Review: Silver/Steel (Arcada #2) by Belinda McBride

Rating: 4 stars

Dream Hunter Dylan Ryve has one last mission to fulfill, one last hunt to finalize so his geas is honored and he will be free of the one who has entraped him. The problem is that the one he hunts is inside the town of Arcada and the town won’t let him inside. Frustrated Dylan waits outside of town in a bar hoping for a way in when a young shifter looking for trouble enters the bar and promptly finds it. Travis Feris is young, impulsive, and insecure and he hides his pain behind outrageous behavior and stupid acts of hostility. These actions often find him deep in trouble and this night is no different. But the men he chose to offend have a far more ruthless, horrific plan for Travis and only the actions of fae named Dylan saves unconscious Travis.

When the town lets Dylan bring Travis home to heal, the assassin has his way clear to find his target and complete his bounty. But things are never that easy in Arcada. First of all there is Travis. Dylan sees the true nature of the shifter and Travis’ innocence and inner beauty calls to him as nothing has in a thousand years. And worse, Travis seems to return his interest,and affection. Plus Arcada is talking to him, making him question his path and his future. The town makes Dylan remember what it feels like to have a home and people around him to care for him. But always there is Travis, luring him in, making him question everything. During one night as Dylan walks Travis’ dreams to help the shifter find his path, he inadvertently shares much of his own history with Travis too. And in his vulnerability, Dylan opens himself up to love and the possibility that he will fail in his mission, forfeiting his freedom and possibly his life.

But the evil that owns Dylan is waiting impatiently for Dylan to complete the last mission and when it stalls, he takes things into his own hands, putting Arcada and its inhabitants in peril. Will Dylan betray Travis and all of Arcada to finish his bounty or will he make the ultimate sacrifice to save those he loves?

This is a very different book from Blacque/Bleu which started the series I have fallen in love with. And it is that difference that most readers will have a problem with when approaching Silver/Steel. I too found I had some basic issues with this story and even, now find myself wavering in my feelings over some of its elements and scenes. But let’s start with some of the basics first.

I love the whole idea of Arcada, the sentient town that gives the series its name. In Silver/Steel, the town makes an actual physical appearance, in that it gives itself a temporary shape and we learn a little more about it, but never enough to satisfy the questions that the story brings up. I love everything about this town. Its protective nature, the fact that it nurtures a diverse group of citizenry from gremlins to a pack of wolf shifters and everything in between. Such a great idea and I look forward to how the author develops this concept further. This is one of the best elements of the series.

Then we come to McBride’s characters. I fell in love with Lukas Blacque and Oliver Bleu immediately and never lost my connection to them throughout the novel. That did not happen here. Travis Feris initially comes across as a sullen, somewhat infantile brat. He is constantly picking fights, he’s impulsive to the point of obnoxiousness and although everyone tells us how talented he is, we are given almost no examples of his artistry. He is just not that likable at the start. Then McBride pairs him up with a main character his equal in spirit and inability to connect with the reader. Dylan Reyvn is an ancient fae who gave up his freedom to save others but that is not the person we meet, Instead we are given a single minded killer on a mission. The complexities of this character reveal themselves more slowly and with each revelation, I found my liking for Dylan growing as well. For me that never really happened with Travis. Travis remained a five note character. Loves Mom, loves Pack, loves Arcada, loves Dylan and some bdsm. Where as for Dylan, he has a past to equal his many layered persona and I appreciated that. True, the Travis at the end of the book is far more palatable than the first one we meet, but I never felt that the growth he achieved was realistic within the context of the story. Dylan on the other hand is on the cusp of a major transformation and I wished that we would have seen more than just hints of what the future has in store for him and Arcada.

Finally, there are two more elements that have me divided about the story. One is a major scene towards the end of the book where our main characters and the evil fae come together in a traumatic scene that for me was just on this side of nauseating. It was very well done in terms of the emotions it will bring forth from the characters and the readers. However, that said, it was just not my thing and only my need to get to the end took me through it. For others, it won’t be a problem at all. But I found it a little too graphic in nature for my comfort zone. There are elements of bdsm and dominant/submission here between Dylan and Travis that do fit in with their personalities. I didn’t mind that so much, but others might. No, my largest quibble I save for the plot at the end. We have a major battle going on, we see and hear some of the aftereffects. This section is very well done. But where is the conclusion to this part of the story? I don’t want to give anything away by going into details but what happened to the instigators here? I went back and forth, electronically flipping pages and found nothing to satisfy my biggest question. That frustration alone almost knocked this story down into a 3 rating. But maybe it really is there and I just could excavate it out. If you know otherwise, write me and tell me where it happens. Perhaps McBride is saving this for the next novel in the series. If so, then she could have done better than just vanishing an important thread to the woods and leave it dangling there.

