Review: Breaking the Devil by Bailey Bradford

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Twelve years ago, Mack Wilson made the mistake of his life, giving his love and virginity to his best friend Justin who then threw his love back at him telling Mack he was just a youthful experiment before leaving town for good. Justin’s hateful message left Mack a broken man unable to get past that experience and Justin. Now Justin has returned wanting to pick up where he left off, in Mack’s bed. And despite Mack’s pain and fury, he lets him. But the past is still haunts Mack and Justin has many obstacles to overcome before he can reclaim the man he walked away from.

Will pride and pain stand in the way of true love or together can Mack and Justin break the devil of a past to have the love they always dreamed of.

Normally when I finish a Bailey Bradford story (either in the Southwestern Shifters or Leopard’s Spots series), I allude to the shortness of the book as one of its faults. Here at 127 pages, I can actually declare that Breaking the Devil is far too long. But let’s get to the positive element of Breaking the Devil. That would be the storyline. I love a “lovers reunited” story as well as the next person. I can’t wait normally to see what each author brings to such a common plot line. Bailey Bradford has the ability to create interesting universes or flesh out cliched ones, unfortunately neither of that happens here. But at least she started out with one guaranteed to catch ones interest. Too bad it stayed at that level, an idea.

First the plot and the title, Breaking the Devil, which refers to a stallion Mack has been given to break. Right away things go off course as Mack states

Inside the corral stood the meanest, foulest stallion he’d ever seen—and also the most magnificent. A huge horse, too, his size matching his nasty disposition. Mack wondered half the time why he’d ever bothered buying the damn critter. The other half of the time he admitted it was because he didn’t like anything that was easy, not in most cases, at least. While he didn’t want a horse that was going to stomp him to death, he did like a challenge.

In that paragraph, Mack has bought this stallion. Now a mere two paragraphs later, see if you can spot the error:

“Enough already,” he scolded himself. It was a certainty that Justin hadn’t wasted years—years—dwelling on what might have been. Normally Mack didn’t think on it so heavily himself, but that angry red horse just stirred up memories. He really shouldn’t have agreed to tame the damn critter.

Yep, quickly it has changed from Mack owning the horse to Mack taming the horse for someone else and that is at the beginning of the story. Plus Mack starts to “gentle” the horse, not break him, a huge training difference (except to an author who hasn’t done the homework). This is one of the mildest of errors located in Breaking the Devil. Because shortly thereafter this scene, Justin reappears and for the next 100 or so pages, they do nothing but hump like bunnies, tons of by the book sex scenes that actually lack the heat of Bradford’s other stories.

The reader is told that Justin’s leaving broke Mack (his word) but instead of exposition we get tons of sex scenes. What happened to the storyline? Why did Justin leave and what happened to all the anger and pain Mack storied up over 12 years? Seemingly unimportant because we have to wait until almost the end and then get just the thinest explanation possible. I don’t know about you but I like a story with my story.

Then there are the thin characterizations. Both characters come complete with over the top emoting and dialog more suited to Telemundo’s telenovelas. The men glare and “squeal like girls” , (again Mack’s description), ready their fists and sneer, voices hit “like daggers to the heart”, and they swoon and are consumed by love. Now keep in mind, Justin is a hardened vet, with several tours of duty behind him and Mack is 30 years old rancher and you can see the issues. Mack and Justin, and particularly Mack seem more like a conglomerate of personality traits than an actual character. Even the dialog put into Mack’s mouth is as disconnected as the aspects of his personality. He will call someone an “idjit”, then “bub” , then a countrified saying like “He asked me what was wrong when he found me in the barn, sobbing like a baby denied the tit, you know.” pops out , then Mack returns briefly to sounding like a 30 year old. Mack is a seasoned rancher but can’t stand the sight of his own blood, a real problem when just the daily chores brings more cuts than you can imagine. This might seem like a funny trait to give a character but if you are well acquainted with the chores of a ranch hand, then you know it makes no sense. Justin too never comes across in any realistic way as a Marine.

