Tag: short story

Review of Winter Love by T. T. Kove

Rating: 3 stars

Lasse and his friends head to Oppdal ( a ski resort in Norway) for a vacation filled with fun, partying, and lots of skiing.  After a day on the slopes, Lasse gets into a confrontation with a man named Armas who won’t take no for an answer. Coming to Lasse’ rescue is Markos, Armas’ brother and fellow vacationer. Markos and Lasse are instantly attracted to each other and spend the rest of the vacation together.  But Markos is Finnish, and the vacation is coming to an end. The stress of a long-distance relationship is only one of the tests their love comes under as Markos and Lasse struggle to keep their winter love  alive.

Upon finishing the story, I wondered why I found it so dissatisfying. On the surface, the story is plausible and well constructed, the characters of Lasse and Markos likable. Further reflection crystallized several problems I had with Winter Love.

The first is characterization or the lack thereof.  All of the characters here are so bland as to be interchangeable, with the exception of the group slut, Oliver, and homophobe Armas, who sleeps with men.  Otherwise, you can switch out Markos, Lasse, Dimitri, and Mathias with each other based on personality alone and no one would notice.  It’s just one note character after another. When  glimmers of depth or layering comes up, or when we think that a backstory is about to be discovered, it is either immediately forgotten or dropped.

These lapses in character and story development are so frustrating that the reader is tempted to skipped ahead to see if it (whatever it is) comes up again.   And of course, it doesn’t.  At one point, Oliver is described as being bitter, which would give meaning to his promiscous behavior but it is never mentioned again.  Also during the epilogue, Lasse wonders if he should bring up  his past as a alcoholic and drug addict to Markos’ parents and the reader starts going “what? what?” because this is the first mention of this side of Lasse’ character. Had we had a backstory on Lasse earlier, it would have made him a more relatable person, instead we have a bland personality masquerading as a main character.

Plot lines within the story are handled with the same nonchalance as character development.  A major character in one of the main story lines threatens suicide because of a trauma that has driven a major section of the plot. He then disappears for the rest of the book, leaving the reader to wonder why this character was introduced at all if he could be so easily discarded.  Also disturbing is the manner in which the potential for suicide is treated by the other characters.  One singular moment of tears then nothing.

T. T. Kove is Norwegian so the thought did occur to me that some of the issues I had with the story might be due to translation or language difficulties.  Also, I have not read any Norwegian fiction so perhaps story development or plot outlines diverge along cultural lines.  I am not sure.  I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt, rather than using Winter Love as a standard for her prowess as a writer.

Cover:  Beautiful cover by Megan Derr.  I loved the image but wish the author’s name could be more legible.  A larger font in the same color as the title would have been better.

Bully by Carter Wolf

Rating: 5 stars

A student walks down the hallway at his high school. As he passes by, one student after the next avoids him, one student ignores his hellos while another ducks down a different hallway to escape him all together. Puzzled, he continues on until he hears a school morning announcement over the loud speaker. A student has committed suicide, and while they are refraining from mentioning his name due to a police investigation, grief counselors will be available to all students who need them. It stops him in his tracks as he thinks back to an empty chair in home room that morning. He knows who has committed suicide. He should know for he is the one who drove the student to kill himself. He had bullied and terrorized the student for 3 years and the student finally broke. He killed him. And everyone knew it.

So begins a remarkable and painful short story on bullying, GLBT youth, and how it affects all around them. The story is told, not from the victim’s point of view but from the victimizer – the bully. There is a shocking twist to this tale but that never takes away from the story’s impact, but adds an additional emotional layer that will give you much to think about. Carter Wolf does a wonderful job of bringing his characters to life and making the reader feel the impact of their actions. This is a realistic portrait of a teenager in trouble here and all his thoughts and emotions are true to his age. This short story carries a large emotional knockout the rings true to the subject at its core. Bullying and bullycide are front and center in all of the media as we are confronted with an increase in young people dying at all ages and all countries, unable to face another day of terror and harassment. Read this book, and tell another about it. Support The Trevor Project. Make sure you have a box of tissues handy. You will need it.

Note:  Bully is still a free read at Amazon for their Prime Customers and $2.99 for those with regular accounts. Get It Here!

Cover:  Stark and plain.  Perfect for this story dealing with bullying and bullycide.