So, yes, this book has some remarkable components and characters that will grow on you if you take the time to get to know them. Lukas Blacque and Oliver Bleu are back as well. It is not a stand alone book by any means, you need to have read the first in the series to have a basis for this one. Not a problem as that is a 5 star rating story. There are some editing issues here, some vanishing plot threads as well but the town of Arcada is mesmerizing and will keep you coming back for more. So will the promising stories of the various inhabitants you meet here. I want to know what happens to them too. Belinda McBrides offers you so many tantalizing glimpses of future Arcada stories that she has me truly hooked. You will be too. So pick this one up, just lower your expectations a little as you find yourself in Arcada once more for another terrific paranormal tale.

Cover is the least favorite thing about this book. From the models to the poor photoshop work, just awful.

Books in the Arcada series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and the plots:

Blacque/Bleu (Arcada #1)

Review: Blacque/Bleu (Arcada #1) by Belinda McBride

Rating: 5 stars

Lukas Blacque is a werewolf in a unique position. A son of the alpha wolf, he prefers life lived on the fringes of the pack, removed from pack politics. He has a college degree but prefers his car shop, bringing old vehicles back to life as well as performing normal maintenance. Another surprising element is that he is lonely for a shifter with a pack, but he has a secret. Lukas Blacque is gay and deeply in the closet and so for that his lifestyle works as long as no one looks too closely. There is one person who has caught his interest but the danger factor is too high for him to act on it, and that would be his neighboring vampire in the shop next to his. But he refuses to act until one night when his father decides to change everything and Lukas’ life is upturned.

Oliver Bleu is a vampire plagued by nightmares from his time on the front in WWI, nightmares which keep him from sleeping and replenishing his strength. Now he finds himself slowly fading away, even his hunts don’t quench his hunger. But then there is his neighbor next door to Oliver’s shop. Oliver knows he is more than attracted to the shifter, Lukas’ blood might be able to bring him back to strength. The walls between their businesses are thin and he hears the family arguments going on next door when Lukas’ father arrives for a meeting with his son. When Oliver goes to check on Lukas, their encounter turns into a passionate weekend neither can forget nor wants too as lust turns into love.

But Lukas has made a commitment to his father and his pack, and is determined to honor it even if it breaks his heart and Oliver’s as well. Lucky for both shifter and vampire, they live in a very special town who looks after her citizens, And when evil from Oliver’s past follows him to Arcada, things are set in motion that will have lasting impact on all around, including Lukas and Oliver.

I just loved this book. It is the first book by Belinda McBride and it puts her on my must have list immediately. From the start she gives her characters a marvelous world in which to inhabit, the town of Arcada. The town is sentient and although we don’t know how that happened, her affection for the diverse citizenry reveals itself in a myriad of ways. Perhaps she makes it impossible for them to leave or her protection manifests itself in prodding others to act in ways that benefits others. No matter, Arcada is a benign and loving presence and this leaves us just dying to know more about the town and its diverse community of humans, vampires, shifters, fae and so many others that we are given brief glimpses of.

But the heart of the story is McBride’s characters, Lukas Blacque and Oliver Bleu, a terrific play on words that fits in beautifully in their interactions with each other. Lukas Blacque is a complex giant of a man, gentle of spirit, lonely and sad because as much as he wants to be a part of his pack due to his wolf nature, the fact that he is gay keeps him separated and aloof. He is such a lovely creation that we connect to him immediately and we can empathize with him at this point in his life. Then we meet Oliver Bleu, in many ways the anthesis of the vampires we have meet in other novels. Far from the powerful, immortal beings we have come to expect, Oliver Bleu is a victim, struggling to survive. In a horrific element of the story, we learn that Oliver died from mustard gas in the trenches at the front. If you were not familiar with the horrors of WWI before, by the time you learn how Oliver was affected, the true evil that man can create in the name of war will be brought home in gritty, pus filled painful authenticity. Sometimes the horror of the paranormal universe has nothing on the real one we already live in.

