TBR Review: Logan's Outlaw (Men of Defiance #4) by Elaine Levine

Confident and coolheaded, nothing shakes a Man of Defiance—except a woman he can’t resist...

Sarah Hawkins survived capture by the Sioux, but after her escape she faced public scorn. Now, she’ll do anything to start over, and the dusty town of Defiance promises the anonymity and security she needs. Before she melts into the shadows, though, it’s her mission to put a great injustice to rights, and that means jeopardizing her safety once more.

But this time, she’s not alone. Without meaning to, Sarah has fallen under the protection of Logan Taggert, a rough-and-tumble trader unused to caring for others—and yet unable to ignore the tempting, tenacious woman’s plight. Though she refuses to trust him, Logan won’t leave her side, keeping her one step ahead of danger…even as she takes hold of the very thing he never thought he’d risk: his heart.

Logan's Outlaw by Elaine Levine is the fourth installment in the Men of Defiance series. I read Leah and the Bounty Hunter, Book 3 and enjoyed the "real, somewhat gritty western" atmosphere in that story, and plan on reading the complete series. Logan's Outlaw is a western romance with plenty of violence and events covering the not-so-pretty history of the West. This story takes place during the painful times when the Sioux Nation was in flux, when gold was found in the Black Hills, and while some tribes were left with little choice but to move to reservations, others fought to maintain their way of life.

The story begins with Sarah, a white woman who survived torture as the white captive of a Sioux chief. This beginning worried me a bit, I've read these types of books before (from the 70's and 80's) where Native Americans are often demonized or romanticized. However, pretty quickly I realized that in Logan's Outlaw, Levine goes out of her way to portray both sides of the story. I can't tell you how politically correct the book is, you'll have to decide that for yourself, I can say that it is apparent that Ms. Levine conducted research before writing this story and did not romanticize either side.

Through Sarah, Levine explores life in the aftermath of a surviving white captive who was tortured and married to a Sioux chief. Also through Sarah, the author addresses the subject of how land, when not gained through treaties, was taken through foul means. Through White Cloud and his people, Levine explores the wisdom of the culture and how deeply they were wronged, and through Chayton her exploration goes into the pain and loss of the plains people.

Logan is the linchpin in this story. His position as a trader allows him to straddle both sides, and he appreciates and experiences the pain from both sides. Actually Logan turns out to be the perfect knight for a woman like Sarah. He understands what she went through, has endless patience with her, and all the right connections and courage to save her from her Sioux husband and to protect her from white scorn. There were very few moments when Logan showed his flaws... and even then, his reasoning was quite human. I wondered a few times along the way if there are men out there with his kind of patience. As a fictional romance hero, though, he is just that... quite a hero.

The romance between Sarah and Logan serves as the central focus. When Logan meets Sarah at a coach stop, she is a wounded, traumatized soul. Logan takes one look at beautiful and haunted-looking Sarah and fearing that the coach leaving to Cheyenne is headed for danger, appoints himself her silent protector and joins the group on their journey. That journey is a harsh one. They are attacked by a band of Sioux warriors, their coach is burned and the passengers killed. Although Sarah and Logan survive through Logan's knowledge and brave cunning, their adventures through Cheyenne, Defiance, and eventually to the Circle Bar Ranch continue to be filled with danger.

Levine uses the journey and the different obstacles that Logan and Sarah encounter along the way, including persecution by some goons that are after Sarah, to develop their relationship and romance. When Sarah and Logan find out that she is wanted for forgery, Logan marries her and slowly but surely begins the process of helping Sarah heal from the terrible fears and horrible nightmares that plague her from her days as a captive. She doesn't believe she'll ever be able to have a normal relationship with a man again, and he's willing to have her on any terms as long as he can protect her. How can Sarah not fall in love with Logan?

There's nothing pretty about some of the violent scenes portrayed in this story. There are burned bodies, scalpings, and people are killed ruthlessly. There's no sparing a character for the sake of making this a pretty romance, even as the characters experience their happy moments. This is a warning for readers who cannot tolerate violence with their romance.

Levine's prose is not complex or lyrical, as a matter of fact I find it rather straight forward and easy to read and the dialog can be said to be awkward at times, however the plot carries the day in this romance. Levine handles Sarah's healing, the aftermath of being tortured and raped, quite well (those torture and rape scenes are not shown in the book). The action is there from beginning to end, with quiet, romantic moments in between where Sarah and Logan get to know each other. Logan's attraction is instant and more protective than passionate in the beginning with passion taking over later on in the story.

Logan's Outlaw, like Leah and the Bounty Hunter, is a gritty western with both central and secondary characters that are confronting seriously hurtful situations. In contrast, the romance is sweet and by the end of the story there's a sense that the love found by our couple will endure. A quick western historical romance read, full of action that might not be enjoyed by everyone.

Theme: Western Romance
June Review

Category: Historical Romance/Western
Series: Men of Defiance
Publisher/Released: Kensington/March 2012
Source: Kensington Books
Grade: B-

Visit Elaine Levine here.

Series:
Rachel and the Hired Gun
Audrey and the Maverick
Leah and the Bounty Hunter
Logan's Outlaw

Review: No Tan Lines by Kate Angell

There's a place where the ocean meets the shore, where kicking off your shoes and baring some skin is as natural as sneaking under the boardwalk for an ice cream cone and stolen kisses. But life isn't all a beach for Shaye Cates, even if her idea of an office is a shady umbrella at the water's edge equipped with cell phone and laptop. Steely-eyed Trace Saunders is the incredibly irksome fly in her coconut tanning oil. And running a kids' softball team with her long-time rival is going to have everyone in her little Florida town buzzing. Her scads of laid-back relatives and his whole uptight clan know that Shaye just wants to play ball while Trace thinks only of business. But beneath the twinkling lights of the ferris wheel, the magic of sea and sand can sweep away every inhibition...Suddenly, it's summertime, and the lovin' is easy.

No Tan Lines by Kate Angell (or Barefoot on the Boardwalk as I tend to think of this story) is a quick, light read. It's a good summer or beach read... I mean it has the sand and waves, the boardwalk, the fair, and most importantly, the romance.

The story began with lots of potential and a great background story. The Saunders and the Cateses are two families who have been feuding for 100 years. Barefoot William was once a united beach town in Florida, but became divided into Barefoot William and Saunders Shore by Central Street and bitter enmity when Evan Saunders moved to town with his capitalist ideas. One side became a high end resort beach town, while the other remained family and tourist oriented, offering a boardwalk full of fair grounds, fun shops, and casual dining where residents and tourists can just have fun and well... walk barefoot. This casual approach to life vs. the more formal high end style is what keeps the two sides of the town apart for 100 years. And of course it's also what makes Shaye Cates and Trace Saunders bitter enemies throughout their lives. After all, it's tradition!

We first meet Trace at sixteen when he walks into a candy store located at Barefoot William, where Shaye and her cousin Kai are working the counter. There's a great confrontation between the two where in the end Shaye comes out the winner -- I loved that scene. Years later, Shaye represents the interests of the Cates' family businesses on the Barefoot Williams boardwalk, and Trace runs the Saunders' businesses on the Saunders Shore side of town. When both towns need to negotiate rights to the beach for a volleyball tournament, Shaye and Trace must meet face to face and the real fun begins.

There's a sense that these two would do anything to get the upper hand on the other, no matter what! The problem? The more they keep an eye on each other for sneaky attacks, the more the attraction grows between them as they share walks on the beach, ferris wheel rides, lunch meetings and more. But breaking with 100 years of hostile tradition won't be easy.

I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere in this story. The beach town with the boardwalk, the beach, the rides, the waves and sand made me feel as if I were there at Barefoot William. I wanted to walk on that boardwalk and enjoy an ice cream cone. The Cates clan gave the story a family atmosphere, and the hostility between Shaye and Trace, their competitiveness, and initial shenanigans were fun.

I think for me the romance between Shaye and Trace worked up to a certain point. I could feel their attraction and knew that, at least Trace, was ready to forgive and forget. I wasn't too sure that Shaye was really ready to meet Trace in the middle, and frankly their give and take was more enjoyable for me than their actual sexual encounters once the affair between them began in earnest.

