Tag: lovers reunited

A Free Dreamer Review: Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Late Summer Early Spring coverHour of the Lotus
General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. Iwata’s current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general’s unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favorite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When they discover the true cause of the illness, they will have to battle an ancient spirit and survive.

Fox Hunter
Lord General Iwata Sho sets out in search of the mysterious Fox Hunter. When he finds his former lover, Hiroshi, he discovers a changed man, scarred inside and out and consumed by vengeance. Together with Narita’s grown son Daigo, Iwata and Hiroshi pursue the malicious spirit as it leaves bloodshed in its wake. Iwata worries about what will become of Hiroshi when the fox is defeated—if Hiroshi’s revenge doesn’t kill him first.

I absolutely love historical Japanese novels, especially when there’s an element of typical Japanese mythology. So when I read about this book, I just had to have it. I have to admit, I totally didn’t realize that this book was actually two stories until I read the blurb again just now. It didn’t feel like two separate stories when reading. One definitely doesn’t work without the other, so it’s a good thing that it comes as a package.

 Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll had so much potential: Two samurai, a mysterious demon and a reunion after decades apart. And it definitely was intriguing. I was constantly wondering what was happening to the poor prince. And when the demon did finally show up, it was a very creepy revelation and I was glued to my Kindle to find out what happens next.

The relationship between Hiroshi and Iwata fell a little short over all. I am aware that DSP titles aren’t supposed to focus on the romance, which is usually fine by me, but here I really felt that the author could have easily made the relationship feel more real without taking anything away from the main plot, if only she’d decided to let the actions speak for them. I don’t expect major declarations of never ending love from two samurai warriors, but Ms. Correl could have shown more of the physical intimacy. Simple touches and kisses would have gone a long way to making me really feel the connection between the two.

The biggest downfall of “Late Summer, Early Spring” was the length, or rather the lack thereof. The fantasy and the relationship fell short because of that. I’m convinced the author could have easily filled twice as many pages and the story wouldn’t have lost any of its suspense. More details would have been nice overall.

Still, I really liked what was there. Lots of suspense and an intriguing plot with interesting characters. This could have been a truly amazing book, if only it had had more space for details. A real shame.

Cover Art by Anne Cain. I really quite like the cover. It’s unique and fits the book well. It looks a little like it could be an antique Japanese painting.

Sales Links: DSP Publications |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 168 pages
Published July 14th 2015 by DSP Publications
Hour of the Lotus published by Dreamspinner Press, May 2013.

A Sammy Review: Yours All Along (Loving on the Edge #7.5) by Roni Loren

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars.

“Would you make a move on me if I wasn’t?” he asked, no jest in his voice.

“No.”

“Not your type?”

Devon closed his eyes. “Nope.”

You’re exactly the wrong type.  I don’t fuck people I love.

Yours All Along coverHunter Riley has always been at his dad’s mercy. Being the son of a conservative politician isn’t easy. It’s all about being buttoned up and smiling when you just want to roll your eyes. But that set an example for Hunter – an example of how not to be. As soon as he’s able to, he moves as far away from his family as he can manage, and that means California.

There he meets Devon, an out-and-proud student with purple-streaked hair. They hit it off right away and soon become best friends and fraternity brothers. Hunter shows everyone, especially those in the fraternity, how being gay doesn’t mean you can’t be a brother by rooming with Devon.

At first it’s just jokes for them, easy laughs and fun times. But somehow they tip over that edge, exploring each other in ways they haven’t before. But one night and a horrible accident brings that all to a stop.

Years later, Hunter hasn’t spoken to Devon since the accident, but when his fiance sends him on a pre-wedding vacation to Texas where Devon lives, Hunter just can’t stay away. Did time ever really matter to them, or is it jut too late for Hunter to wake up from a life that isn’t his own?

And no matter what, he knew one thing for sure: He didn’t want it to end. He’d never had a friend like Hunter. He could find people to warm his bed. That part was easy. But there was no way he’d find someone who got him like Hunter did. That shit was different. Special. And worth protecting.

Roni Loren is a new author for me, as she usually writes M/F, which isn’t really my thing. But I decided to give it a chance. The blurb intrigued me, what can I say?

