Tag: A MelanieM Recommended Read

A MelanieM Review: Baby’s On Fire by A. F. Henley

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Babys on Fire CoverIn 1974 Gerry Faun gets the break of his life—an opportunity to meet gorgeous, openly bisexual, glam-rock idol Mark Devon. Mark’s world is new, exciting, and Gerry finally gets to explore the side of his sexuality that he’s kept hidden. But the press is everywhere, and when Gerry’s father gets wind of what’s going on behind his back, Gerry ends up on the street. Mark offers to let Gerry come along with the tour and Gerry jumps at the chance. The tour is a never-ending party—and the start of what seems to be a perfect relationship for him and Mark. Until Mark’s manager decides Gerry isn’t worth the trouble he’s stirring up.

In 1994 Gerry is finally coming out of some tough times—he has a job that pays the bills, a car that hasn’t quite broken down, and a small rental in Jersey City. After a decade of barely getting by, if life was as good as it was going to get, Gerry figures he’ll manage just fine. It would be easier if he wasn’t still haunted by the man the media won’t let him forget, the man who stole his heart and then broke it… the man that’s shown up pleading for a second chance

In Baby’s On Fire by A. F. Henley, the author charts the rocky, troubled path to love for a rock ‘n roll singer and the young man who fell in love with him.  It’s a journey that swings back and forth between eras, the swinging drug-filled raucous years that were the 70’s and then forward to the 90’s, the present time frame for Gerry and Mark.

I have always admired Henley’s ability to capture the mood and character of each era she has chosen to write about, even if sometimes it is embodied only by a car (“Roadtrip“). In Baby’s On Fire, Henley tackles the 70’s, an era of contradictions and overindulgence.  It was the end of the innocence and hope of the 60’s while still continued that decade’s trajectory of drug use and music that pushed known boundaries.  There was soft rock, Hard Rock, Glam Rock which was also called Glitter Rock, personified by glam rocker Gary Glitter who sang Rock and Roll on his album “Glitter“, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust  (how I still love him) and so many others.  It  was the time of Studio 54 and the out of control New York club life that so many stars and singers got caught up in. Excess thy name is the 70’s!  And its all here inside the page of this often heartbreaking story.

Appropriately enough, the story begins in October 1994 and we’re dumped into the present reality of Gerry Faun.  He’s middle aged, and life hasn’t exactly been very kind to him.  In fact, its been a very real struggle to make ends meet.  He’s alone but finally has a job that will pay his bills and that he is good at.  But all it takes is a song on the radio to turn back time….for Gerry and the reader.

Ever  had a crush on a singer when you were a preteen or teenager?  Remember those times of utter devotion and yes, a little obsession?  Even if you don’t, all you have to do is look at (insert name of any boy band or Justin Bieber) and fans to get an idea. Its along those lines that this story takes hold, when Gerry Faun is taking his sister and friends to a concert by Maxx Starlight and his band.  It’s June 1974, and everyone is giddy over the fact that they will be seeing Maxx in person and listening to him sing.  Especially young Gerry who’s trying to be the cool older brother while being even more ridiculously excited than his younger sis.  Gerry is aware that he is gay but keeping it a secret, a smart move when his conservative father is already calling the rock ‘n roll star slurs (“f…..t”) as the small group walks out the door into a night that will  permanently change them all.

In a scene charged with energy and a drug/alcohol induced wildness, Gerry ends up backstage and meets his idol, Maxx Starlight aka Mark Devon and the dance between them begins as the narrative starts to switch back and forth between the turbulent excesses and confusion that is the life Mark and Gerry live in the 70’s to the discontent and emptiness of Gerry’s life in the 90’s.  I thought Henley’s authentic, “spot on” descriptions of a popular rocker’s lifestyle works at every level.  It’s too bright, too over the top, too much of everything from sex ‘n drugs “living on the edge” as well as the mindless adoration of hundreds of thousands of fans.  And we get to see and feel its impact on the jaded Mark/Maxx and the innocent Gerry, whose Bambi like nature gives him the nickname “The Faun”.

A dramatic scene from Gerry’s youth brings on a change in decade and we move forward to the man he’s become…unhappy, alone and forever caught in the past, no matter how much he denies it.  He’s stored his youth and his ability to love in with all his keepsakes in a box in the back of his closet, likewise his memories and emotions have been shunted to the back of his mind, not to be taken out and examined too carefully.  What happens to break up this stalemate is the arrival of Mark, back after over 20 years absence with the intent of getting back together with Gerry.

