TBR Review: Kiss & Tell by Alison Kent

The February theme for Wendy's 2015 TBR Challenge is "Recommended Read." Kiss & Tell seemed like the perfect choice. The ebook has been sitting unread in my Kindle since 2009 because a friend, a big Alison Kent fan, recommended the author's works. Additionally, I am in the mood for spicy contemporary romances and this book fit the bill.
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We have Miranda Kelly, a lovely, sexy woman keeping a few secrets about her past and present and Caleb McGregor, a man of dubious character in what seems to be a permanent sexual haze. This Harlequin Blaze is made up of secrets and a hot, sizzling fling that takes place in a week's time.

I am not giving away spoilers by including the following information as it is included in the book summary. Miranda is keeping two secrets: she moved back to her hometown to hide after having been hounded by the media during a very public divorce. Additionally, since coming back home, by day she is a florist at her own shop and by night, Candy Cane a sexy singer performing incognito at Club Crimson where she wears wigs and sexy costumes to hide her true identity. Club Crimson is where she meets Caleb McGregor who is in town to attend a wedding. Miranda hasn't been with a man since her six year old divorce and Caleb, who falls in lust on sight, catches her eye. With a song and a kiss, the two embark on a steaming hot fling that places Miranda's secrets in danger of discovery and her heart on the line.

Caleb and Miranda embark on an adult relationship, a sizzling affair with certain boundaries and a time limit. They both understand the limits and stick to this understanding even as their feelings for each other begin to change. There are no misunderstandings between them -- and no whining during or after! During their time together this couple spends plenty of time having sex or engaged in sexual play, but they also take the time to get to know each other, slowly revealing their secrets to each other. There are good, valid conflicts and the paths taken to resolve them are not overly dramatic. Most of all I enjoyed the fact that these two people like each other. In this case the adult factor wins.

There is also a secondary storyline pertaining to Miranda's best friend and her two daughters. This storyline is peripherally intertwined with the conflict that crops up between Miranda and Caleb -- Caleb's secret. As a reader I became invested in the secondary characters' conflicts, unfortunately the resolutions to their problems are glossed over and kept off the pages. My second problem comes with the time line and how it affects the central romance between Miranda and Caleb. One week of lusting, hot sex, keeping secrets, and final revelations strikes me as too short a period to achieve a happy ever after.

So far, Alison Kent's romances have been mixed bags for me. I enjoy the characters and romances. Kent writes some steamy sexual scenes that are off the charts, as is the case in Kiss & Tell and I find her adult romances very attractive. However, my experience to date shows that somewhere along the line some aspect of the storyline is left under-developed. Of course this is an older book as are the other books I have read by this author. I need to pick up a current release to find out if there is a difference in execution. Recommendations anyone?

Category: Contemporary Romance
Series: None
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Grade: B-

SF Mini: City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions—until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world's new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself—first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it—stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy.

Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov's oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country's most accomplished spies, dispatched to catch a murderer. But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem—and that Bulikov's cruel reign may not yet be over.

City of Stairs by Bennett was my favorite December 2014 read. The book has much to recommend it. It begins slowly with an investigation into a murder that has political ramifications affecting two continents -- truthfully for a while I thought the story was going to evolve like other sff/mysteries I read last year. That was not the case.

Instead what develops is rather unique. There are layers and layers to the story -- history of war, the consequences of slavery, censorship and forced acculturation by conquerors, secrets that shatter the characters' views of themselves as well as their homeland's actions, and the hidden secrets of Bulikov, City of Walls. Most Holy Mount. Seat of the World. The City of Stairs. Nothing is as it seems and everything is revealed at the right moment. Bennett digs into some of these layers while only touching on others.

The characters are fantastic, from Shara to Sigrud, Vohannes, and Mulaghesh. This is a conflagration of genres and tropes: dark fantasy with magic, technology, gods and goddesses thrown in for good measure and a fantastic crime mystery at the center of it all. City of Stairs was my last read of 2014 and I don't want to go on without giving it a high recommendation. It was the perfect way to end the year. (September 2014, Broadway Books)

Review: Entreat Me by Grace Draven

Entreat Me by Grace Draven was chosen as the February read for my Internet Book Club -- an interesting choice.

Grace Draven utilizes key, recognizable elements from the Beauty and the Beast children's fairy tale to create an adult fantasy romance with unique central characters. She splits both Beauty and the Beast into two couples by having Louvaen Duenda and Ballard take on the adult, experienced central role while Cinnia and Gavin play the young romantic (beautiful and virginal) secondary one. Intermingled with the romances, at its core, this is also a beautiful father and son tale of love and sacrifice.

On the romantic front, Lou and Ballard take center stage. Lou is no sweet Belle, instead she is considered an indomitable shrew -- there is no taming her. A widow, Lou is strong, determined, and brave, making her the perfect candidate to serve as protector to her weak father and beautiful sister Cinnia against the local villain. When she follows her impulsive sister to the magically hidden castle that Gavin calls home, Lou is better prepared than Cinnia to deal with Gavin's father Ballard and the cursed situation as a whole. Ballard, like the Beast from the original fairy tale, will break your heart. His sweetness and sacrifice for love trumps beastliness. His shame, resignation, and yearning for Lou will make an impact on fairy tale and romance lovers alike. Sex scenes abound in this story -- not a complaint, just surprising.

The romance between Gavin and Cinnia is definitely secondary. They play the more traditional role found in fairy tales. His is the extremely handsome and honorable role of a troubled prince, and hers is that of the poor, virginal, but extreme beauty who garners attention from miles around and incites the lust of a villain. Gavin falls for her and attempts to save the beautiful lady in distress by whisking her away to his magic castle in hopes that she in turn will save him and his family from an old curse. Draven chooses to have two very different romantic couples in this story fighting similar conflicts. Gavin and Cinnia work well as secondary characters, unfortunately, the connection with them as a couple is tenuous. This is mainly due to the fact that their relationship develops on a superficial level, lacking intimate (one-on-one, on the page) details as it evolves.

The sweet and sour dialog between the central characters is engaging and entertaining. The secondary characters also have a lot to offer in that respect. The slower moments, the happy ones, in the middle of the book flow with their friendship, loyalty and love. The magic aspects of this story feel organic to a fairy tale with some details taken directly from the original Beauty and the Beast, while others are incorporated by the author.

The father and son tale of love and sacrifice plays a key role in this fantasy romance. It is intermingled with the curse and the situation faced by the couples. Short flashback sections are utilized throughout the story to give the reader the complete picture while the characters -- Lou and Cinnia -- remain in the dark. Key to the story as a whole, at times these flashbacks interrupt the flow. Regardless, the positives outweigh the negatives and I really enjoyed this story to the end.

I recommend Entreat Me to readers who love Beauty and the Beast, adult fairy tales, fantasy romances, unusually strong heroines as central characters, and strong bonds between fathers and sons.

Non-Fiction: The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood by Richard Blanco

The way my January reading has progressed is interesting. I'm reading books I wanted to read in 2014, mostly mainstream fiction, non-fiction, or literary fiction, that have been lingering in my Kindle since 2014. Books like The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood by Richard Blanco (September 30, 2014, Ecco).

In 2013, Blanco was the fifth, youngest, first Latino, immigrant and openly gay writer to be chosen as inaugural poet of United States. He read the original poem One Today. With The Prince of Los Cocuyos, Blanco veers from poetry on to the realm of creative non-fiction. He takes a collection of linked short stories that when assembled become a partial biographical tale focusing on Blanco's childhood in Miami where his exiled Cuban family settled.

Blanco chooses slices from his childhood -- moments, memories -- and gives the reader an understanding of the Cuban exile's experience and culture in Miami beginning in the early 1970's. These slices or memories are separated into chapters, each with a title. "The First Real San Giving Day," in which as a little boy Riqui yearns for a real American experience during the Thanksgiving holiday and manipulates his grandmother into making it happen, contains much of what is found throughout this book to make it work. There are funny moments, but it also presents a portrait of the immigrant's experience from an intimate perspective, one that is also encased in frustration and nostalgia.

