Sorry the absence, but

So, it's been a while since I managed to review here.  Life sort of got away from me, and I added reviewing for another site to my list of things to do.  But, I'm back and eager to work on getting a more regular reviewing schedule happening here.

In the meantime, if you want to see the graphic novel reviewing I've been working on, check me out at No Flying, No Tights.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Stroud, Jonathan.  The Screaming Staircase: Lockwood & Co. Book One.  Disney Book Group.  September 2013.

I picked up this book, I confess, because I loved Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy, and I was hoping for something in a similar vein.  And there are certain similarities.  The story is set in an alternate England, one in which the supernatural is normal, or at least expected.  The main characters are young, adolescents with exceptional and preternatural gifts.  And the adults whose lives intersect with those of Stroud’s young heroes are often antagonistic; certainly they are not helpful or supportive.  Indeed, the book’s narrator, Lucy Carlyle, her boss, Anthony Lockwood, and colleague George Cubbins must battle not only the ghostly Visitors who infest London and Britain, but against an adult world which tries to control how and when they can use their gifts.   

But it is the differences between this new series and Bartimaeus which are perhaps most compelling.  Missing is the wonderful snark that Bartimaeus himself provides the reader with his footnoted commentaries.  That trilogy, for all its action and moments of horror, is funny.  And it is/was that humor that made me such a fan of Stroud’s previous work.  The Screaming Staircase does have flashes of that wonderful humor, often in Lucy’s thoughts about her boss and George's commentary on life in general, but overall, it is definitely more horror than comedy.

And that is no way a criticism.  Indeed, I was reminded more of Rick Yancy’s Monstrumologist series (which I also love) than Stroud’s earlier works, though I must confess there is much less bloodshed here.  From the Lucy and Lockwood’s first encounter with an angry Visitor to the group’s terrifying night in one of England’s most haunted residences, this book is legitimately, absolutely must keep reading horrifying in the best sense of the word.  The adult reader knows, logically anyway, that if a book is marketed as first in a series, the heroes must survive to see the story through.  But, J. K. Rowling showed us that not all the heroes must or do survive, that main characters can be sacrificed for the greater good.  Stroud keeps the pages turning, through twists and tangles until the dramatic climax is reached.  And, like Rowling, he both gives the reader a sense of both resolution and anticipation, closing the chapter of this particular episode while also setting up a continuing story arc to tease the reader with the next possible adventure.

Interesting, likable, and multidimensional characters with potential for continuing growth combined with a deft touch at world-building makes this first in a series novel a definite winner for both teen and adult readers.  And while the male/male/female friendship triad has become a common one in young adult fiction in recent years, Stroud's characters do not fall easily into that kind of trusting dynamic.  Instead, their relationship(s) are ones in which everyone has secrets and bonds are slow to form, even as they face ghosts and death together.  Competition, ego, disparate personalities, and those secrets conspire against Lockwood & Co, but slowly they do begin to realize they are stronger together than they are as individuals.  The Screaming Staircase offers a hint of the kind of power team this oddball group could become;  I find myself already impatiently waiting for whatever adventures will next befall Lockwood & Company.

ARC received through NetGalley.  

Cowboys and Secrets, Oh My!

Chase, L. C.  Pickup Men.  Riptide Publishing.  July 2013.

Brokeback Mountain with a happier ending?  Well, not quite.  Tripp Colby and Marty Fairgrave may be gay cowboys, but that is where the similarities stop.

The child of successful dude ranchers set to take over his family’s ranch someday, Marty Fairgrave is the sowing some wild oats on the rodeo circuit, experiencing some action and excitement before he settles down someday.  His job as a rodeo pickup man is to help capture the bulls and broncos after a cowboy rides.  Marty is well-known on the circuit, the “gay pickup man” in a sometimes hostile macho environment.

Tripp Colby is rodeo royalty, a three-time PBR champion with the rodeo world at his fingertips.  He’s also a man with a secret that threatens to destroy him.  But the burden he carries isn't merely his after-hours, under-the-covers relationship with Marty Fairgrave, but something much darker. 

