Review of Frog by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.75 stars

At 44, Weber Yates realizes that his age, talent and physical condition makes his dream of becoming a rodeo champion a remote possibility at best. When a job on a ranch becomes available, Web figures he ought to grab the only job he is fit for. But first he must make a phone call to the man he loves, Cyrus Benning, a neurosurgeon in San Francisco. Weber met the handsome surgeon while Cyrus was on vacation at a dude ranch where Weber was a seasonal employee. Sparks flew and a one-time hookup turned into 3 years of phone calls, meetings between rodeos, short hookups, and arguments over pride and a future together. Weber has always felt like the frog in their fairy tale relationship, but Cyrus has always seen the prince that is Weber under the rough cowboy image he projects.

Shivering in a phone booth outside of San Francisco, Weber reaches out one last time to Cyrus before beginning his life on a ranch up north. They had parted after another argument over their future together, something Weber has always regretted. Can both men find their way back to each other through obstacles built of pride and mismatched backgrounds? Or will Cyrus finally convince Weber that they belong to each other and accept his place as prince of his heart?

Mary Calmes strengths as a writer are front and center in this heartwarming story of love, acceptance, and family. I really love the fact that this is a story of two men in their forties, finding love later in life. Weber Yates has some of the same qualities Mary Calmes has given her other main characters. He is charismatic, a person who by personality alone brings people closer and resolves conflict. He is beloved by children and animals without feeling at ease in upper class social situations. But Weber Yates with greater depths and layers. He is also a man who has seen his dreams die a hard, dusty death in the rodeo arena and realizes the pursuit of that dream has left him penniless, physically broken and alone. Insecure, and aware that he lacks education, Weber feels that pride is all he has left. Tall, skinny, with red hair and bruised ribs, he is hardly the golden boy of some of Calmes other novels. Those physical attributes fall to Cyrus Benning, the neurosurgeon who chanced upon his soulmate during a vacation in Texas. Cyrus Benning is also a character with his own insecurities and needs, the “golden boy” image hiding his frustration over his inability to profess his love and need for the itinerant cowboy passing in and out of his life and heart. Two complex men who are given one last chance to make their relationship work amid a family crisis and a job offer waiting for Weber in Alaska.

With Weber and Cyrus as the heart, Mary Calmes pulls more wonderful characters into the story. Enter Carolyn Easton, Cyrus’ sister and her three young boys, Tristan, Pip and Micah – the family in crisis. Carolyn’s husband has walked out on the family and took the nanny with him. She needs her brother and the stability he offers just when Cyrus wants only to concentrate on Weber. The dialog and action between the boys has the real flavor of someone who is familiar with adolescent boys and their behavior. The way in which Weber relates to them seems so very authentic as did their reaction to him. Carolyn is a wonderful portrait of a woman whose world has fallen to pieces and is too stressed out to find a way to put it back together by herself. Bit by bit, Weber is pulled into a family who needs him and is strengthened by it. All of the author’s gift at characterizations are evident in the people she has created for Frog. Each and every one memorable in their own right. To borrow an overused phrase, I “heart” them all.

I loved this heartwarming tale. Perfect? No, there are a few places that some will say stretch the boundaries of belief, especially when it comes to Micah, a child whose voice was frozen by past trauma. Did I mind it? No. This book left me smiling and feeling great. So perhaps we can leave it with an almost perfect. How about practically perfect in every way! And we all know who said that don’t we? And I am never one to argue with her.

Cover: Artist Reese Dante. That confused me a little. Reese Dante usually has these lush covers yet this is simplicity itself. I thought the handclasp was nice but how does a cowboy and neurosurgeon figure into that? It gives you no idea of the story within nor does it relate to the title. It could be just two guys at the beach? See? Call me Confused.

Treasure (The Lost Gods Book 1) by Megan Derr

Rating: 4.75 stars

One night in a deserted warehouse in Kundou, two lonely boys on the run meet and entwine their fates forever. One wishes to become a ship’s captain. One seeks just one night of safety and refuge from beatings at home. They exchange gifts and make a promise to each other. One will buy a ship and come for the other. And one will wait for him and they will run off together to find the greatest treasure in the world. It will take years before they see each other again.

Nine hundred years ago the Dragons of the Three Storms, Gods of chaos went insane and tried to destroy the land of Kundou. But King Taiseiyou rose up, killed the dragons and stole their powers for himself. The cost the royal family pays to retain those magical powers? A sacrifice of a member of the royal family every hundred years and that time is almost here.

Now the world is in trouble, cracks appearing in the political governments everywhere, food supplies are threatened, and even the supremacy of the seas that Kundou has always held is shaken by constant attacks by mermaids who kill entire crews, discard the cargo, and sink the ships. Prince Nankyokukai and Taka, his friend and royal secretary have a secret mission, or rather Prince Kyo does. Taka doesn’t know the meaning of the errands that Prince Kyo is sending him on, only that they are the utmost importance to his only friend, and that is all that matters to Taka. The prince’s family, always so cold and distant towards it’s youngest son, has been taking more interest in his affairs of late and the heir to the throne has been more obnoxious and overbearing, if that is possible. In secret, Prince Kyo and Taka head to the city docks and a meeting with the city’s wealthiest merchant, Master Shimano Raiden. Huge in statue and personality, flamboyant in attire, sure and arrogant in attitude, Shimano Raiden is everything Taka finds disdainful yet Kyo seems determined to do business with him. Taka is astounded to learn that the reason behind Prince Kyo’s meeting is to arrange for clandestine passage out of Kundou, immediately. And only one ship’s captain and one ship will do, Captain Kindan Ningyo of the Kumiko.