The return of Mark brings the 90’s section of the story and Gerry to life.  The 90’s narrative has been one of a certain grayness and enervation.   With the return of Mark, it’s the anger, pain, and emotion that comes roaring back to life in Gerry that starts to be a match for all the action, decadence, overindulgence, and high emotion of the 70’s scenes and events.  That anger, pain, and rage  propels Gerry into action making the connection between the readers and the storyline snap firmly in place for the duration of the story.

I thought Henley’s characterizations worked extremely well,  no matter what time frame they happened to be in at the moment.  Young Gerry aka the Faun’s very youth and actions ooze innocence and new passion, and its that unformed outlook on life that get’s schooled in the most raw, blinding manner possible by the man he loves.  Mark aka Maxx’s character works well as the over indulged rockstar losing himself to the persona he and the manager have created.  The 70’s characterization of Mark works so believably because we see so much of him and his actions through the relationship dynamics with Gerry and the “support/hangers on” that surround them.

Unfortunately, when Mark disappears from Gerry’s story, his lack of presence for most of the 90’s section reduces our knowledge of the older Mark to the detriment of the novel.  We are “told” what happened to him, and that manner of narrative distances the reader from Mark as well as reduces our connection to him and his reunion with Gerry.  To make the love between Mark and Gerry sing with all the vibrancy and passion of their youth, the readers needs more of the grownup Mark and his journey towards adulthood and responsibility for himself and his actions.   We get that with Gerry and for balance  and to make this story feel whole, we needed it for Mark as well.  Telling is never any substitute for “doing” or action and that is demonstrated in Baby’s On Fire.

That issue aside, I thought Baby’s On Fire by A.F. Henley a wonderful story and one I recommend.  The emotional journey to love and a HEA for Gerry and Mark brought back to life an era I lived through, sent me running back to pull up Youtube vids of Ziggy Stardust, glitter, and a sexy rock god in all his glory as well as all the fallout and maturation needed to make it through to the 90’s for so many.

Love a rock’n’roll love story?  Need a little more glitter and glam in your life to go along with the romance?  Pick up Baby’s On Fire by AF Henley and make this lovely indulgence your own.

Cover art by Raphael works but yes, I wanted a little more glitter.  Go here for images of David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust.

Sales Links:      Less Than Three Press      All Romance (ARe)     Amazon     Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: May 6th 2015 by Less Than Three Press
original titleBaby’s on Fire
ISBN139781620045398
edition languageEnglish

 

A MelanieM Review: Theory Unproven by Lillian Francis

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Theory Unproven 400x600Working with elephants in their natural habitat has always been Eric Phillips dream. Getting what he’s always desired introduces him to Tyaan Bouwer, the bush pilot that flies in his supplies, and Eric discovers the allure of South Africa goes beyond the wildlife and the scenery.

But in an area where bushveld prejudices and hatred bleed across the borders, realising their love will be a hard fought battle. Keeping hold of it might just kill them.

* * * * *

An unexpected job offer finds zoologist Eric Phillips transported from the elephant house at a zoo just outside London to the wildlife reserves in the South African bushveld. Being able to work with his own herd of elephants, and analysing their behaviour, more than makes up for the remote nature of the research station. The one bright spot on the horizon, quite literally if the sun hits it at the right angle, is the silver freight plane that brings his supplies and half an hour in the company of Tyaan, the gorgeous but taciturn pilot.

With wide open spaces and clear skies, Tyaan Bouwer is never be happier than when he’s flying over the bushveld, the landscape beneath him a changing vista of colour and texture. It’s that view and the freedom to be able to climb in his plane and fly that’s kept him in the small town where he was born and raised. South Africa might be a rainbow nation but in the northern regions where neighbouring countries are far from liberal minded, prejudices and hatred bleed across the borders. Tyaan’s not in the closet, not really. Get him to the city and with his strong, silent routine he can pull a guy without even trying. He’s fine with that as long as they don’t press him into trying to see them again. It’s not like he wants a relationship. And just maybe when he gets home he’s hovering in the doorway of that closet, but he’s never met anyone worth taking the risk for.

The day he’s sent to Limpopo to collect Eric that all changes. He tries to bury the feelings of want that Eric conjures in him, but he can’t resist the bonds of friendship that forms between them.

As a zoologist Eric likes to think that he’s adept at anticipating how a creature will react in any given situation, and they don’t come any more beautiful and skittish than Tyaan. Despite Tyaan’s jittery behaviour Eric has a theory they could be good together but when things go catastrophically wrong it appears their relationship will remain a theory unproven.

