Annery
** 3.5 **
This was a sweet, slow burn romance between a still grieving and previously closeted David and Robbie and outwardly easy going barista who is yearning for a real relationship after having been kept a secret by his prior boyfriend.
There is no kink, Alphas or super heroes here, just two everyday flawed people trying to cope with past experiences yet recognizing and reaching for love, plain & ordinary love when it's within grasp.
“Since David had come into my life I'd learned a lot more about hope. It looks like ivory sheets and stacks of paint cans and two pairs of shoes next to the bed. It sounds like rustling bed covers and murmured endearments. Hope tastes like skin and soap and victory and coffee.”
A sweet read for an afternoon, maybe with a nice mug of coffee too.
Part two in the continuing story of Maximilian & Ethan and a satisfying one it is. If I'm gauging this correctly each installment will be a case or story for the Elite Poole agency and further evolvement in the relationship of our MCs and so far so good.The blurb tells you pretty much the plot so I'll go with what I liked. Number one on my likes is always Ethan. He's a sweet, honorable, kind and loving man who may be a little bit of a babe in the woods in the New World of Las Vegas that Max has thrust him into but he is not dumb, naive or incapable. I like that this book makes clear that being a sub in your emotional or sexual relationship with someone doesn't diminish you as a person or make you weak. I liked that even if only briefly we get to hear from Bob & Larry. I really don't want to lose those guys as the story progresses because they're really good guys!I liked that some air was let into the relationship by the the introduction of some new characters and letting Ethan out in the world at large and not be all the time with Max.I perversely liked Peter Monaghan who though ostensibly the heavy, brought a much needed dose of reality to Max in various aspects one being trying to make him see clearly what his true feelings are for Ethan. Now I come to Maximilian (as he prefers to be called). I vacillate between kind or sort of hating him and feeling bad for him. I'll explain. This is an ongoing struggle I have with Doms. Yes, the good ones are giving their subs what they want and taking care of of them, however I can't help but hate them a bit for deriving pleasure from their partners “suffering”. I know I'm a mess because the Dom is giving the Sub what they want thus making them happy but it still niggles at me. As I said I'm a mess.Max being sometimes an über Dom pisses me off but then it gives Ethan bliss so I'll shut it. On the other hand I kind of feel bad for him because he's so emotionally controlled/closed off that he doesn't recognize the good thing that's fallen in his lap. But hey this is romance so I'm optimistic we are going down the Yellow Brick Road to HEA. We are not there yet, not by a long shot but things go down in this book which give Maximilian a jolt and a scare and I think he's cracked the door open to start examining his feelings for Ethan in a more honest way, even if only to himself. I'm ready and eager to continue this ride but I really hope I can do it via [a:Nick J. Russo 8141120 Nick J. Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s narration. The man is an artist!!! I'll have to be patient and drum my fingers because the other books are not on audio yet. sigh
So how do I rate this? Well the answer is on how much or little I enjoyed the story and enjoy it I did. Particularly the excellent audio narration by [a:Jennifer Grace 3133768 Jennifer Grace https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Probably a whole star goes to her choice of voices and inflections.Janie is your typical girl in contemporary romances: gorgeous but doesn't know it and the fact that she's brainy, wears glasses and is tall is somehow meant to make her freakish. Yep. Just like every other supermodel or Chloe Kardashian. She has a ton of long hair, big boobs, tiny waist and curvy butt. As I said: freakish and unattractive. In comes the mysterious, rich and “startlingly and even painfully handsome” Quinn Sullivan and the rest is FSOG history sans the bondage, though it is alluded to in passing by Quinn. The difference is that Janie is an entertaining character and it is fun to be in her head. She also has a fierce group of girlfriends who I'm sure will have books of their own. Everything about the relationships between the girlfriends and Janies' confidence in her intellectual and professional abilities was very refreshing which is why I got annoyed at her obliviousness to her attractiveness to Quinn. But it is a romance so I must chill and the last two chapters and the epilogue where perfect. I was left curious about Jem and her story. That's a girl who'd be hard to redeem but I think it might be a good story if done well. I also felt bad for Jon. Poor boy. And Quinn and his family? I feel a sequel coming on. Will I read it? Probably. No rush though. It will keep.I would recommend this fun contemporary but let's drop the the “Smart Romance” rubric because it's the usual story, albeit told with fun and wit.