A character called Craig, a soldier with Justin, returns with Justin to help run his ranch. We are told Craig, a fellow Marine, is dangerous, a murderer for his country (Justin’s words), etc, and the reader starts to have expectations that Craig will figure greatly into the storyline. Instead after considerable buildup and attention to Craig’s explosive persona, the character disappears completely. I thought this a real misstep as Craig was far more interesting than either Justin or Mack, although more thug than Marine.

The ending finished it off for me. I have ridden horses all my life and owned three. At the end of the story, Justin and Mack decide that Diablo (the stallion now has a name) will remained unbroken, that they

“…kind of like the evil bastard like this, all angry and righteous and untamed. He’s beautiful, like raw power set free on this earth, and I know it sounds silly probably, but I just would hate to see his spirit lessened from this brilliant, fiery sun to a dim glow.

*head desk*

And all I could think was really? How was the horse to get groomed? Or the vet to give him the necessary shots or float his teeth when the horse can’t be touched? And basically they didn’t “break the devil” after all. So much for the title and so much for any type of research. All dumped in favor of an unrealistic ending to a mess of a book, more a collection of cliches than actual realized plot. Give this book a pass even if you like Bailey Bradford’s stories because there isn’t one here.

Cover art by Posh Gosh is lovely but just as over the top as the storyline.

Book Details:

Breaking the Devil

ISBN # 978-1-78184-315-4

©Copyright Bailey Bradford 2013

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright April 2013

Edited by Eleanor Boyall Total-E-Bound Publishing

Previously published by Loose id in 2009 at 66 pages. Skip that version too.

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: Bullheaded by Catt Ford

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Bull rider Cody Grainger and bullfighter Johnny Arrow have been in love for two years and traveling together on the circuit for less. The relationship is one that Cody’s parents approve of and the rodeo world has little knowledge of. A time of change is coming for both men, something neither of them want to acknowledge. For Cody Grainger, the future means retirement. Cody is at the top of the ratings and hopes to win the first back to back World Champion Bull Rider titles, but his body feels every inch his thirty years plus the wear and tear of riding bulls is making it harder for his body to take the abuse doled out by the bulls. Cody doesn’t just want to win, he needs to win and he refuses to see that his time as a bull rider is coming to an end.

Johnny Arrow is much younger than Cody and just starting out in his career as a bullfighter. His chosen profession means as much to him as bullriding does to Cody but Johnny just can’t seem to get that idea into Cody’s head. Frustration and unhappiness grows between the men and when the lack of communication is combined with the stress of the chase of the world title, their relationship breaks apart and Johnny leaves to pursue his profession on the summer circuit. With Johnny gone and Cody in denial about the cause of their breakup, Cody’s career takes a downward spiral he is unable to break. Both men soon realize they need to be together, but pride is a tough obstacle to get through. So is Cody’s outlook on Johnny and his career. Can both men compromise enough to let their love pull them through or will pride and denial cost them the love of their lives?

Catt Ford knows the world of bull riding from every exciting aspect, from the athleticism of the bulls themselves to the bullfighters who risk life and limb to protect the bull riders after their rides are done. Ford’s familiarity and her vivid descriptions of the sport make this book for me. I love the rodeo and Ford captures all the details from the danger of the chute to the politics and marketing strategy of the stock contractors and folds them effortlessly into her story. The author even gives the reader an introductory Bullriding 101 that works in its brevity and simplicity and helps the reader unfamiliar with the subject to better understand the terms and specifics of the sport. I normally am not a fan of this book dictionary idea but it works beautifully here and adds to the readers enjoyment instead of befuddlement.

Catt Ford’s descriptions really bring you into the world of bullriding. Instead of feeling like you are watching the events happen from a distance, say on cable, she makes you feel the events are happening around you, as though you are sitting in the stands, the dust of the arena in the air and the sounds of clanging gates and the explosive grunts of the bulls ringing in your ears. This is how the book opens, with Cody on the back of a bull and the chute gate getting ready to open:

IT ALWAYS started this way. He could feel his heart speed up, the insistent pounding in his chest, the steel rail cold under his hand, the restless beast throbbing between his legs, the tightness of the wrap around his hand. He gave the nod.

