Annery

And just like that my Christmas spirit is back!5 Blissful StarsI loved everything about this: age difference, size difference, virgin, delicious kink, but only in the bedroom, relatable working class folks, the Canadianness of it all, and the fact that Christmas just happens to be an excuse or catalyst for the MCs meeting. There is no Christmas miracle, just the two people meeting at the right time in their lives. Nick & Hunter are so right together and the smexi times don't disappoint. I admire how [a:Keira Andrews 1366040 Keira Andrews https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1409084048p2/1366040.jpg] manages to give us Nick and Hunter's back stories, as people who don't exist in a vacuum, who have friends, families, former loves etc in a totally show and not tell way. You totally feel for Hunter, his insecurities, internal/external struggles and I'll say nothing about grumpy Nick except that you'll want to give him a smothering hug and wish him a long HEA with Hunter.

3.00

This was an okay super short read. Given the va-va-voom cover I expected more. Totally on me. Somehow I thought it was BDSM and though there a few “good boy”, “yes daddy”, “yes sir” it's not really D/s, more like a more dominant partner. Period.

The why's and wherefores of how Jordan and Oliver get together are ... the less said the better.
I'd still recommend this as a harmless way to spend and hour with a couple of steamy “sessions” thrown in and that cover is still YOWZA!

The first 100 pages or so were a test for me but after that ... yeah.

I don't know where the rest of the story will lead but I'm quite enjoying this unique portrayal of female friendship. It's honest. Even the ugly parts. I'm on board with that.

It's also interesting to see a portrayal of post-war Italy from the view point of children. It reminded me of movies like “Rocco and His Brothers”.

I'll surely continue with this series.

Oh the wages of buying books solely based on covers!

While I didn't hate this, ultimately I didn't love it, by which I mean that I was expecting some freaky interspecies love, maybe a little non-con, definitely D/s smex with roles subverted. The only joy here was the non-humans as the ruling species but everything else was just ... tame? tepid? uninspired? Suffice it to say that it gave me space to dwell on the illogical or inconsistent parts of the world building.

Ewan is a pet, a human pet, and worse yet and aging mutt in a world ruled by every other species but humans. He's 31 and reaching the end of his desirability as a pet, particularly as he is of no discernible parentage. Ewan is back at the pound after his last owner got a pure breed baby, his time is running short. To the rescue comes Sir Jiat, a jaguar member of The Guard of The City. The relationship develops pretty much as you'd expect in a romance but, to my taste, without much real conflict/tension between the the characters save for the illegality of interspecies relationships. The smex itself is pretty tame, nothing super bad/wrong or weird as I'd hoped for. Sir Jiat is Mr. Perfect and Ewan is ... a tame pet. shrug

The placidness and somewhat pedestrian themes left me to wonder why would larger sized feline species want humans, with our physical frailties, as pets?

Maybe I'll give it another go a different time and I'll like it more. We'll see.

This was exactly what I needed today! A surprisingly sweet offering from Bey Deckard, this is a retelling of the classic tale. With a twist. And the coup de gras is the pitch perfect narration Michael Ferraiuolo.

It takes place in a post-Earth future where, where despite technological advancements, everyday struggles continue unabated. Juniper Bo's (love that name) family has fallen on hard times. In order to help he embarks, immigrant style, to work on a colony/planet, but things go awry and he's picked up 17 years later, while still in a stasis pod, by a trading ship on the outskirts of the Empire. I won't get too further into the plot as it adheres pretty closely to the well known story. In fact one of the things I loved about it is how it keeps the beats of the original without any “look at me” moments.

The other tickle-me-pink elements are the characters of S1N and VAL, who almost deserve their own short story. The way Marrex is described, with his red & black fur, made me want a Beast of my own. I also loved Juniper. He's no wallflower, he's unabashedly sexual, and has his quirks a foibles. Perfect.

I would look forward to some future stories with these characters. It would not be boring.

