Review: Rocking On by Emily Veinglory

Rating: 3.5 stars

It all started back in high school. Scott DeMaris and Bevin Stewart formed a band called Black Lam. Scott supplied the music and the motivation and Bevis wrote the lyrics and sang. Black Lam played locally with moderate success and everything was fine until Scott decided he wanted to be famous and the band was the ticket. Scott and Bevin were also high school lovers but being gay in a world of screaming girls fans was not going to cut it for Scott who went back into the closet. Bevin, dealing with the onset of a number of crippling disorders, told Scott he didn’t want to be famous and left both Scott and Black Lam. And the men parted not to be reunited for another 10 years.

Now Scott has returned and Bevin’s carefully ordered life he has assembled for himself is upended, his strict routine shattered. Scott wants Bevin to be his friend again. He is tired of the hangers on and the phonies surrounding him and wants Bevin back. Bevin likes his life. He owns a cafe shop and a small house. A strict regimen and regular visits with his therapist have helped to keep his agoraphobia and panic attacks under control, among other issues. And Scott back in his life puts all that at risk. Added to everything else, a closeted Scott wants to renew their relationship and that is something that an out gay Bevin won’t tolerate. He won’t be someone’s secret and being the hidden lover of a rock star is more than he can handle. But Scott won’t give up and Bevin realizes that his love for Scott is still there after all these years. How can two men makes their relationship work when love is not enough to keep them together.

In Rocking On Emily Veinglory has surely given us one of the more complex, damaged main characters that I have come across in Bevin Stewart. When we first meet Bevin sitting at his computer trying to decide if he wants to “friend” Scott on Facebook or not but is interrupted by a sound from the back of the house. He is trying to navigate through the rooms of his small house with difficulty. There seems to be clutter everywhere, items stacked on every possible surface of the house he lives in. And someone, Scott, is tapping on the backdoor wanting to come in. But napkins, and other restaurant goods are stacked against the walls and door and the only way in is through the front entrance. Just from this scene alone we are aware that Bevin has some issues, big ones. And as the story gains momentum, more and more of Bevin’s problems come forward. Bevin is an agoraphobic given to panic attacks, and he also seems to have hoarding tendencies to go along with the fears of crowds and tight places. Yet, he has acknowledged his problems and sought help with the assistance of a therapist he listens to. Bevin has also managed to own and run a successful small business and accumulate employees that respect him and in some cases are his friends. I liked Bevin immensely and wish the rest of the book and his lover were up to his high standards.

Part of my quibbles with this story come from Scott DeMaris, closeted rocker who wants Bevin back in his life but on his terms. He plows back into Bevis’ life with all the subtly of a runaway train and with just about the same effect as he starts to demolish Bevin’s carefully planned life. I think we are supposed to root for him as means to shake Bevin up and enlarge his world but instead I ended up more irritated than anything else. Scott reappears, shakes things up and then vanishes on tour without a note or phone call before appearing on Bevin’s doorstep yet again. Absent and feckless are two of the words Bevin uses to describe Scott. I can think of so many more and none of them flattering. Scott declares his love for Bevin but I never feel the truth of that statement. At one point the psychiatrist working with Bevin, tells him that Scott’s very unreliability maybe just the thing Bevin needs otherwise Bevin would rely too much on a lover who is constantly around and I am stunned by that. So if I get this right, better to have a so called lover you see intermittently than work on your issues of dependance? Gack. Most of the problems I have with Scott is that he seems to have no layering to him and he comes across as more of a one-dimensional character than Bevin does. The two men just do not balance each other out and that inequality effects the entire story.

There are several events within the story that are traumatic for Bevin and they come across so realistically that your heart beats fast and your stress levels rise along with Bevin. I wish that the drama and strength of these episodes would have been used to better effect within the narrative. At the end of the seeming endless chain of one night’s events that include abandonment on the side of the road and car accidents, I would anticipated them being used as a springboard to an epiphany or life change or something other than a medium regression to past behavior. Over and over again, I feel as though Bevin and the reader are being set up for something major and than nothing happens. Perhaps that is more realism in the way this story actually unfolds than this book can handle. What I do know is that the ending leaves me unsatisfied and feeling unsettled. I am not happy for Bevin in the end and he is such a great character that I should be as content as he purports to be as he goes off with Scott. I’m not and I don’t think you would be either. In fact, I would be scrambling to find the number for Match.com to hand to Bevin before he boards the plane. Bevin deserves much better and so do you.

Cover by Paul Richmond is dramatic and wonderful. Not a match for the book however.

Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars

All it took was one look at Deacon Winter putting Lucy Star through her paces in the workout ring for Carrick Francis to fall in love. At first Carrick, aka “Crick”, thought it was the horse he loved and the farm called The Pulpit where the horse lived. But it wasn’t long before the “little Mex kid” as his stepfather Bob called him, realized that the beautiful boy in the ring was his true and final love. Deacon Winter was everything that was fine as far as Crick was concerned. He was patient, beautiful with his green-hazel eyes and sun streaked blond hair. Deacon was also silent, being painfully shy. For Deacon hardly ever talked but when he did, Crick listened. When Deacon’s dad took Crick home one evening and realized how bad the situation was with Crick’s stepfather, Parrish Winter told Crick’s mom that he would be taking the boy every weekend to help at the farm. Those weekends became Crick’s salvation, and refuge as Crick’s stepfather became ever more abusive. Crick stayed only to protect his younger sister from Bob’s rage.

As the years flew by, Crick’s love for Deacon thrived and deepened. As did Deacon’s love for Crick, as everyone around them but Crick knew. Just when Crick was set to leave for college, Deacon’s father dies and Crick stays in Levee Oaks to help run The Pulpet with Deacon. The sexual tension between them grows to the breaking point and Deacon gives in to Crick’s advances with tragic consequences for both of them. Crick takes Deacon’s stunned behavior after they make love as a rejection and makes an impulsive decision that will haunt both of them for the rest of their lives. Deacon is actually just stunned to recognize the depths of the feelings that Crick has carried within him for Deacon all these years. When Deacon realizes that his hesitation has been taken as rejection he runs after Crick but it is too late. He is gone.

The loss of Crick almost destroys Deacon. The separation does the same for Crick, the two men left demoralized and despondent by one rash decision. But the men had also made a promise to each other. “I need you, like I want you. Always and forever. I want you like I love you. Always and forever. Consider that a promise.” Now if only the world will listen and let them make that promise a certainty.

Keeping Promise Rock is one of my all time favorite reads. It’s my “go to” book when I need comfort, it’s the book I grab when I need to revisit old friends, curled up on a long winter’s night. It’s the book I reach for when I want to lose myself in beloved universe, full of people I have come to love and events that take me one more time on an immensely satisfying roller coaster ride of emotions. There’s tears of joy to go with the heartbreak and overwhelming love to conquer the despair of the events within. How I cherish this book.

Amy Lane is a master of characterization and the people she has created for Keeping Promise Rock are as timeless as they are memorable. We meet both Deacon and Crick as teenagers and watch them mature into men dealing with the tumultuous events that life has thrown at them. And not once does it ever feel less than completely real. It’s not just the depth and dimension of each character that makes them so authentic, it’s their dialog too. I could have someone read a conversation from the book between Crick, Deacon, and Deacon’s friend, Jon to me and I would never be confused as to which “voice” I am hearing. In fact, most of the time I am so completely enveloped in the story that I am shocked to find that the hours have flown by as I read.

Amy Lane understands people so well that how her characters react to life’s roadblocks and misunderstandings comes across as being as true to life as possible. It doesn’t matter whether Deacon is reacting to Crick fighting in the high school hallway or a devastated Crick sitting at Deacon’s hospital bedside after a car accident, trying to find the courage to tell Deacon what he had done. Every circumstance the boys find themselves in is a place others would find familiar. There is bullying, both at home and at school. And being out and gay in a high school where tolerance is an issue along with the consequences that comes with trying to deal with the issues stemming from intolerance in the classroom and on the playing field. The author gives us parental abuse where there should have been love and support. And we see how growing up under those conditions will leave their mark on the person, both in behavior and trust.

With that foundation laid, then certain actions become not only understandable but relatable. Lane never lets us forget that her characters conduct or behavior stems from a source that has a basis in reality. The fact that life is unfair can be visited upon the unwary in so many ways and Amy Lane delivers that emotional moment to us time and again and never to less than shattering impact. But if Amy Lane is outstanding in delivering life’s blows and making us feel them along with her characters, she is also balances the pain they feel with life’s joys and successes. We celebrate as they do when life and love comes triumphantly together, knowing full well that the path getting to that point was as hard and tortuous as real life itself.

What can be better than this? With Amy Lane’s books we acknowledge life’s fleeting moments and their impact in peoples lives as well as those relationships that speak of permanence and the costs carried with them. We get insight into human interactions no matter the age through characters like Deacon, Crick, Benny, Jon, and many others we want to visit again and again. Luckily for us, Amy Lane feels the same way, as Keeping Promise Rock is the first in the Promise series. Start with Keeping Promise Rock and read them all. You will love them as much as I do.

Here is the Promises series in the order they were written and should be read to throughly understand the characters and the events mentioned:

Keeping Promise Rock (Promises #1)

Making Promises (Promises #2)

Living Promises (Promises #3)

Paul Richmond’s wonderful cover is perfect for the story within.