Against his own ideas and beliefs, Marty has been Tripp’s secret for a long time, accepting Tripp’s unwillingness to come out despite hoping that someday Tripp will publicly stand at his side.  But when Marty throws himself between a Brahma bull and Tripp and Tripp stands aside, Marty’s forced to realize that sometimes love isn’t enough.  He deserves more than shadows, and he’s willing to walk away from Tripp to find someone willing to stand with him in the light. 

For all his accomplishments in the rodeo ring, Tripp Colby knows the truth about himself.  He’s a coward, afraid of publicly acknowledging not only Marty but the truth about himself.  Even if he wants to come out, scars on his spirit from a bitter past keep him hidden in the dark.  But when he is forced to face the real possibility of losing Marty, not only to his own fears but to another man, can Tripp dig deep to find the courage to face not only his secrets but his past?

The road to happily ever after is rarely smooth.  But this journey is filled with interesting characters, and unlike some novelists, Chase does not allow her supporting cast to be mere cardboard figures.  Kent and Bridge, Marty’s partners in crime, Eric, the hot new paramedic on the circuit, and Scott, Tripp’s competition and the embodiment of the macho cowboy world, are all given development and depth.  They are active parts of the story, not merely props in Marty and Tripp’s play.  Nor are Marty and Tripp the cowboys one might expect in an Eastwood spaghetti Western, but unique individual with their own demons, their own follies, and their own love.

In addition to her wonderful characters, who are so easy to fall in love with, Chase uses Marty and Tripp’s story to make important points about the dangers of conversion therapy, the damage effects of lying – to yourself and to others, and the healing power of forgiveness and love.  Pickup Men is sweet, provocative, hot, and uplifting.  And, it’s the first in series set in the rodeo world.  I admit, I can’t wait for the next installment to see Chase’s cowboys continue their story.

ARC received through NetGalley.

A Return to Reviewing

First, an apology.  Health and work issues have kept me away from reviewing for the last few months.  But, I'm back with new reviews to share and several books in the to-be-read pile!  The first book for this rejuvenation....College Boys by Daisy Harris.

Harris, Daisy.  College Boys.  Siren Publishing, May 2012.

Daisy Harris, I think it is safe to say, gets it – gets what the readers of this sort of erotic male romance are looking for when they pick up a book.  Her characters are sweet and endearing.  Soccer jock Chris Fisher, trying to find the space to deal with his mother’s recent death and his own transition from small-town boy to college student, has moved away from the dorm space he’s been sharing with several teammates to a small single room on the other side of campus.  No one warns him, though, that the ways in his new living space are thin, so thin that he can hear his new neighbor’s every move and word.  Enter Peter Cohen, the new neighbor in question.  Openly gay, Peter is an active member of campus gay life, including membership on the Queer Student Council.  He’s out and he’s definitely not willing to hide or deny who he is, not even for the hunky soccer player next door.

It would be easy for this story to devolve into tropes and stereotypes, but Harris keeps it fresh and interesting (and nicely steamy).  Chris’s struggles to deal with not only his own growing feelings for Peter but with what those feelings mean for his life outside their joined dorm spaces avoid melodrama and capture well the self-reflection and self-doubt that are so a part of figuring out your place in the world as a young adult.  Peter too must consider his own values and ideas, about what it means to be yourself and how to be supportive when a friend is trying to find his way through a maze of morals and preconceptions toward personal discovery.  Along the way, both Chris and Peter figure out new things about not only their growing relationship but about themselves.  And, perhaps most appealing in this novel is that the sex isn’t perfect.  It’s awkward at times, the guys are unsure and a bit insecure, and they don’t jump immediately into intercourse in their first intimate encounter.  Instead, Harris builds heat and tension, letting the sexuality evolve as the characters grow closer naturally.

Delicious steamy and with a rich authenticity of character and voice, College Boys is a great downtime read.  And, as College Boys is only a part of Harris’s Holsum College series, I have to say I greatly look forward to reading more.

