Tag: m/m fiction

Review of Grade-A-Sex Deal (College Fun and Gays, #2) by Erica Pike

Grade-A-Sex Deal (College Fun and Gays #2)

Rating: 5 stars

Daniel Corrigan hates his life.  He used to have it all.  Affluent lifestyle complete with great paying job, loving wife, two children, great house and even a dog.  Now all gone because he simply couldn’t live a lie any longer.  With two little words “I’m gay”,  he’s lost everything and everyone in his life, with the exception of his brother, a college principal.

Now depressed, penniless and living in a college dorm room, Daniel makes a living teaching macroeconomics at his brother’s university. The only bright spot in his life is Troy Anderson, a sexy student in his class.  The deal they made, exchanging sexual favors for a favorable A in his class, is about to come to an end along with the semester and Daniel is not sure he can handle the loss. What will happen when the Grade-A-Sex deal comes to an end?

I love surprises and this short story is all that and a cupcake with dark chocolate sprinkles on top. From the title, I would never guess at the angst, bitterness, and despair that is emerges from the tale of Daniel’s life after he comes out.   I am always amazed at the courage it takes for someone to come out of the closet, whether they are a teenager or a middle aged adult.  While you hope with all your heart for acceptance and love, the stories you most often hear of those of loss, contempt, and pain.  Daniel is no different.  His expectations of his family’s reaction might have been naive but the actuality of their disgust and rejection was crushing. Erica Pike got this so right, I often had tears in my eyes as I read the story (and this is a short story mind you).

Daniel’s room is littered with the debris of his life, left over food containers, clothes he can’t be bothered washing, all symptoms of a deeply depressed man just going through the motions.  Every detail Erica Pike paints for us is meticulous.  There is not a false word or emotion here.  Troy Anderson has surprises of his own in store for us.  Needless to say, my lips are sealed here.  Just know that Troy is no cardboard figure, he too is fully alive and breathing.  It just takes a little longer to get to know him.  The sex is hot, fast, and overlaid with desperation.

When I first read about the sex for grades issue, it bothered me, but as I got further into the story, it became easier to accept. Daniel had only done it a few times and it fit right in with his poor self esteem and “hitting rock bottom.” If one ignores the depression cycle he is on, his behavior is hard to understand. As it is, he is not a likeable human being at the beginning of the story. However, the deal entered into between the teacher and the student here is a way for the older man to have any type of a relationship with this man he has come to love. It is more a ploy of desperation than something he does with others, and he despises himself for it.

I have not read the first College Fun and Gays story. I really don’t feel its necessary in order to read and appreciate the beauty of this little gem.  But you know that I won’t be able to rest until I go back to the beginning of the series.  I will let you all know what I find.  In the meantime, you will just love this!

Cover:  I don’t know if it is just me but any cover color in the red range is hard on my eyes and this is no exception.  There are some wonderful graphics in the background that really clue you into the story but they are lost with the highlighted image of the college.  I also  prefer a stylistically plainer font. IMO, it’s just easier to read. Grade A story, Grade C cover.

Book available from No Boundaries Press, Amazon, and ARe

Review of Fall Into The Sun by Val Kovalin

Reviewed for JoyfullyJay blog on 4/10/12:

Rating: 4.75

Bobby Gallegos and Alejo Sandoval met when they were 6.  It was 1972 at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.  Alejo was being picked on by three boys who had stolen his marble.  Bobby came to his rescue and into his life.  From that time forward, they were inseparable even though their families were so different.  Bobby came from a rough family of four boys whose dad was in prison. His older brothers were petty criminals following in their fathers footsteps who only saw the youngest boy as a punching bag.  Alejandro’s family were strict, ran a family restaurant and was devoutly Catholic.  But none of that mattered as the years passed and their connection deepened into love.

The summer of 1982 changed all that with a series of devastating events that would separate the boys for 22 years.  Over time, Alejo got married, and had a family and ran the family restaurant, his bisexual tendencies buried deeply in the closet.  Bobby  moved away, went to law school in Houston, Texas where he was now a gay successful criminal lawyer. Only once did they try to reconnect but bad timing and distance interfered.

