providing a host of voices for the main and secondary characters, including the women.  I truly enjoy listening to an audiobook in which I can identify characters by their voice.  It makes me feel as if I’m actually “watching” the story and brings it to life.  So kudos to my favorite narrator and to the author for an interesting, creative story. 

If you enjoy fantasy and are looking for a very entertaining way to spend your time, I highly recommend trying this one—preferably in audio so you can enjoy the terrific narration.

Sales Links:  Amazon | Audible

Audio Details:

Audible Audiobook
Listening Length: 12 hours and 23 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Amelia Faulkner
Audible.com Release Date: January 9, 2018
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English, English
ASIN: B078TL42K6

A Caryn Review: Trysts and Burning Embers (Lijun #2) By Freddy MacKay & Angel Martinez

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I have to say, this series is growing on me, and though I still have issues with some of the writing, the pacing, and am still getting bogged down in the unfamiliar Japanese elements of the book, I am now in that happy/unhappy limbo of being so completely immersed in a story that when I reached the end of the book I just wanted to get to the next one NOW!!  The ending of this one was incredibly sweet and satisfying – even though the forces trying to bring down the Bastille clan are just as strong and mysterious as ever…

At the end of Fireworks and Stolen Kisses, Haru and Tally were married, and had become parents of 3 orphaned opossum lijun children.  They were just starting to understand and trust each other, Haru was gaining the respect of the Bastille clan, and was coming to understand the American culture as Tally was learning how Haru’s traditionalist upbringing informed his actions and thoughts.  Tally was cautiously hopeful that he was breaking through Haru’s walls, and all he needed was time and patience and his em’halafi would grow to love him as Tally loved Haru.

Time, unfortunately, was something they were not to have.

Although most of the elements that set up the conflict in this book were introduced in the first of the series, there were some new ones that were a little jarring.  There were extremely dark elements of Haru’s past introduced (although not exactly explicitly, so there is still a little revelation that may come later) that I truly did not pick up on in the last book, so I wonder if the authors created them after the first book was written.  The plot also took a decidedly violent turn that I did not expect, and though it was shocking, from that point on I could hardly set the book down – prior to that point, it was moving really slowly, to the point that I might have DNF’ed it had I not committed to the review.

I think what engaged me so much in this book was the focus on how Tally and Haru continued to function in the limbo of excruciating waiting after the initial tragedy and violence.  It was truly heart-wrenching.  In so many action novels, the characters are moving so quickly from one event to the next that they never have the chance to react and absorb what just happened.  Tally had spent his entire life learning to temper the extremely threatening power of his Uktena (snake) nature with restraint in order to fulfill his role as leader of the clan in a way that fostered trust and cooperation.  Violence had become anathema to him, so his reaction was as much bewilderment as it was grief.  Watching Tally find the balance between violence and restraint in response to the threats to his family was also fascinating to read.  At the end of the book, I might have been a little frustrated with Haru, but Tally was my hero.

The cast of characters is still quite large, but seemed a little more comprehensible in this book than they did the first.  I felt like I finally had them all straight, which was a definite improvement over the first book!  And though the players and the setting are much more defined than they were at the end of the first book, there is still a wide scope of possibility for the next one.  Which I am anxiously looking forward to reading now!  Overall, a slow start, but well worth the time to read this second installment of an epic series.

Cover art by Emmy@studioenp uses the same models from the first book of the series, but the poses have a deeper meaning this time.  The models are still excellent representations of Tally and Haru.

Sales Links: Pride Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 1, 444 pages
Published November 20th 2018 by Pride Publishing
Original Title Trysts and Burning Embers (Lijun, #2)
ISBN 139781786516978
Edition Language English
Series Lijun #2

An Alisa Release Day Review: Gabriel and the Devil by Robert P. Rowe

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

Flirting with the devil can lead to a helluva good time.

Gabriel is a regular angel. The former altar boy plans to graduate from college, become an accountant, get a good job, find a wife, and live a faithful Catholic life.

But one Halloween night, the devil pops in out of nowhere, challenges everything he believes, and heats up Gabriel’s lonely life.

Marcello is full of the devil. He’s lusted after Gabriel forever, but what he really wants is Gabriel’s eternal soul. Still, his mischievous sense of humor, along with his tricks and jokes, leads to a misunderstanding that could condemn him to hell on Earth. Only the truth will let these souls find true love and happiness.

Okay, the blurb for this book was interesting and I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I had trouble with the beginning of the book and the whole devil/angel thing as it was actually more of a joke but Gabriel wasn’t able to see it.  Once I pushed myself through the first quarter of the book I started to see the bits of the real Marcello though Gabriel still seemed blind to it.

I felt bad for Gabriel as he continued to beat himself up over how he was feeling about Marcello and what not.  I wish that we would have been able to see Marcello and Gabriel in the real relationship they ended up in once Marcello told Gabriel the whole truth and the time it took Gabriel to come to terms with it.  I assumed some things about Marcello but never learned the truth til almost the very end of the book which made it hard to connect with him. While the story was okay for me and the writing wasn’t bad I just don’t feel that this type of book was really for me.

The cover art by Tiferet Design is nice though the picture of Marcello is of a much older man than he is.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 104 pages

Published: January 4, 2019 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN-13: 978-1-64080-445-6

Edition Language: English

An Alisa Review : Midnight Angel by Kevin Klehr

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Dinner is overcooked. The guests haven’t arrived.

Luke is sitting alone at his dining table on New Year’s Eve. He was hoping to romance Nathan, one of the people he invited for this intimate evening meal.

As midnight draws closer, it seems an angel, who has magically appeared in Luke’s apartment, is the only person to drink champagne and watch the fireworks with.

But this angel has other ideas. He’s about to grant Luke the New Year’s Eve party he thought he wanted.

 

This was a different story and it’s so short I’m afraid to give everything away.  I understood the point of what the angel did but didn’t like the execution and mostly just felt for Luke as he was being blindsided.

 

In the end we get to see Luke find the love he wants just not in the way he had originally hoped.  Unfortunately I didn’t feel a big connection to any of the characters but felt as if I was watching from the sidelines.

I like the cover art by Natasha Snow is cute and one of the standard for holiday shorts this year.

Sales Links: Nine Star Press | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 10,500 words

Published: December 10, 2018 by Nine Star Press

ISBN: 978-1-949909-61-6

Edition Language: English