If Looks Could Kill by Andi Marquette

If Looks Could Kill by Andi Marquette

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is one of those lesbian fiction books that have an immediate and obvious ‘Devil Wears Prada' vibe. Older powerful woman with an ice queen reputation and a much younger underling/intern. There is also an immediate and obvious twist.

Marya Hampstead is the ‘much older’ ‘ice queen’ fashion mogul. She does not have a point of view in this book, only the ‘intern’ does, more on her later. ‘Much older’? Well, that intern lied about her age (that setup reminds me of a television series that features a woman who is pretending to be something like 20-something (may or may not get a job as an intern in the publishing industry, forget if so), but is actually 40 something – her friend is a lesbian and there’s some vibe that the star might be, maybe, bisexual, but I’ve only seen episodes with her dating men (well one man, very very young man; the other is innuendo that the 'boss who is the same age as her real age might be into her if she was also his age and not pretending to be 20', not sure if there is any lesbian fanfiction for that show (oh, it is TV Land Younger, by the way)). ‘Ice Queen’? Well, just like the intern is lying about her age, Myra is lying about her persona (that specific part is revealed early on, other aspects of Myra’s backstory is revealed much much later).

So, why is the ‘intern’ lying? Because she, Ellie O’Donnell, is a NY police detective working on an undercover assignment (break here for: good god the scenes with her with her police co-workers made my skin crawl, all that sexual harassment just casually ‘there’, and Ellie not fucking caring that it was there, but meh, whatever – book is from 2016, only 2 years old, and it’s a different world).

Got distracted. Let’s try that again.

Ellie is working on an undercover assignment. The case involves investigating Myra Hempstead (the logic chain to insert Ellie into Myra’s life was twisted and kinda dumb – Myra was once seen, two months ago, near a guy who had a particular last name that’s the same as a person who does not now run guns, but is said to be getting into that business and has had one shipment of ‘legitimate’ stuff intercepted only to find it filled with guns (‘I do not know how that got in that box’), but whatever).

Two Russian families are running guns. One has family members being killed. The other might be a rival. Ellie is inserted to investigate . . . a fashion mogul who has no clear connection to the case other than being spotted in the company of someone of vague suspicion.

Ellie is shown to be brilliant at detective/investigative work; her co-workers (and others investigating the case) seem kind of dim-witted (since they didn’t spot what Ellie spotted – seriously, some of the things Ellie spotted were clever of her to spot . . . but still should have been spotted by the others). Also shown to be brilliant at undercover/intern work.

This is not a romance book, so I’ll skip that section of the review. Well, first: yes Ellie drools over Myra; Myra flirts with Ellie (not a quote ‘holy crap, is Myra flirting with me? Is she actually into women?’); stuff happens that does not correspond to a romance.

Interesting book. Not 100% sure why I feel this way, but feel as if it was vaguely ‘thin’ in certain aspects. Not sure what ‘aspects’ were thin. And good grief I hated every other person Ellie worked with in the police department. Gah. Sexist pigs the lot of them. Even Sue.

Rating: 3.75

June 30 2018



View all my reviews

Unraveled (Turner #3) by Courtney Milan

Unraveled by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a weird situation for me to be in for two reasons:
1) Smite was never the character I’d warmed to or wanted anything to do with;
2) This book here involve Smite in the lead male POV . . . and I liked this specific book best of all in the series.

Smite Turner, of no title, is the middle child – when his brother (Ash), at the tender age of 14, ran off to India to make his fortune, Smite took over as guardian to the youngest brother (Mark). This is not a young adult book nor is there much in the way of flashbacks to younsterdom. I’m not sure if Smite’s age is ever given, though I expect he’s somewhere in his thirties.

At some point between being the son of a mill owner (father), insane religious zealot (mother), and the start of this book, Smite both spent time on the streets of Bristol and time in high class schools (Eton and . . . I believe Oxford). Unlike his eldest brother, or for that matter his youngest, Smite never had a title added to the beginning of his name – neither from being born (you know, inherited titles), nor through other means. Other means include through the court (Ash got to become a Duke by having the children of the present Duke declared illegitimate, and he was the next in line); or there . . what’s the word used? Well, the Queen liked Mark’s book so much she Knighted him. Smite? Didn’t care about those things. He got a law degree and became a magistrate in Bristol.

The book opens with Smite on the bench hearing cases, though the book does not start from his point of view. No, it starts from the point of view of the female lead character. Miranda Darling (I forget her age, I had her in my mind as being 20, but she might be . . . closer to 24). She’s in a wig and dress that alters her appearance and has a fake name. She’s there to perjury herself. It’s not something she wants to do but has to do – as she has an agreement with the ‘Patron’ who is both the criminal head in the poor area of Bristol, and the giver of justice to that area.

Smite, as those who have read the series up to know would have been informed before now, remembers everything. Miranda was in court before now – and Smite recognizes her despite the different name and appearance. He stops her from actually perjuring herself and warns her.

So, as I mentioned in another review for this series, this is a different type of series. The lead male is a law trained judge. He has the blood of titled people (somewhere back in the past), and is the brother of a Duke, though he wasn’t born into the branch that serves as the heir family. Gah, I’m wording that badly. He’s from the business/professional class. And the female lead is from the working class (daughter of actors).

There are no ballrooms visited, no dances, no young girls giggling over ‘the ton’, or watching the ‘dandies’ do stuff. No, there are instead people who work for a living going about their lives. Granted the prior book in this series also had this touch, though there the fella had a title. So this is a different type of historical fiction. At least for those set in Britain in the 19h century (this one takes place . . hmm, 1843 I believe).

Right, so. One thing leads to another and . . . shockingly Miranda becomes Smite’s mistress. That particular branch can get hinted at and/or feared in other books, but rarely actually gets used.

They learn to like each other and stuff. As expected when one of the characters I a mistress and the other is ‘putting her up’ as a mistress, graphic sex occurs.

Rating: 4.5

June 29 2018




View all my reviews

Unclaimed (Turner #2) by Courtney Milan

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mark Turner pulls into the main point of view male character in this book. Previously a major character in the first book; and a briefly mentioned person in the short story between this book and the first book in the series.

In that first book, Mark is shown writing a book about chastity. With a title something like ‘A Practical Guide to Chastity for Men’. Between that first book and the start of this book here, that guide has been published, been read and loved by the Queen – which resulted in Mark being knighted.

The book, unexpectedly for him, has made him vastly popular and famous. He cannot go anywhere in London without a crowd of men and women (yes, despite the book being called ‘for men’ women have read it as well) hounding him with adoration. This is the start of the book – watching him walk across the street in London being hounded. The book then turns to him trying to flee to the countryside to think about a job offer he has received.

Watching him cross the street, and the person actually in the point of view position at the start of the book, is Jessica Farleigh. She’s watching him with a man named Weston nearby. Weston, you see, has made a wager, or bounty, or something like that. He wants Mark’s reputation ruined (for reasons, mainly because they are up for the same job). Jessica is going to take Weston up on his offer. She needs the money, see, so she can ‘retire’ to the countryside.

Retire? Well, for the last seven years Jessica has worked as a courtesan. A prostitute by any other name. A woman who fucks for money. Jessica cannot stand being a courtesan any longer and would do anything to stop being one, including ruin the reputation of Sir Mark Turner. By seducing him. And having proof of his ‘fall’.

And so the action turns (or, in a way, returns) to Somerset in the south west of England, in a little village there named something like . . . well, I cannot recall. Shipplet or something like that. Mark’s there in the old family home. Jessica is there as Mrs. Farleigh – widow.

Mark, to his own disappointment, finds that his reputation preceded him. They know about him in the tiny village and wish to worship him. A the same time, the same villagers have given the opposite reaction to the other stranger amongst them – they treat Mrs. Farleigh with disdain and try everything they can to keep the ‘dangerous woman’ away from the ‘saintly chaste’ Mark.

Mark, though, is intrigued from the start by Jessica. Less because her clothing is scandalous (not so much if worn in London, but definitely so worn in the country – too . . . exposed she be). Partially because of her displayed with when she didn’t know she could be overheard (the Vicar had pulled her aside to try to push her away, to make her leave the village square while Mark was there – their words, unbeknownst to them, though, echoed – and Jessica was quite witty). Mostly, though, Jessica intrigued Mark because of a flinch. The Vicar, see, had basically groped Jessica (okay, put his hand quite near her massive breasts (the size of her breasts are important to the story (nods)) – and the touch made Jessica flinch. A woman wearing ‘scandalous’ clothing but flinching at the touch of a man? Intriguing. She is not what she seems.