Theory Unproven by Lillian Francis was a book I enjoyed on multiple levels.  It was the first novel I had read by this author and now I have a author with a new library to explore.   Love when that happens.  Secondly, as a park naturalist, this book with its location set in a elephant research sanctuary in Africa really resonated with me.  With a zoologist, Eric Phillips, as one half of the main couple, I loved the realistic way his life and work with the elephants was portrayed.  Dirty, all consuming, and soul satisfying…the readers understands through the many passages what it must be like to have that deep connection with another species. Whether Eric is combing through scat (that’s poop) or setting a series of problems for the elephants to work through, it all comes across beautifully and authentically.  It also serves to make the reserve, and the elephants come alive, so much so that they become necessary to the main characters and the plot, and not just act as props for the storyline.  And the elephants!  They rank high among my favorite characters here. I have to admit this element of the story is the most successful for me.

For such a vast landscape in setting and plot, there is really only a small cast of characters involved here.  Outside of Eric and Tyaan, we have a flying doctor, Jessie, Benedict Brooke’s (assistant to Mr. Cowdry, Mr. Cowdry CEO of The Foundation), all of which feel fleshed out and believable.  Jessie is a cornerstone here.  A strong woman, she is never the less the “beard” for Tyaan in town where his “gayness” is not only frowned on but poses a direct threat.Benedict and Mr. Cowdry’s personalities are developed through a series of telephone/Skype conversations that does a great job of making these men and their dysfunctional relationship intriguing and real.  All good characters, all people the reader will want to spend time with.

What is problematic here?  The native peoples themselves.   Only marginally represented first by Akibo, a manager and Eric’s first contact at The Foundation, then by the cook/housekeeper Sethunya (a veritable wisp of a character) and the worker Masumba, you never really get a feel for the people, their tribes or their background.  Their appearances are brief, and lacking in context. Their characters are pencil sketches at best, and,especially in Masumba’s case, that lack of background and solidity hurts both the story and resolution at the end.

Tyaan is a character that will draw conflicted feelings among the readers.  I thought his was a character grounded in the reality of the changing times in South Africa where you can be legally out yet being gay can also get you hung or worse in neighboring countries and in the conservative bush lands where the local mentality is as rigid and inflexible as the past societies has made it.   Fear and past history has made him limit his relationships to one night stands in the anonymous city landscape and it has kept him in the closet at home where he works and lives.  Got it, you understand him even if you don’t like his actions, it makes him human.

But its that “realness” that will make Eric’s naivete less believable.  Surely, Eric will have done more than a cursory research job when looking at the area and his outwardly gay status. Assuming he would have no problems being an “out gay”  white man in the wilds of a  reserve on a nation that just accepted being homosexual as legal, would be like thinking you could act in a small rural, conservative town in (fill in the blank area) like you would in New York City.  Uh, no.  And while I have known quite a few “been in the woods too long”  researchers, few of them would display that set of blinders that looms so large on Eric.

But most of those thoughts came after I had finished the story and had time to think about it.  While I was reading it, I was hooked on the elephants, Eric and Tyaan’s attraction for each other and strained journey towards a relationship.  This is a long book yet most of the time I spent reading it flew by.  And I could easily book a flight back to this universe.  I would love to know more about Mr. Cowdry and Benedict’s convoluted relationship and surely there are more bumps on the relationship road for Tyaan and Eric.  A return trip would be more than welcome.

I vacillated on the rating here.  I wanted to go higher for the location, setting, elephants and research.  And lower for the context and native characters.  So I settled for a 4 star rating which I’m not entirely happy with…because this story is so lush, so vibrant in feeling and scope that I am still so very much in love with Theory Unproven weeks later.

I recommend this story for all who love romance, foreign lands and a landscape of adventure where the search for love can be rough, affectionate, and hard won.  Pick it up today and decide for yourself.

Cover art by Meredith Russell.  I feel the same way about the cover that I do about the story.  Love/dislike the cover.  The models work/don’t work for the characters within.  See?  Just not sure.  Love the background though.

Sales Links:  Love Lane Books uk      All Romance (ARe)        Amazon                Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 327 pages
Published February 20th 2015 by Love Lane Books

Limited (first published January 30th 2015)

A MelanieM Review: Baked Fresh (Portland Heat #2) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Baked Fresh coverFrom its famous coffee to the mouthwatering fare at its cafés, restaurants, and bakeries, Portland, Oregon, has a lot to whet the appetite, including the hard-working men who serve it all up—hot, fresh, and ready to go—with no reservations…