Review: Ranch Series by JL Langley

Rating: 5 stars for the series

We’ve looked at JL Langley’s wolf shifters and her Sci-Regency series, so let’s finish up back where I first started my love with all things JL Langley. And that would be with her cowboys which is fitting with an author who resides in Texas and has a state of imagination to equal it. Tomorrow I will be talking about why I love The Tin Star, the very first Langley book I read. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for cowboys. I think it come along with my love for horses and never left. I spent a summer as a junior wrangler at a dude ranch called Stupid Charlie’s in Colorado at the impressionable and yes, hormonal age of 15. And if I had had a dick, I would have had a raging woody all summer long from being in the middle of a crew of young,handsome (aren’t they all at that age wearing chaps and boots) cowboys more experienced than I was at that age. I fell in love with a bay horse named Senagita and a cowboy (all of 16) named Lane and wanted to take both of them home with me at the end of the summer. Needless to say, my folks said no to both. Aw shucks was I heartbroken, although I can’t begin to tell you whether it was over the loss of the horse or the boy. All I know is that I was inconsolable for the longest period of time until I found a local stable to hang out at, Susan a fellow hunter, and a horse we both loved called Tiptop. But I never stopped dreaming of cowboys and would go to the rodeo whenever it came to town (oh yes they did, even in DC).

JL Langley’s Ranch series gives me plenty of cowboys to love and hang out with, from Jamie and Ethan of The Tin Star to Grayson Hunter and Shane Cortez of The Broken H while bringing back so many fond memories of life on a ranch. As she does with all her series, she populated her Ranch books with characters flawed, human and still memorable, ones we give our hearts and affections to easily and completely. In addition to the cowboys, we also get wonderful idiosyncratic animals too. There is a horse named Spot who plays keep away and a female dog called Fred who steals each and every scene they are in. Gather them all together in a small town in Texas surrounded by family and friends who comes across as equally authentic and realistic as the main characters and you have a series that will mean as much to you as your first cowboy hat and boots.

The Tin Star (Ranch Series #1) stars Jamie Killian as the youngest son of Jacob Killian of the Quadruple J and Ethan Whitehall, owner of The Tin Star ranch. The Quad J borders The Tin Star and the two families have been intertwined their entire lives. John, Jamie’s older brother has been Ethan’s best friend so as long as they can remember, even going off to college together. And hopes had run high between the two fathers that one of the Whitehall boys would marry Julia, the Killian sister and bring the ranches together. But Ethan’s brother was killed overseas on a tour of duty and Ethan, well, Ethan found out he was gay, something the older Killians were fine with but that Jamie never knew. Until Jamie comes out to his father and is kicked off the ranch he thought he would never leave. When Ethan offers Jamie sanctuary and tells Jamie that he is gay as well, then the sparks really begin to fly as Jamie has harbored a crush on Ethan from the moment he knew he liked boys instead of girls.

Ethan has always been circumspect about his sexuality, neither hiding it or rubbing it in the face of their conservative town folk. But when Jamie comes to the ranch to live, Ethan finds not only a friend but a lover for life in the form of his best friend’s brother. But the sparks of hate are flying in town too. Former ranch hands are looking to get even with Ethan for being fired and homophobia presents itself as stores won’t sell grain to the newly outed Ethan. Langley makes us feel the hatred rising off Jacob Killian and other townspeople so far gone in their homophobia that all reason and humanity becomes lost. But where there is the worst of human beings on display, JL Langley is quick to show that others can come forward with their tolerance, and objectivity to welcome Ethan into the town’s fold, and Jamie too no matter their sexuality. Powerful stuff made real by Ethan and Jamie’s situation as they work towards a loving relationship and a future together. Great story, great characters, great book.

The Broken H involves several of the people we meet in The Tin Star. Grayson Hunter was one of the sheriff’s investigation the crimes of hate on The Tin Star. The Broken H is Gray’s family ranch, owned by his parents and run by Shane Cortez. Shane Cortez had been brought onto The Broken H by Gray’s father when Shane was a young boy. Gray never knew the entire story but accepted Shane’s presence and was soon following him around everywhere, a clear case of puppy love. But then one summer changed everything between the two men and Gray left the ranch and went to college. His parents knew something had happened but never pushed either boy for answers. Now Gray has returned to town and accepted a job in the Sheriff’s office. It also means a return to his family, The Broken H, and to face the man he ran away from all those years ago, Lovers reuniting after time spent apart draws me like a moth to a flame and JL Langley’s treatment of this theme will push all your buttons if you love it too. There is misunderstandings, and one person trying to protect the other, and above all a deep abiding love between the two men involved. That’s just so wonderful.

And lurking just behind all of this is the theme of the awful price GLBTQ youth pay for coming out to those who mean the most and won’t accept them, their families. Over and over gay youth are kicked out of homes and families due to hatred concerning their sexuality. Some survive when others intervene, some do whatever they can to exist on the streets, and some just don’t make it. The plight of gay youth discarded because of who they love is brought home more forcibly when characters we have come to love have the same backstory as they do and we feel what they have gone through by the power of an author’s writing. We see Ethan, Jamie, John, Aunt Margaret and many of the other townspeople we came to care for in the previous book and we get a glimpse of a possible couple that people want to see united. That would be John and Royal. JL Langley has put the cut pages from the book on her website and they will make you want more, so much more of John and Royal. She tends to do that with her peripheral characters because they are bursting with life as much as the main couples to our continued appreciation and joy.

