It’s Contest Time! The Release of Strength of the Wolf by Kendall McKenna is Almost Here!

Note: This event has been postponed until Monday, Sept. 9.

Good morning, everyone! I have several great announcements to make today. On ~~September 6th,~~ Friday, the long awaited sequel to Kendall McKenna’s Strength of the Pack releases from MLR Press and to celebrate, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is hosting a two – part guest blog by Kendall McKenna as well as a two- book contest/giveaway.

On Thursday, Part 1 of Kendall McKenna’s blog will be posted as well as kick off the first book giveaway. For those of you new to Kendall McKenna, she is one of my absolute must have authors. Her stories include some of the most authentic, gritty military characters in recent memory, so realistic that she has garnered the approval of soldiers who have read her books and commented on her remarkable details and knowledge of the military universe. In this series, The Tameness of the Wolf, Kendall McKenna gives us a new twist on wolfshifters. In her stories, the wolfshifters and the military work together in special units, each with their own commander. It is a new arrangement and not without its own unique issues and misunderstandings. I love the way her universe combines the boredom and terror that goes hand in hand with combat units abroad with the supernatural element of wolf shifters with their pack rules and hierarchy. It’s amazing and compelling.

The first book in the series, Strength of the Pack (The Tameness of the Wolf #1), revolves around the dynamic relationship between Lt.. Lucas Young and the True Alpha pack leader Sargent Noah Hammond, who has just transferred into his platoon. We watch as they first establish a working relationship and then a personal one, a bond steeped in myth and old legends. It’s raw, primal, disciplined and oh so real.

There is a power and strength to McKenna’s characters equal to the intensity of the military actions and battles the platoons and soldiers find themselves in. McKenna’s wolfshifters have a true primal feel to their characters, you never forget the animalistic behaviors exhibited are their true natures, not ones they assumed. The author’s Marines exude the military discipline and attitudes that Marine training and experience have ingrained in them. These are not characters easily forgotten.

That first story earned a 5 – star rating and a multitude of fans. And now finally we get a sequel. The wait is almost over. So here is the schedule for Kendall McKenna’s guest blog and book contests. All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of each days blog, its that easy. So mark your calendars and join us for a 4 day celebration of Kendall McKenna’s The Tameness of the Wolf series and new book release.

~~Thurs., Sept. 5:~~ 9/9 Kendall McKenna Guest Blog Part 1 – Start of contest
Fri., Sept.6: 9/10 ,Repost of The Strength of the Pack review
~~Sat.,Sept 7~~: 9/12Kendall McKenna Guest Blog Part 2,winner of 1st book announced, start contest for 2nd book
Mon., Sept 9: 9/14 Review of The Strength of the Wolf and Winner of Strength of the Wolf announced

It’s All In The Writing, Folks and the Week Ahead in Reviews

To prepare for my time at GRL in Atlanta in October, I am trying to get ahead in my reviews for September and October. And that means reading tons of books and of course writing about them. And books read in volume will highlight the most common flaws I am seeing across the boards from authors seasoned and brand new to publishing. Surprisingly it’s not one sided. Just yesterday I finished a book from a favorite author of mine only to get to the end and find that not only did the story not have an ending, it was missing a hugely anticipated “aha” moment. I was astonished, and quite a bit frustrated to say the least.

I don’t know what is going on but these same issues are everywhere and I am not the only one who has noticed. Currently I am working on my next mini rant “The Case of the Missing Aha Moment”. It will pair up nicely with my mini rant on missing endings. *shakes head* Really there is no excuse. The most immediate remedies to these issues that pop into my brain are 1) get a great editor and 2) super concrit partners or betas. Both could and should point out issues such as these in a person’s writing.

For a humorous look at writing do’s and mostly don’ts visit http://tom.mcallister.ws/?p=868. It’s Tom McAllister’s 107 Ironclad Rules for Writers Who Want to Be Better at Writing. Some I agree with and of course, some I don’t. But they are fun, and thought provoking. Here are the first six to give you a sample:

1. Write every day. Except on days when you don’t feel like writing that much and you don’t have anything interesting to say.

2. Never write when you’re too hot. Beads of sweat are ideas leaking from your brain.

3. Nobody really eats turnips. They are a ridiculous food. Characters cannot eat turnips.

4. Hypnosis is the writer’s greatest tool.

5. Skinny people are often the cause of conflict. Fat people are often the solution. NO MEDIUM SIZED PEOPLE.

6. If you must write about the travails of being a writer, at least give yourself a glass eye or a cyborg hand or something.

If you want to read more, check out the link above. Next week we will talk about the new words added to the dictionary. Srsly?

Now on to the very exciting week ahead. Next week I start on the third series in the offerings from the Pulp Friction authors. This is the Triple Threat series from L.E. Harner. It’s menage, it’s kinky, and its wonderful. And drumroll please…….Kendall McKenna is also releasing her long awaited sequel to Strength of the Pack. It’s titled Strength of the Wolf and it releases Sept. 6th from MLR Press. To celebrate, Scattered Thoughts is hosting a 2 part guest blog with Kendall McKenna and a two book contest for a lucky person who comments during the contest time. Might even be another surprise giveaway too, more about that later. So many great things to look forward to. Mark your calendars, and check them twice. Hope to see you all here all week long.

Monday, Sept. 2: Coliseum Square by Lynn Lorenz

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Triple Threat (Triple Threat #1) by L.E. Harner

Wed., Sept. 4: Contest Announcement and Dates

Thurs., Sept 5: Kendall McKenna’s Guest Blog – Part 1

Friday, Sept. 6: Strength of the Pack by Kendall McKenna – Review (reposted)

Sat., Sept. 7: Kendall McKenna’s Guest Blog – Part 2
Winner of first contest announced

For those of you here in the States, have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.

Review: Still by Mary Calmes

Rating 4.75 stars out of 5

Silvan Cruz and Walter Wainwright fell in love at first kiss and never thought they would part. Now years later with two grown children, their marriage has stagnated into a series of fights, long hours apart and miscommunication. So when Silvan suggests that they get a divorce rather than continue on as they were, Walter agreed immediately and before either man knew it, the divorce papers were filled out and they were living separately.

