Monday, June 30, 2014

Review: Wingmen by Ensan Case

I began reading Wingmen by Ensan Case on a Saturday afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished it late the following day. It's that good!

The love story between Lt. Commander Jack Hardigan, USN and Ensign Frederick "Trusty" Trusteau begins in 1943 toward the end of the Pacific conflict during World War II, after Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. The Navy is in the midst of reorganizing the fleet and reconfiguring their strategy against the Japanese. Experienced naval combat aviators are scarce with a majority falling under the young and untried-in-battle classification.

When Trusteau transfers to the VF-20, the fighting squadron of Air Group Twenty, aboard the fictitious aircraft carrier Constitution, he is an inexperienced aviator and his new skipper Jack Hardigan, a hotshot veteran of Midway with quite a few kills under his belt. Trusteau's admiration for Hardigan is immediate and on a grand scale. As events unfold and Fred becomes Jack's wingman, for Jack, the trust that develops between them in the skies translates to everyday admiration of a young man whose flying skills highlight personal qualities, such as loyalty, efficiency and an ability to think on his toes, while on the ground.

Fred is clueless about his sexuality, but knows he’s indifferent to women and doesn’t ‘fit in’ with the other men in his squadron. To fit, Fred follows their lead and has sex with prostitutes, including when he transfers to the VF-20 squadron where he gains the nickname "Trusty" after lasting 17 minutes and gaining a stud’s reputation. But Fred doesn't understand why the other men make such a big deal about women. Yet, Fred does everything in his power to get close to Jack, and although it takes him a while to figure it out, it quickly becomes clear that Fred’s crush on his skipper is enormous. Jack, on the other hand, is dating a wealthy war widow, and for him it's all about company while on leave. There's more of a friendship than a sexual vibe between them, and Jack prefers to spend time with his men than with her. Unlike Fred, Jack fits in with the men and it isn't until much later that he begins to equate his desire for Fred's company and fear of losing him in combat with a more personal attachment.

These are the 1940's, so the feelings that grow between Jack and Fred are kept closely guarded even from each other. There are two intimate scenes between Jack and Fred that take place away from the ship but, like in the old movies, everything fades to black when they hit the sheets. But feelings and emotions go deep for both of them, and before and after their intimate moments even when the two men are alone on the ship, conversations and physical contact are maintained on the buddy level. There's no outward acknowledgment of feelings, particularly under the circumstances since they were at war.

And it’s war! Ensan Case's Wingmen is a plot and character driven novel. His research of what transpired in the Pacific during World War II is fantastic and his take of life in an aircraft carrier is riveting. There is a particular vibrant atmosphere to his portrayal of the life men lead at close quarters on the ship, as well as when they are on leave -- the hard drinking and incessant smoking, the jocular ribbing and womanizing, as well as the desire to distinguish themselves during battle – that allows the reader to know these men. Additionally, Case gives them distinct personalities, making the reader care whether they live or die.

Case also hits the right note when focusing on the politics of command and strategies used by the Americans to hit the Pacific islands -- beginning with Marcus and moving on to Wake, Tarawa, Kwajalein, and Truk -- by incorporating details without, for one moment, slowing the pace or the excitement of the novel. Those details make this novel what it is, as he also incorporates what is critical to the men: the maneuverability of Hellcats, Corsairs and Avengers, dangers of landing on the aircraft carriers, the terrible accidents, lack of supplies. All of those details lead to the strategic air battles in the skies, as well as the one-on-one situations which become some of the most tension-filled and exhilarating moments of the story.

Case ends the book with a postwar section mostly written in letter format that gives the reader a broad idea of what happens to the main characters after the war and an epilogue that ends in 1969. I would have preferred if Fred and Jack’s story had ended a bit earlier, but frankly that did not influence my love of this book one way or another. Wingmen by Ensan Case is a fabulous fusion of historical fiction and romance that I recommend to everyone, but particularly to those who love exciting, well-researched tales set in the Pacific during World War II, as well as to readers who love a war time, tension-filled romance. It is already in my list of 2014 favorites!

Category: Historical Fiction/Gay Romance
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/July 2014
Source: ARC Lethe Press
Grade: A


Saturday, June 28, 2014

Review: A Shiny Tin Star by Jon Wilson

Back in April, I read A Shiny Tin Star by Jon Wilson in one sitting. It made the top of my list as a favorite book of the month, and I've already re-read it once since then. A Shiny Tin Star was originally published by Cheyenne Publishing in 2012 and was well received with excellent reviews all around. I can definitely understand the reason behind those reviews. Lethe Press is re-releasing a few select books in July of 2014, this is one of them. Personally, I'm glad that Gene and Forest's romance won't be lost to future readers.

This historical western romance is set in Creek County, Colorado at the turn of the century in 1903, so it's a different sort of western. Townspeople are settled, the law is enforced, and there's not much of the "wild" left in the West. Sheriff Eugene Grey, a local, has matters under control and lives a relatively peaceful life until the young, arrogant Federal Marshal Forest O'Rourke shows up with an ancient wanted poster looking to arrest a local resident.
"I considered punching Forest O'Rourke in the face, the first time, about two minutes after making his acquaintance."
The narrative in this novel is strictly from Gene's first point of view perspective. It is quick witted, engaging, and absorbing throughout the novel, so of course I immediately fell in love with Gene Grey's voice and character. Not so much with young, arrogant Federal Marshal Forest O'Rourke or his brand new shiny tin star. That changes as the story unfolds and Gene exposes Forest's truths and vulnerabilities.
"Still, I gave him the benefit of the doubt that day for a couple of reasons, though mostly I claim I was bedazzled by the sunlight sparkling off his shiny, new badge."
Gene and Forest's story is divided into three parts. It begins with "The Law & Rawley Scoggins" and includes that first meeting, Forest's stubborn determination to arrest the old-timer, the disturbing end to those events for Forest and old Scoggins, and a few days of intimate acquaintance for Gene and Forest. Conversations lead to unexpected private revelations from both sides, particularly from Gene who finds himself attracted to young Forest and takes a leap by answering with the truth when asked why he is not married: "Because I like men, not women." 

What follows is a beautiful seductive scene where Forest takes the lead. This is a favorite scene where a tentative physical move with an almost tender quality builds into full-blown lusty passion between the two men. I found the depiction of this scene to be excellent, specifically in how well Wilson conveys sexual tension, lust, passion, and the emotions involved, without going into unnecessary minute graphic or explicit details.