Captain Kindan Ningyo and all aboard the Kumiko have had a rough voyage this trip and are looking forward to a few days to relax in the harbor before Raiden sends them out again. The mermaid attacks are increasing and his ship is a favorite target. Only a very few know the reason behind the ferocity and number of attacks on his ship, that he is half merman and hated by the sea bitches for his very existence. His dual nature would also bring him trouble on land if known but Raiden keeps his secret. But Kindan has another more hidden reason that he returns to Kundou’s harbor, he has a promise to keep. Between a secret mission and a promise rests the fate of the world and the destiny of two boys turned men looking for that greatest treasure of all – love.

This book took me back to the years of reading with a flashlight under the covers. Alone in my “cave” I visited alien worlds, met otherworldly beings and rode on the backs of dragons. It was magical. Everything seemed possible and real. And Treasure brought all that back in one fell swoop. Well, except for the sex of course but still a wondrous time. And with the worlds and characters she has created here, Megan Derr has given me an old fashioned tale of adventure and fantasy, so satisfying a page turner that I was finishing it at 2am this morning and yelling for more. Really! My dogs were quite upset at the racket!

There is so much to this story I don’t know where to start. There is the seaside kingdom of Kundou, the sea power of the world with merchants and markets to match the cargo the ships bring in. So real is this world that you can feel the ships creak at their moorings, hear the gulls cry overhead, and listen to the shouts of merchants hawking their wares. The palace itself is another wonder whose descriptions made me want a magic amulet the better to see the Shark Room with its mystical floor and lethal inhabitants. A perfect place for palace intrigue and mystery. Megan Derr doesn’t stop with Kundou. She brings us the White Beasts of Verdun with their two skins, and Pozhar peopled with beings with hearts and souls of fire. Layer upon fantastical layer, the worlds of Treasure emerge and solidify before our eyes.

Let’s not forget the characters because they are unforgettable. You can tell if someone is from Kundou as they carry the colors of the sea in their eyes and hair, from the deepest blue through all the greens and back again. If you come from Pozhar, your hair and eyes display the pigments of fire. And the characters are as colorful as their physical descriptions. Prince Kyo is beautiful, ruthless and cunning. A priest as well as prince, he is an intriguing combination of religion, royal obligation, and romance wrapped into one. His willingness to sacrifice everything for the good of his people drives the voyage and the story forward. Captain Kindan Ningyo is a wonderful creation, a mix of seafaring Captain and fanged merman at war with his kin, white of skin and hair but black in his choice of garb. As he and his crew fought back waves of mermaids, decks heaved, sprays of salt water rained over the men as blood flowed and the reader was in the middle of it all, feeling each hit, reeling with each slash of the knife. And then there is Taka and Master Raiden, they may actually be my favorites here. Taka is full of surprises, a little prickly but quick to forgive, a trait that will be of utmost importance before the story is over. He is fire where Kyo is ice, he is loyalty personified and sensitive as to his position in life. I just loved him. Master Shimano Raiden is larger than life right down to the colorful robes and jewels he wears but he is a shrewd businessman and a complicated personality to match the multicolored layers of clothes he is so fond of. Each character beautifully detailed, so alive as to reach out from the page, grab you and pull you into the adventure with them.

Treasure so enchanted me that at the end I was shocked it was over, the tale a little unfinished. The voyage had come to a satisfactory and surprising end with a twist I relished, but I wasn’t quite sure what came next for all those characters I had come to know and love. And it is that uncertainty that gives this tale a 4.5 instead of a 5. The sequel, Burning Bright, is out there waiting to be read. While I am not sure those of the sea fit into a story of flames, but I can always hope. A tip of a cup full of wine of the dead to a tale well told and to another voyage on the horizon.

Cover: Artist Le Burden Design. The cost looks like a seafaring map but I would have wished for a little more embellishment to go with a story of Lost Gods and dragons.

Available from Less Than Three Press.

Review of Who We Are by TJ Klune

Rating 5 stars (and 5 more for shear awesomeness as Bear would say)

Who We Are picks up right where last pages of Bear, Otter and The Kid left us. Derrick “Bear” McKenna, Bear’s brother,Tyson aka the Kid and Bear’s boyfriend, Oliver “Otter” Thompson have overcome some but not all of the obstacles in their path to becoming a family. Bear and the Kid’s mother has vanished again as has Otter’s ex boyfriend. The three of them are moving into their new house affectionately known as The Green Monstrosity. Bear is going back to school, Otter’s at the photography shop, and the Kid is about to skip ahead a grade at school. The events of last summer still reverberate through their lives as they try and move forward. With Otter’s help, Bear is trying for custody of the Kid, the Kid has to see a therapist and things are still cool between Bear and his best friend, Creed who just happens to be Otter’s younger brother. As usual, the chaos is accompanied by the running dialog in Bear’s brain that threatens to overwhelm him in any given situation. But sometimes the best of families are formed by love and not blood. With Mrs. Paquinn, Anna and more on their side, the family comes together as they all learn that family is “defined by those who make us whole—those who make us who we are”.