Reading copy received from NetGalley.

Rock and Roll Sexy Time

Cunning, Olivia.  Double Time.  SourceBooks, 2012.

Rock and roll and hot musicians, does it get any better than that?  And Olivia Cunning’s upcoming Double Time, the newest release in a series about a fictional metal band (“Sinners on Tour”) is filled with delicious sexiness.  At the center of the story is Trey Mills, the bisexual rhythm guitarist for Sinners, who is desperately and unfortunately in love with his band’s lead guitarist, who is not only uninterested but completely in love with his wife and newborn son.  Trey’s melancholy is interrupted when he meets Reagan Elliott, the unknown guitarist who is stepping in as the newest member of Exodus End, Trey’s brother’s band.  Exodus End and Sinners are setting out on tour together, and sparks fly as Trey and Reagan’s relationship explodes into passion.  Determined to make the relationship work, Trey vows to give up on men, but can he deny his own desires?  Especially when those desires come to live in the person of Reagan’s roommate/bodyguard/ex-boyfriend Ethan – gorgeous, available, and oh-so-tempting?

Filled with delicious and frequently hilarious dialogue and steamy sex in a bounty of flavors, Double Time is a great erotic read.  Cunning’s world is peopled with interesting characters, freaks and musicians comfortable in their own lack of mainstream normality and the story feels authentic in its depictions of life on the road.  Trey, Reagan, and Ethan own their story and Cunning evolves the three-way relationship with a deft hand, balancing emotional personal evolution and the physical explorations of this unorthodox bonding perfectly.  If there is a flaw here, it is in the idea that a bisexual individual cannot be happy in a monogamous relationship, that Trey can only be happy or fulfilled with a lover of each gender, but Cunning is writing erotica, not a gender or sexuality treatise, and Double Time is clearly not meant to be a commentary on sexual orientation.    

What it is, though, is a great escapist read.  Fun, sexy, with just a touch of a mystery to keep the story rocking, Cunning moves her novel toward a great climactic confrontation and an unexpected happily-ever-after resolution, in which not only our heroes but their bandmates find satisfaction.  I highly recommend  this one to fans of non-hetero-normative romance.  And, personally, I’m eager to find the earlier volumes of this series.  While Double Time works well as a standalone, it might leave you hungry for more glimpses into the world of Sinners on tour :).

ARC received through NetGalley.

Two for One Romance

Today’s review post looks at two gay romances…Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino and Second Hand by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton.  As you can see, both books are written by women and both have a feminine feel, despite featuring male characters.  Let me start out by saying, these books are hot!  The sex scenes in both are deliciously done, with the right mix of emotion and steam to make for enjoyable leisure reading.

First, Tenino’s Frat Boy and Toppy, a fun college coming out story that introduces us to Brad, all-American jock and frat boy… who hates his own dating experiences, likes organic gardening and food preparation, and is majoring in PE because he thinks it’s expected, though he’s minoring in home economics.  Brad is discontented with his life, but he isn’t sure why until he meets Sebastian, the TA in his history class, and suddenly Brad starts to make sense of his own muddled feelings and desires.  Tenino does a good job here of playing with stereotypes…Brad, for example, uses the popular perceptions of what it means to be a college athlete and fraternity brother to hide his sexuality, even from himself, and Sebastian, the smart academic, is the more experienced sexual partner and the “toppy” of the title.  While there is certainly a happily-ever-after romantic component here, the journey to that ending is fun, with a delightful cast of supporting characters.  From Brad’s family to the marketing major ex-friend who tries to plan his coming out campaign to the frat brother who becomes “a card-carrying member of PFLAG,” Brad is surrounded by a motley band of supporters and confidants who try, successfully or not, to help him reconcile his emerging sexuality with his previous public personas.  Well-drawn and entertaining characters, a quick-moving if simple plot, and delicious sex scenes – both in Brad’s own experimentations and his relationship with Sebastian – make this a great escape read.  Even in the fun, though (and the story is fun), Tenino manages to raise interesting points on academic culture (or at least popular perceptions of campus life).  Definitely recommended.

