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.

Review: Losing Better (Superpowered Love #4) by Katey Hawthorne

Rating: 4.75 stars

FBI Special Agent Gabriel Genêt is back in Hooperstown, North Carolina, a place he couldn’t wait to escape in his youth. Agent Genet has been charged with a very special mission, one he is uniquely suited for as one of the superpowered beings. Gabriel Genet is back in his hometown to collect evidence that will lead to the arrest of Andrew Wynne, a vigilante superpowered being operating in Hooperstown. Gabriel knows the real reason he was chosen for this job is the special connection he had in the past with Andrew Wynne.

Ten years ago when both men were boys their parents were having an affair with each other and Gabriel’s Dad had dragged him down to the lake for a summer for an extended visit with Andrew’s mother. Gabriel and Andrew spent their time avoiding their parents, ragging on each other and ultimately hooking up as well. So when Andrew’s name comes up as a suspect in several FBI cases, Gabe is expected to use their past and any means possible to get the evidence the FBI needs to lock up Andrew for his crimes.

At first, Gabriel doesn’t expect any problems. Get close, get the evidence and get out. But once back in Hooperstown, old memories start bubbling to the surface when Gabe reconnects with Andrew and their sexual attraction flares as hot as it did in the past. And the longer the case takes, the deeper the affection and attraction between the two men grows until Gabriel starts to doubt not only his ability to complete the job but his entire future as a FBI agent. Who will win and who will lose or is it just possible for two superpowered men at opposite ends to find middle ground before its too late for both of them.

Losing Better is the fourth book in the Superpowered Love series and I think it is the best yet. I love Riot Boy and wondered how Katey Hawthorne was ever going to be able to supplant that book in my heart and then she writes Losing Better, one white hot tale of love and lust between two emotionally messed up and diametrically opposed men. I also think that the characters the author created for Losing Better are the most complex, difficult, and yet thoroughly human (albeit with super powers) people we have seen from her.

I fiind Gabriel Genet to be a masterpiece actually. When we first meet Gabe, he comes across as a supremely confident individual, almost rigid in his black/white view of the world, one in which he is always the winner. Sarcastic, superior and goal oriented, that’s Gabe. And as it is told from Gabe’s pov, even in his thoughts on everything from the town to Andrew, he telegraphs to the reader as something of a consummate jerk. I kept trying to find something to like about Gabe at the beginning and failing miserably. It didn’t help that Gabe’s quarry is Andrew Wynne, a gorgeous “sheep dog” of a young man, with his puppy eyes and ferocious need to please and be loved. In Andrew Wynne Hawthorne has given us such an endearing, accessible person that we emotionally leap to his defense from the start. Even as the reader listens to Gabe plotting against Andrew, we are outraged on Andrew’s behalf and Gabriel’s cruelty towards Andrew almost derails any attempt at affinity we start to muster. Opposite forces are at work at all facets of this story and nothing is as it seems on the surface. But when the cracks in Gabe’s emotional veneer start to appear, then our view of him starts to morph as well. And soon it is hard to remember our antipathy towards the hard, focused man we first meet because everything has changed.

I love the structure and narrative of this story. We dislike the protagonist who is telling the story and root for the appealing, vulnerable man of his past who only has the best interests of the town at heart, or so it appears. Katey Hawthorne gives us two men whose past and family interactions have served to mold them into two diametrically opposed forces each confident that their path is the only correct path. Even their super powers are uniquely qualified to short each other out. Gabe controls electricity so of course it flows that Andrew’s gift is that of water and the currents between the two are supercharged on every level.

And then the true complexities starts to reveal themselves as the story and Gabe’s investigation progresses. Each man carries within him the same pain filled dysfunction that stems from the same family dynamics but the truth behind what that past has done to them as they grew into men escapes in spurts throughout the narrative until it explodes into view at the end. The author gives us a surface that she slowly distorts and cracks until the real story she wants to tell is exposed before us as are the real Gabe and Andrew.