The Christmas Tree Bargain is the third story in the series. It was published as a stocking stuffer by Loose id. A heartwarming short story, it brings together all the cast of characters from the two novels at Christmas time. We get to catch up in their lives on a very special occasion. This story is not to be missed if you love the other two as much as I do.

So there you have it, the Ranch series by JL Langley. Her fans have been screaming for more, especially John and Royal’s story but so far to no avail. She says she’s busy with Sterling and Rhys, Trouble and Rexley, and Bannon and Lord Demon among others. Since I want all those stories too I wouldn’t think of interrupting her. If they start speaking to her, I know she will listen, eventually. I’m good with that. I have these books and all the rest to reread until a new one comes out. Pick out a series and start from the beginning and I know you will feel the same.

Review of Unconventional at Best Anthology

Rating: 3.5 stars

Unconventional at Best is an anthology from six authors of stories featuring romance in and around conventions. GayRomLit convention last year provided the inspiration for this selection of stories by Carol Lynne, TA Chase, Amber Kell, Jambrea Jo Jones, Stephani Hecht, and Devon Rhodes. The stories run the gamut of lovers reunited, best friends to lovers, alien love, geek love, confectionary love and love among tops and it all occurs at a convention.

I found this anthology to be a fifty fifty proposition. Out of 6 stories,only three kept me completely entertained, staying with me once I was done with the anthology. The others remained just nice stories, forgotten as soon as I put them down.

Here are the ones that stayed with me. I think they are just wonderful stories.

‘Ninja Cupcakes’ by T.A. Chase

Ethan Gallagher is a baker of very special talents. His cupcakes are not only delicious confections but when certain ingredients are added, downright magical. When Ethan and his business partner agree to supply the desserts for his brother’s sci-fi convention, it presents the perfect opportunity for Ethan’s floury confections to work their particular magic on certain participants, including an astrophysicist Ethan has been corresponding with for four years. With just the right timing and the special ingredients, Ethan bakes cupcakes that insure that love is in the air or desserts. Or perhaps we should say Ethan insures that everyone gets their just desserts!

This is a delicious little story. I have always found that cooking, or in this case baking, and magic were natural combinations. T.A. Chase does a terrific job of doing just that in Ninja Cupcakes. From that great title to Chase’s wonderful characters, I just loved this story and wished to see them all again once I was done. This is fun, frothy and still is grounded in realistic characters that capture your hearts. Ethan and Callum were an especially endearing couple. I wish I had their story, complete with how they first met, and what happening to each of them during their four year correspondence.T.A Chase, this would make a wonderful story. Just saying.

‘Operation: Get Spencer’ by Jambrea Jo Jones:

“Even if superpowers were real, Benjamin still might not get his man.” Good friends Benjamin and Spencer are spending the day at Comic-Con, something Spencer has always wanted to do. Benjamin has a surprise for Spencer to go with their day at Comic-Con. Benjamin intends to tell his friend that he is in love with him and decides the convention is the perfect time to reveal it. The problem? Spencer believes Benjamin is straight and with good reason as Benjamin has told everyone he is straight over and over again. But Ben hopes that a convention where everything is possible is the perfect place to make Spencer believe in his love.

Friends to lovers and gay for you, both happen here in this story about sexuality, perceptions and fear of change. Jones takes two completely recognizable characters and brings them together at Comic-Con for her story of friends and lovers. Ben has been so busy denying that he is gay that everyone believes Ben is straight even if Ben no longer believes it himself. His best friend Spencer is gay and they have always done everything together. But recently Ben has discovered that his feelings for Spencer go beyond friendship and into romantic love, but how to tell his best friend?

Jambrea Jo Jones makes us laugh and sympathize with Ben and Spencer throughout it all. From Ben’s mishaps, missteps and outright screwing up his announcement, we are still on his side and hope he gets his man. Spencer is authentically confused about Ben’s change of heart regarding his sexuality, we understand his point of view as well. He doesn’t want to mess up his relationship with his best friend, his confidant, and we get that too. Somehow it all comes together in a satisfying end back where they started it all – Comic-con.

‘Fan-Tastic’ by Stephani Hecht

“Everybody knows the best lovers are geeks.” The setting this time is the annual Comic Book and Horror Convention. Here Deke Masters, a well-known actor in a zombie TV show is ordered to appear on a panel for his show. Also in attendance is Blake Tallision. Blake is trying to sell his comic book Star Cats and other items that he has been working on so hard. Blake also has a crush on Deke going back to their school days. Even then Deke was a star and Blake the nerd hiding in the shadows of the stage. To Blake’s amazement, Deke is a fan of Star Cats. The convention turns out to be the perfect stage for a romance neither saw coming.

