Nico Sanzio da Urbino stays busy with his Odd Squad job investigating paranormal crimes, but he’s still haunted by the idea that the usurper he killed at Jet’s pack meeting was familiar. As an ancient enforcer, it’s always possible the werewolf was a relative of someone from Nico’s past, but if he wants to make sure the local Alpha keeps his head, Nico needs to find the connection before revenge comes calling.
Running background checks as part of the upgraded security measures for his pack, Alpha Jet Gorman discovers not everyone can be accounted for in the usual manner. In fact, several of the young rogue wolves he’s ordered to his pack are from human families…with no history of a bite to account for their wolfy tendencies. No wonder they were runaways. Before he can verify they pose no danger to the other werewolves, he must first discover the secret of their existence. A secret worth killing for.
Despite their differences, there is an undeniable connection between the ancient vampire and the young Alpha that seems to go beyond the blood they’ve exchanged—and keeps them circling around their very obvious mutual attraction. But while one man is looking for a way to move their relationship into the bedroom, the other is searching for a reason to stay true to his past.
I love it when a book veers off into a direction I hadn’t anticipated. That is what happened with Diamond Draw by Laura Harner, the 2nd story in the 2nd group of stories from this year’s Altered States Pulp Friction 2015 series (yes, I know, what a mouth full). That it happened at the end of what was already a marvelously sexy and intriguing installment…well, that was the cherry on top of a deliciously satisfying sundae of a narrative.
In each Pulp Friction year, I end up switching back and forth as to who are my favorite couples/trios of the moment. This year the authors have made it especially difficult because each pairing is so unlike the others. It feels more like comparing apples or oranges, or in this in series, vampire or succubus, ghost or werewolf, seer or what exactly? So many possibilities and variables. But with this story, Harner’s grief stricken Jet and the ancient, powerful vampire Nico inched ever so slightly ahead in the pairings. Man, are those two hot together! Their scene on the dance floor is positively incendiary. Underneath that sexual heat generated exist two men with complex, pain-filled pasts, convoluted present lives, and the intelligence to question every moment of the strange bond pulling them closer by the minute. And that’s the hook that has me completely enthralled. I suspect it has you hooked as well.
Diamond Draw moves the series and overall group plot forward with some new twists and turns, including one that I never expected at the end. We see bits of what is occurring with the other couples but it’s the horrific turn of events happening within Jet’s pack that sets the stage for the major drama that unfolds and potentially lethal plot twists ahead. And I can’t reference any of it, because each is a spoiler on its own.
Harner’s characters are beautifully crafted. They pull you in, let you feel both their pain and their joys. This is true as much for her secondary characters, such as a brother and sister werewolves found here, as it is for her main characters. That attention to the well rounded personas, combined with a narrative that never falters in its swift pace makes this one of my highly recommended reads this year.
Start at the beginning and read as each story is released or as one major binge read at the end, its just the order that matters in order to understand the characters and plot development. No matter your approach, just make sure this story and series are on your TBR list! Its one you won’t want to miss.
Cover art by Laura Harner. Love this cover. At first the covers for PF2015 were a little “light” in tone for me. But as each new group of stories rolls out, you can see the covers getting darker in tone and design. This one really does it for me.
Kindle Edition, 61 pages
Published May 31st 2015 by Hot Corner Press
ASINB00YM4SU2U
edition languageEnglish
About Pulp Friction 2015
Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ Parker Williams ~ Laura Harner
The Pulp Friction 2015 Altered States Collection. Four authors. Four Series. Twenty books. One supernatural finale.
Spend a year with the creatures that go bump in the night…fighting for their rights to exist and protecting the innocents of The Big Easy. A diverse group of friends trying to find their place in a world they never had to “fit” into before.
Sequel to Devil’s Own The Wheel Mysteries: Book Three – Litha Festival
When Gus Goodwin’s friend and mentor, Juliette Hayes, asks him to find out who’s stealing small sums from the cashbox of her Moonlight Haven Coven, Gus agrees. What’s the worst that could happen? They catch a small-time thief and, with any luck, retrieve a few bucks. Gus enlists the help of his boyfriend, PI Niall Valentine, and Niall’s retired police officer father, Owain, to go undercover and solve the mystery.
On the night of the next full moon ritual, however, the coven is struck with a fatal blow.
Now Gus and Niall face more than a murder mystery. The coven is torn apart, and along comes an eccentric psychic and Tarot master—plus a familiar face both Gus and Niall had hoped was long gone. As fireworks ignite and wild cards are spread, Gus and Niall have their work cut out for them.
Last year after I finished reading the first two stories in The Wheel Mysteries, (Sparks & Drops, Devil’s Own) I interviewed the author, Susan Laine, to talk about the Wiccan religion and the series, which I love. One (of the many) things that came from that fascinating interview, was that this is an eight-book series, one story for each Wicca festival. Fireworks & Wild Cards focuses on the midsummer solstice festival of Litha, the celebration of the longest day of the year. Into the fabric of this story of murder, mystery and love, Laine continues to weave in-depth knowledge of the Wiccan religion, its fundamental tenets, history, rites and fight for acceptance. This unique framework has made this series not only one of my anticipated “reads” as each new story rolls out, but the author’s wide scope of knowledge and ability to make this religion accessible through her characters and plot make it a highlight of the year.
This book picks up directly after the events of Devil’s Own, a book that moves its characters, all of them, into a time of change and uncertainty. The main characters, Gus the Wiccan bookstore owner, and Niall, the private detective, are 3 months into their new relationship and it’s a little unsteady on its new feet. For some readers, that will be a little surprising. Most of us are used to books that move the romance and relationship right along at a steady clip. That doesn’t happen here (8 books remember). So the opening scenes and chapter where a simple conversation blows up into something unexpected might take some readers aback. That’s when you have to remind yourself that this is still a very new relationship between two very strong people who weren’t even sure they were looking for love when it smacked into them. Niall and Gus are still trying to find their way with each other and their new status as lovers. I really like that about this couple and story.. Their attraction and feelings for each other were quick to form but we never question that they are deeply felt and real. But like any believable couple, they question their partnership, feelings and course of the relationship. Miscommunication happens!
So believable a couple. I just love that and them.
Now add in two or more plots that move across a landscape of the Wiccan religion and things turn engrossing. Each story involves a self contained mystery and murders that normally get solved by the end of the story. However, there is also a larger intrigue at work in the series. And each book moves that umbrella storyline forward clue by incremental clue. How I love the layers the author weaves into these books and relationships.