Reread/Listen September 2016 = 4 Happy StarsWhat a difference a mood makes and in this case a superb narrator [a:Nick J. Russo 8141120 Nick J. Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]I'm revising my rating because I rate based on my level of enjoyment and this time around I loved everything about this book. Maybe I was wrong before or wrong now but I was a very happy girl today having this book as company. ;-)My deep love for Ethan continues unabated and I've come to understand or accept his helpless attraction to Maximilian. We all have our Achilles Heel. Yes I still do think that Max is a bit of an ass but he seems very intent on satisfying every one of Ethan's desires when they come together once again towards the end and after a mutually fulfilling sexual encounter Max actually says to Ethan "Did I please you?" and that makes me tally him in the plus column. Let's hope in the next books [a:Tricia Owens 953273 Tricia Owens https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1474564769p2/953273.jpg] makes good on this promise and that she tells us more about him so that I can grow to like him for himself.A special mention to Larry and Bob. Two of the best guys and friends that anyone could have and Ethan is lucky to have them in his corner.I'll be moving on to the next books, particularly as they become available on audio by [a:Nick J. Russo 8141120 Nick J. Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] He makes me happy. :-)**********Really a 2.5 but I feeling generous so 3* (April 2016)Maximilian & Ethan???I had enough fun while reading this and I really liked the character of Ethan and his humdrum life back in Indiana. I liked that though he kept it on the DL he knew who he was and what he liked so I was a bit disappointed when he fell hook, line and sinker for the pretty face that is Max.Granted we don't get to know too much about Max in this installment, I guess to tease him out in future episodes, but for me it's a case of ... meh. Don't really care enough to follow through, especially since I've read the blurbs to the follow up books and they seem way drama Queen heavy. So I'll wish them good luck and if I ever think of them again I'll imagine them living in happy bliss.
Re-read 4/22/18**********
More Matt & Aaron *squee
The boys are spending their first Christmas as a couple and to say that Aaron is a bit obsessive about his decorations is putting things mildly. It comes as no surprise that the combination of a “shopping averse” Matt and an über fastidious Aaron looking for the perfect Christmas tree on a cold night will cause some friction. After running into a girl that Matt once dated but barely remembers Aaron gets snippy, Matt gets angry but ultimately a necessary conversation is had and our boys get to fully enjoy their Christmas. sigh
This is what I love about these stories and why I'm a proponent of Lane publishing them as a companion to [b:Better Than Good|18048387|Better Than Good (Better Than, #1)|Lane Hayes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1370743128s/18048387.jpg|25330069], each one furthers and grows the relationship between Matt & Aaron. They grow as a couple and learn each other's ticks and foibles and it all makes their love be on firmer ground and expand in true and meaningful ways.
Brava Lane!
Re-read 4/21/18*********Matt's continuing education as an out and proud gay man now that he Aaron are an established couple.This is a bit of a PSA for those who don't know what Pride is or what it means for those in the community and Aaron is a thorough but gentle teacher with some sexy thrown in for good measure.Matt won't be wearing boas and glitter any time soon and that's the beauty of the rainbow. Everyone has a place.As an extra bonus we get a little visit with Jay and Peter from [b:Better Than Chance 20338332 Better Than Chance (Better Than, #2) Lane Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388281403s/20338332.jpg 41947269] and that's always a good thing. ;-)
[a:Bey Deckard 7855471 Bey Deckard https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1491238532p2/7855471.jpg] is amazing! In this short novella he manages to convey the breadth and depth of a burgeoning D/s relationship between space marines who also happen to be older/younger and though the much fetishized three little words are never spoken you can feel them vibrating in every word and deed. The actions and emotions have a ring of truth and not a word is wasted. Deckard expertly and perfectly limns these two characters in a few deft strokes that leave us wanting more and yet truly knowing everything we need to know about them.Did I understand all of the futuristic military jargon? No. And I didn't care. I just let the language and the sensibility wash over and envelop me in the rightness and goodness that are Sarge & Murphy. And yes your eyelashes will be singed by the hotness between the MCs.The icing on the cake: [a:Nick J. Russo 8141120 Nick J. Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s pitch perfect narration. The fact that as of yet there is no Audio for [b:Murphy 31866229 Murphy (F.I.S.T.S. #2) Bey Deckard https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473261042s/31866229.jpg 45321623], the follow up or continuation to this story is the only thing that has given me pause to jump right in but I don't think I can resist much longer. I. Want. Murphy.
Re-read 4/21/18**********If you read [b:Better Than Good 18048387 Better Than Good (Better Than, #1) Lane Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1370743128s/18048387.jpg 25330069] you have to read this short. It's the perfect epilogue (I won't say ending EVER), to Matt & Aaron's love story and the true beginning of their HEA.I won't say much so as to not ruin this perfect story of how Matt and Aaron move on from dating to living together. We witness Matt growing in leaps and bounds, yet utterly realistically, as a boyfriend and a bi or gay man in a relationship with a loving, out and proud man i.e Aaron.Seeing Matt tackle small, but important things, like making dinner for Aaron to the big things like coming out to his family had me rooting for him and sporting a giddy smile all day.Do yourself a favor and don't miss this gem.How can we beg Lane to publish these stories???