Nostalgia is the recurring theme. Blanco attempts to understand the seemingly perennial sense of nostalgia that surrounds the Cuban exile community by exploring or dissecting different events that take place in his personal life. However, Blanco also explores the effects cultural differences and language barrier have on an immigrant community, specifically how isolation from the mainstream and fear of the unknown prevents individuals from moving outside the "safety zone" their community represents. Additionally, he goes on to show the frustration and ambivalence of children growing up with two strong cultures pushing and pulling at them. Children who need to be part of the mainstream American culture, yet  want to understand their parents, their love of the 'old country' and cultural traditions.

An excellent example of this effect can be found in "El Ratoncito Miguel," one of the funniest, most touching chapters of the book. Riqui leaves Miami for the first time on a trip to Disney World with his parents and brother. Away from the "safety zone," Riqui's father becomes self-conscious and less confident. Riqui and his brother take control of situations for their parents because they speak English and later, when necessary, both become their parents' protectors. This is a sort of role reversal that many children with monolingual parents experience early on.

On the amusing side of things, in this same chapter Blanco also introduces his mother's "por si las moscas" (meaning or taking the place of "por si acaso" or "just in case") tote bag where she carries the most unexpected items -- some embarrassing, others dangerous. This "in case of flies bag," which Blanco translates literally, becomes a recurring joke throughout the rest of the book. The literal translation makes it even funnier in the context of the stories. Blanco translates most of the Spanish words he uses in the book, and uses literal translations for many of the Cuban sayings -- what he refers to in a later chapter as "Cubichi speech" or Cubanisms.

In one of my favorite chapters, "Queen of the Copa," Miami's glamorous history is integrated along with Miami's diminishing Jewish community, which Blanco uses to further explore the nostalgia theme. And throughout the entire book, including the remaining chapters, "It takes un Pueblo," "Listening to Mermaids," and "El Farito," Blanco also incorporates early difficulties encountered with family, community, and himself while coming to terms with his sexuality. His grandmother, a fierce woman who held old-fashioned, homophobic views, makes a particularly strong impact:

"it's better to be it and not look like it, than to look like it even if you are not it." 

From a personal perspective, I found myself relating strongly to quite a few of the circumstances Blanco portrays in this book. Looking at The Prince of Los Cocuyos from a bit of a distance, I found his storytelling to be touching, insightful, and hysterically funny at times with a bit too much emphasis placed on the nostalgia factor. The book as a whole comes across as genuine, heartfelt, and extremely intimate, depicting strengths and weaknesses in his family, himself, as well as in his community. As a great companion read, I recommend Blanco's poetry volume Looking for the Gulf Motel.

TBR Review: Big Boy (Strangers On A Train) by Ruthie Knox

The TBR Challenge theme for January 2015 is "We Love Short Shorts -- Category Romances, Novellas, Short Stories."

He’ll be any man she wants—except himself.

A Strangers on a Train Story

Meet me at the train museum after dark. Dress for 1957.

When Mandy joins an online dating service, she keeps her expectations low. All she wants is a distraction from the drudgery of single parenthood and full-time work. But the invitation she receives from a handsome man who won’t share his real name promises an adventure—and a chance to pretend she’s someone else for a few hours.

She doesn’t want romance to complicate her life, but Mandy’s monthly role-playing dates with her stranger on a train—each to a different time period—become the erotic escape she desperately needs. And a soul connection she never expected.

Yet when she tries to draw her lover out of the shadows, Mandy has a fight on her hands…to convince him there’s a place for their fantasy love in the light of day.

Warning: Contains sexy role-playing, theatrical application of coal dust, and a hero who can rock a pair of brown polyester pants.

I'm probably the last person to read Big Boy! I purchased it as soon as it released after having read two books by Ruthie Knox that I just loved. Unfortunately, I never seemed to be in the right mood to read it and let it just lie there on my Kindle.

Mandy is a very young, busy, stressed out single mom. She became mother to her baby nephew Josh after her sister, brother-in-law, and three year old niece died in a tragic accident. Of course it changed her life irrevocably at a time when she was not quite ready for it. To ease stress and give herself time to breathe, once a month Mandy goes out on role-playing dates with a man she met online. Rules are set from the beginning, they each dress-up in period costumes, keep up with their individual role during the dates, and do not exchange names or personal information.

Although technically Mandy and her hot, role-playing partner had only met a total of nine times in nine months when this story began, Knox worked to build this relationship for over a year. That slowly becomes obvious as the story progresses. It shows in how both characters, but particularly Mandy, have changed and influenced each other over that period of time through conversations, the role playing characters, and the anticipation of seeing each other again.

The role playing itself is a fantastic part of this novella for different reasons. I love the descriptions of the costumes they wore and how well Mandy and her partner-in-sexy times get into their roles. And that brings us to Knox's sex scenes which are steamy hot as well as sensual. No need for dom/sub titillation in this novella either. Take a look at the "warning" at the bottom of the summary, those brown polyester pants were hot. What a scene!

Part of the excitement comes from the fact that these two people are strangers, and pretend that they are someone else. Let themselves go. Give themselves a break. But, this is a contemporary and as such, I always look at behavior through a contemporary lens. So, of course there is one huge niggle that made the hairs at the back of my neck stand straight up. It has to do with Mandy going on a first date with someone she met through the internet and met, alone, at a secluded place that first time! I don't care if she had mace as precaution, this is not safe behavior. If you have a daughter who dates, I don't care the age, this will bother you too. I had to suspend disbelief in order to continue with the story because who does that these days? It bothered me.

Once I placed that aside, however, I loved Big Boy, the trains and historical bits about them. Knox executed the romance and eroticism in this novella beautifully and I found that the conflict between the protagonists was valid and well thought out. I like both characters and believe they had good reasons for seeing each other and for keeping the relationship "as is" as long as they did. The epilogue showed a good happy ending that I found satisfying. A great, quick read. Grade: B+

December 2014 Recap: Books Read + Minis

I am finally going to close 2014 by posting my December recap. I was on vacation throughout the holidays and took the opportunity to read a few books that had been lingering in my TBR. As you can see below, there is only one new holiday book included in my least of reads.

Total books read in December: 11
Contemporary Romance: 1
Paranormal/Urban Fantasy: 1
Science Fiction/Fantasy: 3
LGBT: 6

1) City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett: B+
2-4) Provoked, Beguiled, Enlightened (Enlightenment Trilogy Books 1-3) by Joanna Chambers: B+
5) Turnbull House (Porcelain Dog) by Jess Faraday: B+

My favorite December reads were City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett, a SFF book that has received positive responses from readers. I meant to read it earlier in the year, unfortunately City of Stairs was the last book I read in 2014 and did not get a chance to review it. I plan to review it this month.

The other December favorites are Turnbull House (Porcelain Dog #2) by Jess Faraday, and Joanna Chambers' Enlightenment trilogy. Both were included in my LGBT Favorite Books and Authors list -- one as part of a duology and the other (all 3 books) as a highly recommended trilogy.

6) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: B
7) Night Shift with Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Lisa Shearin, Mila Vane: B
8) Between the Sheets by Molly O'Keefe: B
9) Comfort and Joy with Joanna Chambers, Harper Fox, L.B. Gregg, Josh Lanyon: B

My B reads are all on the strong side. My thoughts about The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers are outlined in my review. However, I also enjoyed the PNR/Urban fantasy anthology Night Shift in its entirety. Although I do admit that my favorite story is "Magic Steals" by Ilona Andrews. I mean who doesn't love Jim and Dali?