When the gate opened, the bull exploded out of the chute, bucking and twisting high in the air. Time slowed down for him as the rush of adrenaline shot through his body. It made him feel weightless yet powerful. Energized but floating on air. This was going to be a good ride. He was in the zone, shifting his body expertly, just enough to counter each move the bull threw at him, finding the perfect center of balance. The bull’s rage shivered up his spine, but it didn’t make a dent in his determination to win. He could almost hear the ticking as each hundredth of a second counted down.

His timing was perfect. He was so concentrated on his ride he couldn’t hear the roar of the crowd or the buzzer when it came. His internal clock told him once again he was the victor in the ageless contest between man and beast.

And it gets better from there. You feel the pain from old and new injuries adding up, the young riders pushing to get ahead and the love of bull riding that doesn’t diminish even while the body is telling the rider it is time to quit. Marvelous, realistic, glorious and sometimes quite sad.

It is Catt Ford’s characters and storyline that I had some issues with. Johnny Arrow is clearly my favorite of the main characters. He is young, ambitious and supporting a family on the reservation. Yet he is also inexperienced when it comes to men and insecure enough about his relationship with Cody not to speak up for his own needs. Johnny’s growth as a professional bullfighter and more importantly as his own person is charted throughout the story. It is well done and absolutely necessary to maintain his realism as a character. He experiments with sexual encounters with a diverse sampling of gay men helps define who he is although some readers will have problems with this aspect of the book. Both Johnny and Cody have sex with others but the reader needs to keep in mind that the couple is broken up and therefore not cheating on each other. It is a realistic facet of their lives and helps with each characters growth.

And while Johnny is my favorite character, Cody is my least. It probably doesn’t help that we see only a little of their relationship before the argument that breaks them up. The Bullheaded of the title clearly speaks to Cody’s mental state as well as profession. He rides roughshod over Johnny and pretty much everyone else throughout most of the book and doesn’t experience nearly the amount of growth Johnny does or that Cody needs to. In fact, they are separated for almost too much of the story and for me, it doesn’t really begin to gel until they meet back up again and try to work things out. For far too much of the story, Cody is just that much of an unlikeable person. He is understandable in his desperation to stay on top and we get the stress he is under from all sides to retire and while we can relate to him we don’t necessarily like him. And that hurts the story from my perspective.

It took me a while to commit to the relationship between Cody and Johnny. What pulled me through until I connected with them was Catt Ford’s immersion of the reader into her love of the bull riding universe. I will let Cody speak for himself:

The physical and mental challenge to stay aboard and the ecstasy of conquest rushed through him, electrifying his body. It felt like more excitement than his body could contain, as if he might explode with the insane joy of it any moment.

Catt Ford gets bull riding and makes the reader understand why. For that reason alone, you should pick up this book and let the bulls and their riders come alive before you. It is an amazing journey and one you will enjoy.

Cover art by Catt Ford. Unusual cover gets your attention immediately and works for the story within.

Book Details:

ebook, 340 pages

Published April 15th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN

1623806267 (ISBN13: 9781623806262)

edition language

English

url

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3763

New Excerpt from The General and the Elephant Clock by Sarah Black

Sarah Black has finished writing her sequel, The General and the Elephant Clock. And while we are waiting for its release date, here is another excerpt for those of us who need more of John, Gabriel, Kim and all the rest from The General and the Horse-Lord (posted with permission from Sarah Black):

Living Large in the Beautiful World: Kim and The General Discuss Decorating

At the end of The General and the Horse-Lord, Kim and Billy have gone wild with the General’s credit card, ready to redecorate the house. The new book, The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari, picks up with John and Kim having a friendly little chat about the new couch.

