Review: Northern Star by Ethan Day

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

On the night before Christmas Eve in a hotel bar at the airport, 27-year old Deacon Miller is getting drunk. Fleeing a disastrous family holiday he never wanted to attend, Deacon received a text from his boyfriend, breaking up with him and throwing him out of their apartment. A heavy snowfall cancels his flight leaving Deacon stuck at the airport hotel, drowning his sorrows and regretting almost everything about his life.

Car Dealer Owner Steve Steele has spent most of his 45 years in denial about his sexuality until he just couldn’t face another year repressing his sexuality and his true desires. Unfortunately coming out also meant hurting people he loved, including his wife and step daughter. Now divorced, Steve is facing his first year anniversary as an out gay man and reflecting back on his failures and current lonely life.

When a chance encounter brings Deacon and Steve together on a night full of self recriminations and doubt, what happens when the one night stand turns into something neither man wants to forget or let go of.

I think when most readers think of Ethan Day, its his humorous stories like the memorable and guffaw inducing Sno Ho series (a favorite of mine) that often spring to mind. But Ethan Day has another side to him as a writer, the one that produces stories more serious, thoughtful tales like At Piper’s Point and A Token In Time (also favorites). And while laughter and humor is still an element to be found in each, something larger, more layered in scope is in play there.

Northern Star falls into the second category. Two men meet on a night when the past is overwhelming them, highlighting the emptiness and failure present in their lives. Deacon has just received a devastating text from his boyfriend, dumping him in terms crushingly succinct. He is also being thrown out of their apartment with no where to live and little time to find a place during the holiday season. It just screams of that aspect of modern day relationships where the use of the text message has become the method of choice for ridding yourself of an unwanted relationship. I don’t know anyone out there that can’t relate to that scene in some measure.

Then Ethan Day brings Steve Steele into the picture. Steve Steele (I love that name) is also at a place in his life that he never expected to be. Steve is a divorced, 45 year old car dealer who has finally come out of the closet, exploding his marriage, and family, hurting his wife who he loved and a step daughter who worshiped him. And although he has found a measure of acceptance within his immediate family and friends, he is himself alone and floundering on his first year anniversary of his coming out.

A snow storm and an airport bar are the means and impetus for the men to meet and fall into bed, presumably just a one night stand. This is an oft used familiar scene that appears in multiple media and it works here to bring Deacon and Steele together. Day perfectly captures Deacon getting his drunk on, his rambling internal monologue both hilarious and sadly recognizable to all who have been in that state sometime in their lives. Here is an excerpt:

“On your tab?” The bartender asked, setting down the freshly made cocktail. “Yup,” Deacon said, smiling slightly when his lips made a faint popping sound, like a cork being violently liberated from a wine bottle.

He did his best to ignore the judgmental expression on the bartender’s face. Glancing down at the name tag, he shook his head, disgusted anyone named Clifford would be casting stones. The pious pity of Cliffy wasn’t what Deacon needed at the moment, and he said as much with the dirty look he offered as a thank you for the drink.

They both turned, hearing a loud group of twenty-something’s come stumbling into the hotel bar. They were all visibly wasted, and from what he could make out from their rather gregarious bitching, they’d each been bumped from their flight as a result of their intoxication.

More rejected casualties, redirected to purgatory via this airport adjacent, cheesy-ass hotel bar that hadn’t been updated since the early nineties.

The burgundy and blue commercial grade fabric was rough to the touch, as if designed to ensure you didn’t make yourself comfortable. That combined with the brass railings that ran along the bar and atop the booths located along the far wall, all the mirrors and glassware dangling from above, the entire room screamed Loser-ville. “And I am right at home with my fellow loser-residents,” he muttered.

Deacon could practically smell the sweaty desperation of yester-year that hung in the air like the scent of stale smoke, from what had no doubt been the scene of many a one-night hookup over the years. Chewing on a chunk of ice, he took a moment to glance around the room at the rest of the poor schlubs.

Then Steve walks into the bar and everything changes.

Steve is an interesting balance for the character of Deacon. Where Deacon is young and damaged by his upbringing, Steve’s damage is self inflicted. He denied his sexuality, hiding in a marriage to a best friend’s widow until the truth and the stress made it impossible to continue living in a lie. It has taken Steve a long time to feel comfortable being gay, but the mistakes he made were real and inflicted pain on those that didn’t deserve it. Deacon’s pain was due to a alcoholic mother who still continues to put her addiction and selfishness above the needs of her children. Also a realistic and painfully accurate portrait of the effects of alcoholism on the person afflicted and the family involved. Added to that is the fact that Deacon’s mother is a pretty self absorbed human being and all the elements are there for extended child abuse and neglect.

One of the aspects of this story that I absolutely appreciated was the absence of instant love. Instant lust, sure, but love? No, that comes gradually and not without a fight. Because for every step forward Steve and Deacon take towards an emotionally rewarding relationship, Deacon retreats emotionally and sometimes physically. The reader’s compassion and empathy for this character is totally engaged as Deacon’s abusive past makes him question his worthiness and capacity to love.