Circling around these main characters are others of equal strength and complexity. From Dane Blacque, the Alpha wolf to Lukas’ sister and Oliver’s great grand daughter (yes, you read that right), McBridge gives us one compelling persona after another to capture our interest and move her narrative forward. Even her villains have a startling depth to them that enables you to feel some compassion for them even as you hate their actions, past, present and fear what they are going to do in the future.

This is the first in the Arcada series and really after one memorable walk through town with Lukas and Oliver, you can see she has the basis for many books to come in the fascinating town dwellers and their identities as revealed in bits and pieces. My only quibble is that I felt it ended too soon. That’s what happens when all the right elements come together in a story that will stay with you after you are finished reading it. Blacque/Blue is just that story. Now I am on to the next with great anticipation. I will let you know what I find. But pick this one up and start reading. You are going to love it!

Books in the series in the order they were written and should be read:

Blacque/Bleu (Arcada #1)

Silver/Steel (Arcada #2)

Cover art is just gorgeous and perfect for the story within.

Snowquestration, A Time Change and the Week Ahead in Book Reviews

For those of you outside of the DC Metropolitan Area, you may not have known but on Wednesday last week this area was expecting a snow storm of “historic” proportions. Forecasters got out their shovels and measuring sticks as the TV channels were full of giddy meteorologists pantomiming digging out driveways and anchors were busy imploring people to be prepared and stay home. Hour by hour the weather alerts increased the amount of snowfall we would see, Pepco our dysfunctional power company sent out text messages and robo called homes letting everyone know that they were on top of things, getting in crews from as far away as Alabama to keep the power on and lines clear of snow (for once). Schools in countries around the area from MD, DC and VA quickly cancelled classes the day before and the Federal Government closed all offices with all local governments following suit just as quickly. Grocery stores ran out of milk and other essentials, so did the liquor and wine stores. Streets emptied, stores shut down and our normally hyped up busy region turned into a ghost town. And we waited for the storm to start.

And we waited for the storm to start some more. Curtains were pulled back, and necks craned up as all eyes searched the sky for the first flakes to fall. And soon they did.

Big, fat, ginormous flakes fell.

And then they stopped falling. And it started to rain. And rain. And more rain.

Why did it rain? Because it had been f*&king warm all week long. A kindergartener could have told you that when it is that warm, it is not going to snow. And it didn’t, at least not here. It snowed in Pennsylvania, and in the mountains of VA, and the Midwest, and New England and out west, everywhere but here. Where it rained. OK we needed the rain, so that was great. But really, our entire region shut down because of rain. Is is any wonder that people outside the Beltway (the huge highway that encircles DC) think our area has lost our collective mind? That common sense and sound judgement are but vague concepts that make only fleeting appearances in the thoughts of those who inhabit Congress, run the World Bank, plot the course of the country on levels both small and large?

What name did we call this “historic” snowstorm? Why Snowquestration of course. That alone made perfect sense. A name that conjures up thoughts of dysfunction, of something that doesn’t work on the most basic level, something thought up in Congress that unfortunately affects everyone but Congress. Really, is that not perfection in labeling? I think so. It was the only thing that rang true for this storm and our area. Pundits will be using this for years in their columns. Ah, Washington, DC you have done it again. So proud to be from this area. But on the other hand it really is good for a laugh and we all need those. We closed the Federal government and schools because of rain. Have you stopped laughing yet?

The time changed. We sprang forward an hour. I hate this. Leave the time alone. Enuf’ said.

So spring is back (not that it ever really left), our DC Metro Book group is meeting today and I must be off. So without further ado, here is the week in reviews:

Monday, March 11: Blacque/Bleu by Belinda McBride

Tuesday, March 12: Venetian Masks by Kim Fielding

Wed., March 13: Silver/Steel by Belinda McBride

Thursday, March 14: Metal Heart by Meredith Shayne

Friday, March 15: Open Cover Before Striking by Willa Okati

Sat., March 16: Unconventional Union by Scotty Cade

Review: Wake Me Up Inside (Mates #1) by Cardeno C

Rating: 4 stars

Zev Hassick has always been attracted to Jonah Marvel from his first memory of the man. They were children and Jonah was a toddler playing in his backyard. It was Zev’s first shifter change and his travels brought him near the Marvel home. But it was toddler Jonah that brought him closer and the child too sensed the connection, coming over to play with the wolf pup. From then on, they were inseparable as time and again, Zev worked to attend the same schools as Jonah, pursuing a relationship with the human that was frowned upon in the shifter world.