Review of The Walls Have Ears (College Fun and Gays #3) by Erica Pike

Review written for and first viewed at JoyfullyJay as a part of Boys Masturbating Through Walls Day:

Rating: 3.25 stars

Harley Santos, newly arrived from small town, Maryland, is trying to adapt to his new life as a college freshman in Philadelphia.  While he had his fears about city living and life on campus before he left home, Harley has found he likes his roommate and college seems pretty cool.  In his first week in his dorm room he listen through the thin wall to a student masturbating on the other side.  When this becomes a regular occurrence,  Harley starts masturbating along with his unseen neighbor. Shared moans become whispered words between walls and a strange relationship developes between Harley and the unknown boy next door.

After Harley and his roommate, Ryan, have a chance meeting with the two hot guys, Devon Marx and Tasha Novokov, rooming next to them, Harley thinks he knows which of them is his nightly “companion”. But that guy, Devon, asks Ryan out instead of Harley, and Harley is heartbroken believing that Ryan has been mistaken for him. The other roommate, Tasha,  is dark, handsome, straight and seems intent on befriending Harley.  What’s a gay boy to do when everyone he is attracted to is not attracted to him?

This is a short story whose main attraction is the prickly little porcupine known as Harley Santos.  I found his character to be snarky, pissy, and quite adorable. And totally not deserving of the predictable plot he has found himself in.  Harley comes from a large close knit Portuguese family in a small town in Maryland.  He’s tortured himself with scary images of the dark side of city life and the what if’s of college gone bad.  He’s slight in stature, slender in physique so I can see his behavior as a shield he erects against slights and injury, real or perceived. So does it seem realistic that he falls “in love” with the guy next door just because they are masturbating together?  It doesn’t to me.  Lust yes, love to the point of his heart breaking when Devon picks his roommate? Ummm, no.

Harley then transfers his affections to Tasha while maintaining that he loves Devon who loves Ryan who is understandably confused about the whole thing because no one is talking to each other. Got that? Instead letting Harley get his snark on, Erica Pike turns him into avoidance guy, and then has him sobbing his heart out so traumatized that he is stuttering again (we didn’t know he stuttered to begin with).  To use the current lingo, Harley so doesn’t deserve this.

By the end of The Walls Have Ears, I was beginning to wish that This Reader Didn’t Have Eyes because the ending had me blinking in disbelief.  Erica Pike can write realistic characters AND put them into realistic situations, at the same time.  Just don’t look for it here.

Cover.  Cover Artist Dakota Trace. I just don’t care for the cover for the series .  Different color, different model on the top, same bad graphic on the bottom.

Publisher: No Boundaries Press

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

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

Rating: 5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book available from No Boundaries Press, Amazon, and ARe

Review of You Don’t Ask We Don’t Tell, Book 1 Basic Training by BL Morticia

Rating: 2

Cody McCayne and his best friend, Dari, have taken their relationship past friendship and into being sexual partners, a situation that confounds Cody.  Cody refuses to believe he is gay, no matter his feelings toward Dari.  His family, especially his father say its a sin, an abomination towards God and church.  And Cody believes it makes him less than a man.  After some thought, Cody decides that the Army is the way to go.  Although he doesn’t like the Army, he believes it will make a man of him as well as curing him of his deviant ways.

Army Recruiter Sgt. Justin Belvidere sees in Cody a younger version of himself, and takes the young man under his wing and into a special platoon made up of solely gay and lesbian soldiers.  Their goal?  To teach Cody to accept himself, and that being gay does not make him less a man.  Will Cody “man up” and accept their help or will he stay mired in his family’s mindset?

As I read further into this story, I started hoping that it would turn out to be high camp, a witty take on the Army and DADT.  Why?  Because that might explain the hilariously bad dialog, cardboard characters, and a total lack of understanding of anything Army related including military procedures, rules, regulations, and recruiting guidelines.

Let’s start off with the dialog.  The author has the characters speak in terms of “lil”, “bout”,”gon”, “gits”, and “dems” with an obnoxious sprinkling of “coloreds” and “faggots” that is supposed to be a dialect from the South.  Cody and friends here make Lil Abner Yokum and the citizens of Dogpatch USA the very height of eloquence in their use of language.  There are several writers, BA Tortuga comes to mind, who can take colloquialisms and make them work seamlessly within a narrative.  BL Morticia is not one of them.  Here is one less painful example:

“Listen, you need to git yourself a girl, man. Even if it’s one of dem colored gals.”