With the help of Roni, I was able to get my hands on the book and I easily devoured it. The story is short, perhaps a bit too short for my liking (but that just means I enjoyed it and really wanted more of them).

It takes on a few issues, such as having a family that would disown you for being gay or even having a gay roommate, and how far people can go to save themselves from abandonment. It may sound like the book was this big angst fest, but it actually wasn’t. The majority of the story is told in a flashback, handled well and giving us a look at what college life was like for Hunter and Devon. I can easily say it was a much freer time for them, and that shows in those flashbacks. They’re full of life and love, and it contrasts sharply with the characters we meet in the first chapter.

To get a chance to look back at them and how they got to that point was a treasure. It was also hothothot at times. Experimentation? Sign me up, please, especially if it’s in the back of a limo!

In the end, after all of that, this book is really about finding yourself again. I appreciate that. We all get lost sometimes.

The cover art is simple but nice. Who doesn’t like a nice muscular back? I certainly will not raise my hand to that question. The stance and what I see does actually remind me of Hunter too, so it’s not entirely just some random hot guy (or maybe it is, but it’s my Hunter).

While I’d love to see more of these characters, I at the very least hope this isn’t Ms. Loren’s last foray into M/M. I’d love to see what she can do with a full-length novel.

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

Book Details:

ebook
Published June 16th 2015 by Intermix
ISBN139780698411036
edition languageEnglish
seriesLoving on the Edge #7.5

Loving on the Edge series are mostly M/F with this exception.

A MelanieM Review: Heart of Clay by Lee Brazil

Rating: 4 stars out of 5:

Heart-of-Clay-400x600Decades earlier a tragic accident separated two men who were always meant to be together.  Now the ghost of the man that died makes one more effort to bring the men he loved together as they were always meant to be.

Clayton Merk, accomplished, yet arrogant, businessman, has a reputation for one-night stands and being steadfastly anti-relationship, life choices that stem from a traumatic loss in high school. When he decides to return home—to the root of all his problems—he brings a co-worker with him as a buffer against the past. Even though he’s ready to lay old ghosts to rest, he certainly didn’t expect a literal ghost to lend a hand.

Brad Jorgensen, Clay’s former best friend, has also clung to the past in an unhealthy way. When Brad’s brother died in that car accident, he lost not only his brother but any chance he had to get together with Clay, the boy he secretly loved. Now Brad holds Clay responsible for everything that has gone wrong with his life, not the least of which is his cousin’s death decades earlier. At one time they’d been closer than brothers, but blame and anger are powerful weapons of destruction, and they’ve left Brad in a wasteland of self-doubt, hatred, and loneliness.

For decades Clay and Brad have remained apart, separated by loss, anger, bitterness and guilt.  The ghost at the heart of the problem has had enough. Bobby isn’t pleased with his cousin or his ex. Their refusal to let go of the past has kept him on a plane where he doesn’t belong and isn’t at home. He’s expended all his energy trying to get through to Brad, without success, but Clay’s return finally gives him a foot in the door…or out the door.
If he could just get the two stubborn men together.

I have loved ghost stories since I was a child and when combined with romance, they prove downright irresistible.  In Heart of Clay, Lee Brazil takes this trope and gives it his own twist by taking these two men decades past the accident that caused Bobby’s death and the schism in their lives.  Heart of Clay by Lee Brazil opens with Clay, a successful businessman, returning home to the farm he grew up on with his grandparents.  So powerful and traumatic are the memories he has of his time growing up there (and the strong bonds he built with the Jorgensen brothers from the farm next door), that Clay has stayed away rather than deal with his memories and issues.  Clay even brings along his assistant as a buffer although the man has other ideas about the trip.  Brazil makes us understand Clay, the shallow life he’s been leading and the importance of the farm, and grandparents to his formative years and well being.  Clay is clearly someone stuck in a pattern that not even he likes but the past is holding him there and he doesn’t know how to move forward.

Like two halves of the same whole, Clay’s arrival home after all this time sets off sparks everywhere, including next door, where Brad is still farming his family’s land.  Brad’s life is just as dry of life as Clay’s, albeit in another drastic manner.  If Clay’s life is a constant revolving door of anonymous men and no commitment, Brad’s has been one of alcohol abuse, anger and guilt.  The author is able to make Brad’s pain visceral as well as his deep love for the man he blames for his brother’s death.

