Tag: author Tal Bauer

A Paul B Review: A Time to Rise by Tal Bauer

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

A Tiime To RiseFor all the holiness that surrounds Vatican City, evil lurks within its walls.

Alain Autenburg has been a member of the Swiss Guard for the past twelve years.  As a member of the group of men charged with protecting the Holy See and the Supreme Pontiff, the Swiss Guard have been serving popes for centuries.  Unbeknownst to most within the Guard, there is a subset within their numbers who are members of the Knights Templar.  They are responsible for ridding Rome of all the unholy paranormal happenings going on in the city.  Alain is the current Knight responsible for these duties.

Cristoph Haase is a new halberdier in the Swiss Guard.  Older than most of the other new soldiers in the pope’s army, Christoph is not quite sure why he is in Rome.  While it is the top assignment of the Swiss army to be selected as a member of the Guard, Cris is not sure he fits in.  Resigning would not only end his military career, but also leave a stain for any future private employment.  To make matters worse, Cris is fighting his attraction to and non-committal response from the Sergeant in the “Special Projects” office of the Guard, Alan Autenburg. To make matters worse, the sergeant is assigned to be his mentor.

As the attraction between the two grows, Alain has severe reservations about letting Cris into his world.  The last time he let someone in it almost destroyed him.  Alain wants to protect Cris from the things that go bump in the night.  A relationship with this new recruit would put in jeopardy, especially if he were to be trained as his replacement.  All that changes when Cris is cornered in a bar one night by an incubus who is trying to steal his soul.  The incubus shows both men their deepest desire.  They must now move forward with their relationship while fighting demons being called by someone within the walls of Catholic leadership.

This is a well-crafted book with enough tease of romance and action to fulfill the premise of the book.  Alain wants to be with Cris but the last man he was close to was hurt by his line of work so he Is very hesitant to follow his feelings.  This drives Cris crazy with what seems to be Alain’s flip flopping on whether or not to see where their feelings lead.  The secondary characters work to move the story along.  Of special note is Father Lotario.  The chain smoking, vodka swilling exorcist is not what one expects to find. I hope there are more tales of Alain, Cris and the demon fighting men of the Vatican.

The cover art by Aria Tan is perfect for the book.  Alain is standing in profile with the Vatican City skyline in the background.  You can also see Cris looking on in the background.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book Details

ebook
Published May 2nd 2016 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781911153481
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Lila Review: Enemies of the State by Tal Bauer

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Enemies of the StateThe prologue sets the suspense arc in the story and brings the reader into the heart of Washington DC.

We first meet Special Agent Ethan Reichenbach on Christmas Eve as he guards President-Elect Jack Spiers. They’re at the President’s Austin, TX apartment getting ready to travel for the presidential inauguration. This night marks the starts of a friendship frown upon the Secret Service, but that would change their lives.

Life as President of the United States isn’t what Jack expected. He had not problems dealing with his political counterparts or advisors, but the lack of a personal life is keeping him off balance. As a widower with no children, he has no family living with him at the White House residence, and he spends most of his spare time with Secret Service agents that wouldn’t engage him in a simple conversation. It’s up to Ethan, his detail supervisor, to find a way to help the president adjust to his new reality.

This new friendship would keep them sane as they deal with the realities of their jobs. As time passes, they found themselves at the mercy of external forces trying to change the world’s political balance. Their relationship turns into an exploration of something more, and simple decisions would affect, not only their partnership but world peace.

Enemies of the State is a political thriller that happens to have two male main characters. There are three sets of narrators in this book. One brings the chaos into the MCs’ lives, as well as, into the world of politics. The second tries to stop the plans from the first group before they can accomplish their goals. And lastly, we have Ethan and Jack dealing with world threats as their friendship morphs into a loving relationship.

There’s no easy way to review this story without spoiling the outcome. Each chapter starts with a briefing of the political events taking place between chapters. Some of them are short and to the points, but others introduce too much political information for a leisure reader. In order to truly enjoy this story, you need a basic knowledge of global politics and current threats. That’s the only reason I took away from the stories rating.