Then Jonah goes away to college to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, putting a strain not only on their relationship but on Zev as a shifter in need of his mate. As the son of the Alpha, Zev was expected to find a female shifter and mate, not only to produced progeny but to remain healthy. But Zev has never been attracted to anyone but Jonah and it wasn’t until high school that he realized that it wasn’t just a deep friendship he had with Jonah but a mate bond. But Jonah’s humanity and college goals stopped Zev from claiming him, also from even telling Jonah that he was a shifter.

Now Jonah is about to graduate from college and its time for all the secrets to come out. But Jonah isn’t well. He feels like he is losing his mind. And his father’s behavior is unsettling. Not all the secrets belong to Zev. Will Zev and Jonah’s relationship be able to withstand the tumultuous events on the horizon or will the secrets of the past tear them apart?

Wake Me Up Inside is the first book in the Mate series from Cardeno C and I can’t wait for more. Cardeno C has a straightforward narrative that delivers the story in a manner that makes it easy for the reader to follow the timeline of Jonah and Zev’s relationship as it grows from childhood to adult. There are just enough flashbacks to explain their history without it overwhelming the story. I found the flashback to Jonah and Zev as toddlers especially endearing. Take a good long look at that marvelous cover and it gives you an accurate picture of a scene in the book. Boy and wolf pup and Jonah and Zev, always together no matter the form Zev is in. How does that idea not draw you in?

It is the characterizations that make or break a story for me and in Zev and Jonah we get two characters to connect with immediately. Zev is wonderful as a shifter with huge expectations placed on his shoulder by his father and pack at an early age, The author lets us watch as Zev shoulders these responsibilities with ingenuity and grace as he ages. He accepts his role as future Alpha and then makes it his own. Zev is just a lovely creation and he was easy to relate to. So was his mate, Jonah who had plenty of problems of his own. His father was full of secrets and extremely overprotective. But his ease at accepting his sexuality and his own depths of compassion and responsibility made him a perfect match for Zev and the reader.

I liked the concept of the shifter society as one held back by its own traditions and isolation. I just wished it had been explored a little more throughly. We get bits and pieces of shifter law and lore but establishing a firmer back story for the Pack governing structure would have helped at the end of the story when all sorts of leaders and governing agents appear at of nowhere. The same lack of back story popped up again towards the end when an unexpected pair bonding becomes an essential part of Zen and Jonah’s story. It is not much of a spoiler to tell you one is a vampire and until that is revealed I had no idea that vampires were part of this universe. I wish that had been folded into the story earlier on so its appearance would have been less startling and made more sense.

My few quibbles aside, this is a terrific addition to the current wolf shifter fiction available. I hope that each new story will give us more information about the Mate universe Cardeno C is creating. I anticipate that Zev and Jonah will make a reappearance and a certain couple gets their story told.

Cover art by Reese Dante. This was a Best Cover of 2012. Just look at the pictures, the composition and its relation to the story within….all perfection. I never tire of looking at it.

March Came Roaring In Like a Lion and the Week Ahead in Reviews

Remember last March in Maryland? The sun was shining over plants newly emerged from the ground, our temperatures hovered in the high 70’s after experiencing absolutely no winter at all. Birds were nesting, the butterflies were flying, and thoughts of picnics and outdoor barbecue dinners molded our grocery lists. Even now I can bask in the memories….

Now switch to present day and the snow flurries I saw swirling around in clear defiance that it was March. It was cold and dark clouds made sure the sun never made an appearance. I stopped to look at the pansies with their smiling faces at Good Earth and thought “not in a million years am I hanging around outside to plant you so bugger off”, channeling some Brits I know. Those of you in the middle of huge snowstorms or still in recovery from the same are probably wanting to smack me over such piddling weather. Me too. I do realize it could be so much worse but this dang climate change has upped our expectations for March beyond all reasonability, hence the whining.

On the other hand, it does give me time to spend with plant catalogs, and go to a whine oops wine and cooking demonstration like I did yesterday. Had the weather been gorgeous, I would have been outside and missed a Mahi Mahi cooked in a buirre blanc sauce to die for, a lovely Coq au vin and a porc du rose, just a lovely 3 hours spent with nice people, great wines and food and a very funny Chef Read. So highs and lows, cold and hot, one friend moves away and I get the chance to meet others. Life, the weather and changing climate keeps springing changes upon us whether (ha!) we are ready or not, usually mostly not. Hmmmm,..rambling here again.

