Tag: Reese Dante

Review of Absent-Minded Astrophysicist by TN Tarrant

Rating: 4 stars

136 pages

Dr. Liam McGregor, child prodigy, astrophysicist, and all around brilliant mind is absent minded when it comes to everything outside of his lab except for his cat. He is constantly walking into doorknobs, desks and even people because his attention is so firmly tuned to space above.    Awkward around people and socially inept, Liam’s lonely and feels unattractive when he stops to think about it, which isn’t often.  Isolation has been his companion for far too long.  But a change may be coming in the very attractive form of the new head of security.

Jareth Manning is emerging from his own dark period.  His partner recently died, and his former employers tried to discredit him when they found out Jareth was gay.  Now he is starting over as the new head of security at Northwestern Institute for Interstellar Research.  It didn’t take him long to notice Dr. McGregor if only for the amount of ambulances called to the campus to attend to astrophysicist’s many accidents.  Jareth finds the astrophysicist cute, shy and very kind hearted.  When Liam is attacked by a colleague, it gives him the chance to get to know Liam better.  As both men grow closer, can Jareth get Liam to focus on what is before him…..a chance at love on earth.

This was such a cute story.  Liam McGregor was a lovely character.  I know we have seen the absent minded scientist before but Liam is a special edition to that category.  A little pudgy, with a heartbreaking background, I just fell in love with him.  TN Tarrant did a nice job with Jareth Manning as well.   Tall, gorgeous and a widower. Combine two lovely characters with two heartbreaking backstories and you get a short story with lots of heart. That’s Absent-minded Astrophysicist in a nutshell.

My only quibble here is that perhaps the author tried to fit too much into limited space.  I think she had material here for a much larger book and wish she had gone in that direction.  Her secondary characters include Dr. Forrester (head of the Institute) and his two partners.  They clearly deserve a story of their own.  Liam’s backstory left me with more questions than answers by the end of the book as did Jareth’s family who appeared out of nowhere.  As I said, I love the main characters and story.  I just think they got a little overwhelmed by too much information.

This is such a lovely little book.  Don’t let it pass you by.  I would love to see more of the characters she brought to life here.

Cover:  Same cover used for others in this series.  Cover artist is Reese Dante

Review of The Beast’s Promise by Amylea Lyn

Rating: 4.25 stars

When Owen Sanders was forcibly taken from the City, he left behind 6 year old twin brothers in the care of his grandfather.  Living with the Katria, cat shifters, has given him a new perspective on the City and the life under the Dome. All he had heard from the authorities in the City about the Outside was lies and he has found love with Maltok, Co Alpha of the tribe he’s living with.  But his happiness is marred knowing he left his brothers behind and he can’t rest until he knows what has happened to them in his absence.

Maltok knows his mate is unhappy but is stunned to find out about the family Owen has left behind.  When Owen asks for Maltok’s help in returning to the City, Maltok agrees if Owen will fully bond to him upon their return.  Owen agrees and then feels guilty, first from putting his love in danger and then not telling Maltok how much he loves him before asking him for help.

Both set off for the City, and the misunderstandings between them grow with each step they take.  Heartbreaking surprises and danger await them within the Domed City.  Owen and Maltok must come together to save Owen’s family before they can have the future together they both desire.

The Beast’s Promise is the second in the Outside The City series from Amylea Lyn.  Nature of the Beast is the first in the series and the stories should be read in sequence in order to fully understand the back stories and societies mentioned.  The Beast’s Promise picks up before the epilogue in the first book, which is a little confusing in itself.  The author assumes that one has read the first novel, so there are scare descriptions of the dystopian society Owen came from and little of any physical descriptions of the Katria here.

Raine and Ash from Nature of the Beast appear here but are naturally relegated to secondary status. But those tantalizing glimpses of Raine’s gift appear here to my endless frustration.  It’s like dangling a piece of Godiva chocolates in front of a chocoholic.  Tsking away here.  But that said, Amylea Lyn’s characters, action and wonderful plot more than made up for it.  The author did a terrific job of pulling me into her world, enmeshing me into the plight of those who live within a Domed City, separated from nature and the world around them.  This is an old plot device that Amylea Lyn has made fresh again by populating it with beings I cared about,  political  and racial grievances within the tribe that mimic those within our own society, and a good old fashioned mystery that moved the pace quickly forward.

My enjoyment of the story was partially reduced by florid  or repetitive writing in terms of physical descriptions, especially of Maltok.  There is a mention of heaving chests, luxurious mane, and golden orbs, for a while there I thought Fabio was back.  And of course, there were Owen’s “shining blue gray eyes, soulful blue gray eyes”and more. But as the story progressed, the writing evened out so it didn’t really interfere with my enjoyment of the book. While I wish that the author would find new ways to describe a character’s physical appearance other than starting with the eyes, her strength is in creating characters that we care about, and then carefully constructing a world or worlds for them to inhabit.  Just a lovely job.