Vic Degrassi is a baker on the rise, and it’s all thanks to his rare ability to make—and keep—his New Year’s resolutions. Whether it’s losing weight, giving up smoking, or graduating from culinary school, Vic goes after what he wants—and gets it. This year? He wants Robin Dawson, the sweet-hearted hottie who volunteers with him at the local homeless shelter. When he learns that Robin is suddenly single after being unceremoniously dumped, Vic is more than happy to offer a shoulder to cry on—or at least a fresh-baked pastry to bite into. But it’s been a long time since Vic’s gone on a date, and he’s nervous about risking his friendship with Robin. So when their flirtation turns into a steamy night together, Vic and Robin have to figure out if they’re friends with benefits or lovers in the making, and if Robin is ready for something more than just a rebound. There’s only one way to find out: turn up the heat…

Annabeth Albert is an author I was unfamiliar with before now. Baked Fresh is my first introduction and its a good one.  The blurb offers up a number of elements guaranteed to pull me in such as cooking, baking, and romance.  But what is not apparent from the synopsis is that Baked Fresh contains one more element that I find irresistable….realistic characters who physically conform more to the norm than to the “Greek god” form of perfection.

Please don’t get me wrong…I do love my romances that contain love between two rugged/stunning/drop dead gorgeous/over the top specimens of the male gender. *fans* But its all about variety for me as well.  I want the guys who are a little worn around the edges, maybe a little bald or plump, maybe a little older or tarnished in attitude or outlook. Or even those men who have worked hard to tone up or better themselves….for themselves.  And its those men that Albert is writing about…heartwarmingly and realistically.  They grabbed at my heartstrings and I hope you will give them a chance.  Let’s take a closer look.

Vic DeGrassi is one of those quiet, surprising men that you might actually meet on the streets, Portland or otherwise.  A family history of heart disease and dying young made Vic take a hard look at his own health and extra (lots of extra) weight that he was carrying.  His answer to his predicament is a stomach band, a brave and often unpleasant operation.  Albert lets us into the fact that this is not the glamourous cure all you might think it is.  There’s the ugly scar, the minuscule list of food items that Vic can eat without making himself ill….it’s not an easy lifestyle to maintain, even after the operation.  But Vic looks at the risks and changes his lifestyle and we believe in him all the way.  The operation is over when the book begins and Vic has already well on his way to remaking himself.  He shaved his head, works out but the image in his mind is still the large, ungainly guy he remembers reflected back at him all those years, from his family included. The man you come to love through his thoughts, conversation and actions is a little more “old world” in manners, and outlook.  Vic’s charming, protective, and a wonderful man.   And he’s perfect for Robin.

Robin Dawson is also that quiet young man working away, trying to make a difference in his community and world.  He’s a little beaten down, lacking in self confidence.  His background is more problematic than Vic’s and it will explain his work at the local shelter, again made very authentic for the reader.  Robin’s pain is never far from the service and we meet him on a downward spiral after being dumped.  I took him to heart as well.

Their relationship is slow to grow, which is great.  We are there as Vic and Robin build something substantial, brick by hopeful brick.  They get to know each other, there are some surprises and quite a lot of very sexy love scenes.  These two, especially Vic, are inventive and fierce when they finally come together.  It’s hot, its sexy and it’s a lot of fun to read.

Is the book perfect?  No, just as its characters, it has some flaws and imperfections.  Not enough background in some cases, too much exposition in others.  And also a tad short…..I did want more of Vic and Robin and their future together.  You will too.

I haven’t read the first story and you really don’t need to in order to involve yourself with Vic and Robin.  But I so enjoyed this story that I will be searching out the first and then waiting for the third story to arrive.  I believe Annabeth Albert has me hooked with her honest characters, heartwarming romance and believable plots.  So consider Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert a new wonderful surprise and a lovely recommended read.

Cover art by ?, I thought the cover  quiet and simple.  Not over the top which is actually kind of perfect for the men within, neither of which are those models on the cover.  That’s the only shame.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 159 pages
Expected publication: April 13th 2015 by Kensington
ISBN 1601833938 (ISBN13: 9781601833938)
seriesPortland Heat #2

Book in the Portland Heat series:

Served Hot (Portland Heat, #1)
Baked Fresh (Portland Heat, #2)
Delivered Fast (Portland Heat, #3)

 

A MelanieM Review: Stokes & Ford (Storming Love: Blizzard #6) by Jackie Nacht

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Storming Love- Stokes and Ford coverFord and Stokes are about to weather two storms; the blizzard coming their way and their growing feelings for one another.

Stokes has been rooming with Ford ever since the first day of college. Although his feelings had started out as friendly, over time, they have grown deeper. He’s fallen for Ford, hard, but how the hell is Stokes going to tell Ford? When college winter break approaches, Stokes decides to take Ford up to his parent’s rental to have a fun weekend with Ford and finally let his best friend know what he feels. However, with a blizzard coming in, they will have to weather the storm outside and in their hearts.

