Review: Souls for Sale by Asta Idonea

Souls For Sale by Asta Idonea
Nine Star Press
Novella: 139pgs

2.5 Pants Off

Blurb: When demon Saul persuades comic book artist Tom to sign over his soul in exchange for a night of passion, little does he know what lies in store. Demons can’t fall in love—or so he’s been told—but he finds himself smitten and attempts to destroy the contract, desperate to save Tom from an eternity of torture.

With Saul and Tom forced to run, a showdown between Heaven and Hell ensues as the angels and demons argue over who owns Tom’s soul. But does either party have a stronger claim than Saul?



Review

NO RETURNS. NO REFUNDS

I can say I was intrigued by the cover of this book and the blurb also pulled me in. A rogue demon who falls in love and goes back on a soul deal (gasps). It had me at hello but I wanted to be telling it goodbye way quicker than anticipated. 

Saul is in the soul buying business and he’s the best at it. He wins them over with sophistication and killer looks and without any real push, people just sign their soul over to spend one night in the sack. What can he say he’s just that good (rolls eyes). When he spots the geeky looking guy in a bar Saul knows he’s gonna land himself another soul without lifting a finger. He’s gonna go finesse the shit out of him because who can turn down a night of carnal delights with him? He’s got this dude hook, line, and sinker. 

Tom dear old Tom. Looking for love, looking for lust, just out here looking for whatever. He can’t even bring himself to talk to the waiter he has a crush on, so he spends his time just staring at him. When he’s approached by a very handsome man Tom can’t believe his luck, but he realizes that something is up because in no way would a man like Saul ever be interested in him. When talks of soul selling pops up It doesn’t surprise him but he’s set in his conviction that a night with Saul is worth a eternity in hell (rolls eyes x2). 

Then the crazy ensues!! Saul realizes that he can’t let a sweet guy like Tom have an eternity burning, plus he’s starting to feel things in his demon heart for Tom and he wants to keep experiencing it. They find themselves on the run trying to out maneuver demons but also trying to live their best life and the icing on the cake is that Heaven has also taken notice. Can Tom soul be saved and can our men have their happily ever after? 

This book was just…I don’t even have the words. Can I call it pretentious? Because it really freaking was. The writing is first person and crazy because you’re invited to be apart of the world and by apart of, I mean Saul tries to drag you into his crazy. Sorry dude, all that shit is most definitely on you alone.  

You’re just as culpable as me, you know—you stayed for the show, after all. You wanted excitement, wanted to see me in action. 

Look, I can sense you rolling your eyes, making out you’re not convinced, but who’re you to talk? You keep following me around like a stray dog. We both know you can’t get enough of little old moi 

I would go to the ends of the earth for that boy. I would attempt impossible deeds for his sake. Not that I’ve been horsewhipped or house-trained. I’m still the man, still wearing the pants, still in control. Don’t think for one second that Tom has neutered me. 

There’s something about the writing that’s just too formal and I couldn’t get as caught up in the story as much as I wanted to. It also gets too OTT which really suck because if there was ever a story with potential, Souls for Sale is it. A demon falling in love and going rogue that’s the making of something sexy, but alas I didn’t get any of that here.  

I just kept reading to see where it would go and it didn’t go anywhere I truly enjoyed. The idea behind Soul for Sale might have been a good one but the executing was weak, and the characters forgettable, and the writing way too pretentious. The boys did get their HEA but by then I had stopped caring.

 

Review: Trial by Fire by BA Tortuga

Trial by Fire (Dreamspun Desires #6) by BA Tortuga
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 228pgs

2.5 Pants Off

Blurb: One Aussie. One Texan. One baby. One hell of a fight.

When his sister and her husband are killed in an accident, Aussie cattle station owner Lachlan McCoughney rushes to Texas to rescue their infant daughter, Chloe. He expects to find his niece living in squalor with the Sheffields, a rodeo family.