* Re-read via a first time listen on 8/9/20 - 8/9/20*I read this when it first came out and I liked it very much. My thoughts haven't changed. I'm upping the rating because in the intervening 4 years I've read so much other nonsense that I appreciate [a:Kiera Andrews 19799064 Kiera Andrews https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]' knack for giving depth & plausibility to what otherwise could just be a fantasy scenario. Add to that [a:Greg Tremblay 8108759 Greg Tremblay https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484561919p2/8108759.jpg] doing his usual fantastic job and I was delighted. ************First read 9/12/16 - 9/13/16** Thoughts: I liked it. Very much. Sue me. I liked that [a:Keira Andrews 1366040 Keira Andrews https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1409084048p2/1366040.jpg] actually tried to realistically detail the day to day interactions, feelings and experiences that would bond or break two people stranded on a deserted island. I liked that though fairly competent neither one of the MC was a Superman or MacGyver. Both characters get to spazz out at the situation, mourn what they believe is lost and come to depend on and appreciate the other.I liked that the story was romantic in the most basic way and hopeful even in the face of dire circumstances.I liked that Brian got to know the real Troy behind the pop star persona and that, refreshingly, Troy wasn't a stereotypical brat. Troy was able to see through Brian's protective shell and thaw the numbness that had consumed him.I liked how they looked out for each other in small ways like gathering food, or “Spa Day”, or when bad things happen. I liked how things played out after they were rescued. I love Troy, sweet, generous and loving and exactly who and what Brian needs.If their HEA is perhaps wishful thinking [a:Keira Andrews 1366040 Keira Andrews https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1409084048p2/1366040.jpg] sells it well and I'm buying, ‘cause isn't this why we read romance? Because we believe in the power of love and the overall notion that goodness and truth will rise above the fray of life? I do.
“Find the meaning of the act
Remember how it goes
Every time you take to water
You swim against the flow
And the world is all around us
And the days are flying past
And fear is so contagious
But I'm not afraid to laugh
I could go at anytime
There's nothing safe about this life
I could go at anytime”
The lyrics to this Neil Finn song became a refrain as I was reading this book, the last entry in the BETTER THAN series, because it's what Paul learns in the course of his stumbling kicking and screaming into love with Seth.
I'm so happy I read this series and so happy that this last book brought us full circle to where we began: people taking dives off the deep end of the pool, taking chances, shifting from and established course and finding everything they never thought they needed on the other shore.
Lane Hayes does a brilliant job writing about a lifestyle and group of people she evidently knows well and it shows. It seems that many writers in MM or other genres think that they need to write about abuse or drug addiction or something else equally dramatic to have a good story and somehow epically fail because it comes off as insincere or shallow. Some of the characters in this series have had less than stellar coming out stories and pasts that have been painful but at the point where these stories pick up they are all, even if unknowingly, ready to be happy even if that requires taking terrifying chances.
Paul whom we met as Curt's sometime date in Better Than Friends is the only child of a selfish artist and his muse and the ex of a current enfant terrible of the British Art Scene so it isn't a wonder that he is more than wary of starting a relationship with Seth, a beautiful sometimes model, sometimes rock musician, full time aspiring artist who as an extra bonus is 11 years his junior.
The journey Paul and Seth take is beautiful and warmed my heart and I loved how the voice of sanity was more often than not Seth and I loved that Paul was able to do the very hardest thing we all have to do to be truly happy: let the past live in the past, embrace our present with both hands because it is the most precious thing we have.
Once again BRAVO to Tyler Stevens for the brilliant narration.
Spending time with the core friends that comprise the Better Than series is like the embrace of your favorite terry cloth robe on a chilly afternoon. Perfect. ;-)
p.s. I HATE SIMON WITH A PASSION.
** 3.5 ** //WHY DOES GR INSIST ON NOT ALLOWING .5 STARS!!!//Another breezy entry to the love stories of Matt & Aaron's friends from [b:Better Than Good 18048387 Better Than Good (Better Than, #1) Lane Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1370743128s/18048387.jpg 25330069]. Like the previous entry nothing much happens and I'm not complaining. No made up issues or melodrama, but the story of how Curt, Matt's friend and former college roommate, and Jack, who appears in [b:Better Than Chance 20338332 Better Than Chance (Better Than, #2) Lane Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388281403s/20338332.jpg 41947269] meet and get together is more novella material in my opinion.Don't get me wrong. They are both good company. Curtis is sometimes too caught up in his insecurities and I think that Lane Hayes makes a good case for Jack being hesitant to pursue a “formal” relationship due to his past ones. I also appreciate that though there could be some drama created over the age difference, Curtis is 28 and Jack 42, none rises because hey, those relationships happen all the time and if anything Jack is the one here pushing Curt to go beyond his comfort zone and out of his head. All in all it's a low to no angst story of two outwardly seeming opposites attracted to each in a powerful yet easy way. For Curt it's also learning to see himself with other more admiring eyes and for both Jack & Curt to release the past and grab the future with both hands.However unlike Peter & Jay who are forceful and interesting characters in their own right I feel like Curt & Jack are ancillary or satellites of the Matt/Aaron world and that their story could be better told within a novella .... but if you enjoy decor porn you're in for a treat. Every space gets described in an almost tactile detail and I felt a times like I was looking at pictures in Dwell or Elle Decor.In this volume we are introduced to Paul who I'm sure will be one of the MC of the next book and I'll read it not so much because I'm interested in him but because I'm fingers crossed expecting more visits with Matt & Aaron and hopefully wedding bells and because lets face it I'm an anal freak who likes to finish series and in this case it will be no chore due to a combination of [a:Lane Hayes 7125719 Lane Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1489672643p2/7125719.jpg] smooth writing style about people you feel like you know: your office mate, drinking buddy or cute neighbor and these books are blessed by [a:Tyler Stevens 6519636 Tyler Stevens https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] doing the narration. Sweet.