Now they are both 40, their lives at an impasse. Alejo is divorced and Bobby has returned to Albuquerque to persuade Alejo to make a change so they can finally get their happily ever after they have been denied for so long.  Bobby has seven days.  Will it be enough time?

Let me say right from the start that I love stories about first loves getting their second chance at happiness so this pushed all the right buttons.  Val Kovalin also did such a wonderful job with her characters that identifying with them was easy.  There is never any doubt as to who these men are and how their pasts molded them.  Both men have real depth and layers to their characters, including their flaws which help drive them apart.

Bobby was the easiest of the two to empathize with.  His obstacles to overcome are so clearly black and white, starting with an abusive family that he managed to escape from while staying true to who he is.  Alejo had it much tougher in a way.  His parents love, expectations and strict adherence to the Catholic church buried Alejandro’s own career choices and sexuality under a blanket of guilt and parental love.  Now at 40 and getting ready to attend his ex-wife’s marriage, his children, especially his wayward son, keep him from reaching out to Bobby and a new future.  The reader’s frustrations with Alejo’s indecision and inability to parent his son mount with Bobby’s .  Yet, so skillfully is Alejo drawn that his rational is clear and in keeping with his history.  Both the reader and his lover understand his actions even if you don’t like them.  It’s your flaws that make you vulnerable and oh so human. So you are never ready to give up on Alejo and neither is Bobby.  I thought their entire relationship realistic as it grows and adjusts from ages 6 to 40.

I really enjoyed this book and notice that it is called Fall Into The Sun Bobby and Alejo #1.  I am hoping that means we will be seeing more of these two and their hard won future together.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Cover:  I loved this cover.  The models were perfect for Bobby and Alejo.  Just wonderful from the expressions in their eyes and that they seem more in keeping with the age of the characters.  Great job.

Available at Amazon and ARe.

Thoughts on Dust Jackets, E readers, and Women Reading Erotica

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about books (all right, all right, I am always thinking of books, jeesh). And I mean almost every aspect of books. Book covers, book formats, hardbacks, paperbacks, eReaders and of course, dust jackets.  My thoughts may be scattered but they are revolving around books!

My muse got rolling with Michael Dirda of The Washington Post.  He reviewed Book-Jackets: Their History, Forms, and Use by G. Thomas Tanselle (2/5/12).  Talk about a fascinating book and a must read for all book lovers.  Prior to this book, I will confess that I had not given much thought to book jackets, other than what an annoyance they were at times, and what an inadequate book marker they made.

I came to these conclusions from past experience.  I have always been tough on my books, whether it was Make Way For Ducklings or Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  As soon as I could toddle, I always had a book in hand, or under my arm, or stuffed in a bag.  Books were and still are a constant companion.  And books that had dust jackets?  Well, let’s just say the dust jackets did not hold up under such cavalier treatment.  They were always torn, edges curled under and even folded.  I used them to mark my place when my real book markers had fallen out (another blog) or I had already dog eared too many other pages in that book.  This application didn’t work too well because  I would end up dropping the book I was reading, then the dust jacket would fall off and I would lose my place once again.  Sigh.  I was a librarians nightmare!

Later on in high school and early college years, I stopped buying hardback books with their dust jackets for the most part.  To feed my addiction for fantasy and science fiction, I started buying paperbacks because I could afford those in mass quantity (think Star Trek series) and book jackets became a thing of the past for me.  Oh, there were still certain books where I bought the “expensive” version but during this time paperbacks reigned supreme.

I still have almost every book I ever bought,  except those my daughter has absconded with (and they are many)! Everything from mysteries to fantasy to science fiction to romance.  All with marvelous covers and no book jackets.  And all the worse for wear because nothing had protected them from my abuse.  OK, that’s not completely true because I just came across a lovely handmade book cover a friend had sewn for me about 15 years ago.

Enter women reading erotica.  Some of the books my friends and I were reading had covers we were too embarrassed to be seen with.  Lurid covers or lurid subject matter. For some, it was those fabulous bodice rippers that featured Fabio or others like myself, it was The Story of O ,  Anais Nin’s Delta of Venus or others of that genre.  Whatever.  So a friend sewed these wonderful book slipcovers made of leftover fabric scraps she had around the house. Voila!  Freedom to carry the books we wanted to read where ever we went.  Freedom to read whatever we wanted outside the house.  We loved it and always asked her for more as gifts and for our own use.  Later, I saw them in a local bookstore.  Others obviously had the same idea and the same need.  Much later I used these same slipcovers when I started reading m/m fiction and didn’t want to have to explain the covers.  Then came eReaders and my Kindle.

