Tag: m/m contemporary fiction

Review of Acceleration (Impulse #2) by Amelia C. Gormley

Rating: 5 stars

Acceleration book coverQuiet, down-to-earth Detroit handyman Derrick Chance is still adjusting to the fact that he has a boyfriend.  Gavin Hayes is a wonder to him.  Gavin is gorgeous, loving, outgoing with tons of friends and a job he loves.  True, Gavin comes with an ex-boyfriend with a hideous outlook on AIDS/HIV who not only raped Gavin but maybe even gave him the AIDS virus too. Derrick tries not to dwell on this side of his new lover but inside him a small voice reminds him that everyone leaves Derrick and Gavin will too if his tests turn out to be positive.  Not a good thing to hide from his lover.

Gavin is a wonderful and inventive lover.  Derrick appreciates that because as a virginal 30 year old, he had no frame of reference to work with.  But Gavin is happy to teach him things about himself through sex and their sex life couldn’t be better.  Now if only Gavin and Derrick could say the same about the other areas of their burgeoning relationship.  A life of caring for his ailing grandparents has left Derrick almost completely nonverbal.  He has no idea how to share his inner thoughts and parts of himself with Gavin and Gavin is getting increasingly frustrated with him.  Gavin has shared everything about himself with Derrick and expects Derrick to do the same, to Derrick’s consternation and horror.

After his last partner, Gavin never again wants to have a partner who won’t share everything about himself with Gavin.  Gavin needs someone who will be open about himself and there for Gavin when he needs them. And Gavin thought that Derrick was that man but he can’t seem to get Derrick to open up and share himself with Gavin, no matter what  Gavin has tried.  Derrick has had so little control in his life, that when his grandparents died and he regained his life and life choices, he finds himself unable to give that control up to anyone, except maybe in bed.  But the thought of letting Gavin into his life, into areas where he is vulnerable, areas he has kept sealed off, well Derrick is not sure if he even wants to try.  To keep their relationship accelerating and their newfound love alive, can Gavin and Derrick adjust enough,compromise enough to be  the man each other wants and needs.

I had wondered how Amelia C. Gormley was going to follow up her wonderful first novel, Inertia (Impulse #1).  If her characters would continue to keep me absorbed in their story and the momentum that was building to a meaningful relationship.  Well, I shouldn’t have worried, Acceleration (Impulse #2) is a wonder of a novel all on its own and an marvelous sequel to a book I loved.

Gormley has given us two magnetic and endearing characters as the foundations to her stories.  Derrick Chance is especially captivating.  He has so many unexpected facets to his personality that it just amazes me as each new one is revealed.  Here is a man arrested emotionally and socially at an early age.  Through the deaths of every important person to him, his parents, his maternal grandmother and grandfather, then his only brother and finally his other grandparents, from the youngest age he has submerged his wants, his very socialization to care for his family, spending much of his adolescence and teenage years in hospitals and then through sleepless nights at home.  And finally at the age of 30, he starts to look outward from his isolated life in his grandparents house and finds Gavin.  Oh my, what an incredible journey Gormley has set Derrick and the reader on….no less than the blooming inner and outer life of a closed off individual.  Then she partners him off with Gavin Hayes, a man equally complex who carries with him a backstory of pain, abuse, and insecurity.

Gavin is a sexually aggressive man who has been made to feel embarrassed and ashamed about his need for a little pain and roughness in his lovemaking.  When Derrick and Gavin come together sexually for the first time, it is a restrained affair.  Derrick is a virgin and awkward in his lack of knowledge.  Gavin is possibly HIV positive, he is awaiting his results of his test.  The virus would have been transmitted by his exboyfriend on purpose, a fact that devastated Gavin and left him reeling emotionally. So you can well imagine what a tentative affair that should have been, but like everything  else in these books what came next surprised, delighted, was incredibly hot and demonstrated how the author intended to go about her compelling tale of love and growth.