In the second part of the book, "Diotima's Child," Forest returns to Creek County under false pretenses and moves in with Gene as his lover, eventually becoming Gene's temporary deputy. This section details a joyful period for Gene and Forest filled with passion and love. Their relief at having found each other, however, makes them a careless pair, so it's no surprise when all ends badly and the lovers end up making their way to Atlanta and Philadelphia in the final and, to my way of thinking, strongest section of the book "Lonesome Trail," where loneliness and terrible despair awaits them. And where Gene risks breaking the law, prison, and death for love.

Wilson's characters are a study in contrasts with Gene a confident, educated, working man from the West and Forest a hot-headed, almost illiterate (not-so-bright) well-to-do gentleman from the South. Needless to say, characterization is fine tuned as well, particularly Gene. Through Gene's narrative the reader experiences the full scope of the novel, as well as the inner workings of a self-assured man plagued by loneliness whose passionate love leads to such raging turmoil and despair that he will do anything for a smidgen of hope. To a lesser degree Forest's character, the man who inspires such passionate love, is also well rendered as he evolves throughout the novel. Wilson humanizes the characters by portraying their strengths and vulnerabilities during different sections of the novel, making them fit with each other, as well as with time, place, and setting.

A Shiny Tin Star is a romance with a happy ending. This historical western is memorable for its characters, its witty, engaging, straight-forward narrative style, and a sweet, passionate romance with conflicts that fit the historical period. It ends with one of the best memorable, quotable, last lines I've read in a long time. I would quote it for you, but don't want to spoil it. Read the book and find out!

Category: LGBT/Historical Romance/Western
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/ July 1, 2014
Source: eARC Lethe Press
Grade: B+


Sunday, June 22, 2014

… On Shield of Winter (Psy/Changeling #13) by Nalini Singh

Shield of Winter is a transitional book in this long series by Nalini Singh. A much needed one with many threads to follow. First we have the overall story arc which drives all the other sub-plots, including the romance.

Overall Story Arc Summary: Silence has fallen and the Psy world in the midst of chaos. Kaleb Krychek has his hands full trying to avoid total destruction as the dark virus in the PsyNet spreads and threatens the world with violent psychotic breaks from the Psy and ultimately mass death for his people. Many are relieved that Silence is gone, but Krychek also has to deal with those who still want Silence or don't know what to do without it.

Kaleb can't afford to sit on his hands. He knows the Net is in danger of collapsing and that designation E Psys may make the saving difference. He entrusts his Arrows with a list of mature empaths that with some quick training may be able to help. He brings in the Changelings as allies by asking them for safe training ground in their territory. Krycheck goes further by investigating other possibilities and bringing in other allies, including the Forgotten, as well as Nikita and Anthony. It's all very political but surprisingly humane as Krycheck, Arrows, empaths, and allies take desperate measures to contain what could become a disaster of massive proportions.

Empaths: Singh brings in a new group of Psy characters who either have been hiding their empathic abilities their whole lives or were not aware of them. Their mission is to explore and expand abilities they hardly understand to fight darkness, corruption and madness on a psychic level as quickly as possible. Singh begins to further explore designation E and gives depth to her characters by making them individuals, introducing background stories and going as far as sub-dividing psychic abilities within the designation. I believe that a deeper exploration of empaths, one where they finally come into their own, will come along with Alice's story.

Arrows: The mysterious world of Arrows as trained assassins and soldiers is also fully explored. The Arrows are assigned to guard Es with their lives on a one-on-one basis. Their collective coldness and personal isolation serves as a big contrast to the colorful and emotional world of the empaths. Singh deeply explores the brutal, violent, inhumane training, as well as the Arrows' history of survival after fighting those who used their abilities to gain power, through Vasic and Aden's characters. There's a thought provoking quality to this sub-plot that comes from the soldier at war perspective that I believe Singh may continue to explore through other story lines with Arrows as main characters, i.e., Aden, but that I believe was truly well done in Shield of Winter.

Zie Zen, Aiden, and Secondary Characters: Through the Zie Zen character/thread, Singh brings into the open the history and magnitude of the Psy rebellion, and through Aden, the immensity of the Arrows's loyalty to one another. These two characters, although different in the way they show love, provide some of the most touching, emotionally connected moments in this installment. Judd and Sascha are also quite influential -- Judd with his care and loyalty for the Arrows, and Sascha with hers for the empaths. And who can resist Ivy's dog Rabbit?

The Romance: I need to make this point first. Vasic and Ivy are not carbon copies of Judd (Arrow in Caressed by Ice) and Sascha(Empath in Slave to Sensation). Singh doesn't repeat herself and I am very happy that she didn't do that with Vasic and Ivy. Who wants to read about the same characters with the same conflicts over and over again? I don't! In that respect, I am not disappointed.

Ivy doesn't know she's an empath and has been through a form of rehabilitation to fix her. But she's not broken, instead Ivy is a joyful, hopeful woman who has benefitted from being loved by her parents throughout her life. Vasic's coldness and emotional isolation call to her empathic senses and it doesn't take long before she's longing to warm up the Arrow assigned as her personal guard. Vasic cant feel anything. He's on the edge and almost broken from guilt and despair. Ivy gets under his skin. He has never met anyone like her and doesn't know what to do when Ivy begins to push his boundaries. As the two battle the Net and the madness affecting the Psy, Vasic's cold walls begin to crumble in the face of Ivy's loving warmth. But can she walk with him in his personal darkness? Will she understand his past actions? Will she survive the onslaught of the Net's Dark Mind?

This romance is woven into the overall story arc and Vasic and Ivy spend a lot of their time in danger, battling and working on strategies to defeat the darkness. Their intimate time together is beautiful, and I like that as individuals they don't play games about how they feel about each other. I think that is because neither is capable of hiding. But those beautiful times are limited, and other, more significant sub-plots and characters, take the focus away from Vasic and Ivy. So in the end, although I love what there is of Vasic and Ivy together, the romance becomes another sub-plot in this installment, albeit, one where the two characters are an integral part of that all-important overall story arc.

Epilogue: Epilogues can be great or they can damage a great read. In this case I loved it. The Psys are evolving and the whole world will have to evolve with them. There have been changes in Singh's Psy/Changeling world and there are more changes to come -- dangerous enemies, chaos and instability to overcome, but there's hope and love too. Now we wait for the next book. :)

Friday, June 20, 2014

LGBT: Great New Releases!