I started with eReaders because as my eyesight worsened, I needed to be able to adjust the font size. Also, if I wanted to read my m/m fiction I needed to acquire eBooks as not all were available in print.  I started reading eBooks on my computer but as it is a desktop, reading in bed just isn’t the same or even possible.  So I finger skipped my way over to Amazon, bought my Kindle, and started a love affair that continues to this day. We have our ups (oodles of m/m books) and downs (the removal of some GLBT books from their inventory, since restored) but love it I do. Thanks, Yoda.

Soooooooooo imagine my surprise when recently I was watching my local Channel 4 (WRC) news and they did a segment on publishers of romance/erotica and the affect eReaders have on their sales.  The big news?  That more women are buying and reading erotica because of their eReaders.  That the sales of erotica have skyrocketed due to eBooks and eReaders.  Why?  The same reason I once had covers for my paperbacks. Freedom.  Freedom from embarrassment, freedom from questions, and freedom from others disapproval. This includes the freedom from comments such as “I think it’s disgusting that women are reading porn.”  That reaction came from a man stopped on the streets as a part of the segment.  Yikes.  But I will bet my favorite Adam Levine picture that same man has a Playboy or porn somewhere at his house. *shakes head*

Are eReaders the new cover jackets?  In a way.  The older dust jackets protected the covers and bindings of the books, kept them from growing faded or soiled.  The front cover of the dust jacket also helped advertise the story within, promoted the author and advertised the publisher. A printed book without its dust jacket loses its value, not so the eBook.

A eReader stores books electronically.  A eBook won’t fade, it’s bindings won’t break, and its pages will never tear. A eReader also functions in just the same manner as plain dust jacket or my later cloth versions did, it helps hide the book from sight and the judgement or derision of others.  Ereaders, whether it be Kindle, Nook or other device are here to stay and so are eBooks to the chagrin of some and absolute joy of others, including myself.

Have I given up my books in print?  No and I never will.  I love the feel of a book in my hands.  I love a afternoon or day spent in a used book store trolling for treasures.  I love my bookshelves filled with old friends and adventures.  I love the way books smell.  Books are a true cornucopia for the soul, overflowing with feelings, textures, memories, and emotions.  My eReader doesn’t replace that, it just adds to it.  I no longer need my book jackets, fabric covers, or the anonymity that the eREaders offer.  But others do, if only to save them from derision and judgements like the guy quoted on the news.

So here’s to eBooks, eReaders, and all the authors (published or self published), and publishers.    For all the wonderful stories, all the great adventures, all the memorable characters in every genre under the sun and beyond. My thanks and a tip of the old wine glass to you.  I wouldn’t make it through the day without you. (And yes, I am thinking fondly of those book jackets.  I may have to go and dust a few off).

Book available from Oak Knoll Press http://www.oakknoll.com/bookimag/107173.jpg

Review of The Rebuilding Year by Kaje Harper

Rating 4.5 stars

Ryan Ward was a firefighter for years before a steel beam pinned him in a burning building, ending his career and nearly his life.  Now Ryan is starting over as a med student in a new town and state.  His new life brings new adjustments, from being an older student on campus to learning to walk again.  A fall on the steps brings him literally into contact with  John Barrett, the head groundskeeper, a man undergoing his own life changes.

John Barrett once had a life as a successful landscape architect, a wife he loved, and two kids he adored.  He was happy, she was not.  A divorced father, he has followed his ex-wife and her new husband to this town hoping to stay in his children’s lives only to watch them move to California.  Now he finds himself starting over and all alone in a big house he bought for himself and his kids.

A few meetings turn into friendship and John offers to rent Ryan a room in his house.  Initially this looks like a great solution to both their problems.  John needs the extra income for child support and Ryan needs an escape from the hard partying roommate in his current apartment.  But then the friendship turns into attraction, something neither of them saw coming.  Like fuel added to fire, a student is murdered and John becomes a suspect.  Now they must solve a mystery while struggling with their new relationship.  Can they survive or will all go up in smoke?