Stokes and Ford is the last story in the Storming Love: Blizzard series and its a perfect match for all the others that came before.  In short, its sweet, short, and romantic.  Jackie Nacht’s two main characters are college roommates and best friends who also happen to harbor deep feelings, albeit hidden ones, for each other.  One of them, Stokes, decides to risk their friendship and pulls Ford away for a sking weekend that he hopes will turn into something more.  Well, the “something more’ in this case, is the snowstorm of the century and the two men get isolated in the cabin for days, giving both of them time to move forward.

Jackie Nacht does a terrific job with making the snowstorm and its effects upon Stokes and Form believable.  From the men dealing with the drifts and heavy snow on the roof, to the meals they must prepare/cook and the  ways they manage to while away the time (non sexually) in a small cabin enclosed in snow.  A little more frustrating is the dithering about when clearly both young men adore each other, from the cuddling on the bed to the constant touching.  But perhaps that’s authentic as well in two people who care so much about the other that the physical touches say what verbally they are afraid to speak.

Either way, the story is short, and journey to love and revelation sweet and satisfying.  I enjoyed my time with Stokes and Ford and can recommend this story and the entire series.

Cover Artist: Kris Jacen does a good job in branding the series and that a perfect cover for a  collection called Storming Love: Blizzard.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 66 pages
Published March 1st 2015 by ManLove Romance Press
ASINB00U6FJ5AA
edition languageEnglish
seriesStorming Love: Blizzard #6

Books in the Storming Love: Blizzard series:

A MelanieM Review: Eoin’s Destiny (The Fire Trilogy #3) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Eoin is faced with the end of times.

Eoin's Destiny coverWith his friends at his side, can he rescue the prisoner that might hold the secrets to winning the battle between Cariad and City as well as the key to his heart?

His bond brothers, Kian and Darach, probably hate him for his necessary lie and two-thirds of the Council wants him dead. Against all this he has to rescue a prisoner whose Amber Fire is killing him.

The third book in the Fire Trilogy discovers more old Guardians, ancient Cariad magik, and not least of all the other half of Eoin: Trystyn.

Eoin’s Destiny is the third and final story in RJ Scott’s Fire Trilogy and it’s the one we’ve all been waiting for as the previous stories have been leading up to this finale –  the destiny foretold for three men, friends since childhood until they were torn apart by the amber fire. We’ve had Kian and Darach, now its Eoin’s time to bring it all to a fitting conclusion.

I have to admit my favorite thing about this series has been Scott’s world building and mythology.  I love all the magical components she created, including the different types of fire that is part of a person once they mature, and the societies that have divided themselves along different magical lines.  One is a “civilized” magic whose use has become anything but benign and civilized. The other?  The Cariads, a sort of gypsy-like people who use a wild magic ancient in use and history.  The division occurred long ago and the reason buried but the ramifications have continued to spiral out of control until the Cariads are regarded as evil beings…far from the reality of the gentle people with a rich culture hiding in the woods.  I really wanted more of the Cariads…they are an amazing creation.

The characters, especially the original trio of friends and their counterparts, is the other joy here.  It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about Kian and Regan Campbell (Kian’s Hunter – The Fire Trilogy #1),Darach and Ceithin (Darach’s Cariad) or here in the final story, Eoin and Trystyn (Eoin’s Destiny) , each couple contains memorable characters and a terrific romance.

As the trilogy seeks to reunite the old friends, it also has a deep mystery to solve and an evil mage to uncover and destroy.  Clues and facts have been strewn throughout the preceding stories and now Scott needs to bring them all together in an emotionally satisfying  and dramatic conclusion.  And that is probably where my only issue with this series lies.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In Eoin, Scott has created a complex and tortured hero who is condemned to either die or watch the man (he’s yet to meet) he will love die because both are Amber fire mages, a combination thought to be  impossible because of the power involved.  His soul mate is another amber fire wielder who is being held prisoner and drained of his magic.  The identity of that man is another terrific element here, although not one hard to guess at. The fight to rescue this person is suspenseful, sometimes terrifying and the best part of this book.  It’s a knuckle biter all the way and I loved it!  Scott adds in just the right amount of horrific details to make this person’s pain and situation scarily real and perilous.  And the stealthy nature of the rescue will make the reader hold their breath.  It’s a great roller-coaster ride every step of the journey.

So much power and energy went into this section of the story that when it came time for the denouement and, hopefully, explosive fight between the evil mage and the triad that the end felt a little lacking.  Yes, the magic crackled and  the evil mage thwarted forever, but…..it almost felt anticlimactic in comparison.  You want this villain to go out with a bang, instead he just goes kind of quietly with less than a whimper.  Where is the drama that this trilogy deserved?  Back in the rescue scenes.  Oh well.