Instead, Lachlan finds Holden Sheffield, a salt-of-the-earth cowboy running a huge business operation. They want to explore their mutual attraction despite the many problems thrown their way, and together, they must find a way to give Chloe a new family and find a love that spans thousands of acres and two continents.

Review

SO MUCH GRAVY NOT ENOUGH BISCUITS

In all the years I’ve been reading m/m books and all the years B.A Tortuga has been writing m/m this is my very first time reading the author. If “Trial by Fire” is the usual fare can I honestly say that I haven’t t been missing much or is it a case that I might have been missing all too much. This book had melodrama coming out of its wazoo. Daytime soap opera type shiiiii…. 

Lachlan has been searching for his sister for many years, and when he finally gets a call that she’s been located, but it comes with news that he wasn’t really expecting. His sister has perished in a plane crash along with her husband leaving behind a daughter, a niece he wants to meet and become an uncle to. That means navigating the family his sister married into, one thing is for damn sure he’ll leaving the heart of Texas with his niece.  

What then transpires is drama of epic intents. My head was reeling with the amount of crazy that was going down. This book had the plane crash, a baby-napping for ransom for 10 million dollars (cue Dr Evil finger to the mouth), and straight up all out shooting. All this went down in the first 60% of the book.  

Then there is Lachlan and Holden. Holden being the legal guardian of the little girl and twin brother of the husband to his sister 😒. They be hating each other but they also be loving each other, because nothing brings two people closer together than a kidnapping. It’s a dramatic mess of epic proportions and kept reading for the sole purpose of how much more ridiculous can it get. Turmoil is thrown in from both Lachlan and Holden’s parents who can’t seem to compromise on how the baby should be raised, while also dealing with the budding relationship of love between Holden and Lachlan. Their love is fast like a mustang in the wind.  

Overall, this was a very harlequinesque type read with crazy thrown in for plot device while offering a very mediocre story. There was a lot somethings without any actual answers to most of it. I found the writing alright but I couldn’t take anything seriously, the dialogue was over the top and more comedic than entertaining. Cowboys speak is a hell of thing!! 

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Review Writing Songs
Redbone by Childish Gambino
MIC Drop by BTS, Steve Aoki
DNA by BTS

Review: The Millionaire Upstairs by M.J. O'Shea

The Millionaire Upstairs (DreamSpun Desires #1) by M.J. O'Shea
Dreamspinner Press
Novella: 198pgs

2.5 Pants Off

Blurb: He might be hard to work for, but he's impossible to resist.

Sasha Sobieski has the perfect job working at legendary American fashion house Harrison Kingsley—or at least he used to. He just never thought he’d have to work for Harrison Kingsley himself. Harrison is exacting, difficult, cold, and hands-down the sexiest man Sasha has ever seen.

After years at the top, Harrison Kingsley knows what he wants, when he wants it, and exactly how he’d like it to be delivered to him. What he wants most right now? His new assistant. Sasha is mouthy, opinionated, and he drives Harrison mad. Problem is, Harrison can never tell if it’s with anger… or desire.


Review

The Rich Asshole Upstairs  

So here I am on the Dreamspun Desires bandwagon, and wanting to see what all the fuss is about. I love the idea behind the series, and just the overall harlequin-y feel of it all. If there isn’t a title called “The Millionaires Secret Adoptive Baby” then I might as well call it quits now. Every series has to have a secret baby. 

Sasha Sobieski just landed his dream job of working with a top fashion designer house “Harrison Kingsley”. A small town boy like him never dreamt he’d be working with the big dogs, and after two years with the company he’s finally making a name for himself. To his utter shock and surprise, his boss asks him to lend a helping hand to her egotistical/asshole of a brother Harrison. Sasha and Harrison do not get along, based solely on the fact that Harrison has always been a class A jerk to him. Ruling out the fact that Harrison is drop dead gorgeous and his voice alone can send Sasha into vapors, he’s a jerk, brilliant but a jerk. 

