Minis: Romance Suspense, Erotic Romance, M/M Romance

Here are my reactions to some of the books I read in October in my favorite short, quick mini-impressions format. They are featured in order of books read, and as you'll see below my grades fluctuate from a solid B to D+'s for these seven reads. Genres included are romance suspense, erotic romance, m/m romance and m/m romance suspense.

Black Ice (Ice #1) by Anne Stuart: What happened between this book and me? Well, I loved the suspense/thriller aspect of the book but didn't enjoy the romance. Why? Well I question whether there's consent from the heroine during the first sexual encounter. The hero is overwhelmingly cold and for most of the story is thinking how or when he will or might kill the heroine. Not very romantic. Stuart's heroine mentions and dismisses Stockholm syndrome as a reason for her feelings throughout the story, however that's the only way I see this woman falling in love with this man. The fact that she's a bit on the clueless side and her judgment seems to be impaired so that her actions magnify the danger do not help. This suspense/thriller romance would have worked really well for me without the romance though. If this couple had walked away from each other at the end, I would have been better satisfied because in my opinion Stuart can write some exciting, thrilling suspense and action scenes. Grade: C-

Old Poison (Dangerous Ground #2) by Josh Lanyon: I enjoyed the second book in the Dangerous Ground series by Josh Lanyon more than the first book! It has one of the best "happy birthday" bedroom scenes I've read in any book. *g* There's a good mixture of romantic and erotic scenes, as well as suspense and action. There are a few incidental details that I found out of place, but overall Old Poison is a solid, enjoyable gay romance/mystery suspense. As a result of liking this one, I will definitely read the next book of this series.  Grade B

Everything Changes (Alex Kennedy 1.5) by Megan Hart: A look at events that happened in Hart's Tempted from Alex's point of view. Written in broad strokes without much detail and very little emotion, this short piece didn't do much for me personally except to reiterate my initial thoughts about Jamie and Anne as two self-centered people who use and hurt Alex to please themselves. This is a sad story that I did not find erotic, nor does it showcase Hart's talent for rendering detail.  Note that the cover featuring two males is extremely misleading. I cannot recommend this novella as a standalone read, nor to first-time readers of Hart's works. However, I would say that this book is a "must" read for fans of the narrator, Alex, and the book Tempted. Grade: C-

Pressure Head by J. L. Merrow: I liked this romance between a man with psychic abilities and the bully who made his life a misery in high school. Merrow has a flair for featuring characters who are very different from each other and selling a happy ending, but this romance did not quite convince me in the end -- too much unresolved anger on both sides and not enough time to resolve all the issues to make this relationship work, made the happy ending questionable for me. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery the main characters solve together. An average read by this talented author. Grade: C

All Roads Lead To You by Harper Fox: I do enjoy a good gay romance by Harper Fox, unfortunately this was not it. Set in Italy, in my opinion this story about a model-turned-rent boy and his first love-turned-mafia boss tried too hard. It had a pretty unbelievable plot line with too many different conflicts going on at the same time and little room for development due to the short format. A good premise never realized. Grade D+

Heart Trouble Josh Lanyon: I love Josh Lanyon, but for me Heart Trouble turned out to be a surprisingly incomplete, outdated, and underdeveloped short story (very short), lacking in both detail and real emotion or connection between the two main characters. There is no happy ever after (which I don't usually mind), instead the story ends with the beginning of what might be a relationship. Why? I don't know. I didn't really understand when these two men 'clicked' with each other. A solid writer, Lanyon doesn't usually receive low grades from me, unfortunately I can't really recommend this story. Grade: D+

Perfect Day Josh Lanyon: Perfect Day is another very short story by Lanyon. This romance features the breakup between a man in love with a lover who lost his partner and is still grieving. In this short story, Lanyon successfully establishes an emotional connection between reader and narrator, but unfortunately there is an unlikely happy ending brought about or influenced by rather contrived circumstances. Grade: C-

That's the end to my minis, hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Question: I love writing mini-impressions or mini-reviews. Do you enjoy reading mini-reviews? Or do you prefer the long, extended version of reviews with all the details and spoilers? 