That aside, there is so much to love about this story and series.  As I said, the world building and mythology is over the top, the characters easy to love and their road to romance and HEA engaging and heartwarming.  That’s more than enough riches here and any lover of fantasy, romance and magic will want to pick up these stories and get reading.  It helps to read them in order so that you can build up your knowledge of the different societies and circumstances the heroes find themselves in as the tale unfolds.

Cover art by Meredith Russell.  Its quiet and dark.  The hooded one is an image that comes from the story itself. But where is the amber fire so important to the characters and storyline?

Sales Links: Love Lane Books      All Romance (ARe)     Amazon    Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 126 pages
Published January 9th 2015 by Love Lane Books (first published September 17th 2011)
edition languageEnglish
url RJ Scott Website
seriesThe Fire Trilogy #3

 

The Fire Trilogy books in the order they were written and should be read:

 

A MelanieM Review: Kian’s Hunter (The Fire Trilogy #1) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Kian's Hunter coverKian has crossed over from his world to ours to seek revenge. His plan is to kill the monster who murdered his Uncle. The same monster who used magic to escape to our world and is hiding here and growing in strength.

Regan Campbell is a hunter of Demons. The first son, of a first son, he is the one who protects this world from the monsters that no one else knows are here.

When Kian reaches this world, he knows Regan is the perfect man to fight alongside him, but Regan trusts no one.

It isn’t until they are facing death and a terrible evil that will be let loose, that Regan finally realises he can trust another…his fated partner, Kian.

Kian’s Hunter by RJ Scott is a wonderfully imaginative tale that sets the stage for the remaining stories in this trilogy.  Through our introduction to the main characters, Scott sketches out her trilogy plot and worlds where her stories begin. Kian ap Rhys, a green fire mage come to Earth from a magical parallel world looking to revenge his uncle’s death.  Kian’s uncle had his fire stolen from him by the Danio, an exiled race of magical beings now causing chaos and pain on Earth and Kian has traveled through a portal to find those beings responsible and kill them.  On the flip side of the coin, or parallel world as RJ Scott has it, resides Regan Campbell, human being and hunter.  Regan is the latest in a long line of hunters tracking down and killing said “demons and unnatural beings”.  Regan’s own knowledge of those he’s hunting is sketchy and patchwork.  He mostly concentrates his energies on the hunt and the kill.

When RJ Scott brings these two men together, not only do we get a wonderfully engaging couple on the daunting path to love and a fated bond but the back story for both men and the overall trilogy plot starts to pull together.  Here we find out about the devoted trio of childhood friends torn apart by traumatic event and the basis of the fire magic.  We also get the elementary knowledge as to what the 3 different fire colors mean as far as the type of magic it allows each person to wield.  I love the idea of magic born of fire.  The pictures that create in a reader’s mind is marvelous and as magical as the fire itself.  For Kian…his fire is green and his magic flows from nature.  What that means is explored here in a fundamental way that will be enlarged on down the road in the following stories.

But back to the men.  I found their characters engaging, snarky, and fun.  I loved their banter and the action that brings them together finally as a pair.   I wanted more and more of them both by the end of the story.

What did I find missing?  That would be more of the back history that is coming in Darach’s Cariad and Eoin’s Destiny.  For those that get frustrated with stories that feel as though they are missing elements as this sometimes does, I recommend reading all three stories, one right after the other.  Taken together you have the whole and its wonderful.  Kian’s Hunter is but the first puzzle piece, waiting for the rest to complete it.   As such, it does the job its supposed to and pulls the reader into the mysteries and romance of a trio of mages and the great evil that awaits them all.

I highly recommend this story and its companion tales.  For those of you who love romance and fantasy, here is a trilogy for you!

Cover artist Meredith Russell. I’m not a fan of this cover.  It looks as though its for a contemporary romance instead of a fantasy.   Poor job in every element for this cover.

Sales Links:  Love Lane Books  All Romance (ARe)   Amazon   Buy It Here

Book Details:

Note: this book was originally a short story written in 2010. This version is inspired by that short story and is a complete re-write.

ebook, 2nd Edition, 102 pages
Published March 19th 2014 by Love Lane Books (first published December 1st 2010)
ISBN139781311226518
edition languageEnglish
url http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/kian.html
seriesThe Fire Trilogy #1

Books in the Fire Trilogy:

Kian’s Hunter (The Fire Trilogy #1)
Darach’s Cariad (The Fire Trilogy #2)
Eoin’s Destiny (The Fire Trilogy #3)

A MelanieM Review: My Cowboy Homecoming (The Cowboys #3) by Z.A. Maxfield

Rating:   4 stars out of 5

Love can heal the deepest wounds…

My Homecoming CowboyThe death of a brother and a father in prison bring a soldier home.  Sgt. Calvin Tripplehorn had every intention of making the army his career and never returning home.   But duty and obligation calls when he  receives notice that his brother has died, leaving his mother unable to cope.  However, returning home brings up all the old problems and issues that sent Tripp into the Army in the first place.