John pushed open the kitchen door. The jury was still out on the new decorating. He had thought he was sending Kim and Billy out for an extra desk and bed, but that had somehow turned into a re-do of the entire house. He had to admit the kitchen was cheerful. Kim and Billy had painted the kitchen walls bright cream enamel, then painted trim in tangerine and aqua. The curtains were tangerine with cream polka-dots, and there were little cars zooming all over the walls, hand-painted by a bunch of Kim and Billy’s artist friends. The new dining room table was Formica, with stainless silver legs, and the chairs were padded in aqua vinyl. Kim and Billy were very pleased with the kitchen. Gabriel liked it, as well, though he might have been just trying to get along. John was okay with the changes. The kitchen, he thought, was fine. It just didn’t look like his kitchen. It looked like the kitchen of a person who was considerably cooler than he was. The same could be said about the living room.

Kim was waiting for him to come in from his run, and he swooped down on John and wrapped his arms around his waist for a quick hug. “How’s my favorite uncle?”

John studied his face. “I’m fine. What’s happening with you?”

“Not too much.” Kim was head down into the fridge, looking for something to snack on that had not had a face or a mother. He’d explained to John this was his new criteria for healthy eating. “Can we talk about the couch?”

John crossed his arms over his chest. “So talk.”

Kim stood up and leaned back against the counter. “Okay, you have every right to be pissed off. You told me not to get a new couch and I did anyway. I know I spent more money on the redecorating than you had planned. What I want to know is if you hate the couch for itself, or if you’re just mad at me for disregarding what you told me to do?”

John sighed. “The new couch is fine. I admit it’s not really what I would have picked out.” He walked over and stared gloomily into the room. The new couch which Kim had been forbidden to purchase was cream colored Italian leather, a semi-circle with a round ottoman that looked like a giant leather polka dot. It was very sleek and modern. He’d purchased some round maple tables in a pale golden finish to go with it, and the rugs on the floor were also round, in various sizes and shades of cream and pale gold. The whole thing looked very…Danish.

“The thing is, four men can easily sit on the couch at the same time, say to watch a movie together. Two men can lay down on this couch at the same time, like if you and the Horse-Lord wanted to lay down together and read books. It’s extremely comfortable, Uncle John. I just wish you would give it a chance.”

“Okay, I’m willing to give it a chance. And I admit it is very comfortable. With the new rug and the new tables it looks like winter, 1968, has come to Albuquerque. Peter Max in psychedelic white, not really my style, but I’m okay with it.”

“Peter Max? Winter?” Now Kim had his arms folded. “Holy shit! It’s not white. It’s cream! Big difference in tone and temperature. Okay, so tell me what you think would be the perfect couch. Maybe we can figure out how to meet in the middle.”

John thought a moment. “I suppose I’d like a couch that’s a little…browner. Maybe plaid would be good.”

“Okay, no plaid. I’m sorry, but no. A person would have to be deranged to buy a plaid couch. I will see what I can do about brown.” Kim looked around. “We could add some caramel accents, maybe a throw. I want you to like it.” He sounded young all of the sudden. “It’s really important to me that you like it. If you want, I can split the cost of the new couch with you.” He tried to hand John some cash. “I’ve got $275.00 as a down payment on my half.”

“I don’t want your money.” John stared at him. Kim was Korean, with eyes that always gave away what he was thinking. He was totally unable to keep a secret. John couldn’t help but notice the light in his face, like he was about to start laughing. “Wait a minute. Is this the money you made writing term papers for the students in my Political History seminar?” Kim was grinning now, and he shoved the cash back in his pocket. “Are you under the impression you’re too old to spank? Twenty-three isn’t too old.”

Kim was laughing now. “You don’t believe in spanking. Okay, let me and Billy see what we can come up with. Something browner.” He turned back to the garage. “What’s brown, anyway? Dirt? Gravy? Shit?”

“Wood, you knucklehead. Wood and chocolate bars and Gabriel’s hair, all brown.”