Then of course, there is the remarkable scene where Sgt. Belvidere tells Cody in the Army Recruiter office “I’m gonna travel down wit’cha, Cody. Deliver you personally with a few other boys that need the guidance just like you, ya’ hear? We gon get a chance to talk on the way down and I need ya’ to tell me the real reason why you’re joinin’, boy. “Cody, yous a good kid. The ASVAB may look dauntin’ but you’ll make it, right? I like you a lot, boy! I see the potential. It’s down there.” He poked Cody’s stomach.”

No, no, no.  Absolutely not.  Nothing of the Army’s Core Values or Personal Ethics, or Standards are referenced here obviously. Irrespective of how you might feel about the Army, it is easy to recognize the absurdity of the scene.   Then it goes from bad right into WTF territory as Cody is taken into Company 9669, whose “purpose wasn’t only to teach the men to accept themselves as gay but also defend other homosexual privates and officers when they were taunted or bashed.”  Including sexually attacking straight “homophobic” soldiers in the barracks. *head desk* That is when they aren’t having sex with each other all over the base, no matter the rank of the soldiers involved.  Obviously fraternization is not an issue here!

Anyway, I will save you further pain and just say Company 9669 teaches Cody about gay sex and being a “man”, he reunites with Dari, and they live happily ever after with the denizens of the gay Company.  It was all I could do to wade through to the finish.  Reading this book has cost me a bottle of Excedrin but if I have saved you from buying this book, it was worth the headache.

Cover:  Artist Carl J. Franklin. Not bad considering the drivel inside.

Available from Rebel Ink Press, LLC.

Review of Under The Gun by Michael Mandrake

Rating: 4 stars

P.I. Camdyn Hardy is having a bad day, bad week, bad everything.  His business partner and lover has walked away from their business and their relationship.  And the worst part?  Tay left him for a woman.  It’s not as if he didn’t know that Tay had taken a walk on the hetero side before, but damn, to leave everything they had build up together?  So cold, so final, so on the downlow.  Now Camdyn is looking for a partner to fill up all the empty spaces, both in the office and in his heart.

Malik Day had been doing a good job of hiding his sexual identity from the Army right up until the time he caught some fellow soldiers beating up on a private from his platoon.  Why the attack?  The private had been caught beating off to a Playgirl.  So he intervened and was consequently ushered out of the Army, courtesy of DADT.  So he came home to parents not thrilled that he’s been discharged from the Army and determined that between the Church and a godly girl, Malik can be saved from his sinful lifestyle.  And he needs a job.

A chance encounter at the shooting range gives both men a possibility for a future together as partners in all ways if only they take a risk and reach out to each other.

This is short story from Michael Mandrake exudes testosterone, sweat, and the smell of two men at their prime physical condition.  The dialog smacks of men from a certain station in life, middle class, assured of who they are, confident in their sexuality and their abilities. And both men have a love of guns that adds kink to the sexual play they enjoy.

Both men are very likable and the author has done a good job of giving them dimension within the confines of such a short story.  The sex is hot, especially if you like it a little kinky, and by that I mean gun fetish.   I liked that it clearly lust at first sight and then a case of personalities/sexual needs meshing, not a love at first sight which would be out of character for Camdyn and Malik.  Very nice job on all accounts.

Cover: Cover art by Dakota Trace.  Very sexy cover,  from the models to the gun, all perfect for the story within.

Available from No Boundaries Press

Review of The Groom’s Cake by Jacqueline Vick

Rating: 4.5 stars

A catastrophe has fallen among the citizens of  Crabapple Grove.  Their legendary baker, Imogene Spunkwuzzle needs a new oven and until she gets one,  she has stopped baking.  The townspeople are aghast at the thought of no pies, cakes, tarts, petit fours, spritzes, blintzes or most importantly groom’s cakes.  And no one is more devastated than Charlie Whatnot.  Close on the eve of his marriage to the lovely Penelope Rose, the very notion that he would be lacking in the Groom’s Cake department leaves him “shaking his fist at the cruel whims of Fate” and determined to cancel the wedding.

Enter Walter Fenderbottom, Charlie’s friend and fellow devotee of all Spunkwuzzle baked goods.  Together with local writer and friend, Timothy “Tip” Pinchlet, a plan is devised to raise the necessary funds for the stove, get Imogene Spunkwuzzle back elbow deep in flour, and save Charlie’s wedding to Penelope.  But as said plan was concocted over many glasses of things alcoholic in nature,  what could possibly go wrong?