Acceleration sees an “quickening” to their sexual life and what a life that is turning out to be.  Gavin and Derrick are venturing into bdsm and adding  pain to the mixture of dominance and submission. As a reader, let me say that this is not something I normally would read, nor am I knowledgeable about the lifestyle but Gormley makes their forays into bdsm completely understandable, especially given their  personalities and background. If this makes you uncomfortable, let me say that it is related in a way that not only makes sense for the characters and fits in easily with their story, which is the relationship growing between these two remarkable men. Don’t let that keep you away from this marvelous series.

Do not expect caterwauling angst or scenes of high drama, that would be out of character for both Gavin and Derrick.  No, what we are given is a realistic look at the bonds and relationship dynamics of two very different men who have fallen in love.  It is clear that love is not going to be enough to make this partnership succeed, the men have been through too much for that to happen and feel authentic.  Instead we get the normal fights any couple gets into, over communication issues, and how to meld friends and lives.  All wonderfully normal and yet in Gormley’s hands, still very exciting, full of doubts and anxiety of their future together.

As the title  states, here we have the relationship as it accelerates into  unknown waters of commitment and long term planning.  Gavin’s boyfriend returns briefly in this book, in a funny episode that shows how deep are the still waters that exist within our wonderful Derrick.  How I loved that scene.  There are so many more great scenes I could relate but I feel that would take the joy of discovery away from the reader, and this is so good, I cannot bear to have that happen.  Gormley gets it all right in her Impulse series, from the characterizations to the unique “voices” she has created for two men that capture our hearts and imaginations.  When Acceleration ended, all I could think of what, “ok, what happens next?”.  I want to know where our guys go from here?  At the end of this book, they have made a commitment to a major change in their lives but there are some powerful elements stirring, one especially is fraught with danger for Derrick, who in his complete innocence, doesn’t begin to understand the hate behind homophobia.

S o run, don’t walk to the computer and grab up this eBook for yourself.  If you are new to this trilogy, go to the beginning and start with Inertia (Impluse #1) and then move on to this one.  This series is one of my best for 2012 and the author quickly adding herself to my must buy list. You won’t be sorry, I promise you.

Love this cover by Kerry Chin. Dramatic,  erotic, just perfect.

This is the Impulse trilogy in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and the events within:

Inertia (Impulse #1) read my review here.

Acceleration (Impulse #2)

Review: The Journal of Sanctuary One (Sanctuary #6) by RJ Scott

Rating: 5 stars

The Journal of Sanctuary OneJake Callahan was looking forward to spending time with his brother, Hayden and his boyfriend up at their cabin for Christmas.  It had been an extremely tough year for everyone who worked at Sanctuary, the secret organization devoted to keeping witnesses  and other “vulnerables” safe when the alphabet organizations (CIA, FBI etc) couldn’t.  Sanctuary operatives were still trying to close down the Bullen case as there were files still to be encrypted and a few criminals left to round up.  Still, this time of year was special to Jake and he needs it now more than ever as the betrayal by exFBI agent Sean Hanson was as painful as the day he first learned that Sean was working for Bullen. Now all Jake wants is some peace and time with his brother but Mother Nature is making that impossible.  The northeast corridor is being blanketed by a snow storm, Hayden is stuck in New York  City with his boyfriend Beckett. and Jake is facing Christmas alone at the cabin.  That is until a bloody and injured Sean Hansen appears on his doorstep and faints into the snow.

Sean Hansen is being hunted and by several factions, all of whom want him dead.  The gunshot wound in his side attests to that and between the pain and the snow Sean is being to despair of ever making his destination.  The cabin called Sanctuary One was no longer used for official business but Sean figured it would just be off the grid enough for him to be safe there until the last of his mission is finished. And then all Sean wants to do is find the man he had started to love, so he could explain and apologize. The last person he expects to see just before passing out from pain and blood loss is Jake Callahan, the man he has been thinking about.

As the snow storm turns into a blizzard that seals the cabin off from everyone around them, Jake and Sean are left to deal with their memories, emotions and the fact that the killers are still on Sean’s trail, putting them  both in danger.