The General and the Horse-Lord by Sarah Black

Sneak Peak to the Sequel to The General and the Horse-Lord by Sarah Black

Review: Night of Ceremony (Notice #4) by M. Raiya

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Just days after their wedding, high school teacher and dragonshifter Adrian Kendall and his human husband Josh have new trials to face before the two of them and their newly adopted dragon shifter daughter, Jenny, could settle down to a normal family life. Well, as normal as any family that is made up of a dragon shifter, a human with special gifts and a half dragon shifter adopted baby girl. Also included in their family is Huntington, Adrian’s brother, Justin and Wells (an ancient dragon and his knight partner) and many others.

The ceremonies Adrian and Josh must face are those of dragonkind. One to see if Adrian’s clan will accept Jenny as their daughter and the other to see if the clan will accept Josh as his mate No little stress there. But unknown to all, a much larger event is on the horizon, one that will change the future for the young family and all around them, if any survive the night of ceremony.

I love this series by M. Raiya and this book is an excellent example of why it deserves not only your attention but affection as well. We have just been witness to a remarkable wedding of Adrian and Josh, their adoption of a half dragon child and the entrance of a ancient black dragon and knight with unknown connections to Adrian and his clan. Night of Ceremony picks up shortly thereafter, with the celebrants still basking in their happiness. But Adrian and Josh are also facing many new potential obstacles to their happiness and union, and that would be Adrian’s Dragon Clan.

M. Raiya has been developing a complex wonderful dragon society that exists along side the human one and each book delivers new aspects of the ancient society’s culture and laws. Like our present world, the society of dragons is slowly being modernized, from their evolving views on remaining hidden to their complex relationships with their knights. Within every story, the author offers up some new aspect of the changing dragon viewpoint along with a human problem of equal complexity, mostly revolving around Josh and Adrian’s relationship.

I find the author’s characters just amazing, from M. Raiya’s ability to get us into the mind of a nonhuman dragon like Adrian and Justin to one of the more interesting and complicated characters around, that of Josh the increasingly gender fluid husband of Adrian. In Adrian’s inner circle, there are both humans and dragons which gives the author plenty of subjects when addressing the differences between cultures, their views on equality and sexuality. All of the characters are just so well done here. Huntington the brother has changed greatly from the first introduction in Notice (Notice #1) when he tried to kill Adrian, the brother he didn’t know he had to the full acceptance of his role as beloved brother and confidant, gifted in his own right with special talents unknown in other dragons. Even the new baby Jenny has enough interesting aspects to her personality that I look forward to new stories involving her development. But there is one that is so special, so remarkable, that I find him hard to describe, a fact he would surely applaud.

That character would be Josh. I love Josh so much and of all of the characters, his is the one to experience the most growth and change of them all. When we first met Adrian and Josh, they were dating and Adrian was unsure of his feelings for the very “femme”, very flamboyant Josh. Adrian had always been attracted to masculine gay men and Josh was the very anthesis of that. Over the series, we have watched Josh wear women’s clothes, apply makeup in a manner that demonstrated a perfected skill and reveal that he is troubled and unsure about his gender identity. And while we are learning so much about Josh, including his horrific backstory, Adrian is learning about acceptance not only of his own homosexuality and of Josh’s but to come out of the closet in his communities (human and dragon). M. Raiya’s treatment of Josh, Adrian and their relationship is one of this series shining features. Here is one of my favorite excerpts. Huntington, Adrian’s brother, has just realized that Josh prefers to use the womens bathrooms instead of using the mens facilities and wonders aloud to Adrian as to what it means:

“Damn! I mean, I’ve gotten used to having a gay brother.”

I paused and then said levelly, “You still have a gay brother.”

“Yeah, but if Josh is in a dress walking down the street, and God knows he can pull off female, then everybody’s going to think you’re straight!”

“And why do we care what everybody thinks?”

Huntington started to say something, but then Josh walked out of the women’s room, a diaper bag over one shoulder, Jenny on his other, and he tossed his hair back from his face and gave us a dazzling smile.

I smiled back.