Equally recommended is Cullinan and Sexton’s Second Hand.  Like Frat Boy and Toppy, Second Hand features a confused central character whose journey toward happiness requires that he accept himself as being something other than “normal.”  Vet school dropout and recently dumped by his fiancé Paul is struggling to maintain the rental property his ex choose and then left him with, including a seemingly endless array of useless kitchen gadgets and  her ugly art projects, and his desire to rekindle the romance is rooted more in a desire for normality – wife, children, and all that those things imply in society – than his own passions or desire.  Enter El Rozal, the local pawn shop owner—gay, cynical, and saddled with his own problems in the form of a hoarder mother and crazy extended family.  These two put the fun in dysfunction, though, when they meet as Paul seeks to bolster his finances by ridding himself of all the kitchen cast-offs and El finds himself drawn to the insecure and confused young man.  One man doesn’t want a relationship….and the other thinks he’s still in love with his ex AND that he’s too boring for anyone else to want him…and yet, somehow a Panini press and a misfit mutt manage to help bring these two very different souls together toward that elusive happy ever after.  The balance of story and steamy eroticism is well-handled, El and Paul’s relationship is as hot as it is funny (ever had to figure out what to do with your dog when you’re trying to get some action?  Yeah, it’s got that!) Second Hand is the second of a series of novels, loosely connected and set in the same charming small Colorado town with more than its share of misfits, Tucker Springs and one hopes the authors will continue to produce such works.  I look forward to finding book one and hopefully future volumes in this series.

The existence of a largely-underground market if you will of female driven male/male erotic works is something I’ve been aware of for years, but it is interesting to see publishers beginning to capitalize on the market for such works.  I’m not a gay man, so I can’t judge the appeal of these books for that market, but I definitely think both will find female readers interested in this sub-genre of erotic and romantic fiction.

ARCs received from NetGalley.

Coming of age and coming out

Lavoie, Jennifer.  Andy Squared.  Bold Strokes Books, 2012.

Coming of age and coming out are two themes that appear frequently, not only in literature for young adults, but in literature as a whole.  Indeed, they appear often enough that, done poorly, the story can quickly slip into cliché.  In Andy Squared, Jennifer Lavoie does a fine job of avoiding that slide as she details the coming of age and coming out experiences of a small-town soccer hero struggling to find his own path to maturity.  Andrew and Andrea, both nicknamed Andy, are twins who share starring positions on their respective soccer teams, a bedroom, and plans for college.  But the comfortable shared pattern of their lives is rocked when Ryder, handsome, charming, and a little exotic, moves to their small New York town from Texas.  As his friendship with Ryder grows, Andrew discovers a new hobby, new dreams, and the reason why none of his relationships with girls has ever worked out.  As their relationship becomes both romantic and physical, Andrew struggles to come to terms with this new identity, finding surprising support along the way.  But when their secret is exposed to small-town high school minds, will Andrew be strong enough to admit, to himself and to the world, the truth about his relationship with Ryder?  And will his relationship with his twin ever be the same?  Lavoie is deft and careful with her subject, crafting a story that will work for most high school-aged readers.  While the implication of sex is present, both with Andrew’s past girlfriends and with Ryder, such activities are off-screen; kissing is as far as Lavoie takes her details.  This lack of physicality allows the story to focus on the emotional struggles of learning something new about yourself and finding a place for your new self in a world that perhaps isn’t ready for that personal evolution.  From her teenage protagonists and their supporting cast of friends to the adults that guide and support both Andrew and Ryder, Lavoie’s characters are interesting and well-drawn; if there is a lack at all here, it’s that Andrea, Andrew’s sister, is a bit shallowly drawn.  It would have been interesting perhaps to see more of her internal thoughts, though certainly her actions for good and for ill do allow the reader to judge her and the relationship between the two. 

Andy Squared is definitely a recommended title for readers, male or female, gay or straight, who are struggling with establishing an individual identity outside of the expectations of the people who love them.

ARC received from NetGalley.