At first, I thought this was another “Gay For You” story.  But that is far too restrictive a tag to hang on this wonderful book.  Here you have two men unwillingly shoved into making serious life changes.  When Ryan was forced to give up his life as a firefighter due to a career ending injury, he lost not only a job he loved, but friends, a lifestyle and even his family when they couldn’t deal with the accident.  A messy divorce and it’s repercussions (she remarried, moved away and started keeping his kids from visiting him) shattered John’s life.   His new job comes with a lower salary and job title,  the new house he purchased is too large for just one man and he’s lonely.  And starting to drink too much.

Kaje Harper captures, in every piece of dialog, in each character description, the trauma  of starting over at an older age. It’s all there from the obstacles, uncertainties, the anger and the fear.   I empathized greatly with each man as they struggled with the changes in their lives.   Each character is so beautifully developed that I really felt I knew them by the end of the book.  And when John’s teenage son returns home just as Ryan and John are coming to terms with their new relationship, a father’s responsibilities are made priority, just as it would in real life.  There is no aspect of Ryan and John’s relationship that seems forced or unreal.

In addition to accepting a new sexual awareness, a students suicide and murder complicate matters further.  At first, I thought the student Alice’s suicide might be a red herring but the author skillfully weaves the mystery into the plot to give the reader a extra layer to enjoy.  The mystery builds slowly as the relationship deepens between the men. To me this is similar to adding spices, dimension as it were, to a recipe. The  layering if done correctly, lets you savor the flavors long after you have finished the meal.  That is the excellent job Kaje Harper has done here.  I will savor the excellent flavor of this story for some time to come.  While this was my first book from Kaje Harper it definitely won’t be my last. My thanks for a wonderful story!

Cover: I liked this cover.  From the models to the graphics  of the woods below, it is perfect for the story inside. The fonts are large, simple and easy to read.  Great design, great job.

 

Available from Samhain Publishing, Amazon and ARE.

 

Review of Nobody’s Hero by Katey Hawthorne

Rating: 4.8 stars

Jamie Monday is living two lives. In one life, he is normal and outwardly gay, he’s the life of the gay party scene, the office extrovert, everyone’s favorite homo.  Then there’s his other life, the hidden one as a member of the Awakened, people who can control the elements. As an Awakened, Jamie is deep in the closet. He hides his sexual identity from his mother and the Awakened community who expect him to marry and procreate.  Additionally, Jamie hides the fact that he is an Awakened from those in his “normal” life. Jamie has been good at keeping his identities compartmentalized but the increasing pressure by his mother to marry and the hot new IT guy at work has upset his equilibrium.

Kellan Shea is brainy, adorkable, and a Sleeper, the name given to Humans with no supernatural abilities.  From the beginning Jamie feels drawn to him.  It doesn’t matter that Kellan is socially awkward, defensive, and downright prickly,  Jamie realizes that Kelly is who he wants.  Kellan has a pure core within a sizzling exterior and Jamie finds himself falling in love.  But Kellan hates lies and Jamie’s life is one of deceit.  Can Jamie find the courage to be himself  or will he lose the only man he has ever loved?

This is the third book in the Superpowered Love series and just a great read.  I have come to expect wonderful and quirky characters from Katey Hawthorne and Nobody’s Fool is chock full of them, starting with Jamie Monday.  Jamie seems superficial to begin with but a shallow gorgeous surface hides a deeply conflicted man.  Jamie wants to please his mother, his only family.  The Awakened community they live in is close-knit, rigid, and almost incestuous in their intermarrying.  They all have high expectations of their progeny. Jamie acknowledges all of that while still trying to have a “normal” life.  It’s not so much that he wants to lie as he doesn’t want to disappoint anyone.  Each time my frustrations build with his character’s seeming inability to deal truthfully with those around him, Jamie’s inner dialog makes his position seem all too human and understandable.