Harrison Kingsley, designer extraordinaire and a Oscar worthy jerk. His sister grants him the use and expertise of Sasha and what does he do, treat him like a maid all in an effort to keep him at arms length. Because Sasha is too pretty and pretty things are a distraction (cue major eye rolls).  

Ah, what can I say. This started out strong, Sasha’s voice was exciting and interesting, then Harrison comes along and feck things up. There were moments of cuteness and breakthrough and Harrison and Sasha seemed like they would make a great couple and then Harrison would open is mouth and things would go down. I’m not talking just being mean, I’m talking the most demeaning shit you could say to a person. I wasn’t here for Harrison at all, because fool me once shame on you fool me twice, well shame on me. Fool me thrice, then I’d officially call myself a fucking idiot and this applies to Sasha. Dude should have packed his bag and left buddy in the rear. No sob story can cover up the fact that he’s an asshole.  

I would have loved this, man I would have loved this but the writing felt like some bad soap opera, this hot and cold thing was giving me whiplash. There was no clear balance and I was glad when it was over. I liked Sasha well enough but Harrison can suck it! Dreamspun your first offering left much to be desired but I’m not giving up on you yet.   

Reviews: 2013 Advent Calender "Heartwarming" Part 1

The Promise of Snow by Elizah J. Davis
Dreamspinner Press
Short Story: 28pgs
3 Pants Off

Blurb:
Christmas is fast approaching and familial obligations are dampening Brandon Jacobs's holiday spirit. On top of requiring his attendance at the annual neighborhood Christmas party, his mom has been bugging him to call AJ, a childhood playmate who just moved to town. Brandon's memories of AJ as a kid aren't exactly fond, and he's not about to waste time on him as an adult... until he runs into AJ at the party and decides that Christmas might be the perfect time for a fresh start. 



Short Review
Brandon Jacob is not really into holiday spirit; he'd rather just stay home and hang. But of course he's got to do the family stuff and attend his parent's Christmas party, mingle, and smile all happily. To make things rather worse his mom wants him to reconnect with an old play buddy who was a little terror. AJ made his life a living hell and he just can't understand why anyone would think he'd like to hang with AJ ever again. What he never expected was for AJ to grow into a man he would he very much like to know and now he's regretting not listening to his mom cus his holidays would have been all types of awesome.


Well this is a short one, and of course not offering much on character development. I guess overall, it was alright and had a nice holiday feel which came in the form of annoying family and sometimes you just have to suck it up and get it over with. I liked that it was old play buddies (not the least bit friends at the time) who can now explore and play in an adult way. In the end this one was alright, yet honestly forgettable.

3 Pants Off

DarienMoya

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Reviewed by SinChan
Holly and Oak by J.L O'Faolain
Dreamspinner Press
Short Story: 28pgs
2 Pants Off

Blurb:
Twice each year, during the solstice, the Holly King battles the Oak King as Nature takes its course. This year, however, Holly concedes defeat far too easily. Curious about his brother's haste, Oak nags his brother into revealing his secret: a new relationship with a human. While loving a mortal is not taboo, Oak fears his brother's love may run too deep. But despite knowing he risks his heart, Holly is determined to share warmth with his Sergio for as long as the world will allow, if not beyond.

Review
Oak and Holly begins their twice a year fight to bring on the changing of the seasons. Nothing has changed between these two brothers, except that Holly seems to be in a rush this year. Later, it's revealed that Holly has a human lover and he hastens to be reunited with him.

I love the world building and discovering how Holly and Oak's relationship withstands the biannual battles. Holly and Oak's parents are briefly mentioned and it's interesting to think about how these immortal beings came to be. A lot of time is spent on the battle between Holly and Oak and it's fascinating to read about their powers waxing and waning with the seasons.

The downfall of the story is the length. There's too much scenes that need more depth and connections within these short pages that the entire story seem incomplete. The story doesn't have a proper sense of closure. The ending itself feels like the beginning of something new and exciting for Holly and his human lover. However, I'm not convinced of their relationship and Holly hasn't even revealed his true immortal nature to his lover yet.