3.75 bitching and complainingI could blame this on OCD or the fact that I somehow find myself in possession 3 books in this series, but that would be disingenuous, to say the least. The truth is that despite the problems I had with [b:On His Knees 36304274 On His Knees (A Hunter Dane Investigation 0.5) Adira August https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1506540942s/36304274.jpg 55757420] I was sufficiently intrigued by the MCs to go on with the series. Good News/Bad News? The same issues continue. The good and the bad. Hunter Dane is a 35 year old maverick detective with the Denver Police Department. He's the guy who gets assigned the difficult cases because of his ability to read a scene devoid of emotion or unnecessary entanglements. He also happens to be super HOT. Enough to be a model for stock photos, the kind that regularly appears on the cover of romance novels. Body only. No face. When he wants to wind down he goes to Seen And Not Heard (SANH), one of the fabled BDSM clubs that populate romance. SANH was created to cater to Denver's millionaires, billionaires, and sundry celebrities. On the verisimilitude column is that Hunter Dane's membership doesn't come due to his stock portfolio but on account of being a cop. The club waives membership fees for EMT, Police, and Firefighters, not for altruistic reasons, but to have an “in” when anything goes wrong. Hunter frequents the club and seems to be some kind of switch between Dom and sub depending on need/mood. Dunno if that's a thing but much of my enjoyment hinged on suspending disbelief on certain matters, with varying degrees of success. After a particularly harrowing case Hunter feels the need to be punished, broken, taken out of himself, and only one Dom will do: Camden Snow. The events of that night were detailed in [b:On His Knees 36304274 On His Knees (A Hunter Dane Investigation 0.5) Adira August https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1506540942s/36304274.jpg 55757420] and are referenced here. When Matchstick Men begins it's about a week later and Hunter comes to the club in Dom mode looking for something light and mellow. Things don't go as smoothly and a club member ends up dead. It's up to Hunter to solve the case before the club membership becomes public knowledge. It's a race against time and a religious, fire & brimstone, black & white police captain, who wouldn't look too kindly on the sexual proclivities of Denver's elite and wouldn't blink twice at exposing them and their kinks to the public. So far so good. The mystery itself is pretty clever, and even though I correctly suspected the ‘who' early on, the ‘how' was neatly done. A kind of closed room mystery.In fact there were quite a few things I liked about this, which will probably keep me coming back, that and I own the next two books. I liked that the D/s relationship is flipped, where the Dom is the younger of the two. I liked that Hunter, though not verbalized, seems to be demisexual and bisexual? or fluid? I like to see characters like that develop romantic attachments. It's a challenge for the writer to convince of the truth of the relationship. So far Adira August is doing quite well. I liked that by the end of the book Hunter's problems haven't been solved by magic cock. He does get relief or a reset via his scenes at the club, but he's self aware enough that he knows they're not an end all. They serve more like a salve. He's aware that maybe therapy would be better but ... we all do what we like. I also like how unsentimental, practical, clear, and direct Hunter is. Can you tell I liked Hunter? Sadly what I didn't like or rather believe much at all was the other half of the equation.Camden Snow is a 23 year old Olympic calibre athlete. He's a snowboarder, which put me in mind of Gus Kenworthy, save Gus is cute & adorable, and Cam is consistently and ad nauseum described as “Camden Snow, Norse God of a winter Olympic champion”, or other such nonsense. The descriptions of both leads can get a little hyperbolic to say the least. They're not just good looking guys, they're perfect specimens of men who grace our meager earth with their presence. Ugh. Please! However that's neither here nor there. I can totally ignore physical descriptions. My major pause is Cam as a Dom. And yes it has much to do with his age. Is he meant to be some kind of Dalai Lama style sage? The spirit of the prior Lama infused into him, but in the BDSM world? There are some perceptive 23 year olds, but they're not masters of human psyche. Cam doesn't have the life experience to truly understand Hunter's world. His job. He freaks when they find the bloody murder weapon! I'm also on the fence as to the truth of Hunter & Cam's D/s relationship. There's no basis for it. At all. As discussed in my review of the previous book, the first time Hunter “kneels” for Cam they really know nothing about each other, except by reputation gleaned from club gossip. I don't think they've exchanged more than a glance! And yet they jump headfirst into a scene with no previous convo about anything: likes, dislikes, hard limits, expectations, sexual preference etc. And get this: NO SAFE WORD. Why you ask? Because Cam demands complete and absolute submission and he's so awesome he knows exactly what a sub needs/wants. I'm not a stickler for rules and I'm not super into codified scenes, but seriously? WTF? Cam will butt fuck you, even though he knows you never do ass play, and are quite possibly an anal virgin. Because you need it. He could've gone dildo route, but whatever. However he's super honorable. He won't come. It's not about his (Cam's) sexual satisfaction. It's about Cam as a Dom giving you (the sub, in this case Hunter) what you need. He's generous like that. Check out this exchange, at least they seem to be in agreement. I guess? “Did you come last night? On the Angel?” Hunt interrupted him. “No,” He looked offended. “It wasn't about sex. Coming in you would be ... rape. I don't do that.” It was a wonder to Hunter that Cam understood so perfectly that ramming his dick painfully into Hunt's ass was one thing, but using him for personal pleasure at that moment was so vastly something else it was unthinkable.”I decided to squint one eye and look at him through the haze of romance. And things were going well until Hunter figures out who the killer is and they're racing to do something crucial in the case. Cam has not only conveniently been inserted into the investigation, but while en route to the super important thing he forces Hunter to stop in the middle of the night in a well lit parking lot to make Hunter give him a BJ because he, Hunter, is too pent up. Doing his job. As a cop. No regard for Hunter risking his job if they get caught in flagrante delicto or losing time while a killer is on the loose. But hey! Cam is a Dom. He knows best. Another thing that gave me pause was this conflation of Doms & Sadism. I may be wrong, but as far I know not all dominants are sadists. They're not the same thing. I persisted and chugged along with the story. shrug There were other things I liked. One thing which will sound weird is that I appreciated the scenes, in the prior book and this one, of Hunt douching, getting ready for anal sex. I don't have coprophilia or anything close to it, but I must confess that whenever couples, in M/M, go out for dinner and then come home and just skip and hop into penetrative sex my brain does a little “sure, uh-huh”.I also liked the ending. It's sort of a cliff hanger but it shows progression for Hunter. He behaves like an adult and yet you can see some cracks in the armor. Despite all my complaining I'll soldier on and it wont even hurt. Not a bit.

The is a sweet little coda to His Quiet Agent, which is certainly one my favorite recent reads. It's also an appetite wetter for a continuation of Martin & Arthur's story? I hope so.

The story picks up a few weeks after the events in HQA and happily we get Martin's POV. Martin has been convalescing at Arthur's place, and he's finally ready to go back to the library. He misses the children and they miss him. He's learning to ask for help when he needs it and to trust and Arthur is there to be the unobtrusive shoulder to lean on. We also get hints at a past I'm super anxious to discover. Here's hoping it comes soon.

