Showing posts with label 5 stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5 stars. Show all posts
Book Review: Lab Rat by Nephy Hart
by Nephy Hart
M/M Sci-fi/Paranormal/New Adult
Wayward Ink Publishing
Buy Links: Allromance | iTunes | Wayward Ink
Lab Rat will be on sale from May 4th to 7th with 30% off list price at Wayward Ink.
5 Stars
Blurb:
At thirteen, Gabriel was subjected to experimentation designed to awaken latent psychic abilities.
He’s been locked in a downward spiral of self-destruction ever since.
Then one night he meets Laurie, who is the antithesis of everything Gabriel’s become: cheerful, optimistic, and comfortable in his own skin.
Laurie pursues Gabriel. But Gabriel no longer believes in love. With a dark past and a history of disastrous relationships, he’s promised himself ‘no more’. Laurie, however, won’t let go, no matter how many obstacles Gabriel places in his way.
When Gabriel starts hearing voices in his head, he realizes they belong to the scientists who experimented on him. Worse, they’re trying to track him down.
With the past nipping at his heels, Gabriel and Laurie flee together.
Can they outrun the enemy? Can they save Gabriel before either his life or his sanity are forfeit?
And is Gabriel as helpless as he, or Laurie, thinks he is?
***
Review 5 Stars:
Art student Gabriel is in pain, both physical and mental. He suffers from debilitating migraines, pain so bad that he can hardly move. Sometimes he blacks out with no warning. He's been to various doctors, being passed from one department to another but the doctors don't know what's wrong with him. He has fits, but he doesn't have epilepsy, he hears voices, but he isn't schizophrenic. Gabriel is convinced the doctors don't believe him and think that it's all in his head and no medication seems to work.
He's already been in a mental hospital and he doesn't want to go back, so he doesn't go back to the doctors to tell them the medications aren't working. After losing two lovers, Gabriel is convinced that he himself is toxic and that no one should come anywhere near him and he pushes everyone away, fearing he'll hurt them or worse when he has one of his episodes. He feels he doesn't deserve to be loved.
And then he meets Laurie. Laurie with bright blue eyes and the face of an angel who keeps coming back no matter how many times Gabriel pushes him away. And it's Laurie who has to make him see that he is worth something.
I made the mistake of starting this book late at night when I was in bed. A few hours later, eyes gritty, I had to put it down, but only because I was so tired.
It was gripping from the very first page. The reader knows something has happened to Gabriel in the past, but we don't find out what until later in the book and it makes you keep reading. The plot is excellent, well-paced and the writing flows well.
Gabriel is so damaged, but I really related to him in this book. I too had spent years being sent from one doctor to another to try and find out what was wrong with me, at times half-convinced I was mad too, but finally I got the right specialist, the right diagnosis and treatment. I have migraine associated vertigo and like Gabriel when I have an attack I can barely move.
Laurie, oh Laurie, I think I am a little in love with him. Laurie is the light to Gabriel's darkness, he is a knight in shining armour, which may be dented in places, but hasn't lost any of its lustre.
I'm not normally a fan of present tense for novels, but it's a testament to the author's skill that after I while I didn't even notice what tense it was, the story was so engrossing.
I love angst, and this book has angst by the bucketload, but it has hope and love too. In a word, perfect.
Book Review: Beta Test by Annabeth Albert
by Annabeth Albert
Carina Press
M/M Contemporary/Friends to Lovers
Release Date: May 30 2016
5 Stars
ARC from Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher
Blurb:
Ravi Tandel is ahead of the game. He’s a top video game developer and he just got asked to present a top-secret project at a huge gaming conference in Seattle. All systems are a go…until he learns his office nemesis is coming along for the ride. Player vs. Player. Fight!
Newly minted MBA Tristan Jones doesn’t seem like the gaming type but he knows the business inside-out. Together, they’ll give an awesome presentation – they just have to survive the cross-country trip. Ravi’s opinion of Tristan is rebooted when he discovers a softer side to the conservative charmer and a new tension builds between them.
Despite their best efforts to keep it casual, things heat up quickly. Tristan is hiding his true self for fear of what his parents might think. Ravi knows that feeling all too well, but he didn’t disconnect from his family years ago only to hide who he is now. To be together, Tristan has to push past his fear and ultimately decide, does he want a future with Ravi? Or is it game over?
***
Review 5 Stars:
Ravi and Tristan both start working at the same video game company on the same day, but the two of them couldn't be more different.
Ravi is out and proud, loves to be the centre of attention, has lots of friends and volunteers for lots of gay charities. His desk is like him: full of personality and no holds barred.
Tristan on the other hand is semi-closeted, has few close friends and his idea of casual Friday is to perhaps loosen his tie a little. He likes order, needs everything to fit into a neat little box and Ravi's out and out gayness makes him uncomfortable. Does he have to broadcast it?
At a work dinner, Ravi finally decides to have it out with Tristan, for he thinks Tristan's discomfort is actually homophobia. But their little argument is overheard by most of the staff at the dinner, and now Tristan is out at work, whether he wanted to be or not. Ravi feels like heel for outing Tristan in public like that and resolves to make it to him.
He gets his chance, when after a food poisoning disaster with most of the other developers out of action, he and Tristan are the only two who can make it the big gaming convention in Seattle. There's one big problem though: the two who were supposed to go on the trip were a married couple and since the hotels are all fully booked, they have to make do with what was already on the reservation: one room.
I have to admit I have a soft spot for characters who have to endure some sort of forced closeness, such as a hotel room, or they get stuck in a broken lift, what have you. And Beta Test was no different, I really enjoyed the fact that our two heroes had to share the room or else.
This book has something that seems rare in a lot of fiction these days, it was almost like discovering a unicorn. The characters talk, they talk a lot and get to know each other before they jump into bed together (shared rooms or not.) You could see they really cared about each other and despite what they both at first told themselves, it wasn't casual sex. They were connected on an emotional as well as physical level and it really shone through in the love scenes.
They were hot, sensual, with vivid descriptions without resorting to being coarse. They are love scenes at the most fundamental level, not sex scenes.
Tristan had a lot of hang-ups about sex, his ex had told him he wasn't very good in bed, and he believed it. Tristan thought that once Ravi had a taste of just how terrible he was, Ravi would soon lose interest. Ravi is appalled that someone would actually say that to a lover and he sets out to show Tristan just how very good he is, and sets about teaching him.