In Northern Star, Ethan Day gives the reader a serious exploration of the journey to love and family by two outwardly disparate men who just happen to be looking for the same thing at this stage in their lives. For both Steve and Deacon family is important as love and it will be with the help of those families that will pull them through the events to come. And yes, there will be plenty of angst driven episodes to arrive as Deacon and Steven work their way through all the emotional and mental obstacles before they can be happy.

There are some wonderful secondary characters here. Ashley, Deacon’s sister, is a recognizable teenager, with plenty of her own issues at play. We also meet Steve’s colleagues from work (admirable and funny) as well as his ex wife and step daughter. I love that her pain from living with Steven’s lies is not glossed over but dealt with in a realistic manner, just beautifully done.

Will every reader love this story? Not if all you are expecting is snappy dialog and snort inducing laughter. Some of that is present here, it is a Ethan Day story after all. But this is a more serious story that deals with alcoholism, child neglect and abuse and its long term effects on everyone associated with the alcoholic. I think Ethan Day did a great job and gave us a wonderful romance too. Consider this highly recommended.

Cover art by Wilde City Press. Eye catching and cute.

Book Details:

ebook, First, 249 pages
Published September 25th 2013 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925031553
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/northern-star/#.UkJOvkko5es

The Rank Few and their Rank View or When By The People and For The People Went Into the Dump and The Week Ahead In Reviews

One of the many aspects that people either love or hate when living in the Washington DC Metro area is our constant bombardment of information of and about the Government. The constant stream flows from our radios, tvs, cable, computers, phones, tablets, seemingly from the air itself. It keeps us informed and aware of things happening in the government (whether we want to or not). I would even say that most of the people who live in this area work for the government or it has an impact on their work in some way. Its Inside the Beltway at work and normally I kind of enjoy it.

Not now.

Now the government is shutdown and I am angry, and feeling helpless to make a difference in a situation that never should have happened in the first place. This has effected me in so many ways, from the people I love, my family, my friends, acquaintances, all who are on furlough, those working and not getting paid, everyone who is impacted by this idiocy., including myself.

All those wondering how their mortgages will get paid, how will they put food on the table, or even get gas to bring them to the work they are not getting a paycheck for. I see and hear it in the voices of cab drivers and food truck operators with no one to drive or feed, hotels vacant because the tourists have gone home or have cancelled their trips. From the front desk to those cleaning the rooms and hallways, and everyone else involved in the hospitality business, all are impacted, all are hurt.

What about those 30 children just admitted to a new cancer program at NIH, a last hope certainly and one that is frozen along with all the other protocols patients enrolled in specialty care need so desperately. What about that person who needs a serious operation now. It was scheduled then all leave was cancelled, no exclusions, no exemptions. Who looks them in the face and tells them no? Even those hoping to get married or WWII veterans hoping to see their memorial? It’s certainly not the idiot Congress at the helm of this shutdown.

I, along with countless others, have called my representatives, Republican and Democrat, to voice my anger that the needs of the people who put them in office are being ignored, dismissed entirely because our views are not considered important. The phone lines for all, especially the Republicans are constantly busy. And when I did get through, I got a voice mail, saying all mailboxes were full. No one is answering the phones on those offices. But turn a camera in their direction, and they have time to expound on their importance and what they see as their own path to power and glory.

I am embarrassed that those people voted in to help their constituents have decided to help themselves instead. The rank few with their rank view, those petulantly powerful, those gasbags of arrogance who should have been helping the government work has shut it down instead. A fight was picked that they knew they wouldn’t win for the express purpose of shutting the government down. They are confident that they will never have to come face to face with the millions they are hurting in the process.

And they are probably right.

Will they be visiting the people they made homeless? Or those standing in line in the food banks? Those in the hospital and those out of work because they lost their jobs or their businesses? I don’t think so. For these type of people its never their fault. Their self-importance and arrogance overwhelms all else, leaving others to suffer for their selfishness and need for even more power.

The United States Constitution starts out as “We the People”, not We the Few and Powerful. I think those Senators and Representatives who have shut down the government, need to be reminded who and what they represent. They need to sit down and listen as someone reads to them the documents on which our nation and our freedoms are based.

Right before the signatures on the Constitution, the following paragraphs appear:

In all our deliberations on this subject, we kept steadily in our view that which appears to us the greatest interest of every true American, the consolidation of our Union, in which is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety–perhaps our national existence. This important consideration, seriously and deeply impressed on our minds, led each State in the Convention to be less rigid on points of inferior magnitude than might have been otherwise expected; and thus, the Constitution which we now present is the result of a spirit of amity, and of that mutual deference and concession, which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered indispensable.

That it will meet the full and entire approbation of every State is not, perhaps, to be expected; but each will, doubtless, consider, that had her interest alone been consulted, the consequences might have been particularly disagreeable or injurious to others; that it is liable to as few exceptions as could reasonably have been expected, we hope and believe; that it may promote the lasting welfare of that Country so dear to us all, and secure her freedom and happiness, is our most ardent wish.

Where is their adherence to those words and feelings expressed above? Lacking, tossed aside in favor of their own positions and small minded thoughts.

How sad,, how infuriating, and how un American.