Jessica, recall, is there to seduce and ‘ruin’ Mark. I mention, so I can note that the villagers spend a lot of time trying to keep them apart . . . because of their perceptions of her, and their adoration of Mark. She takes matters into her own hands, though, by appearing at his cabin one day. When it was pouring rain. And she’d forgotten a coat, umbrella, or shrew. Her clothing might have been scandalous for the village, but her appearance when Mark opened the door? Well, nothing was hidden – the reader learns of this as Mark takes in her visible-beneath-the-wet-but-basically now see-through clothing. And other visible attributes.

This . . . seduction technique by Jessica actually backfires. Badly. Jessica knew other courtesans had tried, and failed, to ‘tame’ the ‘virgin’. But . . . well she wasn’t thinking clear enough; she was under tight time constraints. Mostly due to her ever dwindling bank account, but partially due to Weston’s hounding letters.

Mark and Jessica then procced to circle each other. Once Jessica admits certain things (and no not everything), Mark begins to court her.

Things proceed.

Many barriers stand in the way of happiness, though. Enemies to overcome. Reputations to . . . get around. Job offers to be thought of.

Rating: 4.25

June 28 2018




View all my reviews

Unveiled (Turner #1) by Courtney Milan

Unveiled by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is difficult to write a review for this book now for an important reason:
- immediately after completing it I started reading the short story that appeared between it and the second book in the series. There might have been minutes between the end of one and the start (I’m referring to reading, though the series does follow a chronological order).

So, some of the easy things I can mention:
1) this is the first book I’ve read by this author that was not part of Brothers Sinister series (or, in other words, this is the fifth book, and 8th overall work that I’ve read by this author, counting short stories (and not counting the book and short story I read after reading this one).
2) This book takes place roughly around 1837 and ends roughly around 1840.
3) Set in southern England. Which I say because part of the book is set in Somerset, which is in South West England; while part of the book is set in London, which is in South East England.
4) The book is sexually graphic.
5) The people involved, the main characters I mean, are in their 20s.

This is an odd book in its way. A good many historical fiction romances tend to involve titled people and/or people of that blood. This one does as well, don’t get me wrong. It has the heir to a Dukedom and the daughter of a Duke as the circling main characters. Except…

The lead female character works as and calls herself a nurse. And when asked, gives a name other than her own. As far as the future Duke knows, his love interest is a servant. A relatively high ranked one that appears to hold herself well, and be well respected by others in the household, but still a servant. There are reasons for this. I’ll get to them.

And the future Duke? It’s true that the blood in his veins, to put it bluntly, is of a ‘higher class’. His, hmm, which one was it? His grandfather was either a Duke or an Earl. I believe a Duke. That grandfather’s son (hmm, I think there might be more generations involved) married a wealthy but ‘common’ woman. Ash Turner grew up, partway, as the son of a mill owner (father), and a religious zealot who descended into madness mother). Partway because the father died, and the mother gave away their money – an ancestor married for money, but by the time Ash reached adulthood, that Turner money was gone. He had money, but he got it himself, made it himself, doing something in India. By being a businessman.

So, while he is – now – the heir to a Dukedom, he wasn’t always. Oh, he was somewhere in the line, but there were people in between him and being a Duke, a lot of people. Which he removed. The current Duke, you see (and all of this occurred before the start of the novel, and is known by the reader fairly soon afterwards, well the Dukedom part), married for love. His mistress. Of no special class or status. His parents, the Duke of the time, ejected her from the family, but couldn’t dissolve the marriage.

That Duke, still living, later remarried. He and his Duchess had three children – two boys and one girl. All of whom are adults, and living, at the start of this book. As is that current Duke. So how did Ash become the heir apparent? By going to court and pointing out that the Duke is a bigamist, that the children are illegitimate. He turned them into bastards (literally, in the ‘a person born of parents not legally married to each other’ way).

So – the book opens with Ash and his brother Mark riding horses toward the estate in Somerset that probably will become his (the current Duke’s children have been declared illegitimate, and another court (same court?) has allowed Ash to make an examination of the accounts, but Ash has not been formally named heir – that’s one of the main things in this book, one of the main conflict points, the illegitimate children fighting Mark’s attempt to be named heir to the Duke; and to pass a law legitimizing them – making them unbastardized).

Once Ash and Mark arrive, they find the servants standing around outside to be reviewed. Ash catches sight of one of them in particular and tells Mark that she’s his (or words to that effect). That’d be . . . I forget the name she used, Miss Lowell?, but she is also Lady Margaret, or was until Ash made her a bastard.

Going back to the current Duke’s children attempting to fight to pass a law (which apparently is possible) legitimizing them – Margaret is there as her father’s nurse under an assumed name to act as a spy – to find something, anything, to use against Ash. To fight against him being officially named the heir.

And so the two circle each other. One is the daughter of the highest ranking hereditary title in the British Isles (outranking Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron); the other is attempting to become named heir to that same dukedom. These are not commoners, though one comes more from the business class background, and the other is holding herself out as being a servant . . . and if she and her brothers fail to get a particular law passed she’ll remain what Ash made her – illegitimate, a bastard, someone who would have to find work as a servant or the like.

This is where having read this book, a short story, and another book before writing a review becomes problematic. I know I liked the book. I know that I, mostly, enjoyed the book. But it is difficult, now, to give a more detailed listing of my feelings/emotions/thoughts on the book.

Rating: 3.75

June 28 2018



View all my reviews

Unlocked (Turner #1.5) by Courtney Milan

Unlocked by Courtney Milan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Except for cameo’s there are no actual Turner’s involved in this story. The story includes two people who appeared in the previous book - Lady Elaine Warren and . . . I forget her name, Lady Cosgove? The one in the prior book who had a reputation as being bitchy/catty/etc. Lady Elaine, in turn, is the one known for her loud laugh.

This is a short story, which I wasn’t 100% sure about when I started reading. I should probably mention that I’ve been reading this series in the omnibus edition, so one book/short story follows the next without my ability to carefully mark how far I am in the book, or . . . other stuff. Not a huge issue.

This specific book stars, as in POV character stars, Lady Elaine Warren (of a very good family), and Evan Carlton, Earl of Westfield.

Of the three works in this series I’ve read so far: this one has the people with the highest pedigree. It’s true that the prior one involved the Duke heir and an offspring of a Duke (with Duke being the highest hereditary title in the British Isles), but the heir wasn’t Duke yet, in that book, and had a business-class background (though his grandfather or further back had titled blood) and the Lady, the Duke offspring, was illegitimate. In the second book in the series – the lead female, while a Vicar’s daughter, is also a courtesan/sex-worker, and the lead male is a knight (albeit second in line to a Dukedom – his brother still, by that point, hadn’t fathered a child).

Lady Elaine, despite being ‘of a very good family’ has spent, what is it now, something like 11 seasons in London. At this point she’s basically a spinster, though her mother keeps bringing her out for all to see at balls and the like.

Earl Westfied, for his part, has spent the last 11 (10?) years wandering Europe and climbing mountains.

They knew each other, though, when Elaine was in her first season, and Westfield was 19. Westfield, you see, was quite taken with Elaine – her massive bosoms (what, he mentioned it repeatedly), and her laugh that showed her strong passion and vitality. Being 19 and stuff he wanted to make sure Elaine noticed him. So he teased her. To the point that he killed her vitality – she made her the laughingstock of society because of her laugh.

He knew what he had done and couldn’t fix it. So he fled to Europe.

Elaine, for her part, would have cut herself off from society but her mother loved going to balls and the like and . . . Elaine is there for her mother. Especially since the second most laughed at person in society is her mother, who doesn’t seem to realize she’s the butt of everyone’s jokes (she’s laughed at because she ‘apes’ men by being quite scholarly and spending lots of time researching and talking about astronomy).

So – the Earl is back now and wants to, at the very least, apologize to Elaine, and if possible court her. Elaine, naturally, figures he just wants to laugh at her more. The Earl’s attempts are undermined by his childhood friend, previously briefly mentioned, Lady Cosgrove (whatever her name is, it is something like that).

Interesting enough story. Short. Kind of . . . bland.

Rating: 3.50

June 28 2018




View all my reviews

Orbiting Bodies by Diana Jean

Orbiting Bodies by Diana Jean

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from Less Than Three Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well this is a somewhat strange position I find myself in. In 2016 I read and loved a book by this author. In 2018 I reread that book and loved it again. I’ve now read two more works – both of which I read today. Didn’t love the short story, but it was a good enough way to pass the time. This brings us to this novel here – which I somewhat unexpectedly find that I also loved.

Unexpectedly? Well . . . there’s like 80 (no, there’s just 4) point of view main characters in this book. All of them young adult college students. It is somewhat harder for me to love a multiple cast point of view book. Not impossible, just harder. Plus – I had been eyeballing this book for a while now, and kept not getting it because of the sample – Caleb, the star of the beginning chapter, seems a pain to be around – a super hyper super-selfish extrovert type who has great trouble sitting still for longer than three minutes, and brings unrelated books to tutor sessions in case he gets bored. He seemed . . . annoying when I first glimpsed him in the sample. Then he made me laugh a few times in that sample, so I got the book.