I am always a little hesitant when picking up a sequel to a beloved novel. My mind is full of questions to go with the anticipation. Will the characters I came to love retain the same layering, the same quirkiness that captured my heart to begin with? Can the author recreate the magic the first book so beautifully delivered? Will I be happy with the new journey the author takes our heros on? And I am so happy to be able to tell you the answer to all those questions is a resounding “Hell, yes!”. With Who We Are , TJ Klune delivers a knockout punch of a novel that in many ways supersedes the one that went before. Here we still have all the elements that made Bear, Otter and The Kid so special. Bear’s jumbled inner commentary still reigns supreme, erupting in nonsensical sentences to the amusement and bemusement of all. The Kid still produces bad poetry and sage pronouncements on the evils of eating meat and the wisdom of Anderson Cooper. Otter is trying to be the strength and glue for all of them even as their emotions and new trials shake the walls they are building around them. Mrs Paquinn is still her loving eccentric self and her importance to Bear, Tyson and Otter has not diminished. Anna, Bear’s ex girlfriend along with Creed, his childhood best friend are all here. Everyone is here but supersized. It’s as though a patina of copper has been thrown over the characters who now shine more brightly, whose nuances and depth reflect out past the pages and into our hearts. For those who said “Please sir, I want some more.” Here it is. There’s more more here. More emotion, more trials, more complications, more of the realities people face when they come together as a family. And of course, much more love of every type whether it be newly discovered, hard fought, long established, brotherly, and finally fully realized romantic love. Love is here in its many permutations.

TJ Klune demonstrates with authority his gift with characterization as once more Bear, Otter, the Kid, and new characters roar to life within their story. Bear is still Bear, insecure, brave, at once burdened and lifted up by stewardship of his little brother. But now that he has accepted his sexuality and Otter’s place within his heart, the character of Bear seems to expand and strengthen. His inner dialog still runs amuck but wreaks less damage as he talks himself out of one self inflicted panic after another. Tyson is still that most amazing of kids. I have met children with the same frightening degree of intelligence so that has always rung true about his character. But TJ Klune never forgets that Tyson is also a young child with all the fragility of the young. When the emotional earthquakes happen, the impact upon the Kid shake not only his family but the reader with its tremors. Otter has never seemed more human than he does within these pages. Always the strong one, here Otter’s own insecurities and doubts come forward. He must deal with his family’s reaction to his own coming out and his brother’s lack of communication with him before his goal of a family with Bear and Tyson can become a reality. With Otter, a good character became great. Dominic is a new character that reaches out with his damaged background and dares the reader not to love him. And love him you will along with all the denizens of Seafare, past and present. The author never takes the easy out with one dimensional characters or situations. Instead we are given loving families presented with an upheaval of their status quo, and then shown how they overcome past tragedies and feelings to bring everyone back together. These people breathe air and walk with large strides across the pages of this novel with certainty and determination.

In Who We Are, TJ Klune never forgets to maintain his story’s emotional balance as comedy is interwoven with equal amounts of heartbreaking angst. I often found myself laughing and crying together with the characters, as so often both tears of pain and joy mingle as emotions collilde on the same page. The story is also solidly constructed and those annoying questions left over from BOATK are happily resolved here to my complete satisfaction. And that prologue was a thing of geeky beauty! As Bear finished with his tale and said goodbye, I was sad to get the end of Who We Are. Even with the wonderful epilogue, their voices spoke so clearly to me that I will miss them so.

You will find no quibbles here within this review. I loved this book, no ifs ands or buts.This is a book I will come back to when I feel the need to see them all again, especially the Kid and his bad poetry. Here is a sample, trust me it grows on you!

“Bacon is bad! Beef is wrong!

Mad Cow Disease stays with you for a time that’s long!”

For the rest of it, you will just have to buy the book. You will love it.

There is a wonderful short story Word of the Day, where in the Kid first meets Dominic. You can find it here at T.J. Klune’s blog A Fistful of Awesome.

Cover: The cover artist is Paul Richmond. The cover art for both books always looks as though a young adult had crafted it. It does give the books a unique look that immediately identifies them but it comes across as less than polished. Perhaps that is the intent. Hard to argue with the happy family on the front.

Available at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and ARe.

Review of Bear, Otter And The Kid by TJ Klune

With the sequel to BOATK out from Dreamspinner Press, I thought we would take a look back to our first introduction to Bear, Otter and the Kid and some added thoughts from me on these beloved characters.

5 stars

Three years ago, Bear McKenna’s mother took off for parts unknown with her new boyfriend, leaving Bear to raise his six-year-old brother Tyson, aka the Kid. Somehow they’ve muddled through, but since he’s totally devoted to the Kid, Bear isn’t actually doing much living—with a few exceptions, he’s retreated from the world, and he’s mostly okay with that. Until Otter comes home.