This was my favorite story of the anthology. In Deke Masters and Blake Tallision author Hecht gives us characters worth cheering for. Blake is an especially memorable one. In pursuit of his art, he has starved himself, living in the basement of his abusive mother’s home, almost despairing of making it. Blake was so real I could see his skeletal frame and intense features. His vulnerability drew me in and kept me there. Deke also came across a fully realized human being, a guy who has worked to get where he is now but misses being wanted for just himself. While Blake wants nothing more than to be noticed by Deke, when that happens, Blake is believably wary and insecure, not seeing himself as others do. Deke is perfect for him, the normal guy who just happens to be a tv star, he understands Blake’s struggle because he was once at that stage himself. Everything about this story from the dialog to the characters just cried out for a larger version, especially to delve further into the relationship between Blake and his mother who had a secret she was hiding from him. Great job.

Review of Word Play – A Story Orgy Anthology

Rating: 4 stars

Word Play is the first collection by a wonderful group of authors who post serial stories under the collective name Story Orgy. Lee Brazil, Em Woods, J. R. Boyd, Havan Fellows, and Hank Edwards give us novella length stories of love and relationships from the first throes of passion and discovery to an old loves lost and then renewed.

Harper’s Discovery by Em Woods is the story of Harper Evans journey from betrayed boyfriend to a man happy with a new love and new life as Pitt’s sub with some remarkable stops along the way.

Wicked Reflections by Hank Edwards is a supernatural mystery story that will keep you on edge even as our hero finds time for romance.

Harlan’s Ryde by Havan Fellows brings us the story of Ryder and Harlan’s last chance at love after Ryder threw it away in a moment of insecurity and self destruction.

Off The Beaten Path by J. R. Boyd shows us best friends Mitch Sterling and Colby Merritt on a jaunt in the country that brings them revelations about their relationship and their sexuality.

The Park At Sunrise by Lee Brazil is a heart wrenching story of love lost and those left behind. What happens when a threesome is reduced to two? Can a love survive the loss of a partner?

This is a remarkable collection of stories by a group of authors I have come to admire. Their Story Orgy Mondays was my first introduction to all of them. I eagerly awaited for Monday to come around so I could see a new installment on stories I was following from each author as they linked all their stories together. Follow one, follow them all. So imagine my joy when I found out that they were publishing their stories in one volume (now several) so I could have them at my finger tips at a moments notice. And what a diverse group of stories these are. A real smorgasbord of love from every angle and a couple of kinks. And while I enjoyed them all, I will admit to having some favorites.

Harper’s Discovery by Em Woods introduces us to Harper Evans just as he is dumping his cheating boyfriend, a long overdue event as far as Pitt Mullen is concerned. Pitts has been waiting for Harper to get up his resolve and get rid of someone not worthy of him. Of course, Pitt is ready to step in and make Harper his own in every way, including being the submissive to his Dom. As someone not in the lifestyle, I have no idea whether their D/s relationship is accurate but I do know that the men come across as real people trying to find a base upon which to build a mutually satisfactory relationship, one that includes love and respect. Add to this a side story involving a young man in need of a kidney transplant and you have a story you will love even if D/s is not your typical read.

Wicked Reflections by Hank Edwards was one story that should not be read at bedtime. He kept me up all night with nightmares reliving scenes from this book. When Kirk Stanford moves into his new house, the real estate agent had left some things out before selling the house to Kirk, including the fact that the previous owner was murdered upstairs in the master bathroom. Now ghostly warnings appear written on the steamed surface of the mirror in the bathroom. And different men start to enter Kirk’s life from Alan, his new neighbor next door, Lance Hawthorne, a detective looking into the death of the previous owner, and Damon Swain, a local librarian helping Kirk research his new residence. Little by little, scene by scene Hank Edwards starts ramping up the anxiety level of the reader as more facts are revealed about Kirk’s new house, as more warnings are left by the ghost, and everyone becomes a possible suspect. Like Kirk, you have no idea who to trust, and who will turn out to be the bad guy. And those last pages? Had me biting my nails and making sure my doors and windows were locked. Edwards keeps all the balls up in the air as he juggles his thriller scenario with hot sexy scenes between Kirk and his new acquaintenances. Kirk is a bit of a slut which just gives us another dimension to his character. You will love this story, the plot will make you scream. Just read it during the daylight hours, ok?

Harlan’s Ryde by Havan Fellows. OK, I just loved this story. It has it all. Humor, great characterizations and two great sequels. This is the first in the Synchronous Seductions Trilogy. Read my review of all three here.

Off The Beaten Path by J. R. Boyd is a wonderful story of two friends and business partners realizing that they have come to mean much more to each other than they have admitted to. One day Colby Merritt and Mitch Sterling take a drive to scope out new projects/jobs for their landscaping business. Friends for 24 years, a chance dip in a pond on a hot Texas day gives Colby the opportunity to show Mitch how he has always felt about him and what better time than when both are half naked and dripping wet. Boyd’s vivid descriptions makes us feel that hot Texas heat and the delights of a summer pond. Then give us two old friends who have buried their attraction to each other in the name of that friendship and the moment explodes with sexual fireworks and revelations of long hidden sexuality. Did I say hot? Hot on every level. A coming out story done with humor and heat, what’s not to love?