The contemporary romance Between the Sheets by Molly O'Keefe deserves a better title. The content just goes so much deeper than that title implies. There is sex (seldom between the sheets), and it is the hot kind, but there are other, deeper issues going on in this story that make this contemporary by O'Keefe a strong read.

And, the Comfort and Joy m/m romance holiday anthology is quite solid and one I'm keeping on my reread pile. I gave two of the stories a higher grade, but all four are enjoyable! These were my minimalistic (rushed) comments at Goodreads:
Rest and be Thankful by Joanna Chambers - Great! (4.5)
Out by Harper Fox - Solid (4.0)
Waiting for Winter by L.B. Gregg - Cute (3.5)
Baby, it's Cold by Josh Lanyon - Yummy (3.5)
Overall, a solid anthology that may become a "comfort" holiday reread in the future. Recommended.

10) The Boy with the Painful Tattoo by Josh Lanyon: C
11) Memory of Water by Emmi Itaranta: C-

The Boy with the Painful Tattoo is the third installment of Lanyon's Holmes and Moriarity romance/mystery series. I have really enjoyed this series and the characters thus far. So I hate to say this, but this installment, although good, did not quite do it for me. Chris and JX do not spend enough time together or working on their relationship, and the level of Chris' neurosis is so high that it hurts to read it. All of the above interfered with my enjoyment of the mystery which, taken on its own, was good.

And Memory of Water is a young adult speculative fiction novel by Finnish author Emmi Itaranta. This is the English translation of the novel. I gave it 2 stars at Goodreads because frankly the writing is beautiful, but my enjoyment of the book was next to nill. Here are my comments such as they are: "I wanted to love this book. The writing style is beautiful and the world-building interesting [enough]. Unfortunately, I ended up reading it in fits and starts. It just became a tedious, slow read and I forced myself to finish it. Obviously not for me." This is an award-winning book, loved and lauded by some readers and not-so-loved by others. Obviously, I fall under the latter.

SF Mini: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Written in an episodic style, Becky Chambers' debut novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is an intergalactic journey driven by the characters. The author focuses on the close-knit crew, the changing relationships between them, and the intimacy of the world they inhabit within their ship, the Wayfarer. Additionally, Chambers highlights how the crew as a whole and each individual crew member is affected by events occurring and reshaping the vibrant, vastly diverse galaxy outside of the small bubble they have created for themselves inside the ship.

The Wayfarer builds man-made wormholes that allow for faster intergalactic travel. It is an ugly old ship pieced together by its techs and fueled by algae grown on the ship. Chambers includes technical details about the ship's function, the ship's AI, and specifically how it goes about creating those wormholes, but it is the Wayfarer's diverse crew and their life experiences that hold the reader's attention.

Led by a pacifist captain, the crew is composed of aliens from different worlds, a sentient AI, and humans from diverse backgrounds -- humans who grew up in an environmentally depleted Earth, others descendants from humans who escaped to Mars, and still others who grew up in space ships. Aliens are the majority and hold the power in the galaxy, and humans, a minority in this world, survived extinction through self-destruction only by shear dumb luck. Chambers builds a whole galaxy through her characters, their different worlds and cultures of origin.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is all about the crew's long journey to a final destination. Once there, everything ends quickly. Although not necessarily a negative factor for this style of science fiction tale, perhaps the plotting could have used a bit more outside conflict, particularly since it is such a long journey to that "small, angry planet." Having said that, the world-building, characters, and relationships make this story shine. The episodic style works in this novel, with each episode/chapter having a beginning and an end, but fitting well with the ongoing story. I thoroughly enjoyed traveling through space with this crew, loving every new discovery about their world along the way.

2015 Sci-Fi Experience

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Becky Chambers is a writer and editor. Her work has appeared at The Mary Sue, Tor.com, and elsewhere around the internet. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is her first novel. Born and bred in California, Becky lives with her partner in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Hilcia's Minis: Downfall & Best Gay Stories 2014

DOWNFALL by Rob Thurman

Downfall is the 9th installment of Rob Thurman's Leandros Brothers urban fantasy series. I was supposed to review this with my fellow bloggers Leslie and Nath at Breezing Through. Unfortunately, unexpected circumstances interfered with our plans. Instead, here are my random impressions on the book:

Good Things:
1) I love that Robin Goodfellow's witty, self-aggrandizing, vain point of view is finally utilized as part of the narration in Downfall. It's about time. Fabulous!
2) Cal's inner monster seems to be in a mellow mood just as his physical self is changing into the monster. I found him to be more human, balanced, and dare I say mature (?) than before. It shows amazing character growth for Cal.
3) Niko's fears, as well as his vulnerabilities, are exposed through Goodfellows point of view. That's a big like for me. Niko is further humanized in this installment because the reader doesn't see him from Cal's idolizing eyes or from his own harsh judgmental ones. Goodfellow sees Niko and Cal as they are with both flaws and virtues: virtues in their flaws, and flaws in their virtues. :)
4) Robin and Ishia's relationship and true feelings for each other are touched on. I like that Ishia as a niggling mystery is finally resolved. Another big like.

Problems:
1) I don't love the introspective, stream of thought style used for Cal's narrative.
2) Introspection trumps action.
3)This introspection is used as a vehicle to remind readers of past events, however, it makes this installment repetitive. Cal's narrative is composed of reminisces about all the previous cases, monsters, and scrapes that he, Niko and Goodfellow investigated and survived in previous installments. As a result, the usual relentless action suffers, slowing the pace at the beginning to a crawl, and to a lesser degree throughout the rest of the novel.

Closing Threads:
1) Thurman closes threads, or seems to, in this installment. She circles back to Delilah, the Vigil, Grimm, and the Auphe. Are these threads really closed? I believe so, unless Thurman comes up with something else. Personally I hope she is done with the Auphe.
2) Additionally, Thurman further explores reincarnation to close threads and reinforce friendship, and the brotherhood theme in this UF series.
3) There is a sense that this is the end to the series -- that, or the series is about to veer in a different direction. Old characters return to give this book that end of series atmosphere. Good or bad? We will have to wait and find out.

Overall, in my opinion, Goodfellow's point of view carries most of Downfall. However, although Cal's sections are repetitive and the introspective, stream of thought style cuts down on the action, the character's maturity or sense of growth keeps the reader interested. This a solid installment with a great ending. And you know what? If it turns out that Downfall is the end, I would be satisfied.
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BEST GAY STORIES 2014 ed. Steve Berman

New York City. Moscow. Guanajuato. Pelion. A nameless suburb that could be found down any street. Trysts, old flames, pulp tales. Gay men are neither confined by locale nor are their stories. The 2014 volume of Best Gay Stories features essays, fiction and memoirs that encompass the myriad experiences gay life has to offer: from the insecurity and longings of youth to the complacency and nostalgia that comes with age. Along the way readers will discover themselves captivated by moments of discontent, of strife, and of revelation.

The above summary reflects the anthology's content. The settings are very different from one piece to another as are the stories. However, my deepest impression of this year's "best of" anthology is that it reflects the current trend in gay fiction and non-fiction -- that of dissecting or exploring recent gay history.

"It was always sad leaving Manhattan. He looked back through the dirty train window at the city, and then rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes. There was nothing to look forward to. He could not help Miles. He was lucky to have escaped himself." "There's a Small Hotel" by Andrew Holleran

Halloran's short story is an excellent example of one man stuck in the past while another revisits his old lifestyle and struggles not to get caught up reliving that tempting cycle. Tommi Avicolli Mecca's biographical essay, "Ma Tu Sei Pazzo?!" (Are you nuts?!), best exemplifies the thrust of this anthology with a look at the past and present with thoughts on how those events may affect the LGBT community's future as a whole.

The 2014 edition of Steve Berman's Best Gay Stories is composed of fiction, essays and memoirs by 20 gay writers, playwrights, activists, and teachers whose diverse contributions of previously printed short works make this collection an eclectic feast. My recommendation is to set some time aside to read and enjoy this anthology.