Otter is Bear’s best friend’s older brother, and as they’ve done for their whole lives, Bear and Otter crash and collide in ways neither expect. This time, though, there’s nowhere to run from the depth of emotion between them. Bear still believes his place is as the Kid’s guardian, but he can’t help thinking there could be something more for him in the world… something or someone.

That was the publisher’s blurb for BOATK as it is affectionately called now. But that description doesn’t start to describe the heartwarming, and at times heartrending story that is Bear, The Otter and The Kid.

It is a remarkable story of family and love told through the POV and unique voice of Derrick “Bear” McKinna made even more remarkable for BOATK being the first book written by TJ Klune. The story is so well done that I found it difficult to separate myself from it and its characters at the end, so real does it feel. Bear is a beautifully constructed, multilayered character whose voice and thought patterns are so unique that I can tell it is his character at a glance at the phrasing. Bear has all the conflicted feelings, traumatized emotions and inner denial monster you would expect from a young boy whose mother has stolen the few funds he had saved, written him a crappy note and fled, leaving him the sole responsibility of a young brother with a brilliant mind inside the body of a five year old. In other words, Bear is still dealing with his hormones, letting go his dream of college, and the constant turmoil and fear that their mother abandoning them has left behind. All through Bear’s actions and sometimes inability to cope, you may get frustrated with this character and want to throttle him, but it is because everything about Bear seems authentic, including his control issues and need for stability.

The other star of this story is The Kid, also known as Tyson McKenna. When this story first appeared, there were several reviews that remarked on the Kid’s high level of dialog and shear “smarts”, saying no 8 year old (as he was later in the story) sounded like that. But I have worked with children for over 20 years and come across others with Tyson’s intellect and outlook. It is to the author’s credit that I felt I knew the Kid intimately, laughing at his “bad” poetry and crying with him in the bathtub when the emotional hurricanes hit. I love the Kid, vegetarian and eco terrorist in the making. And his poetry? Oh my…… Here’s a sample:

“Otter! Otter! Otter!

Don’t lead cows to slaughter!

I love you, and I know I should’ve told you soon-a

But you didn’t buy the dolphin-safe tuna!”

Half the time I am reading, I am also wheezing with laughter and wiping my eyes. No really, you have to read this! And there are other great characters orbiting the two McKenna boys, Creed Thompson, Bear’s best friend forever, Anna, Bear’s girlfriend, Mrs. Paquinn (next door neighbor and Tyson’s sitter), and finally Otter Thompson who is Creed’s older brother and the love of Bear’s life if only Bear can admit he is gay.

The author handles with skill the whole issue of Bear finally admitting he is gay and the pain and anguish that is his companion throughout the process. As Bear admits his sexuality, climbs out and away from the safety of the closet, your tears will flow and your nose is going to run. Just saying. And then you are going to think of every young gay boy out there dealing with his sexuality, the guts it takes to admit you are gay while facing the taunts and jeers of homophobes who may just be your family and neighbors, and the tears will start anew. Keep that box of tissues handy. You will need all of them. What TJ Klune has done with Bear is give other GLBT youths/young men someone they can identify with, a character we desperately need to see more often in YA fiction and media.

The closer it gets to Bear’s high school graduation, the more problems seem to accumulate until Bear is panic stricken and feeling out of control. As the story builds to its climax, you find yourself teetering on the edge of the precipice with Bear and the Kid. Your heart is in your throat along with theirs, hoping their next step doesn’t see them toppling over the cliff. And you realize what an outstanding job TJ Klune has done to bring you there with the two boys.

I did have a few quibbles as to unanswered questions left at the end of the story and am happy to say they are all answered in Who We Are to be reviewed here tomorrow. I am also happy to say that Bear, Otter and the Kid will live on. That’s the word from Klune who has had quite the year, full of ups and downs. I will let him tell you all about it in this post he wrote for his blog. I am sorry he had that year but quite honestly I think it has made him that much stronger as an author. Bear, Otter, and The Kid as well as Who We Are have become comfort rereads for me and I think they will do the same for you. Please give them a chance. You won’t be sorry.

Cover: Paul Richmond is the cover artist and I really like this cover with the Kid so prominently featured. The author has said he asked that Tyson be put in that position on the cover as that is his position in the story. I like it, it makes me smile. So does the Kid.

TJ Klune can be found here at A Fistful of Awesome. http://www.tjklunebooks.blogspot.com

Both BOATK books can be bought at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and ARe.

Review of Murder at the Rocking R by Catt Ford

Rating: 4 stars

While pursuing investigations into cattle rustling in Oklahoma Territory, Ranger Tell Hadley came upon a hanged man, dead cattle, and two men left dying in the dust around them. Now he is on the trail of the survivor to find out what happened back on the Rocking R ranch and blood marks show him that man is injured.

Noel Ivory is a man on the run. His best friend Jack Rogers has been murdered, his cattle killed, and he aims to avenge his friend. But he is injured and being trailed by a stranger. When Tell Hadley catches up with Noel, he is surprised to find that the man he has been tracking is a young reporter from back East with a story of water rights, murder and the involvement of a prominent local family to tell him.