I'm all warm inside. That's the kind of book this is and that's a good thing. happy sigh
This is a perhaps slow to love but quick to lust story of two fairly well adjusted people getting to know each other and enjoying each other's company to the point that it could be a two character play.
Peter has some emotional baggage but by the time in his life when he encounters Jay, even though he doesn't know it at the beginning, he's ready to make the leap to the next stage of adulthood, mainly ceasing to expend emotions and energy on people and things that won't change and Jay with all his effervescence is the push he needs. He just can't stay away from Jay even though he refuses to name what they have going on. But hey, a rose is a rose is a rose.
And Jay, Jay, Jay! What a sweet and uncomplicated man. How refreshing to find characters who have no major issues, who come from a from loving families, have good friends and are comfortable in their own skin and that's Jay. He's a regular person living his life, perhaps hoping for love but with no major hang ups or kinks. To quote W.H. Auden
For the error bred in the bone Of each woman and each man Craves what it cannot have, Not universal loveBut to be loved alone.
Once Jay meets Peter destiny has come calling and we are in for a slow burn, low angst and sexy journey and Jay, whose POV we get the story from, is warm and entertaining company.
Special mention for [a:Tyler Stevens|6519636|Tyler Stevens|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s narration. Fantastic.
***If you are doing the series, and you should, it's great to see/meet Aaron before Matt. ;-)
SECOND READ 3/25/17-3/26/17I'd been waiting for the audio to start reading [b:Us 27797842 Us (Him #2) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1454072715s/27797842.jpg 47775179] so after a bat shit week I decided to do a refresher read of [b:Him 25686927 Him (Him #1) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436433289s/25686927.jpg 45514970] first and what a fantastic idea that was. I won't rehash my review though it's all over the place but those were my thoughts, as they were, at the time. I will reiterate how much I loved the “him” in question: Jamie Canning. He's young but already so full of the qualities that will make him a man you want to know your whole life. When Wes met him was definitely the luckiest day of his life because not only did he get Jamie but he also got the Canning clan and if there's someone in need of a loving family that is Ryan Wesley. I will add that I loved Ryan too. He is cocky and a bit full of himself but in his defense he can back it up. Plus he is an athlete! An NHL bound hockey player! Small egos, low ambition, and self effacement don't get you in to the NHL. He's self aware of his hard prickly shell but his upbringing has made that a necessary survival skill. I also want to thank [a:Sarina Bowen 7737308 Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1402702789p2/7737308.jpg] for putting good women in her M/M books. Unlike some M/M readers I'm not freaked or grossed out by sexually present women in M/M and I like that she doesn't portray them as evil or conniving or whatever other misogynistic thing but rather as breathing, sentient, and complex beings. That's a long way of saying that Holly needs her own book. Another person who needs his own book, because I feel for him and need to know his future got better is Mark Killfeather. Extra points for not doing the usual bi erasure. Jamie was true and honest in his previous relationships with women, it just so happens he wasn't in love with those people. Jamie & Wes were lost to each other from day one. They just didn't know it. ;-)This brought me back to Happy. Thank you. I'm off to [b:Us 27797842 Us (Him #2) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1454072715s/27797842.jpg 47775179]FIRST READ 9/1/16-9/2/16This was everything I didn't know I needed and wanted!Everything from a fantastic audio by [a:Teddy Hamilton 15007880 Teddy Hamilton https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Jacob Morgan 3145556 Jacob Morgan https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1493415553p2/3145556.jpg] to the sweet, hopeful and heartwarming story of two people becoming adults & jumping into the world and its attendant challenges but secure in love and good company.I'd been reticent about reading this as I don't do sports so much and NA can sometimes be hit or miss for me but Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy handle the story beautifully with just the right amount of seriousness but no trumped up angst or drama and with lots of humor and good vibes and of course sexiness to spare.I know that life is full of a**holes but I was so glad that aside from Wesley's father and Killfeather Sr.the community surrounding Jamie and Wes (Ryan) were normal, recognizable and lovely people that we all wish to know and can I just say that I want to be adopted by the Canning clan? Also Holly! Love that girl so hard.Is there a lovelier man than Jamie Canning? Sensitive, open and loving yet strong and decisive when it counts. And Wes ... whose been dealt from both piles of the deck: talent to spare but shitty parents; a society that still shuns people like him for their sexual orientation and a community and family and best friend/lover who embrace him whole heartedly. Yes he sometimes runs and hides but who didn't when they were 18 or 22? My only quandary now is that I don't know if I want to read [b:Us 27797842 Us (Him #2) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1454072715s/27797842.jpg 47775179] because I felt like [b:Him 25686927 Him (Him #1) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436433289s/25686927.jpg 45514970] ended perfectly and I don't want to burst my bubble of bliss, plus there doesn't seem to be an Audio version yet and I really loved the narration.
