with a review of Naked Edge by Pamela Clare and narrated by Kaleo Griffith. Feel free stop by and say hello.
Category: A reviews (Page 14 of 16)
Why I read it: I picked up a copy from NetGalley.What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The course of true love doesn’t always run clean. But sometimes getting dirty is half the fun.Entomology grad student Adam Ellery meets Denver Rogers, a muscle-bound hunk of sexy, when Denver effortlessly dispatches the drunken frat boys harassing Adam at the Tucker Springs laundromat. Thanking him turns into flirting, and then, much to Adam’s delight, hot sex over the laundry table.Though Denver’s job as a bouncer at a gay bar means he gets his pick of geek-sexy college twinks, he can’t get Adam out of his head. Adam seems to need the same rough play Denver does, and it’s damn hard to say no to such a perfect fit.Trouble is, Adam isn’t just shy: he has obsessive compulsive disorder and clinical anxiety, conditions which have ruined past relationships. And while Denver might be able to bench-press a pile of grad students, he comes from a history of abuse and is terrified of getting his GED. Neither Denver nor Adam want to face their dirty laundry, but to stay together, they’re going to have to come clean.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): Ever have the experience of slowing down and re-reading paragraphs as you come to the end of a book just so you can make it last longer? That’s what I did with Dirty Laundry. It was sooooo good. I did not want it to end.
Why I read it: I picked this one up from NetGalley – I enjoyed Shining in the Sun (my review is here but you’ll have to scroll down a bit) and have False Colours on my TBR (… must get to it…).What it’s about: (from Goodreads) For Captain Harry Thompson, the command of the prison transport ship HMS Banshee is his opportunity to prove his worth, working-class origins be damned. But his criminal attraction to his upper-crust First Lieutenant, Garnet Littleton, threatens to overturn all he’s ever worked for.Lust quickly proves to be the least of his problems, however. The deadly combination of typhus, rioting convicts, and a monstrous storm destroys his prospects . . . and shipwrecks him and Garnet on their own private island. After months of solitary paradise, the journey back to civilization—surviving mutineers, exposure, and desertion—is the ultimate test of their feelings for each other.These two very different men each record their story for an unfathomable future in which the tale of their love—a love punishable by death in their own time—can finally be told. Today, dear reader, it is at last safe for you to hear it all.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I don’t think I can adequately express how beautifully written this book is. So I shall give you some examples of what I mean:
The spray tangled like silver lace about the yellowhaired, screaming woman of Banshee’s figurehead.
…
Night fell with the lazy downward drift and sheen of a falling magpie feather.
…
Why I read it: I read an early copy of Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) recently (soooo good) and I wasn’t ready to leave New Adult for something else – I also wanted to read something I’d been saving for a rainy day, so I opened Good for You, a book I’d bought last year at the same time as Easy.What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Reid Alexander’s life is an open book. His Hollywood celebrity means that everything he does plays out in the public eye. Every relationship, every error in judgment is analyzed by strangers. His latest mistake totaled his car, destroyed a house and landed him in the hospital. Now his PR team is working overtime to salvage his image. One thing is clear—this is one predicament he won’t escape without paying for it.Dori Cantrell is a genuine humanitarian—the outward opposite of everything Reid is about. When his DUI plea bargain lands him under her community service supervision, she proves unimpressed with his status and indifferent to his proximity, and he soon wants nothing more than to knock her off of her pedestal and prove she’s human.Counting the days until his month of service is over, Dori struggles to ignore his wicked magnetic pull while shocking him with her ability to see past his celebrity and challenging him to see his own wasted potential. But Dori has secrets of her own, safely locked away until one night turns her entire world upside down. Suddenly their only hope for connection and redemption hinges on one choice: whether or not to have faith in each other.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): Man, I loved this book. It was beautiful, heartwrenching, unexpected and bittersweet. Never fear – there is a happy ending, but not everything in this book is hearts and roses and not everything is miraculously resolved.
The writing is beautiful, the characterisations clever and nuanced, the style spare and direct, while at the same time, leading the reader up to the door of various concepts/conclusions but leaving them for the reader to ponder rather than swinging a heavy hammer.
Why I read it: I had about an hour to read and I wanted to finish something in that time rather than start a longer book, so I opened up First Impressions, a short which is 25 pages long (ish). Then I read the other two. If you’re in the mood for some small bites of m/m romance, I recommend.
First Impressions This delightful little story is about Jez, a “Viking hippy” artist with long blond dreads and an attitude, who becomes fascinated by a man he sees on the train every morning. The man (Steve) wears the most lurid socks Jez has ever seen, even though the rest of him appears to be buttoned down tight. And he seems to have an endless supply of these socks – as there are a different pair every day. At about 25 pages, the story shows their growing interaction on the train, their sexy encounter where Jez finds out that appearances can be deceiving – Steve is much more like his socks than his suit – and gives a satisfying jump ahead to a HEA. It was good fun and as usual, I loved the sense of place Ms. Myles infuses into the story with the setting and the language.