Noel is not sure who he can trust and Tell knows that Noel is hiding something from him. Can the two men learn to trust each other in time to bring the murderers to justice or will Noel be the next victim?

Catt Ford had me at the name Tell. That name alone brought back a rush of memories and affection for one of my all time favorite characters in western fiction, William “Tell” Sackett of Louis L’Amour’s novels. I have every one of his books, passed down to me by my dad, a die hard L’Amour fan. And with her opening sentence she dropped me back into the wide ranges populated with trail savvy fighters of the genre I love.

Ranger Tell Hadley follows in the boot steps of other solitary men of honor westerns are so fond of. Able to track a man where others fail, borne by a half wild Mustang as savvy as himself, I loved Tell from the beginning. Cautious and fair, I find that he is the heart of the story and not the character of Noel Ivory as Catt Ford may have intended. Noel Ivory presents some challenges here as a character in a western. While it is true the typical “Easterner” is found throughout western fiction, Noel ended up presenting me with more questions than answers about his character. He is a reporter from Philadelphia who ventured out west with his best friend yet our canny Ranger has some trouble tracking him as Noel appears to know tricks that only the wiliest of trackers would know. How Noel obtained that knowledge is never explained as his friend only passed the rudiments of riding and tracking to him. Plus Noel has an equally smart steed in Smokey who appears on his way to character status and then disappears.

Another irritation here is the “instant love” between Noel and Tell. Noel is injured and grieving over the loss of his best friend while trying to bring to justice the men who murdered him. Tell is trying to get Noel to trust him while carrying out his duties as a Ranger, So how is it that their gaydar goes off, they have sex and declare their love for each other? I would have found it much easier to believe in a longer story. I just found it hard to believe in 58 pages.

I think Catt Ford could have solved most of these issues by extending the length of the story. This is a very short story with the feel of a much larger one. She has done an excellent job here with her location, demonstrating a nice touch for the territory and small cattle towns. I loved her descriptions of the trail, the land around it and the men and horses who move through it. And her alternating POV between Noel and Tell worked well to bring each character closer to the reader. Everything works here, we just need a little more time to get to know Noel and watch a relationship grow between the two men. These two characters deserve that degree of reader satisfaction and realism. And that would have turned a lovely short story into a great novella.

Cover: Cover art by Catt Ford, cover design by Mara McKinnon. I like the cover, especially the dark blue background. The title would have been easier to see in a light color but overall nice job.

Pork Florentine and the Week Ahead

This is going to be a great week ahead with some exciting books to be reviewed, including Who We Are by TJ Klune and the first book in a great new fantasy series by Megan Derr. A Mary Calmes book is reviewed as is the latest book from a new author for me, AR Moler. Happy Mother’s Day all. Have a great Sunday! It’s picture perfect weather here and I am going outside to enjoy it!

Monday: Review of Bear, Otter and The Kid by TJ Klune in preparation for its sequel

Tuesday: Review of Who We Are by TJ Klune, sequel to BOATK

Wednesday: Review of Treasure (Lost Gods #1) by Megan Derr – a real treat for all you fantasy lovers

Thursday: Review of Frog by Mary Calmes

Friday: Review of How We Operate by A.R. Moler

Today is all about the great dinner I fixed last night – a perfect for Mother’s Day or any day at all. Trust me, you will serve this over and over again.

Rolled Pork Florentine

Serves: 4 Prep time: 3o min Total Cooking Time: 1 hr 10 min Total Time: 1 hr 40 min

Ingredients:

1 pork loin, about 2 pounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
7 ounces spinach
2 slices bacon, cut into lardons or small pieces about 1/4 inch
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon oil, for frying
1/2 cup white wine

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Set the pork on a cutting board and imagine you’re going to cut an upside-down letter T into it: in other words, slice half-way through, lengthwise, then half-way through to the left and the right. Open out the meat. Lay plastic wrap over it, and pound flat with a mallet. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Rinse the spinach and spin dry, allowing a little water to remain clinging to the leaves. Put it in a saute pan, cover, and wilt, about 5 minutes. Lay the spinach on a clean tea or kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Chop, and set aside.

Wipe out the pan and put if back on the stove. Fry the bacon until cooked, remove to drain. Pour off all but a tablespoon or 2 of the fat and fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir through the bread crumbs and spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

Pat the stuffing over the meat, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll and tie the pork at 2-inch intervals. Wipe out the saute pan and heat the oil in it. Brown the meat on all sides, pour in the wine, and then transfer to the oven and roast until done, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest 10 minutes. Wrap for later, or slice and serve with the pan juices poured over.

Review of In The Name Of The Law by Sue Holston

Rating: 3.75 stars

Mitchell Dawson and Ivan Stanislav are detectives with the Baltimore Police Department where they have been partners and best friends for years. Ivan is engaged and soon to be married. And Mitchell is miserable. Mitchell fell in love with the oh so straight Ivan the moment he met him and now wonders how he will continue on watching Ivan with his wife. The night of the engagement party Ivan’s fiance’ dumps him after a argument. A night of drunken consolation leads Mitchell and Ivan to the bedroom and uninhibited sex.