This story, however, has multiple points of view and two other romances that are inserted in the middle of Shaye and Trace's, so that the focus of the story is constantly shifting. This became a distraction and pulled my interest away from the main couple. The timeline became a problem at one point, particularly toward the end when a new couple, Sophie and Dune, were introduced and the focus remained on them for quite a long time. This was an enjoyable story line, but one that definitely detracted from the main romance.

Overall, No Tan Lines is a contemporary romance that began with lots of potential, but that somewhere along the line lost its focus and ended up as an average read for me. I still enjoyed some aspects of the story, and think that this is a book that can be enjoyed as a light beach, or summer read. By the way, Dune and Sophie? They make an excellent couple and stole the show, and I'm hoping that there's a book in the near future about those two. I'll read it!

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Barefoot William
Publisher/Release Date: Kensington/May 29, 2012
Source: Kensington Books
Grade: C

Visit Kate Angell here.

Review: Point of Knives: A Novella of Astreiant by Melissa Scott

Set in an alternate pseudo-Renaissance world full of magics, pointsmen, wizards, necromancers and deadly political games, Point of Knives by Melissa Scott is a brand new novella that links the classic original fantasy Astreiant duology -- Point of Hopes and Point of Dreams -- by closing the gaps between the two books.

In Point of Knives, Scott's main characters Adjunct Point Nicolas Rathe and ex-soldier Philip Eslingen, now Caiazzo's knife or bodyguard, are thrown together again by unusual circumstances surrounding the double murders of father and son Grandad Steen and Old Steen, both rumored to have been pirates.

Circumstances are further complicated when Old Steen's son, Young Steen, claims his personal effects and an until-then-unknown wife shows up making the same claim. Seeking compensation for moneys owed, Caiazzo also lays claim to the man's possessions and dispatches Eslingen to represent his interests and to help Rathe with the investigation.

Nico and Philip can't help but be glad to be close again after last summer's affair, and although they know that neither can afford too close a relationship, both hope that the circumstances don't affect their friendship or their feelings for each other. Rathe is known for his excellent insight and trusts Philip even as he knows that as Caiazzo's knife, thug or blade for hire, Philip owes him loyalty. However, his feelings are deeply involved.

[...] he would only sound besotted. And I'm not, he thought. Not besotted. Fond of him, friendly with him --- gods, it was easy to slip into the habit of the summer, too easy to treat him as comrade and friend --- and if he was honest with himself, yes, he could become besotted. Could even --- He refused to utter the betraying verb, even in his own mind.

Nico and Philip agree that during the investigation they will take advantage of their time together as winter-lovers with a promise not to ask more from each other when that time ends. But will they? The murder investigation takes them from Point of Hopes' narrow streets into the dangerous neighborhood that is Point of Knives, and slowly becomes a coil that involves a deadly political game, gold, magists, alchemists, necromancers, and that when unraveled might prove deadly to Nico and Philip.

Point of Knives picks up on events a few months right after Point of Hopes ends and expands on the already established relationship between Nico and Philip. I was taken with the complexity of the world building in this fantasy, as well as with the excellent characterization. The police-procedural aspect of the novel is intricate and complete, with a gruesome beginning, excellent investigative work and a surprising, satisfying resolution. More importantly, it is through this key aspect of the story that Scott cleverly incorporates fantasy, adds details to her world, and develops a lovely romance.

The characters that populate this fantasy are regular folk that somehow stand out in this world where magics and alternate history intertwine so seamlessly and are so well crafted, that after a while all of it seems possible.

Points of Knives is a gorgeous addition to the Astreiant series. Melissa Scott takes this fantasy, fills it with memorable characters, and gives the reader more by incorporating a fully developed romance and a police procedural with enough twists and turns to satisfy the most finicky of readers. Highly recommended.

Category: LGBT/Fantasy
Series: Astreiant Novels
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/July 1, 2012
Source: eARC Lethe Press
Grade: A-

Visit Melissa Scott here.

Series:
Point of Hopes, #1
Point of Knives, #1.5
Point of Dreams, #2 (To be re-released October 12, 2012) 

Review: The Touch of the Sea edited by Steve Berman

It is summer time. Some of us dream of the sea and the lulling sounds of mesmerizing waves, the smell of sea salt, forever skies, and sunshine. Mariners have always referred to the sea as she . . . but when I picked up The Touch of the Sea edited by Steve Berman, I knew there would be one difference and was ready to sit back, relax, and dream some more while enjoying eleven stories of men, myths, adventures, love, and the magic of the sea.

I found the magic. It is there in mythology-based stories as in Chaz Brechley's Keep the Aspidochelone Floating, the gorgeous seafaring myth-based story full of greedy pirates and an exciting whale hunt that become part of Sailor Martin's adventures along with his obsession and love for cabin boy Sebastian. And in The Stone of Sacrifice where Jeff Mann combines Gaelic mythology with a few of his signature erotic scenes in a story of love lost when a man unknowingly calls the god Shoney and the lure of new love becomes an obsession.

I found the dreams. They are there in stories of mermen luring the incautious or the fated to the sea, as in Out to Sea by John Howard, The Calm Tonight by Matthew A Merendo, and in Ban's Dreams of the Sea where Alex Jeffers creates a mesmerizing fable where through erotic dreams, alluring sea creatures lure men and women into the sea. And again in Air Tears, a beautiful story about changes, choices and looking forward, Damon Shaw weaves a tale where as payment for a kiss and an erotic encounter by the sea, a man may never again return to land.

I found the adventure. It is there in The Bloated Woman by Jonathan Harper and in Wave Boys, Vincent Kovar's excellent seafaring adventure full of boys with tribal rituals, pent-up desires, a kraken, youthful aggression, pride and loss. This is my favorite story of the anthology due to the strong narrative voice, the excellent world building, and characters that drew me in from the first page. I wanted more of this story . . . just more. Then, in Night of the Sea Beast, Brandon Cracraft returns to 1956 and with this period piece, he mixes monster movie making, ala Creature Features, with Greek mythology, a multiple murder investigation, and a wonderful tale of brotherhood.

And of course I found love. There's loving of one sort or another in all the stories, but some are about that second chance at love or lost love. 'Nathan Burgoine's Time and Tide mixes up old Naiad myths with a tale about accepting gifts and love when a man returns home to the call of the sea and an old lover. And there's The Grief of Seagulls by Joel Lane. His is a story of coming to terms with love lost where after grieving for ten years, a man meets his dead lover come to life for one night of passion.

Overall, the stories in The Touch of the Sea are well crafted and while all are entertaining, some tales are downright mesmerizing. They also fit this anthology perfectly so that by the time I finished reading, I could smell the sea salt and feel that sunshine. Fun!

Category: LGBT/Speculative Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/May 15, 2012
Source: Lethe Press
Grade: B

Visit Steve Berman here.

Review: Bedding Lord Ned (Duchess of Love #1) by Sally MacKenzie

Determined to find a husband, Miss Eleanor "Nell" Bowman attends a ball put on by the Duchess of Greycliffe, fondly referred to as the Duchess of Love. But she roundly dismisses the suitors the matchmaking hostess has invited on her behalf. For it’s the duchess’s dashing son Ned, Lord Edward, who long ago captured Nell’s heart—and roused her desire. All it takes is a pair of conveniently misplaced silky red bloomers to set the handsome widower’s gaze on this unusual girl who is clearly more than meets the eye…

After more than a year of mourning, Ned longs to finally start anew. At first glance, the birthday ball his mother has thrown in his honor is decidedly lacking in suitable mistresses. But he senses something unexpectedly alluring beneath the veil of Nell’s plain exterior— something she’s anxious to reveal, and the lonely Lord is incapable of denying...

Trope: The secret crush
Setting: A triple birthday party at a country estate
Male Protagonist: Clueless
Female Protagonist: Helplessly in love
Helping Along: A thieving cat, a misplaced pair of red silk drawers, two brothers, and matchmaker extraordinaire, the Duchess of Love

Nell's secret crush on Ned has lasted a lifetime, literally, but Ned chose to marry her best friend instead. He has been a widower for three years and Nell has been turning away all suitors in hopes that someday Ned will turn to her and see her as a woman and not a friend, with no results. During this year's birthday ball she's determined to let him go and allows the Duchess' help to find another.