But while pride and circumstances are keeping them apart, the love and passion they feel for each other has never died. Walter wants Silvan back but Silvan is sure that Walter has stopped loving him. Is it too late for love to find a way home for them both?

I always look forward to a new story from Mary Calmes because I know I will feel happy and satisfied by the time it ends. It is both a homecoming and a journey with friends, all rolled into one heartwarming tale of love.

In Still, you have a title that can be taken in several ways. Still in that after 17 years together Silvan and Walter’s marriage has reached a point of stasis. Their children have grown and moved out yet Walter still puts in long hours as an expensive and highly rated lawyer, leaving Silvan at a home emptied of sounds and action, alone without his lover. With a marriage gone still and no growth or change in sight, Silvan pushes for change in a disastrous manner, he asks for a divorce. But on the opposite side, Still also stands for the love and passion Silvan and Walter have for the other, even after all these years together.

Mary Calmes takes this all too common place occurrence in long established unions and provides us with a sweet, romantic road home to love and a happily ever after she is known for. When the story opens, it is March 2013, and the separation has already taken place. Silvan is living in a loft apartment and working as a set designer for a theatre and we hear him musing on his current status, clearly unhappy but unable to see a way forward. And we hear from various other points of view, from their children to their friends, that Walter’s feels much the same, still living in the house they both loved and unhappy as well. Then Calmes takes us into the past to see how Silvan and Walter’s romance began and the author’s magical ability to make the reader feel the joy and deep attraction of new lovers for each other let’s us see just how perfect Silvan and Walter are fas a couple. And for each moment in their past happy lives, we flash forward to the present and a very different picture. Mary Calmes makes Silvan’s yearnings and hurt realistic and touching and all the while she is building up our frustration that these two men are remaining apart. It’s a great juggling act and one she accomplishes easily.

There is a slice of danger added to the mixture of romance and love recaptured, an element that Mary Calmes will often introduces into her stories. It does elevate the readers fear that our couple will be denied their happily ever after, if not by themselves, then by an outside factor we didn’t see coming. But because it is Mary Calmes that the reader can feel safe in their knowledge that the couple will passionately reunite and the sex will be very hot indeed.

I did wish that we had seen more of their married life together, from their picture as a family to the stress brought on by an empty nest and lack of communication. Being told that it had degenerated into a series of arguments, fights, and loneliness is not the same as a flashback to the actual time in their relationship. If anything, I think that would have made it all the more poignant and their separation more grounded in realistic marital problems.

Still is a wonderful story and one you won’t want to miss. It brings home all the deep joy, contentment and yes, sometimes, hurt and pain, that couples experience over a lifetime together and makes it real. It is so very satisfying to know that Silvan and Walter will still be together, still be in love, still very much a happily married couple who spends the rest of their lives together. And that will leave you still smiling long after the book is done. Highly recommended by Scattered Thoughts.

Cover art by Reese Dante. Lovely cover but I would have loved to have seen the young couple contrasted with their present day counterparts, otherwise it is just another lovely couple on a cover with no ties to the story inside.

Book Details:

ebook, 190 pages
Published May 15th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 162380695X (ISBN13: 9781623806958)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3810

Endangered LGBTQ Youth, Books Proceeds, and the Week Ahead in Reviews

Tis the season for winding down of the school year and various holidays, Mothers Day and Fathers Day among them. And while there are many families out there celebrating their love for one another, there are also many children, including 40 percent of LGBT youth*, who will be spending these holidays out on the streets, abandoned by the very families who should be their mental, emotional, and physical support.

The current fiscal situation at the Federal and local government levels has been devastating to the few shelters currently operating and a hindrance in opening new badly needed shelters and group homes. In our area, a bright light has been the opening of a new LGBT shelter, Promise Place, on the Washington, DC/Prince Georges County, MD line. But on the flip side, the Wanda Alston House is in dire need of donations and assistance in order to continue. And the same can be said for the Ali Forney Center in NYC, whose outreach building was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy last year.

Every day we hear more about bullied or harassed gay youth in the media, the politicians make speeches and little seems to be done at the practical level. We need more legislation, more enforcement of said legislation, and just an increase in overall awareness of the fragility of LGBTQ youth in our society today.

Luckily, there are a number of M/M authors who are helping the cause with donations of royalties from their books. I will be listing some of them here. If you know of others, please let me know and I will add them to my list. This week, editor Kris Jacen introduced the anthology Lost and Found by Featherlight Press. Her announcement and the book details are listed below. I have not read it as yet but its on my list to do so. If you have read it, and want to post a review, contact me. Also listed is Sue Brown’s book, The Sky Is Dead, recently reviewed here and a must read recommendation for me. Sue Brown is also donating proceeds of that book, here is her comment:

Thank you so much for the review. Your review highlights many of the issues LGBTQ kids face. The royalties from this book are going to The Albert Kennedy Trust, a UK charity supporting homeless LGBT kids.

And Kris Jacen on the Lost and Found Anthology:

From Kris Jacen, editor to various M/M author websites:
Hi all,
Some might know, others might not, but I’ve been working with ten very talented authors on an anthology entitled, Lost and Found. The book released last night from Featherweight Press. All of the stories deal have the theme of hope for those teens that are kicked out/told they don’t matter by their families for being who they are or loving who they love. Each author (and me) is donating their royalties to charity. Below is my editor’s note from the front of the anthology. I hope you pick up a copy or help spread the word so that we can make the most of the donation to help these homeless LGBT teens.