Morning comes and neither man acknowledges the events of the night before. It takes Ivan being shot for Mitchell to realize that second chances don’t come around very often and its past time for him to speak up and confess his love for Ivan.

Sue Holston has crafted a very nice short story with a “gay for you” theme with In The Name Of The Law. Her character of Mitchell Dawson is beautifully realized, with more layers and depth than I would expect from a story of this length. Ivan Stanislav is a less complete character study. A Baltimore Police Detective and renown horndog he is completely heterosexual until the night his fiance (who is of course a bitch) dumps him. One drunken night of sex with his partner flips his sexuality switch over to gay, a happenstance that always causes me to shake my head. It takes a much longer story to make your case for this change in sexuality believable and 46 pages is just not long enough. With Ivan a less substantial character, Mitchell’s love and longing for him never feels completely real. It is this disconnect that lead to a lower rating for the story.

One more quibble here towards something that happened in the epilogue. Both men tell their Captain that their partnership is both domestic as well as work related and he agrees to keep their secret. Realistically that would not happen. Rules and regulations prohibit that and it is doubtful a Captain would risk his or hers retirement to keep their secret. Nor would they have wanted to put their Captain in such a bad position. It would have been far more believable if the author had them continue to work together and keep the change in relationship secret until either got promoted out of the partnership. That would have given Sue Holston’s story an additional touch of authenticity it needed.

With Baltimore as her setting, Sue Holston’s attention to detail and geographic atmosphere is terrific. Baltimore is about 30 minutes away from me and I can tell you she has done her homework with this great city. Nothing beats eating our Chesapeake Bay crabs and having a Clipper City Gold Ale from a rooftop deck overlooking the Inner Harbor. I look forward to reading more stories from this author in just such a setting.

Cover: Cover art by Posh Gosh. Very nice cover. Loved the harbor in the background.

Available from Total E Bound Press.

Chances to win this, $20 gift certificate and other books visit the following blogs for the rest of the Raise Your Glasses Tour:

Saturday, May 12th: A.J. Llewellyn hosts H.L. Holston
Sunday, May 13th: H.L. Holston hosts Scarlet Blackwell

Review of The Beast’s Promise by Amylea Lyn

Rating: 4.25 stars

When Owen Sanders was forcibly taken from the City, he left behind 6 year old twin brothers in the care of his grandfather. Living with the Katria, cat shifters, has given him a new perspective on the City and the life under the Dome. All he had heard from the authorities in the City about the Outside was lies and he has found love with Maltok, Co Alpha of the tribe he’s living with. But his happiness is marred knowing he left his brothers behind and he can’t rest until he knows what has happened to them in his absence.

Maltok knows his mate is unhappy but is stunned to find out about the family Owen has left behind. When Owen asks for Maltok’s help in returning to the City, Maltok agrees if Owen will fully bond to him upon their return. Owen agrees and then feels guilty, first from putting his love in danger and then not telling Maltok how much he loves him before asking him for help.

Both set off for the City, and the misunderstandings between them grow with each step they take. Heartbreaking surprises and danger await them within the Domed City. Owen and Maltok must come together to save Owen’s family before they can have the future together they both desire.

The Beast’s Promise is the second in the Outside The City series from Amylea Lyn. Nature of the Beast is the first in the series and the stories should be read in sequence in order to fully understand the back stories and societies mentioned. The Beast’s Promise picks up before the epilogue in the first book, which is a little confusing in itself. The author assumes that one has read the first novel, so there are scare descriptions of the dystopian society Owen came from and little of any physical descriptions of the Katria here.

Raine and Ash from Nature of the Beast appear here but are naturally relegated to secondary status. But those tantalizing glimpses of Raine’s gift appear here to my endless frustration. It’s like dangling a piece of Godiva chocolates in front of a chocoholic. Tsking away here. But that said, Amylea Lyn’s characters, action and wonderful plot more than made up for it. The author did a terrific job of pulling me into her world, enmeshing me into the plight of those who live within a Domed City, separated from nature and the world around them. This is an old plot device that Amylea Lyn has made fresh again by populating it with beings I cared about, political and racial grievances within the tribe that mimic those within our own society, and a good old fashioned mystery that moved the pace quickly forward.

My enjoyment of the story was partially reduced by florid or repetitive writing in terms of physical descriptions, especially of Maltok. There is a mention of heaving chests, luxurious mane, and golden orbs, for a while there I thought Fabio was back. And of course, there were Owen’s “shining blue gray eyes, soulful blue gray eyes”and more. But as the story progressed, the writing evened out so it didn’t really interfere with my enjoyment of the book. While I wish that the author would find new ways to describe a character’s physical appearance other than starting with the eyes, her strength is in creating characters that we care about, and then carefully constructing a world or worlds for them to inhabit. Just a lovely job.

By the end of the book I was ready for another, hopefully featuring the twins, Lucah and Micah, two very endearing characters. Once again, Amylea Lyn left me wanting more of each character she introduced while leaving me with the impression that the next book might be even better.