TBR Review: On Thin Ice (Ice #6) by Anne Stuart

On Thin Ice by Anne Stuart

Elizabeth Pennington has come to the war-torn South American country of Callivera to volunteer at a tiny mission. Kidnapped by the local rebels who are more interested in ransom than politics, she ends up at their camp in the Andes where she meets Finn MacGowan, member of the infamous Committee, a covert organization dedicated to destroying terrorism. MacGowan has been held hostage for almost three years, and he's chosen the night she arrives as the night he plans to escape. When he does, she follows him, heading down the steep mountainous terrain with another hostage, the teenage son of a Hollywood millionaire. Rebels, soldiers, traitors and near-drowning follows them on their journey. As they travel from the mountain fortress to a transatlantic freighter, an old cafe in Spain ending in a shootout at a farmhouse in France, MacGowan reluctantly falls in love, and Beth learns that the cynical, dangerous soldier-of-fortune might be worth saving after all.

I first read Black Ice (Ice #1) for the TBR Challenge this month, but having had some pretty mixed feelings about that book decided to read and review another book by Anne Stuart that I had waiting in my Kindle, the last book of the same series, On Thin Ice (Ice #6). It was a great move on my part. On Thin Ice has all the elements that I really enjoyed about Black Ice, the thriller non-stop action with a male character who has all the skills to survive in a dangerous environment, and a plot full of violent danger and twists and turns, where the differences between the villains and good guys are not always clear to the reader. However what's different in On Thin Ice is the romance and the fact that the male and female protagonists turn out to be likable, and our female character doesn't immediately fall for the "hero," although of course she does fall for him.

Both Finn MacGowan and Elizabeth Pennington have been kidnapped by the Guiding Light in the fictionalized South American country of Callivera. Elizabeth arrives on the camp, where MacGowan has been held for three years, and that same night they escape along with sixteen year-old Dylan and another captive. Once they're on the run the action doesn't really stop until the end of the story as they are pursued by the members of the Guiding Light through the mountains, and later on by CIA agents. MacGowan is running towards revenge against anti-terrorist organization members of the Committee whom he believes let him rot as a captive for three years, and Elizabeth rightfully believes she can only survive by sticking with him.

Throughout the dangerous escape, Finn and Beth develop and maintain a dialog that is both entertaining and sexy. Finn wants Beth, at first because he spent three whole years without a woman (this becomes an ongoing joke between them), and slowly because he truly falls in love with her, but Finn's failed Irish charm and the way he goes about turning Beth around to his way of thinking is the best part of their romance. I love Finn's character and the fact that he is ruthless but caring and tender with Beth, and that he uses his ruthlessness to fight his own needs in order to protect Beth from himself.

On the other hand, Beth hates sex and doesn't understand why she's attracted to cynical Finn, a man who kills for a living, and convinces herself that her conflicting emotions surfaced as a result of Finn saving her life more than once. Beth is rather stubborn and frustratingly straight at times, but I like that she gives as good as she gets from Finn, and that she doesn't roll over for him or is intimidated just because she is dependent on him for survival.

Characters from other Ice novels make appearances as secondary characters. Peter Madsen plays a big role, while others play small roles. This is the last of the Ice novels, so it serves as sort of an epilogue novel with babies and happy ever afters for some of the Committee agents, but they don't take page time away from the main couple. The climactic scene is actually anticlimactic and not as good as the action that takes place up to that point in the novel, and the romance between Finn and Beth ends with a really good line that is "very much Finn," but it is a rather abrupt ending for my taste.

These two novels, Black Ice and On Thin Ice, are my first reads by Anne Stuart. Black Ice is super exciting when it comes to the thrilling action, but for me the "romance" is questionable and did not work. However, I'm glad that I read it first and picked up On Thin Ice which turned out to be a well balanced thrilling romance suspense with likable central characters. I will probably give some of the other Ice novels a try to see if they work for me.

Theme: PNR/Romantic Suspense
October

Category: Romance Suspense/Thriller
Series: Ice Series
Release Date: September 15, 2011
Grade: B

Visit Anne Stuart here.

Series:
Black Ice, #1
Cold as Ice, #2
Ice Blue, #3
Ice Storm, #4
Fire and Ice, #5
On Thin Ice, #6