Group Review: Love in the Land of Blood and Bones (The Triple Towers #2) by James Cox

They are no longer heroes...

The survivors of the Great End were on the brink of death. Three towers were built with the last of the government’s money and power. The wealthiest survivors were given residents within the Triple Towers. A wall of steel was constructed to surround them.

Lorn is now exiled to over that wall and his lover Kallen courageously follows. Kallen knows the dangers and violence that awaits them. He managed to survive a terrifying childhood in the wastrel camps. It’s not just the sand that threatens their love: old enemies, former lovers and the traitor from the triple towers returns.

Can they find love in the land of blood and bones? (Warnings:m/m sex, sex toys, bondage, menage sex (MMM)

Oh James Cox, how do we love thee, let us count the ways. . . .

• We love thee for your epic sentences, long, short and in between
• For your dedication to the invention of magical sexual devices that this world can only dream of
• Because you eschew the need for pants while honing your craft
• Our only regret is that we don’t live across from you and have high powered binoculars

While that last line is totally disturbing, the rest is completely true. Breann, Lorix and I got together in the clubhouse to read and review the latest installment of The Triple Towers Series, Love in the Land of Blood and Bones. I daresay we have another winner on our hands for the love of cock! (that actually makes sense, trust me) .
Read on . . .

Words from Mama B:

3.5 Hearts

The second book picks up right where the first one left off and we're thrown right back into Kallen and Lorn's adventure.

James Cox does a great job creating a dystopian, futuristic world. He did this without the descriptions being too wordy or confusing, it all blended perfectly with the dialogue and plot.

The sex. *sigh* I wish I could say I loved it, but I didn't. It felt like it was forced in the story. In book 1, the erotic sex worked for me. Now in book 2, when I'm even more invested in the characters and plot-happenings, I felt like it got in the way of a great sci-fi story. Of course, they were well-written and hot, but for me it bogged down all the other good stuff that's going on in this trilogy.

Because of Kallen and Lorn's banishment they had to rely on each other for everything. Their relationship really moved forward and I could feel all their feels. I can't wait to see where they go from here in book 3! Not to mention that we're left with yet another mini-cliffy!
*stalks James Cox for book 3*

And I'm totally gonna say this all the time: "For the love of cock!"

Lorix, from o'er the pond:

4 Hearts

I'd really like my review just to be chocolate flavoured come, but I'm not sure I can justify 4 hearts for that. *listens to the cries of 'you surely can' from chocoholics the world over*  Okay, so I probably could but I feel I should mention more. The best things about these books, while there is no doubt that they are hot as all hell in the s-eeee-x-y times department (it says something when the author has to write nekkid), they also have a great little fantasy story to them as well.

Before I found M/M, fantasy was the mainstay of my literary diet, so I really appreciate this. ^^^ Reading B's review - I liked the nooky that was happening BUT I can see her point. I think James Cox could write a full length fantasy/sci-fi novel worthy of the greats, a fantasy novel with some hot-sex as a sideline, rather than a hot-sex novel with fantasy as a sideline. That is in no way dissing this book, or any hot 'n' sexy books, because I LOVED it. It's just a roundabout way of saying, JC does fantasy really well!!

So - what do I want more of?

All of it really. Come on JC - pants off, get writing. ;)


Me (Ann/Peachy):

4.5 Hearts

GodDAMMMIT I love this series. Love in the Land of Blood and Bones is the second in the Triple Towers series and continues the story of Kallen and Lorn. The story picks up where Heart of a Hero leaves off, which I’m not going to talk about specifically because if you haven’t read that one yet (well, get crackin’ for crying out loud!), that would be a big ol’ spoiler. But let’s just say, shit got real and everything the guys know has changed, for Lorn especially. And while everything has changed, the boys remain the same and I loved them just as hard this time around.

One of my favorite things about this couple is their banter. Kallen is witty, sassy and even with all the pain he’s been through he manages to keep his humor and his confidence intact. Lorn is a true military hero with a protective streak a mile wide and a soft heart for Kallen. The whole conversation about dick poetry made me laugh out loud. I could really feel their connection and love through all their interactions.