Ned grieved for his dead wife for three years and is not interested in his mother's matchmaking efforts. However when he arrives at his mother's country estate for the birthday party and retires to his room only to find a woman, rump in the air, digging under his bed, unbelievably his body comes back to life. Except that the woman turns out to be 'good old Nell.' Ned then decides that maybe it is time to look for a wife to fill his nursery and agrees to his mother's matchmaking plans, and those plans don't include Nell.

Bedding Lord Ned by Sally MacKenzie was fun, funny and sweet. Ned needed a few fights, a thieving cat, a shot of brandy to the face, a whole household, plus I believe a few shots to the head to see what was in front of his face. Nell should have used the red silk drawers earlier and more fun would've been had all around!

The cat was priceless, the red silk drawers excellent bait, and the Duchess of Love and her Greycliffe stole more than a few pages in bedroom scenes, while Ned thoughtlessly bumbled his way around and Nell worked up the nerve to fight for her man. The secondary characters helped to establish the fun atmosphere and Ned's brothers were wonderful. Ash's story about a failed marriage that lasted only one night promises to be a good one, and Jack! Now there's a fun young man with a bit of insight about females. These two brothers stole the spotlight and I look forward to reading their stories.

Category: Historical Romance
Series: Duchess of Love
Publisher/Release Date: Zebra/June 5, 2012
Source: ARC Kensington Publishing
Grade: B-

Visit Sally MacKenzie here.

Series:
The Duchess of Love, #.5 (Bonus novella included with this book) 
Bedding Lord Ned, #1

Review: A Little More Scandal (The Christies #1.5) by Carrie Lofty

Self-made industrialist Sir William Christie tempts the scorn of London society by attempting to seduce Catrin Jones, a modest but opinionated battlefield nurse who earned notoriety after surviving a naval shipwreck. His ambition to secure her exclusive story is part of his latest business plan, while her intention is to marry well before her moment of fame expires. With respectability, wealth, and security at stake, they must decide whether love is worth embracing just a little more scandal...

In a very short period of time Carrie Lofty has become a favorite historical romance writer and her books 'must reads' for me. Ms. Lofty has the touch when it comes to penning passionate romances that combine wonderful characters with those little historical details that I love.

A Little More Scandal is a 90 page novella that can be read as a stand alone or as a prequel to Carrie Lofty's The Christies historical romance series. As a prequel, this passionate romance gives the reader insight into Sir William Christie's character, the patriarch of the family, and adds depth to The Christies' series as a whole.

Sir William Christie is a self-made man who clawed his way from the bottom rungs of Glasgow's society's ladder and gained entrance, if not necessarily acceptance, to the very top of London's ton by using his gift for business and obsession for making money. At 31 years of age, he's a widower, an absentee father, and the head of a successful industrial empire. He is a ruthless businessman who is about to find his match in the most unlikely of women.

Catrin Jones is the Welsh daughter of a country pastor who served as a battlefield nurse for five years in the Crimean War. Her only claim to fame is that she was the only survivor when the HMS Honoria was wrecked while sailing home from the war and Catrin refuses to tell the real story. London is agog with speculation and William needs her story in order to further his latest business plans. William decides to seduce the story out of Catrin, but he doesn't expect that Catrin might have her own plans and might seduce more out of him.

This novella is character driven and as a result the focus is entirely on William and Catrin. There is a sense of urgency to William and Catrin's developing relationship, dictated by events taking place around them, that serves to push them into quick action. Catrin, more so than William, is an absolute gem of a character in this novella. She is forthright and just as ruthless in her own way as William when it comes to achieving her goal. I admired her for her determination. Together, they sizzle and burn. . . sizzle and burn. . .

As previously stated, A Little More Scandal can be read as a stand alone novella since this is a prequel and already known characters from this series do not make an appearance. However, if you've read Flawless, this short is a 'must' read. Lofty delivers all around in this passionate little novella and gives readers a detailed peek into what drove both William and Catrin to build not only an industrial empire, but a beautiful and rather unique family. Of course this novella is a delicious appetizer, but now I am eagerly waiting for the main course, the second book in the series, Starlight (The Christies, #2).

Category: Historical Romance
Series: The Christies
Publisher/Release Date: Pocket/May 29, 2012
Source: eARC from Novel Sidekick
Grade: B+

Visit Carrie Lofty here.

The Christies Series:
Flawless, Book #1
A Little More Scandal, Prequel Book #1.5
Starlight, Book #2 - Releasing June 26, 2012

Review: Bear Like Me by Jonathan Cohen

Fired from his job at Phag magazine, Peter Mallory has to find a way to make a living...and get revenge When his best friend suggests writing a book about the bear community--and using his new ursine look to go undercover at Phag--Peter is soon letting his body hair grow and practising the fine art of flannel couture. When Peter's sabotage campaign works only too well, he starts to run the risk of discovery. With an envious fellow bear set to unmask Peter as a fraud, and a relationship with an intriguing bear on the line, things are about to get very hairy.

I'm a fan of bear erotica and bearish romances when I find them, so Bear Like Me by Jonathan Cohen, an amusing, light tale about a man who becomes part of the bear community, through let's say the back door, is right up my alley.

Cohen weaves this bearish story around Peter Mallory, a journalist and self-proclaimed twink who becomes obsessed with getting revenge after he's fired from his job at Phag magazine. In the meantime he needs to make a living and at his friend Mac's suggestion Peter decides to write a novel about the bear community. Unfortunately, he is clueless. Problem? He's part of the mainstream gay community and lives in what he refers to as the "gay ghetto," but Peter doesn't even know what a bear is!

Mac suggests Peter go undercover to research his novel. To blend in he grows a beard, stops waxing his body hair, and gains heft by eating like food is going out of style. And in some of the most amusing moments in the story, his wardrobe undergoes a dramatic change as Peter sheds his trendy suits and ties for flannel. Of course there's more to the experience than growing fur, changing wardrobe or gaining weight.

"Becoming a bear, just like coming out of the closet, requires a certain shift in perception. What you find attractive, what you find acceptable, what you deem important, all changes. In a way you become an outsider, but in a way you become part of a small, select private group. Usually this is a long process that accompanies repeated exposure to the bear community. I didn't, however, have the luxury of time." 

Peter's partner Danny is not necessarily over the moon about the lack of income, but all the physical and psychological changes that slowly turn Peter into his other self, Dan the bear, take a real toll on the relationship.

Peter/Dan is driven by his obsession to get that revenge against Phag, meanwhile that "shift in perception" slowly takes place within Peter. This takes time, however even as he clings to the belief that inside he is still a twink and that his foray into to bear community is temporary Peter falls for Ben, a big teddy bear of man who sees the bear and other qualities in him that Peter doesn't see in himself. Unfortunately Peter doesn't know when to stop lying and scheming, so that by the time he comes to his senses it might be too late to keep the friends who welcomed him with opened arms, or his man.

There are over-the-top moments (Peter loves and attracts drama like a magnet), and since this book was first published in 2003, a rather dated back story. But I like that through all the mayhem Cohen sneaks in slight critical views of both the mainstream gay and bear communities from an insider and an outsider's point of view. Additionally, the pace of the novel is quick as lightning and it makes this story not only entertaining, but a super fast read.

In Bear Like Me, Cohen presents an overview of the bear community with all its rules and bearish family atmosphere. Peter's second coming out story as a bear is entertaining with an intentionally campy style, outrageous moments, and a surprisingly sweet romance.

Category: Gay Fiction/Romance
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Bear Bones Books/June 9, 2011
Source: Lethe Press
Grade: B

❁❁❁❁❁❁

About the Author (Summarized): Jonathan Cohen was born to non-bear parents 40-some years ago in Toronto, Canada. The rise of the Internet in 1995 connected Jonathan to a community he'd never heard of before. "Bears" were hairy, bearded, large men, Jonathan found to his surprise --- and they liked men just like him! After coming out to himself and others as a bear, he decided to study their community, their rituals, and of course their sexual practices. The novel Bear Like Me was the result and was published in 2003. Jonathan now lives in Toronto. Brown hair is turning to gray, but Jonathan still remembers those halcyon bear days and gropes of yore.

Review: Naked Angel (Club Burlesque) by Logan Belle

Naked Angel is the third book in Logan Belle's Club Burlesque trilogy. I did not read the first book of the series Blue Angel, but got hooked on this sexy erotic romance trilogy after reading the second book, Fallen Angel. However, I do not recommend that this book be read as a stand alone.