Lost and Found http://www.featherweightpublishing.com/ShowBook.php?YA=ANTH_LOSTNFND
In the Fall of 2012, DH Starr approached me about Featherweight publishing an anthology that he was a part of. It was a special project being organized by Michele Montgomery. All the authors wanted to donate their royalties from the anthology to charity. They wanted the monies to go to a specific cause—they wanted the money to go to a charity that worked with LGBT homeless teens.
The inspiration for the anthology was a picture that they had seen with the text over the image that said “40% of homeless youth are LGBT. The #1 reason they’re on the streets in family rejection.”
Once we got to final editing stages we realized, we didn’t know WHICH charity to donate the monies to. There are so many great charities out there working with LGBT youth that we weren’t sure which to choose. We wanted to make sure that no matter how much, it would make a difference. So the search was on.
I was pleasantly surprised to come across one that had the name of the anthology almost exactly—Lost-n-Found Youth, Inc. It seemed like fate talking to me and after speaking with one of the board members, I was convinced of it. You see the board member told me that the day before we spoke, they received a call from a teen that had been on vacation with his parents and when they found a gay romance on his eReader, they left him on the side of the road. Yes, you read that correctly, abandoned him for reading a gay romance.
Our hope is that with these stories, these teens realize that there are many out there that care about them. That no matter what anyone says—THEY MATTER.

~~~
Kris Jacen
Executive Editor
ManLoveRomance Press http://www.mlrpress.com
Passion in Print Press http://www.passioninprint.com
Featherweight Press http://www.featherweightpublishing.com

So I am making a list of books whose proceeds or part of their proceeds will be donated to LGBTQ youth shelters and organizations. I know I am missing quite a few so help me fill in the list and send me the names and publishers. Here are the first ~~two~~ three books to start the list:

Finding a Dream by SJ Frost

Bullied and harassed at school for his sexuality, Dillon Davis can’t see his life getting any better, but he can see it getting worse. Depressed, wounded in spirit and body, he’s nearing a point of hopelessness, until he sees a picture of his favorite stage actor, Brandon Alexander, with his partner, Shunichi Miyamoto. At learning Shunichi runs a karate dojo, a spark of hope comes to Dillon of learning to defend himself, and most of all, meeting Brandon.

Brandon Alexander is filled with compassion for Dillon the moment he meets him. He knows all too well what it’s like to be scorned for being gay. He and Shunichi want nothing more than to help him, but when Dillon never returns to the dojo, they fear what’s happened to him

Per SJ Frost: “Kris Jacen and I are donating our royalties from this story to The Trevor Project.It’s with the support of all who buy this book that we’re able to do this, and from both of us to you, thank you, so very much, for joining with us in giving to those in need.”

ebook, 79 pages

Published December 28th 2010 by MLR Press

ISBN139781608202829

edition languageEnglish

original titleFinding a Dream

urlhttp://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=FINDREAM

seriesConquest #4charactersDillon Davis, Brandon Alexander, Shunichi Miyamoto

settingChicago, I

Lost and Found Anthology:

Lost and Found (from the Goodreads website):
by Kris Jacen (Editor), MF Kays, T.A. Webb (Goodreads Author), Tabatha Hart, Dakota Chase, Caitlin Ricci (Goodreads Author), Jeff Erno (Goodreads Author), D.C. Juris
*Some statistics say that 40% of all homeless teens are GLBT. They’re on the streets after their families have thrown them away, told them that they don’t matter, that they’re not normal. Well, guess what? Those families are wrong. This collection of stories by ten talented authors spans the spectrum (historical, paranormal, transgender, cutter, gay) to show that – it’s okay, there are people out there that care, and these teens are perfect just the way they are.

All royalties from this anthology are being donated to Lost-n-Found Youth in Atlanta, Georgia. A wonderful charity working with these teens, helping them find their new place and get on their feet.
Paperback, 421 pages
Expected publication: May 31st 2013 by Featherweight Press
ISBN139781608208661
urlhttp://www.featherweightpublishing.com/ShowBook.php?YA=ANTH_LOSTNFND

The Sky is Dead by Sue Brown:

Danny is young, gay, and homeless. He lives in the park, preferring to avoid attention, but when thugs confront a stranger, Danny rushes to his rescue. He and the would-be victim, Harry, form a cautious friendship that deepens months later, when Harry persuades Danny to visit his home. Daring to believe he has found happiness, Danny finds his world turned upside down yet a…more
ebook, 232 pages
Published April 17th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781623806088
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

And now the week ahead in book reviews:

Monday, May 20: Breaking The Devil by Bailey Bradford

Tuesday, May 21: Noah by Ben Ryder

Wed., May 22: Still by Mary Calmes

Thursday, May 23: Closet Capers Anthology

Friday< May 24: Isle of Where? by Sue Brown

Saturday, May 25: Unforgiving Minute by Sarah Grainger

Review: Bad Attitude (Bad in Baltimore #3) by K.A. Mitchell

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

When Baltimore police rescue diver Jamie Donnigan gets a call about a jumper off the Key Bridge he doesn’t realize that his carefully controlled life is about to change dramatically. What he thinks will be a routine call turns into something much more important as the man they are supposed to rescue is none other than Gavin Montgomery, the openly gay middle son of the most powerful family around Baltimore.

Gavin Montgomery and his friend Beach were on their way home from a party when Beach decides he is going to swim to Fort Carroll and the best way to start his swim is to jump off the Frances Scott Key Bridge. When Gavin tries and fails to keep his friend from jumping, he falls in after him.

While in the water, a SOS alerts Jamie to the location of the man he is searching for, and to his amazement he finds Gavin hanging onto an unconscious Beach, both in need of medical assistance. As the whole rescue operation turns into a media frenzy, Jamie finds himself at the center of attention and a guest of honor at a dinner given by Gavin’s father. There the attraction between Jamie and Gavin boils over and a sex only relationship is formed.

But keeping things casual starts to become a problem the more they get to know each other. Gavin and Jamie are more alike than they would like to admit, but when failure to communicate and poor assumptions are in play, will both men let down their guard enough to let love have a chance to flourish?

Bad Attitude is the third book in the Bad in Baltimore series and the first one I have read in the group. I don’t know how I missed the first two books as I usually gobble up everything that K.A. Mitchell writes, but after reading Bad Attitude I am certainly going to get the first two and start the series from the beginning. I enjoyed this book so much that I must see how and with whom Bad in Baltimore started.

