Review: Gentleman Wolf (Capital Wolves Duet #1) by Joanna Chambers

An elegant werewolf in Edinburgh...

1788. When Lindsay Somerville, the most elegant werewolf in Paris, learns that the man who held him in abject captivity for decades is on his way to France, intent on recapturing him, he knows he must leave the Continent for his own safety. Lindsay cannot take the risk of being recaptured—he may have been free for a century but he can still feel the ghost of his old chains under his fine clothes.

… on a mission...

While he’s in Edinburgh, Lindsay has been tasked with acquiring the “Naismith Papers”, the writings of a long-dead witchfinder. It should be a straightforward mission—all Lindsay has to do is charm an elderly book collector, Hector Cruikshank. But Cruikshank may not be all he seems, and there are others who want the papers.

… meets his match

As if that were not enough, while tracking down the Naismith Papers, Lindsay meets stubborn architect Drew Nicol. Although the attraction between them is intense, Nicol seems frustratingly determined to resist Lindsay’s advances. Somehow though, Lindsay can’t seem to accept Nicol’s rejection. Is he just moonstruck, or is Nicol bonded to him in ways he doesn’t yet understand?


Note: this is the first book of a duology – the story continues and will complete in the second book, Master Wolf.

Hrmmm… I liked it… I think?

Let’s get some warnings out of the way first. This ends on a massive cliffhanger. No HFN/HEA in this installment, everything will be revealed (hopefully) in the next book. Gentleman Werewolf didn’t really *feel* like a romance. More like a historical paranormal that happens to involve sex? Maybe? Also, there are some trigger warnings for torture scenes and a miscarriage of a baby mentioned that took place in the past.

From the very start, this book felt heavy and has that ominous feeling throughout with very little light hearted moments to take a breath. Lindsay’s cheeky personality and his valet are about the only light hearted parts of this story. You just know something is going to happen throughout and the whole escaping imminent danger overshadowed any chance for there to be a romance. There was insta-love/infatuation but I could toss that up to Lindsay being a wolf and the whole mate feeling. Possibly?

I love Joanna Chambers’ previous books and her writing style. She writes historical books that I can't help but devour and it worked for me in this one too. I even liked the characters by the end but there was zero closure and way too many unanswered questions with a perpetual heaviness that took away from my complete enjoyment of this book.

I’ll continue on with the series and hope for romance, some possible snark and/or lighthearted moments mixed in with the doom and gloom.

Copy provided for honest review.

Review: Lie With Me by Philippe Besson

The award-winning, bestselling French novel by Philippe Besson about an affair between two teenage boys in 1984 France, translated with subtle beauty and haunting lyricism by the iconic and internationally acclaimed actress/writer Molly Ringwald.

We drive at high speed along back roads, through woods, vineyards, and oat fields. The bike smells like gasoline and makes a lot of noise, and sometimes I’m frightened when the wheels slip on the gravel on the dirt road, but the only thing that matters is that I’m holding on to him, that I’m holding on to him outside.

Just outside a hotel in Bordeaux, Philippe chances upon a young man who bears a striking resemblance to his first love. What follows is a look back at the relationship he’s never forgotten, a hidden affair with a gorgeous boy named Thomas during their last year of high school. Without ever acknowledging they know each other in the halls, they steal time to meet in secret, carrying on a passionate, world-altering affair.

Dazzlingly rendered in English by Ringwald in her first-ever translation, Besson’s powerfully moving coming-of-age story captures the eroticism and tenderness of first love—and the heartbreaking passage of time.

I recently saw Ellen Page on The Late Show give an impassioned plea to end the hate against the queer community. I was moved by her words and while reading this novella I kept thinking about them. How long has hatred left its indelible mark and perhaps changed the course of so many lives senselessly? Philippe Besson and Thomas Andrieu can be counted amongst that collateral damage. There was no hate crime or bullying per se but both were victims of a more persistent kind of hatred that relegated them to a clandestine relationship: intolerance.