Tripp hates returning to his New Mexican home, a place where the name Tripplehorn means hate, pain, and general ill will, mostly due to his crazy father who burned people’s homes and businesses to the ground and destroyed lives all around him. It doesn’t help that one of the people who picks him up at the airport is gorgeous and flirty…that is until Tripp’s last name is mentioned.

Cowboy Lucho Reyes is returning to work at the J-Bar Ranch after an injury sent him to the town’s clinic.  On the way back they pick up a soldier returning home and Lucho thinks the gorgeous vet is everything he has been looking for.  Until he hears the soldier’s name.  Tripplehorn.  The family of drug dealing bigots who burned his family’s restaurant to the ground causing the death of the his grandfather.  He hates the Tripplehorns, they are nothing but trouble.  But there’s something different about Calvin.

In need of employment, Tripp is hired at the J-Bar Ranch, a dream he had as a child and now the home of a man Tripp finds irresistable, if only Lucho will give him a chance to prove he’s not his father’s son.

My Cowboy Homecoming is the third book in Z. A. Maxfield’s The Cowboys series.  And while it was the first I have read of the three books published, My Cowboy Homecoming was so endearing and enjoyable that it will send me back to read the first two stories to see what I have missed.

Having started here at the third book, I liked that I didn’t feel that I was lacking anything as far as background or information.  Z. A. Maxfield nicely filled in all the important details from the  previous stories and series foundation, so I was able to read and delve into the plot as it unfolded without feeling there were gaps missing in everyone’s back history.

There is so much to love here starting with the J-Bar Ranch itself, owned and operated by a gay couple, Speed Malloy and Crispin Carrasco, and another gay pairing, Jimmy Rafferty and Eddie as ranch hands.  It’s truly a different sort of place, complete with three-legged dogs and rescue horses in need of therapy and retraining.   That’s where Lucho’s injury comes in, while trying to help a newly arrived abused horse.  Element upon delightful element is added to help add dimension and realism to a story that has go much heart and pain packed into it.

The beginning is simple enough. A soldier arrives home after leaving the service so he can help out his family. But what follows is anything but simple.

Tripp is arriving home to see his mother, his brother has died, his father in prison and there is no one at the airport to welcome him or pick him up.  Immediately the atmosphere changes into something dark. He’s picked up by two ranch hands from the J-Bar as a favor but what starts off as a welcome helping hand turns bitter as soon as Tripp’s name is revealed.  From then on out, Z.A. Maxfield’s cowboy drama rolls out a series of past abuses and terrors delivered by the Tripplehorn men (Tripp excluded) upon the community.

It’s a horrific little journey into everyone’s past, including Lucho’s, and we start to see two different perspective on Tripp’s family and the dynamics that caused Tripp to flee into the Army.  Maxfield doesn’t dump all the pain and angst on the reader at once, instead it is doled out, the facts and emotions building up to a painful picture of an abusive, racist father who did his best to control his brood and wife and is still trying to do so from his prison  cell.

Tripp’s mother is a character most if not all readers will love to hate.  Her weakness is frustrating, her actions lamentable, and her inability to act on her own behalf or her son’s removes most of the compassion a reader is inclined to award her.  Men are her backbone and she has found another support system in her husband’s sleazy lawyer.  I think most of the reader’s frustration will stem from Tripp’s actions towards his mother.  A war seasoned veteran who turns so passive and ineffectual when it comes to interacting with his past and his mother.  This section of the story could easily turn off the reader if the author had not done such a great job in laying the foundation for this mother/son dynamic and using it for further actions down the road.  Great job all around.

The highlight of this story, of course, is the hot, sexy and actually sweet romance that springs up between Lucho and Tripp.  It’s one tough road to romance for both men, and the joy and heart of this story is watching them fall into love and work hard to make their relationship work.  It will involve Lucho’s family, one abused horse, and the support of those around them at the J-Bar Ranch.  Maxfield brought the characters from the previous stories (Malloy and Crispin, Jimmy and Eddie) into My Homecoming Cowboy so I am hopeful that any future stories will bring us up to date on Lucho and Tripp’ relationship.  Plus I want to know if Crispin succeeds in bringing ostriches onto the ranch!