One of the things I can always count on in a K.A. Mitchell story are characters that, while pretty, are full of attitude, extremely confidant, and a tad walled off emotionally from those around them. I love these type of characters and Mitchell’s are some of my favorites. They are snarky, competent, and oh so interesting in every aspect. Any way you look at it, these men are challenging, and so is their path to love.

Snarky and challenging are certainly words that can be used to describe Jamie Donnigan, the police rescue diver who is one of the two main characters here. I loved Jamie. He covers his vulnerabilities with tats and a smug attitude that shields him from the injustices and routine daily disappointments that life as a police officer dishes up. The words that flow out of his mouth match the attitude that his demeanor projects. This is how Jamie tells Gavin, he will be attending the party Gavin’s father invited him to as a guest of honor:

“Yes, but she— I’ll return the favor and be direct. I was sent to assure you of the family’s sincere wish that you feel comfortable bringing a guest if you desire and to help you with any concerns you might have.”

Jamie met that unnervingly steady stare without blinking. “In other, direct words, you all think that because I’m just a county cop from Dundalk with a high school education, I don’t know how to act at one of your fancy parties? The kind you and your buddy need Liquid X to get through?”

Montgomery took his hands out of his pockets and spread them, palms up. “We all have our crosses to bear.”

Jamie popped the door with his key fob. “I may not come with kennel club papers from the breeder, but I think I can manage to keep from pissing on the rug. I’ve been to a party before.”

“Whatever you say, Officer.” Montgomery turned, and Jamie saw the gleaming Bentley blocking in the bomb squad truck.

You can feel the arrogance and snark oozing out of Jamie in that scene. But Gavin Montgomery is more than a match for Jamie. Just from the interaction above, you can feel the charged atmosphere as the two personalities clash and their sexual heat flares up. Gavin’s attitude is smoother and certainly comes with a glossy finish but in every way it is as bold, cold and sure as Jamie’s. Mitchell supplies us with Gavin’s back story in little supplements along the way, from Gavin’s interpersonal relationships with siblings, father and stepmother to his commitments to a few friends and surprising interests. Both men are masters of the lowered expectation while still carrying within them the ability to be disappointed and hurt in the unsurprising actions of others.

The push/pull of their attraction to each other, their denial of their feelings and, a remarkable disconnect when it comes to communication makes this book feel realistic and at times, a little frustrating. Realistic because for these men to suddenly capitulate to each other in any manner other than sexual would be out of character but that certainly doesn’t keep it from being frustrating for the reader (and the couple) at certain points in the story. Bad Attitude is sometimes like watching two pieces of granite mate, lots of grinding, loud noises as the boulders smack together, looking for the perfect position and control.

Baltimore, Maryland and its surrounding locales act as a main character in the book and I assume the series as well. “Balmer” is rich in its ethnically diverse blue collar neighborhoods, old rowhouse neighborhoods, historic buildings and parks. Throughout the story, Jamie and Gavin wander through the scenic upper echelon areas of Fells Point and Federal Hill to the beautifully restored Inner Harbor and beyond, giving the reader an intimate look at one of the Mid Atlantic’s liveliest and interesting cities. I don’t know if the author has ever lived there but it certainly has the feel of someone not only familiar with the area but who holds it in wry affection, foibles and all. How else would Mitchell know to have Jamie give directions to his friends house like this:

Jamie listened to Quinn give directions to the lost teacher with the weird name.

“Then don’t get back on 83.” Quinn’s voice held an above-average amount of irritation.

“Where is he?” Jamie asked.

Quinn moved the phone away from his mouth but didn’t cover it. “Towson. He got confused in the construction and ended up going the wrong way on the Beltway.”

“Put him on North Charles—” Jamie held out a hand. “Here, give me it.”

“Be my control freak of a guest.”Quinn handed off the phone, ignoring Jamie flipping him off.

Once Jamie figured out where the guy was, he got him onto 139, only one other turn to get him to Quinn’s. He handed back the phone. “It’ll take him longer, but at least he’ll get here. Hey, kid, we gonna eat or what?”

The other authentic element here is the water search and rescue units that abound in this area. From Baltimore to Washington, DC, all the local police squads have their own form of water search and rescue divisions. Whether you are talking about the Patapsco or the Potomac rivers,or the Chesapeake Bay, Mitchell plunges you into their cold and treacherous waters along with Jamie with her vivid descriptions:

Geist followed him toward the nearest bridge pylon, moving his hand light across the water. The shoring around the base was made up of head-sized rocks. Not easy to crawl up on, but if Jamie’s life was on the line, he’d have managed to haul ass up onto them.

There was nothing on the east side, south or west. Their hand lights fell short of the next pylon and shoring. Holding his light just below the surface, Geist stared at Jamie in question. Between the thrum of the boats and the chopper sending waves smacking against the shoring, they couldn’t have made themselves heard even without their regulators in the way. Jamie lifted his hands in a shrug and put his head back in the water, intending to sweep around the north side before following Geist back to their search pattern.

The waters around Baltimore were always full of sound. Stone and metal shifting and grinding, bass-deep or treble-whining motors, those were all familiar background to the bubbles moving past his ears. But there was something… rhythmic that didn’t sound like it came from a motor, a tapping that took on a pattern recognizable anywhere in the world. A pattern only a person could make. Three quick, three slow, three quick. SOS. Jamie let a little air out of his vest, sinking under the surface to get a better listen. Water carried sound, but it made direction hard to pick up. Geist swung his light over Jamie as he surfaced.

Jamie flashed his own light, then tapped his ears and indicated the pylons on either side of them. Geist pointed and they separated to search. Jamie put his head down and swam at speed, panning his light over the north side before making for the next pillar of cement supporting the bridge.