Let's start with “I'm an idiot”. Why do I wait to do reviews? Ugh. I'm going to try and patch together some thoughts but the sum total is that I loved it. Loved the story and it's development. Some may call this a slow burn, and in truth it is. [a:Mariana Zapata 5760202 Mariana Zapata https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1330380214p2/5760202.jpg] is a master of slow burn, but in this instance, with this couple, it's absolutely warranted, the perfect choice. It makes sense for where both characters are in their lives when the story starts.Salome Casillas (Sal) is a 27 year old rising star in the American women's soccer (fútbol) league. Reiner Kulti is a 40 year old soccer God, from the world stage, on a decidedly downward spiral. Becoming a coach in Houston, for Sal's team is, perhaps a last ditch effort, to right his life or at least be a ballast. What he never expected to find was salvation in the person of Sal.I won't belabor explaining the plot. I think that part of the beauty of MZs stories is experiencing how the couples come together, usually starting as antagonists that grow into friends who fall in love in such a natural and organic way that they hardly realize it or have need for grand declarations. And in this case it would never happen because Kulti doesn't roll that way. He's a hard-ass, blunt, doesn't suffer fools, he's tough, and demands excellence, in part because that's what he's always given. At least to the game. And then Sal comes into his life. Sal and her can-do spirit, unwavering ethic, joy for life, fantastic family, and great friends. Sal who is immensely patient of Kulti's abrasiveness and terseness. Her patience pays handsomely as Kulti slowly shares parts of himself and unknowingly lets Sal glimpse others. I like how MZ really got into what it takes to be an elite athlete. She doesn't whitewash it. The all consuming hours of training despite aches & pains, missing time with family and friends, and forget about a love life. I freakin' loved Sal's family, especially her dad. Sal's parents deserve their very own book. You know who also deserve their own book(s)? Harlow & Jenny. Grade A + friends. Ultimately this is a love story. A real one. One to aspire to. A union of equals who mutually support and admire each other. It turns out that abrasive, seemingly cold, and very German Kulti is the partner we all wish for:“Remember that idiotic question you asked me in the car? About what would happen when you can't play soccer any longer?” He didn't wait for any acknowledgement. “Nothing would happen. We would have a different adventure to go on. You are my best friend, my love, my playmate and my teammate. You'll have a team with me wherever we are, with whatever we are playing.”swoonThis book reminded me of [b:The Wall of Winnipeg and Me 29597144 The Wall of Winnipeg and Me Mariana Zapata https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462162064s/29597144.jpg 48358625], with a love of sports, girls/women you can root for and a hero worthy of her. What else do they have in common? An amazeballs audio [a:Callie Dalton 7438028 Callie Dalton https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Seriously. If you can only get one version of the book go with the audio. It's that good. I expect to enjoy revisiting this more than once. ps. Can I say how much I like/love how MZ portrays Latino characters? Accurate & not a cliche in sight. Thank you.

I won't lie. I got this because of [a:Zachary Quinto 2888302 Zachary Quinto https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and the length. I like short ABs for commuting etc. It didn't disappoint.The gist of the story is that in a non-too-distant future outright murder becomes virtually impossible. Murder victims started reappearing naked as jaybirds at home shortly after the deed was committed. The reason or the how of this phenomenon is never explained but that didn't bother me. It's only been about 10 years since the reincarnations started and these explanations take time. (See The Leftovers, Lost, Les revenants.) However plucky humans have been quick to benefit from the murder loophole creating the profession of Dispatcher. Yes. It's exactly what it sounds like. When someone is in a near death situation a Dispatcher legally “murders” them so that they can go back to where there life/body was a few hours or days before. Dispatchers are licensed and regulated like an EMT worker, but sometimes also move around in less wholesome environments. And the question remains: how do you kill someone when murder has become, in a sense, obsolete? I enjoyed this short novella. In many ways it reminded of the [b:Among the Living 5603414 Among the Living (PsyCop, #1) Jordan Castillo Price https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375991614s/5603414.jpg 5774782] universe: utterly familiar but entirely different from our reality. Also it takes place in Chicago. I liked that the author made the principals diverse without shouting from the rafters. I like how he got around the “telling” by making the MC have to reasonably explain his profession and the different twists and turns to a police sergeant in the course of an investigation. Overall I freakin' loved Zachary Quinto's narration; not too showy or performed. Just right. I'd absolutely recommend this little morsel to anyone but particularly to the mystery/suspense fans. Its a treat.

When does a 600+pages/20+hours audiobook leave you wanting more? When is a shifter/motorcycle club/BDSM novel really about society, otherness, cultural oppression and so much more? The answer to both is [a:Kim Dare 2839336 Kim Dare https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1471641740p2/2839336.jpg]'s brilliant [b:Axel's Pup 21522467 Axel's Pup (Werewolves & Dragons, #1) Kim Dare https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1396446653s/21522467.jpg 40847015] paired with [a:Chris Clog 16489075 Chris Clog https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s Master Class in narration. I'll start with the AB while I try to summon up coherent words about the book. There are about 5 to 7 main speaking characters, two of them women, plus a number of extras, and you are never in any doubt as to who is speaking, to say nothing of the wealth of emotion & nuance he brings to Axel and Bayden. In a word: PERFECT.The Story: Bayden is a young werewolf shifter trying to survive in an inhospitable world. To make money he takes bets on fights and other things, in pubs, or wherever he can find willing participants. On a late summer day he walks into The Dragon's Lair Pub, the de facto clubhouse for The Black Dragons Motorcycle Club, whose members are gay and more than dabble in the BDSM scene. Axel Carmichael is both a publican and a true no nonsense Dom. The moment the two meet their lives change forever.To my brain this story read as so much more than a shifter story. I think writers, good ones, can use genres & tropes to speak or comment on difficult subjects without coming off as strident or didactic. For instance vampyrism has always been an oblique way to talk about sexual desires and sex itself. In Axel's Pup, KD has created a world where werewolf shifters have been hunted, put in camps, stripped of familial surnames, are paid less than half as humans for equal work, are charged Wolf Rates, meaning double, for housing or other services, and are relegated to living in the worst areas. Crime against a wolf isn't a crime because hey, they're wolves. Animals. Not human. OTHER. Less. That this lack of opportunity leads many wolves to unsavory “careers”, i.e. prostitution, is proof of their bad character. Their uncleanliness. Their untrustworthiness. Maybe I was being extra sensitive, but I think you'd have to be living under a rock to not hear the echoes of our not-so-distant past. The decimation & forced relocation of American Indians, the Pogroms perpetrated throughout history against Jewish communities, the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, the systematic destruction of African American families by means large and small: slavery, ghettos, drugs, and disproportionate incarceration of black males. And last but not least the marginalization, censure, and criminalization of the LGBTQ community. This book talks about all of that and more while sweeping you in a LOVE story. A real one.The relationship between Axel and Bayden is a D/s one, verging on a TPE, and I can honestly say that Axel is the first Dom I don't want to punch in the throat at some point in the story. I won't rehash my love/hate relationship with doms, I've over explained it in previous reviews. But this is the first time where the D/s dynamics made sense to my dense brain. Bayden is a WOLF!!! Having an Alpha is natural and instinctual. That this Alpha happens to be human? C'est la vie. Plus Axel is just about perfect while being utterly believable, and not even remotely hearts & roses cloying. He holds no prejudice against wolves, and being a gay man, who has faced rejection and more, solely based on his sexual preferences, is more receptive than most to the plight of an oppressed class. However that does not make him a wolf expert. He ha lots to learn and he doesn't stint on trying to learn or correct his mistakes. I loved how Axel translated the qualities of being a good Dom into literally interpreting what Bayden needed but couldn't say with human words, because, again, Bayden is a WOLF. Kim D never loses sight of that. Bayden has to work at “being human”, he communicates by instinct & body language, scent is a main source of information, and speech or rather human concepts are things he's constantly working at understanding, deciphering, and expressing. I liked how Axel works at forging what he calls a “common dictionary” of terms that facilitate communication between him and Bayden. Like most people Axel only has a passing acquaintance with matters outside his personal realm of experience. In this case wolves & their life are something Axel only knows very little about, but he works very hard at bridging his knowledge gap. He's horrified when confronted with the truth of their existence, from the small everyday indignities to the larger, sometimes life threatening, realities of being a wolf. To say that Bayden is cautious in his interactions with humans, hesitant to trust, is understatement. And rightfully so. But at the same time Bayden is so brave and so irrevocably drawn to Axel, his Alpha & mate. He needs him. A wolf without a pack is a sad thing. Luckily Axel, and eventually, the other Dragons work at earning his trust, while they themselves learn to overcome unfounded biases & prejudices. All of this may sound like I'm promoting some dry and dusty textbook on social anthropology and nothing could be further from the truth. [b:Axel's Pup 21522467 Axel's Pup (Werewolves & Dragons, #1) Kim Dare https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1396446653s/21522467.jpg 40847015] is the slow burn & emotional journey of a relationship, from first meeting to a perfect HEA. Rest assured that smex times are scorching and yet incredibly tender. The progression of Axel & Bayden's relationship builds on months, and later weeks, of trust & trying. There are stumbles for both partners along the way. Poor Bayden sometimes has to learn the hard way. He has to learn that Axel as his Alpha always has his best interests at heart and will do anything to protect him without ever diminishing him. At times the learning comes in the form of punishments, which due to Bayden's wolf nature, present a challenge for Axel, but one he happily meets. Punishments which are very different from “play time”. Both of these activities are crucial to Bayden. They let him know he belongs. He's cherished. Owned. What else can a good wolf want? If it wasn't clear, I LOVED this book. Loved it so much I ordered the paperback. Yep. That kind of love.