Overall, it story seems like the first chapter to a novel instead of a complete short story. I still loved the story for its world building and light tone despite the shortness and incompleteness. I would definitely look forward to a more fleshed out version of the book, if there will be one.

2 Pants Off

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Santa Gets His Man by Julian Balfour
Dreamspinner Press
Short Story: 47pgs
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
When Mark Wright is pressed into being a mall Santa on Christmas Eve, his life is changed forever. Six-year-old Trevor Robinson has his Uncle Jack in tow—the same man Mark had a crush on at Asheville High School fifteen years earlier. Jack tells Santa his Christmas fantasy: "... to spend the holiday with an incredible guy who turns me on and does all kinds of naughty and wonderful things to my body." How can Santa resist that challenge?


Short Review
I have mixed feeling about this one, and the whole Mr Ling that Santa provides for Uncle Jack I found to be a bit offensive (and I am not easily offenced). All I'm saying is that Mr Mark Wright could have gone a different way in making all of Jack's dreams come true. I did like that it was a man finally being able to get his High school crush naked, but the choppy writing and craziness of the story really took away from me enjoying it more.

Had the recipe to be a nice story and maybe even "heartwarming" but it mostly came off as annoying to me. Mr Ling you should forever be retired and become a sexy Santa helper or something. That would have made more sense than the depictions of an Asian man in servitude.

2.5 Pants Off

DarienMoya

Review: Danny's Dom by Nick Hasse

Reviewed by Whuppsy
Danny's Dom (Talon's Keep #2) by Nick Hasse
Self-Published
Short Story: 72pgs
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Danny has always known he was submissive. So when a tall, dark, handsome man saves him from an abusive encounter in New Orleans, who’s to question the knight in shining armor? Fast forward two years and Danny’s man is now his Dom, providing for his every need. But just what kind of business keeps Him away so often and calls Him off in the middle of the day? What makes Danny’s Master keep secrets from him? When things are not adding up, questions arise and it’s time to learn the truth. Who is Danny’s Dom?

Only finding out the truth just may surprise him with an element of chill to add to their already smoldering one.


Review:
Danny meets his Master after his boyfriend at the time, who is abusive to Danny, drags him out of their home for what he’s made for dinner.  His Master pulls him off of Danny and Danny follows his new Master to his car and thus starts his new life.

The next we see of Danny, he’s been with his Master for 2 years.  How his life has changed, he’s in school and has a job.  He takes care of their home.  He’s sad at times that his Master is gone for work and he’s alone more than he’d like to be.  But, he’s so happy when his Master comes home and gives him what he needs.

Ice, Danny’s Master isn’t what you’d call a “normal guy”.  He’s from the land of Fairie.  He’s a Warrior of Winter. He’s been living a dual life, if you will. He loves his pet, Danny and tries to keep his other life far away from him. This works, until someone who wants to hurt Ice makes a play for Danny.

This novella is short and very to the point. I would have loved for this story to be longer and to get more information on these guys.  I’d love to hear more about the war in the Fairie Land. I didn’t really feel as if I got a chance to “know” who the characters are. I think that if this story was longer, that I wouldn’t feel that way.  As it was, I’m rather ambivalent about the story.  I mean, it’s good but there could have been so much more to the story.  I think the fact that there was no real character development, I’m unsure about how I feel about them.

I would say that if you want a quick read with no real angst and a happily ever after, this is the story for you.

I would add, that the dedication was really sweet at the beginning of the story.  It was really touching.

2.5 Pants Off

Review: Hungry for Love by Rick R. Reed

Reviewed by Fehu
Hungry for Love by Rick R. Reed
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 200pgs
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Nate Tippie and Brandon Wilde are gay, single, and both hoping to meet that special man, even though fate has not yet delivered him to their doorstep. Nate's sister, Hannah, and her kooky best friend, Marilyn, are about to help fate with that task by creating a profile on the gay dating site, OpenHeartOpenMind. The two women are only exploring, but when they need a face and body for the persona they create, they use Nate as the model.