And then there’s Kellan Shea.  I adored Kelly right from his mumbled fingernail chewing introduction to Jamie and friends at the office.  He is such a contradiction.  Kellan is Catholic and not just in name only.  He believes in his religion and is unafraid to say so.  He has a potty mouth, hot temper, and a vulnerable soul.  He is so very interesting in his outlook on life and sex that I feel as though I haven’t come across a someone like him before. These two characters ease into their relationship with all the grace of two porcupines waltzing.

The beauty of this story is that we all can relate to Jamie and the way he has complicated his life.  Who hasn’t wanted to please their parents to the point of suppressing their own wants and needs?  Who hasn’t told a lie or smudged the truth so someone isn’t hurt?  Life is full of complications, ones we create and those created for us.  For Jamie, it is not only his sexuality but his supernatural powers that he is hiding.   There is not one part of his life that is clear and open.  And not even Jamie realizes the full impact that has had on him until the end.  All the conflict, all the hurt that emerges are realistically and vividly portrayed.  I ached for those characters as I watched them fumble and sometimes fail as they reached for each other.

And did I mention the hot sex?  I should have because this story is full of it.  It’s that wonderful falling in love/lust/love sex where you  can’t get enough of each other.  And it’s also diversion sex, makeup sex and everything in between.  It’s sloppy, and all encompassing.  There’s also great music, wonderful locations and a great Irish family I couldn’t get enough of. I was so sorry to get to the end of Nobody’s Fool and it’s endearing cast of characters.  I hope you will feel the same.

Cover:  Cover art by P.L. Nunn.  A great cover that beautifully captures the characters.

Available from Loose Id.

Review of The Only Easy Day by R.J.Scott

Rating: 4.75 stars

The Only Easy Day

Navy Seal Joseph Kinnon has just returned from a covert mission to find his commander waiting with tragic news, his stepsister has been murdered.  The facts surrounding the case are slim and the media are painting an inaccurate and damaging portrait of the dead girl.  Grief stricken and determined to redeem his stepsister’s reputation, Kinnon takes leave and heads to Albany, New York for answers and retribution.

Dale MacIntyre, ex-Navy Seal, now works for Sanctuary, a private organization that investigates crimes and protects the victims of those crimes. Where the CIA, FBI, and all the other government “alphabets” have failed, the Sanctuary and its agents step in.  MacIntyre’s current case involves protecting Morgan Drake, witness to the murder of Elisabeth Costain. He is also the lover of Nik, fellow Sanctuary operative.  When word gets to MacIntyre that a Navy Seal hellbent on revenge is headed their way, he is sure that their case has just exploded, their mission in danger of exposure.

The two men clash immediately, each convinced theirs is the only way to bring down the criminals and solve the reason behind the murder. MacIntyre and Kinnon are forced to work closely together as connections to the Mafia, local Police and even Congress are revealed the deeper they investigate. Kinnon, MacIntyre and his Sanctuary team must race to mount a rescue when an inside informant is uncovered and tortured.   Can they put aside their differences and growing attraction long enough to battle the odds against them and reach the truth? Or will the criminals win?

What a great story! It has everything you could want in a action/adventure novel.  Danger, murder, sexual heat, and intrigue as well as a monumental clash of personalities.  Joseph Kinnon is absolutely realistic as a Navy Seal.  He is patriotic, intense, beyond capable, and lonely.  Dale MacIntyre is another wonderful creation.  Haunted by a tragic event in his past, MacIntyre too is lonely, mistrustful, and envious of his colleagues who have found lasting relationships.  When these two alphas meet, the sexual tension and testosterone leap from the pages.  I found it totally believable that the men couldn’t decide whether to pound or kiss other other as they slammed into the wall the next time they met.  If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought the author had a Navy background so well researched are the descriptions of the Seals and their training without it being an “information dump”.  From start to finish, R. J. Scott does a excellent job of keeping the reader engaged as the two men juggle their professional and emotional needs.  I loved  Kinnon and MacIntyre and clearly a sequel to this book is on its way.  The ending is realistic and, as in true life, not all involved have been brought to justice.

The Only Easy Day is a continuation of the Sanctuary series started with Guarding Morgan.  I have not read that one yet( note: I have since read the first in the series, please see my review), but you don’t need to in order to love this book. It is Joseph Kinnon and Dale MacIntyre that have me hooked.  And it is my hopes for their future  that will keep me coming back for more.  I loved this and hope you will too.