RJ Scott’s Sanctuary series remains one of my top series for 2012 and this latest edition just cements it firmly in place.  The Journal of Sanctuary One picks up where Full Circle (Sanctuary #5) left off, with members of the Bullen family in custody, the Bullen case coming to a close and Sean Hansen escaping from a prison van and on the loose.  Now only a short time later, all the operatives are in recovery mode in one way or another. Manny and Josh (Full Circle) are at a safe house in Canada, working on the encryption of the files, Hayden and Beckett are in New York, Dale is waiting for Joseph to come back from a mission and Jake is feeling alone and hurting from Sean’s betrayal. And you are there with him, feeling his pain and loneliness.

And that is one of the real joys of this series. RJ Scott has created a cast of characters, so complex, so real and from a variety of backgrounds that they are memorable from the very start.  In some books and series, I have to think hard to bring up names and associate them with their personas, not so with the Sanctuary series.  Mention Morgan and I can picture him in detail.  Joseph and Dale, two of the hottest characters (Navy Seal and ex Seal) in the series, and I feel as though I know them intimately.  Over the course of the series, we meet one unforgettable character after another and watch as they bond with each other, and find love. And through it all, the thread that ties the books together along with the Sanctuary organization is the Bullen crime family, which extends from Congress to the many family businesses.  The Bullens have destroyed families, tortured and murdered  their way to the accumulation of wealth and power.  And Scott managed to make the investigation as thrilling as her love stories.  Each book moved the investigation forward (and sometimes back, depending upon the double cross) and always a new criminal element presented itself by the end of the book as well as a new couple. How I loved every minute they continued to investigate the Bullen crime family, a most heinous group of thugs and the wild pathways they took to get evidence and witnesses.

And The Journal of Sanctuary One brings the investigation back to its very beginnings,  including something I didn’t see coming and back to Jake Callahan whose father started the Sanctuary organization and who built Sanctuary One.  The author really pulls together all the elements from each book, including some I didn’t realize were important, to finish off the Bullens once and for all.  We get a closer understanding not only of who Jake is, and what has driven him all these years but that of Sean Hansen, an enigma whose story we have been waiting to hear.  RJ Scott has included most of the characters we love from the other stories, even if we only see and hear  them over the phones and Skype.

And there is nothing like a snowbound cabin to bring out the emotional explosions and stress that have been building for these characters and the author delivers the required scenes in painful detail and authentically loud conversations.  Just what you would expect from these men who are so much each others equal in every way, just perfect.

So have we heard the last from Sanctuary and its operatives?  I hope not.  I get the feeling that we will be hearing from Dale and Joseph soon.  Remember Dale was expecting Joseph back from his mission and we never heard that he made it.  Hmmmm….funny that.  It brings me hope that this outstanding series will continue and that I will meet up once more with all my favorite couples as they investigate, hack, protect, and love. So if you haven’t made the acquaintance of Sanctuary and their operatives, start at the beginning with Guarding Morgan and work your way through the stories in the order they were written.  That way you won’t miss a double cross, new witness or new crime and or course, new couple.  You will love them as much as I do.

Sanctuary Series in the order they should be read in order to fully understand the Bullen Family conspiracy and the characters involved:

Guarding Morgan, Sanctuary Series #1 – rating 4.25 stars

The Only Easy Day, Sanctuary Series, #2 – my review here

Face Value, Sanctuary Series #3 – my review here

Still Water, Sanctuary Series #4 – my review here

Full Circle, Sanctuary Series, #5 – my review here

The Journal of Sanctuary One, #6

Buy link here LoveLaneBooks.co.uk

All the Sanctuary books can be bought at the link above.

Review of Cherish (Faith, Love & Devotion #4) by Tere Michaels

Rating: 4.5 stars

It has taken several years, 5 to be exact, for New York City Vice Detective Evan Cerelli, his four children, and former Homicide Detective Matt Haight to come together as a couple and as a family.  And for the most part they have made it without the emotional fireworks and mental turmoil that marked the first year of their relationship.

