Review: Playing Ball Anthology

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Are you in love with the boys of summer? Can’t wait for opening day and the cry of “play ball”? Baseball is America’s favorite pastime and the focal point of the love, heartbreak and the dreams of a nation of fans and players alike. In this anthology four terrific authors share their passion for the game of baseball with four stories of love…the love of the game as well as romance between men who share a passion for baseball and each other.

Here are the stories in the order they are to be found within this anthology:

“One Man to Remember” by Kate McMurray
“Home Field Advantage” by Shae Connor
“One Last Road Trip” by Kerry Freeman
“Wild Pitch” by Marguerite Labbe

What a treat to pick up a book whose authors and collection of stories share my love for baseball and the boys of summer! From stories situated in 1927 that bring the Babe back to life to the present day game and romance, these four stories will keep you happy and engaged, especially during those months where the fields of dreams are empty and the stadium seats wait for summer and the fans to arrive once more.

Here are my reviews for each story in the order found within the book:

1. “One Man to Remember” by Kate McMurray: Rating 5 stars out of 5

It’s 1927, New York City. Babe Ruth and the Yankees’ unstoppable batting lineup, Murderers’ Row are on their way to a season that will go down in the annals of baseball as legendary. Across town, a rookie infielder for the Giants, Skip LIttlefield is racking up as many hits as the Babe but no one is noticing. No one except a famed sports reporter named Walter Selby, a notorious dandy whose sexuality is an open secret. Walter has been watching the kid make hit after hit in seeming anonymity as everyones attention is focused on the Babe. Everything about this rookie puzzles and intrigues Walter so he arranges an interview that will have far ranging repercussions for them both.

Kate McMurray has gifted us with a small historical gem of writing with One Man to Remember. She has captured both the flair of the era as well as the homophobia and secret society of gay men during those times. Its clear that McMurray has done her homework not only for the information she imparts about that storied run of Babe’s and the Yankees but the every day life as lived in 1927. Whether it is snappy slang of the day to notorious places represented by The Penguin Club off Fifty-Sixth Street near Times Square, the author submerges us as throughly as her characters in this time period and brings off a home-run of a story.

The men, their love and knowledge of the game and the manner in which they have to hide their romance is both realistically and beautifully laid out in a story so well done that it cries out for a sequel. One of my favorite stories in an anthology full of great tales.

2. “Home Field Advantage” by Shae Connor. Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Toby MacMillan lives for baseball and loves his team, the Atlanta Braves. In fact Toby has grown up with the Braves as Toby is the grandson of Atlanta Braves owner Ray MacMillan. Toby owns 30 percent of the team and expects to inherit the rest from his conservative grandfather upon his death. And that’s primarily the reason Toby has hidden his sexuality from his family and team.

Then a new rookie arrives from the minors, Caleb Browning, ready to make his appearance in the major leagues. Caleb Browning is talented, naive, attractive and gay. And he has eyes for Toby. A dinner engagement highlights their attraction to each others as well as the dangers that any relationship between them will bring to each of their careers. Despite their good intensions to remain just friends, a romance begins that soon deepens into love. What will happen when a fastball to the head, threatens not only Caleb’s career but their love affair as well?

Situated in present times, Shae Connor’s looks at the reality of major league players coming forward about their sexuality and the fragile acceptance they are met with. Toby’s entire life has revolved about the Atlanta Braves, a team owned by his grandfather. His is a character in love with the game while still aware of the realities of being a gay man involved in professional team sports and the sacrifices that requires. Toby is an endearing characters whose reality is grounded in the truth of the men who love and control the game itself. Toby realizes that while change is coming, the progress is as slow as acceptance itself.

I had a little more of a stretch to believe in Caleb Browning. I really don’t see someone who plays ball, whether it is in the minor or major leagues, not being more aware of the consequences of his “gayness” while remaining a ballplayer. His naivete seems not only extreme but unrealistic, so it took me a while to commit to their relationship. But once committed, I threw myself into their romance with all the fervor of a fan at the game. And by the time I got to Toby’s speech towards the end I was cheering them on. You will be too.

3. “One Last Road Trip” by Kerry Freeman. Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

After many years in the major leagues, bad knees sees Second Baseman Jake Wilson retiring from San Diego Padres and heading back home to a small town near Atlanta. He is making one last road trip, pulling along a small trailer of possessions both physical and emotional. On his way, he visits his ex wife, his grown children, getting reacquainted with his present and bringing up memories of his past. And always present in his thoughts is Mikko Niemi, the young man he fell in love with in college and has never forgotten.

From his Facebook account, Jake has learned that Mikko’s long term partner has died and Mikko has started to date once more. So Jake is heading home to Mikko hoping it’s not too late for them to reconnect and ignite a love that never should have been abandoned.

Kerry Freeman, Kerry Freeman, you hit a home run to the heart with this one. Not only it is about older ex lovers getting a second chance at love but the main character is a retired MLB player feeling every inch of his years in the game and the injuries that go along with it. I loved the character of Jake Wilson. His rueful examination of his past actions along with acknowledging how much he was still grateful for his ex wife and children, well, it is a heartwarming and compassionate portrait of a man at a certain stage in life who has come to grips with who he is and where he hopes to be. Jake is a large hearted individual aware of his short comings and his strengths. He is easy to connect with and root for. In fact all the people in this story are well rounded, layered characters that a reader will love spending time with.

If I have any small quibble at all, it is that I wish we had gotten a little bit more of Jake and Mikko after their reunion. A little more interplay between them would have sweetened an already emotionally satisfying romance. But that quibble aside, I loved this story and you will too.

4. “Wild Pitch” by Marguerite Labbe. Rating 5 stars out of 5

Ruben Martell and Alan Hartner have been together as friends for a long time. They met during their early years playing baseball, and their friendship stayed strong through marriages, different teams, and locations, and even through death of a wife and divorce. Now they are business partners in a batting cage/ sports bar and coach rival Little League teams. And through it all, Ruben Martell has loved Alan Hartner, not just as a friend, but with a passionate hidden love.

Except for one night where their relationship crossed the lines of friendship, neither man has ever referred to each other as anything other than best friends. But the pain and stress of hiding his feelings and hopes from Alan is causing Ruben to question their friendship and business partnership. Ruben isn’t sure how much more he can take of the status quo without even a glimmer of hope for their future. As Ruben pulls away from Alan and his kids, Alan realizes just how much he might lose unless he takes a chance on a wild pitch.

Wild Pitch by Margueritte Labbe brings together all the elements needed for a great romance and then spices it all up by using baseball to frame this long term relationship between Ruben Martell and Alan Hartner. This story is so great on so many levels I don’t know where to start. Both men have been together since their earliest times in baseball. With a love for that sport as the cement that initially held them together, Labbe lays out for the reader how that relationship has changed and deepened over the years, morphing from friendship to brotherly love to something far more dangerous and passionate, especially on Ruben’s side.

The author delivers this story with an intimacy and warmth that makes the reader a companion and friend to these men right from the start. I loved feeling included as Alan and Ruben deal with Alan’s kids and the Little League players they coach. These are real kids spouting dialog that can be heard on school and park playing fields country wide as well as at home. I loved them and wanted as much of this aspect of the story as I did the romance.

But it’s the emotional realism of the scenes that Labbe has written as the men break through the stasis of their present relationship into that of a recognized romantic love that will catch at your heart and perhaps even bring out the sniffles. Watch out especially for that moment where one son’s asks how much love a heart can hold…sniff. Well, just have the tissues handy because you will find yourself bawling away like I was. A remarkable story to end a collection of marvelous tales.