The rocks of the shoring were a dark, uneven lump against the black of sky and the shining black of the water. But as Jamie drew within twenty yards, he was sure that among the rocks, something was moving. Something not a cormorant or a heron, unless they had decided to wear a watch because one was reflecting his light from a hand and wrist that clung to a rock.

He’d found him.

The absolutely captures the caution, the excitement and, of course, the dangers of the divers search. Remarkable details conveying knowledge and a concise narrative that allows the story to move along smoothly yet still gain momentum. Just lovely.

My only issue here is that I felt the ending was a little to abrupt when you consider all the reader, as well as the couple, went through to get to it. I would have loved a little more resolution or perhaps an epilogue (not something you normally find in a Mitchell story). For those of you familiar with the other books, those couples can be found here in Bad Attitude as well. While Bad Attitude was clearly written as part of a series, it also works as a stand alone story. I highly recommend it for all the reasons mentioned above and for the combustible, sweat inducing sex scenes as well. Trust me, those are smoking hot.

Here are the books in the order they were written:

Bad Company (Bad in Baltimore #1)

Bad Boyfriend (Bad in Baltimore #2)

Bad Attitude (Bad in Baltimore #3)

Cover art by Angela Waters. I like the cover but where is my ginger haired cop?

Book Details:

ebook

Published April 23rd 2013 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

edition language

English

original title

Bad Attitude

url

http://store.samhainpublishing.com/bad-attitude-p-7359.html

series

Bad in Baltimore #3

Review: City Mouse (Country Mouse #2) by Amy Lane and Aleksandr Voinov

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

When Malcolm Kavanagh chased down Owen Watson in the middle of a train station and told Owen he loved him just as Owen was about to leave London, well that is the HEA moment always envisioned at the end of a romance novel. But for Malcolm and Owen, life is what happens next. For Malcolm, he is on new territory as he has never been in love or even a relationship before Owen. Now Owen is living in his flat, and Malcolm doesn’t really know how to handle things, even something as simple as eating breakfast together.

For Owen, Malcolm is the man he has come to love and stayed in London for. Luckily for them both, Owen not only has experience with relationships, and a great Mom to ask advice from but Owen realizes that Malcolm has some growing to do and he is willing to help him through the precarious first steps of a serious relationship. His mom said the biggest obstacle to overcome will be Relationship Armageddon, when you’ve reached the sixth week, the honeymoon phase is over, and reality sets in. Owen has a new job, and patience, lots of patience. But when the stress of Mal’s job combines with the strain of adjusting to a new relationship, will Owen’s patience and love be enough to help the couple struggle through to a real HEA.

When I love a book the way I did Country Mouse, I always approach its sequel with a little trepidation, even with such wonderful writers as Amy Lane and Aleksandr Voinov at the helm. You always wonder if the continuing story will measure up to the joy and outright affection you have for the original. Well, I shouldn’t have worried, because the fates of Malcolm and Owen are in wonderful, capable hands and I might even love Malcolm’s story a tiny bit more.

Haven’t you always wondered what happens after boy gets girl or in this case boy gets boy in the romcoms in the theatre or on TV? In City Mouse we get to see what happens after that wildly romantic gesture when Mal runs after Owen, catches up to him in the train station and declares his love for Owen. Usually its “cue the music, close the curtains, The End” time but now we pick up the story two days after Malcolm’s declaration of love. The boys are living together in Malcolm’s high end flat and Malcolm is getting ready to resume his routine, a routine that now must make room for Owen in it. And to say that Mal is extremely uneasy about the whole thing is putting it mildly. This is how City Mouse opens, with Malcolm already in high stress mode:

The bad thing about a fictional Chinese prawns food poisoning was that it couldn’t possibly outlast a real one. Malcolm had done his research on the internet, and a real food poisoning would be over in a day or three. Another problem was that he felt guilty for having left the trading desk. He should be at work.

Oh, but Owen was so sweet in bed.

That’s where they’d gone right after the train station, where Malcolm (Malcolm!) had poured his bloody heart out and begged Owen not to leave. Bed. There would be time to hammer out the details later. Time to figure out jobs and schedules and Owen’s place in all of this? But Owen was here, in Malcolm’s penthouse, and that’s where they stayed for the next two days.

But today, he had to go to work.

Malcolm got out of the shower, shaved his maddening dark stubble carefully, and combed and gelled his hair until it would stay perfect for the rest of the day. He had one clean suit left, and the rest needed to be serviced. God . . . four days, five nights he’d spent playing. And now his life was falling apart.

Okay—that was a tad dramatic. But he did need to do some dry cleaning. And—

You can almost hear the hyperventilating begin….it’s funny, it’s realistic, and in its own way kind of heartbreaking. I love the character of Malcolm. He has so many mannerisms and attitudes built in to his personality that help to protect him from hurt and his past although he would be the last to admit it. As written by Land and Voinov, Malcolm is a complex, flawed and, for me, wonderfully appealing character. He so wants to be loved and for his relationship with Owen to work, if he could just figure out how to bring that about. The authors make sure the reader sees Malcolm’s vulnerability even as he is spouting off nonsense about Owen’s less than chic address at work or the clothes that Owen wears. Lane and Voinove make sure we see that there is a reason for Malcolm’s shallowness even if we don’t know just what propels it forward. And the authors make us laugh while they are making Mal stress over something else that Owen has done. Here is Malcolm meeting Owen at the coop he is working for. Malcolm has entered the Happy Endings Little People’s Club adoption agency inhabiting the third level floor of the building:

Happy endings. Little people.

A world full of baby photos. Adorable infants. Blonde girls. Middle Eastern boys. Happy families. Kids cuddling teddy bears.

Would he make it to Owen before he developed diabetes?

“Hullo, luv,” said the matronly woman at the desk. She smiled up at him sunnily, revealing large teeth, slightly protuberant eyes, and a suit that dated back to the seventies. “Can I help you?”

He felt the beginnings of sugar shock just looking at all of that maternal goodwill.

“Uhm, I was looking for—” “Owen!” she crowed. “And you must be Malcolm. We’ve heard so much about you!” She pitched her voice to one of the hidden back rooms. “Owen, your boyfriend’s here. And you’re right. He does look like a snake that swallowed a lemon!”