Another strong element here and throughout the series are the multidimensional characters. This includes women and men. There are the members of the Moonlight Haven Coven, including head priestess, Juliette Hayes, Owain Valentine (Niall’s retired police officer dad), and the return of Autumnsong, an enigmatic persona as elusive as the mist. It’s primarily through their interactions with each other and the mysteries that center on the Coven and Gus that allows Laine to explore the rites and beliefs of the Wiccan religion. And the prejudices that exist against it.
The only issues I have with this book and the others is the fact that I feel they end too soon. Perhaps that’s because I always want more…of the couples and their relationships and more of the series storyline. I am beginning to see more than just the vague outline of a sinister plot at work, the clues are pointing a certain way but the speculation is killing me! And I have 5 more books to go!
So what’s in store for us in The Wheel Mysteries stories to come? Let’s hear it from Susan Laine herself.
From my interview with Susan Laine:
“There are eight wiccan festivals, or sabbats, in a year that coincide with similar festivals in other religious and secular calendars: Samhain or Halloween, Yule or Christmas, Imbolc or Candlemas, Ostara or Easter, Beltane or May Day, Litha or Midsummer Festival, Lughnasadh or Lammas, and lastly Mabon which has no historical or modern equivalent. The cycle of these eight seasonal celebrations together forms the Wheel of the Year.
Lughnasadh, the harvest festival, is up next, and that story will feature Autumnsong more prominently, as we get to know what makes him tick.”
I can’t wait! Until then you will find me rereading the first 3 stories, looking for clues and enjoying the start of an unusual and deeply loving relationship. And yes, I highly recommend this story and series!
Cover art by Brooke Albrecht. Love these covers. The design is beautiful, its relevance spot on, and it forms a cohesive branding with the other stories and covers. Great job.
ebook, 210 pages, also in paperback (DSP)
Published June 1st 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632169358
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Wheel Mysteries #3
other editions (1)
The Wheel Mysteries to date in the order they should be read:
Sequel to A Tooth for a Fang Leader Murders: Case Two
Five dead leaders, their bodies arranged in a pentagram. Treason, lies, and backstabbing. A make-believe affair that turns into a real mating.
Timothy Sands is a PBI counselor, half-fey, half-elf, with a secret crush on Herman Weiss, PBI director. As a new chapter is added to the Leader Murders, it is Weiss’s responsibility to investigate what seems an impossible-to-solve case. The other problem? Weiss is suffering from rages, and his only salvation lies in Tim’s emotional-grid-balancing skills. They only have to pretend to be a couple for Tim to use his talents, and he owes Weiss a big favor. Piece of cake, right?
The fey might be involved in the Leader Murders. Someone on the Council might be their ally, and another prominent PBI figure looks more and more suspicious as they investigate. The stakes are upped when Timothy’s father, the Fey King, threatens to leave the Council destitute if they don’t hand Timothy over to him. Weiss’s brilliant solution? Mating Timothy and forcing the Council into protecting him.
There’s only one small hitch in that plan: instead of protecting one, the Council might decide to get rid of two.
A Tooth for a Fang was the first book I had read by Liv Olteano, and I loved the author’s darker take on werewolves, lycans, wolfshifters of all sorts (two different things in this series) and the supernatural in general. As much as I love all my romantic wolf shifter love stories, reading one where the wolves have a more manipulative aspect to their character that dominates all their relationships and outlook was refreshing and new. And the author took it further and separated out the wolf shifters or lycans from the werewolves, a divide both emotional and physical. But it was Olteano’s focus on domestic abuse in a Mate/Mate bond that was unexpected, intriguing and powerful.
For many stories, the weres and their mates meet and the mate bond snaps into place (a broad generalization I know), and they are happy together at the end. But what happens when one mate hates or grows to hate the other? In a species where the need to be dominant is inherent and expected, then the possibility of mate/spousal abuse appears. This element is a major part of the plot in Liv Olteano’s Leader Murder Mystery trilogy. Those mates who have been abused (no matter what species they belong too, were, lycan, vampire… whathaveyou) and those that see a wrong that needs to be addressed in their society have banded together to enact new laws to protect abused mates and enable them to “divorce” their abuser. Not a small thing in a hide bound society that resists change. But some of them have gone further and several murders of abusive leaders have occurred.
The first book involved a were and a human lured into a mate bond. That pair is still on shaky ground when this story opens But A Counselor Among Wolves has a different focus and pairing. This time its Timothy Sands, a half elf,half fey, who works for the PBI (Paranormal Bureau of Investigations). A loner due to his heritage, past history, and inclinations, Tim has been in love with the PBI’S Director,Herman Weiss, a Werewolf Alpha, for 5 years, to no avail. Weiss, as he is called, has been mated for years and last year his female mate produced the heir Weiss had been waiting for. His mating? Not at all happy, as everyone found out in the first story. The difficult relationships established in the first story get even more so here.
The “revolution” is building, Tim is part of the group that is working towards Mate Bond reforms (through legal methods) and Weiss is trying to deal with new murders, his imploded relationship, his son, and his increasingly unstable personality. The one being who might hold some of the answers Weiss requires? That would be Tim, who wants to keep his shields and secrets intact.
Olteano’s supernatural beings are anything but superficial in their creation. The author delivers not only each species physical characteristics, but background, natural history, cultural history and current racial and societal issues as well. Like I said, these aren’t your cuddly sort of wolves. Even Weiss’ toddler son is capable of well thought out manipulations and the boy/pup demonstrates a constant defiance that shows he is challenging his father (and others) for dominance even at the youngest of ages. His is a remarkable portrait as well. How many 5 year olds do you know who attack their mothers, trying to force them to submit? As Olteano points out, that makes it hard to establish a maternal bond, now doesn’t it? A Counselor to Wolves (and the series to date) is just one neat twist and turn after another. But always at its heart, are serious subject matters such as domestic abuse and violence.
Still this is a romance, of sorts, one between Tim and Weiss that struggles to coalesce at first under the stress and extraordinary circumstances. Then gets mired down in the politics and machinations of the investigation and murders. Throw in Tim’s father, who has his own nefarious plotting underway that also involves his son, and well, this book has plenty of layers to satisfy any lover of espionage and suspense. Plus Tim and Weiss are just plain hot together. You will root for them, really you will.
In this story, some of the revelations help speed us along to the final story that will tie up all the investigations and plotting revealed here. All the couples will have their moment on stage in the final story. That’s especially important because neither of the two couples relationships and pairing are on particularly stable ground. There are too many unknown elements still at play, and that include’s Tim’s father, the Elf King.