This collection of stories demonstrates just why baseball is so often used as a metaphor for life. It is full of passion, and history. It’s hilarious and heartbreaking. It’s about the grand gesture and small intimacies. And its about love and all the memorable diverse characters drawn to the National Pastime. Every story here is a home run! It is already on my must reread list.

Cover art by Aaron Anderson is perfect. It has an almost old time look about it with the design and font that works perfectly for this collection. Great job.

Book Details:

ebook, 270 pages

Expected publication: September 25th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13 9781627981767

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4197

Review: Isle of Wishes (Isle of Wight #2) by Sue Brown

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

After the tumultuous events of the past months, life for Sam Owens and Liam Marshall is finally on track. They are getting married and Liam’s visa issues have finally been resolved. So Sam sends Liam back to his home in Michigan to pack up his belongings for the final move to England and married happiness with Sam. Everything is fine until Liam stops returning Sam’s phone calls. Sam trusts Liam and their love so Sam knows that something has gone terribly wrong.

Sam intends to go to the States to look for Liam but knows he will need help and support. So he turns to his brother, British Metropolitan police officer Paul Owens, to accompany him to Michigan. If anyone can find Liam and get them both safely back to the Isle of Wight for their wedding its Paul Owens. Upon landing, they soon discover the trail leads to a small town in Wisconsin, outside of Milwaukee where LIam’s rental car has been found.

Once in Milwaukee, openly gay Detective Paul Owens starts investigating Liam’s disappearance and runs smack into the closeted but gorgeous Wisconsin Detective Olaf Skandik. Olaf returned home after he left the service and joined the police force. But the small town attitudes and close-knit community now feel restrictive, and Olaf is afraid that coming out will leave him both without a job and family. But as Paul and Olaf start investigating Liam’s disappearance together, mutual attraction flares into something much more, shocking them both. What happens when a casual attraction turns into love for men separated by an ocean of responsibilities?

Isle of Wishes is the second story in the Isle of Wight series and it deepens my love for these men and their families that started in The Isle of…Where?. In that book, we first meet Sam Owens and Liam Marshall when Liam arrives on the Isle of Wight to scatter the ashes of his best friend, Alex. Sam and Liam meet and fall in love, passionately and forever within weeks of Liam’s arrival and Sue Brown absolutely makes the reader believe in this love affair and Sam and Liam’s need for each other. The author also surrounded this pair with a collection of characters, mostly Sam’s family, including one of his brother’s, a police officer named Paul.

Brown gave this motley, large family such depth and dimension to their characters that I fell in love with them as much as I did with Sam and Liam. At the end of that story, we left Sam and Liam happy but starting the process of getting a residency visa for Liam and dealing with other issues. Brown had convinced us that they were on the road to happiness but still had a journey in front of them. So naturally I wanted the next chapter in their lives immediately. Sigh.

Instant gratification are two words not in Sue Brown’s vocabulary, at least not in this series. Her readers had to wait over a year to see what happened next to Sam and Liam and the Isle of Wishes gives us a startling answer. Liam disappears to the consternation and heartbreak of Sam and fans of this series. I love that element of Sue Brown’s stories where items that appear to be safe and straightforward are actually deceptively complicated, whether it is relationships, sexuality, or even a trip home to finish packing and move. Nothing works out as planned because life doesn’t function that way and Sue Brown’s stories are most definitely grounded in reality.

That’s why I can accept a casual attraction turning into something deeper, not yet love but greater than just a flirtation and hookup. It’s also the reason why the cause behind Liam’s disappearance is so plausible as well. I often find myself nodding in agreement with something I am reading in her stories because its recognizably familiar and human. This also applies to her characters, whose problems and outlooks reflect our own.

Olaf is that man who finds himself torn between family and job he loves and his sexuality. Olaf has hidden his sexuality for years and now it has become deeply ingrained to hide his attraction to men. Given small town attitudes, especially in his town’s law enforcement, Olaf is well aware of what coming out would cost him, his job and his family. Until Olaf meets the outwardly gay Paul, he has never questioned his decision to remain firmly in the closet. Then Paul and Sam arrive looking for Liam and Olaf’s life is turned upside down.

Brown makes Olaf’s decisions understandable even as the heat between the men flares white hot. It’s painful, its frustrating and it feels so real to watch Olaf and Paul work through what they mean to each other even as they follow the leads in Liam’s disappearance. Paul is a great character too. Paul is home is in his sexuality. He is great at his job, loves his family and is astonished at his feelings towards Olaf. We get it that both men have a hard time believing that their feelings for each other are real given the time frame and situation they are operating in. Sam is there too for every agonizing minute that Liam is gone. Trust me when I say your heart will be sore but not broken by the end of this story.

And that is primarily why I have not given Isle of Wishes 5 stars. There are many loose ends left fluttering about at the end of this story, intentionally so. We do get part of a happy ending and a something more but the author is laying her groundwork for the next installment. And while I respect that, I do wish it had been pulled together a tiny bit more instead of a surfeit of questions and possibilities.

Still this is a deeply wonderful story. The writing is crisp and the plot complicated enough to let the romance shine through without obscuring all the other great elements here. And of course, there are those marvelous characters that we have come to love and who form the basis and structure for this series. I don’t think I can place one above the other, they are all so intertwined that separating them out actually would lessen the impact of the story. The Owens family, those by blood and those they adopt are a force to be reckoned with and I love them all equally.

So, what is in the future for this series? Well, per Sue Brown, book 3, Isle of Walls, will be out in May next year. It directly follows on from Isle of Wishes, and although it’s based on Nibs and Wig, it will tell more of Paul and Olaf’s story. Then she has a new series planned with Olaf and Paul, which will start next year. So many stories to look forward to. I know I will spend some of the time rereading the first two books while waiting for next spring and the arrival of Isle of Walls.

If you are new to this series, go back to the first story, Isle of….Where?(Isle of Wight #1). It’s necessary in order to fully understand all the people and relationships to follow. For no matter where this series goes, the heart of it remains on the Isle of Wight and the incredibly addicting Owens family. Consider this book and this series highly recommended.

Books in the series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and events that occur:

The Isle of… Where? (Isle of Wight #1)
Isle of Wishes (Isle of Wight #2)

Book Details:

ebook, 242 pages

Published August 19th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN 1627980776 (ISBN13: 9781627980777)

edition language English

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4106

series Isle of Wight

And I Saw A Sea of Squirrels….and the Week Ahead in Reviews!

And Then I Saw A Sea of Squirrels……

Its fall and my patio and lawns are full of nature’s bounty, aka nuts. Lots and lots of nuts and therefore lots and lots of squirrels (and deer but that’s for another story from this park naturalist). This year is a high cycle year so all the oaks, hickories, and beech trees in my backyard were groaning under the weight of the nuts they bore. And have now loosed them upon every surface available, turning every spare inch into a prickly hulled, brown blanket or a mosaic of shiny hard bits and pieces of acorns to go along with the prickly hulls of the beech nut. Of course the green golf balls of the black walnut are dropping too, sounding like hail during the worst of storms.

And my dogs hate this.

I don’t blame them. Those prickly little bits and pieces hurt the pads of their paws, jagged hulls of shells courtesy of sharp squirrel teeth are just the right size to work themselves between the pads and wedging themselves firmly to great pain and discomfort. No amount of sweeping is stopping the tide. It’s relentless, a constant cacophony of sound followed by a carpet of discarded husks.