So where were we? Ah yes, the week ahead. Hopefully that will see the Caps win, the Nats all heathly and happy in Florida, honestly don’t care what’s going on with the “Skins, and new recipes to try out. I will be finishing up the Cambridge Fellows Mysteries series this week and it will be sad to say goodbye to Jonty and Orlando. Look for a post full of Q & A with Charlie Cochrane to post the day following. She was wonderful in answering all the questions that kept popping into my brain as I finished All Lessons Learned. We have a mixed bag of new and familiar authors here, something for everyone I believe. So here is the way it is scheduled so far:

Monday, March 4: Spot Me by Andrew Grey

Tuesday, March 5: Wake Me Up Inside by Cardeno C

Wed., March 6: Velocity by Amelia C. Gormley

Thursday, March 7: Lessons for Survivors by Charlie Cochrane

Friday, March 8: A Cambridge Fellows Q & A with Charlie Cochrane

Saturday, March 9: His Best Man by Treva Harte

So there it is, a really good week ahead. Now if just those blasted snow clouds would go away I might just think about planting some pansies….

Sunday Morning Sports Commentary in Maryland and the Week in Reviews

Sports are on my mind this morning, so bear with me. Lots of things going on…..Maryland beat Duke in what will probably be their last matchup because of the change in divisions and money grab. So yeay for Maryland and boo for Maryland. And it looks like no students were beaten by Prince Georges police in last night’s celebration, so good for that! A step forward at any rate.

The boys of summer are back in spring training and I have high hopes for the Nationals this year. Davey Johnson is hanging in there for one more year before he retires and all the boys look healthy and in great shape. Go Nats!

The Caps are playing again as is the rest of the NHL. About time, nuf said. Now if they could just consistently get it together I would be beside the moon. But I am still rocking the red! Go Caps!

The debate on whether the Redskins should keep its racist name is getting louder but as long as Snyder remains as owner I don’t see any changes coming. Consider who he is and the actions he has taken to date. Sued old ladies who were long term fans, sued a free newspaper, cut down a gazillion trees against the law along the Potomac to improve his view from his home (never mind the bald eagles there), and generally behaves in almost every instance like a wealthy overindulged brat (in my opinion, lawsuits, people) who knew he could get away with anything and does. If you have time to waste, run over to the Skin’s website and look at the statements he made as to why the racist name couldn’t be changed. Yet he sued a free news paper over saying it had called him a Jewish slur. No it hadn’t but he is brazen enough to use the charge when it suits him, The bad karma this team is wracking up should see them in bottom of the league for quite some time to come. RGIII, look around for another team to play for! The smell around the Skins is rank and getting worse.

In the saddest news out of South Africa, a man, Oscar Pistorius – the Blade Runner has been arrested and charged with premeditated murder. Already the bloggers and commentators are out in force trying to put their spin on this tragedy. Was it the instant fame and fortune, a man brought down by hubris? Or was it his real nature that had been hidden all along. Perhaps we will never know but you can be sure we will be reading about it for years to come. A very sad end for a remarkable tale of endurance and achievement.

We are still flipping back and forth here weather wise, spring one day, winter the next, and then literally back to spring within hours, so the reviews are along the same lines, all over the place. Several brand new releases, some older books I am just getting to with the only thing that ties them together is the high ratings:

Monday, Feb. 18: Where Nerves End by L.A. Witt

Tuesday, Feb. 19: Tell Me It’s Real by T.J. Klune

Wed., Feb.20: The Family: Liam by Katey Hawthorne

Thursday, Feb. 21: A Volatile Range by Andrew Grey

Friday, Feb. 22: Lessons in Trust by Charlie Cochrane

Saturday, Feb. 23: Upcoming Author Spotlights

So there you have it. A gut busting comedy, vampires, cowboys, Cambridge dons, and the first Tucker Springs novel. All great and none of them should be missed. And remember to send me your questions that you would love to ask an author! See you all here on Monday.

