Review of Places in Time by C. Cardeno

Rating: 4 stars

Actor Ethan Baker arrives home to find his current girlfriend breaking up with him. Not a surprising action, merely the last in a long line of girlfriends who never seem to stick around. Being voted “Sexiest Man Alive” twice isn’t enough to guarantee happiness in a relationship. So he calls his best friend, Jude Harrison, to tell him about the breakup and that he will be right over. Jude has always been the constant in his life, the spare guest room that Ethan has taken over as his more a home than the modern marble monstrosity he was talked into buying.

On his way over to Jude’s, fate literally intervenes when a mysterious woman appears and shows Ethan his and Jude’s relationship from another perspective. When Ethan watches his past go by, can a self absorbed actor realize the truth in front of him and the real reason Ethan’s girlfriends never stick around?

Places in Time is a short story in the Dreamspinner Time is Eternity series. This is C. Cardeno’s version of A Christmas Carol when the Fates decides to stage an intervention, their way, after Ethan has hurt one more girl in his obliviousness, of shaking Ethan out of a destructive pattern into a chance for love.

Ethan Baker just cracked me up, with all the snarkiness, flippancy, and self absorption you might see in a actor of his status. Yet, as C. Cardeno has drawn him, he also has a wonderful sense of humor and loyalty that makes him a winning character. Some bits of this story are truly funny when Ethan doesn’t quite get the message the woman intends when they visit a certain scene from his past. To her utter annoyance, he start critiquing the actions instead of absorbing the message. It’s enough to make her stamp her Manolo Blahniks! Jude Harrison’s character is revealed through the trips to Ethan’s past and the final ending will make you smile and laugh even if you know what is coming. C. Cardeno has done a wonderful job with this story and this earns a big “don’t pass this up” from me.

I love this cover for the series. Sheer perfection.

Weather Note and Power Status: Yes, we lost power again last night and just got it back again. Almost wussed out and burst into tears. But didn’t, just thought really hard about it. There are still so many that haven’t gotten their power back for even a short time and I know that they must feel so forgotten and at the end of their endurance. Our temperatures are still in the 98 to 100 degree range and almost 100 percent humidity. There is a reason I never moved into states with hot weather and yet it seems that global warming has brought it to me and the rest of the Marylanders. So keep those of us in DC, VA, and MD in your thoughts. Colorado too. Oh and Happy Canada Day to our friends to the north!

Review of A Token In Time by Ethan Day

Rating: 4.85 stars

Zachary Hamilton comes from a family endowed with special gifts. He has them as well and it has cost him everything. Zachary doesn’t want his gift and his family doesn’t think he should have it either. To “return it” is to die so Zachary and his love, Nick, have been on the run from the Hamilton family since they were teenagers. Living as fugitives has been hard and each time they think they are safe, the Hamiltons find them yet again. Then Zachary and Nick land in Los Angeles, California and their luck seems to change. A benefactor appears out of the blue, offering them a store for their antique business and a place to call home. And for a while they are happy. Until a bullet shatters their lives and Nick dies in Zachary’s arms.

Zachary is consumed by his grief, refusing to leave his apartment until Dave, his assistant in the shop, pulls him out of his house and back into their shop. As Zachary tries to determine his next step regarding his family, he receives a phone call from a lawyer. It seems that Mark Castle, a famous movie star from the 50’s has died and left Zachary the entire Castle estate, including an ancient relic. This powerful token will change Zachary’s life and those around him if Zachary has the courage to use it. And so begins A Token In Time.

Well, what an amazing story. I read it twice before sitting down to write this review, not because I needed to but because I wasn’t ready to let go of Zachary and Marc and all who come with them, past and present. I have been a fan of Ethan Day’s books but A Token In Time represents a departure from the light comedic fiction I have come to expect from him. A Token In Time fluctuates between contemporary and historical romance under an umbrella of the supernatural and it does so beautifully. The story of Zachary Hamilton and Marc Castle flows like a Mobius strip from the year 2008 back to the 1950’s and around again and never hits a false note.

Ethan Day has certainly done his research into life in the 50’s and it shows without it coming across like an information dump. When Zachary (and the reader) land in Los Angeles circa 1958, the surprises are endless and sometimes very funny. Stereophonic Hi Fi is new and wonderful, Coke is Coke, and gas “costs a friggin’ quarter”. And the lack of the internet and Star Bucks come as an unhappy surprise to a young man accustomed to the everyday pluses of life in 2008. Oh it’s so great to tag along with Zachary as he visits the West Hollywood Sears store and has to pick out pants that most certainly aren’t low riders! Ethan Day’s deft touch with comedy is everywhere without overwhelming the dark and angst filled romance behind A Token In Time. Ethan Day brought the 50’s vividly back to life so much so that I was reaching for the iTunes store before the end of the book to recapture the sounds of the times.