Contributors: Michael Alenyikov, Richard Bowes, Michael Carroll, Lou Dellaguzzo, Michael Thomas Ford, L.A. Fields , Guy Mark Foster, James Gifford, Trebor Healy, Andrew Halloran, Ed Kurtz, Dmitry Kuzmin, Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Sam J. Miller, James Powers-Black, Jason Schneiderman, Max Steele, Stefen Styrsky, Josef Winkler, Mario Alberto Zambrano

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Both books are 2014 releases read in their entirety before December -- Downfall by Rob Thurman in September 2014 and Best Gay Stories 2014 ed. by Steve Berman in May 2014. My minis are based on notes, impressions, and drafts prepared for reviews.

Hilcia's Minis: Provoked, Beguiled, Enlightened by Joanna Chambers

Provoked is a great read on a few different levels. The two main characters are conflicted and therefore intriguing. There's a high level of chemistry and the sexual tension between them is off the charts throughout the story. David with his naive honesty comes off as a bit of a prig, but a lovely one. Murdo is more worldly and outwardly a bit of a cynic, but his passion just burns. They are each right and wrong and although there is not a "happy ever after" or even a "happy for now" ending to this book, Chambers sets up this slowly developing romance perfectly for the second installment. Edinburgh as the main setting gives this book a unique atmosphere. I particularly like how Joanna Chambers uses historical facts from the Radical War in this first installment. It is always a pleasure to read a historical romance where "history" is both well researched and well incorporated. Highly recommended. (Samhain Publishing, July 2013)

After reading Provoked, I couldn't resist and immediately picked up Beguiled.

Provoked hooked me on this series, but with Beguiled I fell in love with the characters. Two years later during King George IV's first visit to Edinburgh, Murdo and David meet again, and the passion between them is scorching! Chambers uses those two years of separation as the basis for character growth. David is still honest and straight forward but now open to what Murdo has to offer. Murdo's passion for David is palpable but tenderness also becomes an obvious, beguiling factor that goes along with the rest. The historical details are just as good in Beguiled as they were in the first installment. Chambers brings back secondary characters from Provoked and, by utilizing David's friend Elizabeth's bad marriage, develops a side story focusing on women's lack of rights and/or choices during that period in time. Additionally, pomp and ceremony details from King George IV's first visit to Edinburgh are featured as background. Sensuality is on the high end of the scale with many more bedroom scenes than in Provoked. The end to Beguiled is dramatic and keeps the reader in tenterhooks wondering how things will work out in the end for Murdo and David. Highly recommended. (Samhain Publishing, December 2013)


After reading Beguiled, I immediately downloaded Enlightened.

Enlightened focuses on David and Murdo. It gives the characters the together time and space to work out the remaining conflicts in the slow-burn of a relationship that was ignited in Provoked and burst into flame in Beguiled. That slow burn has evolved into a passionate attachment that neither man will name but both feel. For David it is all about his inner doubts, but for Murdo the conflicts come from personal mistakes and an outside source. Chambers uses multiple settings for this book. It all begins in Laverock House, Murdo's estate in Perthshire, Scotland where David has been recuperating from his injuries, briefly moves on to Edinburgh, and goes on to London where both men have business to attend to. David must contact Elizabeth and Euan to warn them of possible danger, while Murdo has unknown business with his father. In this last book of the Enlightenment trilogy, there are secrets and revelations that affect the growing love and trust between our main characters. But really the main thrust of this story is about the characters allowing themselves to finally grasp that elusive happiness. The pacing is inconsistent with a slow start that picks up after a while and stays true to the end. It is really tough to find a workable or believable resolution in m/m historical romances, however, Chambers finds her way around those problematic points quite well. Both characters surrender important parts of their lives to achieve happiness, but in the end Murdo and David get the beautiful life they deserve. Together. Recommended. (Samhain Publishing, May 2014)

Of the three books Provoked and Beguiled are my favorite, with Enlightened dragging a bit, but still coming in as a solid read by providing all the right answers. Overall, Enlightenment is a great m/m historical romance trilogy with excellent atmosphere and historical research, and a romance that is memorable for the author's fabulous use of sexual tension and sensuality to build-up a relationship that begins with a sexual encounter between strangers and ends with a fantastic happy ever after. Highly recommended.

November Reads + Favorites

I hope everyone in the States had a Happy Thanksgiving and holiday weekend with family and loved ones. My monthly reading summary is short. I read a total of 6 books during the month of November. I began a few others that I didn't finish mostly because of poor concentration on my part. The following are the books that kept my attention:

November Total Books: 6
Historical Romance: 2
Science Fiction: 1
LGBT: 3 (Fantasy 1, M/M Mystery Romance 1, M/M Romance 1)

My Favorite Books:
That Door Is a Mischief by Alex Jeffers: A
This gay fantasy about men and fairies obviously hit the spot for me and is an all around winner. Jeffers is an extremely talented writer, hard to resist because he consistently brings on that winning combination of great prose, depth, and imagination to his books.

Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch #2) by Ann Leckie: B+
Ancillary Sword is the follow up to the one of my favorite reads of the year, Ancillary Justice. I particularly love the tight focus that led to further exploration of character and world in this second installment.

A Place Called Harmony by Jodi Thomas: B
If you are familiar with Jodi Thomas's books you know that both her historical and contemporary romances are filled with warmth that leave the reader feeling great. A Place Called Harmony is a western historical romance that leaves the reader satisfied because of the warmth, love and kindness found in the individual characters, as well as the loyalty and strength found in them collectively as community. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

Fair Play by Josh Lanyon: B
I became a big fan of Elliot and Tucker after reading Fair Game, one of my Lanyon favorite reads. Fair Play has a good combination of crime mystery and enough emotional battles between Elliot and Tucker to keep their romance interesting. Elliot's issues with control outside the bedroom and his struggles to understand Tucker's tenderness and love continue. Elliot is such an over-sensitive, prickly, contradictory character! The mystery is particularly interesting as it involves Elliot's radical father and his involvement in 60's politics and anti-government activities. Lanyon lays out the differences in belief between father and son, as well as the reasoning behind violent vs. peaceful radicalism during those times. Overall, a solid installment with a wish that this series continues.

Darling Beast (Maiden Lane #7) by Elizabeth Hoyt: B
Darling Beast is a solid, enjoyable historical romance by Elizabeth Hoyt with plenty of heat. One thought that I did not include in my mini-impressions: I'm not sure where Hoyt is going with the Maiden Lane series. The main thrust of the series has shifted it no longer has that dark, heavy atmosphere, or the everyday characters that I so loved in the first few books. It seems that although there are still non-aristocrats as characters, aristocracy wins the day -- Dukes, Viscounts, Ladies. I will continue reading the series, but, will Hoyt return to the troublesome streets and dirty alleys of London? I can only hope that the wonderful atmosphere that initially won me over will return to this series.

There's Something About Ari by L.B. Gregg: C+
I enjoyed this friends-to-lovers m/m romance by L.B. Gregg. This is a good story about a young man whose best friend ran away and returns home after succeeding as an actor. Of course he still lives at the same address and works at the same place -- his future smashed to pieces when his mother died and he had to take care of his young brother. I like the reasoning behind this couple's separation and lack of communication, as well as how this couple of friends come together. I believe that, for me, this story is a bit short and needs that extra LBG pop and sizzle to make it a personal favorite. Overall, an enjoyable read.

November Minis: Darling Beast & A Place Called Harmony

Historical romances have been sorely missing from my reading menu this year and I miss them. In November I picked up two books by favorite authors.

I began by reading Darling Beast (Maiden Lane #7), by Elizabeth Hoyt. This has been one of my favorite historical romance series for a few years now.