Damn this was disappointing. Because starting off good and then sucking hard is worse in my book than just being outright bad.This was an audio and the first half was actually a fun road trip-sex romp that had me smiling, kind of like those rom-coms that you know are going to turn sappy in the last half hour but you watch anyway because “what else is there to do on Saturday afternoon?” I wish that were the case!!! The story falls apart in the second half and it's made all the worse by an awful narrator. The first half was a fun, funny and sexy story of a girl, Aubrey, driving out to California from Chicago to start over after breaking up with a cheating boyfriend. As preordained by the Romance Gods she meets a hot, irreverent, ex-soccer player who also happens to be an Aussie i.e. sexy accent. Things happen and they become road trip companions going thru all the stages from hostility, getting to know each other and the stop in Vegas where sexiness ensues. As I said, fun. Though you can see all this, save one fun surprise the fainting goat coming from a mile away it's done deftly and charmingly and has a very pleasing narration by [a:Michelle Ferguson 5309723 Michelle Ferguson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1323465364p2/5309723.jpg] However the second half seems to be a whole other book about an occasionally dirty mouth doormat trying to regain the love of of a woman who is at best a two-timer or at worse ... I won't say. But maybe I exaggerate and this is because the second half is narrated by [a:Aaron Abano 8332914 Aaron Abano https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and My God HE IS AWFUL. He makes Chance sound like some 50 year old pervert and the women's voices are some kind mockery of Miss Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls”. The way the story proceeded in the second half already had me yawning but Mr. Albano's narration managed to push my “meh” to “I hate this”.* Maybe you could get more enjoyment out of this by reading it on your own. Skip the audio because you'll start out happy and will then want to smash your listening device.*
This is a combined review of all three books in the series.I could be snide and point out all the crazy, unrealistic, melodramatic parts of this series but I'm going to be honest and say that I loved it! Yes a good part of the love comes from [a:J. F. Harding 15672022 J. F. Harding https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] A masterful narration. Every character gets a distinct and believable voice. And what feeling! Awesome.This series sits firmly in the FSOG genre: a babe in the woods gets introduced to the world of money and non vanilla sex, here in M/M form, and kudos to [a:Maris Black 7222957 Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1381280754p2/7222957.jpg] for taking that mold and making it infinitely better by having much more appealing leads and way better writing. I won't do a synopsis ‘cause hey you can read it for yourself, I'll just point out the things I liked.Jamie and his friends are perfectly normal, nice college students (special shout out to Trey) and so is his girlfriend Layla who in my opinion deserves her own book. Jamie's family is composed of recognizable people and not your usual bigoted cardboard cutouts but a working class mother and father who love their children and want the best for them. For that matter aside from the uncle and one of his minions no one here is overly concerned about the “the gayness” and boy is that a breath of fresh air. I also like that Jamie is self aware enough to recognize his physical appeal and how to use it to his best advantage. Yes he is young and maybe a little sheltered, he's only about to turn 21, but he's not dumb. And that brings me to something that we as readers sometimes forget in these types of books: the protagonists are generally quite young and so naiveté at that age is not unrealistic.[b:Kage 28268831 Kage (Kage Trilogy, #1) Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450822369s/28268831.jpg 45008840] ends in a pretty bleak cliffhanger but book 2 [b:Kage Unleashed 28268873 Kage Unleashed (Kage Trilogy, #2) Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450822664s/28268873.jpg 45416474] picks up exactly where we left off. Nothing happens off page. Also in book 2 we finally get Kage's POV and that is great because a) we realize that he too is young, 24, and trying to make it out of the reach of his sinister, possibly mafiosi uncle and weighed down by psychological burden of a traumatic childhood and b) he too has moments of self doubt and insecurities. Yes we get the possessiveness, the domineering hot and rough sex and the occasional dumb behavior Jamie letting himself be taken to the private room at the club but who hasn't done dumb shit at that age or worse, as I was reminded by a recent conversation with a girlfriend, at any age. When we are stupid in love/lust anything and nothing is enough. As far as sexual kinks to each his own and here it is made clear that both parties are fully desirous of the sex they're having. If I reflect on it I think part 2 was my favorite not only because we have both POVs but it is where the relationship between Jamie and Kage is most fully fleshed out.