Triad Blood by Nathan Burgoine

Triad Blood
by Nathan Burgoine
Pages: 240
Date: May 1 2016
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Series: Triad Blood (1st novel in series)

Review
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0
Read: June 16 to 19 2016

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

My first book by this author.

I’ll start off by noting that I went into the book somewhat reluctantly and with the wrong information. I’m not sure where I got the idea, which was clearly wrong, but I had the idea that this book was not erotic – something like how ‘the sex’ was in the pre prequel short story. That idea was wrong. Where-ever it is I got that idea (probably from reading reviews/description of some unrelated book that I accidentally confused for this one). I was reluctant because up to a certain point, I believe it was this year, I have not had much luck with MM books. And I do not believe I’ve ever ‘loved’ an MM fantasy book.

Hmm, no, my first 4 star MM book was read July 2014, not this year. That one was a private investigator graphic novel. Then I liked the first two Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter prose mystery books in early 2015 (4.5 for 1st book, 4.0 for second). Love for the Cold-Blooded, or the Part-Time Evil Minion’s Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero is my first 5.5 star (out of 5) MM book that included lots of sex – that one was read in October 2015. Loud and Clear would mark my second 5.5 MM book, though there is no graphic stuff in that book. So I’ve come a long way from 1 starring that overly erotic MM fantasy book way back when.

I say all of the above to note that I’ve read 31 MM books now, some I’ve not liked, some I’ve loved, and some were meh. So I can fairly well note that it is not actually the line of eroticism in the book and the graphic sexual encounters which lead me to a 3 star rating, though they did not necessarily help. No, it was the relatively simple part wherein I just simply did not like any of the characters that much.

There are three main characters, and all three have their own little stories that get followed separately, in addition to the overall three-person main story. Luc Lanteigne is a vain, arrogant, snobby vampire who doesn’t really like one of the three people in their triad – Anders. Luc doesn’t particularly like Anders for several reasons, though his rough personality, and shabby appearance probably doesn’t help. Anders is the kind of guy who literally feeds off of sex, what with being an Incubus, while at the same time the kind of guy who gets super jealous if Curtis Baird, the third member of their triad, ever hints at dating. Anyone. (Not that Luc is better in that regard - though somewhat less highlighted in this book, Luc sometimes gives off those same possessive vibes towards Curtis; plus he is super patronizing towards Curtis). So, Luc’s a snob, Anders is a dick, what about this third member, Curtis the human wizard? For the most part he was likable, in his own way, though there were parts that I didn’t particularly like. Like his going with the idea that he isn’t really allowed to date (even if that is not overtly mentioned), while the other two in the triad seem to go out nightly to fuck. Others, not each other. Then the time he outright laughed at a guy who indicated that he was not gay . . . well, that was annoying.

So, how did I end up here at a 3 star rating, then, if I say all that above *waves upwards*. Well, the story itself was interesting enough. Luc, Anders, and Curtis have come together as three separate ‘things’ to create a power triad – every other ‘group’ out there are of one thing (vampire, demon, wizard). Though their coming together is told in a previous short story (yes, this is in fact yet another book I picked up in the same month that turned out to be a series book that is not in fact the first in the story-line, though here the novel is the first novel length work in the series (if there is a series, I notice just now that this book is not listed as being part of any series on GoodReads). Still, the reader who hasn’t read any of the previous short stories (and there were others than just that ‘getting together’ story) should be able to pick up enough of the back-story through reading the book. I know I did, and hadn’t read any of the previous stories.

So, as I was saying, the story itself was interesting. The other ‘power groups’ in Ottawa are not particularly happy about this mixed group and are ‘doing things’ (letter bombs, car explosions, coat explosions, etc) to try to take out this mixed triad. Though ‘doing things’ while at the same time saying that they are not. The triad stands up to the vampire power structure in this specific book.

A good enough book for what it set out to do and be. Even if I didn’t particularly like the main characters that much.

June 20 2016

Villainess Love by Lexi Archer

Villainess Love by Lexi Archer
Pages: 260
Date: January 16 2015
Publisher: Author

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Read: May 21 2015

I didn't actually realize immediately, that this was an erotic superhero story. I should have, I know. What with other works by the author, the cover, the "steamy lesbian" bit in the description. Still, I didn't notice. Was coming off reading several superhero books (prose and graphic novel) and just saw this one and picked it up to read.

It's an interesting enough story. Apparently it's a "they didn't appreciate me, so I'll be a mad scientist" type story. Though this time the mad scientist is a woman. There are other "mad" female supervillains out there, I don't mean to imply that there aren't.

