This n That: Update, Reads, + The Manservant, Sentient Trains & OTT Mothers!

Hello! I've been out of commission since the 9th. My computer is at the Apple hospital getting full check up, and in the meantime my backup computer crashed! I've been going through withdrawals. I refuse to blog from my iPad because it is really a pain even to try and I'm not in the mood to go through that much frustration.

I read my book for the March TBR Challenge early in the month, but unfortunately missed posting the review. I followed the theme "catching up with a series" by reading Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega #2) by Patricia Briggs. Actually, I read Fair Game, #3 and Dead Heat, #4 and I'm up to date now. I will post reviews for those books as soon as I am able.

Additionally, I have completed three other books in March, Vision in Silver (The Others #3) by Anne Bishop, Closer Than You Think (Faith Corcoran #1) by Karen Rose and Lovely Wild by Megan Hart. To date, my favorite March read was Fair Game (Alpha & Omega, #3) by Patricia Briggs, however, I have enjoyed all of them.

In the meantime, my TBR pile is bulging. I purchased many books last year that remain unread, still that did not stop me from losing control of my book budget in January and February and purchasing books I missed last year, and a few new releases. It's a bit crazy even for a book addict like me, particularly since I'm not reading at the same pace as I was on the prior years. Worse than that, I have DNF'd some pretty expensive books.

I'm working on a few reviews. In the meantime, I had these minis from some of my February reads more or less ready way back when.

The Manservant, Michael Harwood's debut novel, is a very British, highly entertaining, quick-paced contemporary gay fiction piece with an upstairs, downstairs flavor and a dash of BDSM restricted to some spanking, but without graphic sex scenes. This is very much contemporary British fare, so please do not expect gay versions of Downton Abby or 50 Shades of Grey. The novel focuses on the adventures of main character, Anthony Gower (please don't call me Tony!!), a young, thoroughly modern gay man whose experience as a footman to the Royals allows him to first find employment in a posh London hotel, and later as private butler to a Lord. His questionable judgment, however, gets him in deep hot water more than once. Harwood partially explores his main character's background, but I am hoping that he will write another book with delicious Anthony as his main character. And, more Frank please! Recommended.

Where the Trains Turn by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen is a SFF novella about sentient ghost trains, an imaginative boy, a mother who prefers her life as well as her son's be grounded in reality, and a meeting with destiny. The story grabbed my attention once I got passed the clumsy translation from Finnish to English. The narrative is austere and even with the problematic translation the story retains a heavy atmosphere. The boy, whose obsession with trains is fed by his father's, is socially inadequate with a healthy imagination. After a tragic incident, the mother eliminates everything from his life that may spark the imagination and the boy's life takes a new course. A chance meeting with destiny changes that. What made this story a great read for me were the fantastic twists that came at the end. I never saw them coming. Online free read at Tor.com

The Mothers of Voorhisville by Mary Rickert is another SFF novella from Tor.com and a Nebula nominee. This sff horror story begins with a stranger passing through a small town and seducing a group of women. Nine months later, there is a baby boom. But there is something different about these babies. The mothers will go to great lengths to protect them from those who might hurt them.

This story begins on a ominous note and ends quite well. Unfortunately, the middle drags rather badly. Narrated through journal entries by the different mothers, the reader never meets the babies' "father," the man or creature that so easily seduced the women of this little town. The mothers -- some of them children themselves, others married, divorced, single, or widowed -- are secretive at first. They love their little monsters too much to care what they are or they will be getting up to. This story is fantasy/horror. With the exception of little monster babies with tiny wings, the fantasy side in this novella is left to the reader's imagination since there are no real explanations as to what they are, where they come from, or what the real purpose of their existence is. The real horror in this story lies on the mother's disquieting actions once the "mother's instinct" comes into play, the rest is mild in content. Free online read at Tor.com.