Now comes the waiting…how I hate that part. I want the final story now. This is such a terrific series. My admiration for Liv Olteano’s writing and plot grows with each story that’s released. I loved lycan Travis Chandler and the former human Rick Barton who took a vacation from an abusive lover and ended up as a mate. And I love Tim, one of a kind Tim and the dominating Alpha, Weiss and his son. We have one more couple to come forward and then the author will tie things up. I expect it to be messy, bloody, hot, and one heck of a wild ride towards the end. As I said, I can’t wait.
New to this series? Pick up A Tooth For A Fang first, then proceed to A Counselor Among Wolves. These books need to be read in the order they were written to understand the character and plot developments that are occurring within. The author tries to fill in gaps in each story but its far too complicated for that to one in any one book. I highly recommend them both. Then we can wait together for the final installment to arrive. See you there.
Cover Art by AngstyG. Love the cover, its dark and yes, angsty. Works a treat for the characters and story within.
ebook, 230 pages, also in paperback
Published May 8th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC
ISBN139781632169235
edition languageEnglish
seriesLeader Murders #2
On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf’s Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.
Tim isn’t in Wolf’s Paw an hour before he draws the attention of Sheriff Nathaniel Neri, the alphaest alpha in a town full of alphas. Powerful, intimidating, and the most beautiful wolf Tim has ever seen, Nathaniel makes Tim feel safe for reasons Tim doesn’t understand. For five years he’s lived on the run, in fear of his family and other wolves. Everything about Wolf’s Paw is contrary to what he thought he knew, and he is terrified. Fearing his mate will run, Sheriff Nathaniel must calm his little wolf and show him he’s more than a match for this big, bad alpha.
I have read most of the books in R Cooper’s Beings In Love series and have loved them all, Little Wolf included. I admit to laughing out loud, emitting more than a few snorts over the dialog and sighing over the very hot sex scenes with Nate and Tim. But I also recognize that this book also presented more challenges to the reader than I was expecting. Those issues impeded my connections to the story and to the characters, so let’s get to those first before we get to the story’s strengths.
What were those challenges? The main issue was the amount of time it took for me to become engaged with the characters and the town of Wolf’s Paw. Tim is our narrator and we drop into the story as Tim, our “Little Wolf” is watching the mounted tv at the cafe he works at. The tv is tuned to the soap opera, Dierdre’s Secret and it includes the first ever “known” werewolf actor. The opening paragraphs is jammed full of information about the soap opera, the cafe and its denizens, the town, and the world around it. We learn that supernatural beings are now a part of the “normal” world, and the cafe Tim works at is owned by a fairy named Robin’s Egg (for the longest time I thought that was the name of the cafe instead of the owner).
We find out that the town itself, Wolf’s Paw is full of supernatural beings of all types, but mostly populated by weres and humans. In fact so much world building is thrown at us that its hard to separate out the details we need at the time from the massive amounts of “universe building”being given to us and clump them back into piles of information that make sense to the plot and character. It took chapters to figure out that Wolf’s Paw, the town, has historically been a sanctuary for those in need. It has fed them, hidden them, and protected them at great cost to itself, a situation that continues to this day. But it is also, oddly enough, a town that puts on strange festivals, geared towards dating, and interspecies sex. Yep, a sanctuary that sanctions sexual relations between weres, humans, and the like during festival time. Think Tinder or Grinder as a festival, and you’ve got the picture. That’s just one of the puzzles the reader will have to make sense of when the book opens.
The thing is, Tim’s thoughts jumps around from person to person, from thought to thought that its hard at first to get a idea of his character and situation at Wolf’s Paw. His character, inner self, is elusive. To us and to the rest of the towns folk. And that fact makes it hard for us to connect with him at the beginning. I had to plug away at chapter after chapter before Tim solidified into someone I not only cared about but truly loved.
It should never have taken so long.
I understand why R Cooper fashioned Tim and presented him this way but, frankly, it hurts the narrative. Tim is in fight or flight mode…all the time. He’s unbelievably stressed out, he’s being hunted, he’s hiding, and against his better judgement, he’s coming to care for those around him…not that he would ever admit it to himself or others. Plus just the appearance of the town’s sexy Alpha Sheriff makes Tim’s sense go haywire and brings out emotions he doesn’t understand or know how to deal with.
It’s Nate that allows the reader to connect with Tim and begin to understand why he behaves as he does. Tim is rude, cavalier about peoples opinions (on the outside) and more than a bit of a jerk. But around Nate, that starts to change even while we still hear the snarky thoughts inside Tim’s head. Nate the were who appears perfect on the outside and yet is hurting deeply inside while still trying to behave with honor and respect. I adored Nate from the beginning, and through his interactions with Tim the story starts to jell.
From that moment on, most of the chaff of the plot falls away, and we are left with the grains, the story we wanted all along. As our understanding of Tim’s background and true personality fall into place, the dialog snaps with intelligence, verve and vitality. It’s funny, and poignant and, heartrending at times. And before we are even aware that it’s happened, our thoughts and hearts are fully committed to Tim, Nate, and the rest of the complicated people in this oh so unusual town.
This is a long story, 380 pages worth of complicated people and history. Most of which I loved. Parts of which frustrated me more than a little. For a smart, intelligent, and yes, naive young were, Tim makes you want to shake him most of the time. I think the author has his ignorance go on far too long. R Cooper has the other characters strewing clues about a certain situation all over the dang story surface, and yet, this brilliant young wolf doesn’t pick up on it? That got harder and harder to buy into as the plot wore on.
Yet for all these issues, most of the time I still wanted to give this perplexing story a 5 star review! Why? Those same characters and situations that made me want to gnash my teeth are the same characters that had me reading until early in the morning. I had to see the personal explosions I knew were going to happen, the clash of hunted vs hunter…to see evolve what Tim had been telling us all along…that the Little Wolf has teeth, claws and the predator abilities of a piranha, or werewolf as the case is here. What scenes those were! A white knuckle ride several times over, full of drama and action that had you holding your breath in suspense…it made that dense beginning so worthwhile to have plowed through.
R Cooper writes in the foreword that this story took her 2 years to write, and it shows, for good and for bad. With a firmer editor, tighter reorganization, and a little ruthless pruning, Little Wolf would be the 5 star read it has the promise of being. As it is, I give it 4 stars and the recommendation that, even if you want to stop reading several chapters in, keep at it. Both Tim, and the story are deserving of your attention and time. Have patience and you will be rewarded with a story and couple that will have you howling for more of them and this special town of Wolf’s Paw.
Cover art by Paul Richmond is perfect, at least for the little wolf. He has a feral quality that works.
ebook, 380 pages, also in DSP Paperback
Published May 8th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC
ISBN139781632169761
edition languageEnglish
seriesBeings in Love #4
Adriano is going home to Waldo, Florida, a town famous for having one of two official US speed traps and a flea market. Not much else is going on… Or is it?
