Review: Well Traveled by Margaret Mills and Tedy Ward

Gideon Makepeace, a young man of twenty, knows who he is and what he likes: decency, men and women too, horse training, and fun... and in Livingston, Montana, in the lush autumn of 1895, he finds he likes a Lakota Sioux Indian better than he might ought to.

Jedediah Buffalo Bird is seriously wounded and seeking medical care, and Gideon helps Jed when some bigoted townsfolk might have done otherwise. Jed, who knows the wild far better than Gideon and feels indebted to him, agrees to repay him by being his guide to San Francisco.

Their trip takes them across thousands of wild miles, through the mountains men mine and the Indian reservations dotting the plains. Facing a majestic West, they learn from each other about white folks and Indians alike. Gideon’s interest in Jed is clear from the start, but will Jed give up the life he knows for a young, brash white man he has perhaps come to love? Or will he push Gideon away in favor of the peace of nature and the personal freedom of having nothing to lose?

 This was simply wonderful. There wasn’t one thing I didn’t love about it.

The relationships were real.
This issues were real.
The men were good men.
The banter was fun.
The setting played like a movie. I could see and feel everything.
The sex was hot.
The writing was superb.

What more could I want? Nothing. Really.

Set in the late 1800’s, Gideon Makepeace is about to head back to San Francisco to where his family is playing in a wild west show. On his way through town he finds Jedediah Buffalo Bird badly injured and in desperate need of medical care. Unfortunately, there aren’t many doctors willing to help an Indian. Gideon stops his travels to be a Good Samaritan to Jed and help him through his injury. I seriously adored Gideon and his charming ways. Really, Jed didn’t stand a chance against this man. I don’t think anyone would. He was just a genuinely kind person, willing to help out anyone who might be in need. So when he saw Jed needed help, he automatically offered. In return, Jed agrees to accompany Gideon in his journey west. Jed has some real prejudices against white men and has a hard time accepting that Gideon would just do something like this just because. But, of course, Gideon was able to charm him into seeing things his way and once Jed was better they were off to San Fran. 

 "Gideon...why did you come here?"
"'Cause this is where you are, Jed. And I’ve decided that that’s where I want to be - wherever you are."

Oh, their journey was wonderful to witness. There was nothing face paced or action packed about this novel. But there didn’t need to be. There were some interesting characters they met along the way and some important friendships were made. But, the focus was really on these two men and their unlikely, opposites attract type relationship. Gideon is a care-free white man who can charm the pants off anyone. Then Jed, an Indian who is a very quiet-natured, protective and cautious of everyone he meets. And yet they fit together so well and complimented each other perfectly.

I heart them. Completely.

 

Find out more info on Goodreads!

 

Review: Slow Bloom by Anah Crow

Ricky Talbot, fresh from his first year at university, is looking to have a perfect summer. He gets to work for the man he's had a crush on for years and spend the rest of his days in the pool, training for the swim team. Jack Corson, on the other hand, is a suburban hermit with a tangled past. Jack's a lot more experienced than Ricky, cantankerous and more than a little anti-social. When an unexpected one-time encounter between the two of them turns into more, Ricky and Jack must see if they have what it takes for love to bloom despite all of their differences, the distance between them while Ricky's away school, Jack's past and Ricky's parents. Can their slow-blooming love come to fruition?

MANTIES AND SWIMMERS?

Hells yeah!


*growls*

^^^^Me prior to reading this and me after… 


I LOVED THIS. LOVED IT. 
Like, I want to squirrel it away and make out with it and cuddle it and carry it around with me like Linus and his woobie.

I've been in a minor book rut lately, reading a couple pages here, a couple pages there but nothing was grabbing me, so Baby suggested bears and twinks and I perked up then I thought MANTIES! Lo and behold if I didn't get bears, twinks AND MANTIES! Plus, Anah Crow.


This is a slow burn or bloom, however you want to phrase it. It unfolds slowly but surely and these authors show you every bit of their romance. They don't hold back even a little bit. Sure, it probably could have been edited down and I'm so glad it wasn't because I loved even the tedium. 