Ravi and Tristan are both different characters, but they do say opposites attract, and I had no feelings of disconnection when reading about these two getting together. They were like jigsaw puzzle pieces that fit together just right. They both had some things in common of course, both had family dramas to deal with, but this book was low on the angst. Not that I mind angst, it was just good to see something different, something a bit lighter for a change.
Well written with lovable, sympathetic characters, Beta Test was a joy from first page to last and I still find myself smiling when I think of Ravi and Tristan. Now, that takes some doing - to keep thinking about the characters after the last page is turned.
Book Review: The Runaway Model by Parker Avrile
The Runaway Model
Book 1
by Parker Avrile
M/M Contemporary/Suspense
Release Date Feb 17
Review: 5 Stars
http://www.therunawaymodel.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Parker-Avrile/e/B018V1QOKE
Kyle's music blog gets a boost from rumours about his affair with a closeted rock star, but his followers have no idea of the reality of his life on the streets of Vegas. Men? He only lets them get close enough to pick their pockets.
Until Bryce-- a wildcat who struck it rich in North Dakota. He wants one last wild weekend without the bodyguards hovering. The hustler with the sexy English accent seems perfect for no-strings sex. But now Bryce can't get Kyle out of his head. Especially since that tempting smile is suddenly on every other magazine cover...
Kyle can steal a heart as easily as a precious sapphire. But can he keep the heart he stole once the truth is out about his past?
If you like contemporary gay romance with real characters in a setting that's a little glitzy and a little gritty, you'll love The Runaway Model. This full-length 75,000 novel is a complete in one volume, and it's absolutely cliffhanger free.
Review 5 Stars:
Kyle Marchane is being stalked by a teacher at his school. Everywhere Kyle goes, the man is there too and he can't seem to avoid him. The teacher, Roman Nigel, hasn't actually done anything incriminating quite yet, almost as if he knows what he can get away with, as if he's done this before. He stands too close, invades Kyle's space and Kyle's instincts are clearly telling him something is not quite right and he should get as far away from the man as possible,
So Kyle starts skipping school, turns to petty thievery, even taking things he doesn't like or will never use. His one light in the darkness of being stalked is his music blogs and the fandom of Stoney Rockland, his idol. When Stoney himself reblogs some of Kyle's posts, rumours abound on the internet that Kyle and Stoney might be an item. If only it was true, it would be Kyle's dream come true.
But the shadow of Roman Nigel hangs over everything and then he starts dating his mother. Kyle thinks it's a ploy in order to get to him and he runs away from home and to Las Vegas. But even in the USA he isn't safe.
Kyle survives on the streets of Las Vegas for a couple of years, not by selling his body as many do, but by stealing from those men who seem to linger on looking at him a little too long, a little too familiar. Kyle is not for sale, but he feels no qualms about stealing to survive.
Bryce has made his millions in the oil industry, very conservative most of the time and he is not exactly out. He spots Kyle in a piano bar and something about him draws him in. It's not the first time Bryce has picked someone up in a bar for a bit of fun, it's almost expected in Las Vegas. What he didn't expect was how strong his feelings were Kyle were. Even running to his rescue when Roman Nigel turns up again.
He knows he shouldn't get involved, but he can't turn his back on Kyle, no matter what. Not even if it seems like Kyle is in a relationship with a rock-star. How can Bryce compare with that?
This was an amazing story. There was angst, drama, true love, the stalker from hell and one heck of an adventure with Kyle and Bryce.
Kyle was such a lonely soul it shone through from the page, but he wasn't one to sit around moping feeling sorry for himself. He was a fighter and he clawed his way up from the streets of Vegas to be a New York cover model and someone in his own right.
At its heart, I think this is a coming of age tale, both of Kyle and Bryce. Bryce comes to terms with his feelings for Kyle and his own orientation. The two of them were so good together, you just knew this was going to be more than a one night stand.
Even though they spent a lot of the book apart, this is a love story. It's not a romance and chocolates love story, it's more deeper, more emotional than that. Both are damaged characters and help each other heal.
This is not a fluffy read, but it is a compelling one and I was captivated from the first page.
Book Review: Viscount's Wager by Ava March
Viscount's Wager
Gambling on Love #3
by Ava March
M/M Historical Romance/Regence
Carina Press
Review Copy via Netgalley
5 Stars
Blurb:
You never forget your first love, but is a second chance worth the gamble?
Anthony, Viscount Rawling, knows exactly what he wants in life and he isn't above having a look about London for it. When he spots recently widowed Gabriel Tilden at a ton function, he thinks he might have found love…again.
Gabriel is as gorgeous and reserved as he was when he broke Anthony's heart seven years ago. But they were only adolescents then…surely Anthony won't hold the incident against him. And especially not when the attraction between them is stronger than ever.
Gabriel came to London in search of distraction, and a teasing Anthony is impossible to resist. As Anthony introduces Gabriel to the pleasures that can be found in the city—and in his bedchamber—their bond deepens into something more. Yet both men are hiding secrets that could pull them apart forever…
Review:
At age sixteen, Anthony got his heart's desire for a brief moment: Gabriel, the older boy he'd been in love with for ages kissed him at a house party at Gabriel's family estate. Then, a scant few hours later he had it broken. Gabriel had been caught with a young woman and no chaperone in sight and to save the lady's reputation, Gabriel offered for her hand.
Now, seven years later, Anthony has inherited the viscounty after his father's death, and Gabriel has become a recent widow.
Anthony is a dutiful son, escorting his mother and sister to their social engagements and it is by chance that he meets Gabriel again at a musical evening. Still as handsome as ever, and still apt to make Anthony's heart fly out of his chest, he offers to show Gabriel around London.
Gabriel reluctantly agrees, for he feels he would be deserving of Anthony snubbing him after their history, but it seems Anthony isn't one to hold a grudge and soon Gabriel is feeling as much in love with Anthony as he had been that awful day when he got engaged.
Gabriel didn't love his wife, he feels guilty that he isn't mourning her death more, and guilty over these feelings he has for Anthony, another man. Gabriel feels he doesn't deserve love in any form and he spends most of his evenings gambling away his scant fortune, just for the chance to feel something other than guilt.