Did I love this story?  You betcha!  Tripp and Lucho were so easy to take to heart and from the small interactions I saw between the other characters were enough to make me want to know their stories as well.

If you love your cowboys and romance, this is the story for you.  It’s probably even the series for you.   It has drama, angst, romance and animals whose characters are as quirky and endearing as the people they live with!  It’s one of my recommended reads!

Cover artist did a great job.  I love this cover.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe)         Amazon             Buy It here

Book Details:

ebook, InterMix eBook, 272 pages
Published December 2014 by Penguin Group (USA) LLC
ISBN139780698175020
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Cowboys #3

A MelanieM Review: Getting It Right (Restoration #1) by A.M. Arthur

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Getting It Right coverDetective Nathan Wolf’s work is his life. At age 34, Nathan has only a series of failed relationships with women behind him.  Why? Because he’s afraid of his feelings about his best friend James and what they might mean.

Dr. James Taggert has two distinctly separate lives. One during the day as a psychiatrist who specializes in abuse cases.  The other a night time party-animal known for his drinking and casual hookups. As Tag, he’s the guy in the gay clubs who screws them, leaves them, and never looks back. But James’s drinking is getting heavier, and when bad memories from the past resurface, he’s close to becoming the worst version of himself.

After a drunken blackout ends in a hot and heavy make-out session with his very straight best friend, James has no memory of the steamy affair. But Nathan isn’t sorry for the kisses that James can’t remember. Nathan finally musters the courage to tell James how he really feels, but a life-altering event might force them apart before they can ever be together.

When it comes to angst on overload, A. M. Arthur’s got it down pat!  In Getting It Right (Restoration #1), we have two main characters who between them have a whole host of issues and problems, including substance abuse.  Tag, aka Dr. James Taggert, is a character flowing over from Arthur’s Stand By You (Belonging #3), a scene from that story which is repeated here from another perspective.  James’ close friend is also someone he has loved “forever” but believes is straight.  That would be his buddy, police officer Nathan Wolf.  One drunken night, at least for James, finds the two sharing a kiss.  But that moment is hidden by Nathan’s lying about the events of that night, letting James think it was a dream.

This issue of miscommunication and outright deception looms over everything that happens to these two men.  James Taggert is a  prime example of that old adage “physician, heal thyself”.  Outside of work his communication skills are almost nil, and his drinking is a problem obvious to all except himself.  I found Arthur’s treatment of an alcoholic in denial especially effective.  James has a long pattern of soaking himself in alcohol, no matter the reason or moment.  But call himself someone with a substance abuse problem? Nope, he’s not going there, even if there is a niggling little voice in his head that recounts his past turbulent family history.

Nathan seems relatively drama free.  At first.  But this is an A. M. Arthur story and that means plenty of trauma and dramatic events to come.  Without heading into spoiler territory, let’s just say there’s a whole lot of pain heading his way.  Again, its well written and the aftermath is believable, hurtful, and again Arthur makes it easy for the reader to connect with Nathan’s anger and damage.  In fact, I found both characters to be relatable, well drawn and vulnerable, especially with their histories.

So, why did I find myself not totally connecting with this story?

After much thought I think it comes back to the issue of characters so overloaded with pain, trauma and personal problems that the romance got lost amidst the drama.  There is so much for each character to deal with, that overlaying it all with the miscommunication and sometime outright lies between these two (as they work towards a romance and relationship), well, it just seemed to me too much stuffed into one story.  Something, in this case, their love story, was cast into the background.

While that was it should be given what James and Nathan area dealing with, it also served to disconnect me somewhat from their story, at least that part of it.  The angst felt unrelenting (elements that were realistically handled) and it bogged the story down, at least for me.

For fans of A.M. Arthur, none of the issues that bothered me will be a problem for you.  Hey, it’s A.M. Arthur after all, and I have long suspected that A in the author’s name stands for Angst!  But for me?  I needed a little more lightness, or laughter to balance out the woe and this was just too heavy on the woe!

I wonder who will be popping up next in the second story in this Restoration trilogy.  Stay tuned, with a little break, I will head back to A.M. Arthur’s world and find out.  Meet me here!

Cover artist?  Not sure but that cover feels at little generic, could be any story out there. Where are the elements that tell you what Getting It Right is all about?  Sigh.

Sales Links:  Carina Press         All Romance (ARe)         Amazon          Buy It here

Book Details

ebook
Expected publication: March 16th 2015 by Carina Press
ISBN139781426899577
edition languageEnglish
seriesRestoration #1