Cover: Cover Artist is Reese Dante. IAnother great cover in this series. The young blond model in front is certainly in keeping with the descriptions of Owen. With the lion graphic in the background, it pulls everything together. Love it.

Available from Silver Publishing, Amazon and ARe

Review of Nature of the Beast Outside The City #1 by Amylea Lyn

Rating: 4.25 stars

Raine O’ Kelley was different. Inside the Domed City conformity was the rule, starting with your physical attributes. White blond hair and blue gray eyes, that was the norm, but not Raine. His hair was the color of gold and his eyes were a deep green. The fact that he varied from the norm was enough to guarantee that no women would ever choose him as a husband. He wouldn’t even be employed if his influential father had not interceded with the government to get him a job. He was too different even for his father, and his father knew his deepest secret, the manner in which Raine was truly, criminally different.

In a society where nature was outlawed and any possession of vegetation considered a felony, Raine could communicate with plants. He could make them grow, and they sang to him. In fact, plants were as necessary to Raine as was oxygen and blood. His mother was gifted or cursed in the same way and because his father loved her, he allowed her a plant or two even though the government forbade it. When she died, his father removed all the plants only to watch his son sicken and fade. His father brought one back but only because Raine was the last link he had to the woman he loved.

Now Raine works for the government and hides his gift behind locked doors in his apartment, where his bedroom has a living carpet of grass and forbidden plants take up all available space. Then he is found out and sent to prison for life. Abused daily by the guards and with no contact with plants, Raine starts to die. The guards throw him to The Beast, a fearsome monster kept to dispose of prisoners and a miracle happens. The Beast protects him, takes care of him. The Beast turns out to be more a tortured man than animal and the two are drawn together. When Raine discovers The Beast comes from Outside the City, and that the guards intend to kill them, escape becomes paramount. Will their relationship hold firm in the face of obstacles both inside and outside of the City? Or will animalistic nature of The Beast destroy their bond first.

This story both frustrated and delighted me. Amylea Lyn’s Domed City is a dystopian society that we have seen before. A city ruled by an oppressive government is walled off from all nature. It’s inhabitants live a grey life in a grey city under a dome that let’s in very little light. While the idea is not original, the author does a wonderful job with her descriptions of the uniformity of city life and its denizens. But where she shines is in her creation of Raine O’Kelley. Raine’s life force is entertwined with plants, energy and love flowing between them. So vivid are the description of Raine’s interaction with nature that the story dimmed as the plot took a different direction.

The Beast is Ashlon, lost son of the chief of the Katria. One of his own people betrayed him, and he was taken into captivity by city guards. Ashlon has been tortured and beaten for years in the prison under the City. His memory of his life outside has dimmed and his Beast has taken control in order to survive. The prologue tells the story of Ashlon’s capture from his POV and gives us a strong introduction to the Beast. Ashlon’s confusion and rage comes through so beautifully that it was a little jolting to have him disappear after the Prologue. Chapters pass by before we see him again.

Raine has obtained his seeds and plants through the black market and I loved the glimpses we are given of the nature underground that manages to survive the Government interdict. When Raine’s secret garden is discovered and he is arrested at work, he manages to send a message to an anonymous source who wisks away his plants before the guards can destroy them. What a tantalizing glimpse into a forbidden section of society. I wanted more, much more of this plot line. Instead, we get Raine convicted of his crime and sent to prison, where he is gang raped each night, and forced into a work detail by day. Not surprisingly, Raine starts to die. A trip to the infirmary becomes a death sentence and a trip to The Beast’s cell.

Raine’s introduction to the Beast is a little muddled as his thoughts seem surprisingly clear for someone as sick and abused as he is. Previous descriptions show Raine broken and fading from the nightly sexual abuse by the prison guards but that seems to disappear inside The Beast’s cell. As both men become aroused by close contact with each other, I kept waiting for an appropriate response from Raine that would be in keeping with that of a rape victim. It never happened. There is a few fleeting mentions, once when Raine and The Beast are attacked by the Head Guard, and one in the village, but then it goes away completely. And with that lack of reaction, the character of Raine became less real in my mind which was a shame as he is such a unique creation.

The plot redeems itself as the two main characters flee the prison and the City. Again, the author rewards us with lush descriptions of the Outside and Katrian life inside their village. But each time Raine’ gift comes forward in neat, creative little ways, I mourn the loss of a totally different plot and wish the story had taken a different turn. Especially during a major fight towards the end, where the symbiotic nature between Raine and the plants comes to the fore. I loved this! And it was such a strong part of the plot that the shifter side of the story seemed a little mundane.

So while I did enjoy this book, the shadow of a greater one lurking behind it kept me from giving it a higher rating. I look forward to more books by Amylea Lyn and the fulfillment of the promise of an extraordinary story shown here.

Cover: Artist: Reese Dante. The cover is terrific. From the terrific graphics to the font style, the cover design both delights and informs you of the story within. Great job.

Available from Silver Publishing, Amazon and ARe.

Review of Marathon Cowboys by Sarah Black

Rating: 5 stars

Navajo Lorenzo Maryboy is a former Marine who just mustered out of the service. During his tour, he had started a cartoon called Devil Dog that became popular with the enlisted men and now seeks a mentor in Jesse Clayton, retired Marine and successful cartoonist in Marathon, Texas.