Little by little, their combined past, happy and traumatic, is revealed to the reader. We get to “see” it from several perspectives, the idyllic life all three boys lead, their strong bond, and, for one, the feelings he kept hidden from the other two.  And then, of course, we have Bobby, our frustrated ghost.  Bobby’s just as stuck as the other two, all three lives shattered by one awful decision.

Bobby is just as real a character as the other two men, however ghostly he might be. His frustration and pain balanced by his continuing love for Clay and his brother, Brad.  He’s a great character and I only wish I had a little bit more of his life before it was ended.

It’s easy to understand how one moment, one bad decision can obliterate three lives, especially the one that caused Bobby’s death.  Equally, the reader will recognize someone wanting to fix the blame somewhere, anywhere than accept the situation as it really occurred.  Brazil offers lots of small truths in this story and that makes Heart of Clay feel familiar and layered.

If I had a quibble with this story, it would be that I wish sections had been enlarged with more memories, more of each man’s life in the interim.  There is a wealth of back history here, and the parts that we see are so intriguing that it makes us want to know more.  And Bobby’s hauntings?  More scenes of those as well.  Bobby’s cuts quite the supernatural presence here.

I so enjoyed Heart of Clay and think you will too.  Love romance with a mixture of the otherworldly?  Love the idea of ghosts and a little supernatural matchmaking?   Pick up Heart of Clay by Lee Brazil, I absolutely recommend it.

Cover art by Laura Harner.  It’s a nice cover but I could have used a little more of the supernatural element whether it was in the color or design.

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

Book Details:

ebook
Published April 1st 2015 by Smashwords Edition
ISBN139781310511295

A MelanieM Review: Foundation of Trust (Cost of Repairs #5) by A.M. Arthur

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Not everyone gets a second chance with their first love.

Foundation of Trust coverDavid Weller had it all and then it was gone.  Once day David had a loving partner and soon to be stepson, a business he enjoyed and his health.  In one day’s time, everything David thought he knew and had in his life shattered and was gone.  A devastating diagnosis,and a partner who disappeared along with his son.  All gone.

Now four years later, David is still trying to cope with the past and not doing a very good job of it.  He has started a catering business with a friend that’s thriving but his private life is a mess.  Afraid to trust, filled with anger, David spends his nights in one night stands and increasingly dangerous hookups, using pain to assuage his memories and fear.  And then the impossible happens when his ex partner reappears, son in tow and everything changes.

Owen Hart has a life filled with poor life choices and bad decisions.  But Owen thought he left everything behind him when he met David Weller.  Knowing and loving David meant accepting his own homosexuality, loving David meant having a home not only for himself  but for his son.  Then Owen was forced to leave David and the life they had built together.  No warnings, Owen and his son just disappeared.  Now years later, Owen is back to make things right and hopefully make David love and forgive him once more.

A chance encounter proves to David and Owen that the feelings they had for each other remain as explosive as ever, but the wounds inflicted on David by Owen’s disappearance are deep.  Can David ever forgive Owen for his deception and the pain he caused David?  Both men have changed in the years gone by but when a second chance at love and a future together opens up, can the past be forgiven in order for them to have a future together?

Foundation of Trust is the fifth story in the Cost of Repairs series by A.M. Arthur.  As it is also the only story I have read from that series, I approached with carefully wondering how it would work as a stand alone tale.  I shouldn’t have wondered, Foundation of Trust is a beautifully written and well structured story that works on its own.  A tale of poor life choices and second chances, it’s enduring theme and characters pulled me into their story completely, keeping me happily committed from the beginning to end.

I love the reunited lovers trope.  In Foundation of Trust, A.M. Arthur works her magic to give us two wounded men who are truly incomplete without the other, no matter how hard one of them tries to deny it.  In bits and pieces, the author slowly unravels the steps and bad choices that destroyed their partnership and drove Owen to disappear, taking his son who David loved like his own with him.  The devastation that action had upon David and the emotions and pain that followed  come across as utterly deep, and long lasting.  The betrayal and disappearance shattering David just when he needed Owen’s support the most.