Every few days he seeks out Anthony for a brief interlude of wild passion, but he hardly ever stays the night and Anthony is beginning to feel used rather than loved. He doesn't know how to make Gabriel see that he is 'the one' and that two men can find happiness even in a time when it was illegal, as long as they are discreet.
Ava March is rapidly becoming one of my favourite Regency authors. She loves the time she is writing about and it shows. Everything you expect to be in a Regency romance is here: from gentlemen's clubs like White's, to taking a ride around Hyde Park, musical evenings, balls and soirees, the marriage market of the Season, it's all here.
This is the third book in a series, but I hadn't read the others (yet) and this book works perfectly well as a standalone.
The pacing is good, the dialogue flows well and doesn't seem out of place in a Regency. The love scenes sizzle with sensuality, with a good blend of emotion and eroticism. The connection between them shines through and the love scenes flowed well within the story, they didn't seem tacked on just to have sex in there.
My heart broke for Anthony after his hopes were dashed so soon after their first kiss and it was Anthony who I felt most close to as I was reading. I'm glad we got to see inside Gabriel's head though, otherwise some of the things he did, he would have come across as some sort of cad. As it was, you know his guilt and his conflicted feelings and so you can empathise more with him.
It was a wonderful read to get lost in for a few hours.
Book Review: Make em Laugh by Vikkie Moule
Make 'em Laugh
by Vikkie Moule
M/M Contemporary
5 Stars
Love is the cosmic joke of which we are all the butt.
Gregory firmly believed this and in his fifteen years of professional stand-up comedy he had seen nothing to the contrary. Then Jacob came along. Jacob, with his dimples, his abs and his dreams of becoming a social justice lawyer, was more than Gregory Vannozzo had ever bargained for.
Jacob Mackay was young, qualified, and ready to shoot for the stars, ready to do his family proud, ready to make the world a better place. The only problem was, he wasn’t ready for Gregory.
Love, life, sarcasm and chocolate fondue all take their place in a story that starts when a stand-up comic walks into a bar.
Review:
This was a wonderful, sweet slice of life book which tackles, love, life, laughter, chocolate and more, and not necessarily in that order.
Gregory is estranged from most of his family since he came out as bisexual as a teenager and has had so many terrible relationships in his past that they become part of his stand-up routine. He's not really looking for anything when he starts bantering with Jacob, the hot young barman at the club he's performing in.
Jacob has just finished law school and is preparing for his bar exam, and holding down two jobs to help with expenses and he is not looking for a relationship at the moment, his plate is full enough as it is. But Gregory's jokes amuse him and Jacob decides to go outside his comfort zone for once and gives Gregory his number.
The rest as they say, is history. Or not quite, for the course of true love never runs smooth, at least not in books. Gregory is prone to bouts of depression, and pushes everyone away, including Gregory when he gets into one of his moods.
Jacob is stressed about his upcoming exam, worried about disappointing his family, with a protective older foster-brother who is keen to know Gregory's "intentions".
The book was romantic without being sappy, funny without being cheesy and I just adored Gregory and Jacob. They seem very well suited. I think Gregory has the same sense of humour as my husband: one scene had Jacob and Gregory at a post art gallery, where Gregory was making sarcastic comments about all of the works on display and they got thrown out, I could well imagine that happening with my husband. So too with the way Gregory answers the phone. It's never something as simple as "Hello" for Gregory, but something funny.
Not to say everything was sweetness and light, there was a bit of angst in parts, but that just made the sweeter parts all the sweeter for what the characters had been through before. I'd say the heat level was low to medium, there was one explicit scene, but most were fade to black. I would have preferred a bit less fade to black, but maybe that's just me ;)
All in all a very enjoyable read.
Book Review: Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll
Late Summer, Early Spring
by Patricia Correll
Dreamspinner Press
M/M Historical Fantasy/
Japan/Folktales/Supernatural
5 Stars
Review Copy from Netgalley
Blurb:
Hour of the Lotus
General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. Iwata's current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general's unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favourite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When they discover the true cause of the illness, they will have to battle an ancient spirit and survive.
Fox Hunter
Lord General Iwata Sho sets out in search of the mysterious Fox Hunter. When he finds his former lover, Hiroshi, he discovers a changed man, scarred inside and out and consumed by vengeance. Together with Narita’s grown son Daigo, Iwata and Hiroshi pursue the malicious spirit as it leaves bloodshed in its wake. Iwata worries about what will become of Hiroshi when the fox is defeated—if Hiroshi’s revenge doesn’t kill him first.
Review:
I have to admit that I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover of two Japanese samurai warriors, but it was the writing and the characters that made me stay drawn.
This book combines the two novellas Hour of the Lotus and Fox Hunter, but both go well together and could also stand on their own.
General Iwata has been in love with his Prince, Narita, but he also knows it will be forever unrequited, for Prince Narita loves only women. It's not overtly stated whether or not the prince knows about Iwata's love for him or not, but I think he probably does.
The prince is suffering from an unknown illness, something seems to be draining his life force and everyone in the palace is worried; from the wives and concubines to the soldiers in the Imperial army.
The prince's favourite concubine is a sister of Hiroshi, Iwata's current lover, which complicates matters somewhat. When Hiroshi insists that the woman purporting to be his sister is an imposter, Iwata believes him at once, for Hiroshi is not given to idle fancy.
The culprit is a kitsune - a fox shape-changer who has taken on the guise of the concubine in order to kill the prince.
The second book takes place eight years later, with Hiroshi having been gone those eight years trying to hunt down the fox and seek revenge.
I enjoy books that take you on a journey to undiscovered places and legends, and Late Summer, Early Spring, certainly does that. With vivid, lush descriptions, you can see, smell and hear everything the characters do. I also loved the names, such as the Nightingale Court for the wives and concubines. It conjured up something strange and exotic.
Hiroshi and Iwata are both troubled characters and you really feel for them. The love scenes are fade to black, but there is no doubt that the two of them are lovers and not just friends. Parts were bittersweet, but it was a wonderful story to get lost in for a few hours.
Perfect for fans of historical fantasy or paranormal stories.