There are enemies all around and with no one to trust the anxiety level gets ratcheted up pretty well. We do get some more back story about Kallen’s “family” in Rohan and Raymond. We find out what really happened to Raymond and that Kallen still has an ally in Rohan. There was a western rough justice feel to the adventures and I loved that. It was dirty (literally & figuratively), gritty (ditto) and exciting. Questions from book one were answered and a new journey is embarked on that will lead to book 3 (which I can. not. wait for thankyouverymuch).

As per James Cox’s M.O., the sex in this one is smokin’ hot. Being that Kallen and Lorn are an established couple now, there is an added sweetness to it that I liked a lot. There should be some sort of award from mythical sex toys that James Cox invents in this series as well. In Heart of a Hero we were introduced to flavor shots for tasty cum and in Love in the Land of Blood and Bones we get to read about Kallen, Lorn and the Tranquility Wand. Lorn is nothing if not prepared in savings his pennies to buy a Wand built for two. He’s a hopeful romantic and that was $ well spent and paid off in spades. As Kallen says, “That is the best invention in the fucking world.”

Also per James Cox’s M.O., there were quote-worthy lines aplenty and there were a few I couldn’t decide if I wanted to attempt to work them into daily conversation or stitch them on a pillow. Offerings like:

“Tame the beast, love.”

“For the love of cock!” – My personal favorite, can’t you just picture it on a pillow?

“You’re alive, and your dick is still intact. I’d say that’s a good day.”

“If you’d stop staring at my dick a minute, you’d see more pants.”

You see, Kallen really loves Lorn’s dick.

So, now anxiously awaiting story 3 as I don’t think I’ll ever get enough Kallen and Lorn, they are way too entertaining and appealing and the stories are a great escape into something fun and exciting.

a copy of this book was provided by the author for an honest review 

James Cox is BACK! An update from our first honorary Unicorn

The Clubhouse is a safe place, a haven of judgment free discourse and a place to open up and share your deepest darkest secrets.

Most of that statement is actually true, but we do love to judge and tease the hell out of each other, just like any other dysfunctional family. Never let any of them know your Kryptonite, because they, myself included, will use it against you at every turn. It’s hilarious. So, it’s not surprising that we rarely all agree on anything whether it be books, authors, movies, porn stars or embodiments of evil, I’m looking at you Natasha. And that’s OK, it keeps us on our toes and tests our boundaries. Everyone should be so lucky to have friends you can say ANYTHING too and they’ll love you anyway. They’ll give you shit, but they’re still going to love you.

There is one thing we all agree on, James Cox is the man.

He was our first Author of the Month and we couldn’t have been luckier to have him agree to come and play. Handsome Hero Wanted was our first chat (and my personal favorite). That book made BMBR official, we were galvanized by Handsome Heroes. Some of us were more appropriate about our appreciation than others (Justin), especially after reading James’ first Q&A with us. That led to some interesting placement of James and Justin’s unicorns, because the Clubhouse is also incredibly immature. It’s no accident that James’ unicorn is the only one that has been drawn standing up. When we read on FB that James was continuing the Handsome Hero storyline, we may have lost it a little and couldn’t resist hitting James up again for a visit. He is ALL kinds of gracious and came back to answer questions about his writing ritual (purrrr), his new series, The Triple Towers, starting with Heart of a Hero, AND the continuation of Handsome Hero Wanted.

Yes, James Cox is the man.

So, grab yourself a refreshing beverage, sit back and enjoy the words of Mr. James Cox . . . .

Hello Boy Meets Boy and all their fantastic readers, It’s my pleasure to stop by the site again. This time I’m here to answer a few naughty questions from the unicorns and talk a bit about my new series.

The Triple Towers is a futuristic world where environment has collapsed, the wealthy thrive and the poor are suffering. Two men find each other from opposite ends of this spectrum. Kallen is one of the poor, spending his childhood trying to survive outside of The Triple Towers. He has a chance to gain entrance into the towers but it calls for a major lie. In the end, he lies and gets his ticket to paradise. However, with that lie he is led on a while adventure that not only changes his life but the future of humanity in a barren world.

