A Boy and His Dragon (Being(s) in Love #2) by R. Cooper

Rating: 4.5 stars

Dr. Philbert Jones is a renowned historian but he simply cannot get organized. His house is in complete disarray, dusty tomes and statues compete with a tower of papers and unidentifiable objects strewn everywhere. Nothing is where he can find it, so a close friend at the University suggested hiring an assistant, Arthur McArthur, a former student that had worked for him doing research. But he knows that humans can see dragons as the path to riches or as something to be feared. Only a few can get close enough to understand them and Philbert or Bertie as he wants to be called is looking for that rare human to help him with his next book.

Arthur McArthur loved being a research assistant in college but when he took in his younger sister, his bills mounted until he had to quit the university and get multiple jobs to pay all their bills. Now Arthur finds himself standing in Dr. Jones’ house, amidst gargantuan clutter, facing the dragon himself, and trying to remember the last time a dragon ate someone, decades ago surely? But the interview goes well, and Arthur leaves the house with a new job, and his head in the clouds. Professor Jones is gorgeous, brilliant and needs his help to research the Red Dragons, a topic that was the focus of Arthur’s dissertation. Then Bertie starts flirting with him, calling him a pearl…..surely the dragon isn’t serious, is he? There is nothing special about Arthur or does Bertie see something extraordinary in a boy called Arthur.

I loved this book and the author, R. Cooper, who is a recent must read for me. It started with Play It Again, Charlie, a contemporary romance, so I was not prepared for the intensity of a dragon/human love story that unfolds in A Boy And His Dragon. One of the things I admire about Cooper’s writing is that she takes the time to fully invest her characters with personalities that have depth and resonate with the reader. Arthur McArthur is a charming, noble lad who cannot see his own purity and forthrightness that attracts Beings (dragons, elves, or fairies) like honey to a bee. And Dr. Jones is definitely attracted. Bertie is another lovely creation. He is a dragon and neither Arthur or the reader is able to forget that. His thoughts come from a different place than ours and Cooper makes us see that in a manner that still lets us relate to this wonderful persona who just happens to breathe fire.

So while juggling the personalities of two completely different beings, the author gives us a slow but intense courtship between Bertie and Arthur. Neither is especially sure of themselves and each is afraid to take a step forward and admit that they are falling in love. While the story is told from Arthur’s pov, Bertie’s feelings are telegraphed beautifully as well while still leaving us with an Arthur oblivious to Bertie’s feelings. And then there are the descriptions of Bertie’s house, full of treasures and tomes laying under mountains of dust and neglect. The portrait she paints of Bertie’s abode is so rich, so realistic it will leave you coughing and wanting to open a window.

This story is so rich, so heated that it begs for another in the same universe. And of course, with the same characters. I wanted to know more about Bertie’s parents who seem to disapprove of their romantic son. And how Bertie and Arthur get on with their lives because you know that will not happen smoothly for these two. With Arthur’s sister needing their help and Bertie’s friend Zeru, another dragon, hanging about, you just know complication will arise and I want to be there when they happen. These are wonderful characters so full of life that one book surely is not big enough to hold their story. But while we are waiting, pick this one up and settle in with an unusual love story between A Boy And His Dragon.

Cover is delightful by artist Paul Richmond. I just wish he had played a little more with the descriptions of Bertie to give him that look that says he is not completely human.

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

Rating: 5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inertia (Impulse #1) read my review here.

Acceleration (Impulse #2)

Review: Spice ‘n’ Solace (Galactic Alliance #1) by KC Burn

Rating: 4.5 stars

Kaz Deinos knows what it feels to be an outsider, he’s been one all his life. When his family cast him out at an early age due to his sexuality, he lived in the marginal sections of the space station making his living any way he could. Now he is the owner of one of the only male oriented brothels on the station and he has worked hard to make sure the sex workers in his brothel are taken care of, paid well and never harassed by any client. It has made him wealthy and his workers some of the most sought after by people of every station, including the most influential and important government figures. But lately someone is trying to sabotage his business. There have been rumors of illness at his place and several of his workers have been ambushed and hurt. When his business is placed in isolation due to another rumored sickness, Kaz must figure out what to do when his most famous client has requested a escort for the evening and none can leave the brothel.