Harley Quinn's character morphs between being goofy, insane, mad, and playing at insane. And has a genius level intelligence. Though most of the time that part gets forgotten and she gets presented as a goofy dim bimbo. Also, a mad psychiatrist isn't the normal type of thing someone things of first when they hear "mad scientist".

Poison Ivy is a mad scientist. At times. Most of the times that aspect doesn't really come to the forefront as she acts more like a magical creature with powers over plants while wearing barely anything. But she is a scientist. And quite mad.

hmms. I could go on. Ok, strike that "this time the mad scientist is a women" and replace with . . . um . . . "mad scientist story". Right. That.

Ok then. Right from the get go the reader learns that this specific mad scientist isn't into madly creating waves of chaos and destruction. She goes out of her way to keep from killing, and from damaging . . . too much. Heck, in the first fight depicted in the book, the superhero causes more damage than the supervillain.

So, right. There's this supervillian. She's quite bored, so she robs a bank. In person. She has the technology that she could rob it electronically, or, if she really wanted to, say, roll around naked in cash, can walk in all causal like, wearing some hidden technology, push some buttons, and poof - vault of cash teleported elsewhere. Without anyone knowing she did it. So, why does so attack a bank in full supervillian costume? Enter the vault, set up teleportation, and . . . leave by the front door instead of teleporting out? Because, as I said, she's bored. Not only is she the top supervillian in the city, no superhero stands a chance against her. And the cops just have symbolic gestures of "we are trying to stop her". Because they know they can't stop her. And she's nice enough to limit the damage, and death.

Except, there's this brand new superhero in town. Who zooms in and beats the tar out of the supervillian. While also causing massive collateral damage. Granted, the supervillian was kinda distracted by how aroused she was by the superhero, but still, the beat down was mostly a combination of 1) superhero just that good; 2) supervillian is out of practice with fighting someone at or above their weight class; 3) supervillian is just so gosh darn aroused by the superhero's mere presence (and confusion of same, since they are both female and she doesn't recall being overly attracted to women before).

Going in the way I did, without realizing the erotic nature of the book, I would have to say that the overall story has some neat little twists on superhero/supervillian/random non-supers interactions. While at the same time the story was . . . well, roughly on the level of a superhero story. A campy superhero story. With graphic sex. As opposed to only skimpily clad supers and implied intimacy.

Well, in terms of "great literature", this ain't that. In terms of superhero stories, it's decent. In terms of erotic stories, it has what it needed. Checked the boxes, so to speak.

This book certainly isn't the best book I've ever read, but I would most likely gobble up at least one more book set in the same universe.

Top Student by Miranda Baker

Top Student
by Miranda Baker
Pages: 40
Published Date: February 25 2014
Published by: Samhain Publishing
Series: Come Again (book 3.5)

Review:
Rating: 4.65 out of 5
Read: April 5 to April 6 2014

This story gave me brief pause, a brief moment of frustration.  A moment when I thought it was going to be like all the others vaguely similar set-ups.  A dominant strong woman who ends up being taught to be a submissive.  But that didn't happen.  And a little light somewhat went off in my head, as the saying goes.  A lot of BDSM stories frustrate and annoy me because of that dynamic.  Plus the simple fact that there are so few dominate women out here in the BDSM fiction world. Who actually work are Mistresses.  I've seen a few, but they are almost always side characters.

Hmm. Exit to Eden had one, a Mistress who was more of a switch than a dominant. The Office Trilogy by N.T. Morley had a side character who was allowed, at times, to be dominate (and another who the reader was teased with the idea she was, but most of her scenes were off-stage). Yvonne: A Courtesan's Compulsion had a rather interesting female dominate, and probably one of the main reasons I gave that one as much as 3 stars. But she very much was a side character.  Only a brief moment on stage. I initially overrated Being the Submissive - Lesbian BDSM Erotica for the mere fact that it was the first time one of the main characters was a female Mistress with a female submissive. Point of view of the submissive, though. Morley's Library series flirted with the idea of a dominant female character, but mostly just teased the reader with her.

So, long and short of all these words is the simple little matter that I might again have overrated because of a female dominate with a female submissive, though I don't think so. Finally, I found a story from the point of view of a female dominate.  And it made me happy, it did.  I suspected that this was the reason BDSM works kept frustrating me.  Nice to know my suspicions were correct. Too bad there really isn't a F/f genre in published form.

Though, now that I think about after using that 'F/f', there are stories in the past I've read in that genre. I didn't think of them while going through what I'd read since those had been free stories strewn among hidden pockets of the internet.