Housekeeping first. My copy, a trade paperback, only has 491 pages. Dunno where this 550 count comes from. The author's bio says that [a:Suanne Laqueur 8317803 Suanne Laqueur https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1403016536p2/8317803.jpg] writes or aims to write “emotionally-intelligent” romance. What does that mean? I don't know. I wouldn't call this a romance at all. And that's not a criticism. Just a fact. It's not M/M, MMF, M/F/M, M/F or any permutation thereof. Mainly it's the story of three (3) people, from childhood & adolescence to their mid-forties, and all of the living that comes in between. Okay. Enough procrastination. BROAD STROKES PLOT AVOIDING SPOILERS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE: I think it comes as no surprise that the characters in this story are visited by some serious loss. The first comes for Alejandro/Alex, who at age 11, effectively loses both of his parents to the military coup by Augusto Pinochet in Chile. Luckily his father manages to spirit him off to New York where his uncle Eduardo, a bachelor, takes him into his home in the fictional town of Guelisten, N.Y. (think Croton-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, or Tarrytown). There he meets the Larks, who are descendants of the founders of the town, and also one of those families we all aspire to be or know: loving & dependable parents, sweet grandmother, and three fantastic kids. The Larks embrace him as one of their own in more ways than one. Alex ends up marrying Val, the middle daughter and beating heart of the Lark clan. This is not a spoiler. It's part of the blurb.Parallel to Alex and the Lark siblings growing up we look south to NYC, specifically Queens, and meet Javier/Jav, the son of working class Dominican immigrants, whose adolescence ends on a sour note which pushes him into a life he never imagined and the truncation of his teenage hopes and dreams. Alex, Val, and Jav cross paths and have individual and fleeting relationships with each other during the 80's which ultimately come to naught. A few more pages off the calendar and 9/11 arrives leaving its heavy thumb prints on our three principals, as it did for so many of us. Then we jump to the 2006 when, through fate & circumstance, Alex, Val, and Jav meet again and their lives become inexorably entwined.I've been vacillating on what to say about this. On the one hand many GR friends have loved it and I can absolutely see why. In general I would agree. I was engrossed by the story. I liked the writing. I was invested in the characters and generally loved them. How could I not? They're recognizable and likable. Good people, who may have some faults but are overall decent human beings. I loved Val. I'd love to be her BFF. She gives womanhood a good name. I really liked Trelawney and would love a book just about her. Alex is a story whose surface we've only scratched and Jav could easily spawn a trilogy. And that's one of my niggles. I don't feel like we get beyond the surface of the characters or beyond what the author needs to tell her chosen story. In fact, though they live and exist in a world we know and recognize their lives are almost bubble-like. Insular. They don't seem to have any friends. Their jobs & work schedules are enviably flexible. Characters whose usefulness ceases to advance the narrative are disposed of in an almost Deus ex machina fashion. People come, play their part, and are written out of the story or never heard from again until needed. Maybe I'm cold hearted (I am) but only the two 9/11 losses really made me tear up. There was an emotional resonance to them that felt true. Particularly Jav's 9/11 experience hit me right in the gut. I could see it coming and it still cut me at knees. I liked that the characters are mostly open to different sexual expressions and permutations. Jav struggles a bit, given his history, but his doubts are always about himself and not towards anyone else's path. Val is the life partner everyone deserves. I love that she's no shrinking violet waiting for someone else to take charge. And Alex ... the guy who can be paralyzed by doorbells at 3 a.m. but also takes your problems and makes them into WE, who says stuff like this:“I want to be your home.” His lips ran soft across her brow. “I want to wake up every morning and listen to your heart. I want to be the last man you slept with. When you say it's been a long time since you made love, I want that time to be a matter of hours. Because I loved you last night. And I'm going to love you again tonight.” I want to know that guy.I lamented that this wasn't an M/M/F or poly but I guess that's another book. Another story. While I wasn't expecting a HEA I still wasn't completely satisfied with the resolution of the main conflict. It seemed to somehow cheapen the veracity of the emotions or make them false. I won't get into it so as to avoid spoilers but everything seemed to blow over pretty quickly. And easily.In spite of my endless griping I'll probably read [b:A Charm of Finches 33299920 A Charm of Finches (Venery, #2) Suanne Laqueur https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1506265362s/33299920.jpg 54032397]. Fine. I already ordered it. Sue me. I need to know what comes next. Don't be like me. Enjoy this story for the world it wants to engender, for it's generosity of spirit, and for some beautiful writing. Or as Trelawney says: “Keep the memory, let go of the thing.” (I'm telling you that girl needs her own book.) I'll probably have a re-evaluation when I read the second book. I think it will make the story complete. We'll see.