Philippe and Thomas should've been afforded the same privileges as their heterosexual counterparts without impunity. They should've been allowed the freedom to love and be loved without the need for courage or bravery to do so and Lie With Me is the story of how bigotry stymied that freedom and fear of reprisal stole their innocence.

It seems crazy to not be able to show our happiness. Such an impoverished word. Others have this right, and they exercise it freely. Sharing their happiness makes them even more happy, makes them expand with joy. But we're left stunted, compromised, by the burden of having to always lie and censor ourselves. This passion that can't be talked about, that has to be concealed, gives way to the terrible question: if it isn't talked about, how can one know that it really exists?

Lie With Me is poignant memoir that tells the story of Philippe's first love of a beautiful boy with a tragic soul. Told from memory in three parts, making it difficult to avoid the inclusion of later events and making the specifics of dialogue hazy, thus giving the reader a bit non-linear retelling but an emotive one nonetheless. The first part takes place in 1984 when they are seniors and comprises the bulk of the story. The second part takes place in 2007 when during an interview Philippe sees a boy outside a hotel that's the spitting image of Thomas, a boy who turns out to be his son, and the events of 2016 conclude the story.

Philippe is inquisitive, precocious and gobsmacked when Thomas approaches him. Thomas is popular but quiet and solemn, resigned to a life he knows will never bring him happiness. At 17 he's already incorporated secrecy and deception as his norm and at 18 those habits will forever taint them both. During their time together they do seemingly snatch a few moments of bliss and Besson captured the intensity of his feelings for Thomas as well as the optimism and folly of youth. I truly felt not only his physical desire for him but his steadfast belief that they would find a way to carve out a future together, despite evidence to the contrary.

I'm not sure what I expected from this book but I absolutely did not expect a memoir. That tangible connection tethered me to the reality of the oppressive prejudice that has been globally devastating to so many for far too long. Prejudice robbed these two boys of a life together, a life they deserved and left in its place a life lived inauthentically for one and the other struggling to give his heart to another after having it broken by his first love.

Besson's prose is lyrical, evocative and exceedingly French, in that it encapsulates the essence of experiencing life through the prism of an artistic eye. What fascinates me about this perspective is the uncanny ability to both see and experience life with gusto while also believing it's all going to end disastrously, or at the very least disappointingly. That dichotomous worldview is, in part, what made Lie With Me not only touching but memorable.

Those who have not taken this step, who have not come to terms with themselves, are not necessarily frightened, that are perhaps helpless, disoriented, lost as one is in the middle of a forest that's too dark or dense or vast.

Even though Lie With Me has a melancholy overtone that will probably only appeal to a niche market, I was beguiled by Besson's eloquence and I hope more of his works are translated into English, especially if this is representative of his work. If you are someone who can appreciate that not all romances end happily, give his words a chance to weave their magic.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Wake (Tidal #1) by K. Evan Coles & Brigham Vaughn

A love worth the wait

Carter Hamilton and Riley Porter-Wright room together as Harvard undergraduates. An immediate friendship forms, but as the years pass it deepens into something neither man understands. As attraction simmers under the surface, lines begin to blur. When they move back to Manhattan, they gradually slip into the lives their families have envisioned for them.

Both men marry, but in time, Riley realizes he’s ended up in a passionless relationship like his parents’ while his career takes center stage. Although he loves his wife, Carter misses the emotional and physical connection he shared with Riley.

The weight of Riley’s feelings and his growing discontentment with his life eventually push him to tell Carter the truth about how he feels. Shocked and unable to face his own feelings, Carter rejects Riley.

As each man comes to terms with the lies they’ve told themselves, each other and the people around them, they find their lives changing in ways they never imagined. They soon discover that the truths they’ve been longing to tell shake the foundations of their friendship.

Reader Advisory: This book contains polyamory and infidelity, expressions of homophobia by multiple secondary characters, divorce, scenes of M/F/M intimacy, references to parental neglect, disownment, one brief scene involving a physical altercation.

Carter and Riley are two of the sweetest characters I’ve read in awhile. I loved them both. Their easy friendship and low drama lives during college made this a really easy to sink myself into.