So that’s Caleb – super hyper short slim dude who is an extreme extrovert, wants to be friends with everyone, and is quite pushy in getting people to do his thing – oh and he can be quite . . . dramatic. He is also 18 and a college freshman and the roommate of another main point of view character, Andrew.

Andrew, also a freshman, is also probably 18, though the one and only time his age was given, it was 15 – but that was also an unexpected flashback.

That happens a lot in this book, by the way, flashbacks. Also – merged . . . um sessions. There were times when a character, in the present, would be doing something and have thoughts of the past – detailed thoughts. There were also times when a flashback would occur – and then there would be italicized text – thoughts from the present. That was . . . different.

But I was on Andrew and got distracted.
Andrew, when he first appeared, was dressed all depressing like and .. . well, I forget the exact words Caleb used. Emo? Goth punk? Something in that range. Andrew’s life is art, and that’s why he’s at college – to get an art degree and do art. He is also, unlike Caleb, gay. And a little bit (or more) lusting after Caleb, who reminds him, personality wise, of his great lust-person of high school years (Daniel, the name was Daniel, right?). Andrew kind of became the fifth well in this book, even though there were only four points of view. But, eh, whatever.

As I mentioned, Caleb is quite pushy and gets his way a lot. I mention this because, the first day Caleb and Andrew move in on campus – Caleb drags Andrew to a club mixer thingie. Which I mention less to mention Caleb being pushy, but so I could mention that that is where the two meet Jun. Sitting at one of the club tables (Astronomy).

Jun, unlike freshman Caleb and Andrew, is a junior – studying for a bio-chem degree (degrees?, I forget if that was described as ‘bio chem pre med degree’, or bio chem degree and pre med degree or . . something). Jun is the third point of view character in the book. He is very studious to the point he rarely does anything else. When he was 7 his family moved from Japan to the USA, which I mention because the transition was such that he lost the ability to make friends, or something like that, and so went a different direction – taking on a persona of hiding, and being studious and not pursing friendships and social interactions.

Jun is roommates with the final point of view character, Piper. Who pulls in Lizzy, though Lizzy, oddly, doesn’t get a point of view in this book. Lizzy and Pipper are seniors and girlfriends. Jun was a last minute addition to their apartment, as they figured that having another person in the application would increase their chances of getting the apartment. Piper is into Computer Science, while Lizzy is into dance. Piper’s the one who pulls in the family (though Caleb’s mother is mentioned and very briefly seen in the opening chapter) – for the mother, Piper’s that is, keeps opening stating things like how Piper’s going through a phase and stuff, by dating women (though . . . eh, let’s not give everything away).

There’s a slight disconnect between me and the characters involved. Possibly due to there being so many to follow, possibly for other reasons. That doesn’t mean I didn’t feel them at times – like, again unexpectedly, there were moments when Piper and Lizzy’s story-line made me vaguely teary eyed.

Right.

So, young adult book. Many characters. Three men, two women. Mix of LGBT characters. Multiple LGBT couples in the same book. Mix of MM and FF in same book. Lastly: the only thing graphic was kissing.

Enjoyable book.

Rating: 4.78

June 25 2018




View all my reviews

From This Window by Diana Jean

From This Window by Diana Jean

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from Less Than Three Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Why did I decide to try this story here? Because it is by an author I’ve read and loved a book by. So much so that I’ve read that book twice (5 star reads both times). That was a female-female book, though, and this is a male-male short story. But I knew/know that going in.

This is a difficult story to review for one specific reason: I could summarize the story in a few words. It is a brief story of something around 26 to 31 pages and it would be easy accidentally say too much in a review, to spoil things.

So, what can I say? This story was originally published in 2013 at about 31 pages in length and, judging from the reviews, is similar to but not exactly the same as the story I read. There are medical conditions mentioned in those reviews not mentioned in the story I read (though I’m not sure those conditions were ever in the story, considering how they are referred to in the reviews I saw).

And the story? Two men meet, one is happy hard working type, the other is depressing and while he has his hobbies, is not the hard working type. They feel a certain attraction to each other. Oh, and this story occurs in the days before and on Christmas day.

Jeremy is the happy hard working one. Lucas the who stares at people, depressed, and jots down notes in a notebook. Both are roughly 23 to 25 years of age. I do not recall if physical characteristics were mentioned (beyond height, weight, and how strong they look). I pictured both in a way that probably doesn’t correspond to the situation at hand, at least if I look at the covers. *shrugs* eh, my imagination makes weird leaps at times.

An interesting slice of life story with a thread of romance, and a touch of family stuff. An okay story.

Rating: 3.44

June 25 2018



View all my reviews

The Morning Star (Imp #10) by Debra Dunbar

The Morning Star by Debra Dunbar

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


And here we are at the conclusion of this series (spin-offs and cameos from the mains will continue, so says the afterward). I liked what I saw unfold. I like how the series 'concluded'. There was nothing really 'wrong' with this book (beyond massive editing issues, seriously, massive - misspellings, words may or may not have merged together, and other issues - but that, really, plays no part in my rating). I do not rate books 'nothing really wrong with this, so it gets 5 stars'. Books, for me, do not start at five stars then have that rating chipped away at. Books start at no specific rating. Certain things will have me add or subtract a star, but I mostly work on a gut feeling ('this feels like 4 stars, this feels like . . .' with an added touch that I've read several thousand books, rated them, rerated them, massaged my impressions of them, and my gut feeling has a bit of 'this book is slight better than that book, worse that that book over there, therefore, since those two have those ratings, this would fall somewhere between those too books' - occasionally I even deliberately work a books rating out that way, mostly it's gut (which is why I go back through and stare at stuff, and move books up and down the rating shelves, once I've thought about the books more)) .

All of which leads me to: as I noted, good concluding book with some editing issues which play no part in my rating, and nothing really 'wrong' with it. There was also nothing so earth-shattering good that would add extra points to the score. So, gut reaction, this book would fall somewhere around 4.344 stars.

This is the tenth book in the series - it's hard to say much about it because the books do build from one to the next. The characters grow, the story grows. You cannot read book 10 first. You cannot read book 5 first. I'm not going to say that you have to read book 1 first but . . . you kinda do. Mixing in the side books if and when you might desire to do so - you do learn things by reading those books, as I found out. Mostly about the side characters. And how they came together. Technically I probably should have read the side book in between this one and the previous book in this series, the one called . . . it was 'Penance', right? That was the title? Something like that. It was described, self-described at that, as being super depressing so . . . I skipped it.

Oh, and by side-books, I mean the ones starring the major side characters, like the five archangels, and the like. The ones that do not have their own series. The side-series seem to be more filling in some blanks of lower level side characters - at least that's the way it felt. Granted, I am basing that off of mostly skipping the half-breed series (or was it completely skipping it?) and not feeling as if I lost anything from skipping that series.

Right, it's 2 am, my eyes are barely open, and I do not really know what I've written (and, see: eyes barely open, I can't really reread anything at moment).

Good book, good conclusion; not great book, not outstanding book. A book I cannot really describe fully because it is the tenth book in the series, and someone reading the review, to 'get' anything from a more detailed 'this is the setup', would probably need to have a good prior understanding of this series.

Rating: 4.344

June 25 2018



View all my reviews

Alchemy by Marie S. Crosswell

Alchemy by Marie S. Crosswell

My rating: 4.44 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from Less Than Three Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike many reviews I’ve attempted recently, the start of this one is easy: Why did I read this work here? Because it involves Sherlock Holmes, it’s a short story, it’s a mystery, and I like all three things. Plus it might be interesting to read what a female Holmes might be like, with a female Watson. I do not go in knowing if they are supposed to have a relationship or not, just that the two main characters have been ‘regendered’. The work was in the LGBT section, though.


I’ve never read the author before, though, and no one else has read and reviewed this work. So I’m a risk-taker. *nods* That’s why I requested the story, though, what I said up there. It looked interesting.

Was it?

Well the opening was weird. About a dream, the dreamer dreamed they were a stingray swimming around the ocean. At the time of reading the opening for the first time, I had had no clue who the dreamer might be, though it becomes clear later.

The second noticeable thing, after the weird dream, is that the police person Holmes tended to talk with (I’ve the vague idea this is the case) has also been regendered. Is everyone in this story female? Well the homeless woman lying dead at Lestrade’s feet is also female. So . . . yes? More information needed (ah, Holmes makes reference to an imaginary male police detective as the stand-in for the average police investigator, therefore, there be males on this world, question answered; a male in the flesh finally appears – Mycroft remains male in this universe).

Right, let’s stop with writing about each word, sentence, and paragraph.

Why was Holmes called in for the death of a homeless woman? Holmes name was carved into the body.

Holmes doesn’t seem as outwardly all-knowing in this universe.