After a moment, Huntington did, too. ***

Perfection and nothing more needed to be said. So many joys to be found in this small gem of a series. All of the stories that makeup the Notice series are short in length for the most part. Notice has the most pages at 176 pages. But most are under 75 pages in length. I have listed them all at the bottom of the review in the order they were written and should be read.

Are there issues with the stories? To be sure as none really exist as stand alone fiction and some are lacking in backstories and world building if not read as part of the series. But the positive points of the series far outweigh any qualms you might have with other stories in the same universe. This really is a lovely story. A terrific little tale in a gem of a series by an author whose works I continue to look forward to. Start with Notice and work your way forward. I think you will find yourself just as affected by Adrian and his Josh as I am.

Here are the stories in the series in the order they were written and should be read:

Notice (Notice #1)

Nice: The Dragon and The Mistletoe (Notice #2) (review included with Notice)

A Sky Full of Wings (Notice #3)

Night of Ceremony (Notice #4)

Stories in the same universe:

A Dragon and His Knight

Origin in the Shifting Steam Anthology.

Book Details:

ebook
Published March 10th 2013 by Torquere Press
ISBN 1610404572 (ISBN13: 9781610404570)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78_85&products_id=3861
seriesNotice #4

Review: The Sky Is Dead by Sue Brown

Rating: 5 stars

Danny is 18, gay and homeless after his parents kicked him out of the house for being gay at the age of 16. Danny is surviving but only barely. Two years of street living and he knows that its better if he’s invisible to all those around him, it makes it easier to hide and get through the day. But when Danny sees a young boy being threatened, he rushes to the boy’s aid, saving him and making enemies in the process. The boy Danny saves, Harry, is determined to make life better for his homeless savior and starts bringing him clothes and food when he can. A tenuous bond forms between the well off school boy Harry and the wary, thin homeless Danny. After a time, Harry persuades Danny to come home with him to meet his mom and the bonds between them strengthens and becomes something that Danny is afraid to put a name to.

But several traumatic events occur that sees Danny in the hospital, his life changed again. And when he is ready to get out, Danny decides that he will make major changes in his life. So with help, Danny regains his health, and decides to become David, a new name for a new life. But the old Danny still exists inside, mistrustful, wary of the future. When a new love presents itself, can David overcome his past and move into a future with a man called Jack or will his true identity and his old memories keep him from ever finding happiness again.

The Sky Is Dead an absolute wonder of a story. I was given a copy to read and what a marvelous little surprise that turned out to be. I was also unfamiliar with the author, another thing this happy event remedied. I started in reading and soon forgot everything else around me as I was pulled in deeper and deeper into Danny’s life and story. I read it all the way through, stopping only to get my box of tissues. And by the end, I knew I had just read a remarkable story and found a new author to love.

Sue Brown’s descriptions and characterizations bring the reader swiftly and intimately into the world of the homeless. It is not merely Danny we see struggling to survive on the streets, but several other homeless people who meet up at the local shelter for food and medical treatment. We are brought into a life where neglect of the body and soul are common place, hopelessness and sickness go hand in hand, and the potential for abuse and death lurks at every street corner and city park. Bushes become beds and hiding places and the slightest cough becomes a harbinger of mortality.

Into this desolate existence, the author thrusts Danny, a young man ill prepared for such a life. Betrayed by his boyfriend, a simple kiss removes Danny from his sheltered life. One moment he has a family, a home and school, the next he is on the street with nothing to his name. We feel his shock, the tenuity of life he now lives and the despair and anger he feels. Brown makes it all feel so very real that the reader will find themselves angry and despairing along with Danny every step of the way. The author has a gift in bringing this awful existence to life that you can’t help but be moved, not only by Danny but for all his real life counterparts in cities all over the world. The shelter, a beacon for those in need, is filled with beautifully realized characters, from Billy and Lil, a homeless pair with mental impairments to Ben, a former homeless man who now works at the shelter. Its all there, every authentic detail, the shabbiness, the squalor and filth of the homeless themselves, even the horrifed “looks” of people passing by Danny on the street. Brown uses all of these elements as building blocks to create a realistic, and immensely sad foundation on which she lays out Danny’s life history.