A thread that runs throughout this story is the impact a heartrending medical diagnosis can have upon a person’s life and mental outlook.  Without support and with a disasterous back history, learning that one has a serious medical condition is shattering and Arthur is able to bring that situation to life with David’s character.   It was a realistic and moving choice and it works here beautifully.

Owen too has had a troubled past, one that refuses to let him go.  Without giving away any spoilers, I thought that Owen, his strained relationship with his son, and the tough fight ahead of him to make amends and be forgiven are all realistically portrayed.  Owen is as full of pain over the damage he caused, not only to David but his son as well.  Arthur makes sure that there is no instant forgiveness or easy solutions to these mens issues and problems of the past.

I enjoyed this story so throughly that it will send me back to the rest of the series to see what else A. M. Arthur has in store for the characters involved here.  If you love a story of lovers reunited,  of past hurts and betrayals overcome and redemption earned, then Foundation of Trust by A. M. Arthur is the story for you.  I highly recommend it and am now off to search out her other stories and series to date.

Cover artist Lyn Taylor did a wonderful job of bringing the characters and tone of the story to the design and tone of the cover.

Sales Links:   Samhain Publishing       All Romance eBook (ARe)   Amazon  Foundation of Trust

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 239 pages
Expected publication: October 21st 2014 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
original titleFoundation of Trust
ASINB00KT23WJU
edition languageEnglish
seriesCost of Repairs #5

Books in the Series Include:

Cost of Repairs (Cost of Repairs, #1)
Color of Grace (Cost of Repairs, #2)
Weight of Silence (Cost of Repairs, #3)
Acts of Faith (Cost of Repairs #4)
Foundation of Trust (Cost of Repairs, #5)

 

 

Reviews: Refined Instincts (Instincts #5) by S.J. Frost

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Refined Instincts coverBroken and starving, vampire outcast Troy Raines has returned to Chicago where everything went all so wrong to die the final death. The death of his best friend and former lover Isaac,and their misguided revolution against the Tribunal and the Ancients cost him everything. Now all Troy wants to do is finish the job vampire Daniel Valente started when he threw Troy off a building.

Renart Bellerose has been busy since the ending of the rebellion repairing the damage caused by his young, misguided vampires.  Renart has tried to make amends by being the Master he should have been to those he Turned and now he is seeing the results in those around him.  But they also serve to remind him of what and who Renart has lost, specifically Troy Raines.  From the  moment Renart looked upon Troy, he wanted him.  And after Turning Troy, Renart gave him everything he thought Troy wanted, power, money, but those weren’t the things Troy craved. Troy wanted Renart’s love and attention and when he didn’t get those, his anger exploded into a rebellion that cost many their lives and has the Tribunal hunting him down for treason.

When Renart finds Troy in Chicago, their reunion erupts into a moment of passion and anger, reinforcing the feelings they had always had for each other.  But danger is all around them as the Tribunal closes in on Troy and Renart finds himself a target of the Ancients wrath.  Will it be too late for Renart and Troy to find the happiness they always wanted or will the laws of the Ancients cost both of them their lives?

Refined Instincts brings back two of the most confounding characters of this series, ones that the readers will have mixed emotions about, and unites them in a relationship full of regret, guilt, and passion.  Throughout the Instincts series, Lord Renart Bellerose has been a sort of prickly, charming and untrustworthy thorn in the side of Lord Titus Antonius  and his lover, now  Eternal Partner, Andreas Nikandros (Natural Instincts – Instincts, #1) .  Even more, his attitude those young men he Turned  and the shear number of Turned  earned him the scorn of other Ancients as well, such as Lord Ryunosuke Kimura and his Eternal Partner, Sir Daniel Valente (Enduring Instincts – Instincts #2).  Renart has always hovered around the edges of the action in the preceding stories, a lively persona that picked at our curiosity each time he appeared on the pages.

Troy Raines also has had a reoccurring role in the series and not a admirable one.  As the leader of the rebellion, Troy oversaw the capture and torture of  series favorite Daniel Valente as well as the kidnapping of Andreas, lover of Lord Titus.  I am sure that there are many readers who still retain some dislike for this character based upon his actions in previous books.  All it took was for Daniel to throw Troy off the roof to start his transformation from villain to misguided, tragic reformer.   S. J. Frost started Troy on his path to redemption in Enduring Instincts when it becomes evident that the rebellion and the power is Isaac’s, not Troy’s.  Then when Troy is injured and unable to care for himself, he becomes an object of pity.  Bit by bit, Frost takes this character apart until the reader is left with nothing but compassion for the person he has become.