The amount of characters involved can be overwhelming, and sometimes you have to read a passage twice to keep them all straight, but the further you read, the easier it’s to follow all the events developing concurrently. There’s never an idle moment. Something is happening at all times even when the main characters are relaxing and spending a comfortable afternoon together.

The location descriptions are accurate, and even simple things like weather patterns and smells play an important part in the story. The amount of detail is impressive and well distributed. We get to see exactly what the characters saw and what they experienced. The reader is always on the narrator’s side, being part of the events.

Yes, this story has a good dose of romance and sexual exploration, but it’s more than that. The political events are as important as the main characters’ relationship and without them, it would be another bodyguard/protectee cliché. The author did an excellent job creating a world, realistic enough, to set the love story. Their relationship goes beyond lust, and it’s based on everyday interaction and complete trust– a slow build with a fulfilling HEA ending.

The images in the cover matched the main characters descriptions very well, and the rest of the composition shows the main ideas of the story perfectly.

Sale Links: NineStar | Amazon | ARe

Book Details: 

ebook, 324 pages
Published: February 15, 2016, by NineStar Press
ISBN: 9781911153337
Edition Language: English

Series: The Executive Office
Book #1: Enemies of the State

 

A Paul B Review: Enemies of the State (The Executive Office #1) by Tal Bauer

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars       ★★★★★

Enemies of the StateEthan Reichenbach is the lead agent in the President-Elect’s Secret Service detail.  He expects to spend the next four or eight years being shadowing the man just elected to live in the White House.  What he did not expect is to become the new President’s friend. Nor did he expect to develop a crush on the man in the first few months after they move to Washington. Doing so would break so many Secret Service rules and would be grounds for dismissal.  Not to mention that the President is straight.  This breaks Ethan’s personal rules of never getting involved in a relationship and never falling for a straight man.

Jack Spiers has spent the fifteen years since his wife’s death in combat in public service.  Focusing on veterans and their families, he has held several posts in Washington.  Having been elected President should be the pinnacle of his career.  But having lost his wife a long time ago, Jack finds the office lonely.  He turns to his lead Secret Service agent for friendship, which Ethan is hesitant to give at first.   However, as their friendship develops, Jack is surprised when one night Ethan kisses him.  To say that Jack is surprised would be an understatement.  As the two put distance between them, Jack still wants Ethan to be his friend.  But Jack begins to realize that he has feelings for Ethan as well.  He wants to find a way to make this work.

Against this backdrop, Jack is still President.  He must deal with a world that has basically gone to hell in a handbasket the last ten years.  With China and Russia both occupying countries and the Islamic Caliphate causing trouble both in the Middle East and around the world through terror attacks, Jack has his hands full.  However, the real trouble might be right under Jack’s nose.  An American general is working with agents in the Middle East to bring about even more instability to a region already at war.  As Jack works toward bringing peace to the world, there are others who are trying to insure that he does not succeed.  Ethan must work to protect the man who is not only the President but also his lover.

In order for a political thriller to work, the premise behind the book must work.  Set approximately 10-30 years in the future, Enemies of the State describes a world that could possibly exist at that time.  The Islamic Caliphate (ISIS/ISIL) has grown bolder with the passage of time, as has Russia with their land grabs.  The English, French and Germans are battle weary after numerous terrorist attacks.  Into this world, Jack must try to bring all sides together to prevent the start of World War III.

The other part of a good political thriller is the romance.  I loved the slow building romance between Ethan and Jack.  Ethan, the gay Secret Service agent, knows that a relationship with Jack is wrong on so many levels.  But are the signals the President is sending him real?  Jack is alone in the White House and needs a friend.  What could be wrong with that?  They begin to learn about each other as they work through their own problems with this relationship.  I look forward to see where the next book goes with both this relationship and the various subplots that are left unresolved.

The cover art by Aria Tan shows Ethan and Jack above the Washington skyline.  It is a fitting cover for the book.

Sales Links:   NineStar Press | Amazon |  ARe

Book Details

ebook, 324 pages
Published February 15th 2016 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781911153337
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series:  The Executive

Enemies of the State (The Executive #1)