I think most people don’t realize that nuts are cyclical. That each year the harvest is that much greater than the year before with the various animal populations that depend upon them for food expanding along with them. And then the year that follows the one with the biggest yield is all but barren. No nuts, or at least very little. People start reporting seeing skinny or starving animals. And they reason that such a thing helps to keep populations down. And certainly that is true for the present day. But not always.

Did you know people once saw seas of squirrels as they migrated through?

Yes, Eastern gray squirrels used to migrate, following the cycles of the oaks, and hickories and other nut bearing trees. Back when the midwestern and eastern forests were one contiguous mass of forest. Back before we started to carve out our settlements, and farms and cities. Back when there were only small farmsteads and villages that dotted the forests, tiny punctuation marks of humanity.

Then the animals lived much different lives than they do today.

One of my college professors, Dr. Vagn Flyger wrote a report for the University of Maryland on a squirrel migration as recent as 1968. Oh, how he loved squirrels and imparted that love to his students! And this recent migration, from Vermont to Georgia, fascinated him. You can read it here. But even more fascinating are the earlier account of waves of squirrels so massive that it took days before the end of the hoard could be seen. Or as Robert Kennicott in his article “The Quadrupeds of Illinois” in The Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents for 1846 stated “it took a month for the mess of squirrels to pass through the area.”*

Just imagine what that must have looked like! Tens of thousands, perhaps millions of squirrels following the wild harvest through the vast forest of the midwest and east, flowing like a grey furred river, leaping and bounding over every surface as they passed their way through the immediate area. Here is another quote (from that *same article ):

*In 1811, Charles Joseph Labrobe wrote in The Rambler in North America of a vast squirrel migration that autumn in Ohio: “A countless multitude of squirrels, obeying some great and universal impulse, which none can know but the Spirit that gave them being, left their reckless and gambolling life, and their ancient places of retreat in the north, and were seen pressing forward by tens of thousands in a deep and sober phalanx to the South …”

No longer.

We still have them migrate occasionally. The last reported one was likely 1998 in Arkansas but nothing like the vast migrations of the past. And how can they with no massive forest or massive stands of trees, following the bounty of nuts and seeds as the cycles demanded? Like the beaver before them, we have changed their natural history and lost something special in return.

Now the Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is regarded as a cute backyard dweller or bird seed eating pest. They get into attics or gnaw on wires. We are amused by them, infuriated by them, and in some cases regarding bird feeders outsmarted by them. They throw nuts at my dogs and tease them unmercifully and I laugh, of course. They are a constant in my yard and a source of food for my owls and hawks. They are as familiar to me as my wrens and woodpeckers…and my life would be poorer without them.

But once they moved across the land in rivers of energy and gray fur, millions of them covering the landscape and making people stop in their tracks, marveling to see such a sight. Just once I wish I could have been there, standing beside those folks so I too could have said “and then I saw a sea of squirrels…”.

The Migration of the Grey Squirrels

by William Howitt

When in my youth I traveled
Throughout each north country,
Many a strange thing did I hear,
And many a strange thing to see.

But nothing was there pleased me more
Than when, in autumn brown,
I came, in the depths of the pathless woods,
To the grey squirrels’ town.

There were hundreds that in the hollow boles
Of the old, old trees did dwell,
And laid up store, hard by their door,
Of the sweet mast as it fell.

But soon the hungry wild swine came,
And with thievish snouts dug up
Their buried treasure, and left them not
So much as an acorn cup.

Then did they chatter in angry mood,
And one and all decree,
Into the forests of rich stone-pine
Over hill and dale to flee.

Over hill and dale, over hill and dale,
For many a league they went,
Like a troop of undaunted travelers
Governed by one consent.

But the hawk and the eagle, and peering owl,
Did dreadfully pursue;
When lo! to cut off their pilgrimage,
A broad stream lay in view.

But then did each wondrous creature show
His cunning and bravery;
With a piece of the pine-bark in his mouth,
Unto the stream came he;

And boldly his little bark he launched,
Without the least delay;
His busy tail was his upright sail,
And he merrily steered away.

Never was there a lovelier sight
Than that grey squirrels’ fleet;
And with anxious eyes I watched to see
What fortune it would meet.

Soon had they reached the rough mild-stream,
And ever and anon
I grieved to behold some bark wrecked,
And its little steersman gone.

But the main fleet stoutly held across;
I saw them leap to shore;
They entered the woods with a cry of joy,
For their perilous march was o’er.

Now for the Week Ahead in Reviews (and Autumn Sedum in my garden):

Monday, Sept. 30: Sonata by A.F. Henley

Tuesday, Oct. 1: September Summary of Reviews

Wed., October 2: Goblins by Melanie Tushmore

Thurs., October 3: Dominant Predator by S.A. McAuley

Friday, October 4: The Isle of Wishes by Sue Brown

Sat., October 5: Knightmare (City Knight #2) by T.A. Webb

Review: Summer Lovin Anthology

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Remember those long summer, sultry days when the heat beat down, the songs played endlessly into the night and romance was in the air? Summer Lovin’ anthology brings you five stories of summer love by some of the best authors around. Chrissy Munder, Clare London, JL Merrow, Lou Harper and Josephine Myles put their spin on summer romance from light hearted love to an angst filled romance with the potential for more.

Grab a tall glass, filled with something wonderful and decadent (umbrella optional) and sit back and enjoy five tales of summer lovin’.

Stories in the Anthology are:

“Summer Hire” by Chrissy Munder
“Lost and Found on Lindisfarne” by JL Merrow
“Salt ’n’ Vinegar” by Clare London
“Werewolves of Venice Beach” by Lou Harper
“By Quarry Lake” by Josephine Myles

Usually when I read an anthology, I normally find a story or two that could be skipped over or at least is not up to the quality of the others included. Not here. Each one of these stories will resonate with a reader, whether it is the more lighthearted fare of Summer Hire by Chrissy Munder to the somewhat darker Salt n Vinegar by Clare London They are all quite wonderful and each in of its own makes Summer Lovin’ a must have anthology. I have a mini review of each story waiting below.

1. Summer Hire by Chrissy Munder: 4.5 stars out of 5

When Jim Carlson accepted a summer job along with his best friend at a repair/summer rental business, he had no idea his was stepping into one of his favorite porn dreams. Too bad that gorgeous tattooed hunk in the overalls was also his new boss. And to make matters worse, Aaron is also gay. Worse because Aaron is remaining decidedly professional even when being friendly. Jim thinks Aaron’s attitude towards him is because he is unremarkable and kind of dorky. He is after all a just graduated IT major with no hopes for a job.

Aaron Torres has worked hard to overcome his family and poor start in life. Now a successful businessman with his own business, Aaron avoids any romantic entanglements with employees, especially seasonal ones that will be gone in the fall with the tourists. Still, there is something so engaging about Jim Carlson. Jim is clumsy, hardworking, and totally adorable.

As the end of summer draws near, the two men find it impossible to say goodbye. Can a summer love last a lifetime?

Chrissy Munder takes all those lovely summer memories at the lake or beach and incorporates them into her short story of summer love. The characters are engaging, the story well done and the relationship between Jim and Aaron realistic yet lighthearted. No angst just a lovely relationship between two men you will adore. Great way to set the tone for the collection. Loved it!

2. Lost and Found on Lindisfarne” by JL Merrow. Rating 4.75 stars out of 5

Single dad Chris and his 12 year old daughter, Kelis, are vacationing on the holy island of Lindisfarne when they run into a group of Viking re-enactors, village and all. Ulf the berserker, also known as Ian, strikes up a conversation with Chris. One conversation turns into a tour of the historic spots on the island. When his daughter’s lost necklace makes them miss the ferry home, Ian invites them to stay with him and the other re-enactors for the night.