[b:Kage Unmasked 28083311 Kage Unmasked (Kage Trilogy, #3) Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450822771s/28083311.jpg 46118613] is the necessary reveal of Kage's past which is of course brutal but there's also a bit of shark jumping Dr. Tanner letting Jamie witness the hypnosis session, Kage basically becoming "cured" after remembering, the fairly easy disposal of the evil uncle with no loss to Jamie or Kage but I don't think anyone is reading this for verisimilitude but rather for the feelings conjured and those I liked. That heady almost drunkenness of first love, the feeling of invincibility and the wanting to be with that person to the point of becoming part of them were all convincingly brought forth. I also liked that though Jamie is nominally the submissive party in the relationship he's no doormat and Kage needs him just as much. Jamie even gets to top!Do I believe that these two will still be together in 20 yrs.? Maybe. By the end they seem to have settled into a domesticity reminiscent of traditional roles, Kage out in the world and Jamie taking care of the home, which in their case is a HotelThe romantic in me will say yes. Why not? Let the love birds live long and prosper and may we all have a Michael Kage in our corner. ;-)
clap, clap, clap Brava [a:Tarryn Fisher 5410816 Tarryn Fisher https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336086252p2/5410816.jpg]Starting with [b:The Opportunist 13312527 The Opportunist (Love Me with Lies, #1) Tarryn Fisher https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1374526831s/13312527.jpg 18518411] she set out to tell a telenovela worthy story of imperfect, nay, deeply flawed and at times infuriating people and she didn't blink once.This is the third and final book in the series and the one I liked the most. Perhaps it's because our POV is from Caleb, the heretofore perfect man, who is revealed to be as f**ed up as Olivia or Leah and perversely that made me love him. He sins by omission and commission. marrying while being in love with someone else, staying and working through said marriage while in love with someone else, not getting a paternity test when Leah dropped her bomb and waiting over a year to see Estella We also get some of the events in the two prior books from his POV, thus clarifying many situations but it is not a retread of the other books. There is a lot forward momentum and many things happen in this book. You won't be bored but beware of whiplash and hold on tight. These people, mainly Olivia and Caleb, make poor decisions as I'm sure many of us do in our lives and did during our younger years and boy do they pay! Sometimes I thought: wow that was too much Estella's accident but in reality life can be a colossal F-You sometimes.There is a happy ending but it is tinged bittersweet like all of the best and true love stories. To quote those great poets of love, The Rolling Stones:You can't always get what you wantBut if you try sometimes you might findYou get what you needSpecial mention to [a:Alex Bloch 2195022 Alex Bloch https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] for a fantastic narration, with one caveat: I know Noah is Jewish but I don't remember if he is meant to be born abroad, he's done with a kind of accent??? All in all a great series if you're in the mood for unpredictable but quite believable characters and events and most of all lots and lots of emotion. Because that's the core of this book. Not sex. Emotions. Emotions that keep people tethered to each other through time and geographical distance.ps. I'd also like to know more about Seth
[a:Tarryn Fisher 5410816 Tarryn Fisher https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336086252p2/5410816.jpg] deserves a big round of applause just for the sheer audacity of making a dislikable character the “heroine” of this story. It is quite a gamble and I'm happy to say it pays off.Leah lies, cheats, generally plots and schemes every step she takes in life and to put a bow on her sins doesn't seem to have an ounce of feeling for the baby girl she's just given birth to at the beginning of this book. But she's never boring. Well except for her fixation with Caleb Drake, that demigod roaming the coast of Florida and making women crazy.You really can't read this as a stand alone as much of what is referenced and the backbone of the story is what happened in [b:The Opportunist 13312527 The Opportunist (Love Me with Lies, #1) Tarryn Fisher https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1374526831s/13312527.jpg 18518411]. There is some retread from a different POV to some of the action in that book but mostly we get Leah's back story, how she met Caleb and the lengths she went to get him and her plunge into motherhood. It ain't pretty and some scenes not for the faint of heart (as relates to the baby) but as the narration goes on you do start to develop a semblance of feeling for Leah and begin to chip away at Caleb's saintliness. He has done her wrong, by omission and commission.Like the prior book there are WTFs around every corner which I found fun except that for the life of me I don't recall Caleb having a brother and suddenly here comes Seth! And isn't he full of surprises.In any case this is a gutsy bridge between [b:The Opportunist 13312527 The Opportunist (Love Me with Lies, #1) Tarryn Fisher https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1374526831s/13312527.jpg 18518411] and [b:Thief 16090981 Thief (Love Me with Lies, #3) Tarryn Fisher https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361401256s/16090981.jpg 21895518]. Not filler or boring. I'll definitely finish the series.