There are some fantastic new releases out there for those of us who love reading LGBT themed books. There's something for everyone, and of course lots for me. Following is a list of the latest or upcoming releases that caught my attention, from a few select publishers (listed in alphabetical order):

BOLD STROKES BOOKS:
Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders by Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall (Queer Memoir)

Imagine if, after fifteen years as a lesbian couple, your partner turned to you and said, "I think I'm really a man." What would you do? How would you respond? For Diane and Jacob (née Suzy) Anderson-Minshall this isn't a hypothetical question. It's what really happened. Eight years later, the couple not only remains together, they still identify as queer, still work in LGBT media, and remain part of the LGBT community. How did their relationship survive a gender transition? The authors explore this question and delve into their relationship to reveal the trials and tribulations they have faced along the way. In doing so, they paint a portrait of love, not only to each other, but to the San Francisco Bay Area, LGBT publishing, and the queer community. Queerly Beloved is a love story that flies in the face of expectations and raises questions about the true nature of identity, sexuality, and love.
There is a great review for this queer memoir at the Chelsea Station online magazine. After reading it, I immediately placed the book on my wish list.

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING:
Now and Yesterday: A Novel by Stephen Greco (Contemporary Gay Fiction)
"An often poignant, and sometimes chilling, romance of the creative class." --Edmund White

In the three decades since Peter first moved into his Brooklyn apartment, almost every facet of his life has changed. Once a broke, ambitious poet, Peter is now a successful advertising executive. He's grateful for everything the years have given him--wealth, friends, security. But he's conscious too of what time has taken in return, and a busy stream of invitations doesn't dull the ache that remains since he lost the love of his life.

Will is a young, aspiring journalist hungry for everything New York has to offer--culture, sophistication, adventure. When he moonlights as a bartender at one of Peter's parties, the two strike up a tentative friendship that soon becomes more important than either expected. In Peter, Will sees the ease and confidence he strives for, while Peter is suddenly aware of just how lonely his life has become. But forging a connection means navigating very different sets of experience and expectations, as each decides how to make a place for himself in the world--and who to share it with.

Beautifully written, warm yet incisive, Now and Yesterday offers a fascinating exploration of two generations--and of the complex, irrefutable power of friendship--through the prism of an eternally changing city.
I love books that explore generational differences through intimate relationships and the effects those differences may or may not have on the individuals. A May release, Now and Yesterday is already available.

LETHE PRESS:
A Shiny Tin Star by Jon Wilson (Western Historical Romance)

On a scorching summer’s day in 1903 the sheriff of Creek County, Eugene Grey, unexpectedly finds himself partnered with feisty young Federal Marshal Forest O'Rourke. The marshal is hell-bent on capturing a wanted man—a man Eugene knows as nothing but an amiable old geezer living quietly in the hills.

But, of course, all is not as it seems. As the manhunt progresses, Eugene slowly works out the true nature of the marshal’s relationship to the old man. And something Eugene has long kept hidden begins to stir inside him. He finds it impossible to deny the desire he feels toward the determined young marshal.

Death and fiery destruction follow, but also passion and stolen moments of joy. Eugene’s journey takes him from his small town of Canyon Creek, Colorado, to the stately homes of Atlanta and Philadelphia. But it also pits him against the very laws he has sworn to uphold. He finds himself risking prison or even death—all in the name of love.
This is a classic western historical romance that was previously published but has been reprinted and released by Lethe. I received the ARC for this book and it is a gorgeous read. Upcoming review.
The Filly by Mark R. Probst (YA Western Historical) 

Escaping into the fantasy of his books when he's not working in the general store, Ethan Keller has lived a sheltered life in his mother's boarding house. One day, an enigmatic cowboy passing through the small Texas town takes an immediate liking to the shy seventeen-year-old. Ethan is intrigued by the attention, and the cowboy eventually charms him into signing on to a 900-mile cattle drive. Ethan soon finds that his feelings for this cowboy run deeper than just friendship. He never knew that this kind of love even existed; and now for the two of them to make a life together in the untamed west, they must face nearly insurmountable odds if they are to survive.
I've been in a western kick lately, and The Filly is a young adult western historical romance. As soon as I saw the book featured at Lethe's catalogue I bookmarked it and will be feeding my Kindle soon. :)

Wingmen by Ensan Case (Historical Fiction/Romance)

First published in 1979, this World War II novel, with overtones of From Here to Eternity, was a precursor to the gay romance genre. Jack Hardigan's Hellcat fighter squadron blew the Japanese Zekes out of the blazing Pacific skies. But a more subtle kind of hell was brewing in his feelings for rookie pilot Fred Trusteau. While a beautiful widow pursues Jack, and another pilot becomes suspicious of Jack and Fred's close friendship, the two heroes cut a fiery swath through the skies from Wake Island to Tarawa to Truk, there to keep a fateful rendezvous with love and death in the blood-clouded waters of the Pacific.
World War II flyboys, Hellcat fighters, and love. I just received the ARC for this classic and can't wait to read this vintage piece.

Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas (Speculative Fiction/Horror/Historical Fiction)

1932: Fortune and celebrity are years behind Butch Cardinal. Once a world-class wrestler, Cardinal now serves as hired muscle for a second-rate Chicago mobster. While collecting a parcel from a gangland lowlife, Cardinal witnesses the man's murder. Though wounded, he escapes the killers and flees into the night carrying the package. In it is a necklace with a metal pendant. Bent and scratched, the thing looks like a piece of junk, but the trinket is the reason a man died. It's the reason a lot of people will die. Finding shelter with another shamed wrestler in New Orleans, Cardinal embarks on search for answers that will reveal a world of metallic charms and weapons, all forged with unimaginable powers. Alone and outgunned, Cardinal must stand against the Chicago mobs, a brilliant and insane hitman, the police, and a mysterious order intent on retrieving their relic.
If you like a little horror with your historical fiction, you can't go wrong with the latest release by Lee Thomas. I already have it in my Kindle.

TRIQUARTERLY BOOKS:
Let Me See It: Stories by James Magruder (Gay Fiction)

James Magruder’s collection of linked stories follows two gay cousins, Tom and Elliott, from adolescence in the 1970s to adulthood in the early ’90s. With a rueful blend of comedy and tenderness, Magruder depicts their attempts to navigate the closet and the office and the lessons they learn about libidinous coworkers, résumé boosting, Italian suffixes, and frozen condoms. As Tom and Elliot search for trusting relationships while the AIDS crisis deepens, their paths diverge, leading Tom to a new sense of what matters most. Magruder is especially adept at rendering the moments that reveal unwritten codes of behavior to his characters, who have no way of learning them except through painful experience.

Loss is sudden, the fallout portrayed with a powerful economy. In Tom and Elliott, readers come to recognize themselves, driven by the same absurd desires and unconscious impulses, subjected to the same fates.
Going by the summary, I have a feeling that this gay fiction novel is going to make me laugh but that it will also break my heart. A must read!