Of course, Hawthorne throws in some wonderful side characters, including that of Kieran, a friend whose sexual good nature includes a whopping helping of both men whenever he is in town. Trust me, even if a menage is not your thing, it is hard to not love Kiernan. He really is a friend to both men and while he may play with them sexually, it really doesn’t factor into their relationship except at the beginning when Gabe uses him as an emotional buffer between himself and Andrew. It’s realistic, understandable, and very hot! Luckily, Kieran is getting his own story so we will be seeing him again.

But the heart of this story is the relationship between Gabriel and Andrew and how families and our past can define what we become as adults. The end is electric, rewarding, complex, and of course, perfect. Just like the men themselves. And Losing Better gets better with the second reading as the some of the subtleties the author puts into play becomes more transparent the second time around. I cannot recommend this book or series enough. You don’t have to read them in the order they were written as they can act as stand alone novels but I enjoy the compiled history I get reading them as a series.

Here they are in the order they were written:

Equilibrium (Superpowered Love, #1)

Jealousy: A Love Story (Superpowered Love, #1.1)

Best Gift Ever (Superpowered Love, #1.2)

Riot Boy (Superpowered Love, #2)

Nobody’s Hero (Superpowered Love, #3)

Losing Better (Superpowered Love, #4)

Cover Artist: P. L. Nunn. Another wonderful cover by P.L. Nunn for the series.

Available at Loose id, Amazon, and All Romance.

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: A Chip in His Shoulder (Falling Sky #1) by LA Witt

Rating: 4.5 stars

When assassin Liam Lansing receives the name of his next target, he sees the chance for not only a big monetary pay off but a chance for revenge as well. The name of his next victim is Daniel Harding, heir to the Cybernetix empire and the reason for Liam’s descent into hell and his life as a contract killer. A formerly wealthy vampire, Liam now lives in The Gutter, the place where all the earth’s industry and refuse (material and human) is consigned. Liam once lived in The Sky, with the clean air and fantastic skyscraper towers where the wealthy live and play, where Liam’s family still live. All lost because he took a human lover, Daniel Harding.

Daniel Harding hates his father and Cybernetix, the modification empire his father founded. The firm exists on the exploitation of it’s workers, the environment, and Daniel hates that the modifications are turning people into more machines than human beings. Even the vampires has been seduced into the modification frenzy that Cybernetix promises. But Daniel has been imprisoned by his father in his condo in The Sky and waits his father’s next move in their war between them.

Liam’s hatred for Daniel runs to the father as well. So taking money from Harding to kill his son seemed like a wonderful idea until he finds out that Harding doubled crossed him and has laid a trap for Liam, with Daniel being the lure. But when Liam and Daniel comes together again after years apart, will Liam’s hatred hold true or can he put it aside long enough for them to work together and escape the trap planned for them both.

It is hard for me to believe that A Chip in His Shoulder is a mere 78 pages, as it is such a densely packed vision of a vividly described dystopian world. Witt really makes both The Gutter and The Sky come to life, especially the torments of life in The Gutter. I had visions of Victorian England in the worst parts of the city, blackened by coal, air dense with sooty particles. The Gutter has much the same acrid flavor and the author makes you feel the grimness of life there and the poverty of spirit acutely. The Gutter is contrasted beautifully by The Sky with its dwellings, sleek structures of steel and glass that shine brightly in air that is being constantly cleaned to the detriment of all who live beneath in The Gutter.

Dropped into this setting are just wonderful characters that will find you craving more of their backhistories. Liam, the reluctant contract killer, who once was an idealistic young man in love with the wrong person. Liam was then, like many a fallen hero, thrown out of heaven or in this case The Sky for his impudence and life choices and lands in hell. During his confrontation with Daniel, we get glimpses of just how far Liam fell but nothing further. Perhaps that will come in future books. But it all adds up to a marvelous, multilayered character who captures our empathy and imagination from the start and never lets it go.