Review: The God Hunters (The God Hunters #1) by Mark Reed

Rating: 2.75 stars

David Ruger has a nice if not exactly exciting life. He has a job as a car mechanic, a nice house, two dogs, and a sometime boyfriend named Wyler. Wyler is the most uncertain part of David’s life. Wyler will appear suddenly, baggage in hand, stay for a while and then disappear once more. David is not quite sure what Wyler does exactly but he’s not going to push the issue because he is happy with the status quo. Then one night, Wyler starts to talk of things and places he has been that are so fantastic, so unbelievable that David fears for his “little buddy’s” sanity. Until Wyler says he can take David with him to see these things for himself, specifically a destination called the Expanse, an alien universe that is Wyler’s home.

David thinks Wyler is joking, until Wyler tells him that change is coming to the Expanse and David’s part in that change has been foreseen by someone close to Wyler. A half joking “seeing is believing” comment later, and David is standing with Wyler on an alien world, far away from home and trouble is indeed on the way. Wyler hasn’t been exactly truthful to David. Wyler is a shifter, able to shift himself and others, including humans from universe to universe. Long ago, the Expanse underwent a horrific war when a group of shifters known as The God Hunters and the old gods fought. Now it seems the God Hunters are plotting again, so are the old Gods and David is smack in the middle of things.

There are floating cities to traverse, a trio of brothers to meet and winged demons to fight before David can even begin to understand his place in the Expanse and uncover the real reason everyone is hunting him. But David must hurry because some of those hunters don’t just want to capture David, they want him dead.

Let’s start with something positive, shall we? There is a marvelous graphic novel in here somewhere, buried under layer after layer of repetitious and nap inducing verbiage. And that’s a shame because I think the author has a terrific plot and some really endearing characters in The God Hunters. All Mark Reed needed, in my opinion, is someone to reign him in and edit, edit, edit. But starting with the Prologue, the author is clearly in love with words and descriptions, so much so that once they start flowing, he seems unable to stop.

The author takes us from a god’s viewpoint of the cosmos to our first meeting with David and Wyler, who David calls his “little buddy”. Shades of the Skipper and Gilligan! And how appropriate for someone soon to be marooned in an alien universe. David Ruger is a somewhat bland character, leading a bland little life. Wyler is only moderately more interesting. So it is very hard to connect with these two people who don’t seem all that connected with each other. I was hoping for more “sparks” as the location changed from St. Louis, Missouri to the Expanse but what followed was description after description of the places they were walking through. Dull, vast, sleep inducing descriptions, really, it was so monotone a narrative that I had to read it in spurts, or not go forward at all.

It didn’t begin to get mildly interesting until two thirds of the way through the 308 pages when the hunt for David got a little exciting. I wish I could tell you that the other characters were better realized or at least more memorable than the main creations but even now as I try to remember who and which of the three brothers David meets and hooks up with, nothing springs to mind. No characters, nothing. There is a Bryan, a Doug and James but all have been created along the same lines (the brother thing not withstanding) as to make them interchangeable. The final four chapters brings a sense of drama and excitement missing from all the previous chapters when our heroes find themselves under fire and in danger for their lives. And while once again we have far too many words for the actions taking place, at least the narrative here is more streamlined and moves the plot forward swiftly enough to grab at the reader’s attention and make us wonder why the author waited until the end to make things exciting. Because by that time, most readers have disappeared, vanquished by a dense narrative and a flood of blandness.

What is amazing here is Mark Reed’s artwork. He has created a website for this series/book The God Hunters where he displays his notes and artwork for the series. And it is within the art that the magic of The God Hunters finally comes to life. The digital scenes Reed creates for his book are rich in color and dimension. They leap off the page with all the drama and mystery the written story is lacking. As I said, with a ruthless editor, a pared down version of The God Hunters, combined with these illustration would make a graphic novel that would be hard to beat. The drawings alone almost gave this story a 3 rating but in the end, the novel’s dense, mind numbing narrative defeats itself and the reader. What a shame.

Cover Art by Brooke Albrecht. The artwork is beautiful. I just wished the novel deserved it.

Dreaming of Spring while Singing the Flues Blues and the Week Ahead in Reviews

Maryland seems to have dodged another major “storm of the century” that is still leaving its impact on New England and the NE corridor from Philly to Maine is coated with the white stuff. While those unfortunate fellows are digging out from under several feet of snow, we had to deal with wind and rain and little else.

Unless you count the flu. Yes, that’s right, the flu. Or maybe you have the norovirus, that’s going around too. Either way, like myself, you are probably feeling less than stellar. I did gather all the right stuff around me as the symptoms hit. Hot tea? Check. Loads of tissue? Check. Blankets to huddle under? Check. Every over the counter cold drug you could buy? Check. Reading material and knitting projects? Check. So what is missing? My ability to focus and stay awake. I have no energy. Sigh. So while I have a schedule for this week, it might be touch and go to stay by it. Let’s see what happens in between doctors appointments, shall we?