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS:
Little Reef and Other Stories by Michael Carroll (Collection)

Little Reef and Other Stories announces the arrival of an original voice in literature. From Key West to Maine, Michael Carroll’s debut collection of stories depicts the lives of characters who are no longer provincial but are not yet cosmopolitan. These women and their gay male friends are “B-listers” of a new, ironic, media-soaked culture. They live in a rich but increasingly divided America, a weirdly paradoxical country increasingly accepting of gay marriage but still marked by prejudice, religious strictures, and swaths of poverty and hopelessness. Carroll shows us people stunned by the shock of the now, who have forgotten their pasts and can’t envision a future.
I recently read a fantastic short story by Michael Carroll and of course began looking for more. Fortunately, I found this June release. This book is going on my wish list.

WILDE CITY PRESS:
My Favorite Uncle by Marshall Thornton (Gay Fiction)

Martin Dixon’s carefully constructed peaceful life is turned upside down when his super Christian eighteen year-old nephew Carter shows up unexpectedly on his doorstep and announces he’s gay, Martin’s first impulse is to send him back to his parents. But when he discovers that Carter has been in a mental hospital to cure his gay-ness he realizes he’s stuck with the boy. Unfortunately, the two get on each other’s nerves, each driving the other to distraction. Independently, they each arrive at the same conclusion. The other would be much less annoying if he only had…a boyfriend.
I love Marshall Thornton's writing style and his Boystown series. I love this book's summary and expect the story will be a good one. This is a definite read for me.


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

TBR Review: Always to Remember by Lorraine Heath

June's theme for Wendy's TBR Challenge is Romance Classics. A few years back, I became a Lorraine Heath fan and ended up reading and collecting quite a few books from her backlist. As it turns out, I had the book that won the 1997 RITA award for Lorraine Heath under the Short Historical category, Always to Remember. After reading it my thoughts were, if this is not a classic, then it should be!

I found Always to Remember unique. It is short, only 100 pages, yet it reads like a full-length novel with none of those missing elements sometimes found in short works. Heath achieves this through her focus on courage, in this case using civil disobedience coming from a conscientious objector. The romance, between two people with very different ideas about the meaning of courage, is driven by the same focus and different beliefs. As a result, she creates some pretty amazing central characters who must overcome truly difficult hurdles in order to find happiness, and also makes the best out of secondary characters and setting -- small town Texas, during the post-American Civil War era.

Always to Remember is set in Cedar Grove, Texas. This small town is steeped in a dark well of never-ending grief that has turned to brutal hatred and bitter, irrational resentment of Clayton, who lives while their sons, brothers, and husbands died bravely at the Battle of Gettysburg fighting for the Cause. Clayton, the town's coward and pariah, serves as a constant reminder of their own loses. Even one of Clayton's brothers repudiates him as a coward. No one, except for the town's doctor bothers to ask him or tries to understand why he refused to fight. But no one hates or is more contemptuous and bitterly resentful of Clayton than Meg Warner, Clayton's best friend's widow.
"I will not take up arms against my fellow man."

"I didn’t believe we should fight the Northern states, and yet, I could not in all good conscience take up arms against the South, my home, and my friends. But more than that, I would not fight because I believe it’s a sin against God to kill another man."
Clayton is a conscientious objector with strong beliefs and the courage to fight for them. So when his best friend and the boys he grew up with volunteered and rode to war in a blaze of glory, strongly believing in the Cause -- that of Texas seceding from the Union -- Clayton stayed behind. And later when conscribed by the Confederate Army, nineteen year-old Clayton refused to fight and was sentenced to death. Unable to shoot him after hearing Clay's last Christ-like prayer, superior officers confined him to prison and torture until the end of the war when Clayton decided to come back home.

Meg Warner lost her beloved husband Kirk and three of her four brothers. Like the rest of Cedar Grove, she centers all of her grief and hatred on Clay. She doesn't speak or acknowledge the man, but decides to punish Clay by forcing him to admit cowardly actions and betrayal of his best friend Kirk. To do so, she commissions Clay to create a memorial of the town's heroes and insists on witnessing the process. But as she witnesses the process, Clay surprises her with his fantastic talents as a sculptor, his humanity, sensitivity, capability for forgiveness, and relentless courage, and after some humiliating, contentious events and conversations, Meg slowly begins to change her mind and to see Clay clearly.
"You think the only battles fought are done so with rifles, and the only wounds that kill draw blood. You think courage is loud, boisterous and proud."
Heath's hero is not perfect, but he approaches perfection at times. He's a "turn-the-other-cheek" type of man, and believe me that other cheek gets slapped over and over again by everyone and his own brother. But while Clayton is a memorable male character for his courage and refusal to give up on his beliefs in the face of torture in and out of prison, he also makes an impact as a romance hero with his shy, virginal, tenderness and a deep loneliness that he will break any woman's heart.

Clayton's characterization could have been a total turn-off, but Heath makes it work by balancing his characterization with Meg's. She is less than perfect, as a matter of fact Meg is truly hateful at times, but Heath does a fantastic job of humanizing her. Additionally, it is through Meg and the town's perspective that the reader gets the full scope of what this short historical romance is really all about.

As a romance, Always to Remember is contentious, tender, and passionate with a beautiful happy ever after and a sweet epilogue. Throughout its development the conflicts between the protagonists and secondary characters are thought provoking. I said above that Heath focuses on courage to develop the entire novel, but in the end it is also a redemptive read, one where not only Meg but the people of Cedar Grove, find what they need to go on with their lives. On a personal note: I really liked this book by the time I finished it, but it stayed with me, and the more I processed what I read, the more I loved Heath's execution. So Always to Remember goes on my list of highly recommended reads. If you haven't read it yet, give it a try.
"Within the shadows of honour, courage often walks in silence"

Category: Short Historical Romance - Post American Civil War
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Jove, 1996 - Kindle Ed.
Grade: A-

Monday, June 16, 2014

Longmire New Season Kickoff + Any Other Name (Walt Longmire #10) by Craig Johnson

The new season of Longmire kicked off in A&E. The first episode began with a bang! I personally thought it was fantastic and am following the episodes closely. It picked up exactly where last season ended with both Henry and Branch in trouble, and Walt running to save them both. These two story lines are obviously going to serve as this season's overall story arc, with mysteries to be solved by Longmire, Vic, Ferge, and his crew, interwoven within each episode.

Last year I became addicted to both the television program and the original book series by Craig Johnson. The program is based on the books and I became curious and read books 1 through 4 then skipped to book 9 because well. . . I wanted to catch up on a "spoiler" and couldn't wait to find out. I have books 5 through 8 in my Kindle but decided to read them this summer and indulge myself in more of Johnson's fantastic contemporary western goodness. For more about the differences between the television series vs. the books go here.

But there is also a new book by Craig Johnson that released last month.