Daniel Harding is that recognizable erstwhile well off idealist whose privileged background has given him the reason as well as outlet for his pent-up anger and outrage. He is perhaps not as immediately emotionally accessible as Liam, but as their confrontation continues, it becomes clear that the author has given just as much thought to Daniel as she has Liam, and that there are hidden depths waiting to surface in him. Daniel really grew on me in this story and one of it’s major frustrations is that the book stops just when you feel you getting a handle on him as a character.

The plot is tightly woven and intense, the swift-paced action moving the story forward at a clip. Really, parts of this story will take your breath away. Had this been a movie, the popcorn would have been munched at as rapid a pace as the story unfolded. The au;thor really knows how to build the suspense and keep it balanced right on the edge, before she drops you over. L.A. Witt does such a great job that when the end does come, you are not quite prepared to let this couple and their story go.

And that is my major and only quibble with this story – the length. The author just did not seem to complete the picture she started painting. The outline and major elements are brilliant, the swatches of paint bold and applied with fervor but just a little more detail was needed to complete this portrait of a couple and world in the first stages of revolution. I just loved it and am moving on quickly to its sequel, Something New Under The Sun (Falling Sky #2). Really, what an amazing start to a new series. A Chip in His Shoulder is another example of why L.A. Witt has become a “must read” for me and many others. Don’t pass it by.

Cover: Cover art by L.C. Chase. I find the cover very dramatic. I only wish there had been some way to convey some of the modifications on the model that are so central to the characters and the story.

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)

Super Bowl Sunday and the Week Ahead in Reviews

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and the Battle of the Harbaugh brothers. The Baltimore Ravens versus San Francisco 49ers. The Purple vs the Gold! Not surprisingly, since I live in Maryland, I will be rooting for the Ravens and cheering along with their mascot Poe. Gotta love a team that has a raven for a mascot and named it after a favored son, Edgar Allen Poe. Will the 49’s win? Quote the Raven “Nevermore”.

And it also means it is time for all those Super Bowl ads, great, good and awful. Some have been previewed and the best so far (judging by my sniffle count) is the new Budweiser ad starring a week old Clydesdale colt. Sniff. Check it out here.

I have found two new authors for me and I can’t wait to share their books this week. One is the beginning of a new shifter series by Kendall McKenna, it just blew me away. Black Hawk Tattoo by Aundrea Singer did the same, what beautiful writing. Two more books are also featured, they are by an author I just adore, LA Witt. A Chip in His Shoulder and its sequel, the just released Something New Under The Sun. Both are must reads, must read agains! So get ready to run, don’t walk to the nearest eBook store and grab up the best this week has to offer:

Monday, Feb. 4: Strength of the Pack by Kendall McKenna

Tuesday, Feb. 5: Black Hawk Tattoo by Aundrea Singer

Wed., Feb. 6: MIA Case Files 3: Craving by KC Burns

Thursday, Feb 7: A Chip In His Shoulder by LA Witt

Friday, Feb. 8: Something New Under The Sun by LA Witt

Saturday, Feb 9: My Choice or Lets See If I Finish in Time!

There you have it. Off to start on the hot wings and buffalo sauce. I need to grab up my bunny slippers (vampire bunny slippers of course), my four pawed kids with bones to keep them happily occupied, and friends for Super Bowl Sunday. I may tune into Puppy Bowl too because , really who can resist that? There is snow on the ground and it is threatening to snow some more. But we will be snug, and happy, and yelling our hearts out. Go, Ravens!

Snow on the Ground and the Week Ahead in Book Reviews

What Do You Mean It’s Going To Snow?