Ah, wonder why it took me so long to realize why things felt ‘off’. Everything is from Holmes point of view, not Watson’s. It’s odd being in Holmes head, though other stories have done it.

-----

This is set in modern times, based on well-hidden clues, like mobile phones.
---
Eww, kissing.

---
That’s what my reviews become with short stories: Random thoughts with Lexxi as she reads (oops, I admit now, I’m writing this as I read).

--
There’s a nice buzz/vibe to watching Holmes investigate, but . . . I can’t say as it’d be spoiler-y.

--
The mystery plot-line was interesting, though there was that issue I can’t mention for spoiler-y reasons. The romance plot-line was . . . different. Well, not really – romance has popped up in Holmes stories before and tends to be weird/different than the norm. As it is/was here. So I guess, in that sense, the romance plot-line meshes with my idea of Holmes, for being weird. Heh.

All-in-all this was an interesting story. On one hand, making this be a Holmes story adds a certain tension to things, at least to me, to my reading of the story. Needing to watch closely at this interpretation of the character. On the other hand, this story probably works . . . better as a Holmes story, at least one set in modern times like the modern television series are. Better as there are added layers already built into the story – like I knew about Holmes drug issue, the connection to Watson, Lestrade, Moriarty, and Mycroft. And to boxing. Oh, and the vague not-clearly-stated asexual vibe of the character.

There were only two things really missing from this story: I might have preferred it set a century ago for . . . reasons; and there was no connection to music like Holmes’s love of listening to or playing music in the original stories (or was that a later addition?). At least I do not think I noticed music. Was there music? Hmms. I don’t think there was. No matter.

Rating: 4.44

June 23 2018




View all my reviews

Wildrose by Max Ellendale and R.M. Bruce

Wildrose by Max Ellendale

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I’ve started this review something like twelve times now.

Eve Grant works as a homicide detective in Seattle. There are investigations she is shown investigating, but the main point of the book is not to follow and/or unravel mysteries, but to watch Eve’s love life. She’s both not the kind to have relationships (more of a one-night stand type of person), and hasn’t been on a one night stand type event in months (six?). So, naturally, there’d be some changes in store for Eve in this book.

Her first potential love interest is the somewhat vaguely ice queen like Ainsley Monson, the medical examiner. I’m not actually sure if she has that reputation so much as she kind of acts that way in the book.

I’d like to say ‘various other people weave in and out as potentials’, but that’s hard to have happen, what with Eve mostly just hanging out with straight people, and in straight bars. Another potential love interest does pop up, though, through the means of visiting that gay friendly bar that shares the same name as this book
(Ciara is meet there, and a tiny bit of time is spent here otherwise, but . . . I’m not sure why this specific book is named after that bar).

An interesting dynamic breaks out that I rarely see in books like this one, though it might be obvious from what I’ve written up to this point – Eve starts dating two people at the same time (one knows the name of the other; the other knows that Eve is dating someone else, but not her name). The three woman love triangle actually, and somewhat unexpectedly, seems to flow naturally for the people involved, and the situation(s) encountered. Or, in other word, there are reasons for why things developed the way they developed, for how Eve ended up dating two people at the same time, who are aware of the situation and vaguely accepting of it.

Fire and ice. I’ve mentioned Ainsley, she’d fall on the ice side of things. On the fire side is Ciara. Using the ‘fire and ice’ as opposite extremes is a nice motif for me to use, eh? But doesn’t really apply, and was never used in the book. Ainsley has elements of being closed off emotionally, being something of an ice queen; while Ciara, with her flaming red hair, and ability to openly express her wants and desires would fall inside . . . whatever category that would imply. Fire seems to imply someone who becomes enraged easily or something like that, which is not Ciara. Or someone controlled by their emotions, again not her. I need a new motif.

You know, writing a review for this book should probably be easy. I’m not sure why it took me twelve times to get to this point, or why I’m ham-fistedly going about things as I am.

I probably should have just gone with the thought I’d had while reading the book, and seen if there was something I could have built off of it, review-wise. That thought being: ice-queens are popular in lesbian fiction, off the top of my head I can think of three fanfiction universes that use that dynamic and in turn get used for inspiration for fanfiction, and published work (Cat Grant from Supergirl; whoever the ice queen is from: Devil Wears Prada, and, in addition, the one from Once Upon a Time (that’s the one that’s called Swanqueen, right?); a fourth could be Janeway from Star Trek Voyager, though I rarely see fanfictions from that universe, and when I do, they tend to attempt to show what would have happened if Janeway hadn’t made the decision to not pursue romantic interests while in the Delta quadrant – she has more of the ‘stand-offishness’ vibe more from circumstances than actual traits (at least there were hints she wasn’t that way when she wasn’t cut off from the Alpha Quadrant)).

Melting the ice queen’s heart, especially since she tends to be shown as much older than the other individual involved in the romance, has never really been my thing to enjoy. I prefer the more nurturing, emotionally stable . . etc. etc. There’s probably a term for that type of character, eludes me (not 'mothering' type, that's going too far in a different direction, I'm not looking 'mother and little girl' stories either, more equal partners type stories). I’m referring here to what I like to read, not real life situations (*shrugs*, I can't really say I'm not into that in real life since my longest term relationship, roughly 7 to 8 years, was with someone with a vaguely ice queen vibe, though I only really noticed after the fact when watching her interact with others who were not me).

Nope, that thought experiment to create a review didn’t work. Ah well.

I liked what I saw unfold in this book. For the most part I liked the sole point of view character, Eve, and her best friend Ang. I liked the personality shown with Ciara, though we, the reader, didn’t really get to dig deep into her character. We learn a little bit more about Ainsley, but, due to her character, there are walls around her that weren’t breached.

Hmm. I now fall into an odd problem. Since I wrote, then discarded a dozen reviews, I’m not sure what all I actually have and haven’t written. Since I feel like I’ve written everything now, but probably have discarded most. Pfft, having to reread my own review… mmphs.

Right. There are two things left I wanted to mention. Or, at least, two things I thought of mentioning.

Nah, I just deleted the paragraph(s) I wrote that rambled about this being the sixth book I’ve read by one of the two authors listed on this book’s cover, and I’ll just move to the next topic.

There’s graphic sex in this book. I, somewhat unexpectedly, liked it more than I figured I would.

Some quotes:

"Nice sunglasses," . . .
"Shut up."
"I thought you weren't drunk."
"Wasn't drunk. Totally no drunkness occurred."
"Uh huh. So you normally wear sunglasses in the rain?"
"I do. Don't judge me."
"Idiot."

"Hey, don't discount the awesomeness that is my firearm. It's saved your life a time or two."
"Yeah, but what happens when you're disarmed? You scream 'I beat terrorists!' while waving your arms in the air?" I laughed at him. "That'll work."

"Prude." Now I laughed at her. "I was kidding. I'm thirty-six years old. I have no gaydar. I'm broken."

If I was any less of a person, I'd deny the deflated feeling inside when I heard the dreaded heterosexuality pour from her lips. My inclinations were, no doubt, wrong.

"Thanks for the drink."
"Anytime." I smiled, half-heartedly at the sexy woman who I would now only get to ogle at until I shriveled up and died.

"Worst lesbian ever. Most U-Haul. You Fed Ex."
I laughed hard at the unusual statement. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"U-Haul, love 'em and married by the third date. Fed Ex, love 'em and ship 'em out next day air."

"Are you aware that we're both in our mid-thirties and behaving like bi-curious teenagers?"

"I've also never kissed two women at the same time." I looked at her. "Wait, that sounded odd."

"I don't care if we eat in the middle of the road, as long as we get to spend time together," I told her because that's how I felt.

I lost my fingers in her hair but she pulled back suddenly.
"Did I give you a boner?" She grined down at me, biting her bottom lip in the way that made me want to bit it for her.
"I think you might've." I reached under my shirt and tugged my sidearm free, shoving it into my purse a few inches away.

"Dating," I said. "We're dating. Poorly, at the moment."
She laughed, genuinely. So much so that her eyes lit up with it. "Very."
"Just relax a little, okay?"
"You too then. Sometimes you look about ready to regurgitate a meal."
"Ainsley!" I laughed, swatting her arm without thinking. "That's gross. You say weird shit."

Nothing brought me more joy than spending this time with Angelina. She was my best friend, my sister, my person, and no matter what, that wouldn't ever change. I was lucky to have her, to call her my family.

ETA: by the way - if the relationship had ended up the way I thought it might, I'd probably have rated this book way differently. Like, a lot.

Rating: 5.0

June 21 2018



View all my reviews

truelesbianlove.com by Carsen Taite

truelesbianlove.com by Carsen Taite

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Super quick story about two long-time friends who realize they have feelings for each other. Though they take forever to reach this realization. Along the way they spend a little bit of time looking at online dating stuff - hence the title of this book.