Darling Beast covers the reasons Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne, ended up temporarily mute after spending time in Bedlam, and solves the crime mystery that placed him there. In the process, Apollo finds the love of his life in actress and playwright Lily Stump (stage name Robin Goodfellow), as well as happiness her child Indio and his dog Daff. Of course it's all more complicated than that, but that's the simple summary.

In Darling Beast, Hoyt combines and balances the developing romance, heat, and crime mystery. With two exceptions, secondary characters do not interfere with the main thrust of this romance. The child Indio and his dog Daff take a bit too much page time and, although cute and adorable, their contribution often comes off over the top cute. I enjoyed the light, humorous beginning to the romance combined with danger from unknown sources. Later it was the passion that develops between Apollo and Lily, and the small clues and red herrings that Hoyt uses to throw off the reader from the finding the real culprit that kept me reading. Surprisingly, of the secondary characters I was most intrigued by the Duke of Montgomery (what makes this guy tick anyway?), instead of the slightly revolting Ira Makepeace. What?

Darling Beast does not stand above other more intensely gratifying books in this series. It is, however, a solid installment with an enjoyable romance, likable characters, and an overall good story.

Maiden Lane Series Reviews: Books #1 through #6

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The second historical romance I picked up in November was A Place Called Harmony by Jodi Thomas.

For true fans of the contemporary Harmony series, A Place Called Harmony is a 'must' read. For readers who do not follow the series, this is a wonderful western historical romance that stands well on its own.

This book is a prequel that basically gives an accounting of how the town of Harmony, Texas was founded by weaving in the dangers plaguing the original trading post, as well as the romances of the three original couples who helped build the town.

The main characters are Captain Gillian and Daisy Matheson, a married couple with four little boys. There is true love but also uncertainty in this relationship between two people who feel they've made the wrong choices for themselves and their boys in the past. Patrick and Annie McAllen are a very sweet, naive young couple running away from abusive lives with their parents. They provide much of the humor, in and out of the sheets, and contribute to the overall sense of community and warmth. The romance between Clint and Karrisa Truman is the slowest to build and therefore has the most tension and biggest payoff at the end. Clint's hard shell and Karrisa's mysterious stint in jail add interest, but the trust-building and tenderness between them become the clincher. Rounding off the cast of characters we have the fiercely loyal, silent and highly intelligent Shelly McAllen, Patrick's brother, Momma Roma and her sons, and old Harmon Ely, the man who started it all with a trading post, land, and a dream.

Jodi Thomas's signature writing style is all over this book. You will find family warmth, kindness, loving, loyalty, honesty, and passion, as well as danger and a community that comes together to fight in order to survive. A truly satisfying read.

Contemporary Harmony Series Reviews & Minis 

Minis: An American Duchess & The Forever Watch

An American Duchess by Sharon Page

This historical romance set in both England and the United States, a few years after World War I, is a solid read but expect a two-part sort of read, first filled with passion and then with angst. The tension leading to the romance between the main protagonists ends about half way through the book when they marry after falling in love. This romantic section is very much what might be expected of a historical novel with that immediate dislike/attraction between a modern, independent, headstrong American woman and a conservative English aristocrat. It leads to some pretty passionate scenes and eventually to a promising future. The second part of the story focuses mainly on the aftereffects of war and how the male protagonist's PTSD affects the marriage. Page's characters describe PTSD as it was viewed in those times, as war madness and other less than acceptable terms used to describe it. The problematic issues that arise between this couple are not instantly resolved and I like that about this book. There are, however, what I think of as over-the-top Hollywood scenes toward the end that interfered negatively with the intimacy between the protagonists. Overall, however, a solid historical with good World War I background.

The Forever Watch by David Ramirez

The Forever Watch is a science fiction story with a mystery at its core. It also contains a romance, alien technology, and the creation of a new AI. It has a familiar world-building with people traveling in a spaceship searching for a new world after Earth is destroyed. Individuals receive implants as children to help them realize their potential in a class conscious society that otherwise has no knowledge of decease, religion, or war. The story is slow to begin and overall  slow to develop. Science is detailed and it is obvious that Ramirez spent much time developing this aspect of the story, however it comes off as convoluted and hard to follow at times. The final few chapters are fantastic, but it was rough getting there. I put down and picked up this book countless times before finishing it. I had to raise my eyebrows at the final "message," if that was the purpose, but this is what I got out of it: those in power keep realities from the masses, for their own good of course, because they wouldn't be able to handle the truth. Hmm. . .

Review: In Your Dreams (Blue Heron #4) by Kristan Higgins

Emmaline Neal needs a date. Just a date—someone to help her get through her ex-fiancé's wedding without losing her mind. But pickings are slim in Manningsport, New York, population 715. In fact, there's really only one option: local heartthrob Jack Holland. Everyone loves Jack, and he won't get the wrong idea…. After all, Jack Holland would never actually be interested in a woman like Em. Especially not with his beautiful ex-wife creeping around, angling to reunite ever since he rescued a group of teens and became a local hero.

But when the wedding festivities take an unexpectedly passionate turn, Em figures it was just one crazy night. Jack is too gorgeous, too popular, to ever end up with her. So why is she the one he can talk to about his deep, dark feelings? If Em is going to get her dream man, she'll have to start by believing in him…

Emmaline, Manningsport's only female cop, needs a date to her ex-fiancé's wedding because she is still hurt by the way he dumped her. Jack Holland needs to get out of town and agrees to go to the wedding with Em because after having saved three out of four teenagers from an accident he is traumatized. Additionally as a result of all the publicity, his ex-wife is back in town hoping for a reconciliation.

I liked the couple in this romance. Em is a cop and a bit of a tomboy and Jack is a gorgeous man, but not superficial or vain about his looks, on the contrary, he's unaffected and sweet. Both characters were hurt in past relationships by selfish people and still bare deep scars. They work through those past conflicts as their own romance evolves.

A developing relationship between Jack and Em is interrupted by two over-long sections, the first covers Em's relationship with her parents and ex-boyfriend, and the second gives details about Jack's engagement, marriage and divorce from his ex-wife. Sandwiched between those two is the wedding section where Jack and Em get to know each other and a real attraction is born. Additionally, Higgins works her magic with funny, outrageous scenes, some riddled with lies, great dialog, and some hot sex thrown in for good measure. It is unfortunate that those overlong sections detailing background stories take away some of the momentum driving the romance forward in the wedding scenes, and that those three distinct sections give this romance a bit of a disjointed feel.

As always when reading a Higgins romance secondary characters impact the story, some of them popular characters already featured in this series. This time, however, a few of the new characters introduced are memorable for their actions: Em's ex-boyfriend for his struggle with obesity and overcompensation as a result of losing the weight, Em's parents' inadequacies and struggles to understand her, and her sister's sweetness and understanding.

Although the romance is interrupted, overall In Your Dreams is a very good romance read with a likable couple, some interesting secondary characters, and a few of those thoroughly embarrassing and/or funny moments we expect from Higgins. I particularly like Em and Jack. Em as an independent woman who doesn't need rescuing, and Jack as a caring, sweet man who takes his time, but in the end is just looking for true happiness.

Category: Contemporary Romance
Series: Blue Heron #4
Publisher/Release Date: Harlequin/HQN/ September 30, 2014
Source: eARC Little Bird Publicity
Grade: B-

Series:
The Best Man, #1
The Perfect Match, #2
Waiting on You, #3
In Your Dreams, #4

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kristan Higgins is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and a two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. Her books have been translated into 21 languages and received numerous starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus and Romantic Times. Her books have been listed as Best Books of the Year by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, National Public Radio, Library Journal and Amazon.

Kristan lives with her heroic and tolerant firefighter husband and two snarky and entertaining teenagers in her hometown in Connecticut. For more information about her books visit Kristan Higgins here.

