A Grave Talent by Laurie R. King

A Grave Talent
by Laurie R. King
Pages: 310
Date: April 1 2010 (originally published 1993)
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Series: Kate Martinelli (First book in series)

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 28 to January 30 2015

This is one of those that was quite solid, that I was seriously thinking of rating it 5 stars at one point. Then later seriously considering rating it 3 stars.  There were certain elements I can't mention or I'd have to tag this "full of spoilers" that didn't so much annoy me as make me feel let down.

There was a certain amount of manipulation, of author pulling on heart strings to get reactions out of readers that I started to feel a little too acutely.

It was a solid book, beginning middle and end.  Epilogue was needed for specific reasons, and yet seemed like it might have been a better book without that tacked onto the end.  I mention the solidness of the book as I recall seeing reviews that seemed to indicate an split in the book, a solid mystery in the beginning then a dive into "lesbian matters" or however they put it.  After reading the book, I'm quite surprised and confused by that reaction.  I didn't get that sense at all.

As an added after the fact that is just a tacked on part that can be overlooked: After posting my short notes to myself that some may or may not call a review, I noticed the large number of recordings for the book. I didn't recall charting the progress of my read so I looked closer.  Apparently I've been aware of and thought about reading this book since August 2014.  Took until now to read it though. hmms. Not sure what exactly was holding me back, if anything. Probably just the fact that there are roughly 888,888 trillion books out there as possible reads that I haven't read yet.

Murder at the Nightwood Bar by Katherine V. Forrest

Murder at the Nightwood Bar
by Katherine V. Forrest
Pages: 184
Date: October 17 2011 (originally published 1987)
Publisher: Bella Books
Series: Kate Delafield (second in the series)

Review
Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Read: January 22 to January 23 2015

Most books I rate five stars I know right away that it's possible. Oh, something might happen that lowers it, sometimes all the way to 1 star, or even no stars, but I tend to know.  This one?  Sneaked up on me.  I figured for the longest time, while I was reading it, that it would likely end up being somewhere between a three and four star work.  There wasn't really anything to put it there, just nothing that leapt out at me grabbed me by the neck and screamed "this will be a five star book".  At least not till the last part of the book. Where it kind of hit me how deep the book was.  How . . . bah.

Mostly I was noticing things, before this revelation, like how this head homicide detective only seemed to get involved with women when they are part of her investigation.  There's a back story there that may or may not be spoiler-y.  Happened in the first book. Happened in this one.  And they are the kind where people in need hook up, and not people in love.  That's one of the things I noticed.  It is not something I'd add or subtract stars for.

The racial, homophobic annoyances that popped up in the first book were toned down.  A lot of the things like that were toned down.  Still there but milder.  Which is odd, in a way, when you consider the plot of the book.  heh.

Amateur City by Katherine V. Forrest

Amateur City
by Katherine V. Forrest
Pages: 210
Date: October 31 2011 (originally published 1984)
Publisher: Bella Books
Series: Kate Delafield (first book)

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 20 2015

Amateur City, book 1 in the series, involves an executive who was murdered. Two LA police detectives, Kate Delafield (lesbian), and Ed Taylor (bigot), investigate. Oddly the story seemed to be more focused on someone who just joined the firm as a secretary. Ellen O'Neil.

It's actually a rather rich detailed little book that might even have ended up rated higher by me if it had cut back on the bigotry. Which later books, at least the second and third, had done. - Amateur City is something Ed Taylor says that the case should be. Or, that the case is "Amateur City", an amateur killer, so it should be an easy case to solve.

A Wolf for the Holidays by Bridget Essex

A Wolf for the Holidays
by Bridget Essex
Pages: 97
Date: November 22 2014
Publisher: Rose and Star Press

Review
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Read: January 14 2015

A woman is once again stood-up by her girlfriend.  For the sixth time in six months, this girlfriend either forgets, arrives hours late, or sends a text message hours afterwards to indicate that they won't make dinner.  This time, it's Christmas Eve, and Mandy's made a special meal. She loves cooking. She loves showing her love through food.  But her girlfriend fails to arrive in time.  Then finally arrives hours late.  With a massive wolf.  As a present.  She doesn't apologize for missing dinner. No, she demands to know where it is.  Mandy finally gets up the courage to break up with her girlfriend.

Girlfriend leaves. Mandy looks down at the massive wolf with the intelligent eyes.  Looks around her tiny studio apartment.  Knows she can't keep the wolf.  Goes to sleep.  Wakes up to see a naked woman rummaging through her dresser looking for clothing.  Also, the wolf is missing.

Neat little story of unexpected occurrences, and unexpected love.