Now for the Week Ahead in Reviews:

Monday, Oct. 8: Northern Star by Ethan Stone

Tuesday, Oct. 9: Starry Knight by T.A. Webb

Wed., Oct. 10: Enigma by Lloyd A. Meeker

Thurs., Oct. 11: The Night Visitor by Ewan Creed

Friday, Oct. 12: Guest Blog by Playing Ball Authors

Sat., Oct. 13: Playing Ball Anthology

Review: Isle of Wishes (Isle of Wight #2) by Sue Brown

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

After the tumultuous events of the past months, life for Sam Owens and Liam Marshall is finally on track. They are getting married and Liam’s visa issues have finally been resolved. So Sam sends Liam back to his home in Michigan to pack up his belongings for the final move to England and married happiness with Sam. Everything is fine until Liam stops returning Sam’s phone calls. Sam trusts Liam and their love so Sam knows that something has gone terribly wrong.

Sam intends to go to the States to look for Liam but knows he will need help and support. So he turns to his brother, British Metropolitan police officer Paul Owens, to accompany him to Michigan. If anyone can find Liam and get them both safely back to the Isle of Wight for their wedding its Paul Owens. Upon landing, they soon discover the trail leads to a small town in Wisconsin, outside of Milwaukee where LIam’s rental car has been found.

Once in Milwaukee, openly gay Detective Paul Owens starts investigating Liam’s disappearance and runs smack into the closeted but gorgeous Wisconsin Detective Olaf Skandik. Olaf returned home after he left the service and joined the police force. But the small town attitudes and close-knit community now feel restrictive, and Olaf is afraid that coming out will leave him both without a job and family. But as Paul and Olaf start investigating Liam’s disappearance together, mutual attraction flares into something much more, shocking them both. What happens when a casual attraction turns into love for men separated by an ocean of responsibilities?

Isle of Wishes is the second story in the Isle of Wight series and it deepens my love for these men and their families that started in The Isle of…Where?. In that book, we first meet Sam Owens and Liam Marshall when Liam arrives on the Isle of Wight to scatter the ashes of his best friend, Alex. Sam and Liam meet and fall in love, passionately and forever within weeks of Liam’s arrival and Sue Brown absolutely makes the reader believe in this love affair and Sam and Liam’s need for each other. The author also surrounded this pair with a collection of characters, mostly Sam’s family, including one of his brother’s, a police officer named Paul.

Brown gave this motley, large family such depth and dimension to their characters that I fell in love with them as much as I did with Sam and Liam. At the end of that story, we left Sam and Liam happy but starting the process of getting a residency visa for Liam and dealing with other issues. Brown had convinced us that they were on the road to happiness but still had a journey in front of them. So naturally I wanted the next chapter in their lives immediately. Sigh.

Instant gratification are two words not in Sue Brown’s vocabulary, at least not in this series. Her readers had to wait over a year to see what happened next to Sam and Liam and the Isle of Wishes gives us a startling answer. Liam disappears to the consternation and heartbreak of Sam and fans of this series. I love that element of Sue Brown’s stories where items that appear to be safe and straightforward are actually deceptively complicated, whether it is relationships, sexuality, or even a trip home to finish packing and move. Nothing works out as planned because life doesn’t function that way and Sue Brown’s stories are most definitely grounded in reality.

That’s why I can accept a casual attraction turning into something deeper, not yet love but greater than just a flirtation and hookup. It’s also the reason why the cause behind Liam’s disappearance is so plausible as well. I often find myself nodding in agreement with something I am reading in her stories because its recognizably familiar and human. This also applies to her characters, whose problems and outlooks reflect our own.

Olaf is that man who finds himself torn between family and job he loves and his sexuality. Olaf has hidden his sexuality for years and now it has become deeply ingrained to hide his attraction to men. Given small town attitudes, especially in his town’s law enforcement, Olaf is well aware of what coming out would cost him, his job and his family. Until Olaf meets the outwardly gay Paul, he has never questioned his decision to remain firmly in the closet. Then Paul and Sam arrive looking for Liam and Olaf’s life is turned upside down.

Brown makes Olaf’s decisions understandable even as the heat between the men flares white hot. It’s painful, its frustrating and it feels so real to watch Olaf and Paul work through what they mean to each other even as they follow the leads in Liam’s disappearance. Paul is a great character too. Paul is home is in his sexuality. He is great at his job, loves his family and is astonished at his feelings towards Olaf. We get it that both men have a hard time believing that their feelings for each other are real given the time frame and situation they are operating in. Sam is there too for every agonizing minute that Liam is gone. Trust me when I say your heart will be sore but not broken by the end of this story.

And that is primarily why I have not given Isle of Wishes 5 stars. There are many loose ends left fluttering about at the end of this story, intentionally so. We do get part of a happy ending and a something more but the author is laying her groundwork for the next installment. And while I respect that, I do wish it had been pulled together a tiny bit more instead of a surfeit of questions and possibilities.

Still this is a deeply wonderful story. The writing is crisp and the plot complicated enough to let the romance shine through without obscuring all the other great elements here. And of course, there are those marvelous characters that we have come to love and who form the basis and structure for this series. I don’t think I can place one above the other, they are all so intertwined that separating them out actually would lessen the impact of the story. The Owens family, those by blood and those they adopt are a force to be reckoned with and I love them all equally.