Jesse Clayton the third, or JC3 as they call him back in the San Francisco art world, is on his way to his grandfather’s ranch in Texas, hoping to use the spare art studio there and needing some away time from the frantic pace of life in the city. He’s feeling burned out and seeking inspiration. Out and proud but not always in tune with his common sense, Jesse makes a stop at a red neck bar in Alpine where his bus dropped him off. Perhaps he really shouldn’t have worn those red shoes. When he becomes a target of a group of drunks, Lorenzo Maryboy comes to his rescue and they both land in jail. When Jesse calls his grandfather for bail money and a ride to the ranch, Lorenzo and Jesse discover that they share a common destination and need for a studio.

A decision to share the studio leads to both of them living under the same roof with The Original as Jesse’s grandfather is called. Long days in the studio and conversations over dinner lead to mutual attraction and then to love. But Jesse is an artist possessed by his art. He won’t let anything stand between him and his pursuit of his vision, not even love. When he commits an act of betrayal so huge that even his grandfather fears that Lorenzo’s love and trust are lost forever, Jesse finally decides what is important to him, Lorenzo. The path Jesse takes to win back Lorenzo’s trust and love is more dangerous than he can imagine. Can Lorenzo forgive Jesse or will his muse prove to be the death of him?

Once again, Sarah Black has created characters so memorable that I revisit them often. Her gift of characterization and locale has never shined so bright then it does here. Black sets the reader down on the bench next to these people, making us feel so much a part of their world that I felt bereft when it was time to go. There is no such thing as a standard Black character as each new persona is its own unique creation, albeit one that you feel you could run into on a street in Texas or a gallery in San Francisco. And when it comes to her settings, I know she has been there. Black has walked the paths, smelled the desert air and felt the heat rise off the streets in Arizona so vividly do her settings come alive.

Jesse Clayton the third is a wonderful character. His city pretty boy exterior hides a driven to the point of obsession personality. He is unexpected in so many ways. Out and proud in San Francisco, he loves the frantic city life, with its parties and casual hookups but still requires the quiet isolation of a Texas ranch and his grandfather to center him. All the markers of an artist possessed by his muse are there from the beginning, and only Lorenzo is surprised when Jesse betrays his trust. By the time this occurs, you have come to understand Jesse as thoroughly as his grandfather does. You may not always like his actions but you still love him.

I will say this now that as wonderful a character as Jesse Clayton is, it is USMC Staff Sargent Lorenzo Maryboy and The Original (Jesse Clayton’s grandfather, a retired Marine and cartoonist) who captured my heart. The book is told from Lorenzo’s POV and Sarah Black makes these people come alive. You breath with them, you sit down at the table with a Shiner beer and steak with them and feel the grit and dryness of Marathon, Texas flow over you. Her descriptions are so real that I felt I was in the room looking at Jesse’s paintings or running the back alleys of the town with Lorenzo. Lorenzo Maryboy is proud of his ancestry, a Marine to his core, proud, honorable a man of few words. This is Lorenzo talking to Jesse as they leave the jail in Alpine:

“…Sugar Plum Fairy.’ It was a favorite around our house at Christmastime.”

“Gotcha. Okay, you can call me Mary, if you can’t remember Maryboy, and I won’t bust your ass. Don’t call me zo-zo. I’m gonna call you Jesse. JC sounds too much like Jesus Christ, and I am not calling you JC3. So, that’s names settled.

“What are you going to all The Original if you’re calling me Jesse?”

“I’m gonna call him Sir. ”

That’s Lorenzo in just a few sentences. He’s straightforward and succinct. I love him.

That Sarah Black understands what it means to be a Marine is clear given her and her family’s military background. Her Marine characters here also include The Original and Uncle George, the Sheriff in Alpine who served two tours of duty in Vietnam with Jesse’s grandfather. The author understands and honors the Marine core values. It is evident in these men and the way in which she has them live their lives. While you may never fully comprehend what it means to be a Marine unless you are one, she brings us closer to an understanding with her portraits of these men.

Her books not only stay with me because of the memorable characters and places that populate her books but she also sends me scrambling to the computer to research a topic/thing/event that pops up in her books that I have never heard of, in this case Bath tub Marys. There is even a Appreciation of Bathtub Marys Society. An added bonus to be sure.

When I pick up a book by Sarah Black, my only two complaints are usually that they are too short and that the endings are sometime unsettled. She addressed both of these topics in her blog in a way that while she didn’t win me over to the shorter lengths in story telling, I certainly understood her point of view. Same goes for her endings….life does not give you pat endings tying up all loose ends and neither does Sarah Black. But here you get both a longer story (and yes, I found that so much more satisfying) and a ending that left me sated and happy. I laughed and cried with this book. It will certainly stay with me. Tonight I will most likely start the book over and delve into this town and its characters once again.

Cover: Cover art by the wonderful Anne Cain. No more to be said.

Author Spotlight: Sarah Black here

Available at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and ARe.

Authors Website: Sarah Black Writes

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