A Simple Suburban Murder by Mark Richard Zubro

A Simple Suburban Murder
by Mark Richard Zubro
Pages: 224
Date: December 31 2003 (originally published 1988)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Series: Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter (First book)
Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Mystery (1989)

Review
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Read: January 11 to January 12 2015

I'd have to check to make sure, but I believe this is the first M-M book I've read that I've been able to give as much as 4 stars to.  It's not the first non-sexual/erotic M-M book I've read, that would probably be that China Mountain Zhang book.  I believe it's the first M-M mystery I've read, though.

The book is fairly straight forward as far as plot/story.  As in as far as an amateur detective type book. It did include the lead having a partner. That doesn't always happen in amateur detective stories.  Mostly tends to be a secretary or the like in those other stories. Actually, those wouldn't be amateur detective stories.  Hmms.  Well, at least in this case it's an amateur detective and his gay lover who just happens to be a star baseball player.  One who 1) had thrown two no-hitters in the World Series, and 2) has a name I recognize as a real life baseball player. That part I found vaguely odd (looked the name up. Guess I was wrong as there's no listing of a baseball player having that name).

I also looked up the books on my gay shelf. I was wrong there as well. I have one previous book rated 4 stars that involves a main character who happens to be gay.  The other three 4 star books on that shelf are only there because the writer won and or was nominated for the Lambda award.  May or may not be gay characters in those three Steven Saylor books, but none main characters. So the long and short of it is that this is the second four star book I've read that includes main character gay men.  The other is Fogtown.  And, judging by its average rating of 2.91, I might be the only one who liked that book.

Right. Distracted myself there. I was mentioning the plot/story.  Teacher arrives at school to begin his daily teacher chores. Notices a person sitting way in the back. Goes to investigate. Finds a dead body, that of a man, a fellow teacher he barely knew.  One thing leads to another and the teacher who found the dead body begins investigating and searching for the murderer.  Twists and turns lead to gay bars, prostitution rings, and porno films.  Strong plot.

Stronger characterization than I was lead to believe.  Yes, I did something I rarely do - looked at other reviews before reading this book. Lead me to believe the characters were lacking. Were paper thin.  I found them fully formed. From lead characters down to the kids. The only ones who appeared paper thin, for the most part, where the cops, and they didn't really play that big of a role in the book.

In terms of relationships - you could tell that Scott and Tom were a couple, and were romantically involved.  But most action occurred off the page.  Beyond some kissing and massaging.

One of the things that normally drive me insane with gay books, and I do not know if it's just the books I previously chose to try, or if it is a common theme in gay books, and I've lost this sentence. A common theme I've found in gay books is an overly emotional group of people, filled with angst. I don't care who the characters are, I don't particularly like reading that.  And, fortunately, that didn't occur in this book.

I like and would recommend this book.

The Heatwave by Karen A.

The Heatwave
by Karen A.
Pages: 82 pages
Date: February 2 2014
Publisher: Author

Review
Rating: 2.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 12 2015

ookay.  hmms. Story starts off interesting enough talking about the weather, switches to the first person viewpoint of a man.  What a minute, the viewpoint of a man? In a lesbian story? Odd, wonder how . . wait, now it's switched to two women.  Keeps jumping around this story.

And the most awkward conversation in history occurs. Two women. Talking about how they happened to have sex the night before. One's quite disturbed by the whole thing "in case it's escaped your notice we are both quite obviously female!"

Crap.  It's going to be that kind of story. The kind wherein women have to fight over whether or not they 1) like fucking women; 2) whether it is right or not for two women to fuck.  Bloody hell.

OOh, I just enjoyed it soo much, how could I? HOOOOWWW?  Was it so bad? No, that's the problem, I've never cummed so hard.  bah.

"I'm not a fucking dyke!" Ok, now I hate her.
"Listen to me . . . I'm not a dyke either."  Ok, now I hate the other woman in this story.  Sighs.

Right, so they are both bisexual. They like dicks, and they like women. Okay then.  Apparently, though, they despise the idea of lesbians, and/or being thought of as a lesbian.

Clean Slate by Andrea Bramhall

Clean Slate
by Andrea Bramhall
Pages: 264
Date: September 17 2013
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Romance (2014)

Review
Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 8 to January 9 2015

Woman of about 36 is viciously attacked. Wakes up in the hospital. Asks for her mum. Mum's been dead these past 17 or so years. Morgan Masters has lost the memory of everything that has happened since she was 19. She does not remember her life, wife, children, nor why she walked out on them three weeks before that vicious attack. A quite good book.

Cassie's Conundrum by Eric Stray

Cassie's Conundrum
by Eric Stray
Pages: 29
Date: September 21 2014
Publisher: Author

Review
Rating: 1.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 9 2015

Hmms. So . . .. Randomly stumbling around Kindle Unlimited stories. Spot this one. Check it out. And . . . a girl gets turned into a dog? And can't reach orgasm except under certain circumstances? And is drooling over dogs and what dogs might do to her?