I really don’t want to go into details here because I might give away too much of this incredible story. I will say that Brown’s narrative is told in a concise, and compelling manner. It flows easily between two time periods in a way that never seems jarring or artificial. I do love the dialog Brown has created for each of her characters. It fits them and their circumstances exactly. Here is Danny talking about the shelter:

They ask for a donation at the shelter for their hot meals, although they don’t make a fuss if you can’t pay up. I’ve learned not to be proud, but I help if I can, and sometimes, I don’t want the shelter’s food. I don’t think of myself as a hooker. Shit, I could make more money if I stayed in South London, but I live in a small town not far from Guildford. I don’t fancy standing outside Sainsbury’s, selling my arse every night to commuters and family men. I do enough to get me a hot meal and no more.

They’re pleased enough to see me at the drop-in center, which is really just a small room in the shelter. Ben, one of the volunteers, looks up from his paperwork and greets me with a cheery good morning as I walk in. I recognize most of the faces now. Old Johnny is already there, in his usual spot. He grunts at me as I walk past. I’ll go and talk to him later, after I’ve had my breakfast. Lil and Billy grin at me from the window seat. In the two years I’ve been coming to the shelter, I’ve never seen them apart. Lil’s about thirty, I guess, with Billy a few years younger. They’re inseparable, despite the fact both of them have learning difficulties. Billy told me the authorities don’t approve of their relationship, and each new social worker at the shelter tries to split them up. The last one ended up in Accident & Emergency. Billy took exception to the social worker trying to manhandle Lil and punched the man in the face. The assault earned Billy a few nights in the cells, and Lil went into a decline. It was the intervention of Greg, the manager of the shelter, that got them back together. I think they’re the lucky ones, in an odd way. They’d get more help if they were alone, but they love each other and provide comfort and support to each other in the best and worst of times. They don’t have to face the bloodsucking loneliness of being on your own twenty-four hours a day.

“The bloodsucking loneliness of being on your own twenty-four hours a day.” What a perfect line and description of Danny’s day. We feel every second of it’s loneliness, it scary and degrading aspects too. And when things start to look up for Danny, we are as terrified as he is to accept that it is real and might last more than a day.

This is a raw, emotional story and Sue Brown tells it pragmatically, and realistically, making its impact all the more profound. Every day we read or hear more stories about GLBT youth in danger, from vicious physical and verbal attacks to the ever more soul killing banal rejections of community and finally that of their family. More shelters are operating in every city and still there is not enough to house those in need. Sue Brown’s story brings the plight of those “throwaway” children to life in the form of Danny. It’s a tale that needs to be told. The Sky Is Dead is one more powerful cry for help. I cannot begin to recommend this book and its author enough. Read it, gift it, and spread the word.

Book cover: art by Christine Griffin presents us with one of the more powerful covers I can remember. It’s perfect in subject matter and emotion. One of the best of the year.

Book Details:

ebook, 232 pages

Published April 17th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13

9781623806088

edition language

English

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Links and Shelters for LGBTQ youth:

New York City, NY: Ali Forney Center

Washington, DC, Prince Georges County, MD: Promise Place

LGBT Homeless

Mother’s Day and The Week Ahead

Short and sweet today. It’s Mother’s Day and the cookout here is only hours away. Plus it’s my birthday week, so I expect to have a hopefully fun filled, jam packed schedule. So if life and my schedule permits, here is the week a head in reviews:

Monday, May 13: The Sky Is Dead by Sue Brown

Tuesday, May 14: Never A Hero (Tucker Springs #5) by Marie Sexton

Wed., May 15: Night of Ceremony by M. Raiya

Thursday, May 16: Bad Attitude by KA Mitchell

Friday, May 17: Bullheaded by Catt Ford

Saturday, May 18: Lenny For Your Thoughts by Anyta Sunday

So there it is. Got to go. Wish like mad it would warm up, Poor plants, flooded and now cold. Is that a sniffle I feel coming on?

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:

Country Mouse

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

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