We had our first taste of winter here in the region recently and parts still bear a light coat of white to prove it. Schools let out early, as did many local governments. The federal government had a liberal leave policy in effect and the stores were crowded with people buying out all the bread, bacon and booze. Yes, its true, we here in the Washington Metro area go completely bonkers when we think it’s going to snow. How much snow fell? Perhaps one inch. Sigh. But continuing our seesaw season, we are expected to hit 65 degrees F by Wednesday and it doesn’t help that the seeds and nursery catalogs have just started arriving by mail. Some people are tempted by jewels and clothing, not me. For me it’s yarn stores and nurseries full of plants and flowers of every shape, size, and color. Yesterday alone saw me dog-earing page after page of new plants for the season as I scribbled their names along with possible locations in the yard. Was I a contented camper? Why yes I was!

And this afternoon sees me off to Busboys and Poets to meet up with the Metro Area M/M Romance group for wild and wonderful conversations and discussions over everything book oriented. We are a great group of readers, bloggers, authors, and publishers and boy, do we have a lot to say! I can’t wait.

One more thing…one of my favorite blogs is The Blood Red Pencil where they blog “sharp and pointed observations about writing”. I adore them. This week the topic is “Mystery, Magic, and the Aha! of the Reveal”. It is just a terrific article and shouldn’t be missed. Here is the link, don’t pass it by. Trust me, these people understand that writing is not for the fainthearted.

So here is the week ahead in book reviews. I am all over the place. There is contemporary romance courtesy of Andrew Grey, RJ Scott and Ariel Tachna, three of my favorite authors. The latest book in Caitlin Ricci’s shifter series and LA Witt’s science fiction/shifter novel that is the first in The Tameness of the Wolf series. New series, continuing series and great authors, so just be prepare to add to your reading list by the end of the week. What? It’s February already? *head desk*

Monday, 1/28: A Troubled Range by Andrew Grey

Tuesday, 1/29 Pack Business by Caitlin Ricci

Wed., 1/30: Overdrive by Ariel Tachna

Thursday, 1/31: A Shared Range by Andrew Grey

Friday, 2/1: The Fireman and the Cop by RJ Scott

Saturday, 2/2: Eye of the Beholder by Edward Kendrick

It’s 70 degrees here in Maryland and the Week Ahead in Reviews

It’s January and it feels like mid Spring. The woodpeckers are banging out their territory rhythms, the maples are budding out, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the hyacinths and tulips start to peek out above the ground. The meteorologists keep saying that it will get colder, and it does, for about a day and then the temperatures start to rise and voila, back to Spring.

Now for us in the past, February is the month to look out for. It brings heavy snows and ice and all things wintery. Except for last year, when it brought nada. We need the water from snow melt, and that is not looking promising for us or any of the surrounding states. So each day is a surprise, more so than usual. What will our changing climate do to our day today? Will it bring Spring or Winter? Will it be quiet and calm or will winds with hurricane speeds be whipping over our rooftops? No one can say for sure. The one thing I do want to do is take those climate change doubters, those head in the sand ostriches, and give them a shake or two. Tell them to get their heads out of their nether regions and take a good look around. Time for us to make a change, one person at a time, while it is still possible. Still tut tuting over a favorite backyard azalea that is trying to bloom.

Here is a list with 50 easy ways to help the earth. Wire and Twines “50 Ways to Help the Planet – go green, its not that hard!

Now for the Week Ahead in Reviews:

Monday, 1/14: Revolution by Bailey Bradford

Tuesday, 1/15: Some Kind of Magic by R. Cooper

Wed., 1/16: Horse of Bells by Pelaam

Thursday, 1/17: An Unsettled Range by Andrew Grey

Friday, 1/18 Knight of Wands by Theo Fenraven

Saturday, 1/19 Trick of Time by J.L. Merrow

So there it is, let’s see what happens. Have a wonderful week.

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Book Wishes for 2013 – Authors, are you Listening?

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Book Wishes for 2013:

While everyone has been busy making New Year’s resolutions, I have been thinking about what I would wish for 2013 in books. Turns out I have quite a few wishes, some I would like to share in hopes they reach an author’s ear or more…..

❋I wish that 2013 brings a new book from JL Langley, this one to feature Sterling and Rhys, her wolf shifters…boy have we been waiting for their story.