Ok. I admit it. I was entertained. A whole star of the enjoyment did come from the narration by [a:Andi Arndt 6746963 Andi Arndt https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1381410479p2/6746963.jpg]. I did a listen/read combo, but much of it came from the sheer what will happen next factor. Everything and nothing happens in this book and it ends in a cliffhanger and I'm jumping right into the next installment.This was like the Mexican/Venezuelan telenovelas I inhaled in my younger years and I mean that as a compliment. Sure improbable things happen, a certain basketball game comes to mind, and our female protagonist/narrator is sometimes annoyingly prejudiced but as a good chunk of the story takes place during college years character flaws are to be expected. Olivia Kaspen is a different and entertaining person to keep company with for a few hours. Sure she becomes fixated on the outrageously perfect Caleb Drake but who wouldn't. He's written that way. Handsome but not pretty, open but mysterious, English but Americanized by having lived in Florida since he was 14, in other words perfect. Not to mention that he has the patience of a saint towards all of Olivia's flaws and drama. Olivia has moxie. She is like one of those dames in those '30s & '40s movies. She fights dirty, people try to beat her but she alway comes back swinging.If you are in the mood for some non serious drama (think Dallas, Dynasty etc) and are okay with a three part series jump right in! The water is pleasantly warm and you'll have fun. A special shout out to Olivia's college roommate/best friend Cammie. I love her.
What a bummer! Many people who don't read MM will miss out on this genre defying, tightly wound roller coaster ride and what a the pity. Yes there is an M/M/M relationship in this book and even though there's only one actual sex scene between the partners, we believe in the logic and rightness of the trio and are rooting for them at every turn. Each compliments and adds to the group and one doesn't question that Nelson, Javier & Tim are going for the long haul. But add to the mix, and not in a sexual way, Randy and Marianne and you've got a “Guardians of the Galaxy” group.Here's the beauty: the “romance” in this book is but the tip of a dystopian/parallel near present where Big Agra has finally cornered the market on food to the point where many people have never eaten actual food but rather its many flavored replacement “manna”. [a:Jordan Castillo Price 268722 Jordan Castillo Price https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1325364144p2/268722.jpg] creates a scary and utterly believable world were our rag tag team of anti-heroes must expose corporate greed, brave riots, rescue loved ones and fall in love in the space of like two days. I was so happy that our heroes are so utterly unheroic. Save for Javier, who is a journalist, and Tim who runs a blog exposing corporate misdeeds the rest of the the “heroes” Nelson, Randy and Marianne are just people caught in the vortex of history and making a choice to jump in the water or stay by the shore. So glad they swam and even giddy about all the wrong turns this could've taken and didn't because Jordan rocks!It was scary/creepy to read about this adventure which takes place in Manhattan in or around streets and buildings I frequent almost daily and see this alternate present happening without having to take too much of an imaginative leap.Bonus: [a:Gomez Pugh 8435087 Gomez Pugh https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s narration!!!! Gold.
**Audio Version 11/17 –11/22 **I purposely strung out this listen as long as possible, but also there were moments when I just had to stop. [a:Armie Hammer 17203599 Armie Hammer https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s narration is pitch perfect. Somehow, in spite the story being told from Elio's POV, the narration, at least for me, provided insight to Oliver's mind. Many have opined on this “age difference” thing and I must say that I just don't see it. Oliver is 24!!! Yes he is teaching and is writing a book and can be as erudite as you like, but he's 24. A babe in the woods. As for the actual babe, Elio, has there been a more precocious 17 year-old? I think if time and circumstance had been different they are equally and perfectly matched and I'm sure that's what Elio would have wished for. Another thing I was reminded of, by the narration, is how much Elio lives in his head. I can wholeheartedly empathize with him. I was that person and perhaps still am to no small degree. shrugsLastly a word of advice: don't listen to the last two ‘chapters' of this audio in public. You'll find yourself ugly-crying on the train and it won't be a pretty sight. This may or may have not happened to me. Just saying.Next stop: The Movie.****************First read 7/28/16—8/1/16I've been punched in the gut.This is a story about remembrance and time; first loves that mark a before and after, the regret for the un-lived life that we can never get back. The bulk of the story takes place the summer when Elio is 17 and like every summer his parents are, as is their yearly tradition, hosting a young academic. That year it was Oliver, a professor at Columbia working on his doctorate.With his prose André Aciman envelops us in what it feels like to be young, smart, curious and falling off the deep cliff that is first love and never making it back to the other side. “Did I want to be like him? Did I want to be him? Or did I just want to have him? Or are “being” and “having” thoroughly inaccurate verbs in the twisted skein of desire, where having someone's body to touch and being that someone we're longing to touch are one and the same, just opposite banks on a river that passes from us to them, back