By the end of the book I was ready for another, hopefully featuring the twins, Lucah and Micah, two very endearing characters.  Once again, Amylea Lyn left me wanting more of each character she introduced while leaving me with the impression that the next book might be even better.

Cover: Cover Artist is Reese Dante. IAnother great cover in this series.  The young blond model in front is certainly in keeping with the descriptions of Owen.  With the lion graphic in the background, it pulls everything together. Love it.

Available from Silver Publishing, Amazon and ARe

Review of Face Value, Sanctuary #3 by RJ Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars

As the Bullen Family conspiracy continues to unfold, Beckett Jamieson, aka Robert Bullen, is recovering in a Sanctuary safehouse from the beating his father and uncle gave him.  Dale McIntyre, a Sanctuary Agent, along with Joseph Kinnon (The Only Easy Day, #2)rescue him, kill his Uncle and arrest his father.  When Beckett awakens, he’s blind and alone with Kayden Summers in a house in the middle of the woods.   Dale McIntyre, his only safety line and contact, is gone, off on another assignment.  Kayden Summers is both a Doctor and field agent for Sanctuary.  But when everything Beckett has known has turned out to be false, can he trust someone he can’t see to keep him safe?

In Face Value, RJ Scott continues to unravel the story of the powerful Bullen family while introducing us to new Sanctuary agents and people involved in the Bullen family past.  Beckett Jamieson turned 21 and immediately found out that his life has been one subterfuge after another. Isla and Derek Jamieson were not his biological parents, and his real name is Robert Edward Bullen, scion of the  powerful and wealthy Bullen clan.  Austin Mitchell, lawyer and friend of his biological mother, Emma, hands him a letter and a box with his initials on it that change his life forever. Soon he is embroiled  with the FBI, murder, the Bullens and of course, Sanctuary.

I love a good mystery and here is one that has stretched out over three books and looks to continue on as there is no resolution in sight at the end of Face Value.  Once again, the author has done an incredible job of bringing us a variety of interesting characters, from endearing to malignant, in a mystery that deepens with each book. Beckett Jamieson is that perfect combination of innocence and determination.  Just 21 when everything he knows is upended, his frustration, fear, and bravery endear the reader immediately starting with the first chapter.  Here his uncle and father find him snooping around his mother’s old room, looking for incriminating evidence against them for the DA.  Your heart pounds along with his as he realizes he’s been discovered and they are not buying his story. And then the beating starts, and I felt sickened until just as he passes out he hears the sounds of a rescue in progress.

When Beck wakes up, he’s been transported to a safe house, he’s temporarily blind due to his beatings, and his only companion is Dr. Hayden Summers.  So realistic is the scene where Beck slowly returns to consciousness you are right there feeling his confusion, and then mounting apprehension when he can’t open his eyes which turns to terror upon the realization he can’t see.  He’s helpless and can only barely hold on as a calm voice tells him the blindness is  temporary, and to trust him.  The voice of course belongs to  another multilayered character,  Hayden Summers.  He’s just turned 26 but mentally and emotionally far older due to his back story. Hayden was raised in a compound by a loving but unstable father (think Waco, TX without the religious overtones). When the compound is raided, his father dies, and Hayden is taken by the founder of Sanctuary and raised with his son.  A complicated background makes for a brilliant and complicated young man.  As Hayden cares for his young patient, he is both impatient to be away in the field and away from Beckett to whom he is drawn.  He is a brilliant Doctor, martial arts expert, gay and sarcastic son of a bitch outside of his doctor  persona who shies away from emotional attachments.  It’s a delicate dance of trust and attraction between two young gay men under stressful and potentially deadly conditions.  And RJ Scott has done a great job of making their waltz towards a relationship remain grounded in real life expectations while allowing the possibilities of romance to grow.  The characters here never lose sight of their goals, there is no instant love, just the hope of more if they can just keep Beck alive. And the twists and turns the plot takes will take your breath away and make your heart stop just when you think they are safe.

As I got to the end of Face Value, I immediately wanted to reach for the next book.  And then the one after that. I want to know more,  I want more of Beck and Hayden (they are that interesting and they deserve it).  I want to see the Bullen family pulled down and justice served.  Of course, I also want more Dale and Joseph (The Only Easy Day), as well as Nik and Morgan from Guarding Morgan.  Book by book, RJ Scott is building my Sanctuary addiction and now I can’t wait for the next one.  The next couple.  And perhaps a glimpse of those we have already met and loved.  Mission accomplished, RJ Scott, a job well done.

Cover:  Reese Dante is the cover artist. Love this cover.  The model is the perfect Beck.  Great cover design for a wonderful story.  Grade A.