“Handle?” Mac frowned. “It’s not like we’re truckers looking for love on our CB radios." - Setting up their online dating profile.

Dear Huge Pig letter: At first I thought you were cute, but then you ate the entire city of Dallas in one sitting. When I said I wanted to see you again, I didn’t mean you had to make yourself big enough I could see you across town.

- after a date during which Mac made it a 'working date' by doing a little taste test of a rival restaurant's menu.

Rating: 3.68

June 18 2018

View all my reviews

Taking Flight by Siera Maley

Taking Flight by Siera Maley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




There are some authors who I, once I actually find them, gobble everything by them up as quickly as possible (or, at least, whatever I can get my hands on). Then there are authors who have written books I’ve liked and who, for reasons that aren’t really clear to me, I take a lot of time getting around to reading other stuff by them. Sierra Maley falls into the second category – I’ve now read all but one of their six books, but it took me three years to read these five books.

Part of my slowness in reading these books is the nature of the books – all but one are contemporary romance young adult books, and that other one also involved youngish adults, though it was one of those high fantasy books. I’ve read a ton of young adult books – more than the 78 on my shelves (view spoiler)[(I have a tendency to go back and move my reading records and reviews, if any, to omnibus editions, as in, I’ve read a ton of Rick Riordan young adult books, but he doesn’t show up high on my authors read list because I moved my record of reading from individual books to omnibus editions). (hide spoiler)] Still, I seem to always be kind of reluctant to dive into young adult books, especially if they are romances. This is everything this author, Sierra Maley I mean, writes.

But enough of that.

Three months before the start of this book, Lauren Lennox’s mother died in a car accident. She, the mother, was somewhere around 42. Lauren, at the time, was 17. Before that tragic death, Lauren had two parents, but not the normal type of life experience that one would get from having two parents. Pops (not sure if his name was ever given) is an alcoholic and basically disappeared into the bottle long long ago – other than someone to stumble across as he is passed out drunk, Lauren doesn’t really have a relationship with her father. Her mother, on the other hand, disappeared from her life for another reason – she was an A-list movie actress and was constantly working. So Lauren has spent basically the last 10 years of her life with limited (any?) rules, and low level parenting and support (the mother became an A list star 10 years ago, though she’d been a child actress at some point, so she was always working, just not at the same level).

For the last three months, since her mother’s death, Lauren has basically spent her time in her bed. This is how she ended up in court for failure to attend school. This is not her first time getting into trouble for attendance. The Judge set her up with a program in a small town in Georgia. A quite religious town, with a Baptist family. Lauren, by the way, has been openly lesbian since she was . . . what, 14? Something like 14.

The early part of the book shows Lauren with her one good friend, Caitlyn, dealing with the issue of being shipped off (shortly, like in three days) to Georgia. Her plan, which she sets up with her friend before leaving, is to be a disagreeable sort with her program family, and once she turned 18, the friend would pick her up and they’d drive off, freeing her early. Money? Her trust fund has millions in it. Not that she can touch any at the moment.

The second part of the book (and no the book is not cut evenly in half) involve Lauren interacting with the small Georgian town, the Baptist family she lives with, and the small high school she attends.

There’s a lot about the description of Lauren, who and what she presents herself as, which would likely be annoying for me to read. But there’s more to her than this description, and she’s actually pretty fun to follow along.

There are many things I liked about this book, beyond Lauren: there’s quite good characterization, a good story-line, great side-characters, etc. etc. I like how this book mentions a young adult who is attending high school . . . and actually shows stuff in the school.

After that was lunch, only the lunch periods were beyond confusing, and I wound up sitting alone at a table for two lunch periods instead of one. Then it turned out neither of those lunch periods were the one I was supposed to have attended

Many seem to like to just skip that part. I liked how there is/was a romance in the book and it wasn’t a ‘love at first sight’ type of thing, nor was it without complications (I’m trying to figure out how to mention some of this without spoilers - (view spoiler)[like, I liked how Lauren attempted to date the only openly lesbian person in the school, Maddie, and kind of fucked it up

“Should’ve known. How on earth can you talk shit about guys like Trevor, being the way you are? How is what you’re doing here any better than what he’s done? You let me think you wanted to get to know me; that you actually liked me. Here I was, actually catching feelings for a girl I was spending time with, and meanwhile you just wanted to sleep with me."

; and . . . .well, other stuff (hide spoiler)].

The characters felt real. The story felt real. Quite good book.

I was literally huddled under a tree in the middle of nowhere during an increasingly heavy downpour, soaking wet, in order to watch a recently-pseudo-dumped blonde girl dance around and drink rain. Caitlyn would die of laughter if she could see me now.

Watching Cammie interact with Nate and Fiona was like watching a baby bird take a nosedive out of its nest.

- Lauren, being Lauren, had looked for some non-threatening looking people to sit with at lunch, so became friends with Nate and Fiona. They were initially quite confused, though, as to why Lauren would want to sit with them. Lauren, I've never mentioned, is white. Nat and Fiona are black. Lauren hadn't thought it would be strange to sit with them, but . . . while the small town wasn't necessarily racist, it was still a small town in Georgia, one that was about 99.9% white. Cammie, here in the quote, is Cameron Marshall, the young woman who Lauren lives with in the Marshall home. Cammie isn't specifically racist but never thought of sitting with Nate & Fiona. Until that particular part of the book.

“Don’t make fun of my boobs,” I hissed. She just giggled and pulled me down for another kiss.

Rating: 4.88

June 17 2018



View all my reviews

Talk Sweetly to Me (Brothers Sinister, #4.5) by Courtney Milan

Talk Sweetly to Me by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Stephen Shaughnessy, who appeared in the prior Brothers Sinister work as someone needing to be saved (though somewhat barely making an appearance in the story), stars in this shorter work. With him in the starring role is Rose Sweetly. I’m fairly certain Rose hasn’t appeared in this series up to now. Both have POV’s.

Stephen, as those who might remember from the prior book, is a newspaper columnist with a column titled ‘Ask a Man’. This story here adds 4 novels to his writing career. To add to his relatively disreputable reputation, gained, I mean, from being ‘the man’ columnist for a women’s newspaper, is the part where he’s Irish, Catholic, and known to be something of a ladies man. The player reputation (aka Rake), is probably the easiest for him to ‘handle’, normally. Irish? Catholic? Writes for a women’s paper? In 1882, London, those three things are negatives.

“My father was a stable master,” he told her. “My mother was a seamstress. I’ve done very well for myself, but don’t imagine that I’m one of those gentlemen who look down on you.”

Stephen meets Rose through the odd little accident of living next to her. About two doors down. Actually, to be exact, he lives two doors down from Patricia, Rose’s pregnant married sister. This is why Rose is there – to ‘take care of’ Patricia while her husband, a Naval Doctor, is on assignment.

Stephen, from the first, is intrigued by Rose. Rose, for her part, is flustered by Stephen. Also, there are certain reasons for not wanting his attention. Which I’ll get to later.

In addition to being a helper for her sister, 20 year old Rose actually has a job, a paying job. She’s a computer. A term I’d first heard when I read that nonfiction book that later became a movie I still haven’t seen (referring here to Hidden Figures). A computer is someone hired to do the mathematical calculations for a scientist. They are the kind who tends to be able to do advanced math in their heads. Rose works as a computer for an astronomer.

Right, so, the reasons why Rose doesn’t really wish to receive Stephen’s attention. Many reasons, like how Stephen has that rake reputation and the like. Mostly, though, there’s the part where Stephen, in addition to being Irish, Catholic, etc. etc., is white. Rose, you see, is not. White. She has dark skin, you see, black skin. As does her sister and her sister’s doctor husband (the author notes at the end make mention of things like this – one of the interesting tidbits, to me, was how, by 1882, ‘Britain had probably trained at least as many black doctors as there were dukes.’ And yet, so many historical fiction romances works seem fixated on matching up people with dukes – and yet I almost never see black doctors in historical romances – almost as in never, except here where the husband of a main character’s sister is one, though he makes only a very brief appearance in this novel).

Right, so – much of the book involves a growing attraction between the two main characters, mixed with Rose’s awareness of her position and what the result might be of a union with Stephen (Black, Irish, Catholic children running around).

I liked the story, for the most part. I liked the characters. Story was kind of short, though.

Rating: 3.77

June 17 2018



View all my reviews

The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan

The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is both the sixth work I’ve read in this ‘Brothers Sinister’ series, and the sixth work I’ve read by this author. The book is listed as being 4th in the series – I didn’t read the series out of order, the other two works were short stories.

This book stars Frederica ‘Free’ Marshall’ and Edward Clark. Both of whom have points of view in the book. Free has previously appeared in the series and is the daughter of the main characters in the prequel short story (‘The Governess Affair’), and the sister (half-sister, they have different fathers) of Oliver Marshall, the lead male character in ‘The Heiress Effect’. Clark, nor any relative of Clark, has not previously appeared in the series.