Here are the reviews planned:

Monday, Feb. 11: Lessons in Seduction by Charlie Cochrane

Tuesday, Feb. 12: Feeling His Steel by Brynn Paulin

Wed,, Feb. 13: Brothers in Arms by Kendall McKenna

Thurs., Feb. 14: Superpowered Love: Losing Better by Katey Hawthorne

Friday, Feb. 15: The God Hunters by Mark Reed

Saturday, Feb. 16: Reader Questions. If you could talk to an author, what would you ask them?

Meanwhile here is a vid making the rounds that cheered me up. Love the reaction of the older sister. These kids rock.

Review: Wesley (Leopard Spots #8) by Bailey Bradford

Rating: 4.25 stars

When Wes Ward’s older brother Sully left home for college, Wes felt like he had lost the only friend he ever had. Painfully shy as a child, Wes depended upon Sully for everything and Wes was unable to fill the void Sully left behind him. Then Sully found his mate and forgot about his little brother completely. In pain and full of bitterness, Wes turned to drugs and alcohol and his addiction almost cost him his leopard spirit. When his parents catch him using, they send him to San Antonio and to Sully who lives there with his mate Bobby and Wes must confront his true feelings and see if he can heal the bitterness within.

It’s been two years since the vicious sexual assault Armando suffered in the club owned by Bobby and the wounds have not healed. Armando now works at a Center for Homeless GLBT youth, helping others who were thrown out of their home like he was. The center is his life as he cannot bear to even think about dating or getting close to another man since his rape. Then Armando sees Wes when Wes starts to volunteer at the shelter. Wes is almost a twin to Sully in their looks and his presence brings conflicting emotions to the surface in Wes. Wes has hated Bobby and Sully for two years and seeing Wes makes all those memories Armando has tried to bury come out. Equally shocking, he also finds himself attracted to Wes, an attraction Wes returns.

Both men have problems in their past they must face before either can go forward with their lives. Wes is sure he has found his mate in Armando but can Armando put aside his hatred for Wes’ brother to see Wes for himself or will Wes be an way to revenge himself on Sully and Bobby.

This is one of the most tightly knit and well written books of the series. Bradford’s focus is two badly damaged people and she treats both the characters and their issues with sensitivity and care. Wes and Armando are also two of the best characters Bradford has written in a while, each having more depth and dimension than those in the past book, namely Sully and Bobby, who return here. Wes is facing issues rare in shifters, that of drug and alcohol addiction. Normally, shifters can’t get drunk or stoned due to their metabolism but Wes learned that certain combinations and amounts of drugs will see him either intoxicated or high. With Wes, she paints a portrait of a young man whose poor self esteem and debilitating shyness make Wes unable to cope once his support in Sully is removed.

Given the treatment of Armando in the last book (Sullivan), I was unsure what would happen to him here but Bradford handled Armando and the trauma of his sexual assault with sensitivity and realism too. Armando is stuck in the past, unable to go forward with his recovery for many reasons but one of the strongest is that he cannot be truthful with his therapist as to the exact nature of the assault as the predator was a shifter. So we find him two years later still having nightmares and suffering flashbacks. He has purposely gained weight to appear unattractive and wears loose clothes, all authentic markers of abuse. Normally Bradford fills her books with pages of mate induced sex which includes biting, claws and bloodletting. Thankfully, most of that has been left out of a book dealing with two traumatized souls and she treats their slow path to a sexual relationship with thoughtfulness and tact.

In fact, I find this is the best book of the series if you can discount the lack of any continuing threads the previous books have established. I think that had a little more of the themes of the series been included, this would have gotten a much higher rating. It seems as though we are heading away from the Leopard element and more towards the wolf pack with the next in the series which I find a little disappointing as the Snow/Amur Leopard theme seemed to be central to the series. But if Wesley is any indication of the future of this series, than it is very bright indeed. I can only hope for more like this one to come next.

Cover art by Posh Gosh who has done a fantastic job with the series with rich covers that are treats for the eyes.

Here is the Leopard Spots series in the order they were written and should be read (mostly):

Levi (Leopards Spots #1)

Oscar (Leopards Spots #2) read my review here.