So, what is in the future for this series? Well, per Sue Brown, book 3, Isle of Walls, will be out in May next year. It directly follows on from Isle of Wishes, and although it’s based on Nibs and Wig, it will tell more of Paul and Olaf’s story. Then she has a new series planned with Olaf and Paul, which will start next year. So many stories to look forward to. I know I will spend some of the time rereading the first two books while waiting for next spring and the arrival of Isle of Walls.

If you are new to this series, go back to the first story, Isle of….Where?(Isle of Wight #1). It’s necessary in order to fully understand all the people and relationships to follow. For no matter where this series goes, the heart of it remains on the Isle of Wight and the incredibly addicting Owens family. Consider this book and this series highly recommended.

Books in the series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and events that occur:

The Isle of… Where? (Isle of Wight #1)
Isle of Wishes (Isle of Wight #2)

Book Details:

ebook, 242 pages

Published August 19th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN 1627980776 (ISBN13: 9781627980777)

edition language English

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4106

series Isle of Wight

September 2013 Summary of Reviews

September 2013 Book Review Summary

What a wonderful month it was for books and reviews! Most of the books I read fell into the 5 and 4 star category, a few into the 3 star and none below that. Series predominated the ratings this time. Most notably the series offerings from the Pulp Friction authors. There were new books in well established series such as Katey Hawthorne’s Superpowered Love series as well as followup stories and new series from such talented authors such as Kendall McKenna (The Tameness of the Wolf series) and Aleksandr Voinov (Memory of Scorpions series).

Other new series includes Poppy Dennison’s Pack Partners , Cat Grant’s Bannon’s Gym) and Harper Kingsley’s Heroes and Villains series too. My cup (and yours) runneth over with series, all promising more great stories featuring characters we have come to love. And believe it or not, October is starting the same way! What a fall!

So grab a pen or notebook and jot down those books and authors you may have missed the first time around. I have linked my review to each one listed. Happy Reading!

5 Star Rating:

Crucify (Triple Threat #4) by L.E. Harner
Defiance (Triple Threat #3) by L.E. Harner
Re-entry Burn (Superpowered Love #5) by Katey Hawthorne (supernatural)
Retribution (Triple Threat #2) by L.E. Harner (contemporary)
Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions #1) by Aleksandr Voinov (fantasy)
Strength of the Wolf (The Tameness of the Wolf #2) by Kendall McKenna

4 to 4.75 Star Rating:

Accidental Alpha (Pack Partners #1) by Poppy Dennison (4.5 stars)(supernatural)
Black Dog (Bannon’s Gym #1) by Cat Grant (4.5 stars)(contemporary)
Blessed Curses by Madeleine Ribbon (4 stars) (fantasy)
City Knight (City Knight #1) by T.A. Webb (4 stars out of 5)(contemporary fiction)
Heroes and Villains (Heroes and Villains #1) by Harper Kingsley (4 stars)(supernatural)
Sonata by A.F. Henley (4.5 stars out of 5)(contemporary fiction)
Summer Lovin’ Anthology (4.75 stars out of 5) (contemporary)
The Crimson Outlaw by Alex Beecroft (4 stars)(historical)
Triple Threat (Triple Threat #1) by L.E. Harner (4.5 stars)(contemporary)

3 to 3.75 Star Rating:

Coliseum Square by Lynn Lorenz (3.75 stars)(historical)
Roughstock: Blind Ride, Season One by BA Tortuga (3 stars) (contemporary)

2 to 2.75 Star Rating: none

1 to 1.75 Star Rating: none

Review: Sonata by A.F. Henley

Rating: 4.5 stars ouf of 5

Ian James is feeling every bit of his thirty six years. His long term partner cheated on him, multiple times apparently, before leaving for good. Ian’s long promised promotion at work is two years overdue and counting. Now his sexual hookup, young sexy Jordan, has just told him to get lost after some quick mutual satisfaction. Even after Ian tried to pursue Jordan, all he got in return was an outright refusal. What’s a man to do?

Jordan has more than he can handle at the moment, two jobs and his young son Cole who happens to be autistic. When Jordan hooked up with Ian one night, all he wanted was just a quickie, no involvement, no phone numbers but the universe had other plans. When their paths intersected not once, but twice, it seemed as though fate was interfering. Yes, Ian had made it clear that he wanted to see Jordan again but meeting each other again and again was completely accidental. Can both men overcome their pasts and their fears to make a future together?

There is so much to love about A. F. Henley’s latest book, Sonata. From the lovely and relevant cover, the chapters titled with the names of musical movements to the in-depth research the author has done on Asperger syndrome, the story kept me involved and emotionally engaged from the opening page.

Henley’s characters are both desperate to connect with someone yet equally fearful for a connection to be made. Each man’s past makes them question their ability to see clearly about situations and individuals. Ian’s last boyfriend hurt him emotionally, cheating on Ian on numerous occasions, taking advantage of his generous and forgiving nature. Now Ian questions his own judgement when it comes to people and relationships. Jordan is hiding a traumatic past and trusts no one unless absolutely necessary. These characters contain all the nuances necessary to make them not only believable but endearing. For Ian and Jordan to go forward past their fears into a tenuous relationship, we watch them slowly let go of their closely held suspicions to reach a measure of comfort and trust with each other. It’s a slow, subtly shaded journey with pitfalls every step of the way.