Now Even is going to be promoted to Captain of his precinct, the first out gay captain on the force, Matt is a successful security advisor when he is not a wonderful house husband to the two kids, twins Danny and Elizabeth, still at home.  Katie and Miranda are off at college, and their friends seem happy.  Life is good.

But Thanksgiving is coming and bringing with it the family explosions they thought they had left in the past. When Evan accidentally learns his oldest daughter, Miranda, is thinking of getting married to her boyfriend of less than 3 months, he flies off in a rage and is met with equal anger from Miranda who still has problems accepting her father’s relationship with Matt. A temporary truce between them sees Evan inviting Miranda’s new boyfriend and his parents to Evan and Matt’s house for Thanksgiving.  Also coming for Thanksgiving is Helena, Evan’s partner on the force and her boyfriend, Shane, and second oldest daughter, Katie, who “wouldn’t miss the fireworks for anything.”

And before the turkey is even on the table,  emotional explosions are going off and everyone is included.  Matt and Evan first have to survive Thanksgiving with their family and friends, and each minute more is making that unlikely.

This is the fourth book in the Faith, Love & Devotion series by Tere Michaels and it is a series close to my heart.  We first met  Matt and Evan in the first book Faith & Fidelity, at the angst ridden beginnings of their relationship.  Then Evan was mourning the loss of his beloved wife and first and only person he has ever slept with.  In addition to his grief, he was trying to do his job as a police officer and fill in the void for his four kids left behind when his wife died.  Evan is full of pain, grief and overburdened by stress and doubts about his ability to  be a good father and step up to the plate.  Matt is a complete mess when the reader and Evan first encounter him.  Forced to resign from the police force he loves over behavior issues, he has become a bitter, disillusioned drunk, getting by as a security cop and on anonymous sex with women. But a conversation in a bar and the exchange of personal confidences leads to an unlikely friendship that eventually turns into a shattering love affair that forces each man to rethink his sexuality and  their acceptance of the fact that they love each other.  It is a tough road for Evan and Matt, especially Evan, who has the reactions of his children, former inlaws and police force to think about.

One of the things I cherish about this series is that Tere Michaels lets us in on the emotional fallout and oscillating feelings, including bouts of denial, that come with identity earthquakes. By that I mean the paradigm shifts that occur within a person when the most basic self knowledge is proven wrong.  And being gay or bisexual is a major shift for them both.  The author lets their relationship play out, not over one book but four stories, including this one.  The Evan/Matt relationship here is the strongest it has ever been (and that’s saying something) but even here it has its shaky moments, most of which come from the stress brought on by Miranda. Let me tell you, there are many times that I am as frustrated with Miranda as everyone else in her family.  I don’t like her behavior and think that Evan needs to get a grip when dealing with her.  But does that sound like I think of them as characters?  No it does not.  And that’s the beauty of these stories and these amazing characters, they might make you gnash your teeth and pull some hair, but they are never anything less than believable.

Michaels also takes into account how much alike fathers and their daughters can be as Evan and Miranda’s behavior is often a reflection of each other.  Matt too has aged and grown into his role as caregiver/second father to at least 3 of the kids, and his growth is as realistic and wry as can be.  Tere Michaels has a wonderful grip on relationship dynamics, not only between romantic partners but familial relationships too.  Siblings squabbles,  family arguments, and the small joys of an established bond are all found here in this latest addition to the series.

I also loved that it takes place over Thanksgiving and includes the family of Miranda’s boyfriend, which adds that unknown element so often present at Thanksgiving when multiple family groups, including strangers, are brought together and forced to engage each other on the most intimate of  American celebrations, the Thanksgiving dinner.  Expectations are perhaps unreasonably high for what we think this holiday with its traditions of being grateful and giving thanks will bring.  And that stress alone has blown up more turkeys than any fryer on the market. I will tell you that all ends well, at least temporarily for this wonderful family I have become so fond of.  If you are familiar with this story, you will love Cherish as I did.  If this series is new to you,  don’t start here.  Go back to the beginning to where it all started.  It makes the place they are at now all the more precious and rewarding.