Malcolm was shocked out of his irritation. “I do not.”

Owen’s throaty laughter emanated from the room, followed by Owen himself. “You do too, Mal, and you know it. Come on back. Thanks, Emmaline. I didn’t want to miss him.”“

Oh, I don’t think you could do that, dearie. He is very good looking, just like you said.”

Owen winked, his sweet brown eyes wicked under the fall of hair. “You don’t think I would have stayed here if he’d been homely, do you?”

I loved that interchange, it tells us so much about Malcolm and Owen. Despite being out of his comfort zone, Malcolm has travelled into the *shudders* lower income region of the city just because he wants to see his lover. And Owen has already been filling in his new coworkers (and friends) on Malcolm, enough so that they recognize him before he introduces himself. Lovely dialog, lovely and funny setting, and memorable characters all in one great scene.

Everything about City Mouse rings true, from the slow fumbling towards a real relationship that speaks of permanency to the authenticity of a tour through the many sections of London. Owen and Malcolm do not have an easy time making their adjustments to their new status although Owen has more experience than Malcolm. But Owen too has his own insecurities about his new situation. A phone call or two to his Mom helps but only so much. I do love his mother, she is such a great character of her own, she almost needs her own story. But Owen never comes across as “too good to be true” to me. He knows his limitations and Owen also realizes how much personal “loosening up” Mal needs to do before their relationship can grow. Realistically, Owen hopes that it will happen but he is never quite sure that it will. Again, a lovely testament to the writing skills of Lane and Voinov. We believe in this relationship and the men involved because they are so real. That “realness” makes it easy to engage the readers affections and keeps them connected throughout the story to the end.

City Mouse clocks in at 160 pages, almost twice the length of Country Mouse, and the longer story length was necessary to more accurately portray the relationship dynamics in play after the grand romantic gesture is done. I don’t think a shorter version would have let us see into all of the problems and issues that had to be resolved before the boys could settle down realistically and happily in London together. But time and type (and two wonderful authors) gave us exactly what Owen and Malcolm needed. We get the joy and fun of watching two great endearing characters fight, cook and love their way to a more authentic relationship. One that has a far better chance at succeeding than the point that we first left them at. And that makes this book a real winner for me, and hopefully for you as well.

There are some scenes with a mild bdsm content. Those readers uncomfortable with bdsm sex scenes should not have a problem with the content here. It is mild and does contribute to some very hot love making between Owen and Malcolm. Grab the fans, you will need them.

Pick up Country Mouse and City Mouse and have yourself a wonderful time. Here are the books in the order they were written and should be read:

City Mouse

Cover Art by Jordan Taylor. The cover is adorable although the model is not exactly what I would expect of Malcolm.

Book Details:

ebook, 160 pages
Published March 18th 2013 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN 9781626490 (ISBN13: 9781626490055)
edition languageEnglish
original titleCity Mouse
urlhttp://riptidepublishing.com/titles/city-mouse
seriesCountry Mouse #2
charactersMalcolm Kavanagh, Owen Watson
setting London, England

Review: His Heart To Reap by Erin Lane

Rating: 3 stars

Aiden M. Scott, 26 years old, 3 years dead and stuck in limbo. What is a bored departed supposed to do with limitless time on his hands? Why become a reaper of course. And for three years, that is the job Aiden has done, he is a reaper, more of a social worker really, for the newly departed. Aiden and the other reapers meet the newly dead as they arrive in Limbo, and then help them to ascend by assisting them in discovering what is holding them back in limbo. Some of the dead move on immediately and for others, it can take years of “celestial therapy” before they move on and Aiden is so tired of it all. He can’t figure out why he has never ascended and he is getting a little depressed.

Then Brandon shows up in Limbo, Aiden’s best friend and secret crush. Aiden asks Miles, the head reaper, to be Brandon’s caseworker. He wants to be the one to help Brandon move on. More accurately Aiden wants time to spend with Brandon before he moves on, and taking a personal interest in your “client” is frowned upon in the reaper business. So Aiden tries to hide his attraction to Brandon, even from Brandon himself. But when Brandon confesses he is gay to Aiden, Aiden realizes that he has a confession of his own to make before its too late. Between Limbo and Heaven, is there room for love?

After reading this story, all I could think was that perhaps InstaLove In Limbo would have been a more accurate title. It’s not that this is a poorly written story because it isn’t. It’s just that there is nothing particularly memorable about it either. Every person has there on take on what happens after death. There are funny takes as well as epic ones. This one runs more along the lines of Dilbert in Limbo. I will let Brandon tell you about it as he questions Aiden on the afterlife:

“So you work until the day you die. Then you work some more? Doesn’t sound too peaceful to me.”

“No, but sitting back and waiting for something to happen isn’t fun either. We use work, even without pay, to escape the mundane. It helps, but only a little.”

“What do we do now?”

Well, at that point I wanted to put the book down. You mean there are cubicles in limbo? Sounds more like a level of hell to me. If this had been a comedic take on the afterlife, then this would have been an amusing twist but it’s all very serious. Also the world building should continue to give a complete feel to the afterlife you have constructed. The afterlife is dull, its colors dampened, Fine. But there are stores that remain open so the reapers can get coffee, etc. Who runs those if everyone either moves on or is a reaper? Don’t know. What about the reaper organization? Not real sure about that either, which is surprising considering how big a role that plays in the story.

The same issues that I have with the author’s world building continues into her characterization. Not much difference between Aiden and Brandon. Could very well be the same person. Closeted, bland, then instalove. The only character I was interested in was Mrs. Emily Davidson, a long term resident of limbo in need of assistance in ascending. She was more complex than either of the two main characters and therefore, far more interesting. Once of the things that kept her from moving on was her anger at her husband for not waiting for her to arrive so they could go on together, understandable and human. But at the end, the author seems to have forgotten that part of Emily’s story and brings in a totally new reason for her to ascend (one not even suggested at), and it just doesn’t make any sense.