Another remarkable character is the young boy Cole. Cole has Asbergers syndrome and Henley gives us an authentic portrait of the effects of this genetic disease on an adolescent. Cole’s behavior as well as the methods used to calm him down are realistic and medically authentic in nature and scope. But what I love most is that this is a balanced portrait of autism the author achieves in Cole. For every wail and out of control moment, there is an equal victory to behold. Small, fleeting and sometimes almost unnoticeable, but there to be seen and applauded. It is a marvelous element of this story and Henley’s treatment elevated this story past a romance into something very special. For a key to Cole is music. And Ian with his grandfather’s beloved piano opens the way for Cole to enjoy and communicate with others through music.

This is a age gap between Jordan and Ian and for some, this might be an issue. Jordan is younger than Ian, in actions and emotions. But I still felt enough of a real romantic connection between the two characters that it never bothered me. What did I have issues with? The ending. As with so many stories these days, it just petered off. For it to feel fully satisfactory, I wanted to know more about Cole and his current situation. I also needed more than a paragraph or two to pull all the events of the last fourth of the story together. It was a good ending but the story that preceded it deserved a great one and didn’t get it.

Still Sonata is terrific. It’s a story full of characters that pull you in and moments that have you cheering out loud (take that, Aubrey or )tearing up in response to the scenes you are reading. Leave me leave you with a scene with Cole and Ian:

Cole hitched a breath, mid-shriek, and paused for a second before resuming his demonic call. Ian forced him over to the tub, a square grungy hulk of an appliance, and shoved Cole’s ear against the side of the tub with more force than he’d have liked. But the moment Cole’s ear was pressed to the side of the tub, Cole stilled and silenced. A palm snaked up the slick surface of the bathtub and rested alongside Cole’s flushed cheek. His eyes drifted into unknown territory as he listened to the echo of water through metal.

A scary and ultimately beautiful moment for child and man. Grab up this book. I think you will love it as much as I did.

Cover art by Megan Derr. I love this cover, so relevant and lovely. Great job.

Book Details:

ebook
180 pages, printed version

Published July 17th 2013 by Less Than Three Press LLC

original title Sonata

ISBN13 9781620042137

edition language English

Review: City Knight (City Knight #1) by T.A. Webb

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

When Marcus lost his lover Jeremy he lost everything. Two punks shot and killed his doctor lover over just a few dollars and Marcus and his partner were the ones to find him. Jeremy’s death demolished Marcus, and he needed to do something to help protect the innocent, things he couldn’t do while on the force. So Marcus quit his fifteen year job as a detective on the police force and became a private detective. He quit sleeping and he gave up on love. Then Marcus spots Ben, a young man prostituting himself on the bad streets of Atlanta and things begin to change.

Ben has been damaged badly by his past but is still struggling for a better life for himself. To pay for grad school and living expenses, Ben is whoring himself out on the streets of Atlanta. Only another year or so and then he will be done. A past traumatic event has convinced Ben that sex is only tolerable when it is fast and anonymous. And paid for.

Against their wishes, the men find themselves falling into a relationship. But Ben’s past arrives and shatters everything, the budding romance and Ben’s fragile existence.

City Knight is a monster of a book crammed into a mere 50 pages. T.A. Webb skillfully frames out Marcus’ and Ben’s past traumas, then with descriptive slashes of anguish and threat, delivers the start of a pain-filled journey to love and redemption for both men and the readers.

The first in a series, City Knight switches point of view from Ben to Marcus so the reader can see what events has brought each damaged man to their present day situation. This format works here beautifully to impress upon the reader just how damaged and conflicted these men are as neither has moved past the events that succeeded in demolishing their lives. Webb’s characters clash and then start to come together, reawakening their desires for intimacy and sex. It’s painful, and realistic. It’s also grubby ,desperate but also starts to show slivers of hope for each of them.

At that point, the reader is quite naturally uneasy as we have come to expect the worst for each man, and Webb delivers that too in a heart crunching cliffhanger that will haunt you and leave you wanting more immediately. I used to mark down stories that ended in this way but have come to accept this ending as long as it is a part of a series or serialized stories like this one.

In this case, Webb has set the stage for the next story in the series, while leaving the reader ramped up in anxiety and anticipation for the events to follow. I can’t wait (and didn’t have to). My review for the next in the series follows shortly. Read these tales one at a time or cobble them up in one reading, it works both ways. I loved City Knights and think you will too.

Stories in the City Knight series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and events to follow:

City Knight (City Knight #1)
Knightmare (City Knight #2)
Starry Knight (City Knight #3)
Knights Out (City Knight #4)

Book Details:

ebook, 50 pages

Published February 15th 2013 by A Bear on Books (first published February 13th 2013)

ISBN13 9781937252380

edition language English

series City Knight

Review: Accidental Alpha (Pack Partners, #1) by Poppy Dennison

Book Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

One year ago police officer Lex Tompkins was stabbed while on the job. The severity of the wounds and the long recovery time meant disability and retirement for Lex as he could no longer physically do his job. Bitter, Lex withdraws from everyone he knows, buying seven acres in the middle of nowhere to hide in and retreat from society. But almost from the beginning his plans go awry. Lex has a neighbor when his real estate agent promised him none. And that neighbor, Spencer Robinson, always seems to have a ton of people at his house and a party going on. Plus the guy isn’t even Lex’s type.