Book Review: Dazzle Me by Ophelia Gränd
Dazzle Me
by Ofelia Gränd
M/M Contemporary/Short Story
5 Stars
Beaten Track Publishing
Part of "Summer Bigger Than Others - A Summer Anthology" from Beaten Track Publishing.
Tom has been planning for months, but in those plans he never once found himself on a spa table in Bangkok on his and Santino's one year anniversary. He doesn't do aeroplanes, doesn't like the tropical climate, and he does not do spas.
Yet there he is, without a stitch of clothing, and with a man he's never met before. He'll do his best to enjoy his day and then he'll give Santino the best anniversary imaginable, even if it means he has to be covered in chopped-up veggies on him for an entire day...
...if only it were veggies.
***
Tom has been planning a big anniversary surprise for his lover Santino for months. He has booked them time away at a romantic hotel suite and he intends to propose on their anniversary.
But the path of true love never does run smooth and Santino has to take a work trip to Thailand when their anniversary would fall.
Tom doesn't like planes, doesn't like flying and he wilts like a flower in tropical heat. But he can't turn down Santino's invitation to accompany him on the business trip, even if it means doing things he'd rather not do.
Things go from bad to worse for our luckless lovers. Tom's bag goes missing, the bag with the engagement ring in it and then their reservation is lost and they have to put up with a single room at the hotel. Santino has booked a full day at a spa for Tom while he's off working, and Tom agrees, if only to keep his lover happy. He soon wishes he stayed at the hotel.
This was a fun, light-hearted read. It's told from Tom's point of view, so we only get to see Santino through Tom's eyes and it is pretty obvious from the start that Tom is madly in love with him and will do anything for him. Even if it means enduring some rather unorthodox spa treatments. I was squriming along with Tom at some of them, especially the fish pedicure. I have a phobia about fish, but it didn't panic me too much as it wasn't my feet in the tank, thank goodness.
A very enjoyable, romantic story.
Book Review: Silent Woods by Ofelia Gränd
Silent Woods
by Ofelia Gränd
M/M Contemporary/Paranormal/Established Relationship
Wayward Ink Publishing
Novella Length
5 Stars
Blurb:
When Daniel’s husband Anders takes the family camping in the woods, Daniel can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.
He almost dismisses his fears as nothing more than his dislike of the great outdoors, but when the couple’s five-year-old son Axel goes missing, his worst fears are confirmed.
A search party reveals something more sinister than either man could ever have dreamed of encountering in the woods. Can they find Axel and save him before it’s too late?
Review:
Daniel is city born and bred, he doesn't like nature or the countryside. He's very protective of their two adopted children and worries, even when they are safe in their walled garden.
His husband Anders is the nature lover and he wants the children to experience the countryside on a camping trip, like he used to do as a child. Reluctantly Daniel agrees to a camping trip of only two nights away in a nearby forest.
But Daniel is constantly worried - what do they do if they meet cows, do cows attack or bite? (This line amused me because I remember traipsing through a field in New Zealand filled with sheep, and I panicked - "They're looking at me!" Needless to say, we weren't attacked by the sheep!)
Anders tries to play down his husband's fears, as he doesn't want his nervousness to rub off on the children. They spend some time hiking and exploring, with Anders and Daniel finding some alone time once the children are asleep, a sweet love scene that shows you how much these two men love each other, more than mere words could say.
Daniel thinks the woods are odd, more so than he expected. There is no noise: no birdsong, no rustling of leaves in the wind, in fact there is no wind at all. And where are all the animals and insects? The forest feels deserted except for them.
But it's the second day when they face a parent's worse nightmare: their son Axel goes missing in the middle of the woods. And when the police come, the detective informs them there have been some unexplained drownings in a lake formed from an old quarry. Something in the lake wants Axel but Daniel and Anders won't give him up without a fight.
This was a short, but intense book, starting off very simply as a slice of family life but then the tension starts to ratchet up. You just have to keep reading.
I felt closest to Daniel, as if I had children I would be a nervous wreck and never want to let them out of my sight too, but I liked Anders too. The children are just adorable and I loved how Maja kept mispronouncing her brother's name as Askel.
We get into a bit of Swedish folklore/mythology, and I love stories with a bit of folklore, it must be my Irish genes.
Although shorter than a full-length novel, nothing feels skimped on - there is a good plot, good characterisation and a story that keeps you guessing until the very end.
The ending chilled me but I won't spoil it here. You just have to read it for yourself.
Book Review: Alpha, Delta by R.J. Scott
Alpha, Delta
RJ Scott
Release Date: February 2, 2015
Genre: Erotic Romance, M/M, Contemp, Action/Adventure, RomSuspense
Publisher: ARe
5 Stars
Book Description:
Officer Finn Hallan has never run from a fight. With Niall’s life and love at stake, he’s not about to start now…
Finn Hallan is a member of the elite Norwegian Emergency Response Unit, code name Delta. When the team is sent to respond to a hostage situation on an oil platform in the Norwegian Sea, he has to face demons he thought he had buried a long time ago.
Scottish engineer Niall Faulkner’s skills in oil platform decommissioning takes him to the Forseti platform at the worst possible time. When he’s captured by terrorists, his only thought is that he will never get to tell his lover how he really feels.
Can Finn keep Niall alive? Or will they both die at the hands of hijackers in the frigid waters of the Norwegian Sea?
***
Review:
Niall Faulkner is an engineer working with companies to decommission oil platforms safely and ecologically. He spends a lot of his time on oil-rigs with a few meetings each year to give safety talks to the oil company employees back on land. His life consists of routine and he never expected to fall instantly in lust at one of the meetings, which were normally quite dull affairs, even for him.
Finn Hallan is Niall's every dream come to life: he's drop-dead gorgeous, over six-foot tall and towers over Niall and he exudes sex-appeal from every pore. It doesn't help that Finn is part of Delta, the Norwegian special forces team that protects the seas around Norway, and the oil fields Niall works on. Niall always did have a soft spot for a man in uniform and Finn fits his uniform very well.
Finn too is enamoured straightaway with the nerdy scientist in his glasses, who stumbles more than walks and seems out of his depth. Finn thinks it's adorable and he sets his sights on Niall.
Now, normally I am not one for a book where two characters meet and fall into bed together straightaway, but boy did it work for these two characters! The sexual tension simmered between them from the beginning and the love scene itself was so hot I was surprised I didn't burn my fingers holding my Kindle. It was passionate, sensual, erotic and romantic too.