❋I wish that 2013 brings another book in the Knitting series from Amy Lane *cough Jeremy cough*

❋I wish that 2013 brings Roan, Dylan, Holden, and the rest back with a fervor because Andrea Speed is killing me with anticipation over what the virus is going to do to Roan next.

❋I wish that Josh Lanyon is relaxed and happy from his sabbatical and ready to unleash some new books on his adoring fans.

❋I wish that I finally have time to start and finish JP Barnaby‘s Lost Boy series.

❋I wish that when authors are describing human eyes, the term “orb” doesn’t even come to mind as a word choice. Really, people, you are making me mental with this one. No more “his adoring blue orbs”. Do you hear how dumb that sounds? Magical orbs, alien orbs, fine. Human orbs, no. Emphatically, unwaveringly, absolutely no. See my Vocabulary Gone Bad series.

❋Ditto man tits.

❋I wish to that Abigail Roux doesn’t hurt Ty and Zane too badly in her next Cut & Run series, but that probably won’t happen.

❋I wish to see fewer instances of “instalove”, more measured steps towards a romantic relationship.

❋I wish that 2013 brings new stories about the Roughstock gang (BA Tortuga) and see Sam further along in his recovery.

❋I wish that Mary Calmes gives us another story in her werepanther universe and Domin Thorne and Yuri, really love those two.

❋I wish that I start taking my time reading books I have been waiting for instead of rushing through them (and then having to start over). Patience, I need more patience.

❋I wish that when authors put their characters through hell (rape, savage attacks etc), there is no instant recovery without any effects from the abuse. If you are going to go there, then at least make what happens to these people realistic all the way through. No brutal multiple rapes and then joyful snowmobiling through the countryside. This makes me crazy too.

❋I wish that Andrew Grey is as prolific as he was in 2012. I need more Range stories and Taste of Love series.

❋I wish that 2013 let’s me finish and write the rest of the reviews for Charlie Cochrane‘s outstanding Cambridge Fellows series, really I have no good excuse for this one, time just got away from me.

❋I wish that RJ Scott continues to write in her Sanctuary series, love those boys and TJ Klune brings back more bad poetry from the Kid as well as the Kid himself.

❋I wish to see less rushed endings and more complete backstories.

❋My wish for Sarah Black is for the Pacific Northwest to be as big a muse as the American southwest has been in the past.

❋I wish for more great m/m science fiction.

❋I wish for more in the Wick universe from Megan Derr.

❋I wish for anything new from Laura Baumbach.

❋I wish to see Tucker Springs explode with stories from many of my favorite authors (Marie Sexton, Heidi Cullinan and LA Witt).

❋I wish for more of the Bellingham Mysteries from Nicole Kimberling and Bellski stories from Astrid Amara.

❋I wish that 2013 let’s me discover more new authors I can’t live without. Thank you, 2012 for RC Cooper, Amelia C. Gormley, Rodney Ross, Shira Anthony, Poppy Denison, Marguerite Labbe, Joel Skelton, Katey Hawthorne, Piper J. Vaughn, Cardeno C, Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane to name the ones that jump into my fogged brain this morning.

❋I wish to thank those authors whose stories I have been reading for sometimes for the continued enjoyment and hours of escape you have given me and so many other readers…..Ariel Tachna, Ethan Day, Anne Tenino, James Buchanan, SJ Frost, Josephine Myles, Willa Okati, Carole Cummings, Isabelle Rowan, Kate Steele, Lynn Lorenz, and so many others (again fogged brain from late night and Redskins game).

❋And a final wish for 2013 is for people to remember and rediscover the wonderful Home series by William Neale, an author who will truly be missed.

So that’s it, all my pathetic brain can spew out today. I am sure there is much more trying to battle their way forward but they will have to wait. A shout out to all the couples in Maryland that starting getting married at 12:01am this morning. Congratulations and a Happy New Year. I will be leaving you all with a picture of Kirby in his New Year’s finest, please note the black leis, a nice touch don’t you think to go with his tiara?