There is a fair amount of UST but it’s so balanced that it didn’t gnaw at my gut the way other stories do. I think Carter’s personality really helped with this. He managed to maintain a real innocence even as he grew.

Carter is the more playful in this friendship. He’s also impulsive, and doesn’t really peel back the layers of why, he just expresses his want.
Riley is serious, and reserved. He never speaks his truth, partly out of the fear of rejection, and partly because he thought rationally about all the implications of that truth in terms of his future.

This story has cheating. There really is no excuse for it, but it was easy to empathise with the characters than if their backstory wasn’t a big part of this book. This story opens in the future and slides back to Carter and Riley’s college years. The expectations of family, and even with the disparity between how Riley and Carter were raised, the underlying homophobia, and general future expectations for career and family paths are the same. They both know that they are supposed to get a degree, start a family, and be successful in their parents’ respective companies. That is a lot of pressure for two young men to adhere to. Privileged as they were, there was a ripple of rebellion, but only as a pit stop on the way to fulfilling their obligations.

These two authors wove me a story that I was completely invested in. I wanted for Carter and Riley. I excused their discretions because the authors made me understand their motivation and their roadblocks. College was their time. It was where they could be free, albeit discreet, to explore each other in a way that felt safe, even if it wasn’t between just the two of them. I felt their love for each other, even if they kept the full scope of their feelings to themselves (or in Carter’s case, was totally oblivious and not ready to admit it to himself).

I know some readers will not enjoy the cheating aspect to this story. I don’t generally enjoy it myself, but there is something deep and beautiful in this story that overshadows the men's’ infidelity and made me want for them. Maybe it’s because I know life is messy. Not everyone gets their HEA and a lot of damage can be done while trying to do what we think is right at the time. Expectations can be tall orders and someone will always be disappointed in another’s choices.

I really loved these two, and I loved this part of their journey. I didn’t love the decisions they made as adults, but their college years were filled with mostly happiness, fun, and a deep friendship that lasted well beyond graduation.

This ends on a cliffhanger, but it was done in a way that allows the reader to take a deep breath and reflect on the story that has been told. While I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the second story, I didn’t feel angry or frustrated about the way this story ended, and I think the time I had to reflect on the mess and chaos, made the story stronger for me.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy a complex slow burn love story. You won’t get your HEA or even a HFN but this is completely worth the read for the character and relationship development.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion.

Review: Blood Stained Tea (The Yakuza Path #1) by Amy Takusada

A bloody past haunts him. A devastating present calls him back…

Nao hides from his violent past in the Japanese mob by opening a teahouse in Japan's cultural center, Kyoto. His past comes flooding back when he discovers a gravely injured man with a tattooed chest, a bloody knife, and a Korean business card.

Saehyun would've died if not for Nao's help. He knows nothing of his savior's connection with the local mafia, but Saehyun has his own secrets. He commands the Korean mafia, the mortal enemy of Nao’s former syndicate.

As Nao and Saehyun grow closer, so does the strength of the Korean mob. A shocking murder pulls Nao back into a past he'd all but abandoned. War is looming, and Nao must choose between protecting Saehyun or avenging the honor of his old mafia family..

The Yakuza Path: Blood Stained Tea is the first book in a series of Japanese mafia thrillers. If you like complex characters, blood-soaked violence, and twists you won't see coming, then you'll love Amy Tasukada's gritty crime masterpiece. 

Aesthetically stunning

I chose this book for two reasons: Yakuza and Japan. I'm enamored by Japan and all the various Japanese customs and traditions. The intricacies of which I don't really understand but I like that their culture seems to value respect and has an innate hierarchy. Also, I like mob stories and mobsters. Truth be told, I tend to gravitate towards characters that are a little bit ruthless, sinister even and perhaps slightly diabolical. 

This story centers around Nao who is ex-Yakuza and something else that would be spoilerish to reveal but he still has ties to the Kyoto Yakuza. He's now owns a tea house and is constantly in the pursuit of a new and sensational tea, oolong in particular. He stumbles across Saehyun almost immediately in the muck and unconscious, takes him home and then equally immediately becomes smitten.