I found both characters intriguing and loved the manner in which Frost brings them back together.  It completes the rebellion aspect of this series and does so by fleshing out two secondary characters in a charming and wholly satisfying way.  It is definitely a favorite of mine of the series.  I thought that instead of glossing over past issues, Renart’s part as the igniting factor of the rebellion due to his poor treatment of his Turned and Troy’s blindness over Isaac are given equal treatment to help flesh out the characters and past events.  Renart’s past history does give the character a much needed foundation for his actions and behavior towards others around him.

I did feel that the arrival of  all the other couples from the series, other than Titus and Andreas, was a element that needed a little different treatment.  It was if they arrived just so the author could please all the readers who had favorites, not really because the plot absolutely required it.  And of course the trial was over very quickly after so much was made of the Tribunal hunting them down.  I would have loved to have seen this aspect of the story given more dimension and depth.

Refined Instincts is a wonderful addition to a series many have come to love.  I am not sure how many more the author has planned for Instincts, but given the vitality of this story, the series is healthy indeed.  I recommend this story to all fans of the series, those readers who love vampire stories as well as fans of S.J. Frost.  But if you are new to the series, this is not a stand alone story.  It must be read as part of the series so go back to Natural Instincts to see how it all begins.

This is how it all starts:

The silence in the dark alley broke with the shuffle and drag of uneven footsteps. Troy slowly made his way, his keen eyesight picking out trashcans, litter, dips and holes in the pavement. He may bear an eternally broken body, but his other vampiric senses were still sharp, so much stronger than when he’d been human…those three short years ago.

Troy shook his head, wishing the motion would scatter his memories. But like his shadow behind him, they were dark ghosts that forever clung to him, never parting from him. Even when he couldn’t see them, just as a shadow waits for light to show itself, so his memories waited for a moment of weakness to bring him down.

He should’ve known returning to Chicago would strengthen them…and weaken him, but he needed to come back. This was where it all began. This was where he wanted it to end.

And he did want it to end. All of it. The memories, the regrets, the guilt, the pain—physical and emotional. He no longer wanted eternity. He wanted peace.

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

Natural Instincts (Instincts, #1)
Enduring Instincts (Instincts, #2)
Loving Instincts (Instincts, #3)
Adapting Instincts (Instincts, #4)
Refined Instincts (Instincts,#5)

Book Details:

Published October 31st 2013 by MLR Press
ISBN 1020130160
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=SJF_REFI
seriesInstincts #5

Review: Home for the Hollandaise by Julia Talbot and BA Tortuga

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Home for the Hollandaise coverJack Shields has returned home for the holidays to the town he hates.  His dad is suffering from Alzheimer’s, his mother needs him and his cooking to make things  bearable, at least for Christmas.  The town Jack grew up in is full of bad memories, especially for a gay boy in Texas, including the cheating boyfriend he loved , left behind after a knockdown fight and has still never forgotten.

Kent Thibault has just returned to the town where he grew up in order to spend the holidays with his mother.  Now a musician, Kent has nothing but bad memories of this small Texas town, including the fact that it was where he lost the boy he grew up with and loved.  One night, one horrible misunderstanding, one fight and now 10 years later, Kent still thinks about Jack, the one that got away.

Now both have returned to town for the holidays and family.  A chance meeting at the local grocery brings up old memories, bad and good and reignites all the old feelings.  When two former lovers still very much in love meet again, is it too much for them to hope that a future together is still possible?

From the title to the characters within, I loved Home for the Hollandaise by Julia Talbot and BA Tortuga.  A Torquere Holiday short story, it brings up all the best and the worst of  Christmas with the family, especially families breaking apart under stress and illness.  For 49 pages, the reader is brought into the lives of Jack, his family and his former boyfriend, Kent.  Jack is home under the worst conditions as his father has Alzheimer’s and is only intermittently aware of who Jack is.  What Jack’s father does remember is Jack’s cooking.  Jack is a mini-celebrity chef in Austin and his food is a path back to his father.