A celebrated chef, Adriano has had to quit his job at a posh Beverly Hills restaurant because during his recovery from stage four cancer, chemo killed his taste buds. He can’t even taste his own cuisine. About the only thing that penetrates the dull sensation is coffee, so he’s bought a cafe in Waldo, hoping to find a new life in spite of his memory of it being a rigidly conservative town.
Looking forward to recuperating and spending time his mom, Adriano soon finds that Colin Mackenzie-the first man he ever loved, the only man he has ever wanted-never left Waldo. He apparently hasn’t forgotten Adriano either. But Colin, who once seduced then dumped him, seems to be playing games. He keeps coming into the cafe ordering his coffee-tall with room…for milk-but he doesn’t seem to have room for Adriano. Soon, the love they once shared is re-ignited in an explosive way, but what is going on in Waldo? Why do things seem so…haunted by the past?
I had just finished reading The Line by Angel Martinez and found the blurb for Tall With Room by A.J. Llewellyn at the end of the story. It intrigued me with its unusual premise and main character. So I got it without ever having seen the cover…if I had only checked out the cover. That would definitely have changed things. I thought I was getting a contemporary romance and ended up with something else all together. Was it a bad something or good something? A little bit of both actually.
I come away from this short story very divided in my feelings towards it. I loved most of it actually and that started with a character the likes of which I had never met before. Adriano was a hot chef in LA and he loved everything about his life. His restaurant and his rising recognition as a chef of high merit. He had a boyfriend he loved and a condo which suited him. A great life until a small spot is found on his tongue, one misdiagnosis later and the cancer has become wide spread. The treatment Adriano undergoes to cure the tongue cancer, (chemo and more) kills his taste buds and his ability to cook and remain a chef. Alive but his living destroyed, Adriano returns to the hometown he happily left behind and his ailing mother. What a great character and situation! Llewellyn pulled me in with multiple tugs at my heart and a situation I hadn’t seen in a M/M romance before. Throw in an old love, the love of his life, that disappeared early on in his youth, and you have a plot that is emotionally deep and gripping.
Even the title is pretty great when you know the story behind it. Tall With Room refers to a type of coffee ordered, one with room for milk left at the top. A special order that Adriano’s past boyfriend was especially fond of. Its also a metaphor for their relationship. So unusual illness, compelling character, and a home situation (mom with dementia) that most readers will connect with…all that added up to a story that should have been a real highlight on my reading list. Those elements alone make this a story to remember. Until it zags instead of zigs and takes an altogether different path into the supernatural.
If I had just seen that darn cover.
Truthfully, I didn’t enjoy the turn the story took. I figured out what was going on before the end (when it picked up too much speed in the race to the denouement) and things got confusing with a flipflopping time line and elements that came at you with little to no setup. It left me bereft and moping over the loss of the story I thought I was getting and a little bit peeved over the “feel good” ending the author employed. One that I have seen/read before to more of a happy surprise/stunner than is revealed here.
The thing is I came to this book weighed down by my expectations from the blurb. That sense of anticipation never left no matter where I was in the story (until towards the end that is). Tall With Room a well-written tale, aside from the rushed elements and ending I mentioned. The characters and situation remain lovely and original. If I had only seen that cover first, then I think my anticipation about what I thought I was going to read would have been more in line with the actual story. Yes, Virginia, book covers do make a difference! That didn’t occur and I’m left with a sense of disappointment at how it all turned out.
So do I recommend this story? Yep, because I have given you the cover as well as the blurb. Its all there so you decide if you like your romance with a side order of the supernatural or not. If so, then Tall With Room by A.J. Llewellyn is just the short story for you. This is a HEA…although not the one you might be anticipating. It certainly wasn’t the one I thought I was getting. And yes, still mourning that fact.
You probably won’t.
Darn cover.
Cover art by Reese Dante, I’m now biased and no, I don’t like it. But only because of petty reasons, it’s actually pretty dramatic but where are the other elements from the story?
ebook, 53 pages
Published August 24th 2012 by Total-E-Bound
ISBN 1781841020 (ISBN13: 9781781841020)
edition languageEnglish
Note: All LGBT books from Totally Bound are being transferred to their new LGBT imprint, Pride Books.
Sam Chancellor has been in love with the steam engine Old Bess since he was six years old. Well, maybe not literally, but even when he’s lost everything else in his life, he’s always had her. But now her place in his heart has been unexpectedly challenged. Her new driver, Ryan Saunders, is the embodiment of all Sam’s fantasies.
Ryan has written off Sam as just another geeky trainspotter—until the moment Ryan sees him without his usual shapeless hoodie, and realizes that for a nerd, Sam’s pretty built.
When Ryan overlooks Sam’s awkwardness long enough to suggest a hook-up, Sam seizes the opportunity—and Ryan—with both very eager hands. Finding common ground in their shared love of Bess, their time together is better than Sam ever dared dream.
But there’s a reason Ryan never talks about his past. And when Ryan’s job is threatened, Sam’s well-meaning intervention puts both Ryan and Bess in deadly danger.
It was that train on the cover that was the initial draw for me. I’ve always been a “train” lover. My grandfather worked for Pullman and I had free rides (at age 5 on) on the Silver Comet or Silver Meteor from Long Island to Miami growing up (something that would never be allowed today at the age I travelled by myself) to go see my grandparents. I can still feel those Pullman wool blankets pulled warmly around me and feel the comforting sway and rumbling as the train rolled its way south. Now comes a story about two very different young men brought together by their love for trains, especially for Bessie, or more accurately Elizabeth of Shrewsbury to give that old steam locomotive its formal name. And from the first paragraph, I was lost in this world of trains, small villages in England and two young men on their way to a relationship and love.
What an amazing story….even if you aren’t in thrall to trains as I am you will love this book. Joy Lynn Fielding brings this joy of trains, trainspotting, and Ryan and Sam alive to such a degree that I felt I walked along side of them in town or rumbling along on the rails with Sam, Ryan and Bessie every step of the way.
Honestly, I don’t know if any element stands out more than the others from this narrative, all are so well done. The characters are layered, beautifully defined and, even more, I felt as though I had never met them before on a page in any novel. Sam starts off as a naif. Sam is tall, prone to wearing shapeless clothes and hoodies, living alone in the house bequeathed to him by his uncle. His outlook on life and people is full of innocence, goodheartedness, and simplicity. Sam comes across as though he is someone who has been sheltered from the harder elements of life, which he sort of has.