Scattered Thoughts Best Book Covers of 2012

Once again its time to talk book covers and book cover design. I have talked previously about my favorite covers from childhood and how the mere sight of a great cover in the window of a bookstore would draw me in like the scent of cheese to a mouse. If the cover is the magnet the publisher and author uses to attract readers, there are certain principles of design that used to be taken into consideration to make that cover the one that grabs peoples attention, that yells look at me, that makes them want to know what that book is about.

For printed books, the designer has to look at several things such as book size, typographic palette (how blocks of text are located on a cover), book covers, book spines and fonts. With respect to eBooks, spines aren’t relevant, nor is book size, at least how it is normally used in the publisher world. It’s not the actual physical size that matters here with eBooks but that readers are often looking at a smaller graphic when choosing eBooks. So now smaller has to make an even greater impact. All the other design elements remain the same. Book covers, whether for print or electronic books, must be compelling enough to make the reader to choose that book, to persuade the customer that what is inside is fascinating, marvelous stuff.

Another rule is that the book cover should match the book it is being designed for. Whether the design is simple or rich in detail, elegant or street tough, uses a cover model or an illustration, there should be no disconnect between the subject matter inside and out. I can’t tell you how many times I thought nice cover but what does it have to do with the subject of the book? And it if is a book series, then all the covers should be similar enough to brand each book a part of a series, one glance tells you who the author is and what series you are reading (ex. Abigail Roux’s Cut & Run series with a singular object on the cover). A great book cover makes you anticipate, endows you with a need to discover.

On every review I write I also mention the covers and the cover artists. There are always some cover artists who continue to turn out one enticing cover after another, there are some artists you can identify just by looking at the style of the design or paintings on the cover (Paul Richmond, Posh Gosh). And then this year saw a new artist or two whose cover reached out with it’s compelling designs and emotional overtones. This year also saw a trend towards retro illustrations and design which I loved and others whose richness in color and detail left me gasping in delight. It was hard to narrow the covers down as there were so many worthy of mention, so I did break it down into a few categories.

So here they are, Scattered Thoughts Best Covers of 2012(with apologies in advance for the formatting problems):

Historical Novels:

On the Trail to Moonlight Gulch by Shelter Somerset/Artist Anne Cain

The Mystery of Ruby Lode by Scotty Cade / Artist Reese Dante

The Celestial by Barry Brennessel/ Artist Winterheart Designs

]

Contemporary Novels:

Acrobat by Mary Calmes/ Artist Anne Cain

Mine by Mary Calmes/Artist Anne Cain

Mourning Heaven by Amy Lane/Artist Paul Richmond

Sidecar by Amy Lane/Artist Shoshana Appavu

Time Gone By by Jan Suzukawa/Artist Anne Cain

Turkey in the Snow by Amy Lane/Artist Catt Ford

Wake Me Up Inside by Cardeno C/Artist Reese Dante

Fantasy/Supernatural Novels:

The Ronin and The Fox by Cornelia Grey/Artist Nathie

A Token of Time by Ethan Day/Artist Winterheart Design

Science Fiction Novels:

Burn by TJ Klune/Artist Catt Ford

Josh of the Damned, Triple Feature by Andrea Speed/Artist LC Chase

Riot Boy by Katey Hawthorne/Artist P.L. Nunn

Series:

Infected Series by Andrea Speed/ Artist Anne Cain

Knitting series by Amy Lane/Artist Catt Ford

Leopard’s Spots series by Bailey Bradford/Artist Posh Gosh

Lost Gods by Megan Derr/Artist London Burdon

There were so many others I wished to include and I know you have your favorites too. Write and let me know who you feel should have been on that list (King Perry, Fallout to name a few that came close). Check out the individual reviews to see the covers in greater detail and read about the books they so beautifully covered!

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