There were aspects of this book, from the description and from mentions here or there, which lead me to be somewhat reluctant to read this book. Yet, when I finally did, I found it quite enjoyable. Riveting even. I rather enjoyed both main characters, Free and Edward Clark, though it really seems to be more of a Edward story, though Free both has a point of view, and seems to ‘come out on top’ in most situations with Clark.

‘For reasons’, Edward Clark, not the name he was born with – that’d be Edward Delacey, has spent a good portion of his adult life living . . . elsewhere. To the point that Edward Delacey is about to be declared legally dead, due to . . . um, being missing? For about 7 years. There are reasons for that being important – Edward Delacey, see, is supposed to be the new Viscount Claridge, his father having died about nine months before the start of the story. With Edward being declared dead, his brother James would take over the estate and title.

Edward’s back in England now, though, but not to reclaim his life, nor claim the title. His brother can have that. No, he’s back because he’s been informed by an old friend, Patrick Shaughnessy, that Stephen Shaughnessy (Patrick’s brother) is being targeted and is in trouble. Edward is back to try to help Stephen.

Stephen Shaughnessy writes a column called ‘Ask a Man’ in a newspaper that has the motto of ‘By Women, For Women, and About Women’. That specific newspaper is owned by the other main character in this book, Free Marshall.

Edward works out what’s going on, and decides that the best method of ‘dealing with’ the issue is to insert himself into the newspaper organization. Though, admittedly, he came to that conclusion after having spotted Free and finding her intriguing. So there’s that added bonus of being able to be near her, while also attempting to help Stephen.

Edward openly admits, to Free, that he’s a scoundrel, a forger, a . . well, a bunch of stuff. He admits this as he’s talking with Free about joining together in a partnership of sorts to help defeat the forces against Free. Edward is interested in doing so more for the revenge possible to him in doing this – and doesn’t otherwise give a damn about Free – at least that’s what he tells Free.

They slowly begin to work together, with certain reluctance on Free’s part. They both develop unexpected feelings for the other.

Stuff happens. Graphic sex occurs. The world is saved for another day, so to speak.

Gah. At some point I was going to make mention of the fact that this story takes place in 1877. I forgot, I did. Mmphs.

Rating: 4.76

June 17 2018




View all my reviews

The Power of Mercy by Fiona Zedde

The Power of Mercy by Fiona Zedde

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from Ylva Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

One note before I continue: I note above that this is an ‘ARC’. That’s because I read the ARC version of this book – having requested it as an ‘additional’ book to review when I requested June 2018 books to review.

I hate being in this position and I feel blindsided by it for two reasons. 1) I’ve only ever read one other story by this author, and I liked it – giving me a faint idea I might also like this one, though not the confidence I would; 2) the people I follow, and friends who have read this work seemed to have loved this book. I didn’t going in assuming that I’d like it because of 1, nor that I’d love it because of 2, but those were certainly issues of feeling blindsided.

I do no really understand this book. The mystery: Someone has been killing, Mai, for reasons that completely elude me, looks into investigating the case (why her? She’s a bloody teacher for fuck sake, sure, in her spare time she jumps around saving humans who get themselves into trouble, but that involves running into burning buildings, saving people from flipped cars, and the like, not doing investigations or fighting complex villain plans; so again, why the fuck Mai? Because there is no one else? Fuck no – there are the ‘Enforcers’ who are quite powerful and quite capable of tackling the investigation. So why didn’t they handle the case? For the fucking reason that fucking cops get taken off cases because it’s personal. Because it’s Mai’s uncle who is the latest victim – police/investigators/whatever GET TAKEN OFF CASES LIKE THIS, not given the case to investigate, for fuck sake (also she’s one of the ‘weaker’ super powered people around, you know, just to toss that in there as well as a reason for her NOT to be the investigator)). The mystery was crap.

The romance: just what the fuck did I read romance wise? Or: what romance? Mai fucks random women whenever she feels like it – the book opens with her standing on the roof nearish another random unknown woman; the big ‘romance’ in the story involves her fucking some woman she doesn’t really know, but at least knows her name, but they don’t have a relationship. They have lust. They both act like cats on catnip – MUST FUCK YOU!!!! There’s no mental process involved here. No ‘she’s nice’, no ‘I wish to date her’, there’s just ‘FUCK HER NOW!!!!!’. Fuck sake. The romance is crap.

What else is there? The main character hates her life, hates her family, hates everything, including herself. She’s literally been abused and tortured by her family her entire life. She’s angsting 24/7. She’s like an overly emotional teenager ‘having feelings’. Does she have a reason to act that way? Well, yes, but still, painful to read.

This was a painful book to read beginning to end. There are no redeemable characters here. Every fucking member of Mai’s family is an asshole, at least to Mai (for the most part). Her students, eh, the only one that actually gets a name just won’t take no from the teacher, Mai, she’s lusting after. Fuck her. The victims? We only really learn about one of the victims, the one I already mentioned, the uncle – who is the biggest asshole of all time. The killer should get a medal for killing this asshole - kind of asshole.

I wonder if I read some side draft instead of the book everyone else read. Because, seriously, I do not understand this book. Mai’s lust interest, a fellow teacher, acts super bitchy to Mai when they finally have a conversation, that teacher basically and loudly condemns Mai as ‘yet another teacher who fucks her students’ without actually knowing anything about Mai. Even so . . . they decide to fuck for some reason? I mean, they are in a kind of hate mode when Mai is at her car door to leave and . . . suddenly they are kissing? And fucking? Right there in the street (seriously, I need to stop using seriously, that’s one of the reasons that I think I might have read a draft because that’s the way that particular scene went – they were at a car door, and suddenly they were fucking. When it was over they were at an apartment without actually going to it. WTF?)

I hate asking for a book, getting it, and loathing it from beginning to end. I only completed this book because it was I requested.

If I hadn’t read and enjoyed a work by this author before trying this one here, I’d break my longstanding rule of giving authors multiple chances, and, after reading this book here, strike the author from the list of authors I’m willing to read. Because of this book. But I had read that other work so . . . I can’t do that.

Rating: 1.1

June 16 2018




View all my reviews

Soulswap by Arizona Tape and Laura Greenwood

Soulswap by Arizona Tape

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I’m not sure how it happens, but it does. I seem to bounce from subject to subject by accident. The books themselves might be written years apart, or they all might have been inspired to be written and published at the same time. Like suddenly running through a group of pretend relationship books, or miscommunication books, or women pretending to be men books or . . . etc. etc.

Here the common theme is telling a story in multiple books. Heh. Sounds like a series, eh? I mean telling the same story, from more than one side, from more than one POV, the same chronological moments in time from different perspectives, in different books. I didn’t know I was going to find myself in that situation here until I looked closer at the book series this specific book here is involved in.

Book one, this book here, tells the story of a particular woman in a MF relationship, one in which she repeatedly (and I mean repeatedly) makes note of how much she loves her boyfriend/fiancée, while still acknowledging there’s this spark missing. That specific woman, Tate, is a dragon-shifter who hasn’t really mastered the ability to shift (like, at all).

Book two tells the story of Ayra, a woman in a FF relationship, who both loves her girlfriend and loves being with her girlfriend but also notices a spark missing. I mention book two here in the review for book one for one specific reason: Ayra and Tate look the same. They are not both shifters, but both are ‘fantasy creatures’ (Ayra’s a vampire – like Tate she’s ‘defective’ in that she’s a ‘bad’ vampire – in that she hate blood). Both are in relationships that lack ‘something’, though both believe they are in love matches. That’s not why I mention book two. No, I mention book two because Tate, through reasons she has no clue about, keeps waking up in Ayra’s body. She’d black out, wake up in Ayra’s body, interact with the environment in Ayra’s body, faint again, and be back in her own body.

For the longest time Tate thought she might be having weird dreams or the like. Though she kind of knew things felt just a little too real. Including the part wherein she finds herself strangely attracted to Ayra’s girlfriend Sian.

Somewhere along the line, though, Tate finally realizes that she really is in someone else’s body – that Sian is real, that the events unfolding are real. Takes her longer to realize her own body is getting taken over while she’s gone.

That’s book two – seeing Ayra in Ayra’s body, then Ayra in Tate’s body (like seeing Tate in Tate’s body, then in Ayra’s body). It’s not really important, since I’ll probably come back to it, but I stopped reading Ayra’s book when she referred to Sian as ‘the blonde’ (Tate, when she didn’t know what the fuck was going on, kept getting called ‘Ayra’ by a blond woman, so she took to thinking of that woman as ‘blondie’ – seeing Ayra, in Ayra’s body, referring to Sian as ‘the blond’ looked like fanfiction gone wild – while Tate’s use of ‘blondie’ seemed cute and fitting to her personality (she labeled another person she didn’t know, but was known to Ayra, by his outfit – he had been dressed as Dracula at the time, so yes it’s her personality to use appearance to name people).