Ricky is home after his first year of college and his father has arranged for him to work on Jack's lawn in exchange for access to his pool to keep up his training. Something as ordinary as a broken lawnmower is the catalyst for this romance. Jack notices the "golden lawn boy" having a meltdown. Who could resist Ricky?

Lithe swimmer's build.
Blond curls.
Golden tan.
Cut offs.
Shirtless.

Who could blame the man? I bet he was kinda sweaty too. *groans*

It begins as just an illicit encounter. Ricky's had a crush on the eccentric, gay, curmudgeon of a neighbor since he was 15. A blow job is a dream come true! Until he gets gay bashed and the only person he can think of to call to pick him up is Jack. A connection is formed that night, but they're both just happy to spend the summer together. My god, do they make good use of that summer. They are so hot for each other, they scorched off the page. Oodles of kissing, biting, rimming, begging, dirty talk, needing with some kink mixed in: spanking, bondage and MANTIES.

"Now I'm going to have to go waste time lying in the hot tub and jerking off while I think about how good it would be to rip those shorts off you and tongue your ass until you come everywhere, then flip you over and suck you hard again so I can fuck my mouth on your dick until my throat is sore for days and you come so hard you can't remember anything but how to worship my cock with your sweet, rosy mouth, looking like you live to get your mouth full of my come, even if you always end up with it dripping down your chin so you look completely debauched and fucked."

My kindle crackled a little bit a few times. I didn't expect anything more than a hot, sex filled summer romance. How could I with a 30 yr age gap between them? Honestly, this can't go anywhere, except it did. Somewhere along the way Jack stopped being such a curmudgeon, at least around Ricky. He got used to Ricky being there, talking to him, being with him, going shopping with him and just spending time together. The last scene between the two of them at the end of that first summer damn near brought me to tears it was so bittersweet.

They moved against each other like they could almost soak into one another's skin and then the desperate need to be close would ease.

Ricky goes back to school and things sort of go back to normal, but Ricky misses him and turns up for Jack's annual Halloween party with a stunning surprise for him and things just progress from there. They call, they email, they buy sentimental things for each other and that evolves into special trips to spend time together which just makes the ache worse when they have to part again. Surprisingly, there's very little angst. They're both very open and honest with one another and the trust grows exponentially with every rendezvous. What I liked best was even though Jack's got his own footpath around the block nothing was the same for him. He opens himself up in ways he never has before and he just… loves Ricky. He wants him to be happy. He wants what's best for him and more than anything else he just wants Ricky to be Ricky. He's old enough and wealthy enough to fit himself into Ricky's life If that's what Ricky wants.

And he does. He has to battle both his friends and his parents to convince them that he loves Jack for Jack and doesn't care about the age difference and those are some tough battles. His friend Jason doesn't pull any punches and his mom says some really hurtful things in the heat of the moment, but love is love and it doesn't do math.



Every one of these characters came alive on the page. Some added to the subtle telling of Jack's backstory. Some added levity. Jason actually reminded me a lot of Blake from ThePrescott College series only smarter. Every conversation felt honest and genuine. All of it added to the magic that is Slow Bloom.

Maybe it just hit me at the right time. Maybe it was the MANTIES. Maybe it was the bear/twink trope I love, but this is going down as one of the best things I've read all year. I really wish this author would write more.

A version of this review was previously posted on Goodreads.

Review: Half a Million Dead Cannibals by Kari Gregg

All that’s keeping Riley from the man he’s falling in love with are the ruins of a city filled with half a million dead cannibals.

Strangers, Riley and Graham sheltered together in a basement storage unit when the zombie outbreak slammed into the world three months ago. They lived through the first blast of the plague, but they may not last much longer among survivors scrambling for dwindling resources. They agree to hike from the city and to the safety of the mountains.

They don’t count on the storm they hoped would cover their exit developing into a Nor’easter, though, and they sure don’t think their visibility would shrink so badly that they’d hike into the leading edge of a zombie swarm, either. In the chaos of escaping the ravenous horde, they are separated, with Graham racing toward feral dog packs to the east and Riley sprinting to hostile survivors hunting them to the west.

Nobody said finding and keeping a quality guy (alive) during the apocalypse would be easy.

Wow. That was good stuff.