Earlier, Wendy very aptly described this series as a soap opera and she hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what this series is, an erotic soap opera where the characters are either jumping in and out of bed with each other, lusting after each other, planning revenge, or going behind each other's backs to outdo the next guy/gal, all in an uber erotic burlesque setting. I love it.

There's the main couple Mallory and Alec, whose erotic romps and romantic ups and downs began on that first book and end with the trilogy. After going through their romantic woes in Fallen Angel, in this installment Mallory is trying to get their new burlesque club The Painted Lady off to a good start, while Alec decides it is time to ask her to tie the knot. Mallory is fine with the idea until Alec suggests that maybe Mallory should hang up her feather boa and pasties and stop dancing. Wha...???!! Is that boy out of his mind? Mallory loves to shake her booty, and didn't she give up law school for burlesque in the first place? What is he thinking?!

THEN Logan introduces Nadia, a failed ballerina who decides to use her dancing background to make a new life for herself by dancing burlesque. Unfortunately she meets Max, the owner of a small ballet company who thinks Nadia can do better than make a living as a burlesque dancer. They lust after each other and fall for each other, and although he can't keep his hands off of her still resents her job and makes an idiot out of himself. Ohhh the drama!

THEN, there's Violet Offender! Violet is the villainous dominatrix who previously had the hots for Mallory and then turned into her bitter enemy. She is sneaky, manipulative, underhanded, and a personal favorite. Of course there's also Gemma, a character brought to the forefront to play additional havoc with our cast of characters. I could go on, but to make a long story short, there's an affair, a divorce, a burlesque competition, some pretty twisted back stabbing, all while the steam rises and the erotic romps abound.

Mallory, Alec and Violet Offender are likable and memorable, although I would say that they are defined as characters only to a certain degree. Unfortunately there's just not enough depth there to make a real emotional connection with the some of the characters that play a central role in this installment. I'm referring to Nadia and Max. I found Max to be self-centered, domineering, and demanding with less than valid concerns, and Nadia too easily and suddenly agreeable to his demands, as well as unbelievably understanding.

My favorite aspect of Naked Angel, as with Blue Angel, is the setting. Logan Belle's wonderful world of burlesque is one of beautiful costumes, sequins, feather boas, pasties, and music where even the dances are described in fine detail. I also obviously enjoy the ins and outs of the characters' drama-driven lives and their erotic adventures. Fortunately Logan Belle ends the trilogy quite nicely indeed with plenty of that drama, a happily ever after, and some extra surprises. (I'm going back to read that first book I missed. :D )

Category: Erotic Romance
Series: Club Burlesque
Publisher/Release Date: Aphrodesia/March 27, 2012
Source: Kensington Publishing
Grade: B

Visit Logan Belle here.

Trilogy:

Review: The Heart's History by Lewis DeSimone

This is Edward architect, friend, lover, mystery. Everyone has their own Edward a kaleidoscope of images struggling to define a man who has never let anyone get too close. But now, Edward is dying, and all of his loved ones are desperate to understand him, to connect fully with him, before it's too late.

This is Edward... 

I was drained by the time I finished reading The Heart's History by Lewis DeSimone. Talk about characters that come alive and jump off the page! And I'm not just referring to Edward, I'm referring to all the other characters that revolve around him like planets around a sun: Harlan, Bill, Kyle, and Edward's lover Robert.

Yes, through these characters' inner struggles, some excellent dialogue that made me laugh out loud, cry and ponder, even as I wanted to know more about the motivation behind some personal decisions, by the time I finished reading this book they had ceased to be characters and had become Harlan, Bill, Kyle, and Robert.

And Edward. The Sun. Edward is dying of AIDS in an era when most of those around him that are afflicted, manage the disease and survive. Portrayed in fragmented pieces as his friends and lover bring him to life for the reader, Edward with his strengths and weaknesses seems to know something that they don't know. A whole village is needed to figure out the fragmented pieces that make up the puzzle that is this man, and still he leaves his loved ones wanting more. The questions: Can you ever fully know, understand, or connect with the person you love? Is it necessary to connect all the pieces of the puzzle to make that love more meaningful or real? What a character!

DeSimone builds a realistic portrait of these men's lives, gay life, as it was during the first part of the 21st Century -- 2002 through 2007. These are friends that through the years become a close-knit family, closer and more meaningful to each other than blood relatives because together they share the beauty, obstacles and realities presented by the gay lifestyle. A lifestyle that begins to change and shift with the advent of gay marriage and relationship commitments, all of it possibly leading to assimilation into the larger mainstream community. The uncertainty and differing points of view on this subject are examined in detail through DeSimone's excellent portrayals of Harlan and Greg's characters.

However, where DeSimone really succeeds is in how he delves into the heart and the individual's need for connection. Through the shifting and very different perspectives of Bill, Kyle, Harlan and Robert, the author takes the reader on a journey where the depth of love, the need for connection and the struggle to maintain individuality in the face of both are deeply explored.

The Heart's History is an intimate portrait of the individuals and families that made up the gay community during a time of significant change, but more accurately it is a portrait of the human heart, the struggle, the hopes and joys that come from that search for connection through love.

Category: LGBT/Gay Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/May 15, 2012
Source: Lethe Press
Grade: B+

Visit Lewis DeSimone here.

Other novels by this author:
Chemistry

Review: Woodrose Mountain (Hope's Crossing #2) by RaeAnne Thayne

Evie Blanchard was at the top of her field in the city of angels. But when an emotional year forces her to walk away from her job as a physical therapist, she moves from Los Angeles to Hope's Crossing seeking a quieter life. So the last thing she needs is to get involved with the handsome, arrogant Brodie Thorne and his injured daughter, Taryn.A self-made man and single dad, Brodie will do anything to get Taryn the rehabilitation she needs…even if it means convincing Evie to move in with them. And despite her vow to keep an emotional distance, Evie can't help but be moved by Taryn's spirit, or Brodie's determination to win her help—and her heart. With laughter, courage and more than a little help from the kindhearted people of Hope's Crossing, Taryn may get the healing she deserves—and Evie and Brodie might just find a love they never knew could exist.

Woodrose Mountain by RaeAnne Thayne is a small-town romance. Small-town romances are popular at the moment and they all seem to have a few things in common: the small-town atmosphere, the town's occupants become an integral part of the romance, and kissing or petting are the set boundaries for sexual contact between the protagonists. All of the above mentioned apply to the Hope's Crossing series.

The romance in this second installment is between Evie Blanchard and Brodie Thorne, however I would say that there are actually three main characters. The third and very important central character is Taryn, Brodie's daughter. The central plot to this story revolves around Taryn, and the romance between Evie and Brodie, although integrated, takes the place of a secondary storyline.

Evie and Brodie dislike each other. Brodie's daughter Taryn is coming home and needs special home care and a physical therapist is a most. Evie is licensed physical therapist, but she no longer practices for personal reasons. She has found peace and a new passion in designing bead jewelry for the String Fever Boutique. When Brodie asks Evie to help him with his daughter, she turns him down flat.

Evie's reasons for turning down the job offer from Brodie are understandable, but Brodie's mother Katherine convinces her to help them set up a treatment plan for a two-week period. Taryn received severe brain injuries during a tragic automobile accident that left her severely incapacitated, one teenage girl dead, and Charlie Beaumont the town's pariah. Eventually Evie caves in, setting the stage for the romance and the story.

Most of the story that follows is all about Taryn and the physical and occupational therapy that eventually help her overcome some of the obstacles presented by her disabilities, plus the final emotional resolution to the accident that caused it all. The town and its inhabitants are all affected by Taryn's injuries, Layla's death and Charlie Beaumont's actions. As I've come to expect from this author, this section of the story is well executed, researched and developed by Thayne. Plus, if you are like me, you will find this storyline quite emotional -- a tear jerker! I recommend keeping a box of tissues by your side.

Unfortunately, the romance between Evie and Brodie takes a back seat and that lack of focus on the couple is felt throughout the story. Evie has personal baggage and she's reluctant to shed it for Brodie. Brodie is a bit of an enigma even at the end. We know that he cares for Evie because of his internal dialog and he seems to forgive her mistakes rather easily along the way. There's mention throughout the story that he suffers from ADD, but there's little proof of this. We do know that he's a concerned and loving father, but that sizzle and connection that the reader feels when a man loves a woman is lacking.