Fuzzy At only 12 or so pages, this little story is a kind of vignette where we catch up with Jez and Steve after they’ve been living together for 5 months. Steve has a broken leg and is stuck at home and when Jez gets home early one day he catches Steve hiding something under the couch cushions. Hijinks ensue.
Last Chance Set after Steve’s cast comes off, this story (which is about the same length as the first one) is much different in tone. Jez finds out that his estranged father is dying. All the feelings he has bottled up in the years since he was thrown out of home for being gay come to the fore. I cried. Steve is a gem and helps Jez get through it and the writing was just beautiful.
In a very short time, this author made me care about these characters, so when I got to the third book I was totally on board with Jez and how he was feeling and completely believed in the connection between Jez and Steve and their long term future together. Really, these three stories were just wonderful and the third was the pick of the bunch – but you have to read all three to truly appreciate it.
Grade: A-
Why I read it: There was a sale at ARe and there was my wishlist. Goodreads recommendations are bad for my wallet. Enough said.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Ex-cop Isaac Rhodes is a tough and intimidating private investigator with a talent for kicking in doors and knocking bail jumpers’ heads together. His only soft spot is for his partner, Nate Washington—though Wash makes him anything but soft. He’s silently lusted after Wash for a year, until his desire drives him to finally come out to his partner.
This confession leads to Wash admitting a few secrets of his own, unleashing needs that result in hot, sweaty, sexy, man-on-man intimacy. Rhodes is elated…until Wash admits he’s unsure if he’s willing to endure the often prejudice-filled life of an outed gay man. Crushed, Rhodes backs off. But one missing child—and a gun to Wash’s head—convinces Rhodes to do whatever it takes to get his man.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): In terms of the mix between romance and suspense and making the two work and play off each other, this book was pretty much perfect. Loads of romance and connection and fun. The suspense plot was believably intertwined with the romance and the two leads didn’t try and have sex when bullets were flying. Because Wash and Rhodes have been working together for about a year when the book starts, the speed of the developing romance works – they have an established relationship which becomes more than friendly. And, having to go undercover in a gay club helps get them thinking in the right direction.
And, did I mention it was funny?
“I’ve never seen so much leather,” Wash muttered.
Rhodes smirked at him. “Just wait ’til we get inside.”
“It gets worse?”
“Better, Wash,” Rhodes corrected as the bouncer unclipped the rope to let them through. “The word is ‘better’.”
Wash made me laugh a lot. Especially when Rhodes was baffled his “incomprehensible hand signals” – you know, those ones you see on the TV all the time and no-one knows what they mean? Well, Rhodes, who used to be a real cop, doesn’t know either. But Wash makes the signals and Rhodes goes along.
The chemistry between these two was apparent in every interaction but the conflict – whether Wash wants to deal with being out (he’s bisexual so he could be happy with a woman and have the occasional gay hook-up on the downlow) is believable enough. Although, now that I think about it, Wash never suggested he might need to have the occasional hook up with a woman… I digress).
Wash, even though he is a walking hard-on around Rhodes, asks for time to decide:
Wash looked at him with what appeared to be disappointment. “You’re not going to talk me into it?”
“You are a fucking teenaged girl,” Rhodes growled, pushing himself up from the couch. “Go home. If I don’t get to fuck anyone, I’m going for a run.”
“Fine,” Wash huffed, standing up. “But I’m going to write ‘Rhodes is an asshole’ in my diary like a hundred times.”
See what I mean about funny?
The suspense story involved sex trafficking which is obviously something very serious, but the humour doesn’t intrude on that. Rather, it lightens what could otherwise be a very heavy storyline. Both Rhodie and Wash take the safet of kids very seriously.
Rhodes even tries to make Wash clean up his potty mouth around their teenaged client.
Wash snorted. “Why would you think we’d do anything just to make you feel better? Ask Gonzo—he’ll tell you that we’re just a couple of assholes.”
Rhodes shot him a look and Wash made a face. “Sorry. Suppose I shouldn’t swear around a kid. Okay, so we’re a couple…” Trailing off, he glanced helplessly at Rhodes. “What’s another word for asshole?”
Rhodes just closed his eyes with a sigh.
What else? I enjoyed this book from start to finish. At just under 150 pages, it wasn’t super long, but it did everything it needed to so I thought the length was just perfect for the story actually. It is pricey, so get it when it’s on special somewhere. But – get it.
Grade: A-
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