This n That: News, Minis, Reads

Hello everyone! I've been MIA, but truthfully behind the scenes trying to come up with a few reviews and / or minis while having a heck of a hard time getting my thoughts together. So, I thought a "this n that" post was called for since my reviewing mojo has taken a break.

First, a couple of days ago the 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Finalists were announced. As always, I check out the list to find out if any of my favorite reads or authors are included, or if there are books that may interest me. I was very happy to see a few of my favorites among the finalists: (Click on titles to read reviews)

• Gay Erotica: The Bears of Winter by Jerry L. Wheeler 
• Gay Memoir/Biography: The Prince of Los Cocuyos by Richard Blanco (read in 2015)
• Gay Mystery: Fair Game by Josh Lanyon (although I'm wondering if it's supposed to be Fair Play (2014) since Fair Game was a 2010 release?) 
• SF/F/Horror: Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas

Regretfully, the list of books by finalists still sitting in my TBR is longer than the list of books above. It was one of those years. I am going to try to read a few before the winners are announced in June.

Congratulations to everyone!
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SFF:
In February I read a few sff novellas, novelettes, and other shorts works. I reviewed two separately here and here. The two novelettes below are very different in content and structure. I liked one more than the other. Yet, they have something in common. Both stories made an impact and stayed with me long after I read them.

Of the SSF short works I read in February, my favorite was Kai Ashante Wilson's 2014 SFF novelette The Devil in America, a free online read at Tor.com that has been nominated for a Nebula Award. Last year, this author's short story Super Bass was among my favorite.

With "The Devil in America," Kai Ashante Wilson introduces fantasy elements while making a strong social statement. He combines ancient African magic with the left over legacy of slavery in America. The central story, where the fantasy elements of the story are focused, takes place in a post Civil War South. Small sections, depicting racially motivated crimes committed against African Americans throughout US history and to contemporary times, are inserted throughout to punctuate consequences of events occurring in the magical section of the narrative. This excellent novelette is short, to the point, and packs a punch.

I am also familiar with Dale Bailey's short works through his contributions to Asimov's Magazine. His novelette The End of The End of Everything is not nominated, however, in my estimation it is one of the best I read in February. Think of a dystopian earth where everything in the world is slowly dying from a sort of darkness, described as ruin, that is killing everything it touches: man-made structures as well as all living things, including man. When a couple moves to an exclusive artists' colony with a friend, his latest wife and her child, they find the wealthy, famous, and semi-famous indulging in end-of-world free-for-all dissipation and suicide parties that result in carnage. A mutilation artist becomes the ultimate horrifying temptation for the main character, a philandering poet who questions the mediocrity of his life.

This story has excellent sff elements that are utilized throughout the story as a whole. The central character works as both the focus and narrator, and the world-building although murky in its inception, is clear enough for the story's purpose. This novelette, however, is sff/horror, one that is filled with the kind of violence, blood, and mutilation that is horrifying and truthfully not for everyone. That aspect of story did not bother me personally. What this very well-written, fascinating novella was missing for me, was a real representation of the psychological torture that the living should have been experiencing. Instead everyone is portrayed as very sophisticated and for the most part clinically detached. Yet, this novelette stayed with me and I will probably reread it. There is so much going on in this story that I may have missed something. Check out that great cover illustration by Victo Ngai! Free online read at Tor.com.

FANTASY ROMANCE:

I also read Radiance, Grace Draven's latest release, Part 1 of her Wraith Kings fantasy romance series. Draven's fantasy world-building is as attractive and compelling as her characters. Imagine two cultures and peoples so different in customs and physical appearance that the other appears to them as 'monsters.' Then imagine the royal houses forging an alliance through a marriage where the bride and groom find each other so physically repulsive they have a problem looking at each other without flinching. What are the chances that they will find a happy ever after?

This fantasy romance has some gushingly sweet lines between two people who find each other physically repellent. That's because Ildiko and Brishen genuinely like each other from the moment they meet.

She drew a circle on his chin with her fingertip. "Your skin color reminds me of a dead eel I once saw on the beach."