Right, so, another series told in parts, then concluded in a third. I can see reasons to keep Ayra’s and Tate’s POV section separate (in separate books), especially since they never actually directly interact with each other ((view spoiler)[they do interact indirectly (hide spoiler)]) and it’s confusing when POV characters don’t interact with each other. I can also see how it might have been easier to read with the two stories interlocked in one book – for the exact reason I stopped reading book two – it’s repeating too much of the same stuff from book one, so I stopped.

Wow, I spent way too much time talking about book 2. Mmphs. Heh.

Rather enjoyed the personalities on display here – specifically the lead character, Tate, and Sian, the love interest (or the second love interest; the first, the original boyfriend guy, is present but . . . more to showcase how much Tate . . . kind of didn’t fit that well with him).

Rating: 4.63

June 15 2018




View all my reviews

Stolen Magic by May Dawney

Stolen Magic by May Dawney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I keep going back and forth on how to dive into this review . . . haven’t thought of a way, so I’ll just dive in and hope not to babble too much.

The series: genres/categories/etc:
The first book in this series involves romance with elements of fantasy weaved into the story-line. I mean, it starts with a woman exploding due to magic, so yes, obviously, elements of fantasy. As a whole, the series is modern day earth with a hidden layer of magic users and those who fight them (in a – let’s kill them all for using magic way). If I recall correctly, the first book is the one that dives deepest into the underlying layer of how magic works on Earth, and the like, while so, I still call it more of a romance with fantasy threads. A FF Romance (one or more of the characters are bisexual, so not a lesbian romance). Second story is a fantasy story with a flirtation thread – between a 17 year old and a 33 year old. Flirtation instead of romance. Third story, this one here, moves even further away from romance, it is a fantasy story that includes a woman as the lead character who uses a man to release her desire to use magic. It is unclear if either of the people involve like the sex in and of itself, and there are hints neither actually do. But hey, we’ve gone from lesbian romance, to vaguely in-appropriate flirtation between two females, to MF sex (I wouldn’t call it heterosexual sex as I’m not sure either actually are; the woman, definitely, has feelings for women, though for reasons that are not explained but could be guessed at, she doesn’t ‘use’ (and yes, she uses people) a woman to release her need to use sex, but a man).

The storyline:
All three of the stories that have so far been released to the public take place at the same time. Well, the stories overlap, but some of them have sections that begin and/or end before or after the other stories.

It is an interesting concept, and not an original one (George R.R. Martin, for one, did this in his Game of Thrones series). And what is this ‘it’, and/or ‘concept’? Follow more than one point of view and story that takes place at the same time as the other stories, but told in more than one ‘work’. That was vaguely confusing, no? Well, in the case of Martin’s series, he followed certain characters operating in Westeros in one book, and then in another book he followed character(s) operating outside Westeros. There was mention that he planned to not split the work into two different books, but that he just kept writing and writing and . . . well it worked better as more than one work. So he teased out the separate POV threads and released them in separate books. Like here in the Veil Chronicles, the time line doesn’t line up 100% exactly, but the events told correspond to the events told in the other work involving the other POV characters.

So, instead of one work of roughly 800 pages (give or take 200 pages), or one work heavily edited down to the ‘more normal’ lesbian fiction release of 264 pages, we have 4 separately published works that correspond somewhere around the same number of words/pages as the one work. There are 4 works, I believe, that will make up this series. Two of the four have page numbers, the third, this specific work here (‘Stolen Magic’) doesn’t have a specific page count/word count; and the fourth hasn’t been published. None of them have actually made it to 200 pages, and Stolen Magic most likely isn’t up to 200 pages either. I’ve no real way of knowing how long the last work will be, but so far this series is roughly 514 pages in length (with me randomly selecting 130 pages as the page count for book 3).

This was supposed to be my ‘the story line in all three works occur at the same time, chronologically, the story hasn’t advanced as the new works have appeared’, but I got distracted by page numbers.

Story one, ‘Wild Magic’, follows a ‘wild mage’ and a ‘connected but not a member of the Society of magic users’, and tells things from their point of view (I forget if both actually have a point of view, oh, and while it involves a F/F romance, it also involves bisexuals, as in I have it on that shelf). Story two, ‘Death Magic’, follows a young woman of 17 who knows nothing about magic prior to the start of the story (as the wild mage knew nothing of magic prior to the start of ‘Wild Magic’), and a 33 year old mage and daughter of one of the Society’s senior leaders (at least in London, I forget how high his powerbase goes). So this one is the ‘Society’ view point story – the society mentioned in the first story, but not elaborated on. Well book 2 elaborates on the Society. Book three follows a ‘House Leader’ (whatever that specifically means) who is somewhere in her forties, and an important member of the Inquisitio. Inquisition without the n. The people who fight magic users. This one I can say is a solo point of view work.

To a large extent we, the readers, learn more about Viktoria Wagner’s current role in life, a tiny fraction of hints about her past, and snippets from her ancestor, another Wagner, who wrote a book about killing witches, than we learn about the Inquisito. We also learn that Viktoria, for reasons, really really hates Alena’s father (Alena being one of the main characters in book 2, the 33 year old, and the father being that London leader guy). We already knew that neither Alena nor Claire, the other main character in that book, is romantically entangled with anyone, though there is major flirtation going on between the two. But I mention that again because Viktoria’s ex-girlfriend isn’t Alena, but Noah, the ‘aligned/unaligned’ mage in book 1, who becomes deeply and romantically entangled with Ania in that first book. So the woman fucking a man in book three, Viktoria, still has feelings for a woman, but that woman is ‘taken’ now. I mention that part because I had had this vague idea that various couples would be starring in the first three books, then the story would advance and all the couples would come together into a story in book 4. But there’s only one actual couple so far (baring heavy flirtation), so . . . . *shrugs* (I do not consider Tempest, the man Viktoria fucks, and Viktoria to be in a romantic relationship – Tempest is something of a ‘bodyguard’ who tries to help Viktoria keep from using magic, not a boyfriend).

I’ve forgotten where I was and where I was going.

The story annoyed me in certain ways, once I got past that annoyance (Viktoria isn’t a very likable character), I was able to switch from reading this as a character-lead story to reading it as a plot-lead story, and enjoy what I saw unfold. As a character-lead story, I’d rate this 3 stars. As a plot-lead story I would rate it . . .whatever would lead me to rating the overall work 3.75 stars.

There is sex in the story, but it isn’t graphic, beyond mention of Tempest pushing down his penis, so those worried about MF sex . . . um . . . don’t worry? Heh. At least I do not specifically recall graphic sex. *thinks* Let’s see, Tempest and Viktoria are mentioned as fucking in the middle of a group meeting, but I do not recall it being graphically described – one of the reasons I’m not really sure if Tempest and Viktoria even like fucking each other – because the hints that are in the story would lead me to believe Tempest kind of fucks Viktoria more as a duty, less as a desired thing to do; while Viktoria definitely fucks Tempest because he’s there and sexual release, apparently, is an alternative to magic release (there are some jokes I could now insert here, I’ll refrain).

There was no romance in this story. The closest to a romance is when Viktoria remembers her time with Noah.

Rating: 3.75

June 14 2018



View all my reviews

The High Priest and the Idol (Lyremouth Chronicles, #4) by Jane Fletcher

The High Priest and the Idol by Jane Fletcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I didn’t mean to read a book in-between finishing this one and attempting to write a review, but I did. Makes it harder now to write a review.

This is the final book in this particular series, and a definite let-down from the prior book in the series. This is not my least favorite book in the series, though. In fact it might even be my second favorite – the first book in the series was, I noted ‘vaguely interesting, vaguely boring’. Well I never really felt bore, per se, with this book here. Though there were certain things that frustrated me – namely how incredibly naïve Jemeryl seemed in this story (specifically with regard to her ex-lover, and the things to do or not do to ‘stop the crisis’); though the separation of Jemeryl and Tevi for a longish stretch of time, a relatively favorite tactic of this author in this series, was also frustrating.

There were some rather neat ideas explored in this book, namely regarding religion and . . . um . . . other things.

I mention a little note about the book so I’ll have an easier time remembering it later: Jemeryl and Tevi, at the end of the prior book, mentioned where they might live next. The mentioned a particular city/region/village (? – I never did get a clue the size of the place) that had petitioned to join the Protectorate near the end of that book. Well this book picks up a little bit later (I forget if it’s years later, a month, or what), with Jemeryl the local Protectorate Sorcerous in the region, and Tevi the head . . . mercenary/guard person.

Fairly rapidly, though, this changes – Jem gets a note (by bird) to return to the capital to talk with the current Protectorate Guardian. Who is new, and who despises the idea of Jem spending time with a non-magic user. Jem fears the worst.