The problem is Saehyun is Korean, Korean mafia (Double Moon) who are vying to wrest control of Kyoto from the Yakuza. Saehyun is also modern, cocky and brash whereas Nao clings to Kyoto's old world traditions, festivals, wears a yukata, is polite and at times comes across as meek. I'll come back to this.

So, we've got star-crossed lovers. I'm so there! Who doesn't like this trope? Plus the whole Japan/Korea history added to the sense that they were battling a larger and more pervasive foe which I find appealing.

Only there's really no relationship development between them; no connection. Sex doesn't equal love by any stretch though it can show intensity between protagonists but there was very little sex content. They're not together all that often but when declarations were made I had a hard time believing them, though after reaching the end I'm now wondering if that was purposeful. Ideally, I like to see it, feel it and have it shown to me rather than being told that it's so.

Very little happens in the first 75% of the book. The focus is on aesthetics e.g. making tea, tea customs, bringing sweets to the Yakuza boss, fixing pottery, trying to shake the bodyguard, the cat... my attention waned. There was some of what I affectionately refer to as the Japanese head game which held my attention for awhile, but overall the pacing was brutally glacial until the last 25%.

The last 25% of this book... I can't even say how many times the word WHAT?!!? came out of my mouth. I was surprised and not to sound arrogant but that's a rarity. The last 25% of this book ensured that I would read the next one. I actually cannot even hazard a guess as to what this story arch is going to throw at me next and that excites me more than I can articulate.

Takusada's usage of language to create atmosphere is top notch. Occasionally there would be a random line about strawberry lube or topping that I found jarring and jerked me out of the story. However, I oftentimes find the first book serves to set the stage and that's usually the one I have the most trouble with in a series. Because I'm American and lack patience. If my hunch is correct this is the opening salvo of what could turn into a stellar series. 

The only other thing that I had trouble reconciling was Nao's characterization. Not only is he former Yakuza but he was The Badass that no one wanted to cross, so I would think that guy wouldn't be squeamish. But he is. He trembles at some of the violence and seems helpless and in need of saving at others. Just inconsistencies that I had a hard time reconciling. I crave depth and complexity as much as the next reader, but this verged on split personality.

Some things to anyone considering reading this:

It's not overly violent which was kind of a bummer for me, since Yakuza. There are moments though so beware if you're squeamish.

I wouldn't characterize this story as a romance thus would not recommend it to those seeking MM romance or erotica. 

There is no HEA/HFN.

I think there might be a badass female character in the next book which gives me much excite!

A review copy was provided.

Find out more on Goodreads.

Review and teaser: Sink or Swim by Ashley John

*This is 5th book in the Surf Bay series. It is an origin story for Finley and not a HEA romance novel (although it does have romance elements). It is recommended that you have read the other books in the Surf Bay series first, although this CAN be read as a standalone (no cliffhanger) or as a prequel to the rest of the series*

----

Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, British teenager, Finley, is given a fake passport and forced to forget the life he’s always known. When he arrives in Surf Bay, he meets his uncle, Monroe, and he learns his time in America isn’t going to be a vacation. From the second his plane hits the ground, he is dragged into a world of organized crime, working under his uncle’s wing.

He is forced to share a tiny apartment with another of Monroe’s employees, Jay, and they soon become puppets, acting out Monroe's terrible crimes, side by side. When their work starts to become increasingly more dangerous, Finley is torn between his need to obey his uncle and his need to protect Jay.

As his life spirals out of control, he falls deeper and deeper into a world filled with money, crime and power and his only form of escapism is in his growing love for Jay.

Can Finley resist the lure of a life-changing proposition from his uncle, while still protecting the one he loves, or will he make sacrifices, which could change the course of his life, forever?