What a happy surprise. Truth is I just started this as a place holder for a busy weekend and yet I hustled to sneak in listening time because I really became invested in Mark and his issues. This story isn't really a romance and weirdly that's what made it work. For me. Mark is a good looking guy, he has a PhD in mathematics, and the work-out ethic of a muscleman. However he also suffers from crippling anxiety and self doubt which translates into teaching on-line, so as to avoid face to face interactions. As an added bonus he's not “out”, not even really to himself, and the thought of speaking with someone leaves him a stuttering mess which means his sexual encounters are anonymous, and on his part, almost silent, furtive encounters in seedy bars or alleys. His salvation comes when his brother Pete, who's doctor in the Army Reserve, is deployed to Afghanistan, asks him to come and care for Lisa, his pregnant wife. Up to this point Mark's only constant company has been his dog Belle. The move pushes him to interact with the world at large and though it's painful, difficult, and not at all easy, it turns out to be just what he needed. While accompanying Lisa to a Zumba class he meets Claire and Seth, each of which fill a void and coax him out his self-imposed shell. Claire gently prods and pokes him and imparts some sage and much needed advice, but who more importantly teaches him by example. And Seth who has found new ways to pursue his dance career when injury derailed him. Seth who likes musclemen. Seth who is all patience with his rescue greyhounds, and with Mark. I won't lie. This isn't a “lite” read. In fact it can be a little heavy, what with being in Mark's self-doubting, self-recriminating head all the time and then, via Lisa, Pete, and Claire the reality of war and the repercussions of battle. But overall I enjoyed it because it doesn't rely on magic D as a cure all to mental problems. It ends in a realistic and satisfying HFN tipping over to HEA soon. If things go well.The two standouts of this story were the narration by [a:Charlie Belmont 6432818 Charlie Belmont https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], PERFECT, and the dogs, Belle and Fred Astaire, who were full and well rounded characters. I'd never read [a:Dev Bentham 5682093 Dev Bentham https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1392476944p2/5682093.jpg] before but after this foray I'm pretty sure this won't be my last dip in to her pool.

As usual I'm doing things ass-backwards and I think the ship may have sailed for me, in terms of these stories, yet somehow (late night Audible binge buy? drunkenness?) I own a couple of these and feel the compulsion to read/listen to them. On the plus side the narration by [a:Grace Grant 498152 Grace Grant https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is top notch. She got me through this with minimum fuss and I didn't even get mad. [a:Shane East 7236501 Shane East https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] makes and appearance in the prologue and I guess will have a larger role in future installments, which I may or may not do dependent on ... the weather? Dunno. In any case I see that this was written waaay back in 2012 and I can't blame [a:Raine Miller 4930653 Raine Miller https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360444710p2/4930653.jpg] for jumping into the FSOG pool. It was successful, we were all eating it up in one fashion or another, and, though I've only done the AB, I can tell she's a better writer and does it better job with this story line. Though I could pretty much see beat for beat where the story was going and yawned at the predictable Perfect Specimen Alpha Male with dark past/Perfect Angelic Girl with harrowing past I didn't get mad or anything. I'm mellowing with age. I did like that Ethan isn't as much of a cuckoo as Christian or Jesse and that Brynne seems to have a semblance of a backbone. I didn't care for the straight out of FSOG photographer friend who only seems to be present in the story to give Brynne “ethnic” friends (he's of Somali descent). Stop it already. Either have POC characters who are full human beings or just skip it. No cardboard cut outs needed. Other niggle, which will maybe be explained in future books?, why is the daughter of seemingly well off Americans (one a Washington mover & shaker) studying on scholarship, sharing a flat, and working to “support” herself in London? Plot fodder, I'm sure, but stupid shit annoys me.