Riley and Graham were surviving together since the zombie outbreak three months ago. They battle against zombies, feral dogs and other survivors who want their stuff. This post-apocalyptic shit isn’t easy.

Let me tell you a bit about Riley and his kickassness. He can kick some zombie ass, that guy. Give him a bat and his running shoes, and he’s good. But why did I love him even more? He didn't lose himself in this zombie shuffle that’s happening. He still looked damn good when he did it, with his nails freshly painted, his lips glossed and his guyliner. He stays true to himself and, I think, that helped him stay sane.

Graham was just as awesome. He’d lost a lot of people, just like everyone else, but he wasn’t losing this guy. This guy he stumbled upon and grew to love, he wasn’t letting this one die. His love for Riley was so apparent, even before he was willing to admit it. And once he did? *swoon* He was so damn sexy and turned into Mr. Bossy Toppy Topperson. *double swoon* Then he was just plain adorable with his complete devotion to Riley. *swoon again*

These guys. These fucking guys! Their chemistry was crazy good. This story starts after they had met and been surviving for three months already. Even though I didn’t get the chance to read about their beginning, I could feel their attraction instantly and the buildup that had been happening. Needless to say, the tension was thick. So thick that when it happened, HOLY DAMN, they were so hot and so sweet and loving. Gawd! I loved their love. It was perfect.

Yup. This was good. I would love to read more about them since their ending was more of a HFN, a satisfying and believable HFN, but still, it left me wanting.

 

Find out more info in Goodreads! 

 

CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME REVIEW: Thick as Thieves by Tali Spencer

After Vorgell the barbarian fucks himself with a unicorn horn, he ends up in a cell with Maddog, a pretty young thief. It’s lust at first sight for Vorgell—but honestly, he can’t help it. Unicorn horn is a potent aphrodisiac, and now he can’t stop thinking about sex. Luckily, Madd is one male witch who knows how to put Vorgell’s new magical body to good use when he tricks Vorgell into a kiss that helps them escape.

Vorgell may desire sex in general—and Madd in particular—but Madd has no intention of being screwed by a man twice his size. He has problems of his own, including an enchanted collar that causes him to desire his most hated enemy. He wants that collar off as soon as possible, but that requires stealing a basilisk egg from the castle they just escaped.

Drawn together by lust and magic, the two men join forces and soon find themselves up to their necks in witches, wizards, and trouble. Vorgell and Madd might just be perfect for each other, but first they have to survive long enough to find out.

Back in the day when Baby was insisting I read this I read the blurb. Read the blurb. Go on. I'll wait. The dude, and I quote, "fucks himself with a unicorn horn". Now I ask you, wouldn't you automatically think this was going to be PWP? I did. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against PWP. I'm just saying my expectations weren't all that high. Well, I'm happy to be proven wrong in the inaugural CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME. 

Smooches, Baby. 

So this barbarian, Vorgell, accidentally kills a unicorn (the gasp heard round the world), eats a bunch of "berries" that make him so horny he fucks himself with its horn which dissolves thereby making him magical. Literally.

OH, don't you look at me in that tone of voice, JT! I'm serious! 

What was I saying? Oh, right. So Vorgell becomes magical and ends up in a cell at the baron's keep in a drunken unicorn horn induced stupor with Madd, a witchkin. Madd quickly devises a plan of escape by leaching some of the magicalness from Vorgell and the adventure begins as does the collecting of the magic. Ahem.   >________>

I was as surprised as the next person to find an actual plot here amongst the magic jizz. Yap, you read that right. Vorgell's jizz is magical. He jizzed on a wall and it sprouted flowers! That's a city revitalization plan I can get behind. 

Vorgell… *sigh* He had me at the first bellowing of "Battle!". 

He is hands down the most endearing barbarian I've ever run across. Not that I'm a barbarian expert or anything. He's certainly seems atypical. He relishes a good pillaging and certainly knows his way around weapons, but aside from that he's a gentle giant AND a kissing fiend/snuggle monster. A side effect of the horning is that his horned-upedness is unflagging. It's not his fault! It's the POWER OF THE UNICORN.

Unicorn horn created unabated sexual desire in anyone who partook of it-the baron's magicians had explained that too-and he had partaken of enough horn to fuel the lusts of a horde for the rest of his natural life.

