Tag: A BJ Highly Recommended Story and Author

A BJ Review: Mocker of Ravens (SPECTR 2, #1) by Jordan L. Hawk

Rating:  4.25 stars out of 5

Moker of RavensCaleb has spent the last six months adjusting to life possessed by the vampire spirit Gray. Unfortunately, after the events of Fort Sumter, the other agents of SPECTR view him more as a ticking time bomb than a co-worker.

The one bright spot is Caleb and Gray’s boyfriend, federal exorcist John Starkweather. But John has problems of his own. A supernatural killer is on the loose in Charleston, stealing the hearts of its victims to extend its own unnatural life.

With the help of a rookie agent, John, Caleb, and Gray must find the killer before it strikes again…or before they become the demon’s next victims.

Sometimes saving the world just isn’t enough… shakes head. After the events of the finale in series two, you’d think they guys would have found the respect of SPECTR. But no, it’s more like a tentative, tenacious acceptance, if even that. A new dickhead boss and more things for the boy to work though even as they are given a case up against a NHE with a seriously freaky power.

As I’ve come to do in the past books, its Gray the drakul who fascinates me the most. But the chemistry between all three partners in this unusual triad is palpable, vividly drawn, and sexy hot. They still have many things to work through, and we see some of them coming out nicely in this book. I never had noticed in the prior books that Gray’s parts are written in present tense and the rest of the POVs are in past tense. I believe I hadn’t noticed before because I read Hunter of Demons as a freebie, and there was not a great deal from Gray’s perspective in that one. The rest of the first ones were on audio. So noticing this point of view tense shift threw threw me a bit, but at the same time I do understand why its used. Gray is a creature that lives in the present rather than dwelling in the past or living in the future as humans do. Really rather cool when considered in that way.

Nicely paced with just the right amount of sexy times, action, and angst. The guys get a new partner, Zahira, and I absolutely adored her. Hope we will get to know more about her.

Beautiful cover featuring John that is different enough from SPECTR #1 to set it apart and yet similar enough to tie it in. Well done with that.

Sales Link:  Amazon   Buy it Here


Book Details:  

ebook, 95 pages
Published June 16th 2015 (first published June 10th 2015)
ISBN139781941230121
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesSPECTR 2 #1

A BJ Review: A Policy of Lies by Astrid Amara

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

A Policy of LIes coverTwenty years ago, Levi Kaszeri survived a brutal rebellion on the mining colony of Tarus 9. Now as an aspiring reporter, Levi has a mission: to expose the massacre to the public, and bring the men responsible to justice. But after a violent attack, he is rescued—then seduced—by Tiergan Seoras, a young doctor with a dangerous past and a slave tattoo. Soon Levi finds all of his investigations leading him back to Tiergan. And he begins to fear that the best lover he’s ever had may also be his worst enemy.

Let me start by saying the title is VERY apt. This author came on my radar when I read and adored Song of the Navigator earlier in the year. That book impressed me so much that I nominated it for several categories in the M/M Romance’s member awards. Then I read an anthology, Charmed and Dangerous, and wouldn’t you know my favorite story of the group among a stunning cast of authors was Astrid Amara. Of course, I had to read more.

Nice world-building (some of the details were great, like the domed biospheres), sucked me in pretty quickly and kept me hooked with its fast pace, enjoyable female character, seriously sick-ass bad guy(s), and some serious twists. Plenty of action.

The POV character, Levi, is nuanced and well-drawn. We see the whole story through his eyes, and it was amazing to watch all the details coming together for him. Levi seemed stupidly trusting and a mite unobservant in some cases given his status as a investigative reporter and all he’d survived in his past. His single-minded quest for revenge perhaps put blinders on him at times.

Despite (or maybe because of) his mystery, Tiergan fascinated me from the start and that just kept growing as I learned more about him, his strength and sensitivity, his need to help others, his delighted love of birds, and all that we learn about him in the end just about broke my heart.

The characters had chemistry and heat, and would have enjoyed more interaction between them outside of the sex. What was there, I liked a lot, but more would have built up the emotional connection a bit more for me. And the way they jumped right into sex the same night together after Levi had been mugged and beaten pretty badly enough that Tiergan had to do some surgery on him seemed a bit rushed. Despite that, I couldn’t put this down. Highly recommended.

The cover is sexy but it doesn’t do anything to tell me that the genre is sci-fi or much else about the story.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here


Book Details:  

ebook, 181 pages
Published September 9th 2008 by Loose Id (first published September 2008)
Original TitleA Policy of Lies
ISBN139781596327689
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL http://www.astridamara.com/pl.html