Chris and Ian are more than attracted to each other but Chris has Kelis and no one wants a single dad as a boyfriend do they?

Merrow offers up a tale that is both travelogue and love story and it works on both levels. I loved all the details about the Viking villagers from making berries as ink to the historic places they visited on tour. It’s a loving portrait of the island overlayed with a realistic persona of a single dad making up for lost time. Chris is a wonder of a character and his backstory (and Kelis’) gave depth to the summer love story. This is no case of instant love but just the beginnings of a wonderful relationship. JL Merrow is one of my favorite authors. Her attention to detail and loving descriptions of the settings in her stories make her a must read. That includes Lost and Found on Lindisfarne. This is how it starts:

“It was a hot summer’s day on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. The lanes were dusty underfoot, the languid breeze was heavy with the scent of the North Sea, and a Viking had just offered to buy my daughter.”

3. “Salt ’n’ Vinegar” by Clare London. Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Joe and his twin sister, Mandy, were enrolled at Brighton University, so it only made sense that Joe, a Psychology major and Mandy, Food and Hospitality major, live and work together at the fish and chip shop opposite the entrance to the pier. “Chip ‘N Fin”. The work paid enough for their lease and a little more and the location near the beach make it perfect for Joe to pick up the gorgeous young gay boys for casual fun and sex, especially during the summer months when Brighton was full of tourists.

But all that changed when a shy young man named Steven makes the chip shop his regular stop in the afternoons. When it becomes apparent that he waits for Joe when ordering, Mandy urges her brother to ask him out. The resulting relationship quickly turns serious to Joe’s surprise as Steven is fun, intelligent and they are absolutely compatible in every way. But Steven is hiding a dark secret that will threaten their new found love and so much more.

Salt ‘n’ Vinegar is the darkest of the 5 offerings in the Summer Lovin’ anthology. I liked that it brought a soberness and diversity to this collection that made me not only appreciate its attributes but in comparison, those of the other authors as well. I liked everything about this story from the setting in Brighton to the characters that felt very authentic from the sibling relationship to the superficiality of Joe’s initial outlook on romance. My only quibble here is with the ending. I am not sure how to say this without giving too much away but one character (secondary but important) doesn’t ring true to what I know about those type of individuals. They do not react by walking away instead the opposite unfortunately holds true. But that would have called for a much longer story and would not be in keeping with the tone of most of this collection. Still that imperfection bothered me for quite some time, especially given the seriousness of the situation. And while I liked the story, that aspect made this my least favorite story of the anthology. You tell me what you think.

4. “Werewolves of Venice Beach” by Lou Harper. Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Bryan Williams is house-sitting for the Spencers. He plans to spend the time deep in study for his architecture degree and maybe some time at the beach. But Bryan knows that he is a nerd, and that the beach just spells trouble. Little did Bryan know that the trouble was waiting for him next door in a house full of interesting and quirky individuals, starting with the naked man that just ran past his window, up the front stairs into the house next door.

How can you not love a story that starts with “the naked man came out of nowhere”? I love, love this story. Bryan is a wonderful, decent young man. The next door people who could have been flat stereotypes instead are fully fleshed out human beings and the romance that springs up between the naked guy and Bryan is full of road bumps and self doubt. Harper then adds in a bit about a possible werewolf and cracked me up too. If this wasn’t my favorite, it came close. I am still smiling as I think about it.

This is how it starts, so irresistible.

The naked man came out of nowhere. One minute I was eating my Wheaties and enjoying the early morning peace and quiet, the next there he was, walking through the neighbor’s front yard. The Spencers’ porch—where I was having my breakfast—sat at least a foot above ground level, providing me with an excellent view over the low stone wall separating the two properties.

5. By Quarry Lake” by Josephine Myles. Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Tommy Freestone left his hometown 3 years ago to attend the university but the real reason he fled was because of Rob Carver, his best friend. Now Tommy has returned. He learned much about himself in his time away, including the fact that he should have never left Rob and the town behind. Tommy hopes that now that he has accepted his sexuality, he can approach Rob, ask for forgiveness and a new relationship.

Rob Carver has never stopped loving and missing his best friend Tommy. While Tommy left, Rob continued to work his family’s farm, staying deep within the closet. His one and only attempt at a romance cost him Tommy so when Tommy returns Rob is determined not to let that happen again. Just friends, right? Tommy has other ideas. Can Tommy woo Rob back or will their past cost them the relationship both want?

This story is in a tie with Werewolves as my favorite stories of the anthology. Myles pulls me in with her descriptions of sleepy rural Somerset and the two boys who grew up there. You can feel the heat beating down on the farmland, and the quiet, cool water that awaits Tommy and Rob in their secret lake in the quarry. It’s engaging, its magical and it feels like the best of every summer you dreamed about. You, your best friend/secret lover, a hideaway known only to the two of you and a cave. Those are elements that will speak to every reader, it’s the best of summer hopes and dreams. I loved it all.

One kiss sent Tommy running away but once he realized and accepted that he was gay, it also sent him running back. It’s the classic love story. Boy loves Boy, Boy loses Boy, Boy gets Boy back. That never gets old and Myles did a great job with her take on that classic theme. Again no instant love but an old one reignited, totally believable and satisfying. Especially the scene with Rob’s Dad, how I loved that scene, just perfection. It pulls you in right from the opening line:

The river wasn’t the same as when he’d left it.

I can’t remember when was the last time I enjoyed an anthology as much as I did this time. It wasn’t just that it happened to fall as August was waning, or that pictures from a cousin brought back memories of times at the beach. It was the hopes and dreams these stories evoked inside me, the smells and sounds of summer overlaid with memories of fleeting romances that somehow you always wished would linger long after the vacation was over but never did. I highly recommend this collection and loved them all, although not equally. You will have your own favorites. Let me know which ones they were. Pick it up and return to your own summer recollections and dreams.

Cover art by Lou Harper works for the collection. It feels like romance and summer.

Book Details:

ebook, 247 pages
Pink Squirrel Press

Published August 14th 2013 by Pink Squirrel Press

edition language English

url https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-summerlovin039-1268444-166.html

other editions

None found

Review: Blessed Curses by Madeleine Ribbon

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

When David was 8, his world came crashing down around him, isolating him from his family and all of society. David had been cursed by his 9 year old brother in a fit of jealous anger and it stuck. Despite everyones efforts, including the best sorcerers of the time, no one could undo the curse, a curse that made people fear him and unable to be in his company for longer than a minute.

Now, years later, David has adjusted to his life and the curse, or as much as anyone could be. He works the night shift at his cousin’s magical practitioner shop and then goes home to his video games and lonely life. Then one day at his brother’s wedding, David is introduced to Vaughn, a magical enforcer. The firm Vaugn works for is the law enforcement agency charged with picking apart complex curses and making sure sorcerers stay within the law.

Vaughn is intrigued immediately by David. David has long been known to them as The Impossible Kid because of the cure he carries. But Vaughn also finds David handsome, shy, and kind of heartbreaking in his loneliness. Vaughn loves solving supposedly irreversible curses like David’s and can dampen the magical fields he comes in contact with, enough so that he can stand near David without screaming…for most of the time.

Vaughn vows to help cure David of his curse, but finds that the more he gets to know David, the more personal his quest becomes, David is more than a puzzle to Vaughn, he just might be the love Vaughn has always wanted. David seems to want him back. But before a relationship can happen, there is a curse to be dealt with and Vaughn is not having much luck. What will happen to them both if David’s curse is truly unbreakable?