to us and over to them again in a perpetual circuit where the chambers of the heart, like the trapdoors of desire, and the wormholes of time, and the false-bottomed drawer we call identity share a beguiling logic according to which the shortest distance between real life and the life unlived, between who we are and what we want, is a twisted staircase designed with the impish cruelty of M. C. Escher.”and this: “Perhaps the physical and metaphorical meanings are clumsy ways of understanding what happens when two beings need, not just to be close together, but to become to totally ductile that each becomes the other. To be who I am because of you. To be who he was because of me. To be in his mouth while he was in mine and no longer know whose it was, his cock or mine, that was in my mouth. He was my secret conduit to myself - like a catalyst that allows us to become who we are, the foreign body, the pacer, the graft, the patch that sends all the right impulses, the steel pin that keeps a soldier's bone together, the other man's heart that makes us more us than we were before the transplant.” Inevitably time passes and the summer is over and we come to an adult Elio revisiting that long ago summer of all consuming love/lust and opportunity lost:“We belonged to each other, but had lived so far apart that we belonged to others now. Squatters, and only squatters, were the true claimants to our lives.” This about killed me, and then there was this: “You are the only person I'd like to say goodbye to when I die, because only then will this thing I call my life make any sense. And if I should hear that you died, my life as I know it, the me who is speaking with you now, will cease to exist.” I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone. This book is a thing of beauty that will bring tears to your eyes but also, if you're lucky, make you remember that time when everything was possible and nothing could be done.“Twenty years was yesterday, and yesterday was just earlier this morning, and morning seemed light-years away.”
This book picks up were [b:My Boss Is a Grumpy Werewolf and I Think He Wants to Eat Me! 27560667 My Boss Is a Grumpy Werewolf and I Think He Wants to Eat Me! (My Boss Is a Grumpy Werewolf, #1) Jane Wallace-Knight https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1448675958s/27560667.jpg 47586264] the previous book left off and I would definitely recommend reading that one first and this one not at all unless you've read the other as A) all major plot points are laid out in that one and B) the prior one is where the fun & hotness live.After the events of the last book Cole and Evan are on the road to their HEA but have to deal with external problems at every turn: Evan is having bad dreams and is afraid of hurting Cole, the Humans First group is on the attack and Cole's younger brother lands on their doorstep with more problems to lay on their plate. Yes Cole continuous to be his funny, sarcastic self and Evan is all hot werewolf but I felt that somehow all these issues were too much for a series of books that seemed to be just a fun romp. A well done romp is a hard thing to carry off and I feel the author managed that in the first book but somehow felt compelled to add social issues this time around, which were already plain from the beginning and didn't need to be hammered in thus detracting from soufflé that is the story.Don't get me wrong. I didn't hate it and it won't kill you to read it after the first but I would have been happier with at least one less issue I'm looking at you Cole's brother
Fun, sexy and quick read that was much better than what I expected from the tittle.The story takes place in some alternate world fairly parallel to our own save for the fact that werewolves are out and about and accepted in society after years of fear and discrimination. Cole is a human who has a werewolf BFF and through her he gets a job as a writer in a wolf owned lifestyle magazine. If we know anything about wolves is that once they catch the scent of their mates we're off to the races and it's no different here, however the writer does have nice voice and makes Cole funny, geektastic, and fearless even when he's scared out of his pants and Evan, the Wolf, isn't some macho mine mine brute but rather a guy in lust and later in love who tries to woo his mate in ways big and small. This is Evan upon first seeing Cole:“The moment the guy had walked into the room, though, Evan's nostrils were assaulted with his scent. It was a weird combination of sex and freshly baked donuts. It had made Evan want to f**k him and lick him.”Safe to say Krispy Kreme is ruined for me.Another Evan POV: “They had the image being modern-day werewolves. They did brunch and wore fancy suits, but deep down, they were wild things that could never be tamed.”I also liked that the issues had nothing to do with being gay or wether the couple acknowledged they had feelings for each other. In fact they had no issues but the normal “getting to know each other” and any conflict was external. I mean Cole doesn't even pull the demure “oh spend no money on poor little me” on the contrary, when Evan gets him a rather expensive gift this is his reaction: “He didn't exactly feel bad that Evan had spent what he was sure was a lot of money on him. He just felt like he was supposed to feel that way. In fact, he was actually okay with it.” How refreshing!So yea. I liked it. It had a bit of a [b:Twilight 41865 Twilight (Twilight, #1) Stephenie Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361039443s/41865.jpg 3212258] vibe but way better and with adults. There were a couple of what I want to think of as typos but not enough to ruin the good humor of the thing.I would check out more stuff from this writer. ;-)