Review of More Than Chemistry by Kate Sherwood

Rating: 4.25 stars

Jack Lawson is hot, successful, on his way to being a billionaire. His problem? He can’t forget that he grew up poor. Jack has spent his life becoming an uber successful businessman, CEO of a multinational company and acquiring all the trappings affluence brings. Still he is not completely happy, something is missing.

Jack meets up with Noah Mercier, an old high school acquaintance, when Noah’s company makes a presentation for his firm. Jack invites Noah out for further discussions about the ad campaign and discovers that Noah’s sister is none other than Haley Meredith, a well known movie star. So while Jack is drawn to Noah both emotionally and physically, he thinks acquiring a movie star will finally demonstrate to all that he has arrived. As Jack is bisexual, he believes transferring his affections from one sibling to the other should be simple and easy to accomplish. Now if he can only convince his heart….

What a wonderful story! When you first meet Jack Lawson it is obvious he loves his success, revels in every aspect of it, and is gorgeous to boot. And knows it. And uses it to his advantage in both his business and personal life. In fact there seems to be no separation of the two for him. His apparent shallowness is off-putting until Jack becomes reacquainted with Noah Mercier, and then the basis for his driven personality becomes apparent. And Jack becomes both vulnerable and likable.

The character of Noah Mercier is immediately appealing so it is easy to see how Jack finds himself becoming drawn to him because the reader has gotten there first. In fact, I find that Noah is more fully fleshed out than Jack himself as far as background goes. Noah Mercier arrives with sister, family, hobbies, and vegetarian proclivities in tow. It takes us longer to find out that Jack’s father was unable to support them and that being poor is a self image that Jack is still trying to erase with a vengeance. I would love to have learned more about Jack’s background that has given him such a mission that he almost misses out on what is truly important in life. Still, the main characters here are multilayered, likable, and easy to root for.

Kate Sherwood has not held back on the secondary characters either. Both Haley Meredith and Claire, his assistant, are terrific creations on their own, Claire especially. I wish the author had given Claire a last name as someone of her station and personality deserve. I could picture and hear her so clearly did Claire’s voice speak to me. Haley’s persona shown through even though we only had a glimpse or two of her.

My only other quibble here is that I would have loved to have had more of interaction between Jack and Noah. From the scenes between them, I certainly could understand the attraction Jack felt towards Noah, but additional dialog would have cemented it for me. In all, I loved this story.

Kate Sherwood was a new author for me but after reading this short story, I will be searching out more books from her.

Cover: I thought the cover was just fine, but to me it really didn’t speak for the story. Plus the dark haired model with glasses did not embody Noah for me. Does not have that “nerdy” image I associate with him.

Review of Inherit The Sky by Ariel Tachna

Review written for JoyfullyJay blog:

Rating: 4.5 stars

Inherit The Sky by Ariel Tachna

Caine Neiheisel has just been dumped by his boyfriend of 6 years. Alone in his apartment, Caine makes an appraisal of his life and doesn’t like what he finds. He has no boyfriend, a dead end job, a mediocre apartment, and friends that are really only acquaintances. A letter from Australia is about to change his life. His uncle has died and his Mom has inherited his sheep station. Now Caine sees a chance for a new future, full of exciting possibilities in New South Wales, one where his stuttering won’t matter but his hard work ethic will, or so he hopes.

Macklin Armstrong has been the ranch foreman of Lang Downs sheep station for years, ever since Caine’s uncle took him in when he had no where else to go. Now his future and that of the sheep station is in the hands of an unknown American and he fears the worst. Their first meeting doesn’t make either of them hopeful. To Macklin, Caine is a soft American “blow-in” or greenhorn, and a gay one at that. While Caine hopes that Macklin, a gruff, handsome “grazier” or cowboy, will help him learn how to run the sheep station, the foreman instead blows hot or cold, and doesn’t seem want to give him a chance. Macklin is having a hard time keeping his guard up around his new boss. Caine works hard and is trying to fit in, even with his American accent and stuttering. Plus the fact that he’s darn cute doesn’t escape his attention. Macklin is deep in the closet and intends to stay that way sure that it would cost him the respect of those who work the sheep station with him. What will it take for Caine to find the acceptance and approval he seeks on Lang Downs? Could Caine be the future that Macklin has always been afraid to reach for?

Inherit The Sky is very different in tone and pace from Under The Skin, the last book I read by Ariel Tachna (and Nicki Bennett). Whereas Under The Skin was fast paced, with hard men in dangerous situations, Inherit the Sky‘s charm sneaks up on you with the slower pace of life on a sheep station. Each sheep station is a small village unto itself, isolated by the enormous range of territory of the ranch itself. There is the drudgery of everyday chores, sheep breeding and shearing and life lived in accordance with the seasons. Caine Neiheisel is a wonderful character and I liked him immediately. He is comfortable with his sexuality, has learned to accept his stuttering, and is a man of character and purpose. We don’t even find out that he is attractive (he doesn’t see himself as such) until Macklin tells him that’s how he sees him. Macklin too will grow on you. Older and as isolated from people as the ranch he lives on, Macklin finds it hard to believe that Caine will stay on Langs Down, and harder still to believe that Caine could come to love him. Macklin is so deep in the closet, so fearful of change that his only sexual outlet is a one week vacation full of anonymous encounters. He firmly believes that any emotionally rewarding partnership will never be his. It is so gratifying to watch each man make adjust as they juggle the demands of the station with their burgeoning relationship.