Hiding is a good plan, Spock, otherwise… Let's just say at one point the tree knots started looking good. O___O

Vorgell is pretty taken with Madd despite his general grouchiness. Madd seems to dig the barbarian too, but Madd's lugging around some baggage and a healthy fear respect for the "dragon" lurking in Vorgell's loincloth. The baggage slips out in fits and starts and is the basis for Madd's need for control in the bedroom which Vorgell really loves by the way and I REALLY love that about Vorgell. 

*growls*

Cupcake likes when the big-uns bottom and when they're submissive. Two words:  WIN/WIN. 

HOWEVER, there's really not all that much sexing in Thick as Thieves. It's mostly fantasy adventure with a burgeoning romance between Vorgell and Madd interspersed. They become friends, each other's only friends and form an alliance of brains and braun. Vorgell is loyal and will do anything to protect Madd. Madd is clever, mistrustful yet finds himself increasingly reliant upon the "oaf". The adventure is good old-fashioned fun and involves a great deal of magic, a basilisk egg, a slave collar, some nasty wizards, some thieves and PETAL!!!!!! 

PETAL FOR THE CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME WIN!!!!!!!
Thankfully, Baby says we can share custody otherwise things could've gotten ugly.

Once again, I thank Baby for recommending. Now I'm all kinds of essssited to read Thick as Ice.

Goodreads

Review: City Knight (City Knight #1) by T.A. Webb

What happens when two broken men collide?

Marcus works the streets of Atlanta, determined to keep it a safe place. An ex-cop, he buried his heart years ago. Ben works the same streets, selling himself to pay for college. The victim of a horrible crime, he decided to Just. Not. Care.

When their chance meeting leads to an unlikely attraction, will the ghosts that haunt them bring them closer, or separate them forever?

Caution: This is the first in a three part series, and you WILL want to come back for part 2. Hot men WILL have sex, and I can guarantee hot angst in my stories.

"Marcus, Marcus, Marcus, you've been holding back on me. Hiding all… that behind those old man clothes. I hope you're a top, because that," he looked down at Marcus's cock, so hard and long and thick, "has to go in me."

Word. I triple dog dare you not to drool. This little jewel that's only fifty pages packs one helluva naughty, sweltering hot and action-packed punch. How Mr. Webb always makes me believe his protags have formed a bond in so few pages continues to amaze me. 

You would think with that quote coupled with a rent boy twink that this would be PWP. Not so. Not so. City Knight is the beginning of the City Knight series which centers on Ben and Marcus *hopefully* helping each other put the pieces of their battered selves back together. They both have baggage and, it seems, that baggage came back to bite Benjamin in the ass. It does end on a cliff. Thankfully, they're all published so I can just press on to part deux of this bear/twink romance..

I've said it before but I'll say it again twinks and bears go together like… peaches and cream, PB&J, duck and fruit… ok, I'm getting weird now. You know what makes that pairing better? When the bear is growly. Marcus is one growly bear.

But, wait! The bestest thing about Marcus happens when he and Ben finally meet. He offers to take Ben to a late night waffle breakfast, Ben tells him his name and Marcus automatically starts calling him Benjamin. *nodding* THEN they get to the restaurant and the twink waiter thinks he can get a little too familiar with Marcus and gets smacked on the ass! IN THE RESTAURANT!!! HOHOHOHOHOHOHO HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE HAHAHAHAHA!!! I see the raised eyebrows. Don't worry the kid dug it probably as much as I dug this story. T.A. Webb strikes again.

*round of applause*


Great storytelling plus hotness plus action, who can say no to that?

Find more info on Goodreads and BookLikes.

Fangirl review: Liam Davis & The Raven by Anyta Sunday.

Liam Davis is a serious journalist, and he’s good at it.

Or at least, he was. Until the chief of Scribe, the campus magazine, makes him give up his politics column to write for the party page—the party page that is problematic for two reasons: One, it threatens Liam’s chance of getting the traineeship with his apathetic father at his prestigious newspaper company, and two, he has no idea what it means to party, let alone how to capture this new audience’s attention!