Nor does the ending. I won’t go into it but it seems almost a refutation of the story’s premise, almost as though the author couldn’t figure out which way she wanted to go with the plot’s focal point. In the end I did waver between a 2.75 stars and a 3. It was Mrs. Davidson that gave this story a 3 star rating but I don’t think that is enough to recommend it to a reader. If a friends to lovers in limbo story is your thing, then you might want to pick this one up, otherwise I would give it a miss. There are many wonderful books out there to read. I would find those instead.

Cover Artist: Kalen O’Donnell delivers a nondescript cover that has nothing to do with the story within.

Book Details:

ebook, 108 pages

Published April 2nd 2013 by Loose Id LLC

ISBN13

9781623003074

edition language

English

url http://www.loose-id.com/his-heart-to-reap.html

Review: Shy by John Inman

Rating 4.25 stars out of 5

When Tom Morgan’s ex boyfriend calls up to invite Tom to a party being thrown by the ex and his new lover, the last thing Tom would expect to find at the party would be a new boyfriend and potential love of his life. And that’s because Tom’s life is already full of obstacles and daily stressful situations. Tom Morgan suffers from social anxiety disorder, a social phobia that makes his life almost unbearable. Tom can function fine at his job as an assistant bank manager, but outside of his professional life? Nothing but stress and the trauma of dealing with people at a social level. It has already cost him his last boyfriend and even the thought of trying to date someone new makes him start to panic and hyperventilate. So far the only being to put up with Tom on a long term basis is his Chihuahua, Pedro and on some days that becomes iffy too.

Then Tom meets Frank Wells, the brother of his ex’s new boyfriend and the sparks fly to the amazement of both men. It turns out that Frank Wells is a fellow sufferer of SAD as well. Even a first meeting where neither man can bring himself to talk for over 10 minutes takes away from the instant attraction that they feel for each other. Frank is fresh off of his family’s farm and came to the city expecting to stay with his brother. When circumstances (and a nasty brother) make that impossible, then the improbable happens and he ends up at Tom’s house where attraction burgeons into friendship and finally into love.

When Frank’s father calls him back to the farm because of an emergency, Tom accompanies Frank and what follows is hilarious tale as a phobic city boy tries to adjust to life on the farm and murderous chickens to boot. And there are further adjustments and complications that are pile up, one after the other. Can two men with whopping cases of social anxiety, make their new love affair work when all around them seems to conspire against them, even the pig? Only time and Pedro the Chihuahua will tell.

This is the second book I have read by John Inman and already I have learned several things about this author from his stories. He loves hairy men, writes main characters with a unique, sometimes overpoweringly quirky point of view, and filters serious issues through a humorous lens. One of Loving Hector‘s main characters, Hector in fact, was a victim of domestic violence. In Shy, both of the main characters suffer from social anxiety disorder, a social phobia that effects over 19 million Americans to date and is the third mosts common mental disorder in the US. In Shy, John Inman gives the reader a first hand look, through the eyes of Tom and Frank, on how this phobia affects the sufferers daily lives, their outlook on the people around them, even the depression and OCD that is linked to this mental disorder. But I will let Tom tell you in his words:

But then, out of nowhere, came a tingle of warning. Just a glimmer of trepidation at first, like a warning shot fired across the bow, followed by a distant spark of harsh light, growing brighter by the second. Then there it was, that old familiar lightning bolt. It smashed into my gut and quickly turned all those rosy hopes of having a good time at Jerry’s little get-together into a twisted pile of rubble smoldering at my feet. Mental thunder rumbled in the back of my head like an F5 tornado gathering on the horizon. A sudden fluttering in my upper colon made me blink. A sheen of perspiration gathered at my hairline. One right after the other, all the usual symptomatic suspects converged on me en masse. Nausea. Tingling fingertips. Cold toes. Knocking knees. Thumping heart.

Aw geez, I thought. Here we go again. And the party was still two days away!

Like a trumpeting elephant stomping through the apartment, tossing furniture and smashing everything in its path, the fear was impossible to ignore. In a matter of five seconds, I went from vague unease to sheer, unmitigated terror.

I couldn’t go to this party. I couldn’t. But how the hell was I going to get out of it? Jerry would be hurt. And even worse than that, his lover would be ecstatic. Of course, he would be even more ecstatic if I actually showed up, had a panic attack, went into convulsions in front of everybody, then threw up on the cat. God, I hate people.

Well, no I don’t. I hate me. No, that’s not right either. I just hate me and people thrown together. Yeah, that’s it.

That’s it exactly.

Yes, that is it exactly and John Inman gets it perfectly. You can almost feel Tom’s heartbeat start to race as just the thought of going to his ex boyfriend’s party becomes a destabilizing event. Inman demonstrates his knowledge of the effects of social anxiety disorder on the person affected yet still manages to find the humor in the situation as well. Inman’s treatment of this mental disease is sensitive, accurate, and also very funny. I kept waiting for him to take it over the top but Inman never did, at least with the anxiety disorder portion of the story. I can’t quite say the same about other aspects, more on that later.

The author’s characterizations (and hilariously written situations) are the best reasons to read this story. It’s not just the main characters who are beautifully written, but the surprising gems of secondary characters as well. My favorites? Joe Wells, Frank’s father and Simon Simmons, the undertaker. Both men could have easily slid into caricatures but instead Inman created men of exceptional heart, bravery and depth. Trust me when I say, Simon Simmons is really going to surprise the heck out of you. Everyone you will meet within this book comes across as a complete human being, some lovely, some nasty, and as I said some utterly remarkable.