Whenever I read a book by [a:Keelan Ellis 13923273 Keelan Ellis https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529410669p2/13923273.jpg] I find myself in a conundrum: I'm deeply satisfied by the story but somehow unable to intelligently or cogently articulate why? There are no pithy quotes or overwhelming tides of emotion; no ‘heart in the palm of your hand' declarations of undying, forever love; no cinematic acts of derring-do or danger; no unimaginable evil, just the, sadly, pedestrian strain of evil. Instead she mines the quotidian slings and arrows that make up the lives of most functioning adults, the ups & downs, the ends & beginnings of love affairs, friendships, work, growing up, starting over, revisiting our past by way of our future, they all coalesce in a picture that has the width, breath, and feel of real life. Also, for those still reading, I'd say that this isn't, nor do I think is meant to be, a romance, not in the genre sense, but the seeds are laid for what can be a love affair for the ages. We'll see where it goes. Meanwhile the story lands where most of my favorite murder-mysteries do, with the mystery being tangential to the other things going on. I love that. The best mystery stories aren't really mysteries in a ‘who done it' sense at all, but rather use the genre as a canvass to show a range of humanity, not something easy to do without coming off preachy but [a:Keelan Ellis 13923273 Keelan Ellis https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529410669p2/13923273.jpg] succeeds in spades.Paul Solomon is 38, tall, dark, and handsome secular Jew, who's a Homicide Detective with the Baltimore Police Department and his life is suitably a mess. Over a year after breaking up with his partner of eight years, and after much cajoling (read ultimatums) from Andy, his ex, he's finally moving out of the home they shared. Moving out of course means begging his work partner, Tim Cullen, to put him up on his couch until he can sort something out. Paul isn't necessarily a procrastinator, rather he's just surrendered to the humdrum of daily life, letting his love life wither away, not making the effort to look below the surface of other relationships, and is just a bit paralyzed at the crossroads. As luck would have it, on the day Paul is moving to Tim's couch, they also land the case of two teenage boys found murdered in a car and yet somehow this the least compelling of the things that come Paul's way that week. Though he's been partnered with Tim for almost two years, it can't be said that Paul knows him in any real way, and it's not Tim's fault. But all of that is about to change. I loved how the author avoided the ‘GFY cop partners syndrome', I loved that Tim was such a non-stereotype and kept confounding Paul, and that could pretty much sum up the overarching theme of the book, IMO, how people and things are not always what they seem, how they're mutable, and much more than the sum of their parts. Tim is the first of these ‘surprises' for Paul. He's a 43 year-old Baltimore native, a red-headed Irish, a divorced cop and he doesn't give a flying fig about Paul's sexuality, asks questions because he's genuinely interested, and has no ulterior motive or buyer's remorse when he offering his bed (with him in it) to Paul, because the sofa is too short and so is his daughter's bed. Paul begins to get an inkling of the beautiful friendship he's been missing out on by being blind to what's right in front of him or letting preconceptions cloud his judgement. Added to the list of people confounding Paul or, rather just being humans, are the murder victims themselves, who flip the social/racial roles scripted for them, as do at least two of the murder suspects. Jimmy Pratt, in particular, had me filing his name away for future reference. He was a character that went from “who is this a$#hole” to “can we get a short story about him? Please?”The biggest surprise, hurdle, or spanner in Paul's worldview is David Haygood, a 28 year old recent arrival to the city. A kind of baby doe with a dark past looking to be redeemed or perhaps even reborn. He'll make you think about the nature of forgiveness, faith, what do you really stand for, when it counts, and what is love in the larger sense of the word. I won't get into David's story but suffice it to say that not only is it Greek-style tragic, but it's also, depressingly topical. The unifying thread to all these characters is Paul Solomon, who in spite of sometimes being aloof and maybe a bit obtuse, also cares deeply about people, is immensely empathetic, and has a huge heart. I for one am going directly to the next book because I know it will be time well spent. I don't want to miss a minute.

4.00 * ‘cause it's almost Christmas and I'm not the Grinch

A Christmas story in August? Yep. I'm shocked too and even more so that I enjoyed it.

This had the potential of going sideways for me real quick: I've only done one [a:Andrew Grey|586879|Andrew Grey|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] book before, and though I didn't hate it, I didn't run out to buy his backlist; I'm not a super fan of Holiday stories with their propensity for cheese and maple syrup; and I'm not a huge fan of kids in books, cute or otherwise *ducks. Color me surprised and chastened on all fronts.

After the unexpected death of his sister, Larry Kincaid, becomes the sole guardian to his six (6) year old nephew Angus. They're both still adjusting and grieving but life goes on. Larry is preparing for his annual business holiday party and Angus wants to attend for which he needs formal wear. At the store they meet Joshua and Angus is immediately taken with him and maybe Larry is a bit smitten too.

I liked the progression of the story, necessarily insta due to length and trope, but believably so and not overly-done. I liked Joshua. Very much. Though the younger, poorer, smaller guy in this duo he's no pushover and in fact is the party that gets things going and later keeps them going. Makes sense. Larry is in mourning and being the older of the two has had the chance of being burned & disappointed. Perhaps my favorite surprise was Angus. His child's grief and fear of being left again is well done but not made trite or maudlin, nor is he one of those “oh-so-wise” kids I never happen to meet in RL.

However what brought it all together for me and tied it with a nice bow was [a:K.C. Kelly|2748905|K.C. Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1516972213p2/2748905.jpg]'s narration. Really good. Slow, deliberate and a nice touch with the voice for Angus. The emotions ring true.

[a:Charlie Cochrane 2727135 Charlie Cochrane https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1274344657p2/2727135.jpg] is a “new to me” author and I don't know if this is her general milieu, but I loved this. Excellently done period piece about the “love that dare not speak its name” during WWI. I think the author got the voice and attitude of the characters perfectly right without devolving into any kind of self-loathing or other often trod and trite period themes. It's bittersweet but not maudlin with and absolutely believable HFN on the verge of HEA. I'll say no more because unfolding this like a long lost letter found in a drawer is part of the beauty, along with [a:Kevin Stillwell 5815059 Kevin Stillwell https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s perfect narration/performance.

Why did I think this would be a good choice for my morning commute? Sweet baby Jesus! This was everything I remembered the movie to be and somehow more of a punch to the gut. I'm perpetually amazed at how a good writer can limn a whole lifetime of deeds and emotions in a few choice words. [a:Annie Proulx 1262010 Annie Proulx https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219720509p2/1262010.jpg] is that kind of writer. As a bonus [a:Campbell Scott 251177 Campbell Scott https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] suffuses life into the characters of Ennis & Jack to point of making your heart bleed, reminding us he's a great actor. When Ennis says little darlin' I about bawled my eyes out on the train. It overshadows sheafs of ‘I love yous' in other stories. Is this a romance? Not in the genre sense. It is however a love story. A sad/tragic one given the state of who we are/have been as a species/society, but also touched by small moments of grace and companionship, which is all we ever wish for in the end.I'll definitely be doing this again and getting a print copy, just as soon as I recover.