The Park At Sunset by Lee Brazil. Heartbreaking, just heartbreaking, but in a wonderful way. This story will resonate with anyone with a lost love in their past. Thirty two year old Morgan shows up at the bench by the beach and is overwhelmed by memories of a love he had lost. Joining him is Jason, an artist and his former lover. Jason sent Mason a painting that has brought them back together after a long separation. The cause? The death of their lover, Paul. They were once of happy threesome but the loss of one has meant the loss of all. Now sitting on a bench on a beach full of memories, they relive their past, examine their present lives in hopes of finding a way back to each other. Brazil makes their pain palpable, their loss of Paul and each other gut wrenching as their emotions flow and the memories of what was lost comes back. These men touch us in every way. We identify with them and their have our complete empathy. And when the story comes to an end, you will be smiling through tears at a love reclaimed.

Don’t pass this anthology by. If you are unfamiliar with these authors, it is a great introduction. If you love their works, read these stories and remember why.

Cover artist Victoria Miller has created a hot sexy cover for Word Play. Great design with easily read fonts. Great job.

Available through Breathless Press , Amazon, and All Romance eBooks.

Three Fates by Andrew Grey, Mary Calmes and Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars

The Fates sit, spin and weave the fabric of all human life. Some people’s threads are guided to the path of true love, some are lucky in love and life while others have their lives or threads cut short, their loves lost , while others still have waited many lifetimes to find their true love again. All human life woven into a tapestry by the Fates with some surprising and unexpected results, even to the Fates themselves. Three Fates weave the stories of three very different couples, from werewolves in Germany to Scandinavians in California.

Fate Delivers A Prince by Andrew Grey gives us a young werewolf with a terrible itch who visits Germany with his family only to run into a prince who takes his royal duties very seriously. Only an intervention by Clotho will put these two on a path to love.

Jump by Mary Calmes brings us into the lives of Egyptian gods and the Fates. When one god loses his mortal lover, he renounces his immortality and dies. Bereft his brother God begs the Fates interference to bring the two together again, no matter how many lives each must live before they find each other again.

Believed You Were Lucky by Amy Lane stars Loki and Thor as the Nordic gods whose meddling changes the patterns of two families, giving one the abundance of luck after stealing the luck from another. When Lief, the lucky bike messenger saves the life of Hacon, who is laboring under a family curse, the Fates have a chance to right a wrong as the Gods look on.

What a remarkable trio of stories by three amazing authors. In each story, the Fates weave out the pattern of peoples lives but things never go as planned, not without a little interference by the weavers themselves. If you have ever heard someone say “well, it must have been fate” and you believed it, then these stories are for you.

In Andrew Grey’s story, he brings the Greek Gods, or rather Clotho , the youngest of the Moirai or Fates to help two young lovers accept their destiny. Clotho is responsible for making decisions, weaving the human story. When it looks like Cheyanne the young were is going to listen to his insecurities and poor self image instead of attending the ball, Clotho sends the appropriate dress and instructions to send him to the ball and a meeting with his prince. Chey is young endearing young man, whose position in the family as the baby plus an undiagnosed skin disease has turned him into someone who craves a library and books over human interaction and society. The descriptions of Chey interactions with his father were so touching and had that authentic feel of a father and son trying to navigate their issues with each other. In fact all the relationships here feel very real whether it is family dynamics or odd man out at the ball. Reading this story gave me the feeling of being there watching it all unfold. Andrew Grey gives us a great sense of setting with his descriptions of the buildings and streets in Munich, Germany combined with terrific characterizations.And the idea that love is an itch you must scratch as well as the balm? Priceless. And so is this gentle tale of love and a forever prince from Andrew Grey.

Anubis and Horus come to life in this touching tale of love lost and centuries later found once more. Haven’t you ever looked at someone and sensed an immediate connection beyond all logic? I did and let the moment and the person go by to my everlasting regret. So this story had a special resonance for me. When Raza and Cassidy meet and seem to know one another, I almost wept so right did Mary Calmes get that feeling, that moment in time. And the character of Cassidy Jane is someone I have never seen from her before. Short, skinny, bald and wearer of bowties! I kept thinking where did you come from? And I loved him! And Raza, seemingly implacable until Fate smacks him in the chest in the form of Cass and they put right what went horribly wrong so long ago. But this is a Mary Calmes story, so you have two lovable and oh so human best friends for our two main characters, Snow Drake and Jamie Kidd. I loved them too. And there is angst, and anxiety towards the end that it will all go wrong again but the Fates have other ideas, and so does Anubis. That climatic scene at the end? Scary and fun? Ah, Mary Calmes, you did it again. This was wonderful. I so love Cass! Can we please see all of these people again?