And Tere Michaels?  I need more of another favorite couple here, that would be Jim and Griffon from Love & Loyalty (Faith, Love & Devotion #2).  Pretty please?  That would be a great Christmas gift for us all.

Here are the books in the series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the history and couples involved:

Faith & Fidelity (Faith, Love, & Devotion, #1)

Love & Loyalty (Faith, Love, & Devotion, #2)

Duty & Devotion (Faith, Love, & Devotion, #3)

Cherish (Faith, Love, & Devotion, #4)

Cover art by Croco Designs.  The covers for this series are just average.  They really don’t relate to the stories within nor do they make any real attempt to have models that look like the characters. Grade C

Books available at Loose id, Amazon, and All Romance.

Review of Long Hard Ride (Prentiss #2) by Talia Carmichael

Rating: 4.5 stars

Paxton Lawson and his sons relocated to Prentiss, Texas following the death of his husband to enter into a horse breeding partnership with the Ralston brothers.  Gibson had been a friend of Paxton’s sons in college and a new start in a new place seemed like a way to ease the grief Paxton has been trying to live with. Paxton still missed his husband and the grief he feels has put his life outside the business on hold.  The one person he has come to count on in his new town is lawyer Windsor Broadhurst.  Windsor is a lawyer to most of the ranchers in the area and a close friend to Gibson and his sons so it only seemed natural to Paxton that Windsor would be there when Paxton needed him, brought him books that they read together and discussed, turning into one of his closest friends within the year.  But when Windsor admits to Paxton what the entire community already knew, that Winston had been courting Paxton, he was shocked.  All this time, he had been oblivious to Windsor’s true intentions but now that Paxton was finally aware, he looked at the handsome lawyer in an entirely different manner.

Windsor Broadhurst has been biding his time, getting to know Paxton as a friend first before letting the man know how attracted he was to him.  During the year’s time, Paxton had turned not only into a wonderful friend but Win quickly realized that his initial attraction was deepening into love.  Finally, Windsor admits that he has been courting Paxton all along Paxton seems receptive to dating again.  But Win wants more from Paxton, he wants his love as well.  Paxton must decide if he is ready to move on and accept the love offered  or remain in mourning.  It looks to be a long, hard, ride to a future that both men want and that one is afraid to reach for.

Long Hard Ride is the second in the Prentiss series from Talia Carmichael and I just loved it.  It is relatively short at 87 pages but the author packs a lot of characterization and emotion into this story given the length.  Right off the bat I was hooked by the older characters.  Paxton especially captured my heart.  He is trying to deal with the loss of his husband after a long term illness and not doing a very good job of it.  He and Adam had adopted and raised three boys who have now grown into men.  But those men still love and depend on their father and are dealing with the death of their “Dad” as well. So it is highly realistic that Paxton has buried himself in the new horse breeding venture along with his sons and relocated to another part of the country, away from places that hold nothing but memories of Adam and their life together.  Paxton is someone who grabs not only our sympathy but our understanding at his inability to help himself move forward.  It also feels right that when Paxton decides that he will date Win but only allow himself to give “just this much and no more”.  Paxton also feels guilty about betraying the love he had with Adam, a very genuine reaction to feeling alive and attracted to someone else for the first time since a partner’s death.

Equally great at capturing our attention and interest are the characters of Windsor “Win” Broadhurst, Gibson, Blayne, Morgan, HC and all the rest of the populace of Prentiss, Texas.  Some of the people are coupled already, which happened back in Ralston’s Way (Prentiss #1).  But Carmichael is laying the ground for future stories with the characters she introduces here and I for one  can’t wait to see how their courtships play out.  Paxton and Win courtship starts out so easily, too easily in fact, that I thought the realistic touches she had brought to the story were going to be lost.  Luckily that didn’t happen as Paxton must decide to really open himself back up to another person, and the author lets us feel how hard it is for Paxton to let go.