The dude-whose-name-escapes-me does still dislike the relationship between Tevi and Jem, but, other than noting his disapproval again, that isn’t why he called Jem to him. Jem’s ex-lover, a man (a reminder to readers that it’s Tevi’s same-sex desire/feelings that’s the odd-ball in this universe; her people are MF and kill and/or expel (not sure how and/or works there, heh) FF, MM people; while everyone else on the planet, apparently, are some form of bisexual/pansexual/polysexual/whatever), has fled the Protectorate and the Guardian wants Jem to go get him. He provides reasons why he wants Jem to go instead of sending anyone else. The reasons are reasonable enough, though separating Jem and Tevi probably play some role.

Jem heads across the sea (I’ve no real map in my head to what’s going on geographically) to a land of desert like conditions. Reaches an oasis near the city the rogue magic person fled to. People with weapons approach. Jem basically faints, along with the two helper people who had come with her. The fainting spell is super brief, and when she blinks awake again, she realizes she has lost her ability to sense the higher dimensions – she has lost her ability to use magic. She and her helper people are lead to the city.

The city has historically been known as a religious city – it’s the point of its existence (I believe). There’s this temple there that houses many Gods/goddesses, open to anyone to enter and . . . stuff. Now, though, there’s a new High Priest and a new God. And the other deities have been tossed out. That new High Priest? Well, it’s not really a spoiler, is it, to note that it is the rogue sorcerer.

The High Priest has set up a device that blocks access to the higher dimensions – they still exist, which is why spells created and used before the device went online, still work, but no new spells can be released as no magic user can tap into the magic dimensions now. The High Priest sends the Protectorate people back with a message, Jem, though, elects to stay with her ex-lover.

Tevi, due to reasons (like the magpie left behind as a link to Jem going all unmoving and like), heads to Jem.

One thing leads to another and . . . um . . stuff happens. I do not wish to be too exact here. Though will note Holy War erupts; the High Priests naïve idea is to level the playing field, with the belief that if no one has the ability to control magic, then a kind of paradise would erupt. He’s flabbergasted at the idea that anything but magic user/non-magic user divide actually exists (like when he learns Tevi comes from a place without magic users, a place where men and women are treated differently, and a place where women are in ascendance – naïve dude just throws a tantrum and runs away (seriously, the ‘rogue sorcerer’ seems to have the mental abilities of Forest Gump, isn’t evil, means well, but creates a wave of death and destruction because of his naivety.))

Sex: I cannot remember now if it is this one or the prior one that had, suddenly, graphic sex erupt. I do not normally expect that in a Fletcher book, and it seemed to have occurred just the once. I just can’t recall if it was this book or the prior book.

Rating: 4.33

June 14 2018




View all my reviews

Love on the Red Rocks by Lisa Moreau

Love on the Red Rocks by Lisa Moreau

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is both the first book I’ve read by this author, and the author’s first work published (which isn’t always something that happens with me and authors). The author has published two books and one short story (in a short story collection) since this book appeared.

I’d been intrigued by this book since it appeared, but I just never pulled the trigger on purchasing the book. And I still haven’t – at some point this year (last month? This month?) Bold Strokes Books started putting some of their books into the Kindle Unlimited program – which is how I read this book. The book wasn’t free to me, since KU isn’t a free program, but it’s near enough if you read enough books a month (heck, read two full length works that normally cost about $9.99, and it’s like you read one for free and one at full price, and I read a heck of a lot more books than 2 a month – though how many a month are KU depends on the month).

This book stares one Malley . . . oh, darn; the book description doesn’t have last names. Mmphs. Well, the book stares Malley as solo point of view character. She’s 30 (though I’m going more by remembering that she hiked a certain trail 15 years before the start of the story, and she was 15 at the time), and works a ‘steady, stable, and dependable job’ in some form of sales analyst position. She keeps dreaming about opening a bakery, but it’s risky. That’s what her love interest always says, at least. Opening a bakery being risky (‘businesses are closing all the time’).

That’s right, this book opens, well after the prologue, with the lead character having a love interest – and a plan to announce her love to this individual before a certain event occurs (the end of a lesbian retreat vacation).

Let’s back up as that’s vaguely confusing: There’s a prologue involving the lead character, Malley, hiking a particular trail with her dad. She has a moving experience visiting ‘the woman’ (I forget the exact title of the rock formation). 15 years later she returns to Sedona Arizona on a ‘lesbian retreat’, mentioned to her by her next door neighbor Jessie.

So Malley heads to Sedona with a plan – spend time with Lizzie, who she’s spent a year waiting to detach herself from her girlfriend (I want to say Heather?), and this is her chance. Except things start going wrong immediately – while heading towards the resort, Malley and Lizzie – driving together, crash. Not as important as it might seem, no the important part is a motorcyclist stops to offer assistance – the already mentioned Jessie. A problem for several reasons, well three specific reasons: 1) Lizzie makes comments about being interested in Jessie; 2) Malley thought Jessie, who she tries to avoid at all costs, despite being next door neighbors, wasn’t going to attend the retreat; 3) Malley always thought Jesse was gorgeous, and wouldn’t have been all over her if not for her profession (police officer), and she’s distracted on her mission to pursue Lizzie by her own random thoughts about Jessie.

Then, once the two crashed women traveling together finally reach the retreat, they learn that the retreat has a ‘random draw’ pairing random lesbians together to room together. For . . . reasons of experience and stuff.

Malley’s plans are unraveling. Then she learns, horrors, she’s going to be rooming with Jessie.
The book was a lot more interesting than I expected, and, while Malley is a hard character to like in the beginning, the reader both learns why Malley is the way she is – in certain aspects – and watches as Malley grows as a person (which includes her being bitchy (mostly mentally) about other lesbians at the retreat, only to later grow to realize what she was doing).

What else to say . . . good story, good romance. Sex occurred, I do not recall how graphically (don’t read too much into that lack of remembrance; I pay attention sometimes, I don’t sometimes, and when I pay attention does not always correspond to how well written things are or aren’t).

Rating: 4.60 (I originally marked this book 5 stars on GoodReads, putting it on my 4.75 star shelf, but have moved it down to 4.50 shelf and 4 stars on GoodReads. I might adjust again later, but this is probably where the book should rest).

June 11 2018




View all my reviews

To Serve the Divine by Sophie Lack

To Serve the Divine by Sophie Lack

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


There's an episode of 'Sliders', and here I go referencing a show from longish ago, that involved the 'main characters 'sliding' from their world to another. That world included both modern stuff, like guns, glass, skyscrapers, and active users of magic, I believe they were either Druid in origin or Celtic (I'm sure there are some similiarities and differences between the two). I mention this for a very specific reason - this short story opens with a woman wearing armor like a knight (at least it seemed described that way without using the word 'knight') who was falling to her death, through a glass window, in a sky-scrapper. When she landed she was surprised to find that her magic didn't work - that she couldn't 'feel' the magic actually.

I wasn't sure I'd write anything about this story, but that 'Sliders' episode sprang to mind and I found I had to write something. It's a vaguely odd feeling to read something involving magic users and modern stuff, yet I'm not really sure why I would feel that way. I mean, Urban Fantasy is magic being used in modern times (for the most part), but there's a different vibe to it - even the ones that use actual Druids who've been alive since Druids were an actual thing, seem slightly different from the feel here. Mostly because there's an alternate history aspect missing from Urban Fantasy (for the most part) - most urban fantasy take the world as it is today, and mixes in things, people and creatures, who are hidden from modern non-magic users minds (until forced to face this magic). Which is different from a society where magic is openly used in front of non-magic users, and accepted as the natural away of life. That tends to appear either in a vaguely historical fiction/fantasy setting (see: stories of Merlin), or Science Fiction/Science Fantasy setting (see: Star Wars, you know, those Jedi wizards operating in a science fiction world), rarely, though, in a world contemporary to our own (I mean, magic being openly acknowledged), - it could, of course, just mix in that those magicians, and fortune tellers, and mediums and the like operating in 'our' world have 'real magic', then you have the start of open/hidden magic users in modern setting without going into an alternate reality world where the Druids made it to modern times, and decided to build skyscrapers and the like (like having cameras).

What I'm expressing might be instantly obvious or horribly confusing. I know what I mean, but probably can't express it. So I move on.

Of Note: there are massive editing issues in this work. Words misused (using one spelling of a word, when a different spelling was meant), accidentally inserting words that were not needed, etc. Like an extra 'the'. Just one of those things to note. I ignored as much as I could, the issue. Though a person getting to their feet multiple times annoys me, heh. Eh, near the end of the book, Jasper, the lead character (other than the Goddess, who also has a POV), 'sighed and got to her feet', then 'smiled and got to her feet', never having actually left her feet. Maybe she has more feet to get onto? She'd need at least four to use 'feet' twice.

Rating: 3.44

June 11 2018



View all my reviews