When a toddler shows up alone in Lex’s front yard, he knows that there is only one place he could have come from. Lex picks the kid up and starts to head across the street when the toddler bites the heck out of his neck. Lex passes out and the next moment wakes up in Spencer’s house as the new Alpha werewolf of a small and dysfunctional pack of werewolves.

Faced with new responsibilities that he doesn’t want, Lex also finds himself attracted to Spencer, someone he never looked twice at before. What’s a bitter excop to do when Fate rearranges his life in ways he never imagined?

Poppy Dennison became a go to author of mine when I started reading her Triad series (now at book four). So when I saw that she had a new shifter story out, I knew I had to have it. Accidental Alpha, the first in the Pack Partners series, starts with a hysterical premise, what happens when a toddler accidentally turns a person into a werewolf? I love it when an author gives me a new twist on a popular genre and that’s exactly what Dennison has delivered here.

Dennison has created a unique pack structure for her werewolf story which includes the toddler’s position within it and the reason why he bit Lex in the first place. This is a small and somewhat dysfunctional pack with a few shifters hanging at the outskirts of the core group that is not getting along without leadership. Into this interesting group dynamics, Dennison thrusts her disabled alpha cop, Lex Tompkins. I really liked his character, he comes across as a hard core cop who loved his job. And the type of personality that it takes to be a cop is exactly the type of leadership needed in an Alpha. I liked the manner in which Dennison connects those dots not only for the reader but for Lex as well. Lex is a man in need of a job that requires him to police and take care of people and that is exactly what he gets again.

This pack is made up of some very damaged, sad, and angry shifters. Each comes with their own set of challenges that Lex must first decipher and then deal with. That includes his very strong attraction to Spencer which is clearly a werewolf thing Lex needs to get figure out immediately before his own behavior gets out of control. I liked the pack that the author has created for this story. There’s the toddler, Aiden, who is quite adorable. His mother Mia, two special special favorites of mine Ruby and Nathan, Justin and more. And then there is Spencer, the neighbor and perhaps potential mate. I connected with the character of Spencer as well. Quiet and unassuming, he has a reserve to him that works when the rest of the pack is spiraling out of control. Its a nice yin and yang sort of relationship that will evolve with the story and the series. It’s also a lovely change from the wham bam mate thing that overwhelms characterization and plot that I so often read in shifter stories. Poppy Dennsion sets out a structure for not only the pack but for acquiring mates as well.

The ending of Accidental Alpha sees Lex, Spencer and the rest slowly adjusting to each other and the change in pack dynamics. It’s a new start for them all and an appropriate place to end the first book in the series. Poppy Dennison had laid her ground work while still leaving room to flesh out the personalities and back history of the individual pack members. I also expect to learn more about Lex as well. Accidental Alpha leaves me wanting more of the Pack Partners series and that’s exactly what it should do. Great job, Poppy Dennison. I can’t wait to see what will happen next. Please don’t make us wait too long.

Book Details:

ebook, 56 pages

Published September 11th 2013 by Wilde City Press

ISBN13 9781925031485

edition language English

url http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/accidental-alpha-pack-partners-book-one/#.UikX-D9dAks

The Winners Are Announced for The Tameness of the Wolf Week! Happy Birthday, Kendall McKenna!

It’s here, our final day with Kendall McKenna and The Tameness of the Wolf Week. It’s been a great week with terrific prizes and author insight into a series that is just outstanding and one of Scattered Thoughts Best of Lists for 2013. I am sure you all are with me when I say I can’t wait for more.

Thank you, Kendall, for the wonderful posts and gifts.

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords

Whew! It’s been a helluva week! I was already behind on some administrative duties when Strength of the Wolf was released. The reaction was so strong, it was all I could do to keep up with email, Facebook PMs, and messages left on my wall, and on The Tameness of the Wolf’s Facebook page. I’ve been participating in the Suicide Prevention Blog Hop (because as of 2013, more military personnel take their own lives each day/year, than are killed in combat), and I have two new guest blog appearances starting today, and it’s been rough keeping up!

Who am I kidding? I’m even farther behind than I was!

And don’t think any of this is a complaint, because it certainly is not! What it is, is an observation of the escalation of the reaction to the Tameness of the Wolf books as they come out. I think the love of paranormal stories gave Strength of the Pack a good launch, but Strength of the Wolf was met with a perfect storm of paranormal, sequel, and my own slightly higher author profile. From an objective standpoint, it’s fascinating to watch how each series generates its own unique reaction. Each new title generates a slightly more intense reaction than the one before.

So here we are, one week into the release of Strength of the Wolf, it’s topping the bestseller lists, and I’m still behind in admin work! Just in case it’s not clear, when I’m behind in admin work, that means I’m not working on the next book! Yikes! Today, none of that matters! We’re celebrating my birthday, today, by announcing the last of the contest winners! My thanks to everyone who has stopped by, read my posts, read the wonderful reviews for both books, and entered the contests!