I found this element, the relationship of Jack with his father and the scene as they connect over food, possibly for the last time, incredibly touching and real.  Its that touch of authenticity and warmth that illuminates the depth of family love over familial discord and brings pathos to the holidays as well as joy.

The characters here from Jack’s mother shaking under the stress and pain of the situation, Kent staying in the trailer his Mom has stashed in the backyard as a rental, and the old football bully from high school, all are created with a deft hand and painted with the realism and knowledge of small town Texas life.  I just loved this story and only wish that I could have lingered a tiny bit more with the men back in Austin, trying for that future once again that they thought they had lost.

Cover illustration by A Squires is ok, but with such a great title, wouldn’t you think hollandaise would be on the table as well?

Book Details:

, ebook, 49 pages
Published December 11th 2013 by Torquere Press

Review: In Discretion by Reesa Herberth

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

InDiscretion_500x750Discretionary Thanson Nez is in trouble.  He is just ended his contract with his Guild’s client and the secret he is carrying is so huge, so explosive that he needs to hand it over to his Guild immediately.  But there are obstacles blocking his way, including being attacked by the son of his last client who felt he had as much right to Thanson as his father did, another reason Thanson ended that contract. Now he is stranded at some space station on the outskirts of the Empire with no way back to the Guild while carrying the most dangerous secret of his career, a secret he can tell to no one outside his Guild. The last person Thanson expected to run into on the space station was the boy he loved and left on his home world.

Kazra Ferdow, Station 43’s communications officer, is stunned to see  Thanson Nez in his office asking for a secure channel to his Guild.  It’s been years since he last saw Thanson and now his ex lover stands in his office asking for a secure direct line to his Guild.  It all spells trouble to Ferdow but just how much trouble will shock him.

The space station is rocked by an explosion, and suddenly its inhabitants start to go crazy, killing all around them.  With all communication lines down, failing life support, Thanson and Kaz are just trying to survive. And on top of everything, they are being stalked with Thanson as the target.  Kaz wants answers, Thanson can’t supply them upon pain of death.  Amidst bitterness, injury, and a space station in shambles, love still finds a way back to the men who thought they had left it behind them.   But can they survive long enough to see if they still have a future together?

I love it when I get a new author and a new series to explore and with In Discretion by Reesa Herberth, I get both.  Science fiction is a favorite genre and when paired with romance, it’s certainly doubles the reading pleasure for myself and many others.  Reesa Herberth has done a remarkable job in combining both elements within a taut, highly suspenseful story that pulled me into a new exciting universe full of characters that enthralled me.

Discretionaries are highly regulated, highly paid prostitutes/spies, think Mata Hari in a way.  They gather information, secrets from the people who employ them and turn that information over to their Guild for its own use.  They are bound to secrecy not just by their word but by a far more lethal instrument that insures their silence and loyalty.  They are highly trained, intelligent and of course, attractive beings.  What a great idea for a character, what imaginative possibilities exist for plots for such a creation.  I think I enjoyed speculating over Thanson’s job requirements as much as I did the world building that includes such a Guild in it.

In Discretion’s plot includes a  deadly virus gone wild, killers on the loose, a space station breaking apart, and two ex lovers reuniting under the worse possible circumstances, and somehow it not only works but is a  such a compelling piece of fiction that I couldn’t put it down. I am unfamiliar with the Ylendrian Empire novels, so I am not sure where this fits into that series, but this story will certainly send me running to read the other novels.  Reesa Herberth’s characters were intriguing, entertaining, and so nicely layered that I had not trouble at all in believing in them both.

As Thanson and Kaz proceed through the rapidly failing space station, fighting off infected virus produced killers at every turn, their intertwined past histories and old love is revealed. With bitterness, humor and a pain neither man has been able to discard no matter how many years have passed, Kaz and Thanson relive their first love and the events that separated them.  Between their memories and the heart pulsing excitement of being hunted through the station wreckage, Herberth builds a portrait of  two complicated men still in love but faced with the reality that neither might make it out alive.  It’s thrilling, it’s action packed and so rewarding at every level.  Had I been reading an actual book instead of my Kindle, you could have felt a breeze as the pages flew by.