Brishen arched an eyebrow. "Flattering, I'm sure. I thought yours looked like a mollusk we boil to make amaranthine dye."

Draven does a fantastic job of utilizing a growing friendship and understanding as a building block to romantic love. Political intrigue is well integrated with both the fantasy and romantic elements of this novel. But there are also battles of wit as well as physical battles, warriors, magic, dark, light, and more. My one niggle is the overly formal dialog that creeps in between the main characters even during intimate moments. But that was not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this story or the beautiful romantic ending to Radiance. That is until you get to the epilogue, which almost serves as a prelude to what promises to be a more politically complex and fantasy-filled series. I will not miss the next installment.

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What have I been reading recently? I just finished Vision in Silver: A Novel of the Others by Anne Bishop. More of Meg, Simon, Lakeside Courtyard and Thaisia intrigue. I'm hoping to review this book next week. I'm also trying to catch up with Patricia Brigg's Alpha & Omega UF series and finished Hunting Ground with the hopes of reading books #3 and #4 in March. Maybe I will write one of my series overviews for this one? Let's see if I get going on that!

Right now I'm attempting to read a few books: Echopraxia by Peter Watts, a hard sci-fi novel (stuck at 17%); the contemporary novella Snowed In (Kentucky Comfort #3) by Sarah Title(almost done), and We Are the Cloud by Sam J. Miller, a free online sff novelette at the Lightspeed Magazine site (just began).

Updates + Congrats to Lambda Literary Award Nominees

How is everyone doing this Friday? It has been a hard Winter and it is still cold in the Northeastern part of our country. Brrr... I'm longing for Spring and milder, easier days. On the good side, things are better at home and my husband John is recuperating nicely. :) I'm also back at work, catching up with a mountain of files.

I haven't had a chance to read a slew of books, but I'm reading some good ones. This last week I finished Cub by the talented Jeff Mann, a gay young adult romance that not surprisingly he aced. I also read Satisfaction by Sarah Mayberry, her latest self-published contemporary romance. I like.

What am I reading now? I just began the much anticipated Murder of Crows (The Others #2) by Anne Bishop . I've been itching to start it but decided to wait until today so I can just savor it and finish it in one sitting if necessary! And, I am also slowly making my way through the gay fiction anthology With edited by James Currier which I'm thoroughly enjoying.

To read, in print, I have Half-Off Ragnarok (InCryptids #3) by Seanan McGuire, and waiting in my Kindle, I have a few science fiction additions: The Waking Engine by David Edison, and two illustrated freebies from Tor.com, Burning Girls by Veronica Schanoes and Wakulla Springs by Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages .

Changing the subject, I finally got a chance to go around the web a bit to visit a few blogger friends and other favorite websites. I missed that! Anyway, yesterday I found that the list of nominees for the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards was released. I'm an avid reader of LGBT books and have been following these awards for years. I love to see which books I read and loved make it to their list, what I missed, and often make lists of new books (and authors) to try.

I would like to congratulate and wish luck to everyone whose books are on that list. Particularly to favorite author Alex Jeffers who is nominated for The Padisah’s Son and the Fox: an erotic fairy tale(Lethe Press), a book I loved, but didn't have a chance to review, and for his novel Deprivation; or, Benedetto furioso: an oneiromancy, (Lethe Press). And to those authors whose books I loved and so thoroughly enjoyed in 2013 that they made it to my list of favorites for the year:

The Rest of Us: Stories by Guy Mark Foster (Tincture/Lethe Press), In His Secret Life by Mel Bossa, (Bold Strokes Books), Boystown 5: Murder Book by Marshall Thornton (MLR Press), Death by Silver by Melissa Scott & Amy Griswold (Lethe Press), Dust Devil on a Quiet Street, Richard Bowes , (Lethe Press), and Light by ‘Nathan Burgoine (Bold Strokes Books)!! And yes to My Dear Watson by L.A. Fields (Lethe Press).