I’m sure you are thinking…”well, I’ve read characters like Sam before”. But that’s such a small part of who Sam actually is. This character is one that continually surprises you with his depth and grace. And that certainly goes for his impact upon Ryan Saunders, a more jaded, world weary young man who has found his passion finally in life….as the engineer for Bessie as he calls her. Ryan has raised walls of steel, appropriate for someone who spends his days inside a “steel horse”, around himself for protection. Outwardly he projects the hard facade he’s created over the years, mostly due to his upbringing, his father’s attitude towards his son and Ryan’s past excesses as a wild, partying youth. But inside? Something else has started to grow and it started with Bessie. Ryan stumbled by accident into his current profession but now she’s everything to him.
Oh, Bessie or Bess or Elizabeth of Shrewsbury. What ever the name she is called she shines as a major character in her own right. Bessie rumbles her way into your heart just as clearly as she does to Sam and Ryan. Fielding either has a passion for trains, and knows her stuff or her research is so thorough and deep that it flows easily into every part of her story, making Bessie sings as she steams her way through the plot and into our minds and consciousness. The trains are pulled into their “sheds” at night, pull up next to the platforms, walk about the footboards. There are rail enthusiasts’ message boards and train schedules and, oh, when Sam gets started on various explanations as to how Bessie or any type of train works, well, those conversation not only feel believable but you will find yourself grinning with fondness as Sam’s passion spills forth in wave after verbal wave to the bemusement of whatever soul he is talking too. I could hear Sam, I could see Ryan driving Bessie…Fielding makes it all so real and immediate in every scene that you don’t want to put the book down.
Here is the first time Sam ever steps inside of Bessie, courtesy of an invite from Ryan…
With a quick glance at Ryan to make sure he really was allowed, he crossed over to her and reached up to press a hand against her gleaming metal side.
“Hi, Bess,” he said. His voice was supposed to be too low for Ryan to hear him, but it was filled with such love and warmth that he was glad he could hear it. Just yesterday Ryan would have laughed himself sick at the idea of a trainspotter wanting to talk to a train, but now he saw what it meant to Sam, he no longer felt the urge to laugh. Especially not when he remembered the way he always slapped her in greeting and farewell and most days said something to her as he did so. He gave them a moment together, then climbed up onto the footplate.
“You want to come up?” he asked.
It was the stupidest question ever asked, he realised, as Sam scrambled up after him, his face alight and eager. Gazing at the array of controls in front of him, Sam grinned until Ryan’s face ached in sympathy. He couldn’t seem to stop touching Bessie, his long, sensitive fingers caressing every part of her. Somewhere in the back of his mind when he’d invited Sam to see Bessie, Ryan had thought about pushing him up against her and fucking him, because he was pretty sure Sam would be halfway to coming just from being so close to Bessie. But once he saw the delight in Sam’s face as he looked around, those thoughts faded from his mind, especially when Sam wanted to know how she was to drive. Not just the nuts and bolts of it, but how it felt.
How did he know deep inside that she was ready to start moving? Yes, there were all the gauges, but was there something more? As Sam hung on his every word, warmth stirred inside Ryan at being the recipient of such open, genuine admiration. He couldn’t remember ever being admired for anything except having a rich father or a good body, and the respect with which Sam seemed to regard him felt like spring sunshine after a long, hard winter.
He told Sam how she was a bit crabby first thing in the mornings, how sometimes her gauges said she was ready to go, but she still juddered as the wheels bit and held. And he told him something he’d never mentioned to another soul—the way she downright sulked when the carriages were first coupled to her, despite having more than enough power to pull them. It meant he had to nurse her those first few hundred yards until she got over it and seemed content to puff away happily. Finally, they left the cab and after one final, slow, walk around her, Sam turned to Ryan. “Thank you,” he said, and the depth of feeling in his voice was like nothing Ryan had ever heard before.
Oh, all the emotions and thoughts flowing from those two men standing inside the locomotive they both love. And its just the beginning of the journey for them both to something quite remarkable. There is no case of instant love here. A quiet crush rolls into the walls erected by long time anonymous hookups but that connection only starts to work to pull them together when other outside forces make Ryan look behind the nebbish exterior that Sam projects to the glowing human being inside. As that happens we get to meet even more wonderfully quirky and believable characters, like Mrs. Verity, a old friend of Sam’s and his Uncle Ken, Mabel the spider who lives inside Sam’s shower to Ryan’s dismay and so many others. The town of Cardale is an authentic an element as all the rest here.
But its through Sam’s love of trains, his passion as a trainspotter (what we call train buffs here in the US) and Ryan’s love for his profession as a driver of Bessie that raises this story above the vast sea of romances out there. Trains are a symbolic image for so many things, journeys, sex, power, you name it and you can probably find a passage some place where trains are used as a metaphor or embodiment of an idea. They are romance, and mysterious, and have an allure that has never quite faded. That power is present here in Blowing Off Steam. Its in the descriptions of the trains, of the emotions they engender and the love people feel for them deeply on so many levels.
Here is Sam at the beginning of the novel running to catch a glimpse of a train….
“Gotta go—the London express is due!”
He didn’t quite run, but his heart was still pounding fit to burst by the time he emerged onto the sunlit platform and made his way up the steep flight of stairs onto the footbridge that crossed the tracks. He’d need to avoid the ticket office for the next few days, till she’d got another victim in her crosshairs.
In the meantime, he hadn’t been lying—the London train was due in three minutes’ time. He walked across the bridge until he was standing over the middle of the track down which it would come. And he stood and waited.
He heard it before he saw it. When it became visible in the clear air of early morning, it looked like some mythical dragon with sun glinting on its metal hide as it wound through the countryside and rounded the long curve into the station. He grabbed at the handrail on the bridge as the train thundered down the track towards him. Although he knew it had slowed for safety reasons, it was moving with such force, such power, that it seemed it was coming at him like a cannonball. It swept beneath him, and the deafening sound it made and the smell of diesel left hanging in the air after it had passed were the most perfect things in the world. Its speed and noise had the footbridge trembling slightly, and he knew how it felt—there was something about that much power that left him weak-kneed and gasping.
Blowing Off Steam will make you feel the power of those moments too. I love this story. It brought back so many happy memories and made me want to go grab a ticket and ride the rails once more. Blowing Off Steam by Joy Lynn Fielding also made me feel as though I had never encountered another romance story like hers The men, Sam and Ryan and their path towards romance feels like new territory, an uncharted journey towards love that I hadn’t read before. It sparkled with joy, it overflowed with texture and love and authenticity. It’s a book I will pick up again and again because I love it so and will need a trip back to this universe and couple….and Bessie of course. Blowing Off Steam is highly recommended and I expect to find it among my Best of 2015 at the end of the year.