But Liam Davis is no quitter. He’s determined to prove to his father, the chief, and above all himself that he can do it—and do it well.

Life doesn’t make it easy. Not when Freddy Krueger comes stalking out of the shadows to attack him. Luckily the Raven, the campus vigilante—the vigilante getting hate mail sent to Scribe’s opinions page—comes to his rescue.

Now, between finding the perfect angle for his party page columns and making friends (and perhaps something more?), Liam needs to find this mysterious Raven—not only to thank him, but to warn him to watch his back.

This is a fan-girl review that has already been posted on Goodreads and Boy Meets Boy reviews.

Five big twinkling stars. (Or stripy hearts as it is, here on the blog).

This is a total fan-girl review and has already been posted on Goodreads. It is fair to say I am on a complete Anyta Sunday kick at the moment, I love this author's writing style, I adore her characterisations (as you will see from my over-the-top adoration of them below) and she is definitely an auto-buy author for me now.

The absolutely best thing about this book - and there were lots of great things - was Liam. I absolutely adored him. He was quirky, without falling into a stereotypical clueless nerd role. He spoke his mind, was blunt but thoughtful. He was both intentionally and unintentionally funny and I want to kidnap him and bring him to England. Except I couldn't split him and his lover up. Nope, nu-huh - because they were the best couple.

I hope this doesn't get labelled a gay-for-you story - because it so wasn't. It was about Liam discovering his sexuality (along with a mystery storyline) and the way Anyta Sunday did this was brilliant. It didn't feel like trope after trope to me. It was real and genuine and I love how she writes these story-lines without it becoming a crisis.

The rest of the cast were nearly as wonderful. I love Anyta Sunday's character portrayals - they are proper characters not carbon copies I've read a million times before. Quinn, Hunter, Shannon, Mitch...I loved them all. Good characters can make or break a book in my opinion and Anyta Sunday never fails to write people I am drawn too. Quirky, lovable and unique - just like real life people! Imagine. :)

The story was fun, I enjoyed the mystery, I enjoyed the romance. This author writes the kind of book I find really difficult to put down. REALLY DIFFICULT. If you're looking for an enjoyable read with fabulous characters try this. :)

Review: All In with the Duke (Gambling on Love #1) by Ava March

Max Arrington, the Duke of Pelham, vows to never again let a handsome face blind him to a man's true intentions. But ten months of celibacy and lonely nights drive him to a decadent brothel, where a beautiful young man arouses his illicit passions as never before. 


Tristan Walsh has grown tired of being used for men's pleasure. But his latest client is different: commanding yet generous, Max makes him feel cared for as well as wanted. Yet Tristan knows he'll never have the choice to leave the brothel and submit only to Max. 

So when Max invites him to be his guest at his country estate, Tristan eagerly agrees to his terms—days to do as he pleases while Max tends to the dukedom, and nights spent together in wicked play. But when the "business arrangement" begins to deepen into something more, Tristan must face the fact that he has no true place in Max's life—or in Max's guarded heart…

I love Regency romances. What's not to love?

Curricles?

Buggering?

Swives?

Being foxed?

Dandies?

Seriously. I would rock the hell outta that. Every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

True, the sexual repression puts a damper on things, but he's a Duke! Money talks.

Maxwell Robert Michael Arrington, Viscount Shelburne, the Earl of Hertford, and the ninth Duke of Pelham is, by all outward indications, one stodgy fellow. It's always the quiet ones. He's taciturn and isolated in his dukedom. Works all the time. You know what they say about all work and no play. Makes for a grumpy grumperton.

Max's friend, Rawlings, encourages him to work off some steam at Mrs. Rubicon's, a brothel, where he meets Tristan. Lovely Tristan. *sigh* Tristan takes Max's breath away with his lithe beauty and delicate visage. However, underneath that dandy of an exterior lies a spine of steel. He's unflappable and uncowed by Max's intimidating presence.

I loved the synergy of their relationship. Tristan brings out the best in Max, encourages him to live his life rather than toil away behind a desk endlessly punishing himself for a stupid, adolescent outburst. Max tries to resist the lure of Tristan's affable and intoxicating personality, and he does a good job of maintaining his stoicism much longer than most would've lasted against Tristan's considerable charms. Max gives Tristan the confidence to rise above his appointed station in life.