Woodrose Mountain is the second book in RaeAnne Thayne's contemporary romance series, Hope's Crossing. I have enjoyed category romances by this author in the past, and when offered this full-length novel for review could not pass up the opportunity of reading it. Although for me the romance is lukewarm and the couple lacks connection, as a small-town contemporary romance this story succeeds in that the town and its occupants become characters that the reader wants to know. As a big plus, the plot is well researched and interesting to the end.

In the end, Woodrose Mountain is one of those books where I love the writing and execution but wished for a bit more when it comes to the romance. A mixed bag.

Category: Contemporary Romance
Series: Hopes Crossing
Publisher/Release Date: HQN/April, 2012
Source: ARC PTA, Ruder Finn
Grade: B-

Visit RaeAnne Thayne here.

Series:
Blackberry Summer, Book 1
Woodrose Mountain, Book 2

Mini: My Wicked Little Lies by Victoria Alexander

Evelyn Hadley-Attwater has it all ---a genteel Victorian life replete with loving husband, ball gowns and elegant parties. No one, including the man she married, suspects that she was once "Eve," a spy for England's most enigmatic inteliggence agency. Summoned for one final assignment, the excitement of her former life and memories of her mysterious, flirtatious boss "Sir" prove too tempting.

Adrian Hadley-Attwater is a respectable, dignified gentleman. But even the most proper gentlemen have secrets of their own. Secrets from the rest of the world, from their families, from their wives. Secrets that have a price. Now, as a veil of secrecy frays, a tantalizing game of cat and mouse will test the bounds of unfailing love...

My Wicked Little Lies by Victoria Alexander is an amusing, witty historical romance with lovely central and secondary characters. The main couple is happily married and very much in love with each other. Yet, their lives are also full of secrets that lead to misunderstandings, lack of trust, impulsive actions and hurt feelings.

I enjoyed this book for the "game of love" that takes place between the two main characters. There's much to be said about the way in which Ms. Alexander made this story work by taking two married people who love each other deeply, and basically just need to reinforce that one very important truth to each other. The romance is also quite well integrated with the "spy" storyline, actually it can be said that one cannot be separated from the other. That is how well integrated it is. Very well done! And, the secondary characters in this story add sexual tension (as in the case of Max and Celeste), or family atmosphere (as in the extensive Hadley-Attwater family), without taking the focus away from the main couple.

Was this book a perfect read for me? No. There are a few niggles here and there, the pace slows down somewhat through the middle of the story, and there's some question about lack of sexual tension between the two main characters. However overall, this is a solid book that I recommend as a delightful historical romance read.

Category: Historical Romance
Series: Sinful Family Secrets #2
Publisher/Release Date: Zebra
Source: Kensington Books
Grade: B

Visit Victoria Alexander here.

Buddy Review at Breezing Through:

I'm doing something different this time! I posted a Mini above, but if you would like to read my complete thoughts on My Wicked Little Lies by Victoria Alexander, please head over to Breezing Through where I was invited to do a buddy review with the lovely Nath!

Review: He Will Laugh by Douglas Ray

He Will Laugh traces the intense love between two young men. From the excitement of their first meeting to the aftermath of a tragic suicide, the speaker searches for grace and understanding amid his grief and the wealth of memory that remains.

He Will Laugh by Douglas Ray begins with the end. After reading that first gripping poem I dare anyone not to keep reading, as it is almost immediately apparent that this little book is more than a poetry collection, it is a contemporary story of love found and lost written in prose.

In the aftermath of his lover Issac's suicide the narrator takes the reader through a journey. From that first meeting to its tragic conclusion, through prose, Ray is relentless in wringing out emotion from the reader. He does so magnificently by conveying grief, the devastation of loss, sensuality, joy, frustration, and finally bittersweet understanding and closure.

This 82 page collection is divided into three sections, Now, Then and Time Unredeemable. Each section is introduced by a poem that sets the tone for that particular section. A hunting, sorrowful poem that in the end also brings closure, "November 8" serves as the perfect introduction to the first section, Now.

Now recounts the present events and the grief and loss that the narrator experiences after his young lover dies. "Salo" is one of the most gripping poems in this section, as the narrator recalls Isaac's appreciation for Pasolini's film Salò and begins by describing the scene at the end of the film and ends the poem by describing Isaac's suicide and the narrator's regrets. However, from "Get that in Writing," to "How We Grieve," and from "Still" to "You say, There's nothing special about 20" [...Call me Hadrian. Antinous, his lover, died at 20, and Hadrian deified him a daemon of arts, like Pan and Bacchus...], the poetry in this first section makes a deep, strong impact on the reader.

Then begins with a poem that says it all with its title, "Find the Precedent in Childhood." This section addresses the past, the joy of that first meeting, the sensuality, passion and yearning of a lover, as well as the frustrations that came with the long term relationship between the narrator and young, troubled Isaac. Some of my favorite poems are found in this section, as our narrator goes from sublime happiness to depths of despair as the relationship's reaches its inevitable conclusion.

In Time Unredeemable the poet ends with one single poem that captures the present, the past and the "what ifs," or all those possibilities that will never be realized, "Chaconne for Neuroses." And yet, at this time, at the end, I returned to the beginning and ended my reading experience with the first poem, November 8. I kept coming back to that one poem, possibly because I find it to be such a complete piece.

One of the most interesting aspects of Ray's prose in He Will Laugh is that it is both distinctly contemporary and yet it manages to convey the rather timeless flavor found in works by poets throughout the ages. He uses musical and religious allegations, Greek and Roman historical figures, and often cites the Spanish poet Garcia Lorca, while mixing popular figures like John Waters and other cinematographic figures and classic films in his poetry. His prose is lyrical and prosaic, contemporary and classic, quite an arresting combination. Certainly the timeless yearning, joy and grief that comes of love found and lost are well rendered.

The outcome is that I cried and grieved with this lover who lost, felt his immense joy at finding love, as well as his anger and frustration, and yes... fell a little in love with Isaac too. He Will Laugh is a magnificent debut by Douglas Ray and this poetry collection with it's particularly poignant and relevant view of the contemporary gay man's experience is a must read. Highly recommended.

Here are excerpts from two of my favorite poems.

❁❁❁❁❁❁

This is the day the gates to the underworld

open [...]

Remember your name, the miracle

of laughter. Bring pleasure to the sad gods,

though you leave this world to grieve,

to replace your intricate streams of blood

with methanol and formaldehyde.

                  November 8 (excerpt - page 11)

❁❁❁ 

You are a symphony, love, stretched
from clef to double-line, which summons
silence. Your feet, placed apart neatly,
consonant as thirds, each toe nimble,
articulate enough to play a tocatta complex
as Widor's.
                Sight Reading (excerpt - page 38)

❁❁❁❁❁❁

About the Author: Douglas Ray teaches at Indian Springs School, a boarding and day school in Birmingham, Alabama. He received his B.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Mississippi.

-----------

Category: LGBT Poetry
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/February 2012
Source: Lethe Press
Grade: A-

Review: Matthew (The Circle Eight) by Emma Lang

A man learns to hold what is his

It is a vast spread in the eastern wilds of the newly independent Republic of Texas, the ranch their parents fought for … and died for. To the eight Graham siblings, no matter how much hard work or hard love it takes, life is unthinkable without family…

In the wake of his parents’ murder, Matthew Graham must take the reins at the Circle Eight. He also needs to find a wife in just thirty days, or risk losing it all. Plain but practical, Hannah Foley seems the perfect bride for him . . . until after the wedding night.

Their marriage may make all the sense in the world, but neither one anticipates the jealousies that will result, the treacherous danger they’re walking into, or the wildfire of attraction that will sweep over them, changing their lives forever.

Matthew is the first book in The Circle Eight, a western historical romance series by Emma Lang. I love westerns, so how could I not read this book, plus I've never read anything by this author before and just had to try it.

Matthew Graham is the eldest of eight siblings. He's only twenty five years old when his parents are brutally murdered at their ranch and his youngest brother, 5 year old Benjamin, disappears. His six siblings range the ornery teenage Olivia,  to the sweet seven year old Catherine, and he's responsible for every single one of them as well as the ranch that his parents worked so hard to build up and maintain. The Circle Eight ranch is his family's future and with the help of his argumentative, frustrating and determined siblings he will do anything not to lose it.