Our third and last weaver of human destiny is Amy Lane. Here she invokes the Gods of Asgard and the Fates called Verdandi (neccessity), Urdh(fate), and Skuld (being). Here the Fates or Norns, also known as the three sisters, live under the world tree,Yggdrasil, in the realm of Asgard. They weave together the destinies of men and gods as well as the changing laws of the cosmos. Their tapestry was interrupted, the pattern broken when Loki comes and steals a golden thread of luck from one baby and gives it to another. The Fates are horrified at Loki’s act, Skuld takes the broken threads and spit splices them together as best she can. This results in “The family with the thread, they shall be lucky, long-lived, and blessed—mostly. And the family without? They shall be unlucky and doomed—but optimistic and intelligent and resourceful.” A temporary fix until a solution comes around in the form of sons from each family that meet and heal the break in their destinies in a most extraordinary way. Here we meet two of the most remarkable creations, two sons of Norway residing in California, undeniable in their uniqueness and depth of character. Lief, the lucky “Thundergod” of bike messengers glows his way off the pages and into our hearts, his personality larger than can be contained within this story. Hacon Haldor aka Hake took a little longer to creep into my heart. Dark, thin, brooding, he can kill tanks of tropical fish by freezing them and make his mother’s plants turn black as he passes, although he doesn’t really believe he is to blame no matter what his ex boyfriend and brother says. Flanking these remarkable beings are Lethal, a pint sized bit of attitude and energy who is Lief’s best friend, Andre who is Hake’s ex boyfriend and cop, and two unforgettable cats, Loki (of course) and Vanir who have their own roles to play. Element upon element, layer upon layer, the yarn Amy Lane has woven intertwines until we are given a story tremendous in scope, as large as Asgard itself. We have mythological elements, the scary world of bike messengers, marvelous explanations of the meaning of stories and hero figures, knitting, and some of the best cussing phraseology that has come down the pike. I am talking some memorable wall hangings and cross stitch pillows just screaming out to be made with those phrases in mind. And no I cannot repeat them here. You will have to read the story! Uh hem.

I loved these stories. They spoke to my mind and my heart. Clearly these wonderful authors were fated to write them as we are to read them, enjoy them and bring them close. Don’t pass these by, don’t give Loki a reason to make more mischief (like he needs any). Whether you believe in Fate or happenstance, these stories are for you. No quibbles here. Trust me. You’ll love them.

Cover art by Christine Griffin. Love it. What a great sexy cover. Amy Lane says she is the Fate in the hoodie. Of course she is. So who do you think are the other two?

Review of An Honorable Man by Edward Kendricks

A Happy Fourth of July to everyone from the United States, no matter where you might be right now. And to all of those people still without power here in MD, VA and DC, my thoughts are with you, I know exactly how hot, how frustrated and how desperate you are feeling. I was there. I hope with all my heart this day finds you with your power back on, your bodies cooling off, and your minds and hearts feeling replenished.

Rating: 3.75 stars

Paxton Boyle and his twin boys are out rock hunting when they run across a human bone, a find that causes Pax to switch from father mode to forensic scientist and call in the police. One bone leads to another and before long an entire skeleton has been unearthed and sent to Paxton’s lab. As Paxton works to establish identity, one thing is immediately clear, the person was murdered. Then the cadaver dog and its handler turns up more bones, and then another. And the race is on to find a serial killer before they strike again.

And as Pax’s work hours lengthen, he must find someone to watch his boys after school and on the weekends he is working. Pax’s wife walked out of them 2 years ago and with his housekeeper’s daughter expecting her first child, he turns to Jordan Leonard, the boys schoolteacher and friend. Pax and Jordan have established an uneasy friendship since the Boyle family returned to town. Years ago, Pax and Jordy were lovers in college, happy until Pax’s father broke them up by forcing Pax to marry a business partner’s daughter in a merger of families and businesses. A heartbroken Jordy left college immediately and Pax had not seen him since their bitter parting until Pax, Jenny and the kids returned to their home town.

Pax and Jordan still have feelings for each other but Pax is an honorable man and still considers himself married, despite Jenny’s absence. And for Jordan, Pax’s betrayal of their love still hurts after all this time. As more and more bodies are found, Pax’s longer hours bring Jordan closer into their family circle and their attraction to each others gets stronger. How much longer will Pax be able to keep to his promises to stay an honorable man?

Edward Kendricks did a wonderful job of weaving the story of a past love rekindled with a forensic tale of murder. He skillfully builds the anticipation and interest as first Pax and his boys (what charmers) find the first bone on a rock hunt. Then as more skeletons are unearthed, it becomes clear that the police and Pax’s forensic unit have a serial killer on their hands. Theories are bandied about and clues discovered as the story continues, spending as much time in Pax’s lab or with the police officers hunting the killer as it does with the romance of Pax and Jordan. I liked this technique but for others it might take too much time away from the love story of the two main characters. Kendricks does tie the two together in a neat twist that I loved, plus I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of the book.