Their one night stand turns into Niall and Finn getting together a few times over the next few months, but Finn rarely stays the night and Niall wonders where it's all going.
He's in love with Finn, but Niall doesn't really do love, or he never has before. That all changes when Niall is taken hostage on board an oil-rig he was set to decommission by terrorists.
Although a short novella, the book is a complete story. It has eveything you need; romance, adventure, tension and the hottest love scenes I've read in a book for a long time. Finn and Niall were wonderful, I adored both of them and you'll be rooting for them to get their happy ever after. An excellent read.
***
About the Author:
RJ Scott has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies. She was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.
As an avid reader herself, she can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, her first real true love will always be the world of romance where she takes cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and writes dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men.
With over sixty titles to her name and counting, she is the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway. She is also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.
Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.
Always thrilled to hear from her readership, please contact her via the following links below:
Website: http://www.rjscott.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.rjscott
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rjscott_author
Book Review & Giveaway: A Taste of You by Irene Preston
A Taste of You
by Irene Preston
M/M Contemporary
Fated Desires Publishing
Expected Release Date: 15 March 2015
5 Stars
Blurb:
Hell’s Kitchen has nothing on the flames Giancarlo and Garrett ignite at Restaurant Ransom...
Garrett Ransom is America’s hot chef du jour. He has a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City, a hit reality TV show, and a new man in his bed every week. Yes, he secretly thinks his business partner, Giancarlo “Carlo” Rotolo, is hotter than a ghost pepper, but he would never jeopardize their friendship with a fling. Then Garrett overhears some juicy gossip among the crew and realizes he’ll have to break Giancarlo’s cardinal rule, no banging the staff - for Carlo’s own good, of course. Just a taste of Carlo should be plenty. Long-term relationships aren’t on Garrett’s menu.
Giancarlo’s been in love with Garrett forever. He’s sure Garrett will eventually realize they are destined to be more than business partners. But when Garrett installs his latest boyfriend as their new chef d’cuisine and announces plans to leave Carlo in New York while he opens a second restaurant on the west coast, Carlo is forced to re-evaluate his life.
Can a high-strung British chef and a nice Italian boy from Brooklyn find the perfect fusion of fine-dining and family-style?
Review:
Garrett and Giancarlo have been best friends since college and for the past ten years have been business partners too in the upscale restaurant, Ransom. They each have the same golden rule: no romantic entanglements with anyone at work and for the most part that seems to work.
But Carlo has been in love with Garrett forever and his heart breaks a little bit more each time Garrett has the new lover of the week, or the night. He seems to have a different man on his arm each time Carlo sees him. With his successful television show, Ransom Me, doing well out in California, Garrett wants to open a new Ransom restaurant on the West Coast. It means they would hardly see each other and Carlo becomes increasingly morose as the day of Garrett's departure draws nearer.
He doesn't think he'll ever have a chance with Garrett, so he decides that he needs something just for himself, not anything to do with Garrett, so he decides to take up his cousin Joey's offer to open a family style restaurant with him.
Garrett is jealous of all the time Carlo is spending away from Ransom and he overhears some of the staff gossiping about a man Carlo would have no chance with. That annoys Garrett even more, any man would be lucky to have Carlo and he decides it's time to break their cardinal rule. He will go after Carlo and show this other man what he's missing, unaware that he is the man Carlo wants.
This book was wonderful from start to finish. We had a bit of everything, there was angst, there was humour, there was romance, there was passion, both in the kitchen and out of it. Food plays a major part and you could tell these two characters love their restaurant, despite the hard work involved.
The main story was between Carlo and Garrett, but the side characters were well drawn too, everyone had their part to play. The love scenes sizzled hotter than anything they ever cooked at Ransom, made all the more poignant I think, because Carlo had been waiting years to get his man. Everything Carlo did, he did for Garrett, but for a while Garrett was too dense to see it. Thankfully he woke up. I adored both of them and wanted so much for things to work out between them. They were perfect for each other.
A well-written, sensual romance that will leave you smiling at the end.
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Book Review: Greenwode by J. Tullos Henning
Book One of The Wode
J Tullos Hennig
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Robin Hood
Publisher: DSP Publications
Date of Publication: Oct. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-63216-437-7 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-63216-438-4 eBook
ASIN: B00NPD85GU
Number of pages: 350
Word Count: 151,000
Cover Artist: Shobana Appavu
Book Description:
The Hooded One. The one to breathe the dark and light and dusk between....
When an old druid foresees this harbinger of chaos, he also glimpses its future. A peasant from Loxley will wear the Hood and, with his sister, command a last, desperate bastion of Old Religion against New. Yet a devout nobleman's son could well be their destruction—Gamelyn Boundys, whom Rob and Marion have befriended. Such acquaintance challenges both duty and destiny. The old druid warns that Rob and Gamelyn will be cast as sworn enemies, locked in timeless and symbolic struggle for the greenwode's Maiden.
Instead, a defiant Rob dares his Horned God to reinterpret the ancient rites, allow Rob to take Gamelyn as lover instead of rival. But in the eyes of Gamelyn’s Church, sodomy is unthinkable... and the old pagan magics are an evil that must be vanquished.
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/yA7dGnKlASs
On Sale for .99
Available at Amazon | BN | iTunes | Audible
Review: 5 Stars
The computer finally worked again thanks to my husband and I got it back :)
I've been a Robin Hood fangirl since I was about five years old. Now, many years later, I sitll am so I snapped up the chance to review this Robin Hood book with a male/male romance.
Ms. Henning has created a wonderfully well-crafted tale based on the Robin Hood legends, but has made it uniquely her own here.
This book takes place in the years before Rob becomes Robin Hood. We get to see his childhood, his parents and his sister Marion and how childhood friendship with the local lord's son becomes something more as they get older.
Rob's family still follows the old Pagan religion, his mother is a healer and a herb wife, but some do not see that - they see a witch. Gamelyn's family is very devout Christian and as the third son with little inheritence to speak of, Gamelyn is expected to enter the Church. For years he thought that was the path that lay before him, for he had never found himself being attracted to women and didn't dally with the serving girls like his brother did.