This story is beautifully, realistically handled. The obstacles and fears here are ones that many face. If I come out, what will happen? How will my coworkers see me? Can I find the courage to reach for something better or will fear hold me back? How do I make a relationship work? This can and does make for a wonderfully rich story that moves with the same pace as the men asking those questions, slow, unsteady a little, and yet so very satisfying. Life on a sheep station seems very similar in some respects to life on an American cattle ranch, with many of the same highs and lows. I could almost feel the callouses form on Caine’s hands and his soft body harden as he adjusted to life on the ranch so faithfully did Ariel Tachna capture that life style. It’s all there from the utes they drive, the right down to the clothes they wear and the Blundstones boots on their feet. My only quibble (and you know I had to have one) is that I would have liked a little more inclusion of the daily activities. We got some of the breeding, some of the working sheep dogs but all that did was wet my appetite for more.

I believe the author is writing a sequel to this story and I can’t wait to read it. Barring my own trip to New South Wales, I will happily curl up with the inhabitants of Langs Down for another nice long visit.

Cover: I liked the cover with the landscape at the bottom. I wish the man with the hat was a little older, more true to the description of Macklin but I am not sure there are cover models like that out there. Calling all bears! The fonts are easy to read and well placed. Nice job.

Available from: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, ARE,

A Review of Burn by T. J.Klune

This review was written for and posted on JoyfullyJay on February 20, 2012:

Rating: 3.75 stars

Burn is the highly anticipated second book by author TJ Klune, whose debut novel, Bear, Otter And The Kid was a wonderful and well received story of a young man coming to term with his sexuality within the confines of family neglect and maternal abuse.

“My name is Felix Paracel, and when I was nine, I became angry at my mother and killed her with fire that shot from my hands.”

With those words, T J Klune again takes us into the mind of another young man seeking out both his identity and his destiny, Felix Paracel.

Burn takes place in an alternate Universe where Elementals, those people who can control the elements of fire, earth, wind, and water, are a minority race on Earth. There are many of the same historical markers (i.e, WWII but with Elementals having helped win the war against Germany), but just alien enough to throw off familiarity. Felix and his father have fled underground after Felix killed his mother. They took new identities and lost themselves in the metropolis of Terra City. But the darkness is rising with intolerance and bigotry are now the ruling forces within the Government. Much like Nazi Germany, the rights of Elementals are being taken away, and they are being rounded up for experimentation and incarceration. As in any epic tale, it is time for the One to appear to save his people and that is Felix.

Burn is the first volume in the Elementally Evolved Trilogy. Here TJ Klune is striving for epic storytelling. He has created an ambitious Creation saga, complete with a huge cast of characters, a Tree God, and, of course, the Savior figure, the One…known here as the Findo Unum—the Split One—whose “coming has been foretold for generations”. Along with Felix, there is Seven, his Iuratum Cor, or Felix’ heart/mate, and a group of people who make up Findo Unum’s guard of warriors.

I was really looking forward to this book after reading Bear, Otter And The Kid because of its warm, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking characters. T.J. Klune had warned everyone that this was different in scope than BOATK which would have been fine if the quality of storytelling remained the same. Unfortunately for me, it did not.

In reaching to create such a large vision in Burn, the story became weighed down with too many timelines (Felix is narrating the tale from the future, then Felix is relating the story in the present, back to the future tense, then Seven is telling Felix the story of the past, then to the present and so on). At one point, Felix (future) tells us about a betrayal that will happen soon (present), but then loses any emotional buildup as it takes another chapter to happen while they all train. Sigh.

T. J. Klune has a wonderful way letting dialog paint a picture of a character, and that is true here. Tick and Tock the Clock Twins to Otis, a brain damaged gentle giant, come instantly to life through their words. Seven too seems realistic, driven and obsessed with finding Felix and keeping him safe . It is the character of Felix himself, age 24 when the first chapter starts, that seems in so uncertain. His “voice” seems to vary between that of a rebellious teen to one of indeterminate age, sometimes on the same page. Can you care about someone when you can’t get a grip on who they are? I don’t think so.

Repetition in the narrative is another killer here. I think the author did it on purpose, trying for a certain greek chorus effect, but it merely becomes irritating and bogs the story down further. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I read about Seven’s “ocean eyes”. This becomes a problem when you start anticipating that phrase instead of paying attention to the story.

There are several riddles figured into Burn that are supposed to shock you at the end as they are revealed. I won’t give anything away but while one is well concealed the main secret is easily guessed at from the very beginning so the shock value is lost. Again I blame overly dense, repetitive storytelling and wonder where his editor was.

It is not until the last two chapters, that T. J. Klune’s talent starts to shine. It is here at the end that the promise of real storytelling that flickered throughout the majority of the book roars into life. The writing is crisp, the action dynamic, and the story comes alive with all the fire and wind that Felix commands.

And it is that promise at the end that will make me continue with the series. I can hope that with this volume out of the way and the exposition done, that the story of Felix Paracel will become more concise, more linear, and of course, elementally evolved.

My rating: 3.75

Cover: I love the cover for this book. Nice imagery and perfect for the story within.

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