Jathan One Moon is one of the galaxies most famous negotiator as was his father before him. His father negotiated the treaty that ended the war between the Ankylos and the human race. A treaty that has to be renegotiated once a year, this time by him. In addition to the treaty, Jathan One Moon is under pressure to marry and have an heir to take over from him later in life. But Jathan is gay and not inclined to satisfy the demands he marry. Instead he is looking to ease some of his tension by a visit from escort from the brothel owned by Kaz Deinos. While Jathan has never met the man, his escorts are the best in the business and he is looking forward to this evening.

When Kaz goes over to Jathan’s suite to let him know that there will be a delay for an escort, he is mistaken for one by Jathan himself. Kaz takes one look at Jathan One Moon and does something he has never done before, substitutes himself in his escorts place. One night of passion turns into a week as the negotiations continue. And both men are wondering how they are going to deal with being separated at the end, as their meetings are less and less about just a sexual connection and more about love.

I read and reviewed the second book in the series, Alien ‘n’ Outlaw, first and I am sorry I did that as the additional exposition you get here makes the second book much clearer, especially concerning the outbreak of the war between the races and why the mineral is so important to Ankylos. Lesson learned.

That said, I enjoyed reading this book just as much as I did Alien ‘n’ Outlaw. Spice ‘n’ Solice introduces us to all the characters we meet in the second with one exception, and the author’s gift of giving the reader realistic characters and backgrounds continues here. Kaz is beautiful and tough as he has had to be growning up in his religious, conservative family. Only now is homosexuality being accepted on some of the more traditional human outposts and Kaz has had to work hard to get his type of brothel and sex worker accepted and respected. But we also get the idea that the isolation Kaz lives in it also a form of protection against emotional pain and the prospect of love. Jathan One Moon is Kaz’s equal in everything but background and Burn is sure to make it obvious that their relationship may start off based in sex but deepens based on mental equality and mutual respect. Yes, there is a huge secret between them, but Kaz is quick to understand that he must be honest with Jathan no matter the consequences.

The Ankylos, the two tiered race, is here as well. I thought the idea of the worker bee/royalty set up intriguing as well as their hive mentality and communication. And while there is nothing especially “outer spacey” about the space station, the descriptions of a huge city geared around hospitality and the ships that visit are well done.

As I said before, there is also something kind of goofy and endearing about this series. I just like it and hope KC Burn intends to continue to give us more installments. I, for one, will be lined up to get them.

Spice ‘n’ Solice (Galactic Alliance #1)

Alien ‘n’ Outlaw (Galactic Alliance #2) read my review here.

Review: One True Thing by Piper Vaughn and MJ O’Shea

Rating: 4 stars

Dusty Davis has moved to California with his best friends Ru and Erik and their daughter Alice. West Hollywood so far is everything Dusty hoped it would be. He can walk down the street and not draw stares for his clothes or nail polish and their new house is adorable, a great change in every way from Delaware. There is only one thing missing…..a boyfriend. When he watches Ru and Erik cuddle and interact, it only highlights how lonely he really is. But a trip on the sidewalk has Dusty falling into the arms of a gorgeous man, who picks him up, smiles and disappears into the crowd. So Dusty starts to look for him everywhere and when he finds him, Dusty is confused because the man, Archer Kyriakides doesn’t remember him. But that doesn’t stop Dusty from going out with him. But its not the same as Dusty hoped as the man is cold, and completely shallow. Then Dusty meets Asher Kyriakides who is Archer’s twin brother and the mystery is solved. It is Asher who picked Dusty up off the side walk and Asher who has occupied Dusty’s thoughts and dreams since the incident. After Dusty realizes his mistake, he and Asher start to date and it is everything he had hoped for in the beginning. Except that Archer seems intent on causing problems for the new couple every way he can.

Asher Kyriakides has not been able to get the adorable blonde man out of his mind since they meet on the sidewalk. Then he walks into the apartment he shares with his twin brother Archer and is devastated to find Archer kissing that same cute blonde. Crushed, Asher finds his life stagnating on every level. He is a photographer who is filming porn actors because he needs the money instead of working as a fashion photographer. His brother is running up their bills, partying all night, and in general making Asher’s life miserable when he tries to make his brother act responsibly. It only starts to look up when he starts to date Dusty and even make plans for their future. But Archer means trouble and tries to tear the two men apart. When Archer goes too far, Asher must finally decide between his future with Dusty or his obligation to his brother.