Cover:  My wish here is that the fonts  were easier to read, perhaps a different color, as the author’s name and A Sanctuary Story fade into the picture. Grade B for the cover but I did love those guys.

Review of Lessons in Power (Cambridge Fellows #4) by Charlie Cochrane

Rating: 5 stars

Cambridge 1907

After the tumultuous doings where Orlando lost his memory albeit temporarily, Drs. Coppersmith and Stewart are now happily ensconced in their newly purchased home, Forsythia Cottage.  But it’s not long before mystery and murder find them again.  Matthew Ainslie, friend and acquaintance (depending upon which of the men you talked to, Orlando never quite forgiving Matthew for his actions on Jersey) has a problem.  An old flame of Matthew’s is accused of murder and Matthew doesn’t believe he did it.

As Matthew lays out the details of the case to them, the murder hits much closer to home than either one of them could have imagined.  The murdered man is none other than one of the boys who sexually abused a very young Jonty over the course of a semester at boarding school.  The news brings memories of the abuse back to Jonty with a vengeance, shattering his carefully fabricated acceptance of those events.  As Jonty withdraws from Orlando and their relationship, a second murder is committed and the other abuser from his past is found dead.  As suspicion falls upon his beloved Dr. Stewart, Orlando and Jonty race to find the murderer and help Jonty finally find some measure of peace with his past.

For me this is a tour de force from Charlie Cochrane.  Lessons in Power still contains dialog that delights with the lightness of Gilbert and Sullivan lyrics and the shear witty remarks of Oscar Wilde.  But the reality of rape and the long term trauma, bitterness and sense of violation that rape victims contend with lives in these pages as well.  And that incongruity serves to highlight the horror and damage done not only to Jonty but other victims of the same sexual violence that seems to know no age or continental restraints.

Threads of Jonty’s abuse have been trickling through the storylines of the previous books in this series.  Thunderstorms leave him scared and shaken into silence until Orlando brings him out of it.  And when asked, Jonty has said that he has told no one the names of his attackers lest his father or Orlando go after them.  But here that abuse and the true torment that Jonty has endured is brought to the front and center of the story.  It is with amazing skill and talent, that Charlie Cochrane never loses the flavor of Edwardian England and its settings in her stories, from the Stewart family castle to the hallowed halls of St. Brides.  Here the sun never sets on England even as Orlando and Jonty deal with the realities of murderers and child abusers.   The author treats all with sensitivity and care even as she made me weep with Jonty and his family.

It took me several books before Jonty and Orlando became near and dear to my heart, so I would recommend that all the books be read in sequence.  Otherwise certain references and characters mentioned here can’t be understood in the context they need to be.  I have come to love all the characters here, Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, Miss Peters, Mr. Wilson, all of them and find I cannot go to long before I need to head off to St. Brides and another mystery with my Cambridge Fellows.  This is a wonderful book in a wonderful series.  Don’t let either of them pass you by.

Cover: I think this cover is perfect.  I love the sepia tones and graphics of the haunted looking young man in the classroom.  I just wish the fonts were solid and one type for ease of reading.

Available from Samhain Publishing, Amazon, and ARE.

Review of All The Kings Men by R.J. Scott

Review written for JoyfullyJay blog on 3/24/2012

Rating: 4 stars

Review of All the King’s Men by R. J. Scott

When Nathan Richardson and his boyfriend, Ryan Ortiz, broke up over Ryan’s cheating, Nathan headed for LA to pursue his acting career.  But all those miles between them didn’t stop their love or need for each other.  Months later, Ryan is heading for Los Angeles, determined to reunite with Nathan, beg his forgiveness, and hope that love will bring him home.  But Nature throws the biggest obstacle of all in their path, when the doomsday earthquake hits southern California.  Now LA is destroyed, Nathan is trapped under the rubble and Ryan is his only hope.