Before his father was murdered, he applied for a land grant to enlarge his ranch but had yet to claim it. Matthew goes to claim the land, but once at the office he's told that his wife also has to sign the papers otherwise the grant becomes null and void. Matthew lies and says his wife.... Hannah... is back home. He is given a 30 day extension to bring his wife back to sign the papers. Backed against the wall, he has to find a wife named Hannah fast or lose his family's future.

Hannah lives with her granny at the local boarding house. She's considered a plain-looking spinster, kind of invisible, with a bit too much at the top and too much at the bottom to be considered attractive, at least that's the way she describes herself. She dreams of a family and a man who will love her, but knows that this is probably not part of her future, until she meets Matt over turnips at the grocer's and hope kindles in her heart.

What do I like about this book? I enjoyed quite a bit actually. The story as a whole and the premise for the series. As a western historical romance this story covers all the bases.There is the romance that remains the focal point with memorable secondary characters that contribute a great deal to the plot. There's are also a couple of outside conflicts: one with a villain that is solved by the end of the book, the other concerning the ranch and the land also resolved, and another conflict that stays unsolved and that will be recurring throughout the series.

The main characters in this romance are both likable, particularly the female protagonist and that's also a positive for me. I specifically liked that the heroine, Hannah discovers her inner strength and shows marked growth from beginning to end. She begins as a shy woman who seems to be afraid to show her true self to others, and grows into a woman who is not afraid to fight for herself or for those she loves. She gives of herself to others, but also knows that she deserves to be loved and respected. Now, the fact that she has her granny there to give her a push in the right direction when she wavers is a great addition to this story too. Heather's grandmother's input and advise is invaluable to her personal growth.

Matthew well... I love that although he married Hannah to claim the land and because she happened to have the right name, he was really attracted to her from the beginning and let her know. He couldn't keep his hands off Hannah even when he tried. I love how he gets lost whenever he kisses her, and frankly I think that Lang truly conveys the enthusiasm in a sexual relationship between a 25 and a 23 year old free to indulge in daily sexual bouts for the first time quite well! Lots of passion there.

The relationship between the siblings is quite important in this story. It was very well done. They all tease, argue, frustrate, and love each other just as siblings do. Healthy ones, anyway. The underlying understanding they have for each other even as they argue and complain, particularly with the eldest sister Olivia who's hostile to everyone, including herself, and winds up blaming everything on Hannah, is quite believable.

Did I have niggles and problems with the book? Well, yes. There's repetitiveness found throughout the story, particularly during the times when the main characters' inner dialogue or thoughts come into play. For example: Matthew's and Hannah's internal musings and/or reasoning as to why they can't allow themselves to love each other, particularly Matthew's. And when it comes to plot points that I thought were slightly off, I found the siblings' reactions to losing their baby brother Benjamin, including Matthew's, a bit unnatural in its lack of urgency, particularly because they are such a close-knit family.

Overall, however, Matthew by Emma Lang is a quick, enjoyable and solid western historical romance with a passionate and likable couple and memorable secondary characters. I am quite curious to find out how this series will turn out and look forward to the next book.

Category: Western Historical Romance
Series: The Circle Eight, Book 1
Publisher: Brava/February 1, 2012
Source: Kensington Publishing
Grade: B

Visit Emma Lang here.

Review: Sweet Stuff by Donna Kauffman

Riley Brown never imagined she would find her bliss on Georgia's quiet Sugarberry Island after years of Chicago's city life. With a new career and fantastic new friends, she's got it all - except for eligible men. But a gig staging a renovated beach house delivers a delicious treat - six feet of blue-eyed, gorgeous writer as delectable and Southern as pecan pie. Quinn Brannigan has come to Sugarberry to finish his latest novel in peace, and suddenly Riley has a taste for the bad boy author that no amount of mocha latte buttercream or lemon mousse will satisfy...

Riley's friends are rooting for her to give in to her cravings and spice up her life, but it's Quinn who needs to learn that life's menu just might include love, in all its decadent, irresistible flavours...

Okay now, doesn't everything about this book look and sound over-the-top sweet? The title: Sweet Stuff. Cover: Baby blue background, featuring light pink and frothy white cupcakes. The setting: Sugarberry Island, Georgia. Well, let me assure you that although Donna Kauffman uses sugar and cupcake baking to set up this series, the story itself is not so sweet that it will give you a toothache. Although you might gain a couple of pounds just by reading the cupcake recipes printed at the back of the book! Yum!

"Later she would blame the whole thing on the cupcakes."

The story begins and ends with the cupcakes, after all this is the second book in the Cupcake Club Romance series. Riley Brown stages homes for a living and as the story opens she is working on a cottage for the local Sugarberry realtor, "Scary Ruth," when she spies a treadmill and decides to give it a try. Mistake! Riley is very clumsy, so it's not surprising when it all goes wrong. It's her fault for getting on the darn machine, but somehow blames it all on the cupcakes of course. Just as she thinks she's going to be found dead from a heart attack on a runaway treadmill, gorgeous writer Quinn Brannigan makes an entrance and her little escapade ends up in a hilarious disaster.

Quinn Brannigan writes thrillers with a touch of romance (yes, he does!). Years ago Quinn's grandparents were residents of Sugarberry Island, and he spent many a summer with them. After many years away, he has returned to the island for quiet time to finish his book and make a decision about his career. On his first day there, he meets the clumsy, voluptuous Riley Brown and proceeds to lose his concentration. I love that scene when they first meet, her clumsiness followed by his helpless attraction to her and how it all ends with such sexual tension between Riley and Quinn.

Unfortunately, all that heat is somewhat diffused for a while as these two work out their issues. Riley has trust issues after having been dumped by a long-term fiance two years before and still hasn't gotten over it, and Quinn seems to be waiting for a relationship like the one his grandparents had and so far hasn't found it. Riley is hot, but Quinn is at Sugarberry to concentrate on his work and doesn't need the distraction. Hmm... that doesn't really work for him for long.

While these two are working out their issues separately, Riley's crew of friends either blatantly interfere by approaching Quinn, or encourage Riley to proceed with a relationship. Kauffman works this relationship well by having the couple meet a few times while they're working on their attraction and building up the tension, but each time they meet it's all sizzle and burn between the two.

Quinn and Riley don't jump each other right off the bat, as a matter of fact they don't even kiss for quite a while even though they're panting to do so. They don't dance around their attraction either, instead they talk about it and make decisions about weather it's a good thing to take their attraction to another level or not. During this section of the story the characters carried out long conversations as intimate scenes were about to happen, at other times inner dialogues interrupted the flow of those same scenes. I couldn't help but find this a bit distracting and it slowed the read down a bit for me. However, Kauffman develops the relationship, and once these two decide to go for it, it's fireworks. Quinn turns out to be not only hot, but a sweet, wonderful man. Riley on the other hand works on her troubling issues and personal insecurities all the way to the end.

The story is set in the South and the food is one of the aspects of the story that gives it that southern flavor, otherwise the atmosphere is that of a seaside town. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that Riley's temporary home is a boat in an island. Riley has an adorable, if huge, dog called Brutus that has his own personality and plays a great role.

There are some interesting secondary characters and some memorable ones, I liked all of them. I didn't read the first book of the series, Sugar Rush, but I don't feel as if I missed much by not doing so. This story is pretty much self contained, although those characters make appearances as secondary characters in Sweet Stuff and contribute to this romance. Lani, the owner of the Lani's Cakes by the Cup bakery where everyone meets for their weekly baking club and the crew are all part of the story. I particularly loved Ms. Alva, an older lady who turns out to be an interfering, matchmaking hoot.

Overall, Sweet Stuff is an enjoyable, solid contemporary romance with a likable couple, sprinkled with some humor, great friends as secondary characters, more conflict than expected and yes... some sweetness too.

Category Romance: Contemporary Romance
Series: Cupcake Club Romance
Publisher/Release Date: Brava / February 2012
Source: Kensington Publishing
Grade: B

Visit Donna Kauffman here.