Herberth ends her story as it realistically should, with the men deciding to try again for a future together.  With this ending, she leaves open the possibility that this couple can be revisited in another adventure just as action packed as this one.  I certainly hope that such a novel is in our future.

As I said before, I have not read any of the other books by this author or stories in the Ylendrian Empire series.  I intend to remedy that as soon as possible.  But this story can stand on its own legs, without the others to support it.  I highly recommend this story to all readers, lovers of science fiction and romance alike.  It has something for everyone.  Grab it up now and begin your adventure.

Cover Art by Simoné, http://www.dreamarian.com.  Just a gorgeous cover.  It will be on my Best of Covers for 2014.

Book Details:

ebook, 109 pages
Published December 30th 2013 by Riptide Publishing

Reesa Herberth’s In Discretion Blog Tour and Book Contest

InDiscretion_TourBanner
ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to welcome Reesa Herberth, author of In Discretion, a wonderful story in the Ylendrian Empire series.  She has brought with her a fun trivia contest (details included at the bottom of the post).
Good morning, Reesa!
Hello out there, humanoid creatures of above-average intelligence and taste.  I’m Reesa Herberth, and this fine establishment InDiscretion_150x300has seen fit to let me mingle with you on my release day!  I brought a party hat, a trivia contest, a silly interview, and a special, exclusive excerpt, just to thank you all.  I’m on tour all week, and you can check out my schedule here
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I’m running a trivia contest throughout the tour, with a winner to be drawn from the entries on Friday, January 10, 2014.  I’ll be giving away the winner’s choice of any e-book in my backlist, plus a reading gift pack featuring books and treats!  The contest is open to U.S. and International entrants.  In the event that a winner outside the U.S. is chosen, a gift certificate to Riptide Publishing or Amazon will be substituted for the physical prize.  To enter, email me the answers to the following trivia questions (answers to all questions can be found in In Discretion):
 
1.      What is the name of Thanson Nez’s father?
2.      Who is Tynna?
3.      What item did Thanson steal from Kazra the last time they saw one another?
 

All you need to do email me the answers to be entered to win.  I can’t promise I’ll be wearing the party hat when I reply, but if it makes you feel special, I can be talked into it.

I enjoyed this book so much that  I had a few questions for Reesa Herberth about the series.

 STRW: How many titles are there in this universe?

RH: There are three published books so far in the Ylendrian universe: The Balance of Silence (m/m, novella, aid worker finds mute man in the jungle on a hostile planet), The Slipstream Con (m/f/m, novel, married bounty hunters capture the con man they’ve hunted for 3 years and find themselves on the wrong side of a nanotech heist gone wrong), and In Discretion.
The fourth book, Peripheral People, (m/m, novel, Imperial law enforcement and psychic cops on the trail of a psychic serial killer) is due out this summer from Riptide Publishing.

STRW:Are there plans for more?

RH: We currently have plans for several more Ylendrian books, including sequels to The Slipstream Con and Peripheral People.

Thank you again, Reesa, for being here today!

About In Discretion:

InDiscretion_500x750Thanson Nez thought his career as a Discretionary would take him to the stars, not strand him on a space station at the ass-end of the Empire. Thanks to his last client, he’s carrying a secret he can’t get rid of fast enough, but his oath to the guild means a swift, painful death if he shares it. Already desperate for help, he runs into yet more trouble: his ex, and an explosion that paralyzes the station moments after their uncomfortable reunion.
Kazra Ferdow, Station 43’s communications officer, is almost as blindsided by the return of his first love as he is by the sudden loss of power and life support. The station is a floating graveyard in the making, and something is turning its inhabitants into savage killers. Fighting human monsters and damaged tech, Kazra and Thanson must put aside their past long enough to  try to save everyone.
The more light they shine into dark corners, the more Thanson realizes how many people might die for the secrets locked in his head—and what he’s willing to sacrifice to make sure Kazra isn’t one of them.
Buy Link here.
About the Author:
Reesa Herberth is the co-author (with Michelle Moore) of the Ylendrian Empire series.  She can often be found tweeting, blogging, and messing around onFacebook when she should be writing.  Likewise, she is easily distracted by the sound of new email, and encourages you to contact her atylendrianempire@gmail.com