Frozen by Meljean Brook

I've felt the onslaught of arousal, the sudden tightening of my body, that delicious shudder when a man's tongue penetrates my lips and takes possession of my mouth.
I've never been kissed as if he needed it. As if he'd die without it. 

Frozen is a stand-alone paranormal romance novella initially developed by Meljean Brook as a free on-line read. [This story includes a premise that some readers might find problematic or triggering]

The setting is contemporary with both male and female protagonists initially meeting through their jobs as civil engineers working on the same project for different construction companies. Deep attraction leads to an all-consuming kiss, but afterwards Erik Gulbrandr walks away with an apology. For a year and a half as they work together, Olivia Martin believes that Erik's cold regard signals disinterest and tries to forget that for a moment she felt that Erik was "the one." But when Olivia is asked to stop at Erik's isolated home to deliver paperwork, they find themselves snowbound during the winter solstice and everything changes. Olivia discovers that Erik is living under a terrible curse that includes her and in the end may destroy them both.

As a paranormal romance Frozen is filled with heavy sexual tension and secret longing. It offers danger and violence to the protagonists from outside sources, triggering those protective responses we have come to expect from alpha males. However, although Erik is icy-cool and sexy, he is not the typical alpha male who allows his "other" side to take control without a fight, and Olivia is depicted as a smart woman. The romance is a different story altogether. For most of the story Olivia is guided by that first moment of rejection just as Erik is tormented by the curse's compulsion and can't see past it to Olivia's real feelings. They don't communicate and as a result misunderstandings cause unnecessary pain for them both.

Brook utilizes a spattering of Norse mythology -- descendants of Odin's sons, Fenrir the Wolf and the Ironwood Witch -- to create a cursed family with the oldest son inheriting the curse and carrying it down the line, skipping some generations, but never going away until Ragnarok. Exposition is over utilized to establish world-building in some sections, i.e., Olivia's over extended thought process after alone-time research and conversations with Erik. However, Olivia's first point of view narrative works well for most of the story particularly at first when back flashes first clue in the reader on the protagonists backstory and later as Brook uses it to show the depth of feelings between the characters, to keep the reader immersed in the action scenes, as well as in all those wonderful lusty scenes that we all expect from a Meljean Brook paranormal romance.

Without giving away too many spoilers, I believe that the focus behind this novella is to establish consent within the perimeters of a paranormal romance by giving the female a choice that is initially taken away from both protagonists through "magical" means. Meljean Brook's paranormal romance novels are well-known for complex world-building and steamy couples. My expectations of Frozen were of a hot, steamy romance and good world-building with a narrower focus due to length -- they were met.

Category: Paranormal Romance/Novella
Release date: September 20, 2014
Source: eARC received from Author for an honest review
Grade: B-

FROZEN will be available in your favorite bookstores now at a special introductory price of 99¢. It is anticipated that a print version will be available shortly afterward.

TBR Review: The Winter Lodge (Lakeshore Chronicles #2) by Susan Wiggs

On the longest night of the year, Jenny Majesky loses everything in a devastating house fire. But among the ashes she finds an unusual treasure hidden amid her grandfather's belongings, one that starts her on a search for the truth, and on a path toward a life that she never imagined. The Winter Lodge, a remote cabin owned by her half sister on the shores of Willow Lake, becomes a safe refuge for Jenny, where she and local police chief Rourke McKnight try to sort out the mysteries revealed by the fire. But when a blizzard traps them together, Jenny, accustomed to the safe predictability of running the family bakery, suddenly doesn't feel so secure. For even as Rourke shelters her from the storm outside, she knows her heart is at risk. Now, following her dreams might mean walking away from her one chance at love.

My choice for the September TBR Challenge read is based on my mood. I felt like getting lost in a small town romance and found this book in my Kindle. I began reading the Lakeshore Chronicles by Susan Wiggs years ago after picking up some of the books at a local pharmacy that to this day carries a limited amount of romance books. Anyway, I read a few of them out of sequence and skipped The Winter Lodge. Once I realized this was the second book of the series, I purchased the Kindle edition where it has been lingering for years.

These romances are set around the small town Avalon, and all are somehow connected to Camp Kanoga and the Bellamy family. Camp Kanoga is portrayed as an old fashioned place where kids and teens went during the summer to learn camping skills and shared life-changing experiences. There is a strong Peyton Place atmosphere to these books with secrets, betrayals, star-crossed lovers suffering because of class conscious families, and children affected by divorce, physical abuse, neglect, poverty and alcoholic parents. Teenage pregnancy is also an issue tied to Camp Kanoga. Jenny Majesky is the result of one such (secret) teenage pregnancy.

The romance in this particular installment is a bit of a mixed bag for me. As in the first book of this series, Summer at Willow Lake, Wiggs uses back flashes to develop the entire story. The couple, Jenny Majeski, a townie, and Rourke McKnight, a wealthy camper, are extremely likable people. They are the focus of the story, however, this is a triangle with Jenny and Rourke loving each other since childhood, but with Rourke believing he is undeserving of her because of childhood abuse and baggage. Jenny is aware of all of this, but dates Rourke's best friend Joey, going as far as becoming engaged to him. Of course this is a recipe for disaster.

Rourke and Jenny were traumatized children from dysfunctional families, and grow up to be dysfunctional adults. Neither can verbalize true feelings for each other without feeling guilt or undeserving until almost the end of the book -- particularly Rourke. It's like they are frozen in time and have a tough time growing up until a mystery is solved and both are set free. Sex is kept behind closed doors, which Wiggs handles very well by infusing the relationship with passionate sexual tension and yearning.

I enjoy how Wiggs works the family dynamics in this series and love the gorgeous descriptions of Avalon and Camp Kanoga. But what I will remember about The Winter Lodge are all the fantastic recipes Wiggs incorporates as part of Jenny Majesky's family history as owners of the Majesky bakery. I drooled, craved breads and sweets throughout most of this read.
Grade: B-

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I want to share a recipe from the book. Here is the shortest, easiest one I could find in the bunch, but there are some fantastic recipes for bread, and Kolaches, Chess Pie, and Irish Cream Cake. I highlighted all of them!

HAPPY CAKE

1 pound cake flour (3 cups)
1 pound eggs (about six)
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (don't substitute)
1 pound (about 2-1/4 cups) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking power

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour Bundt or tube pan. Beat butter until light and gradually add sugar, vanilla and then eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, add buttermilk. Sift together all the dry ingredients and add slowly. Pour batter into pan and bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, until a thin blade or toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cook 15 to 20 minutes in pan. Then gently remove it, and serve at room temperature with fresh fruit or lemon curd. Makes 12 generous servings.

August 2014 Recap: Favorite Reads, Old & New

Summer is over and my reading was great! I did not read all the books on my list, but my hot streak held in August 2014 with lots of excellent books. I'm going to have a tough time choosing personal favorites. Frankly, I was not sure how to go about doing that -- so many of my choices exceeded expectations. My list is a combination of brand new and older releases, so I decided to just separate them this time around. Check them out:

AUGUST 2014 BOOKS READ: 14
Contemporary: 1 (Erotic Fiction)
Urban Fantasy: 2
Fantasy: 1
Mystery: 1
YA Fiction: 1
LGBT:  8 (Speculative Fiction: 1, Mystery: 3, Gay/MM Romance: 4)

Top Reads from old releases:
Broken by Megan Hart: A
The Dark Horse (Longmire #5) by Craig Johnson: A
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: A-
The Affair of the Porcelain Dog by Jess Faraday: A-
Lessons in Love (Cambridge Fellows #1) by Charlie Cochrane: B+

Top Reads from New Releases:
The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker Saga #1) by Kameron Hurley: B+
Visions (Cainsville #2) by Kelley Armstrong: B+
Wilde Stories 2014 ed. Steve Berman: B+

Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron: B
Think of England by K.J. Charles: B
The General and the Horse-Lord by Sarah Black: B-

I enjoyed this book much more than expected. So subtle and quiet and beautiful. John and his baby. John and his horse-lord. Great mature romance and father-son story. I even understood where the mean ex was coming from. A pleasure. (M/M Romance)

Let It Ride (Pickup Men #2) by LC Chase: C+

I liked this second installment in the Pickup Men series by LC Chase. It was emotionally gratifying, both joyful and angsty, with a conflict that combines sexual exploration and learning to accept real love when it comes your way. (M/M Western/Romance)

If Wishes were Horses by Silvia Violet: D

This M/M Romance did not work for me. This is a case of insta-lust with feelings of quick love following, lacking the intimate moments or friendship to build up to that love.