I will leave you with a Youtube of Steam Engines underway….
Cover art by Syneca is as great as the story behind it. Love it.
Two months ago, Ben Nelson stepped between a vengeful demon and psychic Artie Middleton—and has been paying for that decision ever since. Now that the last rites have been administered, doctors are ready to pull the plug on the young police detective. The trouble is, Artie has seen his future and knows that Ben belongs there.
When a friend suggests a solution that seems…out of this world, Artie must face Ben’s parents and convince them that there’s a chance their son can be saved. Unfortunately, even if he succeeds, every good deed comes with a price.
And someone is always waiting to up the ante.
I’ve been waiting impatiently to see what happened next after the soul gathering demon attacked Ben and Artie in The Devil’s Bedpost (love that title). And while I was waiting, I heard through ripples in the Force, that this story was going to make me want to hunt the author down with a torch and pitchfork because of the ending. Did that happen? Yes, trust in the Force! What a story! And what a spine tingling ending that is almost quaranteed to make you scream in frustration and anguish.
Pulp Friction stories and their series are always accompanied by a rollercoaster of suspense, chills, close calls and lethal encounters. But never more so than in this year’s inter-connected stories in the Altered States universe. And that brings us back to the last moments in The Devil’s Bedpost where we weren’t sure who lived, who died…we were just left to panic and ponder.
Well, the wait is over. Up The Ante picks up two months after the events in the first book, and things are as disheartening and unsettled as never before. Ben lies in a coma in the hospital, hooked up to the machines with everyone losing hope for his recovery. And Artie is blaming himself and isolating himself from the few friends he has. It’s a desolate picture and Williams brings us into Artie’s heart and thoughts as he despairs of finding a way of helping Ben. We feel Artie’s pain, exhaustion, and desperation and we are there with him in spirit because we have become so fond of Ben ourselves in such a short amount of time.
One of the things that helps to complete a characterization, to give it a full fleshed out persona, is to make the supporting players around that character so believable that they add weight to his authenticity. That happens here with Ben and his family. We meet them all in the hospital where they have gathered, helplessly waiting to hear more from the doctors. There’s his mom, dad, sister and her husband. Each a well-defined character that grounds Ben in a family that loves him. And that element helps to point out its lack in Artie. Artie’s family is made up of a dog of a surprising nature, and his small weird group of supernatural friends. That they are his family as well is something Artie becomes aware of during the story. How I loved/hated these hospital moments with Ben so close to death because it allows Artie to finally start to accept his feelings for Ben and the idea that Artie might have/had more of a life then he ever dreamed of. It’s lovely, and sad, and life changing.
It’s the entrance of Tempest, the witch who works in the occult bookstore owned by Travis Boudreaux (Altered States series). She’s a strong female character, just as charismatic as the rest and I adored her. She heralds a sea change for those characters we have been concentrating our emotions on for so long. And hope appears along with her…
But remember those ripples in the Force I was telling you about? And yes, because this is only the second story, you know that things have to get nasty before they get better, so yes again, Parker Williams throws a boulder into the water at the end, and it’s not ripples but a tidal wave of emotion that will hit you at last word. I’d get out my pitchfork as threatened but I need the author to continue the story, to fix things and make it all better for all of us. Argh and sigh…because the ante has most definitely been “upped”.
But ignore all that gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair, I am loving every angst-filled bit of this story and series. It’s so well written, that the pages and plot fly by so I often have to go back and reread parts to see what clues or omens I may have missed. And really, that dog Duke? Priceless. Grab up this series and prepare to fall in love with peculiar and wonderful men in love, a story full of shocks and surprises and world building elements that never stop entertaining or intriguing you. Don’t start here, however, go back to the first story and read them in sequence. It’s the only way to understand the overall series plot and character development. Happy Reading and Anxious Waiting!
Cover art by Laura Harner. I still wish for more of a dark element (not dark colors) to be included. This is a series that includes demons and the occult so I wished for more of that in the design than a serious, sort of grumpy model.
Kindle Edition, 61 pages
Published May 13th 2015
ASINB00XNPWOCG
edition languageEnglish
About Pulp Friction 2015
Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ Parker Williams ~ Laura Harner
The Pulp Friction 2015 Altered States Collection. Four authors. Four Series. Twenty books. One supernatural finale.
Spend a year with the creatures that go bump in the night…fighting for their rights to exist and protecting the innocents of The Big Easy. A diverse group of friends trying to find their place in a world they never had to “fit” into before.
In a world where supernatural creatures openly exist, who can blame them for coalescing in one of the most fascinating and erotic places on earth? Welcome to New Orleans.
A conflicted incubus…
Laurant knows sex. As an incubus, he needs it to live. What he doesn’t need or understand are all those sticky and obnoxious ooey gooey emotions that humans intertwine with the physical act of enjoyment. So he’s less than pleased with his firsthand introduction to those feelings in reference to his last meal…they’re actually driving him insane. Crazy enough that he’ll face off against the baddest of his kind to keep his delectable morsel safe and sound and hopefully on his menu.
Not just your average blue-plate special…
Sure, in a moment of duress, Gun fed Laurant. The demon lay on the floor, bleeding from a wound meant for him—what else could he do but enjoy the ride the sex demon needed to heal. Unfortunately, the dangerous conclusion and surprising aftermath of their coupling only cements Gun’s need to know who he is and where he comes from…and to keep his distance from the enticing and deadly incubus.
So it really sucks when the incubus may be the only one that can keep him alive.
Who will turn out to be the King of Hearts in Havan Fellows’ King of Hearts series for Pulp Friction 2015? I love that it’s getting harder and harder to figure out who that title will belong to with each new installment. Stud Player supplies us with more questions than answers and that’s a wonderful thing.
Laurant, our over-the-top incubus with a taste for men seemed more destined for the title of King of Casual Sex than the King of Hearts. He loves them, as many as possible, and then leaves them behind, alive but definitely alone at the end of each encounter. It’s a necessary flibbertigibbet lifestyle brought on by the fact that his kind are forbidden to kill their “food” and feeding on humans more than once brings with it less than favorable complications. Then a mysterious stranger appeared and everything changed, no matter how much Laurant refuses to see it. That mystery person, Gun (a name given to him by Laurant) is becoming even more of an enigma to all, including himself, as each new interaction with Laurant and gang reveals new sides to Gun in practically every way.
Gun is a wonderful character, strong, more than a match for Laurant at his sexy best. Yet the man knows nothing about himself, how he got to New Orleans and most importantly, why he can’t remember anything about well anything that concerns himself. And Laurant finds himself impossibly attracted and protective of Gun. Especially after he “kills” Gun, or thinks he does in a moment of absolute need. That event proves Laurant wrong about so many assumptions he’s made about Gun and just highlights the need for more information about the mysteries that surround the sexy stranger.