ANY OTHER NAME (Walt Longmire Mystery #10) by Craig Johnson

Any Other Name begins as Walt's daughter Cady is waiting to give birth and Walt is due to travel to Philadelphia for his first grandchild's birth. In the meantime his old boss Lucian asks him to accompany him to Gillette in Campbell County to help investigate the alleged suicide of a friend's husband -- semiretired Detective Gerald Holman. The by-the-book Holman was working the County's cold files and his widow, who doesn't believe the forensic reports or the sheriff's assertion that her husband committed suicide, insists that there is some sort of cover-up going on. Lucian warns her to make sure she wants Walt involved in the investigation because “he’s like a gun; once you point him and pull the trigger, it’s too late to change your mind.” And, that's exactly what happens. Once Walt becomes invested in the investigation he's relentless and no matter the results, good or bad, there's no stopping until he's done.

Walt quickly comes to the conclusion that Holman committed suicide. But his question is why? Once he begins digging deeper Walt realizes that Holman may have been hiding information that connected the disappearance of three women, all three investigated as separate crimes. Why would a by-the-book lawman knowingly hold back that kind of information? With the assistance of his Undersheriff and lover Vic Moretti, best friend Henry Standing Bear, Dog, and a rookie from Campbell County, Walt's investigation begins to make sense of the information trickling in until it all takes a dark, unexpected, and dangerous turn. And as the countdown begins to the time when Cady's is scheduled to give birth, the anxiety builds for Walt who won't give up on solving the case or hoping that he will make it in time to get to Philadelphia.

The timeline for solving this mystery is short, a few days, so the pacing is quick and just as relentless as Walt. The bulk of the novel is taken up by the mystery with an anxious Walt trying to find out why a man like Holman would commit suicide while knowing that no matter what happens, he has to be there for over-emotional and demanding Cady. Both the mystery and action are great -- peppered with high octane dangerous situations, Walt's witty narrative, humanity and determination. As in other books, you can count on excellent contributions by Henry, Vic, and Lucian, which are accompanied by a few of Johnson's atmospheric, signature mystic moments. If anything is lacking, in my opinion, it is the lack of page time dedicated for Vic and Walt to discuss the events with which Johnson closed A Serpent's Tooth -- a situation that brought such deep despair to them both.

Any Other Name is another great mystery installment in Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire Mystery series with less of the personal overall story arc involved. Still, I gobbled up this book in one sitting. There's a big revelation at the end of the book that foreshadows what's to come in the next, or in future installments, for Walt. I can't wait to find out how that turns out. If you're a fan, I know you won't miss it. If you're not, I definitely recommend this western contemporary mystery series as a whole.

Category: Western Contemporary Mystery
Series: Walt Longmire
Publisher/Release Date: Viking Adult/May 13, 2014
Grade: B+

Review of books in Series:
The Cold Dish #1
Death Without Company #2
Kindness Goes Unpunished #3
Another Man's Moccasins #4
A Serpent's Tooth #9

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Short Stories: Michael Graves, Lewis DeSimone, Michael Carroll

June is Pride Month. I kicked off this month on June 1st by featuring LGBT short stories. I will continue to do so throughout the month by featuring short works written by gay authors, as well as  books with LGBT themes.


Today I would like to feature three short stories from With: New Gay Fiction edited by Jameson Currier (Chelsea Station, December 2013). This anthology features sixteen authors writing about all different types of relationships between gay men and others, including, but not limited to, lovers, family, friends, and acquaintances. I've been reading this book slowly and most likely will features other stories along the way. But today it is all about Michael Graves, Lewis DeSimone and Michael Carroll.

"Gold Mine" by Michael Graves
Gold Mine is an engaging and deeply emotional read written from two points of view. First, we have the boy anxiously waiting for his lover's return from the Iraqi War, and then we have boy's grandmother whose keen observations are shared with the reader. Graves uses both perspectives to explore the boy's relationship with his lover, the grandmother's love and acceptance, as well as the rejection he experiences from family members and the lover's family. This piece is engrossing in style with a political flavor that feels a bit dated, but not so much that it is not pertinent today. Particularly since there are lovers still waiting for their loved ones to come home safely.

"In Pride" by Lewis DeSimone
Lewis DeSimone's In Pride focuses on today's issue of gay marriage and all the changes that the new laws bring to individual lives and to the gay community as a whole. It's a beautiful thing and San Francisco is celebrating. But it all comes down to analyzing change and effect in the life of his main character, and as he joins the throngs of those celebrating, the effect it will have on a few of his friends who come from an older generation as opposed to the younger members of the gay community. There are questions: Is this something he wants in his life? Should he settle for the young lover who's already in his life or should he search for the right person? Does he want to? Is there still a chance for him? This is a fantastic piece by DeSimone who hits the right tone while addressing the new choices available to the modern gay man from the perspective of an experienced, mature generation.

"Werewolf" by Michael Carroll
Werewolf by Michael Carroll is one of those stories that just about anyone can relate to. It is about childhood friendships, you know, the ones that we let go with almost a sense of relief and later regret, usually when it's too late, because there are unresolved issues and feelings. In this case, Carroll's main character got there in time to say those last loving words to a dying friend and came to terms with rough realities. This is a deeply emotional, reality-based story that touches on the truth of those teen-year friendships that span years and in so many ways shape us.

Monday, June 9, 2014

May's Reads: Romance, Short Stories, SF & LGBT

My reading picked up significantly in May! A few things happened during the month. On the personal side of things, my husband went back to work and we are, slowly but surely, getting back on schedule. Blog-wise, my 5th blogiversary was May 8th and surprisingly I missed it this year! I guess it's time to stop celebrating.

In May, I also read 5 new contemporary (plus 1 reread) and 1 western historical romance which made me happy. It has been a long while since I read that many mainstream romances in one month. I guess I'm getting back in the "mood," and I'm hoping it lasts.