However, for some readers it might be tough going for the first third of the book. That’s because Tom is also preoccupied with poop. Dog poop primarily as his Chihuahua, Pedro, is not house trained . Pedro urinates and defecates everywhere, and the reader is there for every pile deposited and cleanup required. And that gets tiresome very quickly. There is only so much 9 year old boy humor that I can take and the author almost pushes it too far at the beginning of the story. That is a shame because I am sure some readers put the book down too soon because of this issue. But wade through this section and the reward will be waiting for you. There are some hilarious moments while Tom and Frank are still in the city but the charm really sets in as does the emotional heart of the story once the location switches to the farm and the events that happen thereafter. Yes, there are aspects where high hilarity reign, but more often, it’s the growth of a special relationship, the deep bond between a father and son, and the adjustments that you make when you find the one person to spend the rest of your life with. This is where the book and the author shine. This is part of Shy that will stay with you after you have finished the last sentence and said your goodbyes to Tom, Frank, and Pedro. I really loved this book and thought that the characters of Tom and Frank gave me insight into the lives of those affected with social anxiety disorder.

So pick this book up. If potty humor is not your thing, wade through the beginning sections to the rest of the story. If potty humor is your thing, you are going to love the opening chapters of Shy and then adore the rest. Either way, it’s a wonderful journey. You won’t want to miss out. Go get the book! Go on, and then let me know what you thought.

Cover art by Paul Richmond is hilarious and perfect for the characters and story within.

Book Details:

Paperback, eBook 256 pages

Published November 30th 2012 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13

978162380148

edition language

English

url

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3425

Review: It Takes Practice by Willa Okati

Rating: 3 stars

Seven years ago, as Nathan Rey was getting ready for his graduation from medical school, he asked his long term boyfriend for a promise. Nathan wanted Fitz, over the top, charismatic love of his life, to be there in the audience as he received his diploma and Fitz promised. But Fitz broke that promise and Nathan’s heart too by disappearing completely from Nathan’s life without a word or message to explain what happened.

Now it’s Dr. Nathan Rey and Nathan has a successful practice but not much else. He remains haunted by the memory of the man who left him alone, unable to move forward into new relationships other than those of friendship. When Nathan’s part-time nurse elopes, he needs a replacement immediately and turns to a temp agency for help. When the agency sends a replacement, Nathan is ill prepared for the person standing before him in scrubs ready to go to work. It’s Fitz, his lover from the past who now seems prepared to step back into Nathan’s life in every way, if only Nathan will let him. Will Nathan be able to let go of their past and accept the only man he has ever loved back into his life or will his pride make him refuse his second chance at love?

I am not really a fan of short stories and It Takes Practice is a perfect example why. I am a huge fan of Willa Okati’s stories. Her characters are always multidimensional, complete with flaws and idiosyncrasies. Okati takes the time to build up their back stories so that when the characters come together, the reader has a very good idea of who these men are and what brought them to this point in their lives. It all makes sense, so much so that the reader buys completely into whatever story Willa Okati is trying to tell. It doesn’t matter the age or the professions or history. We get it and we understand why the men fall for each other. And for me, none of that applies here.

At 59 pages, It Takes Practice comes across more as flash fiction or odds and ends of a much larger story than a work that should stand on its own. We get the merest glimpse of Nathan and Fitz’s former lives of seven years ago, nothing to tell us about any chaos in their lives, either arguments or behavior that would make sense of his disappearance. Certainly nothing that backs up his explanation when he reappears. We definitely required more of their back history before jumping forward into the present.

Once we arrived at the present, again we only get a day or so in the lives of the characters. We see briefly what Nathan’s life has become and then, presto, Fitz is back. We watch them interact for another day, they resolve their differences and then the epilogue. And the epilogue? It occurs the day after the reunion sex takes place. Not much of an epilogue really in the sense of bringing closure, more of a couple of add on paragraphs. The whole story just feels so unfinished, as though it was cobbled together from pages written for an incomplete book. I can’t quite fathom that this came from the same author who gave us And Call Us In The Morning or Open Cover Before Striking, two books with astonishingly original characters and plots. And again I believe the problems I found in this story can be traced back to the short length, Had this book been longer in length, I think that all my issues with it would have disappeared.

So if you are a fan of lovers reunited or Willa Okati’s stories, then this is a quick read and you might want to pick this up. But if you have never read Willa Okati’s work before, please don’t start here. Start with two of the books I mentioned above or look through her impressive library of titles, I know you will find something to love as I did when I first found her.

Cover art by Posh Gosh, lovely man but the only thing that makes this relevant is the necklace around his neck.

Book Details:

ebook, 59 pages
Published March 25th 2013 by Total E-Bound
ISBN139781781842874
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=2078

April 2013 Book Reviews

Unbelievably, today is the last day in April and the start of something new for Scattered Thoughts. I am going to post a summary of each months books reviews on the last day of the month. Hopefully, this will make it easy to find a new book to read, a book review you might have missed or a book you just might want to reconsider. It also helps me gather my Scattered Thoughts when it comes to the year’s Best of in December.

It was a very good month, with some remarkable stories from new authors and beloved writers and everyone in between. Trust me, there really is something for everyone here this month:

April 2013 Review Summary

5 Star Rating:

Collusion by Eden Winters

On The Lee Shore by Elin Gregory

The General and the Horse-Lord by Sarah Black

Touch & Geaux by Abigail Roux

4 to 4.75 Star Rating:

A Beautiful Disaster by Willa Okati (4.25)

Brute by Kim Fielding (4.5)

Fire For Effect by Kendall McKenna (4.5)

Freedom by Jay Kirkpatrick (4.75)

Into This River I Drown by TJ Klune (4.5)

Josh of the Damned, Triple Feature #2, The Final Checkout

by Andrea Speed (4.25)

Loving Hector by John Inman (4.25)

Masked Riders by Lucius Parhelion (4.5)

The Fight Within by Andrew Grey (4.5)

The Good Fight by Andrew Grey (4.75)

Unearthing Cole by A.M. Arthur (4.25)

3 to 3.75 Star Rating:

Highland Vampire Vengeance by J.P. Bowie (3.75)

Love You Like A Romance Novel by Megan Derr (3.5)

Sensei by Karenna Colcroft (3)

2 to 2.75 Star Rating:

The Astral Mage by Hurri Cosmo (2.75)