All that changes one day when Gamelyn catches Rob and one of the stable lads at his father's castle in a lovers' tryst and Gamelyn realises that as well as the sudden arousal at their antics, he also feels jealous. Rob is just a friend, isn't he?
But the path of love doesn't run smooth for our two heroes. Gamelyn is conflicted with his faith and with his feelings for Rob and after they cement their physical attraction, Gamelyn runs, shocked and ashamed at what they did and seeks out confession with his father's chaplain, Brother Dolfin. Gamelyn is even more shocked to discover that Dolfin even knew of such things. "I come from a community of men, do you really think such things are unknown to me?"
Gamelyn struggles with his feelings for Rob, as Rob does with him. For Rob is the Hunter and expected to lie with the Maiden in the Great Marriage of Beltane, but Rob doesn't want a maiden, he never has. He always knew he liked men, but his previous encounters had felt nothing like being with Gamelyn. Being with Gamelyn feels like destiny and he will not turn away from it.
The book is passionate, sensual, romantic, filled with adventure, magic and mysticism that you want keep you reading to see what happens next. It's quite a long book, but it didn't feel long. I was so engrossed the pages just flew by. The conflict between the old and new religions was well-handled and balanced and left you thinking. The main antagonist is Gamelyn's cousin, Abbess Elisabeth, who decides Gamelyn has been bewitched by Rob and his friends and needs to be saved from himself. She does some terrible things, but she thinks she is doing what is right.
The world building is detailed, lush and descriptive and the author has a way with words that leave you breathless. You can almost feel the wind ruffle your hair, or smell the earthy scents of the greenwood. Rob and Gamelyn's love scenes are sensual and erotic without being coarse or crude and it's not so much the physical aspects as it's the emotional connection between the characters. Rob and Gamelyn were both wonderfully drawn characters, as were everyone else. Everyone had their part to play. It was an emotional roller-coaster with triumphs and tragedy.
It does end on a bit of a cliff-hanger, which I hope will be addressed in the sequel, Shire Wode. (and having a quick look at Goodreads, yes it does, yay!)
In short, it was a fantastic read and left the Robin Hood fangirl in me very happy. And the author's note mentioned various Robin Hood inspirations, including my favourite, the 80's television show, Robin of Sherwood.
***
About the Author:
J Tullos Hennig has maintained a few professions over a lifetime--artist, dancer, equestrian--but never successfully managed to not be a writer. Ever. Since living on an island in Washington State merely encourages--nay, guarantees--already rampant hermetic and artistic tendencies, particularly in winter, Jen has become reconciled to never escaping this lifelong affliction. Comparisons have also been made to a bridge troll, one hopefully emulating the one under Fremont Bridge: moderately tolerant, but. You know. Bridge troll.
Jen is blessed with an understanding spouse, kids, and grandkids, as well as alternately plagued and blessed with a small herd of horses and a teenaged borzoi who alternates leaping over the furniture with lounging on it.
And, for the entirety of a lifetime, Jen has been possessed by a press gang of invisible ‘friends’ who Will. Not. S.T.F.U.
www.jtulloshennig.net
https://www.facebook.com/jtullos.hennig
https://www.facebook.com/TheWodeBooks
Blog Tour/Review & Giveaway: A Minor Inconvenience by Sarah Granger
by Sarah Granger
M/M Historical Romance
Samhain Publishing
5 Stars
Purchase Links:
Amazon | BN | Kobo | Goodreads
Duty, honor, propriety…all fall in the face of love.
Captain Hugh Fanshawe returned from the Peninsular War with a leg that no longer works properly, thanks to a French musket ball. Now his fight against Napoleon is reduced to quiet, lonely days compiling paperwork at Horse Guards headquarters.
His evenings are spent dutifully escorting his mother and sister to stifling social engagements, where his lameness renders him an object of pity and distaste. But his orderly, restricted life is thrown into sudden disarray with the arrival of Colonel Theo Lindsay.
Theo is everything Hugh is not—a man of physical perfection and easy yet distinguished address. Surprisingly to Hugh, Theo appears to be interested in making his acquaintance. Lindsay turns out to be a most convivial companion, and Hugh finds great pleasure in his company. Their friendship deepens when they become lovers.
In spite of himself, Hugh falls desperately in love. But when a French spy is suspected at Horse Guards, Hugh discovers nothing is as it seems…and the paper he shuffles from day to day could be the instrument of his lover’s death.
***
Review:
Suffering from an injury received in the war against Napoleon, Hugh Fanshawe is no longer fit for active duty and spends most of his days doing paperwork at the office of the Horse Guards and his evenings escorting his mother and sister to various engagements and balls.
He hates these events, he hates even more the pitying looks he gets from the guests when they notice is injured leg and his slow gait. But Hugh is a dutiful son and does what his mother wants, and Hugh is not entirely sure what it is he himself wants until he meets Col. Theo Lindsay at one of the balls. Hugh had always admired men and due to his preferences he always thought he would be forever alone.
Theo is everything Hugh is not: a garrulous companion, handoms and hale of body, which makes Hugh notices his own shortcomings even more. But soon Theo has swept Hugh off his feet and he falls madly in love, only for everything to come crashing down around his ears when it turns out there is a spy in their midst and Theo's attentions may not be entirely what they seem.
This book had everything you might expect from a regency romance: there were balls, dazzling evening gowns, horse and carriage rides in the park and fuss over who a young lady should marry.
The book was a delight to read, and you can tell the author has done a lot of research. It was written in a style very reminscent of a book actually written in Regency times and it worked really well here. Modern speech would have spoiled it, I think. The reader is whisked away to the Regency era with all of its social mores and customs and dropped right into the action.
There were a few love scenes in the book which were tasteful and sensual without being overly explicit, you are left in now doubt that Theo and Hugh are lovers and not just friends.
There is some intrigue and some worry and angst over whether or not Hugh and Theo would get their happily ever after, but you care about them so much that you really want them to. I have a fondness for damaged heroes and I just adored Hugh. He was so loveable and he was also a bit gullible in an innocent sort of way, but I'm sure that soon Theo will be teaching him more of the ways of the world.
A fantastic, romantic read.
***
About the Author:
Sarah Granger is a sucker for a happy ending. She believes, however, that characters will only fully appreciate their happy ending if they've suffered along the way.