So, without further ado, here's my list of reads for the month of May 2014:

Total books read: 18
Contemporary (Romance/Fiction): 5
Historical (Romance/Fiction): 1
SF/F/Speculative Fiction: 3
LGBT: 8
Reread: 1

May's Favorite Books:


It Happened One Wedding by Julie James: A-
The Girl with All the Gifts (extended free preview) by M.R. Carey: A-
In Want of a Wife (Bitter Springs #3) by Jo Goodman: B+
The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere by John Chu: B+
Reverting to a Wild State by Justin Torres: B+ (Free Fiction at New Yorker Magazine)
Naming Ceremony: Stories by Chip Livingston: B
The Will by Kristen Ashley: B
Grunt Life: Task Force Ombra by Weston Ochse: B
Scrap Metal by Harper Fox: B

Superhero by Eli Easton: B
Superheroes is worth mentioning. It's a well-written LGBT YA romance with an emphasis on friendship and love that I enjoyed because of the sweet relationship between the two main protagonists -- childhood friends whose love for each other changes and grows as they grow. You can't go wrong with this one.
The Enlightenment of Daniel (Sex in Seattle #2) by Eli Easton: B
This is a more complicated friends to lovers M/M romance by Easton. This time the male protagonists are adults, one married with children and the other, a man in his 30's who comes to the realization that he's gay. Well, being the type of man who does his homework, he actually goes to a sex therapist for confirmation and is rather hilarious in his pursuit of the truth -- I enjoyed those moments more than I can say. But the plot also involves a dying father, and a vicious wife as well as two children. Thankfully, Easton works all of these conflicts and the romance quite satisfactorily before the end.
Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley: C

Sun-Kissed by Laura Florand: C
Sun-Kissed is my first try at a Laura Florand book, or in this case a novella. It covers the romance between Mack Corey and his long-time friend Anne Winters. The setting is the wedding between Mack's youngest daughter Jamie and Dominique (Snow-Kissed, Amour et Chocolat series). And of course other protagonists from Florand's series also make appearances, but, the novella is all about Mack and Anne.

Mack finally works up the gumption to to let Anne know that he's (has been) hot for her. They are both 53 year-old adults with grown, married children, so what's to stop them from changing what has basically been long-term platonic dating to dating with a physical relationship? Only Anne's need to fight stands in the way. First thing I thought when I began reading was that Anne's character was based on Martha Steward -- craft television mogul, convicted for lying about insider trading, blond, cool, collected, blah, blah, blah -- and unfortunately I couldn't erase that thought from my mind. However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the dialogue, the romance, or the characters. I actually enjoyed the mature romance in this novella, particularly the emotions and feelings faced by Mack, the empty-nester. It's just too bad "info dump" in the guise of internal monologue was used so frequently to drive the story forward that it really slowed down the pacing of the novella down to a crawl for me. Not a good beginning to my exploration of Florand's works, but I will still try one of her full-length novels.
Fighting to Stay by Kasey Millstead: D-
I thought of this piece as a poor imitation of Ashley's Motorcycle Man. Enough said.
May's reread:
Slow Dancing on Price's Pier by Lisa Dale

Reviews to come:
Fairs' Point (Astreiant #4) by Melissa Scott
Best Gay Stories 2014 ed. by Steve Berman
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In bookish news: The Lambda Award winners were finally announced. Congratulations to all the winners! Particularly to Alex Jeffers, winner of the Gay Erotica category with The Padişah's Son, and to Melissa Scott & Amy Grisswold winners of the SF/F/Horror category with Death by Silver.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Review: Grunt Life: A Task Force OMBRA Novel by Weston Ochse

"You, you, and you. . . panic. The rest of you, come with me." -- Anonymous U.S. Marine Corps, Gunnery Sgt.
Grunt Life begins with a suicide attempt by the main character, Benjamin Carter Mason, from whose first point of view perspective the story is narrated. A survivor where all his men are dead, Mason has given everything he's going to give and is ready to call it quits by jumping off a bridge when a man, whom Mason dubs Mr. Pink, appears out of nowhere with a proposition he is not allowed to refuse until he has been given all the details.

Mr. Pink tells Mason about the Cray, aliens who have been sending spies to Earth for years to learn about human weaknesses. The world's governments knew about it, but found it too costly and did nothing to prepare. A private conglomerate took over the mission and are recruiting special grunts to join Task Force OMBRA to fight the Cray and save humanity when the time comes.

Mason is taken to a different kind of facility at a remote location where he finds other reluctant recruits who have also been given a second chance to train as a unit and fight the impending full-blown alien invasion -- one that takes place off the pages, quickly and with devastating results while the unit is still in training. They go on to fight the aliens, and attempt to figure out how best to defeat them. There are terrible loses, sacrifices, and sad wins, but by the bitter end of their first mission, they do have a better idea of how to deal with the Cray.

Grunt Life is a military science fiction novel with all the bells and whistles. It has the detailed military weapons and new gadgets, -- a powered exoskeleton suit! -- military strategy, suspenseful moments, and men and women with military experience capable of accomplishing the mission as central and secondary characters. Post-invasion, there are action-packed scenes of gruesome, bloody battles with some seemingly invincible aliens.
"The relationships in war are like none other. When you're scared and the world is shooting at you, your love for the soldier next to you is so transfigured that only those who've been there can really understand. […] warriors on the battlefield love their friends more than their own lives. We do this without knowing it or acknowledging it. We'd rather we died so that they might live. So the idea that I'd survived eleven instances of friends dying, eleven separate times where someone I'd loved more than myself passed forcibly from this life into another, felt like a God-wilded ball-peen hammer to the soul. And they wanted me to talk about it?" -- Mason
However, Grunt Life also has the inner perspective of a man (the narrator), and a close group of people whose experiences in war led to suicidal attempts due to PTSD. Ochse delves into both subjects throughout the novel and as a result his characters, the grunts, become more than just characters on a page. This is where this novel really shines because although he weaves in bug-like aliens, action-packed battles, and neat military toys and strategy, this story is really about the effect fighting and war has on the men and women who do the fighting. Ochse achieves a stronger impact by setting his science fiction novel in present times and making most characters either active soldiers or veterans of current conflicts in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

The end of Grunt Life: Task Force OMBRA is left open. This is the first battle and there's a post-invasion war happening. Mason and the rest of the grunts have more to do, and I for one am looking forward to reading the next installment in Ochse's series.

Category: Military Science Fiction
Series: Task Force OMBRA
Publisher/Release Date: Solaris/April 29, 2014
Grade: B

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About the Author: Weston Ochse is the author of twenty books, most recently SEAL Team 666 and its sequel Age of Blood, which the New York Post called 'required reading' and USA Today placed on their 'New and Notable Lists.' His first novel, Scarecrow Gods, won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel and his short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His work has appeared in comic books, and magazines such as Cemetery Dance and Soldier of Fortune. He lives in the Arizona desert within rock throwing distance of Mexico. He is a military veteran with 29 years of military service and currently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Review: In Want of a Wife (Bitter Springs #3) by Jo Goodman

I absolutely loved The Last Renegade, but was not crazy about True to the Law. Thankfully, with In Want of a Wife the third book of her Bitter Springs western historical series, Jo Goodman returns to the kind of romance I've come to expect from her.

Jane Middlebourne is an orphan whose wealthy New York family rejected since childhood and barely tolerate as an adult. She finds her way out by answering an ad for a mail-order bride from Morgan Longstreet, a rancher from Bitter Springs, Wyoming. After exchanging letters and photographs, Jane works on an escape plan and takes a train West.