Timothy (Leopards Spots #3) read my review here

Isaiah (Leopards Spots #4) read my review here

Gilbert (Leopards Spots #5) read my review here

Esau (Leopards Spots #6)

Sullivan (Leopards Spots #7)

Wesley (Leopards Spots #8)

Review: MIA Case Files 3: Craving by K.C. Burn

Rating: 2.75 stars

Agents Brandon Ellison and his partner Oliver Cardoso were on a mission for the MIA (Metaphysical Investigative Agency) when it went horribly wrong, injuring Brandon Ellison. That mission and its aftermath ended Brandon’s career as a field agent due to his disabilities and broke up the partnership, both romantically and as agents.

Now seven years later, Oliver and his new partner, Carmichael, are on a mission when almost the exact thing happens again. But this time, with more experience under his belt, Oliver and partner come through with minor injuries. When they go to complain to the head of MIA’s Research and Development Team, they find Brandon Ellison in charge and unable to explain what went wrong. But Oliver’s new partner doesn’t trust Brandon, and thinks Brandon is behind the malfunctioning sonic charge that almost got them killed. Brandon is equally distrustful of Carmichael as well as jealous of his closeness to his former lover.

When Brandon invites himself along on their next mission to investigate problems with the weaponry, fireworks fly once more between Brandon and Oliver as their rivalry and memories vie for dominance and old love starts to resurface. With hundreds of lives at stake, old and new grudges must be put aside if everyone is to survive this latest mission.

I picked up this book by K.C.Burn without reading any of the prior books in the series and that has left me as well as any other reader confused from the start. Burn supplies the reader with no back history to explain the alternative world I found myself reading about. Apparently a war is going on between the human world and Umbrae (?) with portals being opened by the enemy to let through all sorts of creatures, from werewolves, vampires,demons and more. Who the nefarious Umbrae are and why they are unhappy with the human race is never quite explained. Unlike other books where you can gather enough information from the various story threads to piece together a vision of the world, the author just assumes you have read the previous books and carries on.

So I will just concentrate on those portions of the book the reader can understand, the characters. I liked the character of Oliver Cardoso. A green agent when the first accident happens, now he is a seasoned field op of 43, older and greying. Oliver is certainly the most layered character you will find here. Burn does a nice job conveying his weariness over the job and the emotional isolation he has imposed on himself since the first mission. Brandon Ellison is a harder character to warm up to . For Brandon, everything has hinged around that first failed mission. His disability and his loss of Oliver has consumed his life. The fact that Brandon ended up at head of R&D seems like a fluke to both Brandon and the reader as well. Hard to root for a couple to get back together when half of said couple just doesn’t feel real. Harder to care about a alternative universe when the danger seems minimal, the action downplayed, and the calculated “aha” moments more on the level of a high school play.

The plot, how to explain a plot that doesn’t track? People are getting infected, the MIA must stop the portals from opening up, wherever they pop up, let’s set off some sonic explosions, the infection is spread by bites and being gay helps. There are quite a few flashbacks but the uneven timeline just works against the story instead of for it because of the jerky manner in which it is handled. The flashbacks here just serve to break up any momentum the story had built to date. The narrative structure consistently diffused any sense of danger or dread in the events happening around the main characters, and any sense of being connected to the characters and their situation just dwindled away. Between the style of writing and the lack of exposition this story just comes across as one sad mess.

Here is an example. Two characters are having a conversation about being gay:

“Brandon shrugged. “Whatever makes us gay makes us better agents.” Oliver had expected a lecture about genetics and heredity and antigens.

Not only would such an explanation be lost on Luis, but Brandon had been pretty pissed when he’d realized gay men were better agents because they were more likely to recover from Umbrae bites without going mad, while having a greater chance for death when the portal closed if the possession managed to complete the three-day physiological transformation.”

*head desk*

That just makes my head hurt, especially the last, long sentence and the entire book reads that way. I love alternative worlds and zombies, werewolves and vampires? Bring it on but make it believable or at least entertaining. Make me want to lose myself in the events happening on the pages instead wanting to put the book down unfinished. In the end the fleeting promise of one character did not hold my interest for long and although I did finish the book, I won’t be going forward to explore this universe further. I did it so you don’t have to, that’s my motto and I am sticking to it.

Books in the series include:

Wolfsbane (MIA Case Files #1)

Blood Relations (MIA Case Files #2)

Craving (MIA Case Files #3)

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