4.5 Seems like today was my day for short stories that pack a punch and are brilliantly narrated. In this instance [a:Joseph Norton 5711445 Joseph Norton https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] breathes life wink into [a:Sara Alva 5034532 Sara Alva https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1359315171p2/5034532.jpg]'s sweet, sexy, and sensitive NA. Simon is 19 and vacationing with his family in Costa Rica. Paradise, right? Problem is Simon is nursing a bit of a broken heart. It turns out that the guy he'd been getting horizontal with in college and whom he thought of as his boyfriend had other ideas. When the school year ends he tells Simon that they should see where the summer takes them and decide if they want to be together again when classes recommence. So that's what Simon is doing. Scoping out guys on the beach and trying to figure out how he could've been so wrong. Luckily he's not struggling with his sexuality or his family. He has an annoying/loving sister, accepting mom, and making-an-effort-to-be-open dad. More than most and he knows it.While out walking the beach at night and doing some dumb tourist thing he meets Juan, a local whom he'd seen selling trinkets at the beach, but who also works for the local conservation of sea turtles and their egg nests from poachers & predators. What ensues is a sweet summer romance with surprises for both parties. Juan is surprised and ultimately charmed by Simon's bumbling earnestness, how he fails to behave like a vacation hook-up. Simon is surprised by wanting more, by his almost immediate trust in Juan, by how much they have in common. The author seamlessly weaves in ideas about environmentalism, tourism, cultural differences, and the assumptions we make about others based on where we're coming from. The ending is a very nice, very believable, hopeful, non-saccharine HFN.

I came to this via my ongoing short audio festival. Yeah me I stumbled on [b:The Immortals 10233394 The Immortals Victor J. Banis https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1365599651s/10233394.jpg 15133327], and though I wouldn't recommend the audio by Guy Veryzer (kind of bad) I was sufficiently intrigued by the story to want to read it on my own and found it in this collection.The stories in this anthology are a mixed bag of scary campfire tales, horror, careful what you wish for, poison pen letters etc. They are absolutely NOT romances. Of any sort. I liked them. Particular standouts: “Broken Record”, “An Apple a Day”, “The Canals of Mars” (the only one that can remotely qualify as a love story) “If Love Were All” (punch to the gut) “In Passing”, “The Immortals” (poking holes in our assumptions)“A Man of Principle”Also I love the cover. ;)

Success!!! I've finished. I certainly couldn't have done it or gotten as much out of it as I did if it weren't for the brilliant and masterful narration by [a:Jim Norton Riordan 6684912 Jim Norton Riordan https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Not only are his voices varied and pitch perfect but he just makes everything clear, from who's talking, what they're going on about, or when we're just in someone's head. Plus he sings too! Perfection. I'd say unless you're super versed in EVERYTHING do yourself a favor and pair this book with the JN audio (there are others). You can thank me later.I'm fairly certain that I'm seriously under qualified to rate this book. Every page is packed or allusive to historical events, particularly late XIX and early XX Century Irish history, other literary works, or just the nature of language itself, that you could spend a goodly amount of time decoding the layers of what's going on. On the other hand nothing really happens. Kind of like an erudite Seinfeld episode. It's June 16th and Stephen Dedalus, a young poet, just returned from Paris (see: [b:A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 7588 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388201200s/7588.jpg 3298883]) and Leopold Bloom, separately set about a day in Dublin. Their paths will cross and intersect given that they move in the same circle of friends: the pubs, the newspaper, a friend's funeral, a birth, a brothel. All the while we live in Leo or Stephen's heads. You may scratch your head at times, you may wonder what's going on, you'll laugh and you'll never be bored. What's it all about? Mostly sex. How to get it, where, when, how, the enjoyment of it, the types, with who, past sexual conquests, looking forward to and making plans for future romps. [a:James Joyce 5144 James Joyce https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517863935p2/5144.jpg] lays all this out in a extravagance of of literary styles that leaves one in awe of the breath and depth of his knowledge. Bonus: It's Laugh-Out-Loud Funny. Extra Bonus: Molly Bloom! You'll have to wait for the last 60+ pages of the book to get her voice but it's totally worth it. She totally owns her sexuality. She is herself and unapologetically so. What a breath of fresh air. I don't know if that was Joyce's intention but Molly won't be denied.

3.75I got this because I've been on a short audio kick, and though I didn't totally love the AB by [a:Jerry L. Wheeler 2934317 Jerry L. Wheeler https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], I was pleasantly intrigued by the concept of this story and its execution.James Daniels gets a fatal diagnosis (or does he?) and starts to reminisce about his life, mistakes along the way, and the one who got away. I won't get too much into the story because it's short but packs a full well rounded story. I'd heartily recommend it (read it if you prefer) and you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's particularly poignant for those past a certain age: the looking back at what could've been and the possibility of there being something more even at the end of the road.

This is a little gem, both from the audio and writing points. [a:Steve Berman 224189 Steve Berman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1258753902p2/224189.jpg] has a written perfect campfire story, where monsters are in plain sight, and we're too subsumed, perhaps happily so, by the humdrum of daily life: money woes, annoying lovers, and general ennui. The story is set in a post-war/pre-war Berlin where cabarets are a refuge from reality and a snake comes to disrupt the slumber. Allegorical to what's about to come? I'd say so. I love how the author doesn't shy away from speech that we may now find offensive or non-PC. Also if this isn't a perfect opening line I don't know what is:”How frustrating to pen a missive while Emrick seeks to distract me by trifling with his false eye on the bed.”I would definitely recommend the audio as the preferred way to enjoy this. [a:James Gillies 452448 James Gillies https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] captures every nuance and feeling, from comedic absurdity to foreboding. There are many gazillion paged stories that aspire to convey what Steve Berman & James Gillies gift us with in a scant half hour.