When Brandon comes across the false profile, he falls for the guy he sees online. Keeping up the charade, Hannah begins corresponding with him, posing as Nate. Real complications begin when Brandon wants to meet Nate, but Nate doesn’t even know he’s being used in the online dating ruse. Hannah and Marilyn concoct another story and send Nate out to let the guy down gently. But when Nate and Brandon meet, the two men feel an instant and powerful pull toward each other. Cupid seems to have shot his bow, but how do Nate and Brandon climb out from under a mountain of deceit without letting go of their chance at love?

Review
This one was difficult to review, because I liked the writing, it is a well written story, which moves quickly and smoothly. My problem were the characters, mostly the female character or even more specific, Nate's crazy sister and I thought she was a few apples short of a basket, since she fell in love with a photo and a description of a gay man on a gay dating website AND pretended to be her brother!!! You might say hey, she is a teen, but no she is actually older than her brother who is 34, so she is over 30. I'll start at the beginning.

The story begins; some 20% of it is about Nate's sister and her older gal friend, who both like m/m romance and gay guys. Honestly as someone who reads m/m romance I would not want to be thrown in the same category. So Hannah, yes the crazy person has a name, wanted to see the profiles of a dating site and her friend who was a bit too crazy about gay guys encouraged her. Now Hannah wrote a profile and put a lot of her brother’s info and his name and even his photo. A sane person might have written that she is searching for a boyfriend for her brother. She is not that sane person. No she saw Brandon's photo and read his profile and decided to write him, pretending to be her brother. Brandon of course wanted to meet the person who has written him, no Hanna's brother Nate, who is somewhat of a slut, doesn't know what his sister is doing. Hannah convinces Nate to go to said date after explaining to him what she has done. Nate agrees and likes Brandon. Hannah wanted him to let Brandon down gently.

You would wonder why she wanted him dump Brandon, well see she fell in love with Brandon or at least with his nice photo and is crazy jealous of her brother who is always sleeping with different guys while she is mopping at home, whining that there are no nice guys for her. Since her brother was sleeping around, I don't understand what she had to be jealous about. If she wanted to sleep around, I'm sure she could have found guys?!

What else would such a person do, when said brother was meeting her crush? Stalk them of course! She actually dressed in black and hid her hair and went into the same gay café to make sure her brother dumped the guy, like she told him. She was out of luck, since they clicked. No she was not happy for her brother or for Brandon, who yes, let's say it all together one more time: IS GAY.  You think that was the end of her mad ideas and plans? Wrong! She continues to write Brandon and gets bitchier with every message, telling him what a slut Nate is, still writing as Nate!!! Oh she even wrote about sex, they supposedly had. Who would write a sex scene with ones brother???? Her brother was a liar as well, but he pretended to be a woman and thought of a complete persona, with a husband and children and interacted with his fans as such. Frankly the whole family was strange.

While I liked how the story was written and I've finished it pretty quickly, I disliked the female characters and they overshadowed the main romance plot. At least 30% of the story featured Nate's sister who got her own happy end and a guy (who should have been warned about her less than sane personality). It might seem shallow, but I'm reading m/m romance because I like to read about romance between two guys, not about their mothers, sisters or best friends. No, I don't mind interesting female characters or female characters in general, but here they had a bit too much story time and I hated them as characters. Brandon while nice overreacted about the wrong thing, namely finding out that Nate had an alias as a writer (who cares????). My impression of him is this: He brought his mother on his second date. Nate isn't a bad guy, but his wish to find a partner came out of the blue and wasn't explained in any believable way.

Should You Read It? If you like crazy female characters, go for it!