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I'm throwing all the hearts at this one - which is super generous of me, as I don't actually have a heart that is intact after reading this. As far as I'm concerned, Ashley John blew this one out of the water. After reading the last book, it is hard to believe that I would have any sympathy for Finley. Even though, in Saving Michael, he took a character I didn't have much sympathy for and made me like him, I was convinced that he would not be able to do it again. Boy oh boy was I wrong. I think Finley has become my favourite Surf Bay character (it's not just cos he's a Brit, honest!!), my heart aches for him, I want him to get his HEA. I want the world to see the man that Jay did. I need more for Finely - more of Finley. I really, really do.

Over the course of these books Ashley John has grown and grown as an author. the plot of this is so tight and the characters brilliantly rounded. I said in my last review that we know what we're getting with the Surf Bay series, that was before this book though. I'm not spoiling anything to tell you there is no HEA - it's right there in the blurb. Ashley still manages to give us a love story though. it's a love story that will make you bawl like a baby by the end of the book, but it's a beautiful love story nonetheless. Maybe it's precisely because we know how things go (to a certain extent, we've seen the man Finley becomes in later books) that the love is so much more poignant and heartbreaking. Whatever the magic that Ashley John worked, it has me still longing for Finley to have another story, to get an HEA, to mend is broken, patched, hard-boiled heart.

Please Ashley. Pretty please with a cherry on top???

If you've yet to discover Surf Bay I would urge you too - if for no other reason than to read this book. Just, when you get to this one, make sire you have tissues handy.

I'm going to leave the review there because Ashley John has kindly given us an excerpt from this book, so you can have a taster of it. This was one of the best scenes, really beautiful. Enjoy.

Sink or Swim Teaser
Taken from Chapter 14
In the late morning sun, Finley kicked off his flip-flops, dipping his toes into the cool ocean foam. Awkwardly, he looked over his shoulder as Jay played with the settings on his camera. People were already settling onto the beach and surfers were running into the waves, boards over their heads.
“I can’t do this,” Finley mumbled, “it’s embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing, it’s art,” Jay didn’t look up from his camera, “nobody will be staring at you.”
He wasn’t too sure about that. Porter was still standing on his deck across the beach, watching them with intrigue.
“No, really, I can’t,” Finley stepped back, holding out his hands, “this is too much. This isn’t me.”
The old version of him, the one he’d left behind in England, would have laughed at him for even entertaining the idea. Before he’d touched the gun, he was pretending to be the macho, tough guy. He was denying the feelings he had inside, to fit in with the rest of his family. Somehow, he’d lost all of those fears as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean. He still had Monroe to worry about, but not in the same way. He didn’t need to worry about ‘disappointing’ a family, who had raised him to be a stereotype since birth.
He’d been raised to be the clone of his father, a criminal, a con-man. He thought the good thing about leaving and starting a new life in the States, would mean he’d get away from that life but somehow, he was slowly becoming that man anyway.
Was it his destiny? Did they pick Surf Bay because it was far away, or because Monroe would keep him on the track they’d trained him for?
Despite all of that, there he was, standing on the edge of a never ending ocean, with a man in front of him, who did things to his insides he’d never experienced.
He didn’t want to do the photo-shoot but he also didn’t want to do most of the things he’d been made to do since he’d arrived in town. At least this way, he’d be doing something against his will to make somebody he cared about, happy, rather than to carry out somebody else’s dirty work.
“I’ll do this under one condition,” Finley planted his hands firmly on his hips.
“What? You’re already doing it! No conditions!”
“Hear me out.”
Jay sighed, dropping the camera to his side for a moment, copying Finley’s stance, “What do you want? Blow jobs? Because let me tell you, that thing you have is far too -,”
“No!” Finley waved his hands, “I want you to show your pictures to somebody.”
“I already have,” he shrugged, “I showed you.”
“Somebody else. You mentioned a gallery in the town hall. I want you to try and get your pictures in that gallery.”
“Finley –,”
“Jay,” Finley cut in, “Just promise me you’ll try. You’re too good to be under a bed for the rest of your life.”
He could see Jay arguing with himself in his head. He was struggling between his desire to photograph Finley and his fear of having his work judged. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, each time, sighing and huffing out his chest, as if a tantrum was brewing.
“Fine!” he cried, “Will you let me take your Goddamn picture now?”
“Just tell me what to do,” he scratched the back of his head, “don’t leave me hanging.”
“Don’t worry,” Jay held the camera up to his eye, and clicked, the flash almost blinding Finley, “I can tell you’re going to be a natural.”
“I wasn’t ready that time!”
He clicked again, and again, leaving Finley standing there, more and more terrified each time the bright light burned his eyes.
“You’re not going to pose,” another picture, another flash, “just be you. Be Finley. Be the person I see, not the person you want people to see.”
For a second, that statement puzzled him but after a second of thinking, he understood it perfectly.
Jay saw through every act, every wall, to see the person he was deep down. He saw the person behind the fake passport, without even knowing the full story. He didn’t seem to care that Finley was hiding things from him, but that didn’t matter to Jay.
That’s why he cared about him.