A huge thanks to Melanie (aka Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words) who stayed in stealth mode! I knew you were out there, even though you stayed in the background. I appreciate the two great reviews for Strength of the Pack and Strength of the Wolf.

So, to celebrate my birthday today, I’m going to finish giving out gifts to YOU!

Jumping back a bit, the winner of Noah and Lucas’ dog tags is Carissa! Congratulations! Drop me an email at Kendall.mckenna3 at gmail dot com with your shipping address.

Next up, the winner of Tim and Jeremy’s dog tags is Fedora! Congratulations to you as well! Be sure to let me know your mailing address.

And for the GRAND FINALE! The winner of the e-book copy of Strength of the Wolf is: Lyra L! Congratulations! I just need to know which format you need!

Once again, my thanks to everyone for participating! Congratulations to all the winners! I hope your prizes help you enjoy my birthday! Now, go run and tell all your friends and family about this wonder series of books you’ve read and how they need to check them out now, before too many of them get released! 😉

Time for me to lace up my LPCs and step off! Kilo-Mike out!

Kendall McKenna

love & dog tags

www.kendallmckenna.com

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Review Repost: Strength of the Pack (The Tameness of the Wolf #1) by Kendall McKenna

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

At a time when tales of the Human Dominant and his True Alpha Shifter have been consigned to myth, along comes human Marine Lt. Lucas Young. As he readies his command of mixed human and shifters for their deployment to Afghanistan, he is assigned True Alpha pack leader Sargent Noah Hammond to his platoon. From the beginning, Lucas and Noah circle around each other, Noah pressing for dominance and control while Lucas is equally determined that his authority and rank be recognized and respected by the True Alpha. Small skirmishes and exercises bring human and shifter together in an ever strengthening bond as Lucas learns to dominate Noah and understand the ways of the Pack.

Once their platoon has landed in Afghanistan, they find themselves under fire, and the wartime stresses find their bond deepening and getting stronger with each trial and success. Soon the pair are mirroring the legendary bonding of Dominant and True Alpha from ancient lore. But the bonding is incomplete and when one is wounded, can misunderstandings and military regulations be overcome in time to save them both?

It has been a while since a new shifter book blew me away. Strength of the Pack has done that job and then some. McKenna gives us an alternative world where shifters and humans have been together for millennia and throughout much of history. But through human rewriting, their place in our history has been purposely obscured. Now, because of some unmentioned war or occurrence, shifters are now partnering with humans in all aspects of life, including the military. McKenna gives us just enough back history to whip up a thirst for more while still making her current setting feel realistic and well thought out. Little by little, McKenna delivers glimpses of this magical back history, reinterpreting such legends as Joan of Arc and Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

McKenna’s world building is a wonder with no element left to chance. We are given pack hierarchy, which is folded into Army and Marine structure in such a way as to feel utterly real and authentic in every detail. She has a way of describing army life as lived while deployed that I wondered if she was a Reservist or active in the military. From their packs to their guns, to the dust and heat of the land they are bivouacked on, it felt as though you were there with them, close to the insurgents and ambushes. It just rang true, right down to how the Pack reacts after skirmishing with the enemy.

And that brings me to another aspect of this book that I loved, the natural history of the wolf. Unlike other shifter stories, here the wolf shifters act like wolves, including their rank and status within the pack and how it regulates their behavior to one another. While I enjoy seeing different authors take on shifters, as a park naturalist I love seeing an author who gets the science right, especially where natural history is concerned. Kudos to McKenna for that lovely take on wolf shifters and shifter society. She also opens up for an explosion of options in the books to come. I can’t say more without giving away some of the plot but oh my, what possibilities could be in store for us in the books ahead.

Kendall McKenna’s characters are worthy of such marvelous world building too. I loved the reserved nature of Lt. Lucas Young. He is brilliant, concerned about regulations and the safety of those under his command. There are so many levels to this man and they are slowly peeled away as he realizes that he is not prepared to handle the presence of either a True Alpha or shifters in his platoon. The decisions he makes (and we are inside his mind as he makes them) paint a portrait of a man, honest to his true nature with the capacity to grow with the challenges before him. Lucas is matched up with the indomitable True Alpha, Noah Hammond, a nordic warrior shifter. This is not a cardboard hero but again a being adjusting to a bond thought unheard of and having his own problems with it. McKenna has made Hammond vulnerable, at least to Lucas, a necessary facet of his personality if we are to believe their bond to be true. This will be one of my favorite new pairs of the year. The needs of the wolf for taste, touch, smell and markings deliver sensual scene after sensual scene as Lucas and Noah adapt to each other and their needs.

This book is 336 pages long and felt like 90. I got to the end and wailed because I wanted much, much more. I have so many questions for McKenna. Has the government been working to find this combination again? When did the shifters come forward again? And what happens to Tim Madison? Consider my feet stamped in frustration. Lucky for all of us, this is just the beginning. I hope the series is a long one. But either way, long or short, I can’t wait for the next installment in The Tameness of the Wolf. Go get your copy and let’s start this journey together. I can’t wait to see where it takes us.