This first book in this series was just released on March 18th – Heart of a Hero. And of course, you know how I love adding those warnings! m/m sex, rimming, sex toys, spanking, bondage, here’s a brief peek into this wild adventure:

Lorn walked to the right side of the bed. He had his shirt in his hand and he wrapped the material around Kallen’s wrist then tied him to the short post. Lorn then walked to the left side, using a discarded pair of pants to hold his other wrist in place.

Kallen tugged at the bonds, they were tight enough to keep him there but not to cut into his skin. He lifted a brow and looked at Lorn. The man just smiled at him and planted a kiss on his shoulder. Kallen wasn’t sure what to expect but his dick was ready for anything. A white drop collected in a fold of his foreskin. “Now how am I going to suck you tied like this?”

Lorn clucked his tongue then climbed into bed. He straddled Kallen, their hard dicks inches from touching. Lorn grabbed his cock at the base and wacked it against Kallen’s.

It made Kallen grin and push his hips upward.

“A dick battle?”

Lorn chuckled.

Kallen shifted again. This time their lengths collided and sent a caress so strong Kallen shivered.

I hope you enjoyed that snippet. Book Two – Love in the Land of Blood and Bones is due out in late April. Book Three – A Need for Heroes is due out in late May. Now to the questions that the lovely unicorns asked:

1. Ok, so a quite a few of us are on FaceBook with you and we can’t help but notice that every time you start to write you mention that the pants are coming off, something that we encourage by the way. Give us a glimpse into your writing ritual.

I usually write at home after work, since I have a 9-5 job. For writing science fiction, I like my mind to roam which only happens when I’m relaxed. That means taking off the clothes! What’s better than that?! I live in an apartment so I’m sure someone’s getting a nice view, lol. It’s great to just take it all off, look out over Manhattan and pretend I’m in another world, another time, another universe. Besides, with my sex scenes, sometimes it’s so stimulating the big boy needs to breath. *G*

2. Did you ever have plans to make a sequel to Handsome Hero Wanted? If not, what made you change your mind?

I actually did not have plans to make a sequel. Handsome Hero Wanted was a one-book, fun story that just popped into my head. I loved the erotic world and it was a big hit with readers. Then I got several emails about how much readers loved the characters. What pushed me over was the email from Ann. The lusty Ann at Boy Meets Boy review’s emailed me about forming a group with other readers over how much they loved handsome Hero Wanted and how they were starting a review site. That touched me, (low and hard, lol). I decided then to try a sequel. Of course, then I was hooked on the world again and came up with two more stories. I’m currently writing the much-requested Lavender and Layden’s story – Handsome, Hard and Delicious.

3. Tell us about Heart of a Hero and your inspiration there.

I was just so fed up with how we’re abusing each other, humans hurting humans, hurting animals, hurting kids. I mean, sometimes the news is just so depressing I can’t watch it. So, out of all that, I decide to write something about how our future would look if we continued and how love could heal the wrong. Of course, one book turned into three. It seems to be a theme with me. But, I think over the course of those three books in The Triple Towers, I showcased the hope. Then I added numerous creative sex scenes because my cock likes to interrupt every aspect of my day. Thank God for that or I’d be boring as hell, lol.

Thank you so much for having me on your site again.

 Stay sexy and be naughty!

James Cox Heart of a hero buy links:
Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/heart-of-a-hero-by-james-cox/
All romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-heartofahero-1453026-340.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Hero-Triple-Towers-James-ebook/dp/B00J2JNNCM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395191391&sr=1-1&keywords=Heart+of+a+Hero+James+Cox
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/heart-of-a-hero-mm

 

A big thanks to James (aka Champion Fair Head) for coming by the Clubhouse again!

Also, just a little thing . . . did you see "the lusty Ann"?
Yeah, me too.
Totally getting a shirt made (and a mouse pad, mug and bumper sticker ).