The sex scenes between the men did “creak” a little, but I found that to be actually endearing as Paxton had let his sexual side die with his partner.  And Win with his long hair plaited into a braid that fell to his butt?  Well, let just say I love a man with long hair and Win hit my buttons.  Loved him.  This is the perfect sequel to Ralston’s Way which I just finished too.  I can’t wait to see where Talia Carmichael takes this series next.  Cowboys and men with long hair *waves fan*.  Please don’t keep me waiting too long.

Books in the Prentiss series:

Ralston’s Way (Prentiss #1) read my review here

Long Hard Ride

Review of Ralston’s Way by Talia Carmichael

Rating: 4 stars

Morgan Ralston and his brother Gibson have always run their family ranch the Ralston way meaning Morgan’s way.  Then Gibson decides to go into the horse breeding business and with the new business comes new partners and new ways.  The expanding business calls for an upgrade in their computer systems at the ranch and Blayne Dalton computer guru has been called in by his old friend Gibson to overhaul their computer needs.  But Gibson has more surprises for his brother.  In addition to the cute computer nerd, Blayne, Gibson has brought in Blayne’s brother as a chef, his other brother as a horse trainer and their father as a partner.  Soon the Ralston ranch is flush with new ideas, new people in the Dalton family. And Morgan can’t help but notice that very cute and very gay  computer guy who always seems to be where Morgan needs to be.

Now Morgan has always run things his way but with his brother determined to change things and Blayne’s attention not only to detail but to Morgan too, what is a cowboy to do?

Ralston’s Way is the first in the Prentiss’ series from Talia Carmichael about two interlocking ranching families and their friends.  I am always a sucker for gay cowboys and this pulled me in from the start.  Morgan and Gibson are running the family ranch by themselves having lost their parents.  When Gibson starts a horse breeding venture, he pulls in his friends from the university, a trio of brothers and their father, as partners.  Talia Carmichael seems to be building a series with families dealing with loss in one way or another. Morgan and Gibson Ralston have lost their parents, Paxton Lawson, father to  Blayne and his brothers, has lost his husband to cancer and brought his  family to Texas to try and recover.  And more peripheral characters that have larger roles in subsequent books all have holes in their lives from losing someone important to them.  I really like the community she is building here.

Talia Carmichael does a splendid job with her characterizations and plot lines.  Her characters are people easy to care for and take interest in.  And while the courtship between Morgan and Blayne is brief, it is also intense.  I really enjoyed watching this couple get together and can’t wait to see what the author has in store for each of the brothers as well as Paxton Lawson, a wonderful person deeply wounded in his grief.  Despite its short length, this is a wonderful story full of characters I loved spending time with.

My only quibble here is the short length of the story.  It is only 80 pages and its volume needs to be increased to really give the story and its characters their due.  My issue with the length of this story is one I reiterate over and over with regard to Total E Bound Press’s authors whether it is Lavinia Lewis, Bailey Bradford or Carol Lynne so perhaps this length is a required number of words from the publisher.  At any rate, the shortened story does their authors a disservice in my mind, as stories of excellent promise come out as stunted instead of flowing naturally to the length needed to do the book justice.  Just my opinion.  If someone can tell my why so many 80 page books, I would be grateful if no less frustrated.

But this looks to be a promising series.  I started with the second book and immediately went back to the beginning to get to know them all right where it all starts.  You will want to start your journey here too.

Books in the series are:

Ralston’s Way (Prentiss#1)

Long Hard Ride (Prentiss#2)

Art work by Posh Gosh.  Love the cover, the only thing that  strikes me as odd is the way the black band with the Prentiss name on it cuts across the torso of the cowboy, making his belly  seem (dare I say it?) pregnant.  An odd mis step from a wonderful cover artist.