Review: Mindscape by Tal Valante

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Mindscape_500x750History of family service in the Spavy meant that Shane Cawley was just continuing in the family tradition when he joined the Interstellar Navy.  But for Mark Sayre joining the Interstellar Navy meant money for his mother and brother, for food and rent. Plus Mark had another goal, that of keeping his little brother out of the colony mines that sent their father to an early grave. When the two men met on the spaceship Cyclopes, Shane is an officer to Mark’s enlisted status but their affection grew despite Spavy regulations against it.  Mark completes Officer Candidate School  so that Shane and Mark are now free to move forward with their love. A love made deeper by the Resonance, a joining of two minds so rare that the odds were in the millions against it.

Then intergalactic war breaks out, the Cyclopes attacks and one of the couple is captured by the enemy.  In the aftermath of war, can love and their Resonance survive, when one of their minds is shattered?

Tal Valante’s Mindscape is an inventive jumble of romance and time periods, flashbacks and present day events, all set in outer space.  We enter the story as Shane walks down the hallways of the Rigsby Psychiatric Ward.  He is there to see Mark, a returned POW whose mind is shattered by torture endured while in captivity.  As Shane tries to reach Mark’s mind, the narrative moves back and forth between their past and their present.  This format is a little confusing to start off with, but in a strange way it works.  Tal Valante’s story is formed around the nightmare landscape of Mark’s mind and Shane’s attempts to reach him inside that mental framework.  It is full of shards of memory so a jumbled, somewhat confusing format works within this situation.  It takes a while to get used to it but once it starts to feel as real as the broken mind that Shane is trying to heal.

There are so many wonderful aspects to this story.  The “mindscape” that Valante creates for Mark is as haunted, and harrowing a place as one would expect from a prisoner of war.  That is the part that feels the most immediate and alive in the story.  I also found Shane’s emotions and the details from the Psychiatric Ward to be as painful and emotionally intrusive as the author intended them to be.  Shane’s many attempts to enter Mark’s mind and the anguish with which each failed attempt is met is believable and human.  I thought the twists of the plot as Shane moves through the obstacles raised by Mark are ingenious and some of the best elements in the story.

Did I think there were some less effective aspects here? A few, that with additional length could have been readily solved.  I thought the author’s universe building interesting but lacking in details that would have given it more substance.  The enemy was telepathic, that we find out.  But what else made them attack?  What did they look like? Where is the history behind the war?  That would have been a great layer to add.  Also a huge deal is made of the Resonance, that rare joining/meeting of minds.  I felt that again we needed to “feel” more of the Resonance between Shane and Mark in order for it to become as real as the men did.  And finally, I wish we had been given a few more scenes of Mark and Shane’s earlier relationship so the devastation that Shane feels upon losing Mark and the Resonance between them (and their long term love affair) felt as authentically deep  as they told us it was as it is central to the story.

I love science fiction and can absolutely recommend Mindscape by Tal Valante to lovers of romance as well as science fiction.  It is an inventive story by an author I was not familiar with.  This book has remedied that fact and now I look forward to investigating more works Tal Valante, whose creative mind brought this story forth.

This is how it starts…..

The first time Shane enters the Rigsby Psychiatric Ward, the noise and smells slam into him like a fist to the solar plexus. The air reeks of some lemony disinfectant. Somewhere, someone is screeching a song, and from nearby comes the hissing of a man whose burned hands are being tended by a nurse. It’s all Shane can do not to throw up. The thought of Mark, of all people, being locked in this place . . .

He’s grateful when the head nurse comes out to meet him, if only because it gives him something else to focus on. She insists on giving him the third degree.

“Shane Cawley,” he answers. “From New Wyoming, yes . . . His name is Mark Sayre. With a Y . . . I’m his partner.” His Resonance partner, he doesn’t add. “Not married, no . . . Yes, I know about his condition.” And finally, “Can I see him now ?”

She leads him down a hallway, past a woman who laughs at him like a hyena, and into a small room with two beds. One is occupied by a man who is lying on his back and burping repeatedly. On the other bed, looking dazed and oh so out of place, is Mark.

Cover art by LC Chase.  What a superb cover.  One of the best of 2013.

Book Details:

book, 94 pages
Published December 23rd 2013 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN13 9781626490918
edition language English