Madeleine Ribbon is a new author for me. Blessed Curses is only the second book of hers that I have read but already I look forward to her stories because certain elements of her books are so well done. Ribbon’s world building is terrific. She gives us a credible universe for each story, one that is complete without going into scads of details when it is not necessary. Ribbon also has the gift of bringing magic and its practitioners to life as thoroughly as any common place profession and its employees. This enforcement agency suffers from cut backs, dingy office space and overworks it employees because of budget cuts. Within this world magic is both commonplace and a talent to be taught and nurtured.

The characters that Ribbon creates for her stories are just as well done as her world building. David is such a tragic figure but one that never gives in to self pity or bitterness. Vaughn too has many interesting layers. A self described “slut” for most of his years, Vaughn is tired of his promiscuous ways and wants to find someone to love. The author makes both men authentic sympathetic individuals who she then surrounds with equally moving and real secondary characters. I especially love the grumpy Trekker, Vaughn’s partner at the agency and Cole, a young homeless sorcerer. They really helped bring this story to life. Less well rounded in personality was Todd, the brother who cursed his brother and has spent the rest of his life being his companion. Given his was the curse that started it all and that he was bound to his brother by guilt as well as love, I think his character should have reflected more of the dichotomy inherent in their situation. He seemed a little shallow to me unfortunately.

The beginning of this book will absolutely make you cry. In fact the poignancy and heartbreak of those earlier scenes is so powerful, so pain filled that the feelings they engender are never fully recaptured.

David sat down on the next swing over. It hung just a little too low to be comfortable, but he didn’t want to lose this taste of friendship by moving down to the other end of the set.

He managed to kick his way up almost as high as Andy, though he had to keep letting go of the chain to push his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes.

Todd would see them when he got home from camp. David wondered what sort of a reaction he would get, once Todd realized that his friends didn’t mind David quite so much as David had been led to believe.

It was nearly dark when Todd finally found them talking and laughing, still on the swings. David stopped pumping his legs when he saw his brother stomping toward them. “Davey,”

With the joy of the scenes before when a lonely young boy realizes that someone will play with him, the boys swinging together on the playground, a rarity for young David, to the sight of his angry brother stomping towards them, well, it will feel absolutely spot on to anyone who knows young kids and sibling rivalry. But in this case, a fight between an older jealous sibling ( who has consistently bullied his brother) and his baby brother will have far more grave consequences than can be fixed by a bandaid and a time out in their room. The innocence of David combined with a child’s fear and sense of betrayal will haunt this book for several reasons. One reason is that it is so beautifully written, the emotions flowing from the boys are visceral in their impact. And secondly, the consequences upon the siblings and their relationship is never spelled out to the readers satisfaction. Yes, Todd became his brother’s companion but how did they feel about that? Where is the realism to their complicated relationship? Nor do we see what is Todd’s (the brother) reaction to the curse being lift. This whole element is lacking from the story and when it is such an emotional component right from the start, it should be included in the story as well to make this a well rounded plot and feel complete at the end.

Aside from this gap in the narrative, I loved this story. I did feel the denouement lacking in intensity. It just sort of happened. Another missed opportunity. Others may not feel that way. The majority of this story is terrific. In fact its downright magical, including elements of angst in the form of a young teenager discarded by his family. I definitely recommend this story and am off to locate more of Madeleine Ribbon’s stories to read,

Cover Art by Brooke Albrecht is gorgeous. I think it know where the design was going with the picture but I am just not sure anyone would know what the story was about from the cover. I wouldn’t and it that part of the cover’s job?

Book Details:

ebook, 168 pages

Published August 7th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press (first published August 6th 2013)

ISBN 1627980571 (ISBN13: 9781627980579)

edition language English

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4070

Review: Re-Entry Burn (Superpowered Love #5) by Katey Hawthorne

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Malory Clermont , a heat superpowered ex-felon, has just finished his time in jail and is now out on parole. Three years ago, Malory, his Dad and their cousin Brady (Riot Boy) planned and tried to pull off a bank robbery using their superpowers. But unknown to Mal and his criminal dad, Brady was working with the cops and betrayed them. It got nasty, people got hurt and Mal and his dad got jail time. Mal’s lawyer pleaded his case,citing extenuating circumstances, saying Mal’s dad and uncle had brought him up to be a criminal which was child abuse, . Which is why Mal is out after 2 and half years in the superpowered lockup and trying to re-enter society. His parole officer has three immediate goals for Mal. Find a place to live, find a place to work and attend his fellow parolees group therapy session. High goals when no one wants a ex con as a renter or employee.

Theo McCracken, a cold-superpowered ex-offender, is out on parole too. His crime? He murdered his abusive stepfather and would gladly do it again. Now free after 5 years in jail, he is trying to adjust to freedom outside and not doing particularly well at it. Theo feels pressured by outside forces and his twisted maternal ties. Emotionally and mentally Theo is more fragile than he looks. Theo is just that bit of out of control that is dangerous for someone recently out of jail and emotionally wanting. Then he sees Mal.

Mal and Theo met in their weekly court mandated group therapy sessions and click. Or at least Theo does. Mal just hides in his chair, keeping the lowest profile possible, a mass of confused hurt and passivity. Theo notices Mal immediately and starts his pursuit which scares Mal just enough to come out of his shell. Theo’s cold high energy rushes up against Mal’s hot docility in a clash of opposites that reenergizes them both. And despite abandonment issues, paranoia, traumatic family ties and events, somehow Mal and Theo start to hope that a future for them both is possible if they can just get past the re-entry burn.

Re-Entry Burn is the fifth story in the Superpowered Love series and a clear equal to Riot Boy (Superpowered Love #2), the story that made me fall deeply in love with these superpowered characters and twisted family histories. The story is told from the haunted, pain-filled voice of Malory Claremont, who we first met in Riot Boy (Superpowered Love #2). In that story he was a seething vessel of angst, rage and love and it was aimed directly at his cousin Brady who wanted to escape the criminal life that Brady’s family had forced on him. It is because of Katey Hawthorne’s marvelous gift of characterization that readers saw something more in Malory, something so sad and compelling that it just cried out for his story to be told. And now we get it and what an emotionally fraught journey it turns out to be with mental quicksand and societal traps everywhere. And in this author’s hands, its a outstanding piece of addictive storytelling

A raw, hip, and often dryly humorous dialog one of the hallmark elements of Katey Hawthorne’s stories. And it’s an element I can’t get enough of. When the word “fuck” flows out of one of her character’s mouth (in this case Mal Claremont) it might be as an adjective, a noun, a verb, an adverb and most certainly an interjection. Basically Hawthorne has made it work as every part of sentence and the end result is a unique, sometimes plaintive, sometimes angry introspective voice that propels you magnetically along the narrative. Don’t fight it, just go with the flow, following the raw musical tones of a damaged man trying to find his way out of his past and into the present. This is how the story starts:

You Are Here

I’m not saying I’m getting this all down perfect, but it’s pretty goddamn close. It’s hard not to go back and pretend I felt and did things different than I did, but if keeping that fucking journal taught me one thing, it was that changing the words after the fact changes the point. I didn’t want to do it, but I can’t remember the last time I wanted to do anything like I was told.

I’ll try and not get ahead of myself, but this shit is new to me. Not like anyone’s reading it anyhow. Whatever, fuck it.