Stunning cover art by Jared Rackler

Review: Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions #1) by Aleksandr Voinov

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Kendras is quite possibly the last surviving member of the only family he’s ever known—the elite fighting force known as the Scorpions. Gravely injured and left for dead during the conflict between the city states of Dalman and Fetin. Kendras has no choice but to accept the coin and offer of service to the mercenary who finds him severely wounded outside the city. All the mercenary called Steel demands is nothing less than Kendras’ total submission and acceptance of a secret task to carry out. With no where else to turn and no money to buy medicine, Kendras resignedly accepts.

But Kendras has his own hidden agenda, that of finding if any of his Scorpion brothers survived and bringing the elite team back together again. It also includes finding the man who holds Kendras’ heart and soul, that of the officer who leads the Scorpions. But first, Kendras must heal. His shattered foot and other wounds need time. Complications arise when Steel becomes possessive of Kendras, wanting more than just his body. But Steel’s too late, Kendras’ love and loyalty lie elsewhere. When that becomes apparent, what will Steel do when he realizes Kendras will never be his?

Kendras faces layers of political intrigue, and tests that will strain his loyalties and test his physical prowess as a warrior.But nothing will stand in the way of Kendras achieving his goals, not even the Empire itself.

Scorpion is such a powerful book. Brutal, grimly realistic in its portrait of a warrior’s life, depicting the violence to body and soul that is the by product of such a life. It is also equally honest in its scenes of casual everyday brutality that is a way of life for those less fortunate and lacking in status or wealth. Rape, humiliation, slavery and death lie in wait for all but the most noble or well connected. And even then assassination and mutilation are possibilities for those who would rule. Aleksandr Voinov has created a universe of exceptional cruelty, where casual viciousness and political maneuvering are daily occurances. Yet it is also a world where love and loyalty cannot be bought and the possibility of redemption and love is a treasure to be fought for.

In Voinov’s world, a devastating war in the empire of Shara has left the former dynasty broken into three city kingdoms. In the three hundred years since the sundering of the empire of Shara, the three cities have maintained a delicate balance of autonomy between them. The author reveals the political tactics within each city and the wars that the failed policies and negotiations have brought to the kingdoms themselves. Kendras and his fellow Scorpions are the latest casualties of a war between Dalman and Fetin, two of the city kingdoms. From the start, the author brings us into the conflict at the bottom level. The consequences of the war is everywhere, from the dead to the dying and mutilated. The mercenaries, needed to fight are just as quickly discarded by those who hired them. It is a rough, cruel life and Voinov depicts it honestly with gritty descriptions that are almost to vivid to bear.

Equal to Voinov’s world building is his characterizations. Every character found within this novel is meticulously created from Kendras to Steel to Widowmaker, the assassin whose loyalties are hidden beneath layers of guile. These are also not men for the fainthearted. They take what they want regardless of the frailties and consent of others. In fact, kindness and passivity is looked down on, it will get a person killed or enslaved on this world. Loyalty and brotherhood are to be treasured and love is so rare that it is not easily identifiable.

At the heart of this story is Kendras, an orphan discarded on the streets of Fetin to fend for himself at an early age. An oddity because of his black skin and blue eyes that mark him as a pureblooded Jaishani (a noble race), Kendras has no idea as to his lineage or history. A petty thief and sometime killer, Kendras’ life was changed on the day he was set to die, saved by the officer who would train him to be a Scorpion. I loved Kendras. He is such a remarkable character, he perseveres, he is loyal, and amidst his pragmatism, there is an unquenchable desire to love and be loved in return. Equal in complexity is the officer (his name is revealed later on in the story). Who and what he is slowly comes to the surface over the course of the story. While the novel unfolds through the eyes of Kendras, the officer becomes a man who both Kendras and the reader commit to emotionally and intellectually. But every character Voinov has created has multiple layers, from Selvin a Scorpion who chooses to remain a sexual slave to Steel and Widowmaker, mercenaries with pasts as complex as their characters. Every one of these damaged people enrich the story with their realism and singular personalities.

I found no quibbles with this incredible story but I must make an admission. The opening pages are as brutal as any you will find throughout Scorpion. Initially, I had a hard time with them, especially the non con elements involved. But they also ring with a terrible authenticity and you will understand why the author not only included them but started off in such a manner as you delve further into the book and Kendras’ life. It is cruel and sets the tone for the reality of the life Kendras lives and the events that will occur down the line. Kendras does what he has to in order to stay alive. It’s a pragmatic outlook and it certainly is one that belongs to a war hardened mercenary.

The narrative of Scorpion was smooth and thrilling. I couldn’t put it down. The ending of the story was satisfying while leaving the way open for the next book in the series. Its with anticipation and a little fear that I await the next installment. Don’t pass this story up..

Cover art by Reese Dante is gorgeous in the 2nd edition. The model is perfect for Kendras and the design works in tone and graphics. Great job.

Book Details:

2nd edition from Riptide Publishing
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62649-013-0

eBook release: May 27, 2013

eBook Formats: pdf, mobi, html, epub
Print ISBN: 978-1-62649-014-7
Print release: May 27, 2013
Word count: 71,000
Page count: 274
Type: Part of a Series
Cover by: Reese Dante
This title is #1 of the Memory of Scorpions series.
– See more at: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/scorpion-memory-scorpions-1#sthash.UsSFLbL9.dpuf
Rewritten, enlarged and redited
First edition 242 pages from Dreamspinner Press 2011

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