This is my first encounter with Ms. March and I went straight into Sharp Love (book 2 of this series); that's how much I loved this story. These two characters… I fell in love with them. They're both so well developed and their story is so compelling, I sunk right into it and didn't want to leave. I fell in love with this world she's created. I actually was hoping there would be a book about Morgan, Max's driver and man Friday. Guess what? Sharp Love is Morgan's book. YEEEEEEEE!

I loved how Max met Tristan on his terms. I loved how verbal they were, the lack of dramatics, that Max never condescended to Tristan, and how he evolved and blossomed with Tristan, but I particularly loved that Tristan held his ground. He didn't capitulate the minute Max showed up on his doorstep.

Don't EVEN get me started on these two in the bedroom… HOLY MOTHER! 

He wanted Max's bare skin beneath his hands. Wanted to have all that power and strength crouched above him, driving into him, driving him to the edge and shoving him over it.

I have a friend who says we don't really talk about what sex scenes turn us on, we just that the sex was 'hot', so in the interest of full disclosure. The kink level is mild with some bondage, edging and spanking, but oh, the way Tristan begs… will melt your tires. I like kinky. This is not news, but one thing that really gets me is when the dominant puts his submissive in bondage and bottoms. It was my favorite scene in Fettered and here. Scorching. Something about a submissive begging to come while fucking his dominant is… yeah. 

I would highly recommend All In with the Duke. It's beautifully written with superb character development. The story did lull for me a bit in the middle, but it didn't last long and in the grand scheme of things it didn't detract from my loving this book to pieces.

Review: Liam Davis and the Raven by Anyta Sunday

Liam Davis is a serious journalist, and he’s good at it.

Or at least, he was. Until the chief of Scribe, the campus magazine, makes him give up his politics column to write for the party page—the party page that is problematic for two reasons: One, it threatens Liam’s chance of getting the traineeship with his apathetic father at his prestigious newspaper company, and two, he has no idea what it means to party, let alone how to capture this new audience’s attention!

But Liam Davis is no quitter. He’s determined to prove to his father, the chief, and above all himself that he can do it—and do it well.

Life doesn’t make it easy. Not when Freddy Krueger comes stalking out of the shadows to attack him. Luckily the Raven, the campus vigilante—the vigilante getting hate mail sent to Scribe’s opinions page—comes to his rescue.

Now, between finding the perfect angle for his party page columns and making friends (and perhaps something more?), Liam needs to find this mysterious Raven—not only to thank him, but to warn him to watch his back.

Five big twinkling stars. (Or stripy hearts as it is, here on the blog).

This is a total fan-girl review and has already been posted on Goodreads. It is fair to say I am on a complete Anyta Sunday kick at the moment, I love this author's writing style, I adore her characterisations (as you will see from my over-the-top adoration of them below) and she is definitely an auto-buy author for me now.

The absolutely best thing about this book - and there were lots of great things - was Liam. I absolutely adored him. He was quirky, without falling into a stereotypical clueless nerd role. He spoke his mind, was blunt but thoughtful. He was both intentionally and unintentionally funny and I want to kidnap him and bring him to England. Except I couldn't split him and his lover up. Nope, nu-huh - because they were the best couple.

I hope this doesn't get labelled a gay-for-you story - because it so wasn't. It was about Liam discovering his sexuality (along with a mystery storyline) and the way Anyta Sunday did this was brilliant. It didn't feel like trope after trope to me. It was real and genuine and I love how she writes these story-lines without it becoming a crisis.

The rest of the cast were nearly as wonderful. I love Anyta Sunday's character portrayals - they are proper characters not carbon copies I've read a million times before. Quinn, Hunter, Shannon, Mitch...I loved them all. Good characters can make or break a book in my opinion and Anyta Sunday never fails to write people I am drawn too. Quirky, lovable and unique - just like real life people! Imagine. :)

The story was fun, I enjoyed the mystery, I enjoyed the romance. This author writes the kind of book I find really difficult to put down. REALLY DIFFICULT. If you're looking for an enjoyable read with fabulous characters try this. :)