2.5 Pants Off

Review: Magnetism by Talia Carmichael

Reviewed by Fehu
Magnetism (Something in Common #7) by Talia Carmichael
Dreamspinner Press
Novella
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Taggart Monroe wants to know what makes Rhodes Winslow tick. Rhodes finds the friendly barbs he and Taggart exchange intriguing, fun, and sexy. He wants Taggart and knows Taggart wants him even though he won’t admit it. Taggart studies people the way he studies the details of his cases, so he’s drawn to a man who is an enigma. Getting to know Rhodes is an adventure Taggart can’t resist, just like the magnetism between them.


Review:
So this was Taggart and Rhodes story, personally I didn't remember them, but the plot sounded intriguing, since it promised some variation of enemies to lovers.

Taggart Monroe and Rhodes Winslow both have a military background, are sarcastic and actually pretty boring. I don't know about magnetism, but I didn't feel any good sexual tension between them or chemistry, really. The best part of this story was not the relationship, which progressed very, very quickly, but the mystery. Rhodes is accused of murder and he and Taggart have to prove that his innocence and find the real culprit. Although they live in a small town, there seemed to be a mass of dirty cops there, if one considered previous books as well, at least for such relatively small community.

Boy was I disappointed about the enemies to lovers plot! Taggart and Rhodes do seem to have a bit of an antagonistic relationship and do constantly argue. The banter between them annoyed me most of the time, because they would go on and on about the most mundane things and not in a fun way. Sometimes the story felt disjointed, at one time they are arguing and feel somewhat antagonistic, then out of nowhere they are on a date. I actually went back to see if I missed a chapter, a page or something in the dialog to suggest it! Then there was a time jump of several weeks, which I didn't enjoy, but why go back in time, again, a few weeks after this first big jump in time?

All in all the characters were a bit to flat to really make me enjoy this story. Suddenly they were in love and I was wondering how this happened and why I didn't feel the love. At the end I wanted to say and now once more with feeling. I liked some instalments in this series and if you are a hardcore fan you might like this one more than I did.

2.5 Pants Off

Review: Book #3 Resonate

Review: Book #5 Trouble

Review: Plan B by SJD Peterson

Plan B by SJD Peterson
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 200pgs
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Danny Marshal has always lived his life out loud, but his androgynous appearance is only a small part of who he is. One night at a frat party, Danny meets Lance Lenard, football jock and apparent straight guy. Lance is shocked when he's immediately attracted to Danny's feminine side. Danny is happy to be the subject of Lance's first man-on-man experiment—until Lance begins to struggle with the fact that despite his appearance, Danny is indeed a man.

Lance's whole life has been focused on his goal of playing in the NFL, and he knows those dreams will be smashed if anyone finds out about his little secret. Although Lance has come to hunger for Danny's touch, he's not willing to give Danny what he's grown to crave: a boyfriend who's proud to love him for every flamboyant and snarky cell in his body.

Life sends Danny and Lance in different directions, each of them focused on his respective Plan A. But the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Review:
All the ways I was excited to read this book, it even made unto my list of January pants droppers so expectation was high (ya think I would learn my lesson by now). I am a huge fan of androgynous characters who like to play with their look and this book looked like it had it spades. Well, it didn't go the way I expected and ended up getting all the bad feels.

Danny Marshal doesn't hide who he is, he likes to be pretty and man is he ever good at it. A little make-up here and some six inch heels and he looks spectacular. Off to be the wingman to his best-friend Bo at a college frat party, Danny would rather be elsewhere but what the hell's a best-friend for? Danny is happy that his friend has found a girl, and Katie seem very sweet but it’s her brother that get things stirring. When Lance asks Danny if he sucks dick, the night goes from bad to worst. Danny is pissed and just wants to head home, to forget what the dumb jock asshole said. It’s a good thing he never has to see Lance again? Or so he thinks.