Eek.  This crossed the line, it did.   And while mind-control/brainwashing and the like seems . . . possible, the reaction of the pet store was quite odd.  Unbelievable.

Actually the whole thing leans way too far into unbelievablity land.  Reads too much like an all powerful author getting himself off rather than a story with credible characters. Don't need to be fully formed, just something more than puppets to push around while squealing.

Ah. And another "Master" asking someone too out of it to understand or give consent, if they wish to "continue".  Too out of it in a constantly horny, can't stop rubbing themselves and moaning like a puppy in heat while barely keeping their clothes on, and sometimes forgetting to do so.  That out of it.

Adding fake little "she gave consent" scenes like that annoy me.  Then again, whatever her decision turned out to be is left up to the reader.

A woman is dominated by a story author. She calls him Master, which is why I got the idea that it's a "him", or man.  The LGBT tag is used because of her actions in the pet store.  I guess that would make her at least bisexual? hmms. Don't care.

S.S. Sensuality by Olivia Lyons

S.S. Sensuality
by Olivia Lyons
Pages: 81
Date: May 20 2014
Publisher: Author

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 7 2015

Note: I originally forgot to include: this review is of an adult "choose your own adventure" type book. I.e., a book wherein every once in a while you are given a choice. You click on one link or another (or, sometimes, one of five choices) and then continue on in the story on the path you choose.

huh. There's some odd disconnect in the path I traveled. I mean, the path I went down Jenna basically didn't do anything and yet the text is now talking about that stuff "we" did. All that experimenting. Jenna experimented by sleeping. And reading a magazine. While I experimented with being a slut.

And then there's that "hadn't been with a woman before" comment. Well,that's true in the story. Also true that I still hadn't. Yet the text thinks I had. How'd I end up there? As I said, an odd disconnect. I was just going straight down the path. I didn't divert or double back or anything. The path lead me to one island and suddenly the boats heading back to Florida. There was mention of several islands were going to be visited. I only got to see one. :(

And I didn't like how the path I went down turned there at the disconnect. I didn't get any options to turn away from . . um . . I can't say or I add spoilers to review. mmphs. Bah. I say anyway. I'm given no choice about whether or not I hump 'Frank' and whether I not I then immediately 'give a show' and climb into bed with another woman and a man. What happened to me 'choosing' stuff? mmphs. I feel vaguely violated.

And then abrupt ending. mmphs. It was quite fun up until I got shuttled off to no choice land and then "The End". With text indicating I'd done stuff that I hadn't. mmphs. I was actually thinking of giving this one 4 stars until everything went off-track there.

Oh. heh. I thought I choose the slut path. Trying to figure out how I ended up where I ended up, I restarted. And I found not choosing the slut path lead down to a rather exciting little bdsm adventure that bumps this story up a star.

Only One Naked by Cassie Caine

Only One Naked
by Cassie Caine
Pages: 35
Date: September 18 2011
Publisher: Author

Review
Rating: 4.7 out of 5.0
Read: January 6 2015

Third story I've read by this author. Has the things I liked in from the first two without the things I disliked.

Woman in her twenties works in her aunt's bookstore while aunt off being ill and while looking for a 'real' job.  It's summer and hot. She wears clothing that she might not otherwise because it is summer and hot.  She is reminded of this when she keeps getting asked to climb step-ladders to get books.  And her customers look up her skirt.  She's embarrassed and stuff.

One of her customers shoves a flier into her hands and demands she put it up.  It asks for a nude model.  Time passes.  Nicole, the woman who gave Massie the flier, comes back.  Times up, class that night.  No model.  Massie gets lured into modeling knowing she will have to be nude and can't even wear a bathing suit.

She's embarrassed, fearful, nervous, and oddly quite aroused.  She is directed in how to pose in various revealing positions.

Up to here, the story, the set-up almost exactly like the other story I read by Cassie Caine, "Adventures of a Nude Art Model."  Except there the woman lured into posing nude is a librarian and a mother of an almost grown daughter.  And there the character lured into posing nude eventually models with a naked man.  While here the fact that she is the "only one naked" is part of the turn on for her.

Just as "Adventures" turns off into a different direction after the art class, this story does as well.  Though some element of what happens with Nicole and Massie is hinted at, implied that will happen, in the other story actually occurs in this one. I.e., Nicole dominates Massie.  The dominating in Adventures is taken up by the daughter, which is the part I disliked about Adventures.  That and the introduction of a nude male model.

hmm. I may or may not have already put spoiler stuff in. I'll leave off here.  Just mentioning that two customers lure Massie off to embarrassed naked female events.  And the author, for whatever reason, sometimes calls Massie, Milli (or Melly or Milly, some other name).