And lets talk characters shall we? I have loved Ethan Days previous creations but the characters he has brought to this story are remarkable and have so much depth to them as to be unforgettable. Zachary is a complicated young man, beautiful, gifted, and still so full of joie de vivre through all his pain. But he doesn’t fully come to life until he falls onto the sand and into 1958. Free from the mechanisms of his family, he starts to blossom and the love affair between Zachary and the reader snaps to life as well. Marc Castle too is rendered here in gorgeous Technicolor from his golden tan to white movie star smile. We come to love him dearly the more we get to know him. And don’t get me started on Jonathon Reed, Max, Maddie, and Leo. The author keeps adding characters so real, so damn lovable that I wanted to hold onto them for dear life and not let them go. I am going to beg here, Ethan Day. Please consider giving us Jonathon and Max’s story. Pretty please? With fuzzy swinging dice on top?

And lurking behind all of this is a constant menace, the dark we hide from, the monsters we know are under the bed. Skillfully, the dread increases, the anxiety ramps ups a notch after notch much like the music from the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. We know where the danger coming from in both eras but not how or when it will strike. And strike it does in stomach churning, heart stopping ways. Mystically, brutally rendered evil to balance the joy and love that infuses the rest of the story.

So why not give it 5 stars? Only because of the way the story begins. A minor quibble but it took me a little while to get accustomed to the manner in which Zachary and Nick’s back story is told. I found it a little jumpy at the beginning, but it soon settles itself out and the reader gets sucked in this wonderful page turner not to be let out until the very last word of the epilogue. And you will love the end. Really, you will. And now I will say no more.

Cover: Winterheart Designs did the cover and they did an outstanding job of it. It looks like it came right off the book jacket of a novel from the 50’s, both in color and illustration. It really couldn’t be more perfect. I would love to have a copy of it for myself, framed and hung on the wall, it’s that good.

Available from MLR Press, Amazon and ARe.

Review of Two Tickets to Paradise Anthology

Rating: 4 stars

Two Tickets to Paradise is a collection of 15 stories of men, alone or with a partner, traveling by car, train, plane, and the occasional time travel in search of new experiences and romance in destinations both home and abroad. What they find runs the gamut from first time love to love rediscovered after considerable time apart. Can you buy a ticket to paradise? Within these stories, the men find the answer to that question and so much more.

After reading this anthology, I found it difficult to come to a rating, as some of the stories floundered, stuck in the mundane and predictable while others soared into great heights of emotion and romance. The stories that have remained with me are:

J.L. Merrow’s All At Sea, a tale of youth and young love on the Isle of Wight. The characters here have hidden depths, delightful dialog, exquisite scenary and an ending I am still smiling over.

Chelle Dugan’s Off The Tracks, a middle aged man who believes that love has passed him by takes a train trip into the past and gets the chance at love he’s always dreamed of. Realistic characters, vivid descriptions of the Grand Canyon, combined with flashbacks to the 80’s.

Sean Michael’s Something Different, a story of two ex-lovers reunited in Las Vegas after a separation of 10 years. What can I say? It’s a Sean Michael’s story, so the sex is hot, the characters memorable and hope for a HEA is on the horizon.

Mal Peters’ Perpendicularity. The high altitude setting of the French Alps is the perfect location for Kyle, an Olympic snowboarder, to spend Valentine’s Day with his girlfriend. But an unplanned breakup, sees Kyle alone in the resort chalet until the smell of baking bread and a succulent pork tenderloin lead him to a young personal chef and a change of heart. Just the descriptions of baking bread and smells emanating from the kitchen won me over, add in the characters of Kyle and Dylan, and you have a story that is a delight to read.

B.G. Thomas’ New Lease is the penultimate story and reason alone to buy this collection. Wade Porter is alone is an oceanside cottage mourning the loss of his long-time lover, a married man who only saw him for two weeks out of the year at their bungalow near Key West. With the loss and his age wearing him down, Wade sees no reason to continue living until he meets Kent, a man who has just moved in next door. Kent too has lost a partner and gradually shows Wade the path out of depression and into the true meaning of love. I was still crying over this story hours later so be warned! Get those tissues handy.

Zee Kensington’s Krung Thep, City of Angels is the final story of the anthology and my final recommendation. Marco has dreamed of traveling and for his first trip abroad or any where actually, chooses to go to Thailand. Marco is the typical innocent abroad who lands in the steamy, packed streets of Krung Thep also known as Bangkok. Clearly out of his depth, his journey is almost derailed by his inexperience until he meets seasoned journalist, Chris, who writes for travel magazines. Chris takes him under his wing, and introduces Marco to the sights, tastes and people of Krung Thep. The author did such a great job with the vivid descriptions of the food markets, pungent odors of the food stalls, and feel of swampy heat rising from the streets that I felt like I had been there. From the bouncy innocence of Marco to the weary self isolation of Chris, the characters felt alive right down to the sweat rolling down their backs. I wanted to continue on their journey with them, seeking the paths to paradise.

Cover: Cover Artist Steve Walker.The cover says it all, because how can you show the range of the stories contained within this anthology?

Reviewed for and copy of anthology obtained from Joyfully Jay

Anthology available from Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and ARe..

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