Series:
Sugar Rush, Book #1
Sweet Stuff, Book #2
------------------
NOTE: Donna Kauffman features two cupcake recipes at the back of the book: Reverse Caramel Apple Cupcakes by Donna Kauffman, and the other is the recipe that won the Original Cupcake Recipe contest, Sweet Peach Tea Cupcakes by Stephanie Gamverona (Winner from South Korea). For all types of cupcake recipes visit Cakes by the Cup.

Review: The Horizontal Poet by Jan Steckel

Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, The Horizontal Poet (Zeitgeist Press, 2011) is Jan Steckel's first full-length poetry collection. I found Steckel's poetry to be personal and quite intimate, and the collection as a whole ambitious in its undertaking.

While reading The Horizontal Poet I found that Jan Steckel is passionate about her poetry, but through her poetry it's obvious that there is more. Steckel is a retired doctor suffering from a disability, an activist for bisexual and disability rights, and a writer. Steckel's personal experiences and interests are reflected in her poetry, and she weaves in medicine, social issues and concerns, as well as personal and relationship experiences, all in a rich, sensual, down to earth style.

I loved that this collection is not divided into sections and that her poems are interwoven. Both the intimacy of Steckel's poetry and the format serve to make that all-important connection between the reader and poet. It's almost as if the reader were looking through a window into the poet's life and thoughts as events take place, life evolves, and her memories come to life. For example, you will find a love poem "The History of Our Love" next to one filled with her social concerns, "The Wind and the Boy," or another where she bears her soul about losing a patient, "Swallowing Flies," alongside a poem where she indulges her love of hanging out in strip joints, "The Naked and the Dread."

The California Founding Fathers, in their wisdom,
reckoned a red-blooded working man
could control himself under the influence
of hooch and boobies, or coffee and coochie,
but not hooch and coochie both.
   "The Naked and the Dread"(Excerpt - Page 7)

Steckel's prose throughout this 57 poetry collection is both lyrical and direct as she uses a mixture of both the narrative form of verse and rich poetic metaphors. While you will find that in some of her poems Steckel uses medical terminology in a rather unique way, it is her compassionate and haunting poems depicting experiences during her medical career -- "Swallowing Flies,""Charity and the Hurricane," and "The Underwater Hospital,"

Too much water on the inside,
nothing but water on the outside,
and not even a Diet Coke to drink.
I'm just going to sit down here.
I'm just going to put my head in my hands.
I'm just going to let my shoulders shake.
I'm not crying.
I'm too dry.
  "Charity and the Hurricane"(Excerpt - Page 14)

and others depicting her own personal, physical pain --""Halloween Wedding,""Nightkeeper"-- that impacted me the most.

No St. George of the scalpel's
been favored by God to hack it out.
No poppies can put it to sleep for long.
No song of self-care, no meditative mantra,
no hypnotic chant or New Age cant
can touch the invisible beast hunkered
over its leg of woman, chewing,
chewing.
   "Nightkeeper" (Excerpt - Page 46)

There are whole poems in this collection that left an impression, and then there are others where only certain lines stayed with me. I read and re-read this book a few times before reviewing it. The bottom line is that Steckel's poetry is distinctive in that it can be read from her perspective as the bisexual poet, the disabled poet, the medical poet, or for its social content. In The Horizontal Poet you get it all, and in the end I found that reading Jan Steckel's poetry from the woman's perspective as a whole, this collection makes an even stronger statement.

I will leave you with excerpts from two of my favorite poems.

❀❀❀❀❀❀

Haditha

Who will tell
what sank into the sand here?
We have become
liberators of souls from bodies.
We will be welcomed
to the land of the dead
with garlands of fingers and toes.

In the land between two rivers
where lists were first written,
who will list the names of the dead?
Who can explain the reasons we came?

Who will sing sorrow? Sing sorrow.
The flood has passed over us
and our mouths are stopped
with sand.

❀❀❀

Tiresias

So light her touch
so soft her tongue
blue-veined ankles
vellum skin
cover her mouth with yours
pin her to the sheets
unleash in her the riot in you
make her feel what you feel
make her twist under your hand
till she bursts like a muscat
with a sweeter taste than summer

On the day I step from the balcony,
on the day I yield to the sea,
I will remember (beast that I am)
I was more of a man than he.

❀❀❀❀❀❀

About the Author: Jan Steckel is a retired Harvard- and Yale-trained pediatrician, an activist for disability and bisexual rights, a poet, and a writer. Her poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared widely. Her Mixing Tracks (Gertrude Press, 2009) won the Gertrude Fiction Chapbook Award. The Underwater Hospital (Zeitgest Press, 2006) won a Rainbow Award for lesbian and bisexual poetry. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, Hew Wolff.
------------
Category: LGBT Poetry
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Zeitgeist Press, December 2011
Source: Received from author for review
Grade: B+

Visit Jan Steckel here

Review: The Summer Garden (Chesapeake Shores #9) by Sherryl Woods

Falling for "Maddening Moira" O'Malley was the unexpected highlight of Luke O'Brien's Dublin holiday. So when she pays a surprise visit to Chesapeake Shores, Luke is thrilled…at first. A fling with this wild Irish rose is one thing, but forever? Maybe someday, but not when he's totally focused on establishing a business that will prove his mettle to his overachieving family.

Given Luke's reaction, Moira has some soul-searching of her own to do. Scarred by her father's abandonment, she wonders if Luke, with his playboy past, is truly the family man she longs for. Adding to her dilemma, she's offered an amazing chance at a dream career of her own.

Deep down, though, Moira knows home is the real prize, and that love can be every bit as enchanted as a summer garden.

The Summer Garden is the final book in the Chesapeake Shores series by Sherryl Woods. I imagine that fans and lovers of the O'Brien family are sad to hear about this last release. Fortunately for them, Sherryl Woods makes it a great ending.

During the O'Brien's trip to Dublin at Christmas time, Luke met "Maddening Moira." He's back home and making plans for a future, hoping to prove himself to his family by making a success of the pub he plans to open at Chesapeake Shores. Moira is in thoughts, but she's back in Ireland. He's in for a surprise though, Moira is about to land on Chesapeake Shores with her grandfather Dillon. Gram invited the love of her life to visit and these two are not only planning to spend time together rekindling their own romance, but they're hoping that Luke and Moira's romance will take a positive turn.

Moira isn't the sweetest girl in the world, and the O'Brien's as a family didn't fall in love with her while they were in Ireland. She's moody and has a bit of a temper that Luke has the knack of defusing with charm and understanding. He likes her direct manner and fell for her in Ireland. Luke is very happy to see Moira again, but he's distracted and quite busy trying to get his new business going too. He has a plan and a timetable to keep, and a deeper relationship with Moira is not part of that timetable at the moment. Maybe in the future.

Moira on the other hand is ready for Luke now! She's not exactly sure what she wants to do with her life and dithers back and forth between her newly discovered talents as a photographer and her secret wish for a family, with Luke. Moira is not a patient woman and let's Luke know what she wants, but when he doesn't exactly react the way she expects him to right away her insecurities take over and... well... the drama begins, particularly when the meddling O'Brien's get involved!

There's a lot of meddling in this story by the O'Briens. They are a chaotic crew! The whole clan makes an appearance in this story, and all have something to contribute as they get involved with Luke's new business at the pub, his mistakes with Moira, Moira's overreactions, and let's not forget Gram and Dillon's rekindled romance! Luke is used to his family, and Moira quickly learns to appreciate them and falls in love with the whole clan in the process, just as they begin to fall in love with her. Gram knows how to put her family, especially Mick, in their place, and is not above meddling either. She gives plenty of advice and knows how to set things up for herself and the younger couple without making it look like manipulation. I really liked Gram!

Sheryl Woods created a wonderful family in the O'Briens. They are chaotic, meddling, loving, competitive and the reader can't help but fall in love with the whole family as the drama and the chaos escalates. I love Gram and Dillon's "at last" type of romance. It is sweet and it seems to me quite realistic in that they both just want to spend whatever time they have left with each other. Lovely.

Luke and Moira's romance I think needed more time to brew. This is a young couple that finds each other just as they are figuring out exactly what it is that they want out of life. Neither is really sure what that is at the moment, and they both vacillate back and forth about the future. As beautiful as the whole story turns out in the end, I couldn't help but feel that with a bit more time they (Luke in particular) would have come to the right conclusion without all the pressure exerted by Moira, family members and circumstances. But well, maybe that was the point... they would have been perfect in the end anyway?