The love story, I think I had more problems with that section of the plot. I did get the part where Pax was not brave enough and perhaps old enough to stand up to his father when the and Jordy first got together. But Kendricks didn’t give me enough of the mature Pax’s feelings about Jordy to make their sudden romance entirely believable. Same for Jordan, a character I really enjoyed. Jordan left that college he attended with Pax for another, completed his degrees and came home to teach, his bitterness over Pax’s cowardliness still very much alive years later. But the author tells us they have become friends since being reunited at a parent/teacher conference but gives us little evidence except for the fact that Pax leaves the boys in Jordy’s care when necessary. Neither man has ever talked about their previous affair nor is neither man out to the community. This is not a “gay for you” story as both men are definitely gay from the start. But both Pax and Jordy seemed lacking a few layers to make both men totally believable in the context of the story. Who did I believe in? The boys. I loved Denny and Danny. With spot on dialog and wonderful characteristics, Kendricks needs to make those boys the main characters of a series of YA novels. They would be a hit! With their passion for rocks and bones, especially fossils, those 12 year olds were easily the most authentic personas here and maybe this generation’s Hardy Boys.

And that leaves me with the ending that had far too many loose ends. I hesitate to tell you what exactly remained unfinished as that enters spoiler territory and perhaps Edward Kendricks plans a sequel to finish the mystery he started here. All good mysteries have the same basic elements: who, what, when, where and why. Not all those questions are answered leaving this reader a tad frustrated. AT 143 pages (story alone), the ending came with a rush, which was surprising considering the time the author took getting us to that point. I think you will feel a little shortchanged by this story, I know I did. But the parts that irked me are balanced by the portions that kept me enthralled and totally entertained. And that’s enough for me to give this a recommendation.

Cover: Reese Dante was the cover artist. The cover is great, it contains all the elements of the story in an appealing design.

Review of Second Time Lucky by Ethan Day

Rating: 5 stars

Luke Landon is spending his birthday by himself, drinking and watching all his ex boyfriends pass by him at the bar, all seemingly happy without him. As the idea of another drink gets a happy internal hell yes, he hears a voice behind him saying the words, “Put your clothes back on and get back into your vehicle. The park has now closed.” It’s Owen West, back in his life after fifteen years apart. Their romance in college was so hot, so all encompassing they thought it would never end until it did, neither of them really understanding why. But now Owen is here on his birthday and they get a second chance at love, a second chance to get it right whether it be luck or fate, if they are smart enough to take the chance.

Second Time Lucky reminds me almost immediately why Ethan Day is a must read author for me. I never think of the personas he creates for his stories as characters, more like people I love listening to and spending time with. You know, that one friend we are always on the phone with or going out to the bar with them, listening and laughing until our stomachs hurt. Those are Ethan Day people. And Luke Landon is another memorable Ethan Day person. I was grinning with anticipation as I started to read Luke’s inner running commentary on his parade of exes at the bar. After perusing a guy with whom he had a diasterous date, Luke thinks “Don’t expect a happily-ever-after when you accidently break a man’s masturbation hand—life lesson learned.” Or

“Usually, gay men stayed on the same cycle—similar to the menstrual variety in that we did our best to avoid the achy cramps that came with running into our past failures. We instinctively knew what nights and times to avoid certain bars. It was something we normally didn’t have to work at.The same way the moon orbits the earth which in turn does the same with regard to the sun, we managed to avoid one another without needing to consciously think.” That’s pure Ethan Day. Funny, sarcastic, a little twisted and totally true. I could quote him all day.

Told from Luke’s pov, we are privy to all the inner workings of Luke’s mind and heart, a complicated duo if ever there was. Luke’s upbringing and current status with his mother make romantic relationships a hard sell. With three gay ex husbands behind her, Luke’s mother is not exactly a warm and supportive mother, and Luke’s abandonment by his father is an issue still impacting his relationships, whether he acknowledges that fact or not. Mostly not. Everything about Luke, from his pride in his work and his loyalty to his friends, makes him someone it is easy to empathize with and understand. And his constant inner monologue with all his insecurities front and center bubbles to the surface of each page, buoyant on its own effervescence, until it spills over everything in its path, covering all the events with a Lukas perspective, even Owen West. I really liked Owen West, a steady, good person with his own issues. I could also get behind his frustrations with Luke even as he understood the basis for Luke’s actions. Yes, Owen West feels like a real person too. So do all the characters in Second Time Lucky. I don’t need to talk about depth and dimension because it is unnecessary. They are that real, that authentic.

Ethan Day also has a wonderful way with settings, from Missoula, Montana and Owen’s family ranch to Middleton where Luke works and lives, it all comes to life with Day’s vivid details and small deft touches. Second Time Lucky is that complete package, full of laughter, outright guffaws, love and as with life, heartbreaking sobs and tears. Have your box of tissues handy. At one point in the story, a sudden occurrence hits Luke and the reader at the same time with the same impact. My heart hurts just thinking about it now. Everything is tied up in a wonderful ending, that will send you back to the beginning of the story to start reading it all over again. No quibbles here, not even a twinge. Trust me, you will love this one. I know I did. Great job, great story!

Cover: Cover by Winterheart Designs. Very eye catching, very flashy. Not sure how I feel about it, perhaps a little divided. From one standpoint I say, yes, that’s Lucky but under all that glitz is a man with depth. Where is that man on the cover?

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