Take all that, throw in a disapproving father demon, an Incubus Council on the warpath and Havan Fellows delivers a sparkling, sexy mystery that pulls you in and refuses to let you go. With each new story, my liking for these characters deepen. Fellows reveals new supporting characters with each story that add an emotional heft to each person’s present situation and gives us a bit more of their past. Or at least Laurant’s past.
In true serialized fiction style, we are left with another enormous mystery concerning Gun after a major dynamic scene that exciting, full of suspense, and one element that’s satisfyingly shocking. Someone so deserved what happened to him. *claps* And still with all that action, we are left with complications, questions, and absolutely no answers. Will that frustrate you? I’m almost positive it will but it will keep you thinking until the next story is ready to be picked up and devoured. Boy, I hope that’s soon. Answers!!!! I want answers! And lots more sexy encounters between Laurant and Gun. Love this pair. You will too.
Not familiar with the King of Hearts series, author Havan Fellows or the Pulp Friction Gang’s series of interconnected fiction? This is a great place to start. No, not this story, but the series. Head to the beginning round of stories. I have listed them all below. Read them in sequence and together to round out the communal plot and connected characters. It’s fun, its a sexy romp and its not to be missed. Consider this and all of them highly recommended!
Cover art by Laura Harner. Love the model on this cover. I’m thinking this is Gun as Laurant would never be this scruffy.
Sales Links: All Romance (ARe) – Amazon Buy It Here
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 54 pages
Published April 14th 2015 by Lime Time Press
ASINB00W5HNFYE
edition languageEnglish
seriesPulp Friction 2015 #5, Jack of Spades #2
About Pulp Friction 2015 Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ Parker Williams ~ Laura Harner
Space is not always filled with adventures and glory. Not everybody goes racing off to battle evil and save the galaxy. Between the rebels, pirates, royals, and spies are the everyday people who work hard just to get by and ensure everyone gets home safe. Less Than Three Press presents a collection of tales about the ordinary folks who keep the stars running.
The Prince and the Programmer by Cassandra Pierce
The Aurora Conspiracy by Lexi Ander
About a Bot by Andrea Speed
Flight Risk by Talya Andor
Survival by Leona Carver
Take romance, throw it out into space and then gather together some wonderful authors to write their take on this fabulous trope and what do you have? Keeping The Stars Running Anthology! And each story couldn’t be more different from each other. Here they are with my comments and rating in the order they appear in the anthology:
The Prince and the Programmer by Cassandra Pierce. 3.5 stars
Probably the closest story here to a familiar romance plot. Food service mech/chef? is abducted but soon finds his new situation and “Prince” much more to his liking than his old one. I thought the characters were charming and the situation sort of funny. It was a sweet if not totally memorable way to open the anthology.
About a Bot by Andrea Speed. 4 stars out of 5
I loved/was frustrated by this terrific story by Andrea Speed. Speed creates this complex universe, complete with on going intergalactic war, one in which the humans aren’t doing terribly well. The main character, Tahir, is the Nebula space station’s mechanic who keeps all their robots in working order. He also rescues and repairs older bots, giving them names and making them his “pets” with personalities. In fact, Tahir is far more comfortable with his bots then with the rest of the crew on his station. I loved this character. He’s believable, fascinating, and when it comes to his interactions with his bots then Tahir becomes irresistible. As are his bots, including Spider and the adorable Bagel bot and Tank.
I loved this story so much that the ending, or perhaps lack of one frustrated me with its tantalizing possibilities. How I would love to see this made into a full length novel. Anyone listening?
The Aurora Conspiracy by Lexi Ander. 4 stars out of 5
In the Aurora Conspiracy, Lexi Ander’s takes ecological concerns and mining into space with no less than 2 completely different species and a conspiracy to boot. Regin Valenta, crane operator for the Aurora Minerals and Rare Metals concern is being interrogated by constables from The Fraternity, a galactic law enforcement agency. One of them, a Nythlithian, Constable Markari Gan’Sey, shares a painful past with Regin, although only one remembers. The story becomes a dance between the main characters, as their past returns with its angst-filled memories and their attraction to each other flares back to life amidst an investigation into illegal mining practices on the planet below. It’s suspenseful, layered, and marvelous.
Flight Risk by Tayla Andor 5 stars out of 5
One of my favorite stories in the anthology. Again, we have an interplanetary war in progress and an embattled Kiel Navarro’s work as a mechanic in the Gear hangar, keeping the Gryphon wings in perfect operating order for their pilots. Andor’s world building is amazing and the author’s attention to detail bring this story and crews to life. Even the smallest touches, such as Kiel being half deaf where as most of the other pilots are deaf because of the noise of the engines and conditions they work in, give the readers a authentic feel for the environment and safety factors of the job Kiel does and the hangers in which he and his coworkers make their living. And it’s not a very nice one.
The mechanics are being harassed, treated as lowly servants, who hide in their quarters for fear of retaliation. And its by whom that is so startling. A new Gryphon pilot, Marco Lafaele, a replacement for a recent death in the squad Wing Bravo, shakes up the status quo by showing an interest in Kiel, something that is just not done). His actions and determination not to follow along with his fellow pilots starts to put cracks in the SOP in the Hangers. And ripples from the fallout spread throughout Cadlow Station. I loved that Andors created the mechanic equipment down to the MagLens Kiel is using to augment his failing vision to the derogatory nicknames they earn him.
There is mystery, romance, gritty war time battles, and finally a white knuckle ride to the rescue. Just an outstanding story on every level.
and finally….
Survival by Leona Carver. 3.5 t0 4.5 rating, really this story confounds me.
Not a romance. I love Leona Carver so many aspects of this story didn’t surprise me while others absolutely did. Just when I thought I knew where the author was taking this story, it took off in an unexpected direction. And ending. We start off on the Velikaya Knyazhna, a giant colonist ship on its new to a new planet. Most of its crew is “sleeping” in order to make it to their destination without aging too much. But an emergency sees the “ship” and its caretakers waking up some of the scientists to examine the cause of the emergency and fix it…before its too late.
Valentin Mashire, was trained to work on the planet, frozen on Earth and then shipped up to the “orbiting giant” in a crates, along with many others. He’s a botanical scientist, a park technician trained to work in the terrestial parkland on board that’s necessary to terraform the new planet they will land on. The length of the voyage? 100 years. Plenty of time for things to go wrong and they do. And that’s where ship’s Security officer, Fyodor Bendlin comes in.