Upcoming Review:
Home Fires Burning by Charlie Cochrane

Reread: Omens (Cainsville #1) by Kelley Armstrong

AUGUST 2014 OTHER REVIEWS & POSTS:
Books: August/September 2014 New Releases!
July 2014 Recap: Favorite Reads + Minis
Review: Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels #8) by Ilona Andrews
Review: The Girls at The Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

Hilcia's Minis: YA Wallflowers & Dark Horses + LGBT Mysteries: Porcelain Dogs, Cambridge Fellows & Think of England

In August I craved mysteries and urban fantasy. Today, however, I begin my minis with the young adult fiction book chosen by my Internet Book Club. All of the books below are either highly recommended or recommended reads, and four out of the five are old releases with only one 2014 release in the bunch.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an excellent YA fiction read written in epistolary style. First published in 1999, this short coming-of-age novel is as pertinent today as it was during that time. Chbosky's narrator and main character is young fifteen-year-old Charlie whose personal isolation and awkward social skills are only rivaled by his brilliant mind. The story begins when Charlie is about to start high school and finishes at the end of his freshman year. During that one year, within 213 pages, Charlie undergoes quite a few changes, (character growth) and makes some good as well as some pretty disturbing discoveries about himself. Along the way, he makes some great friends like Patrick, Sam and a few others, but Charlie's family (parents and siblings) are also there in a meaningful way.

This is a smart read, not just a quick one. Chbosky packs in key young adult and family issues, some quite serious, in very few pages while keeping his characters young and fresh as they "discover" and process issues and ideas in their own unique way. While Charlie is the narrator through the letters he writes to "Dear Friend," all the main characters involved in Charlie's life are very well rendered. I was touched by a few them: Charlie, of course, Sam, Patrick and Brad, Charlie's teacher Bill (I wish all teachers were like that!), Charlie's sister and his parents. This is a highly recommended YA fiction read. If you've read it, then you know why. If you haven't, give it try. (1999, Pocket Books)

"In the hallways, I see the girls wearing the guys' jackets, and I think about the idea of property. And I wonder if they are happy. I hope they are. I really hope they are."

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

"[e]ven if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them."

I read this book for my Internet Book Club. Thanks to Mariana, Lili, Maria, Christine, and Yinx for the recommendation and discussion.

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CONTEMPORARY WESTERN MYSTERY:
The Dark Horse (Walt Longmire #5) by Craig Johnson

I decided to go back and read books #5 through #7 of the Walt Longmire mystery series so I can catch up with some of the past installments I'm missing. The Dark Horse was first published in 2009. In this one a woman admits to shooting her husband six times after he burned down the barn while all her quarter horses were inside. Alive. But even with proof, a witness, and her confession, Walt doesn't believe she is guilty and sets out to prove it. The Dark Horse is my favorite book of the series so far. The mystery is fantastic and the action is even better. Good ole Walt just keeps surprising me with what he is willing to do to solve a mystery as well as for other people. What a fabulous character and what a great series. I'm picking up the other two books ASAP, and then I will be up to date. Highly recommended. (2009, Viking Adult - Kindle Ed.)

***By the way, the end of the third season for the A&E Longmire television program was fantastic! I'm still breathless.
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LGBT GAY MYSTERIES/ROMANCE:
The Affair of the Porcelain Dog by Jess Faraday

The Affair of the Porcelain Dog is the first book in a mystery duology by Jess Faraday that I picked up from the "books recommended" list in Goodreads. It is not a romance, it contains sexual involvements that lead to the mystery and action. Set in the crime-riddled streets of 1889 London, the main character Ira Adler is an orphan and former pickpocket, thief, and male prostitute from the mean East End streets, presently living in luxury under the patronage of powerful crime lord Cain Goddard as payment for an exclusive sexual relationship. Ira has become selfishly spoiled with luxury, but that begins to change after Cain asks him to steal the statue of a porcelain dog containing evidence that under the sodomy laws may send him and others, including Ira, to prison. Ira retrieves the porcelain dog only to loose it to another pickpocket, and the hunt begins in earnest leading to a friend's death, opium traders and more dangerous discoveries.

The setting, characters, atmosphere, action and plotting all come together to create an excellent historical mystery. I appreciate that the sodomy laws in place during that time are not taken lightly or dismissed by Faraday, instead they play a crucial role in the mystery, drive how the characters' conduct their lives and the actions they take in order to survive. I could not stop reading this book and will pick up Turnbull House, Book #2, to find out what happens to Ira, his detecting partner and ex-client Dr. Tim Lazarus, and Cain. Highly recommended. (2011, Bold Strokes Books-Digital Format) 

Lessons in Love (Cambridge Fellows #1) by Charlie Cochrane

First published in 2008, this is the first book in an 8 book mystery/romance series by Charlie Cochrane. There is a great mystery in this introductory book to the series and addictive characters that I want to know better. Set in St. Bridges College, Cambridge in 1905, it all begins when the outgoing, good looking Jonty Stewart joins the teaching staff at the college and catches the attention of stodgy, but brilliant, Orlando Coppersmith. A man whose whole life is wrapped up in the school and mathematics. Their relationship slowly changes to intimacy and a forbidden romance. But the murders of young students interrupt their small world of personal discovery, and soon they are caught up in a dangerous position acting as the police's eyes and ears within the college where any one of their students could be the murderer.

The atmosphere in this book is just fantastic, and I fell in love with both Jonty and Orlando. Much tenderness goes into Orlando's seduction, and there is much more to Jonty's character than his outward outgoing, jolly personality. The gay themed mystery is well integrated with the developing relationship between the main characters. I already picked up Lessons in Desire, Book #2. Recommended. (2009, Samhain - Digital Format)

Think of England by K.J. Charles

"Lie back and think of England…"

This is another turn of the century mystery/romance. Set in England, 1904, the majority of the story takes place at a house party in a country home. Captain Archie Curtis lost fingers and friends to a military accident that he believes was the result of sabotage. The only reason he is at this country home is to find proof that the wealthy owner is responsible. He meets the guests and immediately dislikes foreigner Daniel da Silva, an obviously queer poet with the kind of effete mannerisms and sophisticated wit Archie always despised. But as Archie begins to investigate, he finds that Daniel is conducting his own investigation and they join forces. As the danger grows so does the sexual tension, particularly after Archie and Daniel find themselves in a compromising situation with blackmail and murder becoming a real possibility.

This book was recommended to me by Li from Me and My Books, and she was right. I really enjoyed this story for its turn of the century English atmosphere. Particularly Archie's stiff-upper-lip British attitude juxtaposed with the entertaining, tongue in cheek moments provided by Daniel. Oh, the horror! These great characters make a wonderful romantic couple, -- "Can I call on you?" *snort* -- and the mystery and action are a plus. The sodomy laws are taken into consideration, and Charles works through that in the building relationship as well as the mystery plot. I would want to see how she works with an established romance and the complications presented by those laws in a sequel. I would definitely read it. Recommended. (2014, Samhain - Digital Format) 

Review: The Girls at The Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

I so enjoyed this book! Flappers, bootleggers, speakeasies, drinking, dancing, cross-starred lovers, and a villainous father!