The story unfolds as a journal that Mal (and all the other ex offenders) must keep as a part of their group therapy and parole. Mal writes down his thoughts and the events as they happen, using the journal to work through his mixed up feelings of anger and abandonment towards Brady and his life. The author lets the readers into Mal’s thought processes and the emotional and mental work that it takes for Mal to see through to the reality of the reasons behind his words and actions. It’s tough going for Mal and we aren’t always sure that he will reach the designation we hope for him. Mal and life has placed a lot of obstacles in his way, and he must understand and remove them before he can arrive at his personal truth. What an amazing character and story! And his slow, pain racked path is as fascinating and authentic as Mal is.

A little bit of background. Mal, Theo, Brady and even his parole officer are all superpowered beings called Awakened. They are elementals with powers linked accordingly whether it is heat, cold, water, or electrical. So already this is a group of beings on the outside of a society (Sleepers, that’s us) that is ignorant of their presence. Imagine having such power than not being able to use it. I think we could all imagine the frustration and the rage that would build up, so a respectable portion of the Awakened are criminals. Others have chosen to be the group that polices their own (with special prisons to hold them), and some have turned vigilante using their powers to help others. Hawthorne takes us into the middle of their rage, their divisive gatherings and makes us understand exactly what these beings are feelings and how conflicted their lives are.

Mal is not only having to readjust to freedom, he is also having to readjust to hiding once more who and what he is. Inside the special prison, Mal could be the heat elemental he was. No more hiding his powers and that was freeing in itself, a dichotomy. Now physically free, Mal looks to the outside as being imprisoned once more inside a persona not truly him. It’s a powerful image and not one conducive to staying outside the penal system. Theo’s background and personality also raises impediments to a successful future outside the prison system. His journey forward and emotional healing has as many potholes in it as Mal’s does.

There are so many heartbreaking elements to Re-entry Burn. Not just the realistic treatment Mal receives from his new co workers and neighbors which runs the gamut from wary friendliness to outright hostility and fear. No Mal is also adjusting to being in an environment where he can safely be a sexual being again as prison was not the place to explain his bisexuality. Mal’s interest in sex is dead in the water until Theo comes and sparks it back to life. And that has consequences too for them both. Nothing here is simple, everything has a reactive aspect that potentially could land either man back in prison in an instant. The author maintains a beautiful balance of tension between the readers and their concern for the characters and the needs of her narrative. If the men often goes to their knees, pounded down by their needs and the pressure, well, the reader is right there with them on the cement floor, feeling their pain and intoxication with each other and their powers.

How I love these people and their stories. I find them downright irresistible in voice and personality. Listen to Mal working through “shit” in his journal:

I pulled out my journal on one of my fifteen-minute breaks and wrote:

I am a thief. I am a liar. I am a man. I am crooked. I am uneven. I am angry. I am lost. I am alone. I am alive. I am a queer. I am a supervillain. I am a risk. I am a joke. I am funny, funny Malory, oh so fucking funny.

People throw words at me, and I wait to see how they stick, which parts of me meld into them, which parts of me curl up in a ball and wither. Some of the words are partly right.

Some of them are right sometimes. Most of them mean nothing at all, just weird sounds and shapes when I roll them around in my head. Some of them kill parts of me or put them to sleep so I forget they ever existed until something kicks them awake again.

But the one thing I’ve always been and will always be, the only thing I’m sure of: I am fire. Pyrolysis, a thermochemical reaction, a separating of elements. As long as I have that, I think I can hold them all off. Maybe not indefinitely, but for a while.

But why do I even want to? So I can find more words to apply, this time words I like, I want, I wish? How the fuck would that be any better?

What’s the fucking point?

So puzzled, still so full of pain. But he’s doing the work, he’s getting there and you are straining to help him every step of the way. You will feel that way about Theo too.

If this is your first Superpowered Love story, then go back to the beginning or at least start with Riot Boy. That will give you enough back history and insight into the characters to go forward with Re-entry Burn. It won’t take much before you will find yourself just as addicted as I am to this universe and these characters. Katey Hawthorne is a go to author for me and this is a perfect example why. Go, pick it up and start on the path to a love affair with the Awakened! You are going to love them. And just because I can, here is one more hook to reel you in. Malory is speaking with his parole officer:

Maybe society would start pretending I was human again. I admit, part of me was thinking, fuck that noise, and always will. But it’s as good as it gets. Less trouble too.

“Do you feel like it’s helpful with your reentry, I mean?”

I pictured myself racing through the atmosphere like the Apollo 13 capsule, trailing pieces of myself and fire.

P.L. Nunn’s cover is gorgeous as always.

Books in the Superpowered Love series in the order they were written and should be read:

Equilibrium (Superpowered Love, #1)
Jealousy: A Love Story (Superpowered Love, #1.1)
Best Gift Ever (Superpowered Love, #1.2)
Riot Boy (Superpowered Love, #2)
Willoughby Spit (Superpowered Love, #2.1)
Nobody’s Hero (Superpowered Love, #3)
Losing Better (Superpowered Love, #4)
Re-Entry Burn (Superpowered Love, #5)
Book Details:

ebook

Published August 26th 2013 by Loose Id

ISBN13 9781623005009

url http://www.loose-id.com/superpowered-love-5-re-entry-burn.html

series Superpowered Love #5

setting Arlington, VA

Review: Demolished by Astrid Amara

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

When Calvin Quarry meets up with his anonymous hookup, he is startled and upset to find out that the man is none other than Felix Bracks. Felix Bracks was responsible for the death of Calvin’s closest friend in high school and several of their classmates. Calvin flees from the encounter, horrified. But Felix pursues him, calling and texting Calvin over the next week or so. Felix wants Calvin to hear his side of the story. While it’s not something Calvin wants to hear, eventually he gives in and listens to a version of the story that differs greatly from the one he knew.

Felix Bracks has spent years as a social outcast because of that accident in high school. Physically and emotionally scarred, he thought he had recovered. But feeling the distain and hate from Calvin after all these years, hurts him. He is attracted to Calvin and wants the man to like him. But Felix only tells Calvin part of the truth, keeping the full story to himself.

When Calvin’s cousin Robbie gets involved in something sinister, something that is derailing his life, Calvin decides to investigate. After all Calvin is an journalism major, this is something he knows how to do. But as Robbie falls deeper and deeper into trouble, Calvin’s investigation starts to lead him not only to Robbie’s problem but Felix’s past as well. As the past starts to intrude on Calvin and Felix’s relationship, will they be able to trust each other or will the revelations from the past demolish the love they have found with each other?

Astrid Amara is an automatic go to author for me. I love her stories, especially her holidays with The Bellskis which rank among my favorite. So when I heard she had a new story coming out, I was thrilled. Demolished has all the elements I have come to expect from this author. Great characters and an mystery that involves the reader emotionally as well as mentally.

Amara starts us off with Calvin agreeing to meet his online hookup, Bikenut, in person for some hot, and decidedly casual sex.

After four weeks of online flirtations and cybersex, Calvin Quarry finally got up the nerve to meet Bikenut in person.

Meet wasn’t the correct term. Screw worked better. Bikenut agreed to host. Cal would knock on the man’s apartment door five times, walk in, and he would be grabbed and taken aggressively and quickly. Then he’d depart.

It was the kind of online hookup Cal always dreamed of engaging in but never had the nerve to. But after weeks of conversations online with the guy with the username Bikenut, a series of photographs showing the man’s impressive endowments, and the guy’s general sense of good humor and intelligence, Cal gave in to his fantasies and arranged the meeting.