The short Audio festival continues and I'm not mad about it.3.75I can't say that I'm a huge [a:Aleksandr Voinov 3074905 Aleksandr Voinov https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1471073279p2/3074905.jpg] fan, in fact this might just be my second read, and it's radically different from my first which was historical, but I”ll definitely keep going. My draw to this was the length, commute perfect, and [a:Gomez Pugh 8435087 Gomez Pugh https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], who has had my unwavering devotion from the first PsyCop book. He does not disappoint. I'd say that a good way to describe this would be a mash-up of Pacific Rim, a non-sucky Transformers, and the the precogs from Minority Report. It works. Chris is a pilot with built-in hardware which allows him to control an un-maned “drone” or other assorted machines. Very cool. Until it's not. One day after a snafu with his “flight” suit he meets a fellow pilot who while wining and dining him questions the legitimacy of some of their missions etc. Some hot hotel sex ensues and Chris wakes up to find that things are not as they seemed. The author tries to delve into the “heavier” subjects of civilian war casualties, particularly our modern drone warfare, and to whom does technology belong to and what are its legitimate uses. Valid and important questions but the author doesn't really allot sufficient time to address them. On the romance front I'd say this more of a Happy Lust scenario with good possibilities of becoming something more, but once again there's no time to explore the relationship in any satisfactory way. If this were a one-night sexcapade for Chris I might have been happier. No expectations. No disappointment. As it is the ending was hopeful, maybe even a HFN but I would've been infinitely happier with a few more pages or some epilogue. I'd still recommend it, particularly for the enjoyment of Gomez Pugh doing his thing, and a fairly inventive and entertaining story about humans and technology in future/modern times.

4.5I'm always on the lookout for a good audio, they make my commute bearable, and this one by [a:Jack LeFleur 6861965 Jack LeFleur https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] was an excellent surprise. [a:Diana Copland 2980236 Diana Copland https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png] is a ‘new to me' author but I'll be sure to check out more from her in the nearby future. Matthew Bennett's world imploded fifteen months ago when his partner, best friend, and lover was killed. Since then he's been stuck, closed off, and to make matters worse his idiot captain has him on desk duty. Because of the ‘gay' thing. Ugh! That makes him the low-man on the totem pole who gets called in on a Christmas Eve missing person case which becomes worse when it turns out to be the murder of a child. The silver lining in that Abby, the victim, won't go quietly. She or her ghost ‘haunts' Matt which brings him into contact with Kiernan Fitzpatrick, a tv famous psychic.I liked everything about this. It worked as a paranormal: Kiernan with his irreverent T-shirts and descriptions of ghosts and their manifestations reminded me at times of Victor Bane from the PsyCop series, but with a rather more religious/spiritual bent. I liked how Matthew went through the normal, initial doubts about ghosts and Kiernan's ability to communicate with the dead but didn't belabor the point given what he sees and feels. In other words he doesn't pull a seasons long Dana Scully. Hallelujah! I liked how Matt wasn't some kind of super cop being shackled by his superiors but rather a guy who was grieving a terrible loss.In a pinch it works as Christmas story. The book takes place in a week, from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day and though the MCs don't meet until the 26th their falling in love doesn't feel insta at all. Matt and Kiernan fit together perfectly, organically, and they make the sheets sing. However what I liked the most is that the mystery doesn't take a back seat to the romance. You see Matt & Kiernan working and figuring out what's happening. Finally the mystery itself wasn't cliched. Thank you! IGNORABLE BUSINESSI have two niggling, perhaps related, questions which neither contribute nor distract from the enjoyment of this story:a) where does this take place? I never got a fix on what town/city it was meant to be. b) is Kiernan meant to have come to America at a certain age? In the audio, which I'm guessing is approved by the author, he has a wee bit of an accent, a brogue. Lovely to listen to, particularly in Jack LaFleur's rendition, but, again maybe my inattentiveness as a reader, I didn't catch that. I thought he was of Irish parentage but American born and raised. He lives in San Diego.

3.5This seems to be the last of this series and I can't say I've had a bad time with them. If nothing else they're a good way of sampling some pretty good to excellent narrators and to fill in a couple of hours, in my case perfect for commuting. [b:Choosing Us 26122657 Choosing Us (More Than Friends, #10) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439926660s/26122657.jpg 46071001] brings us back to Steve, whom we first met in [b:Drunk in Love 20647672 Drunk in Love (More Than Friends, #2) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471915763s/20647672.jpg 39941157] being a bit of a douche. He later got redeemed and earned his own HEA with his Little Duck, Joey, in [b:Choosing Happy 20895061 Choosing Happy (More Than Friends, #3) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471995838s/20895061.jpg 40238196]and has remained a presence throughout the rest of the series. Essentially this is a story about an established couple become a threesome and I'd say that that part is accomplished in an organic way without histrionics or melodrama. I liked it. Adam is a young man that Joey knew from his stint at Paddles, and I guess he was mentioned in [b:Choosing Happy 20895061 Choosing Happy (More Than Friends, #3) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471995838s/20895061.jpg 40238196], I can't say I remember him. It doesn't matter. We get a fair picture of who Adam is and he seems like a perfect and sweet addition to Steve & Joey. He's been hurt and damaged but he's come to the right place to soothe his wounds.Once again [a:Michael Ferraiuolo 13467952 Michael Ferraiuolo https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498214961p2/13467952.jpg]did a fantastic job with the character voices, from Joey's sweetness, Adam's tentativeness and insecurities, to Steve who's a caretaker to them both but can still be vulnerable himself. MINI RANTMy rating isn't higher for, and that's probably true of the whole series, because the author likes to take up some heavy and important subjects, in this case cutting, attempted suicide, ODing, drug use, homelessness among LGBTQ youth etc. and then just rush or elide the resolutions in a few pages at the end. I think if you make one of your MC have an “issue” it would be a good thing to explore it in more than a paragraph. I understand this is a romance but ... Forget it. I'm being cantankerous but I'll say this (A TOTAL SPOILER/NOT KIDDING) Adam is a cutter from early adolescence. I don't think Steve's magic dick will "cure" him or the reasons for his cutting without additional self-work and even then it's a lifetime project. See A Little Life END OF RANT