I can’t go any further. To do so, takes away the best of the surprises found within this story. I loved the descriptions of the park inside the ship and the ship itself. But the romance I wanted to happen was never going to be part of this story. No, this is all about Survival. But it’s the “who” that is trying to survive that will shock you as will the ending. Did I like this story? Not really. But did it fascinate me with its mythology and universe building? Yes. And it floored me with the surprising revelations and erotica.
What a great anthology. I don’t know that I would have ended it with Survival. I think that Flight Risk would have grounded this anthology better with its more substantial ending. However, there is such variety, a true smorgasbord of stories, that everyone will find something to love.
I recommend this series to all lovers of science fiction, romance and the possibilities of tomorrow.
Cover art by Aisha Akeju. Love this cover artist and this cover is another splendid example of their work. Great job.
ebook, also available in print
Published May 13th 2015 by Less Than Three Press (first published 2014)
original titleKeep the Stars Running
ISBN139781620045305
edition languageEnglish
To become the man he’s meant to be, one cowboy will have to be the man he never wanted anyone to know he was…
Ryder Dent is a true-blue cowboy. A devoted son, husband and father, but one who is living a costly lie. When they were both young, Ryder and his closest female friend Andy thought they’d found the perfect solution to both their problems—she was single and pregnant, and he was secretly gay—so they got married and raised Jonas together.
When Ryder gets hurt at a party, his son’s new pediatrician comes to the rescue. The connection between Ryder and Dr. Declan Winters is sudden, powerful, and undeniable. Ryder loves Andy and the family they’ve created together—but they both need more. Can they pursue their hearts’ desire without destroying the life they’ve built and losing the son they love?
I have come to love Z. A.. Maxfield’s Cowboy series, each story provides such an interesting group of characters and couples all loosely intwined. And most are having to deal with issues of acceptance…of their themselves, sexuality, and their ability to love. My Cowboy Promises, the 4th in the Cowboy series, connection’s to the previous story is that the ranch that Tripp Triplehorn and Lucho Reyes went to work on is owned by a powerful, controlling rancher Sterling Chandler, father to Andrea, wife of Ryder Dent and mother to their son. But as usual in a ZAM story, what you see on the surface is illusion, the reality and truth lies somewhere underneath for them all.
What an awful, stressful situation the readers get dumped into. Ryder Dent saw his life’s (and father’s expectations) explode when, as a teenager getting ready to go to college, instead marries his best friend in high school, a girl pregnant with a rodeo star’s baby. That the rodeo star wants nothing to do with either Andrea or the baby goes without question as she’s underage. Instead Andrea turns to her best friend to save her and they marry to the dismay/disgust/condemnation of their parents and community. But these kids are hiding an even bigger secret…Ryder is gay and Andrea knew the truth before they got married.
Now its five years later, and while both love Jonas, their son, neither Ryder or Andrea is particularly happy. Maxfield is able to let us intimately into Ryder and Andrea’s lives, see the stress and exhaustion both young people are going through as well as the continuing condemnation of parents and community they continue to live with. All that while still trying to lead lives of courage and stability for their growing son. It’s just feels all so real. Ryder at 23 is just realizing the extent of his sacrifice. He’s lonely, he’s working at his father’s store shouldering all the responsibilities and duties but none of the recognition and gratitude one would hope for from his disapproving parent. He shares a bed (platonically) with Andrea in the small house bought for them by her wealthy father who never lets them forget that fact or how much he despises his daughter’s choices. Andrea too is beginning to hate their lifestyle. She’s always been a bit wild and talented and wants to sing as a career, something her father would never allow. The only bright spot in their lives? Jonas a boy everyone loves deeply. But as Ryder is not his real father, that too becomes an intense source of pain and stress, especially now that the difference in their eye colors is being remarked on in town.
I think reading this story, delving into the lives of Ryder and Andrea, most of us will recognize the gritty authenticity of lives lived with the “quiet desperation” that Z. A. Maxfield presents us with here. Dead-end jobs, disapproving parents, pressure to conform to small town values and expectations, along with any potential way out of their situation feeling almost impossible. That theme has been a reliable source for books, songs and movies for ages and it always works because that scenario resonates with those listening, reading or watching it unfold. And mostly because there is a part of us, all of us, somewhere inside those characters at one point in our lives. How I understood these people and cared about them from page 1.
The status quo of their lives, already shaky, shatters completely when the town doctor retires and a new GP moves into his practice and house. That would be Dr. Declan Winters, who has his own demons to exercise and naivete when it comes to small town pressure and disapproval. Declan was a little more of a stretch for me. I found it a little unrealistic, at first, that given he had met with the older town doctor, been filled in on the town’s prejudices and still thought the doctor was overstating the situation. But maybe that’s because I am so familiar with small town life, something that “big city” folk might find charming on the exterior until reality intrudes. Perhaps Declan is not such a stretch after all.
Through dialog and scenes Maxfield brings this increasingly rocky situation to life. We have a gay new doctor in town, one who is quick to recognize the attraction that Ryder feels towards him, an attraction that confounds him when he has to treat Ryder and find out the cause of the wound is an accident by Ryder’s son. We understand it when he believes Ryder is straight, why not? Everyone else does. Then there is poor Ryder,dealing with his “gayness” for real for the first time in his life when he can’t get the good doctor out of his mind or nightly dreams. It’s a situation where hurt feelings, expectation, and miscommunication abound. Then throw in an unhappy wife, a son with questions and it gets downright explosive. What a manner in which to examine your sexuality, come of age and come out as the person you truly are. That’s the fight in front of Ryder for most of the story.
I think some readers will get a little frustrated with Ryder’s inability to “grow some spine” as his and Andrea’s father exclaim. But remember his age, the time and place of his youth. He’s respectful and one accustomed to shouldering responsibilities for everything that comes his way. And he’s young. I found him to be the most real character here. I understood him and his background supports beautifully his actions throughout the story. Great job, ZAM.
There will be places you will need to bring out the tissues and other scemes as hot as the Texas sun. Did I love this story? You betcha! In fact, I love the entire series and highly recommend them all. But My Cowboy Promises? This might be my favorite story yet of the series. Grab it up today and decide for yourself.
Cover art by ?. I* like the cover, in fact I like all the covers for this series, from the design to the color scheme.
Nico Sanzio da Urbino stays busy with his Odd Squad job investigating paranormal crimes, but he’s still haunted by the idea that the usurper he killed at Jet’s pack meeting was familiar. As an ancient enforcer, it’s always possible the werewolf was a relative of someone from Nico’s past, but if he wants to make sure the local Alpha keeps his head, Nico needs to find the connection before revenge comes calling.
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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 