But from the moment, Calvin and his online buddy meet face to face, everything starts to go wrong. Because Bikenut turns out to be Felix Brachs, the boy Calvin and his community love to hate. Felix was involved in a car accident turned fatal for several high school students, including Calvin’s best friend and secret crush. For that alone Calvin has hated Felix all these years. Amara does a wonderful job in making Calvin and then Felix, open and appealing young men. We understand the emotions each person is feeling and can relate to each of them, easily seeing that horrendous event from both sides of the story. As created by Amara, these are earnest young men with their futures ahead of them. But both Calvin and Felix have a joined past that they need to put behind them before they can go forward. The author’s characterizations give Calvin and Felix each a layer of vulnerability that goes hand in hand with their youthfulness. Each has experienced past angst and trauma, from the devastation of the accident to their coming out as gay youths. And in every scene, Astrid Amara makes us feel their pain and confusion with a vividness that is heartbreaking.

Robbie is another wonderfully engaging character. Younger than Calvin and Felix, Robbie is in trouble. His grades have fallen, he is sullen and keeping secrets. All the hallmarks of drug and alcohol abuse. Robbie’s situation becomes increasingly grave over the course of the story and the reader’s anxiety over Robbie’s future deepens as clues from the past intertwine with revelations about Robbie’s current predicament. For me, this is where Amara really shined. Amara’s portrait of Robbie, a youth in trouble, is both realistic and grim and handled with sensitivity. The author ticks off the boxes of the parental check sheet of things to look out for to see if a child is in trouble. But she incorporates that knowledge seamlessly into Robbie’s personality and behavioral changes noticed by Calvin and Robbie’s parents. We watch it happening, we see the missteps by Calvin that we know can be laid at his youthfulness and inexperience, and the dread just seeps into the reader, spreading over the story as we wait to see how it will all play out.

I have a few quibbles with Demolished. The first of which I am not sure really mattered in the end. Perhaps I have watched far too many police procedurals on cable, but I could see some of the plot twists and turns coming, including the biggest of them all. That said, the journey to that point was so suspenseful and thrilling it didn’t matter so much that I knew where we were headed to begin with. The other quibble was the almost instantaneous love that sprang between a young man with hatred in his heart and the object of his distain. I wondered if Calvin could really push all those carefully hoarded feelings away and fall in love almost immediately with Felix. Maybe or then again, maybe not. That was a harder bump in the road to get over. But once I accepted their relationship, the story moved forward quickly, attaching my feelings in the process.

If you are new to Astrid Amara, there are so many books out there for you to start with. Whether it is the science fiction of Hell Cop, the contemporary holiday romance of The Carol of the Bellskis, or the mystery romance of Demolished, you can’t go wrong. Start here and work your way through her backlist. Astrid Amara lives in Bellingham, Washington, the wildly quirky town that is home to another one of my favorite authors, Nicole Kimberling. I have never been to Bellingham but feel a road trip coming on. What a place it must be to have such wonderful authors residing there and writing such amazing stories. No matter, Astrid Amara is a terrific author. Begin your journey with her here.

Cover artist, Valerie Tibbs, has created a terrific cover for Demolished, the red is the perfect color in tone and emotion for the story within.

Book Details:

ebook, 165 pages

Published July 16th 2013 by Loose-ID

ISBN13 9781623004156

edition language English

url http://www.astridamara.com/books/demolished/

Dog Days of Summer and the Week Ahead in Reviews

Here it is mid – August and the Dog Days of Summer are almost over. I know many of you have heard the term but do you really know where it came from? I know that some of you are looking at your four pawed companions panting away the summer heat beside you, whether on shared walks or just sitting together in the backyard. One look at how the heat is affecting them, and I am sure you think “ah, dog days indeed.” But to understand where the term Dog Days of Summer, you must look to the sky. The night sky that is and the Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest star above (no, we are not talking about the Sun right now).

The Egyptians called Sirius the dog star after their god Osirus, whose head in pictograms resembled that of a dog. In Egypt, and in ancient Rome, Sirius was in conjunction with the Sun in the summer (ie. it was up in the sky at the same time as the Sun) and ancient Egyptians and Romans argued that it was responsible for the summer heat by adding its heat to the heat from the Sun. Those in ancient times called the period of time from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction “the dog days of summer” because it coincidentally fell at the time of year when it was very hot.

The Dog Days of Summer start around July 7th ( I have also seen July 3rd at the start date as well) and runs until August 18th, normally the time in the Northern Hemisphere when it is the hottest. It is the time we head for the beach, the air-conditioning, anywhere but the office. It is also a great time to catch up on your reading and make headway on your “to be read” pile. Here are some books and one great series (Wicked’s Way by Haven Fellows) that you will want to add to the list.

Monday, Augusts 12, 2013: Nischal by Bailey Bradford

Tuesday, August 13, 2013: Wicked Incarceration by Haven Fellows

Wed., August 14, 2013: Wicked Guidance by Haven Fellows

Thursday, August 15, 2013 Guest Blog by Haven Fellows

Friday, August 16, 2013 Fall For Me by Ann Lister

Saturday, August 17, 2013: Home Sweet Home by TA Chase

I will leave you all with two quotes about the dog days of summer. Both perfection in tone and ability to paint a portrait of this time of year.

“Sophia and Grandmother sat down by the shore to discuss the matter further. It was a pretty day, and the sea was running a long, windless swell. It was on days just like this–dog days–that boats went sailing off all by themselves. Large, alien objects made their way in from sea, certain things sank and others rose, milk soured, and dragonflies danced in desperation. Lizards were not afraid. When the moon came up, red spiders mated on uninhabited skerries, where the rock became an unbroken carpet of tiny, ecstatic spiders.”
― Tove Jansson, The Summer Book

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of the summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after.”
― Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting

Review: Faire Fugitive by Madeleine Ribbon

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Small time thief Devlin is on the run. Mac, his friend and former protector is trying to kill him and Devlin can never stay any place for long. When Mac catches up to Devlin again, Devlin flees to a local Renaissance Faire hoping to pick enough pockets to get the money he needs to move on. But the faire and the people inside are not quite as they seem. As Devlin winds his way through the crowd relieving them of their money, he notices a man with piercing green eyes watching him. Disconcerted, Devlin runs deep into the Faire town, a place full of shops and pubs. One shop calls to him. EZRA’S AMULETS, and he enters. Once inside, one particular amulet calls to him, and unable to stop, Devlin steals the amulet from the shop and puts it on.

From that moment on Devlin’s life starts to change. For the magic inside the amulet is real and pulls Devlin back to the Faire even as he runs off back to the city. Injured, Devlin returns, and waiting him is the man Devlin saw watching him – Ezra. But Mac is close behind Devlin, gun at hand. Devlin will die unless a miracle happens. Will Devlin trust in Ezra and the Faire’s magic to keep him alive or will Mac win out in the end?

Faire Fugitive is my first book by Madeleine Ribbon but it definitely won’t be my last. I found this story to be charming, engrossing, absolutely winning in almost every way. Madeleine Ribbon has created a wonderful universe in her Faire and its varied denizens. From a fox furry to a fortune teller with more than fortunes up his sleeve, the author has created a modern Brigadoon in the guise of a Renaissance Faire. Her descriptions of the Faire should be familiar to any person who has visited their local festival but then she takes it several marvelous steps further into a magical realm with a sentience of its own.