Review: Slave in Training by Danny Tyran

Looking at James, his new physical training teacher, Max falls instantly in love with this black god with a bad reputation. God or devil?

When James says to Max that he is the devil, Max answers: "Try me, Satan!" With these words, Max agrees to be trained by James to become a slave. This apprenticeship will prove to be more a hard mental training than a sexual one.

Brilliant, Master James succeeds to convince Max's parents to accept this initiation to slavery.

Once trained to meet all his master's whims, Max will be sold. Deeply in love with his master/trainer, Max will accept his fate.

Far from being a descent into hell, this training will structure Max's life and allow him to make his way in this BDSM universe.

In a word: Fascinating.

First off, this is not, in any way, a romance. There is no HEA. I guess you can say there's sort of a HFN... but I wouldn't even go that far. 

But still: FASCINATING.  

The beginning of Max's story sets up his sexual experiences, as well as his need to please others and to always challenge himself, at a very young age. There's a lot of background and buildup to what he'll one day become. So, when he walks into physical training and starts eying his teacher, we know where he's coming from. Kind of. It was really hard for me to wrap my brain around what was happening to this 17 year old boy. Anyway, his teacher takes notice of Max and sees something special in him. He sees Max's need to always be better and to always be challenged. Heh. Well, he has a challenge for him, he does.

Max is in slave training with his teacher, James, during the school year, but once he turns 18 it becomes serious. Oh, I couldn't help but sympathize and then want to strangle his parents. They knew what he was choosing to do instead of college. They knew! And did nothing! I can't even... *shudders* I guess they tried to be there for their son (especially the dad) but they thought they couldn't help him. Uuuhhh... that's what the police are for! *shakes head* Anyway...

Slave in Training is in a contemporary setting, so this whole secret slave trade is done under the radar. But the slaves are able to leave at any time they please. Max is not being held against his will. Quite the opposite, the boy loves it. He revels in it. He worships his master and there's nothing he wouldn't do for him. Nothing. Besides calling him Master, Max also refers to James as his God. I believe he meant this wholeheartedly. His Master was his everything.

But Max isn't being trained for James. He's being trained to sell. And his training is harsh.

I would have gone 5 hearts, all the way, if not for the gruesome details of his training and his test. It was horrible to read but, yet, I couldn't look away.  But some of it was unnecessary, like it was there just for shock value instead of moving the plot forward. 

His Master was harsh, but I feel that he loved Max. He wasn't perfect and there are times I wish he would have stepped in (especially when it came to Jean and Jerry *glares*) but it all proved Max's deep, deep desire to exceed at being a good slave for not only his master, but anyone who might want to use him.

Like I said, Max and his deep reverence and love for his Master was fascinating. The fact that he was treated so harshly and could leave whenever he wanted but didn't just boggles my brain. I can't wrap my head around that kind of thinking. And yet, it was so damn believable. The writing was superb.

I wouldn't recommend this to everybody. Hell, I don't know that I'd recommend this to anybody. Read the blurb. Read the reviews. Read the tags. It's one that almost hurts to read, but it just hurts so good.

A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.