Congratulations and good luck to everyone!

This n' That: Reading & New Additions

So, I had ten days off! It was sooo nice to get away for a few days with my husband. We both disconnected from everyone and everything. For me, that included blogging and to a certain extent reading. I was rather ambitious and took my Kindle, my iPhone, and two print books with me, but did not read much. I came back home and now have the blahs... I don't feel like reading, blogging or doing much of anything.

However, I did find time for book shopping. Here's my new list: (click on titles to read summaries)

1. Conservation of Shadows by Yoon Ha Lee - Science Fiction/Fantasy
I read an interview with Yoon Ha Lee. The interview combined with the following quote from one of her short stories convinced me to buy the book:

"It is not true that the dead cannot be folded. Square becomes kite becomes swan; history becomes rumor becomes song. Even the act of remembrance creases the truth." Ghostweight

2. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris -- Collection of Humorous Essays (Reading)
I was sold on this book after watching Mr. Sedaris promoting his book in the Daily Show with Jon Stewart! I'm reading it slowly and enjoying every minute of it.

3. Minions of the Moon by Richard Bowes (Reading) - Fantasy/UF
I was introduced to Mr. Bowes's writing by way of a short story and liked the realism he used to set up his fantasy. Later his modern fairy tale book The Queen, The Cambion, and Seven Others came to my attention so I purchased it and really enjoyed it. Then last month I read his novella Grierson at the Pain Clinic in the Wilde Stories 2013 anthology and that short story grabbed my attention so I went a-hunting for Minions of the Moon!

4. Tethered (Iron Seas 2.5) by Meljean Brook - Steampunk/Romance
Okay, Meljean Brook. Iron Seas novella. 'Nuff said.

5. Wallbanger by Alice Clayton (Read) - Contemporary Romance
Last year I placed this in my "to buy" list, but found it to be way too expensive and frankly wasn't willing to invest on the print book at the time. I forgot about it until recently when Leslie reviewed it. I looked it up again and the ebook was available, better priced so I purchased it and read it before leaving on vacation.

6. True to the Law by Jo Goodman - Western Historical Romance
I love Jo Goodman's western historical romances, so this was an auto-buy. I hope it's a good one because I'm looking forward to reading it.

7. Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories by Craig Laurance Gidney - LGBT Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror

8. Bereft by Craig Laurance Gidney - LGBT YA Gay Fiction
I purchased two books by Gidney, an older release Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories, and his first, recently released novel, Bereft. I follow this author's blog, but I've never read his works. I'm looking forward to reading these two different pieces.

9. The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire #1) by Craig Johnson (Read) - Western Mystery
My husband and I watch the A&E western mystery program Longmire, based on this series by Craig Johnson. We both decided to read this book in tandem while on vacation (yes this is the only book I read).

10. Kentucky Home by Sarah Title - Western Contemporary Romance
A western contemporary romance with a really attractive blurb! That was enough for me.

11. Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older, ed. Kay T. Holt - Fantasy
I read a quote or an excerpt from one of the stories somewhere. I can't remember where! But, this book really caught my attention and I want to read it. I've looked up some reviews and it seems that it's well-loved all around. So yes, I'm looking forward to reading it...

12. The Cowboy and the Cossack by Clair Huffaker, Nancy Pearl - Western/Eastern Historical 
Hey, another western! Or is it an Eastern? This is a backlist book (1973) by Clair Huffaker that features an American cowboy, but it is set in Russia so it also features a Cossack. The different setting and blurb grabbed me. This book is part of a new collection of oldies but goodies released in ebook format under Nancy Pearl's Book Lust Rediscoveries. Pearl is a well-known, award winning librarian. Check out the books!

Summer heat finally arrived in New Jersey this last week... and this has been a beautiful weekend! The gorgeous weather is not helping, but I hope to get my reading and blogging mojo back soon. I certainly have plenty of good books to read!