Sarah lives in the Cotswolds, an idyllic part of the English countryside with gently rolling hills, dry stone walls of golden stone and fields dotted with sheep. She has shamefully broken with local tradition by not having a rose growing around her front door. When she isn't writing, Sarah enjoys walking in the countryside with her elderly black Labrador.
Social Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook
***
Giveaway:
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Book Review: Caged by Bey Deckard
Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas
Baal's Heart #1
by Bey Deckard
M/M Historical Fantasy/Erotic Romance/BDSM
5 Stars
Blurb
Sheltered and lonely, Jon's life changes drastically when a strange ship sails into the harbour of his small port town one day. Trapped between the possessive pirate captain and his murderous first mate, he must learn to adapt or he will lose himself completely. An epic tale of love, treachery and revelation, this first installment of the Baal's Heart trilogy brings you into the lives of three men so bound together by jealousy and lies that they must sail to the very ends of the earth to find forgiveness.
Deckard's first novel is a masterful portrayal of sorrow, hope, and passion, with a narrative that twists the reader through a world set in the Golden Age of Piracy. A thrilling look into the darker side of human nature, Caged effortlessly melds serious historical fantasy with five star erotica.
***
Review:
A book with BDSM, pirates and an adventure, how could I resist this?
I've seen this book placed in some retailers as erotic, but I think calling it that does it a disservice. This book is much more than erotica, and while sex does feature heavily, it is more about the relationships and emotional aspects than the physical ones.
Jon is an empath and lives in a run down castle with his stepfather, Reginald, head of the castle guards. Reginald uses Jon's skills on the prisoners in the dungeons to decide who is guilty or innocent. His skills reach the ear of a pirate captain, who decides Jon might just be what he's looking for to keep him one step ahead of the other pirates. For who would try to cheat him if they knew Jon could tell they were lying?
Investigating a murder at the town's brothel, Jon is kidnapped by the pirates and brought on board. Jon doesn't know it, but the reader does, Jon has little choice. Either he joins the pirate band or they kill him, simple as that. It would have been a short book if our hero was murdered in the first few chapters, so the readers can almost guess he'll pick joining the pirates.
I loved this book and I loved Jon. He was an innocent virgin before he joined Captain Baltsaros and his crew, and his confusion over feeling these things for a man was well done, without the book being completely unrealistic. But hey, I'm reading about fantasy pirates, I'm not really worried about realism here :)
As for Baltsaros, for a lot of the book he wasn't a particlularly nice character, but he was a compelling one and I could see how Jon could be drawn to him despite his misgivings at first. Throw in Tom, the jealous first mate and you have the start of an intriguing love triangle and eventual threesome, which I'm not usually a fan off, but it works well for these characters.
All the characters were well-rounded and I adored Katherine, the only woman on the ship who became a sort of older sister to Jon.
Watching Jon blossom from shy virgin into a young man comfortable in his sexuality was wonderful, you almost got to take the journey with him. There is some BDSM in the book, but the scenes are more than just kinky sex, they develop the emotional connection between the characters and the reader gets to see Jon experience sub-space, which a lot of BDSM book just don't do at all or gloss over it. The love scenes are very well-writen (as is the whole book), very sensual and emotionally charged, they sizzle.
There is a good balance of sex, action, mystery, intrigue and jealousy and it makes for a very satisfying read.
If you like your pirates for what they are - rough men who think nothing about murder, kidnapping, stealing, then this might be the book for you. They are also very sexy in here, despite the moral hinterlands they inhabit. A fantastic, sexy read.
Book Review: Karma Bites by Erin M. Leaf
Karma Bites
by Erin M. Leaf
M/M Contemporary/Light BDSM
Evernight Publishing
5 Stars
Book Blurb:
Boyd will do anything to avoid his cousin Coco—even pretend to be gay. He’s visiting his dad who’s got a broken arm, and all he wants is for her to leave him alone, so Boyd calls his best friend for help. His father swears that karma is going to bite him on his butt for lying, but Boyd can’t think of any other way to extricate himself from Coco’s clutches.
Harrison will do anything for his best friend—even pretend to be his boyfriend, because he’s awesome like that. Once he arrives, though, Boyd surprises him with a “practice” kiss, which is just totally uncalled for. Before Harrison can fend him off, they’re on the bed making out. How does he get into these crazy situations? Oh yeah, Boyd and his wacky ideas. Harrison’s going to make him pay for this (even if he kind of secretly enjoyed it), because that’s how karma works.
Review:
Originally posted at The Romance Reviews
http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=13816
A wonderful, friends-to lovers fun story with two great lead characters.
Boyd made a promise to his grandfather when he was a child that he would always look after his cousin Coco. What he didn't anticipate was the amount of times he had to bail her out in dangerous situations that she'd somehow managed to get herself into. In high school, Coco knew she could always count on Boyd to bail her out and not tell her mother.
Now, older, but not necessarily any wiser, Coco has set her sights on Boyd as boyfriend material. Seeing no way out of it, Boyd blurts out that he's gay and has no interest in dating women. Thinking he's home free, Boyd despairs when Coco insists that Boyd invite his boyfriend down for the weekend and she can take them to the nightclub, Karma Bites.
Harrison has been best friends with Boyd for years, ever since they shared a college dorm and Boyd took the rap when Harrison accidentally set fire to the dorm. But he is still shocked at the phone call from Boyd, wanting him to pretend to be his boyfriend. They're just friends, they aren't gay, how are they going to pull this deception off?
When Boyd suggests they practice being boyfriends before Coco arrives, that's when they realize that perhaps they weren't as straight as they had thought.
After reading quite a few angsty stories lately, this one was a breath of air. It was a fun, lighthearted read with lots of banter between the characters.
Although short, the author doesn't skimp on characterization or detail and you know you are reading a complete tale. The make out scene with Boyd and Harrison on Boyd's bed was so hot, and when they were caught by Boyd's dad and Coco, you were embarrassed on their behalf.
Karma Bites turns out to be a bit of a kink club, and Coco's motives for taking them there aren't exactly pure. Coco is in trouble with the owner, glamorous drag queen Karma and owes the club a scene. Boyd refuses to do a scene with her, but will do one with Harrison instead. And the scene that follows is one of the most sensual and emotional scenes I've ever read in any book. It isn't about the physical aspect, but more how connected they are to each other and it doesn't really matter about the audience, because all Boyd and Harrison see are each other. The reader doesn't just know it, they feel it, too.