Having survived a rough, shady past, Morgan Longstreet is finally making a go of the Morning Star cattle ranch with the help of four hired hands, but he also needs a strong wife to help with work and hopefully be there for him through the good and the bad. Morgan is ready to propose when he finally meets Jane at the train station. Her beauty and delicate appearance, however, shock him into doubting that she is the right woman for him. Having burned all bridges behind her, Jane is determined to prove him wrong -- she is confident in her strength and the knowledge that she can be Morgan's perfect wife. But once they do marry, unshared secrets and unexpected revelations about their mutual pasts may ruin all hopes for a happy future.

In this novel, Goodman utilizes the mail-order bride trope to build the romance between Jane and Morgan, and she does it so well! Jane and Morgan are both direct, plain-spoken people who, as most of us tend to do, put their best foot forward while corresponding, but once they meet face to face, begin building a relationship by taking tentative steps. It all begins with conversations and questions that each answers with as much honesty as they allow themselves.

Both Jane and Morgan led a hellish sort of life before meeting. And yes, they have issues to work through, but what I loved about this pair is that they are both hopeful and still believe that they can find happiness. These are not bitter unforgiving souls. On the contrary, as all their secrets begin to surface in a well-timed progressive manner, each holds back but slowly reveals hidden depths to the other that strengthens what began as a fragile connection. These conversations lead to intimacy, and intimacy leads to desire.

Once intimacy and desire are recognized by Jane and Morgan, a passionate connection is established between this couple. Initially, Jane displays insecurities about her person as a result of her upbringing and past events, just as Morgan is doubtful as to how he should approach Jane physically because his past experiences don't lend themselves to understanding a woman like Jane. Yet, once they are together, Jane is honestly open in her desire for Morgan and he is just bowled over by Jane. A Jane whose passion in bed only rivals her inner strength out of it.

Revelations about Jane's and Morgan's deepest secrets are necessary to build trust and intimacy. Did I have any problems with those revelations? No. However toward the end, there is a "miracle" that affects one of Jane's confessions. It bothered me enough to mention it. SPOILER ALERT (highlight to read): Jane and Morgan are both orphans. I am not a fan of "miracle pregnancies," but if they do happen, they should come with a viable explanation. Jane's miracle pregnancy did not make sense to me. In this case, I feel that adoption would have been a fantastic, more believable, alternative to her situation, and a missed opportunity.

Most of the story takes place at the Morning Star Ranch with few key scenes taking place in Bitter Springs. This limits the amount of secondary characters who impact the romance to the four hired hands and one caring but rather intrusive female character from town. However, throughout the whole story, there is a dangerous plot brewing that concerns Morgan's past. As this thread progresses, a different, less active supporting cast of characters from the town -- the Sheriff, a few limited townspeople, Finn and Rabbit -- actively participate up to its final western-style climax. And yes, Finn and Rabbit are as adorable as they have been from the beginning of this series. Providing light, chuckle-worthy moments, sometimes in the middle of some pretty tense scenes.

This is a character driven romance with a focus on the building relationship between the main couple throughout the majority of the story. The setting for In Want of a Wife is really the Morning Star Ranch and that right there made this a worthwhile romance read because although Goodman uses a dangerous plot with an exciting western-style climax and a mail-order bride trope to set up the western atmosphere, by the end there is no question that the love, passion, and peace shared by Jane and Morgan are all there to stay. Highly recommended.

Category: Western Historical Romance
Series: Bitter Springs
Publisher/Release Date: Berkeley/May 6, 2014
Grade: B+

Series:
The Last Renegade, Book #1
True to the Law, #2
In Want of a Wife, #3

Monday, June 2, 2014

My June 2014 "Must Read" List

I have my list of "must reads" ready for the month of June. There's a little SF/F here and a little paranormal romance there, mainstream contemporary fiction,  historical fiction, and of course LGBT reads. What you won't find in this post are straight up mainstream contemporary or historical romance reads. I will be picking those up as the mood strikes.

Some of these books (like Shield of Winter and Cibola Burn) have been on my list since last year, but the rest are all recent additions.

Check out The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey, I read the extended preview and now I'm waiting anxious to read the novel. And, The Girls at the Kingfisher's Club by Genevieve Valentine caught my attention the first time I saw the cover and blurb -- a fairy tale with Roaring 20's flappers? Yes! With The Rise and Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman, the cover didn't grab me, but the book summary caught and kept my interest.

I'm determined to catch up with Gabaldon's Outlander series and Written in My Own Heart's Blood is definitely on my list of reads this summer! Then there's favorite author Meljean Brook, reading Frozen is a given and the same thing goes for L.B. Gregg's Men of Smithfield series. I love it, so Sam and Aaron will be an automatic buy for me. And, last year Berman's Best Gay Stories 2013 anthology was filled with quality stories. I wasn't planning on missing the 2014 edition.
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SHIELD OF WINTER by Nalini Singh (Psy/Changeling Series)
Print Edition releases June 3, 2014/Digital edition releases June 5, 2014 (Berkeley)

Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he’s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch—if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life.

For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…

Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to suffocate her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she’ll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M. R. Carey
Releases June 10, 2014 (Orbit)

The Girl With All the Gifts is a groundbreaking thriller, emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end.

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class.

When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie is a very special girl.

THE GIRLS AT KINGFISHER CLUB by Genevieve Valentine
Releasing June 10, 2014 (Atria Books)

From award-winning author Genevieve Valentine, a "gorgeous and bewitching" (Scott Westerfeld) reimagining of the fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses as flappers during the Roaring Twenties in Manhattan.

Jo, the firstborn, "The General" to her eleven sisters, is the only thing the Hamilton girls have in place of a mother. She is the one who taught them how to dance, the one who gives the signal each night, as they slip out of the confines of their father’s townhouse to await the cabs that will take them to the speakeasy. Together they elude their distant and controlling father, until the day he decides to marry them all off.

The girls, meanwhile, continue to dance, from Salon Renaud to the Swan and, finally, the Kingfisher, the club they come to call home. They dance until one night when they are caught in a raid, separated, and Jo is thrust face-to-face with someone from her past: a bootlegger named Tom whom she hasn’t seen in almost ten years. Suddenly Jo must weigh in the balance not only the demands of her father and eleven sisters, but those she must make of herself.

With The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, award-winning writer Genevieve Valentine takes her superb storytelling gifts to new heights, joining the leagues of such Jazz Age depicters as Amor Towles and Paula McClain, and penning a dazzling tale about love, sisterhood, and freedom.

WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD (Outlander) by Diana Gabaldon
Releasing June 10, 2014 (Delacorte Press)

1778: France declares war on Great Britain, the British army leaves Philadelphia, and George Washington’s troops leave Valley Forge in pursuit. At this moment, Jamie Fraser returns from a presumed watery grave to discover that his best friend has married his wife, his illegitimate son has discovered (to his horror) who his father really is, and his beloved nephew, Ian, wants to marry a Quaker. Meanwhile, Jamie’s wife, Claire, and his sister, Jenny, are busy picking up the pieces.

The Frasers can only be thankful that their daughter Brianna and her family are safe in twentieth-century Scotland. Or not. In fact, Brianna is searching for her own son, who was kidnapped by a man determined to learn her family’s secrets. Her husband, Roger, has ventured into the past in search of the missing boy . . . never suspecting that the object of his quest has not left the present. Now, with Roger out of the way, the kidnapper can focus on his true target: Brianna herself.

THE RISE & FALL OF GREAT POWERS: A NOVEL by Tom Rachman
Releasing June 10, 2014 (The Dial Press)

Tooly Zylberberg, the American owner of an isolated bookshop in the Welsh countryside, conducts a life full of reading, but with few human beings. Books are safer than people, who might ask awkward questions about her life. She prefers never to mention the strange events of her youth, which mystify and worry her still.

Taken from home as a girl, Tooly found herself spirited away by a group of seductive outsiders, implicated in capers from Asia to Europe to the United States. But who were her abductors? Why did they take her? What did they really want? There was Humphrey, the curmudgeonly Russian with a passion for reading; there was the charming but tempestuous Sarah, who sowed chaos in her wake; and there was Venn, the charismatic leader whose worldview transformed Tooly forever. Until, quite suddenly, he disappeared.

Years later, Tooly believes she will never understand the true story of her own life. Then startling news arrives from a long-lost boyfriend in New York, raising old mysteries and propelling her on a quest around the world in search of answers.

FROZEN by Meljean Brook
Releasing June 15 (Self-published)

For a year and a half, Olivia Martin has tried to forget Erik Gulbrandr, the glacial man who’d scorched her mouth with a single kiss. But when Olivia finds herself snowbound with Erik on the winter solstice, she discovers that the man who set her body aflame is cursed by abominable needs — and a desire that might destroy them both…
SAM and AARON (Men of Smithfield #5) by L.B. Gregg
Releasing June 16 (Carina Press)

With our family's legacy, Meyers B&B, in the flailing hands of me, Sam Meyers, and my sister Wynne, we're determined to revive the place. We've started a series of blind-date cooking classes, and taken on our first boarder. Granddad is even now rolling in his grave.

Signed up for the class is our new guest, Aaron Saunders, a Californian transplant who's distractingly handsome and clearly up to no good. I can't quite figure him out. He blew into town and has been relentless in his search for…something.

The sexy sneak is intriguing. And we've had a steamy moment. Or two. But now I can't stop wondering why he's searching in secret. From the library, to the historical society, to my own backyard, Aaron leaves no stone unturned or record book unopened. He's definitely gotten my attention. But that might not be the only thing he's after.

CIBOLA BURNS (The Expanse) by James S.A. Corey
Releasing June 17 (Orbit)

"An empty apartment, a missing family, that's creepy. But this is like finding a military base with no one on it. Fighters and tanks idling on the runway with no drivers. This is bad juju. Something wrong happened here. What you should do is tell everyone to leave."

The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonize has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets. Ilus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is being born in blood and fire.

Independent settlers stand against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship with only their determination, courage, and the skills learned in the long wars of home. Innocent scientists are slaughtered as they try to survey a new and alien world. The struggle on Ilus threatens to spread all the way back to Earth.

James Holden and the crew of his one small ship are sent to make peace in the midst of war and sense in the midst of chaos. But the more he looks at it, the more Holden thinks the mission was meant to fail.

And the whispers of a dead man remind him that the great galactic civilization that once stood on this land is gone. And that something killed it.

BEST GAY STORIES 2014 edited by Steve Berman
Releases June 20, 2014 (Lethe Press)

In the 2014 edition, fiction, essays, and memoirs by: Michael Alenyikov, Richard Bowes, Michael Carroll, Lou Dellaguzzo, Michael Thomas Ford, L.A. Fields, Guy Mark Foster, James Gifford, Trebor Healey, Andrew Holleran, Ed Kurtz, Dmitry Kuzmin, Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Sam J. Miller, James Powers-Black, Jason Schneiderman, Max Steele, Stefen Styrsky, Josef Winkler, Mario Alberto Zambrano.

The rest of my June reads will be a surprise (to you and me). How about you? Do you have a list of "must reads" for June?

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Short Stories: Naming Ceremony by Chip Livingston

In the sixteen short stories and profound essays that comprise Naming Ceremony, Chip Livingston examines the worlds we create for ourselves by exploring the names we are called and those we call ourselves. Livingston’s characters express in word and deed the names that confirm their individuality as well as validating their roles in family, culture, politics, and sexuality.
My previous acquaintance with Chip Livingston's works was limited to one short story and his poetry volume Crow-Blue, Crow-Black. In this collection of short stories the quality of Chip Livington's writing cannot be questioned. He is a fine poet and writer. However, for me, the power of some pieces stand out with unqualified force.

First we have a selection of connected short pieces that collectively complete one story -- "Naming Ceremony," "What Calls You Home," "Owls don't have to mean death," "One Hundred Kisses," and "Ghost Dance." These stories depict moments in the life of Peter Strongbow, his HIV positive lover Elan, with Native American culture and family playing key roles in Peter's lifestyle and relationships. Livingston captures moments filled with love, hope and laughter, dreams and fear, loss and grief with a deep sense of truth and powerful honesty.

That same sense of honesty is found in Livingston's "Anthology of Spoon River AIDS Walk" which is composed of small, verse-like snippets that convey thoughts of lovers, friends, family, and acquaintances participating in an AIDS Walk for Tim Kelley who died of AIDS. This powerful piece hits the reader with raw reality and a myriad of emotions.

Susan

I picked Mason in Charleston.
It happened that I was there for a meeting.
Good timing. Right.
Thank you Universal Forces of Love and Light.
I met Mason through Tim.
I'll walk with Mason in memory of Tim.
    And for my Father.


Tom Girl

I used to live with Tim in Columbia
I wanted to come up but I just couldn't
I wanted to see Mason and the Kelley's
It's too hard
I can't deal with it
I wonder how many people
will wear shirts and walk for me
I still feel great but Tim went so quick

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About the Author: Chip Livingston has received awards in fiction from Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, the University of Colorado, and the AABB Foundation. As a faculty member of the low-residency MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts and at Gotham Writers Workshops, Chip teaches nonfiction, fiction and poetry writing.