Ribbon’s characters too are charming and endearing each in its own way. Devlin’s life has been a hard one of foster families and then life on the street at the tender age of 11. His only friend has turned against him in a cruel twist of fate and now he is permanently on the run, fleeing for his life and out of funds. His desperation is keenly felt and the reader not only fears for him but feels for his circumstances too. Ezra, the amulet maker, is a little more of an enigma. I wish the author had given us more of his history. As it is, he doesn’t come against quite as realistic as Devlin does. None of the others do, except Gail, the fox furry, an adorable character. But perhaps that is the author’s intent because most of the other people involved are wedded to the magic that is the Faire and are no longer of the outside world.

Madeleine Ribbon’s narrative flows smoothly, bogging down only slightly when it spends too much time with Devlin prior to the Faire. Once within the gates, however, it picks up speed, gathering momentum as the plot proceeds to the end. And that is where all my quibbles arrive. Madeleine Ribbon sets us up for a denouement that never happens. We keep waiting for the “aha” moment and by a strange and deflating plot twist, takes that satisfaction away from the reader, giving us a poor substitution in its place. She also ends her story just where we would love to see an Epilogue appear. I hope that the abrupt ending foretells another story in the same universe. I would be first in line to pick it up.

Even with my quibbles, I recommend Faire Fugitive and look forward to much more from Madeleine Ribbon.

Cover art by Fiona Jayde. I thought this was a gorgeous cover, perfect in tone and coloring for the story within. One of my favorites of the month.

Book Details:

ebook, 201 pages

Published June 25th 2013 by Loose Id

ISBN139781623003890

url http://www.loose-id.com/faire-fugitive.html

Review: The Boy Who Came In From The Cold by B.G.Thomas

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Life has not been easy for Todd Burton. He lives in a small town, Buckman, Missouri. His father died when he was young and his mother remarried to an abusive man who makes Todd’s life miserable in every way possible, including calling him a “fag”. All Todd has ever wanted was to be a chef but his dream and small efforts are ridiculed by mother and stepfather alike. One night, the taunts and abuse become too much, and Todd flees his home and town, running away to Kansas City to pursue his dream of being a chef. But the reality of life in Kansas City is a harsh one and soon Todd is left out in the cold, evicted from his apartment with no where to turn.

Gabe Richards, a wealthy businessman, finds Todd outside his apartment building freezing to death. The sight of the young man brings back memories that Gabe thought he had buried. He offers Todd a place to spend the night and food to eat and as the men get to know one another, the night becomes a week, and then more. But the situation is fraught with tension and awkwardness. Todd has always assumed he was straight, so why is he checking out Gabe like he would a girl? Could he actually be gay? And for Gabe, Todd brings up memories of another young man in Gabe’s past, one associated with pain and betrayal.

Gabe and Todd find themselves falling in love despite their pasts. For Todd, being evicted and coming in from the cold might be the best thing that ever happened to him.

I have some very mixed feelings about this story because I really liked parts of it. B.G. Thomas has a lovely writing style and his characters, specifically, Todd Burton and Peter Wagner, a friend and employer of Gabe, are fantastic. Todd is someone we could empathize immediately. Even when he is using offensive words like “fag”, we know its because those words have been thrown at and around him all his life. It’s a knee jerk reaction, especially in someone questioning his true sexuality. I have to admit having to suspend some belief in Todd’s miraculous culinary skills. Given his background, would someone like Todd really know what to do with fennel or taste white pepper in wine? But as I love a cooking element in a story, I can accept his interest and gift in putting flavors together to create something wonderful. Todd’s questioning of his sexuality is another terrific aspect of this story, although his leap into bed with Gabe as well as his embrace of his “gayness” came a little too fast for someone who just found out that they were gay. But again, I can accept that too because Thomas made it seem realistic.

Peter Wagner, vaguely British, kind and over the top is perhaps my favorite character, Think Peter O’Toole in My Favorite Year and you have some approximation of Peter Wagner. I loved him and every scene he appeared in. Thomas must have a real fondness for him too because his descriptions of Wagner and his actions are vivid, almost Technicolor, trying hard to express the heart and vitality of this man. Here is a sample of Peter at his best:

“Yes,” Peter decreed. “Sexily aromatic, like linen sheets after making love on an island in Greece.” Peter took another sip. “It is superb. And now if I might?” Peter lifted a fork as if it were a conductor’s baton, then a knife, cut into the thigh Todd had placed on his plate and sliced it quickly and masterfully. He brought the morsel to his mouth, stopped, inhaled. Then popped it into his mouth.

Todd held his breath.

A corner of Peter’s mouth slowly tipped upward. He opened his eyes. “Heaven,” he whispered.

Todd felt a rush. He had no idea why. He had no idea who this strange man was with his flourishes and declarations, his nimble swagger, and the graceful way he moved his hands and arms and lanky body. Yet, the compliment Peter had given him might have been the best in his entire life.

And we get that because Peter has become so real to us as well that we understand the sentiments involved. Great job, great characters indeed.

Gabe Richards is a little more problematic for me. It is with him and an event and people in his past that I have issues with. Gabe is described as a successful businessman with a painful past that both Peter and Gabe’s friend/assistant are aware of. This past involves a young man who had been sexually abused by his father for years and was living on the streets when Gabe found him. This character and his situation are the dramatic fulcrum upon which Gabe’s past angst pivots. And this is the element that dragged the story down for me.

It’s my opinion that if an author uses rape or sexual abuse as an element in their story, they have a responsibility to treat it as seriously and realistically as the topic deserves. This includes have the adult characters suggest counseling and police action for sexual abuse/rape, especially in underage victims involved in this storyline. The fact that this is fiction does not reduce that responsibility for the author. But when an abused underage young man is instead “adopted” as a son, calls the men who adopted him “Daddy One” and “Daddy Two” and is then looked at as a possible bedmate by both of them, then the subsequent story is undermined for me. That this young man is then also portrayed not as a victim but instigator of a painful event, then that aspect of the story becomes an object of disbelief. For that element to have been realistically portrayed, the author should have gone into the ramifications of parental sexual abuse, including perhaps the need for validation by a father figure and other long term aspects of paternal sexual abuse, especially if untreated. I am aware that this is only a part of Thomas’ story but it is still a small but important one. The author could have left this element out all together and chosen to make this a shallow opportunistic young man. If Thomas had, this would have been an altogether different review. As it is, it reduced the rating almost to a 2.

Outside of the sexual abuse section , this story also contains a case of “instant love”, something I am seeing a lot of these days. Gabe and Todd have one week together, during which time Todd not only comes to grips with his sexuality but also falls in love with Gabe, who very conveniently falls in love back. Sigh. Gabe’s past “homelessness” really isn’t, as he left his apartment for the night. So not the same as Todd. Again, a suspension of belief is called for. The author then wraps up all the loose story lines in a manner that seems a little pat. Again, while I could accept most of them, the resolution of the plot with the young sexually abused man is handled just as badly as was the character’s introduction. He runs off to confront his father by himself. No police involved, no one helping him because “he has to do it by himself”. And the last chance to redeem this plot element is lost.

Why give this story a three rating? I had to ask myself that question too. I did love parts of The Boy Who Came In From The Cold. I loved some of the characters and plot points. The parts that bothered me about the story are, in my opinion, hugely relevant, enough so to drag an otherwise charming story downward. So the writing, and some of the characters saved this story for me enough to give it a 3 star rating. For other readers, maybe they will skim over those sections that bothered me or it won’t be so obvious as to be an issue for them. You can make up your own mind.

Cover art by Aaron Anderson is lovely except (and I can’t believe I am saying this) but the model is a little too old for the character of Todd. Usually it is the other way around. But the graphics and overall feel is lovely.

Book Details:

ebook, 284 pages

Published May 29th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN 162380714X (ISBN13: 9781623807146)

edition language English

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3822

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