When Danny runs into Lance again, he never expected him to be polite or to show some interest. Suddenly, their hanging out together, Lance is coming to his plays, and making an actual effort to be a good guy. While Danny fights his attraction, Lance admits he's also attracted to him when he dresses and looks feminine. Which leads to stolen kisses behind closed doors, and sneaking around and Danny wants more. He's lived out and proud his entire life and will not resort to hiding so Lance can keep his straight act up in public, it’s better to walk away no matter how much it might break his heart.

This book has all the things I love reading about but somehow this didn't work for me. With Danny being the first person narrator, I think this is where the story went wrong for me cus I feel like Danny had no story to tell. All I kept reading from him was how fabulous he is, and he could be out getting laid and what not. There were moments when I got real sincerity from him but it all got lost when he would say something obnoxious. He needed a moment to realize that it wasn't all about him, and that is why I did not enjoy him as a character.

Lance had the story to tell, but he just came off as the bad guy. He got no time to prove himself, and everything was done on Danny's time. He was more sincere in his feelings, even bordering on desperation but he remained like a speck in the life of the person who mattered. Where he wasn't willingly being a bastard, Danny did things out of selfishness trying to hurt Lance (gawd, he was petty). I think I told him to "suck it" a few times, and after awhile I just stopped caring and the story lost me. Since Danny was the main focus, and I don't like him (not even a little) Plan B was a disappointment. I don't even want to call it a romance, because I didn't feel it.

Should You Read It? This is one of those books that will vary depending on the reader. I once again could be the odd one because it has all the things I like reading about, a cross-dressing character with attitude, but I think over the entirety of the book that’s all it was. Danny lacked depth, and he really shouldn't have been the entire focus of the story. This is just all me though, because others seem to like this one a lot.

2.5 Pants Off

Review: Snow On The Mountain by P.D Singer

Reviewed by Buggy
Snow on the Mountain (Mountain #2) by P.D Singer
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 210pgs
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Champagne powder snow, gorgeously groomed slopes, and elegant hotels draw the expert and the wealthy to the exclusive Wapiti Creek Ski Resort, but for Jake Landon and Kurt Carlson, the lure is work. A novice skier, Jake's been assigned to run the bunny lift, but Kurt’s afraid he’ll be stuck shoveling snow all winter. Instructing at a private ski school should be his dream job, but it brings giggles and sideways glances among their new friends.

All summer, Jake and Kurt were alone in the wilderness. If Jake wanted to stay in the closet, it didn’t matter. Now they have to navigate a relationship in public, where the five-year-old twins who’ve adopted Jake as their ski buddy are as big a nuisance as the ski patroller who has a crush on him. Would-be friends, vicious coworkers, and the perils of the mountain could mean the end for Kurt and Jake, but their biggest danger comes from each other.

Second Edition
First edition published by Torquere Press (November 2009)

Review:
Opening Line: “The screams made me turn around to look uphill.”

We first met Jake and Kurt in the fantastic Fire On The Mountain where they worked as fire rangers for the summer season. Two men alone in the mountains cut off from civilization, completely reliant on each other and well, you can guess the rest. Of course both assume the other is straight at first and dance around the obvious signs they're each putting out until a life or death situation forces the truth to the surface. They want each other.

Snow On The Mountain picks up a few months later; Jake and Kurt are now working at the exclusive Wapiti ski resort and still very much in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. While everything is perfect behind the closed doors of their staff housing, navigating their relationship in public is proving to be a little more difficult.

Jake as a novice skier has been assigned to run the bunny lift, a job that suits him just fine. He’s making friends, improving his skills on the hill and was recently adopted by the boss’s five year old twins, who he seems to be babysitting down the green runs on a daily basis.

Kurt’s transition was more interesting to me as he struggles initially to find work, giving in to the fact that he might just be shovelling snow all winter when a plum job instructing at a
private ski school lands in his lap. In FOTM Kurt was the popular, self-confident, hero kinda guy. I mean he was good at everything he did and Jake worshipped him for it, so it was interesting here to see the roles reversed with Kurt struggling to find his footing while Jake adapted to their new life and friends so easily.