I enjoyed every minute of reading it, despite the 'love you' declarations that seemed a bit sudden. Short, but hot and sweet.
Book Review: Becoming a Man by Paul Monette
Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story
by Paul Monette
Open Road Media
5 Stars
LGBT Memoirs
Paul Monette grew up all-American, Catholic, overachieving . . . and closeted. As a child of the 1950s, a time when a kid suspected of being a “homo” would routinely be beaten up, Monette kept his secret throughout his adolescence. He wrestled with his sexuality for the first thirty years of his life, priding himself on his ability to “pass” for straight. The story of his journey to adulthood and to self-acceptance with grace and honesty, this intimate portrait of a young man’s struggle with his own desires is witty, humorous, and deeply felt.
Before his death of complications from AIDS in 1995, Monette was an outspoken activist crusading for gay rights. Becoming a Man shows his courageous path to stand up for his own right to love and be loved.
Review:
Growing up in the 50s and 60s, Paul Monette strives to be what everyone expects him to be: a straight A student, polite, kind, normal and straight. But even as a child Paul knew he was different, but he did everything in his power to push that difference deep down where no one could see it or even suspect him of being queer. He lied to himself, to his parents, to everyone around him so that he could fit in and not be singled out for the bullies and the haters.
I can hardly imagine how hard it must have been to grow up gay in the 50s and 60s. Even now, there are still such stigmas attached to being outside the norm as it were.
The book is well-written and heartfelt and pulls at the heartstrings, it's even more poignant reading it knowing that the author has died. The story is so raw and emotional at points that I just had to stop reading for a while and dry the tears.
As a straight woman, I suppose I can't really understand what gay people went through to be accepted, and even these days that isn't universally true. I was upset on Paul's behalf at what he had to do, had to pretend to be in order to be accepted by his peers.
I was always the odd one out at school, picked last for sports teams, rather be reading a book than playing sports. One day, I think I was around ten or eleven, the bullying got too much and I walked out of the classroom, out of the school and never went back. My parents refused to send me back there.
If only Paul's parents had been as understanding when they found his stash of magazines. His dad said it was fine to look at the girlie magazines, that was natural. But the others, the homosexual ones, that wasn't normal or good.
What is normal? What is natural? Homosexuality happens in nature and what is more natural than Nature itself?
The book reminds me a little of a gay version of Dead Poet's Society. It's a fascinating read on what it was really like to grow up gay in those times. Everyone should read it.
Book Review: Tyler and Marco by Xondra Day
Tyler and Marco
by Xondra Day
Evernight Publishing
M/M Erotic Romance
Short Story
5 Stars
Review first posted at The Romance Reviews:
http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=13414
A sexy, sweet short with two wonderful male leads.
Tyler is a bit shy, a bit of a loner and spends most of his days ogling the men on the construction site across from his apartment. One man in particular draws his eye, a tall man with firm muscles that Tyler drools over more than once. Tyler is short and doesn't spend half his time at the gym so he thinks no one would be interested in him. Most people have called him 'cute', but 'cute' doesn't help him get a man. And he wants more than just one night stands.
Marco, the builder, is a hard worker and most of the time that's all he does. He has little time for evenings out and meeting someone special, even though that's what he wants. He decides one evening to go out and forget about work even if it's just for one night.
Tyler is dragged out by his friends one evening and bumps into Marco, the man he'd been ogling from across the street.
This was a wonderful, sweet story and I loved both Marco and Tyler. Both of them are bit insecure in their own way: Tyler because of his innate shyness and Marco because he is semi-closeted. He comes from an old-fashioned Italian family who consider being gay a sin and Marco doesn't know how to tell them.
Although short, it is a full, well-rounded story. The characterisation isn't skimped on and you do get to know Tyler and Marco a bit, it's not a just story about two male bodies. This is a story about Marco and Tyler.
There were was a big of angst about Marco coming out to his family, but overall it's a sweet read. The love scene was hot and sensual, although I did find it a bit strange that they made love that first night they met 'officially' as it were. Both of them however are keen for this to be more than a one-night stand and by the end of the story you hope it will work out for both of them. I think it will, they seem suited to each other.
A very enjoyable tale.
Book Review: And if I Offered Thee a Bargain by Jules Jones
Review orignally posted at The Romance Reviews
http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=10642
And if I Offered Thee a Bargain
by Jules Jones
Musa Publishing
M/M Paranormal/Faerie
Short Story
5 Stars
Blurb:
One night of your life for seven years of love. Would you pay the price?
Jack never dreamed that a reluctant trip back to his home town would thrust him into the world of the sidhe. He finds that the legends are true, but the sidhe have changed. They have a new bargain to offer the mortals who bring them fresh stories and share new technologies.
But is the price of this new bargain worth it?
Review:
This was a wonderful, passionate short story that keeps you reading from the very first line. It being set in Ireland endeared it even more to me, being Irish myself. It was lovely to read again some of the legends I grew up with and the twists the author added to them.
Sci-fi and fantasy fan Jack falls asleep on an Irish hillside while listening to his latest audiobook. When he wakes, a handsome stranger with pointed ears and golden cat-like eyes is staring down at him.
Jack at first mistakes the man for an escapee from a nearby fandom con, but he soon discovers the truth. The stranger is one of the Fair Folk, the Sidhe, also known as elves. There is an instant attraction between them and after they first make love, Fergal the elf offers his bargain. One night will pass in Jack's world, if he will stay with Fergal for seven years in the land of the Sidhe.
But can you ever really trust the Sidhe?
This was a short story, but was as satisfying a read as longer novels.
It's told in first person from Jack's point of view, and while that normally isn't my preference, it works here so that you too are drawn into the mystery and magic with Jack.
Fergal and Jack were both great characters and they feel well-rounded, even though it's a short story. I loved the fact that the elves adored stories and Jack spent many a night reading from his ebook collection to rapt elves.
The ending is bittersweet, but it couldn't really be otherwise for this story. If I had one complaint, it would be that it could have been longer. I would have quite happily tarried a good long while in the magical world the author created.
Reviewed by Annette Gisby
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