"Jo guessed even then that Mother's purpose was to have a son, and she was kept from all other causes. Them included."

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club is based on The Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale but this is not a fantasy piece, it is strictly fiction set in 1920's Manhattan. The story loosely follows the same structure as the fairy tale with twelve sisters born to a wealthy Mr. Hamilton who kept his wife pregnant in the hopes of having a son to carry on the Hamilton name until the wife died. He confines his twelve daughters to the second floor and attic severely neglecting them. The girls' one and only outlet is dancing. The four eldest daughters, Jo the "general," vivacious Lou, gorgeous Ella, and down-to-earth Doris sneak out at night and hit the Manhattan speakeasies at age fourteen until they find a home at The Kingfisher Club. After that, as the rest of the girls come of age and under Jo’s watchful eye, they dance their nights away at the only place where they feel safe and taste precious moments of freedom.

“The girls were wild for dancing, and nothing else. No hearts beat underneath those thin, bright dresses. They laughed like glass.“

I love how well Valentine integrates the fairy tale and her own version with the Hamilton daughters as 1920's flappers. It is a great story with a controlling father as the ultimate misogynist who attempts to sell his daughters to men like himself as a solution to financial troubles, and how his daughters outwit him and make their way in a world they don't recognize by daylight.

“The girls could hope that these husbands, wherever her father planned to find them, would be kinder and more liberal men than he was. But the sort of man who wanted a girl who’d never been out in the world was the sort whose wife would stay at home in bed and try to produce heirs until she died of it.“

There is a romance of sorts between the eldest daughter Jo and bootlegger turned club owner Tom, but Jo emerges as the mistress of her own destiny and throughout and to the end controls her own happiness.

"You can't expect people to give you the things you love, unless you know how to ask."

Of the sisters, Jo is the best developed character with Lou, Doris, and Ella following in importance. The rest of the sisters are sometimes distinguishable only by the dances they prefer or key characteristics. Of the secondary characters, Mr. Hamilton, Tom, and Jake, The Kingfisher Club's bartender and loyal friend make the greatest impact.

There is a certain awkwardness to the writing style or structure as a result of long paragraphs containing thoughts or commentary placed between parentheses. Although after a while I became used to this ongoing style, there was always an awareness at the back of my mind that interrupted the reading flow throughout the novel. However, the story itself is engaging and a quick read with excellent Roaring Twenties atmosphere and gritty details of Manhattan's underground speakeasies as the setting. The descriptions of dancing in seedy or glamorous clubs are gorgeous. The heartbreaking moments, Jo's sacrifices for her sisters, the sisters' escape from captivity into the real world, and the final payoff, all make for a magnificent tale by Valentine.

“She was still trying to discover how people related to each other, and how you met the world when you weren’t trying to hide something from someone. It was a lesson slow in coming.“

Wilde Stories 2014: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction ed. Steve Berman

The Wilde Stories anthology series edited by Steve Berman features gay themed speculative fiction short stories published during the previous year. This year all the short works included in Steve Berman's 2014 Wilde Stories: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction are written by new contributors. The collection begins with an introduction by Berman, an interesting one at that, however today I am concentrating on a long review that includes all the stories.

The anthology begins with three very good stories that quickly engage the reader, particularly with the short but highly effective contemporary piece "Grindr" by Clayton Littlewood in which text messaging, infused with edgy horror, is utilized as the spec fic element. In "The Ghosts of Emerhad" by Nghi Vo ghosts play a role in a fantasy setting with eerie atmosphere, yet it is not a chilling read, instead this is the redeeming war tale of a man coming to terms with personal loses. And with "How to Dress an American Table" by J. E. Robinson, the collection shifts to a contemporary tale with an unsettling "human monster" at its center, the kind that is often more disturbing than stories about fictional monsters hiding under the bed.

"Caress" by Eli Easton is just an excellent, complete steampunk sff romance piece filled with outstanding details, world-building and "graphic novel" atmosphere. I visualized a graphic novella while reading this romance between a young man with a clockwork heart whose genius and skills save a soldier from a fate worse than death. Following is another excellent story. "57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides" by Sam J. Miller strongly stands out with a unique format that flows effortlessly, and memorable young adult characters, outstanding speculative fiction elements, gay theme, and a plot focused on friendship, bullying, revenge and betrayal.

The collection continues the young adult theme with "Happy Birthday, Numskull" by Robert Smith, a piece that is so freaking interesting because the spec fic elements come from a sensitive, imaginative child’s perceived horrors as he experiences the adult world surrounding him. Everything changes with "Right There in Kansas City" by Casey Hannan, the only story in the anthology that veers into the realm of the weird with dense speculative fiction elements that hit the reader from its inception. There is an obvious sub-text to the story, but take it from me this one is very good and out there.

"The Water that Falls from Nowhere" by John Chu won the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. A reread, this story stands out for the subtle approach with which Chu uses rain as the speculative fiction element while the main thrust of the story is focused on a committed gay couple attempting to gain understanding and acceptance from the narrator’s traditional Chinese family. I have enjoyed Damon Shaw’s work in the past, and he did it again with "Seven Lovers and the Sea." This is a story I loved for its unique twist on both vampiric and seafaring mythical tales.

Although "The Brokenness of Summertime" by R. W. Clinger may be considered a contemporary horror tale by some or perhaps contemporary with a rather sharp edge (pun intended) after all it depicts ye ole green-eyed monster at its best, my totally warped sense of humor turned it into a highly amusing, insane, demented sort of read -- so, so enjoyable! It was then surprising that "Lacuna" by Matthew Cheney gutted me with its ending and not necessarily with the speculative fiction details. Let me explain, in this story there is a running narrative by a writer as he creates a speculative fiction piece. So, there are two stories at once, one interrupting the other's flow and ending in the writer's reality with a shocking revelation and the reasons why "words are not magic." I must be particularly susceptible at the moment because after this story I stopped reading the anthology for a bit before picking it up again. That's a good thing, it means that the story made a strong impact.

"Super Bass" by Kai Ashante Wilson is a fantastic tale with magical aspects of ancient African religions utilized as the root for the speculative fiction elements. In his story, Ashante Wilson amplifies those magical aspects within a high religious ceremony in which two lovers participate, with one transforming into the Most High Summer King and the other giving him strength through loving. The islanders traditionally marry in threes -- two men, one woman -- creating an organic same-gender, gender-mixed society. This aspect of the world-building is not deeply explored. Rather, it is an organic part of its creation and left open to the reader for further thought and speculation.

The last piece with young adults as central characters is a mythology-based story by Cory Skerry, "Midnight at the Feet of the Caryatides," that focuses on a arrogant click of students that choose to abuse the weak and different. I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere and gargoyles, but for me the most memorable aspect of the story is the combination of darkness and tenderness found in the narrative. And the anthology ends with "The Revenge of Oscar Wilde" by Sean Eads, a zombie story with Oscar playing the forceful and introspective knight avenging his lover Bosie's honor to the horrifying, bittersweet end. This is a short story worth reading for its beautiful writing and excellent alternate perspective into Wilde's last days in Paris. . . and on. "If there is a god to them now, he walks this earth and his name is Oscar Wilde."

This anthology ebbs and flows with short works that include contemporary, fantasy, steampunk, magical, and mythology-based speculative fiction – some action-filled, others quieter and more introspective, going from dark to light, and darker yet. Horror-based speculative fiction tales reign supreme with some excellent otherworldly pieces and plenty of stand outs. Personally, I found quite a few favorites as I made my way through this year's edition of Wilde Stories.

Category: LGBT/ Gay/ Speculative Fiction / Anthology
Series: Wilde Stories Anthologies
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/August 2014 - Kindle ed.
Grade: B+

Series:
Wilde Stories 2011
Wilde Stories 2012
Wilde Stories 2013