There is a beautiful epilogue that ties up this story and the whole series with Grams thoughts at the end. I think that fans of this series and of the O'Briens will love it!

Category: Contemporary Romance
Series: Chesapeake Shores
Publisher/Release Date: Mira/January 31, 2012
Source: ARC Planned Television Arts, Ruder Finn
Grade: B

Visit Sherryl Woods here.

Chesapeake Shore Series:
The Inn at Eagle Point, #1
Flower on Main, #2
Harbor Lights, #3
A Chesapeake Shores Christmas, #4
Driftwood Cottage, #5
Moonlight Cove, #6
Beach Lane, #7
An O'Brien Family Christmas, #8
The Summer Garden, #9

Sunday Feature: The Thorn and the Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story by Theodora Goss

The Thorn and the Blossom is the story of two star-crossed lovers.

Evelyn Morgan is a young American student studying at Oxford when she walks into Thorne & Son, a bookstore in the Cornish village of Clews. Little does she know, but she is about to meet the love of her life. And when Brendan Thorne hands her a medieval poem called The Book of the Green Knight, he doesn't know that it will shape his future forever. After that first meeting, they don't see each other for years -- yet neither ever stops thinking about the other. It's as if they are the haunted lovers in the old book itself.

I was offered The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss for review and frankly, besides the fact that this is a story about star-crossed lovers with a mystery, the format really caught my attention. This is a two sided story printed in an accordion-fold binding. The story is told from Evelyn's perspective on one side of the book and as you turn it around, you can read the story from Brendan's perspective on the other side. You can see how that works here. The result is quite interesting.

The book itself is gorgeous. It comes in a hard slip case (the cover you see above), and I think it would make a beautiful gift or just a great keeper for your bookshelf. I love it. Reading it was a bit awkward at first because the book doesn't have a spine and it has to be held a certain way, but after a while I found a way and it worked fine, particularly because the book is not heavy.

Although this novella is short (38 pages for Evelyn's story and 39 for Brendan's) I loved the fact that, using this method, by the time the end comes around both characters' motives or motivations are well-known to the reader even though both sides of the story mirror each other. Using that different perspective and developing each character in depth makes a big difference to the reader's experience. I began the book from Brendan's point of view and then went on to Evelyn's, but I do wonder how it would be to begin the story the other way... would the experience be different? Interesting.

The story itself is beautifully written by Theodora Goss. This is a combination of the contemporary and the mythological, as Evelyn and Brendan's story seems to mirror that of Sir Gawan and Elowen which is found in the medieval poem The Book of the Green Knight, simultaneously giving the reader a sense of a concrete present and a magical atmosphere. It's a wonderful combination. Goss packs a lot into this little book, yet I couldn't help but wish the story had been just a little bit longer.

The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss is a beautiful little book with an interesting format that works quite well with Evelyn and Brendan's sweet and magical love story.

Category: Fantasy
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Quirk Books/January 17, 2012
Source: ARC Quirk Books
Grade: B+

Visit Theodora Goss here.

About the Author: Theodora Goss won the World Fantasy Award in 2008 for her short story "The Singing of Mount Abora." She has been a finalist for the Nebula, Crawford, Locus, and Mythopoeic awards and has appeared on the Tiptree Award Honor List. Her writing has been showcased repeatedly in "Year's Best" anthologies. She lives in Boston, where she teaches literature at Boston University.

Review: Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure by Sam Cameron

Twin brothers Denny and Steven Anderson love helping people and fighting crime alongside their sheriff dad on sun-drenched Fisher Key, Florida. Steven likes chasing girls. Denny longs to lose his virginity, but doesn’t dare tell anyone he’s gay. Steven has a secret of his own. He lied to everyone, including his own brother, about being accepted into SEAL training for the U.S. Navy.

On the day they graduate high school, the twins meet the handsome new guy in town, a military veteran with a chiseled body and mysterious past. Meanwhile Brian Vandermark, a gay transfer student from Boston, finds himself falling for closeted Denny but hampered by his shyness. When an antique yacht explodes in Fisher Key harbor, all three boys are caught up in a summer of betrayal, romance, and danger. It’s the Mystery of the Tempest¬—and it just might kill them all.

Set in the Florida Keys, Mystery of the Tempest by Sam Cameron is a fast paced LGBT young adult mystery that turned out to be engrossing and entertaining enough that I read it through in one sitting. The main characters, Anderson twins Denny and Steven, are the main focus of the story as they solve a mystery that revolves around the explosion of the antique yacht The Tempest and reveal important personal secrets in this fast moving story.

Denny and Steven are known throughout the island for helping their father, the island's sheriff, solve crimes. So it doesn't come as a surprise to anyone when the twins are smack in the middle of the events that lead up to explosion of The Tempest, or when they follow up afterwards by attempting to figure out what really happened. Soon things become complicated when the boys realize that they are being followed, "accidents"pile up around them, and as everything unravels, lies by friends and family betrayals come to light.

Events taking place in the boys' personal lives further complicate matters. The boys are identical twins but there are differences between them. Stephen is the athlete who dreams of becoming a Navy Seal and Denny is the straight A student with dreams of becoming part of the Coast Guard. But the biggest difference between the two is that Stephen likes girls and Denny likes boys. Stephen's girlfriend Kelsey is ready to go forward with their relationship and agrees to sex after their high school graduation, but Denny is deep in the closet which makes him a frustrated virgin with no hopes of a change in status in the near future.

Everything changes on the night of their high school graduation. Not only does The Tempest blow up, but Denny and Stephen meet a couple of people that will have substantial influence in their lives. There's the gorgeous ex-Navy Seal hanging around Fisher Key that sets Denny to drooling and daydreaming, and then there's the mutual attraction between Denny and Brian Vandermark, the shy young man recently transferred to school from Boston. Of course all the secrets the boys are keeping from family, friends and each other further complicate matters.

Stephen lied to Denny and everyone about his future plans and doesn't know how to reveal the truth. Denny was accepted by the Coast Guard but is keeping the fact that he's gay a secret from everyone except Stephen. As the summer progresses and events become more complex around the boys, their secrets and lies become heavy burdens to carry. This is frustrating for Denny as he and Brian become more attracted to each other every day, and for Stephen who can't share his worries about future plans and whose girlfriend is not what he expected.

Using the third point of view every other chapter is narrated from Stephen, Denny, and Brian's perspectives, making this a well rounded story where all central characters' views are well represented. I particularly enjoyed the young adults' voices and the fact that they're portrayed as young adults, not grown-ups. The dialogue is contemporary but not overdone and the characters' concerns are quite appropriate to circumstances, age and time.

The mystery in this story is enjoyable although I did figure it out before the end. However, the most enjoyable aspects of the story for me were the personal issues to the boys' stories, as well as their revelations. How Denny comes to terms with his sexuality and deals with his frustrations are well addressed issues by the author, as is Stephen's personal situation. I liked that lying about his future and the newness of a sexual relationship with his girlfriend deeply affected this character. And speaking of time-appropriate portrayals, I specifically enjoyed Kelsey's character. Here's a young girl who sets a high bar for sexual interaction based on what she's read and posts all her likes and dislikes on Facebook. If I have one niggle about this story is that when reading this book there's a sense that there have been previous stories about the Anderson twins, however I could not find any other books in this series.

As opposed to many young adult reads, adults are present in this story. Stephen and Denny's parents are not central but are there to support them and Brian's parents are very much a part of the story, but none of them take the focus away from the young adults as central characters. The secondary characters in the story are a good mix of young adults, adults, males and females, with males making the bulk of the significant cast of secondary characters.

This is a different type of read for me, a young adult gay contemporary mystery. Sam Cameron is an author whose short story, "Day Student," I enjoyed in a recently reviewed anthology. In Mystery of  The Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure, I again enjoyed the way this author captures young adults' voices, particularly the brotherly relationship between Steven and Denny, as well as youth's insecurities and strengths presented through the portrayal of Brian's character and his relationship with Denny. I do love mysteries and this one turned out to be an enjoyable, fresh read for me. Recommended.

Category: LGBT - Gay Young Adult Mystery
Series: Fisher Key Adventures
Publisher/Release Date: Bold Stroke Books/November 17, 2011
Source: Copy of book received from author
Grade: B

Visit Sam Cameron here. Read an excerpt here.