Thankfully in this book we get inside both of our heroes heads as Singer has provided us with an alternating POV albeit it goes from 1st to 3rd person but I still appreciated getting Kurt’s view.

So yeah the conflict; well Kurt’s job doesn’t turn out to be quite what it seems on paper and after he books his first client he finally figures out what all the sneers and sideways glances, have been about. It seems is new instructor job is just a front for an escort business. Of course all that pales when it comes to being held at gunpoint, crazed Bulgarians and surviving avalanches.

Ultimately though I have to say this book was a real struggle for me to get through. Which was disappointing because I’d loved the first book in the series so much and had been looking forward to Jake and Kurt’ s continuing story. I also spent 10 years living in Whistler so I was excited about the ski resort aspect, especially knowing how good PD Singer is at creating her locations. She doesn’t disappoint here, the ski conditions and terminology are perfect, and I felt like I was there at the resort or whooshing down the slopes with fresh powder in my face but sadly everything else just fell flat to me. The romance was meh and the bad guy was kinda over the top and hilarious without meaning to be.

2.5 Pants Off

Review: Book #1 Fire On The Mountain 

Review: Bringer Of Light by Lyra Blue

Bringer of Light by Lyra Blue
Voodoo Lily Press
Novel
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Four people in love... with each other.

Leigh has a secret: she can get inside your mind and give you the best sex you've ever had. But her special ability lets her do far more than she ever dreamed possible.

She hooks up with hot, sexy actor, Zeke, and his friends, Michael and Kat, and they bravely explore that power and realize just how far it can take them.

Love is exciting when it's between two, but when it involves four? It's explosive!



Review:
Another book I really wanted to like, but about half way through it completely failed on many levels. My initial excitement came from the fact it was a polyamory plot. You know me and my three is never a crown and one more is always invited, so lets just say I was excited to read it and to be losing my pants all over. I hardly lost my pants and I fear I might have missed a lot because I just wasn't interested :-(

Leigh is a waitress and lives a simple life. When her regular customer Grunge comes in to eat, she already knows what he wants to order, she always knows what he wants to order. When Grunge who is an actor invites her unto the set., its there she meets Zeke Kaye a man that would become her life partner and introduce her to Kat and Michael the others she would grow to love.

Well Leigh is not just your girl next door. She has some unique abilities and a different outlook on how people can live and love. Her abilities vary from reading auras, mind reading, telepathy, and telekinesis (just a few of the amazing things Leigh can do). During the discovery of all her abilities, the two men and women try to find a way to make their unconventional relationship work. What started as a trial quickly grows into something long lasting and fulfilling. The story then moves into them living as a family, and the affects it will have on their life, if any.

So as I said wanted to like the book a lot more, but it really fell apart for me. This being my first book where four people are in a committed relationship I was excited, but the main character Leigh really did not do anything for me. Since it’s her POV I was in ire for most of the book, she was just too good and too much. Without giving away anything, her having, so many abilities led to disbelief, which took away from the story. I think if Leigh was just a waitress without all telepathy and all that I would have enjoyed her more, I would have enjoyed the book more. She represented the glue that kept them all together, as if being what she is the reason that the foursome can work. I don’t believe that was the author’s intentions but that’s what I got from it.

The scene *slight spoiler* with the unborn baby really pushed it over the edge. My eye roll numerous reached significant highs and I just couldn’t….

The upside is that this is a love story, and its not meant to give us all this hot sex with four people but to offer up that ‘love is love’ no matter how many people you throw into the mix. I enjoyed Zeke, Kat, and Michael a lot, and wish there was more of their POVs would love to have gotten to know them better.

Overall, I liked it but there was just too much that felt like borderline fantasy and my heart couldn’t really go into it. Nevertheless, if you’re curious to read about four people in love, go ahead and check it out. You might end up loving it.

Astral projection O_O I just can’t…

2.5 Pants Off