We first met Dustin Davis in One Small Thing which gave us the story of Ru and Erik’s relationship. Dusty had a large role to play in that story and he captured our hearts with his endearing personality and vulnerability. I thought even then that he deserved his own story and was thrilled to see a sequel that followed our small family out to West Hollywood for a new start for all of them. The authors certainly picked the right place to plop down our wonderful quartet of characters and it was easy to envision Dusty flip flopping his way down the Boulevard on his way to a meeting with Asher and a future. Vaughn and O’Shea have given us a character to cherish in Dusty so it is important that his soul mate measure up to the reader’s idea of the right person for him. And the person they chose has readers including myself blowing hot and cold, mostly because of his brother. The authors present us with a problematic package when they created Asher and Archer, the twin Kyriakides brothers who represent a sort of black and white or yin and yang of siblings.

Asher, the good twin, seems to be a lovely match for Dusty. Except that when it comes to his evil twin, Archer, he has all the resolve of a wet noodle. He lets his brother ride roughshod over him time after time, trampling his feelings and even his relationship with Dusty into the ground with no recompense at all from Archer. In fact, no matter how awful Archer behaves, Asher lets him get away with it to the reader’s utter astonishment. I can understand a twin brother’s bond being responsible for absorbing some of the impact of Archer’s actions but there is no answering bond from Archer, it is completely one sided. So on one front, Asher loves Dusty and they appear perfect for each other, than the other passive doormat side of Asher comes out and threatens everything they have built up to date. I won’t go into details here but trust me when I say both Archer’s actions and Asher’s response are so unbelievable that it almost derailed the entire story for me. The only thing that pulled the plot back onto the tracks was Dusty’s reaction and the manner in which he forced Asher to handle the situation. Yes, Dusty is the saving grace, not only in this incidence, but for the entire book.

Archer remained pretty much a one dimensional evil villain of the piece. I kept waiting for some explanation for his hatred of his brother, some bit of back story that would explain his illicit drug use, casual sex, and complete disregard for his brother’s feelings but it never came. In fact, Archer was the major disruption for this story. Had he been removed, the one element of Asher’s character that was not only unbelievable but distasteful as well would have been removed too.

Dusty remains one of my favorite characters. He is irrepressibly positive in his outlook, his buoyant good nature, his huge heart and personality make me smile just thinking about him. The authors have painted such a vivid portrait of Dusty that he leaps laughing and giggling right off the page and into our hearts. Dusty is so gentle and kind (and talented) that you not only want him to be your hairstylist but your friend as well. Dusty is both the heart of this story and it’s saving grace. It doesn’t matter whether he is feeding Alice or having a heart to heart with Michelle, who Dusty is and what he stands for is never in doubt. Give us more Dusty and I am a happy camper. He is a perfect creation and the real reason to buy this book.

Without Archer’s involvement, this is a 4.5 to 5 point story. Take him away, and it has every thing to recommend it. It has not only Dusty, but Ru and Erik and Alice too. It finds Dusty happy in his new job, making new friends (love Michelle), and finally having someone to love and who loves him back for the marvelous person he is. Another new character deserving of our attention and affection is troubled porn actor Josh. I could have used more of him, and so much less of Archer. I liked the ending, although for some reason it seemed for of a HFN than HEA. And again, that speaks more to the characterization deficits of Asher and not Dusty. Because while Dusty is still moving forward with new friendships, new apartment, an ever expanding future, Asher’s career remains that of a porn photographer, which would be fine if he enjoyed and liked it, but it’s not. It’s one he is ashamed of and remains in. When he goes forward, it seems that its because Dusty has pulled him there, not a formula for a healthy relationship. So perhaps Asher too needs some time to grow into the man Dusty deserves. I would love to see a third book in this series, one that reunites Dusty, Asher, Ru, Erik, Alice, Josh and Lane in the not too near future with a real HEA for them all. And please if we must see or hear of Archer again, let it be at his graveside. A perfect solution if ever there was one.

Cover: OK, how adorable is this cover. The model, Austin Anomic (aka Austin Mitchell) is the one who visually inspired the character of Dusty. Read Piper Vaughn’s blog on Austin and his picture with the cover of this book. Austin and the cover of One True Thing are both adorably perfect.

Books in the order they were written and should be read:

One Small Thing – read my review here.

One True Thing

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