The Groom’s Cake is a lovely throw back to the gentle British drawing room comedies I am so fond of.  They usually employed witty banter, a leisurely pace,  and a fondness for silly names among the gentility or upperclass.  While The Groom’s Cake may knock it’s citizens down a social notch or two, all the other wonderful characteristics remain intact. There is hale hearty fellows, stout women of unshakeable reputation, and gimlet-eyed yet comely young ladies, waggish dialog and lively contretemps.  What’s not to love?

Nary a harsh word passes the lips of these Crabapple Grove dwellers, even while under the influence of a bottle of gin.  Whether it is Walter’s ever ebullient spirit or Charlie’s good natured determination to get Imogene that stove, their banter is that of best friends going forward, arm in arm. It is a joy to eavesdrop on their conversations, watch as their fool-hearted plans go awry, and generally stumble their way to a solution.

Jacqueline Vick and The Groom’s Cake are a delight.

The book is available here at Wicked Ink Press.

I am so happy I won this book in a contest at  Keith Publications’ Blog.

Cover:  The cover by Delilah K. Stephans is simple yet in keeping with the story.

Review of The Wrong Note by Isabella Carter

Rating: 4.45

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

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

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

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

The Wrong Note is published by Less Than Three Press.

Review of Foreshock by Kari Gregg and Muses Upon a Earthquake

Before I get into my review, I want to say that I remember this day very well.  Before August 23, 2011, all the quakes felt here in the Washington Metropolitan area (MD-DC-VA) were very minor.  Most people were never even aware that they happened, so uneventful were they, along the lines of 2.1 or lower on the Richter Scale. So I, along with everyone else, was not prepared for the shaking Mother Nature gave us that day.

I was sitting at the computer when my terriers went nuts, running around my chair and barking like mad (I know, I know…how is that different from normal terrier behavior but trust me it was).  My first thought was that the neighbor’s Golden Retriever was loose again, something my little pack finds very offensive.  But then the house started to shake.  I am not talking little gentle shakes.  I am talking picture swinging, vase walking shakes.

So of course, I run out the front door, why I don’t know.  Perhaps looking for confirmation that no Transformers were headed over the horizon, whatever.  Everything looked normal.  Back inside and scanning the news online, I quickly learned that we  had a 5.9 earthquake and it was felt over a large geographical area even up into New York.  The videos started streaming online.  I watched amazed.  Now almost a year later, the Washington Monument is still closed for repairs, the Washington Cathedral is looking at years to repair the wonderful stone statues and blocks destroyed that day as the money needed continues to climb.  In the small town of Louisa, Virginia near the epicenter, schools and buildings are still closed, the damage unbelievable. Most of all, we lost the certainty that large earthquakes only happened on the West Coast, that it could never happen to us.  Mother Nature 1,  Humans 0.  It does tend to work out that way, we just forget that it does.

So I loved reading a short story with the earthquake figuring into the plot.  And even better?  Kari Gregg is donating 100 percent of her profits from this story to The Trevor Project which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention to LGBTQ youth.  So much applause and snaps to Kari Gregg for such a wonderful gift.   Now on to the review.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Eric Mulholand loves his boyfriend, Kyle, even though Kyle seems determined to destroy their apartment through his attempts at DIY projects.  Kyle Armentrout is a contradiction in so many ways.  Tall, nordic, handsome, twice divorced, and father of five. After 20 years of repressing his true nature, Kyle is now madly in love with a man and a complete bottom in the bed.  These are facts that are still taking some adjustment.  So to compensate for a perceived  “less manly” self image, Kyle has decided that being a Mr. Fixit is the answer.  Only problem is that he can’t fix things, anything to be exact.  And the plumbing, the electricity, even Eric’s tires have suffered. So as hot as Kyle looks in a tool belt, Eric has had enough.

One argument leads to some very hot makeup sex.  And then the earth shakes.  It doesn’t take either man very long to realize that there are emotional earthquakes as well as the physical ones, and they have just been through both.  And survived both with their love and apartment well intact.  Such a great metaphor as nothing can shake a physical foundation like an earthquake and nothing can shake up a person from their emotional moorings or foundation like love can.  Great characters who cracked me up while making me understand how fragile relationships and self images can be.  I wish the story had been longer but no matter, I enjoyed my stay with both of them.

Cover:  A little dark but in keeping with an earthquake plot, but other than that, just perfect.  Loved the fonts as they are so easy to read.

Available from Riptide Publishing, Amazon, ARE.

And check in with The Trevor Project.  You won’t be sorry.