I liked the characters of Nathan and Ryan although they did not seem to have the usual amount of layers to them that I have come to expect of R. J. Scott.  Ryan’s insecurity that led to his infidelity never felt particularly real, in fact of the two main characters, he is the least fleshed out.  Nathan on the other hand, with his impetuous flight to California, and then his regret over ending his relationship, seems credibly young in outlook and emotions.  It is RJ Scott’s vivid descriptions of the destruction of Los Angeles, the fires, the carnage that make this book come to life.  The shear desperation that comes from the inability to get to a road, use a cell phone, and even finding a method of transportation when all is collapsing around you rises up from each and every page as Ryan struggles with the new harsh reality of the earthquake and its aftershocks.  The author skillfully pulls you along with Ryan up the hills above LA, now burning with wildfires.  All the angst and heartbreaking moments that occur during that climb will stay with you and remind you of similar scenes on the screen during any natural disaster.  Nathan, trapped under the rubble of his building, alone with his fears and pain, brings the plight of the disaster victim home, the reader empathizing with him in the dark wondering if anyone will come.

In many ways this story is also a cautionary tale of how easily the infrastructure we all depend upon can crumble.  While it is clear that RJ Scott has done her research, it is a credit to her that it never feels that way, from the National Guard to the makeshift mobile medical tents, all beautifully rendered in every detail. The true main character here is not Ryan or Nathan, it is the earthquake and the destructive power of Nature.  It will leave the greatest impact upon the reader.

If you are wondering why this book did not get a higher rating with all I have said about it above, it comes down to two things, one minor and one huge.  The prologue and the epilogue to be exact.  The Prologue is short and gives us information that most of us already know, that California is prone to earthquakes and that the biggest is yet to come.  This is all general knowledge, but ok, just a minor quibble.  But oh, that Epilogue. That’s simply not needed, and to be it bluntly kind of cheesy.  And not in a good way cheesy.  I mean cheesy in the way they tacked on endings to the disaster films of the 70’s and 80’s way.  As the last credits rolled, pictures popped up of the survivors along with a couple of lines of text, telling us what happened to them.  You know what I mean,  something like  ” Little Sally, cute child, lived to become a famous Astronaut/Brain Surgeon,  likable Granny lived to a ripe old age of 100.  Peter Everyman died in a car accident a year after fill in the blank happened.”  I believe the SyFy channel is still carrying on this proud tradition in its over the top “cheesy in a good way” movies.  That I applaud while this appalled.  I would not have minded if it stated that Ryan and Nathan moved where ever but it gave too much information about them and everyone else, more than I needed or wanted to know.  But the worst was to come.  That would be the ridiculous future of Los Angeles laid out here.  It looked at though it was a outline for a book she meant to write but then threw it in a part of the epilogue.  It had nothing to do with Nathan and Ryan, more like History of LA, part Deau.  In fact, that almost brought the rating down to a 3 I disliked it that much.  But if you discard the prologue, ditch the epilogue, then you have a great tale.  So yes, read this, but like an Oreo cookie, start with the Middle, then the prologue if you have too and give the end away.  Really, you don’t need it! Trust me.

Cover:  I liked the cover with the flames and helicopter but wonder at the pictures of the naked guys.  Did they lose their clothes in the fire?  Because as both protagonists were so badly injured for the entire book, sex was the last thing on their minds. *Head desk*.  Half a great cover.

Review of The Wrong Note by Isabella Carter

Rating: 4.45

Rue has a problem.  The new store next to his is blaring its music so loud he can’t think, and the new owner is taking his parking spot.  What is a guy to do?  When he can’t stand it anymore, he rushes over to confront the owner and meets Jocelyn.  Green eyes, triple earrings and oh so hot.  Now he has a new problem.

This was such a cute story, perfect for Valentine’s Day.  There are really only 4 characters in the whole story, all well done in such a short length.  I could feel Rue’s frustration building as the heavy metal pounded through the walls, and his snarky assistant rolling her eyes at her boss.  Short, sweet but not sappy.

At 3,800 words, it is part of the Kiss Me Quick collection of short stories celebrating love from Less Than Three Press.  If the rest of the collection is as sweet as this one, I can’t wait to read them. Great for Valentine’s Day or any day where love is in the air.

Cover:  The cover is just a picture of storefronts.  I wish that a little bit more of imagination had been used to make it more relevant to the story.

The Wrong Note is published by Less Than Three Press.