Update #21 The flu is receding ... I think.

Well, still quite a few shorts, but I'm settling down (and trying not to spend so much money HAHAHAHA).

Ports of Call by Sean Kennedy (34 pages)



A sweet story about long-term couple Pete and Jason who are spending some time at the beach in California before heading home to Reno. Pete was attacked in a mugging and its sent him for a loop and they are kind of escaping real life and trying to deal with the aftermath on vacation. The real caring they have for each other and how much it kills Jason that Pete is suffering really comes through and its a feel good story that with the love and support of someone special you can get past the bad stuff in time but its still not easy. Great little read.

Right Choice by Clare London (35 pages)



Okay, maybe my flu's not gone completely. :-) I really liked this little story. For some reason it struck a chord with me and I was all mushy at the end. Although it keeps you guessing for a minute and I thought I was going to be thoroughly annoyed but I survived. :-) I also liked how it kind of used flashbacks to tell the story of how they got to that point in time. Sometimes that doesn't work for me but I liked this. So for a sweet read that makes you go "awwww" at the end, its perfect.

Dissonance by Sonja Spenser (97 pages)



Hey, its longer than 30 pages, I should get an award. This was a very sweet story about 20 year old Irish music student Matthias and Kent, the head resident of his dorm. Matthias is completely freaked by any guy getting close but Kent tries to befriend him. Eventually its revealed why Matthias is so skittish but Kent is wonderful at trying not to push despite his attraction. Matthias finds it hard to believe anyone could like him and has trouble with touching (and more) but with patience and gentleness Kent wins him over. A really sweet read about someone understanding the damage someone has experienced and being patient and willing to help them through it, even if it means putting aside their own needs. A really sweet story.

Cowboy Up by Mary Winter (107 pages)



MONTHS ago when scanning through books I saw the blurb for this but didn't get it. Then I haven't been able to find it since. I mentioned this on the yahoo group and lo and behold JenB popped up with the title. What a sweetie. So of course after wondering about it for months I had to buy it immediately. Rock is into reigning (western riding) and Andreas is a dressage rider. They are both at a training camp for the US Olympic team and end up as roommates. While the seem like opposites - cowboy from the rodeo circuit and uptight European dressage rider - then are attracted and find out they actually like each other both in and out of bed. But of course, their careers are on different paths and they don't part in the best of ways at the end of the 3 week training camp. They meet up again 2 weeks later and Andreas attempts to reconcile them and of course HEA. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that after 3 weeks together and 2 weeks apart, Andreas basically decided to retire from the sport and take up coaching in Oklahoma (dressage capital of the US? I think not). Hello, you've known the guy for 5 weeks and 2 of those you weren't talking. Slow down buddy. I'm afraid when it comes to speed I have a bit of trouble getting past the "romance" aspect of things. A couple of months at the least or longer, but on the whole I enjoyed it.

That's the Ticket by John Simpson (18 pages)



On Sam and Michael's 10 year anniversay Michael notes that their love life is a little stale. So cop Sam decides to spice things up one night when Michael is working late with a little pre-planned traffic stop. A cute story with two lovers trying something a little outside the norm. Only 18 pages but it was sweet to see them trying to keep things fresh after all that time and having fun with it.

Straight Tequila Night by Rhianne Aile (35 pages)



I really gotta take a break from the high school football player meets high school nerd theme. I'm getting burned out and since football is not a big deal in Canada I don't really get it sometimes. Anyway, Mark moves back home (a literature professor) and goes to the local gay bar and who does he see? Crush of his youth Dylan (football player but receiver not QB for a change). He makes a move and is still smitten but wants to take it slow. The bartender tells him that Dylan has a lover that seems to be in the closet and if he's drinking tequila stay clear because he's feeling bad. Mark is determined to make Dylan see he's worth someone who cares. So they get together and its smoking hot, everything's lovely, then one night he's meeting Dylan at the bar and gets there early to see Dylan leave with his lover who happened to be really mean to Mark in school. Mark is crushed and starts drinking straight tequila (that stuff 'll kill ya). He goes home and Dylan shows up to apologise and says he was only meeting the guy to tell him it was over and that he loves Mark. I like this author's work but the thing that confused me was I wasn't sure how much time had passed between when they got together and the big misunderstanding happened. Was it a couple of days later? If so its that time thing again for me. Right, you fell in love in 48 hours? Or was it over a period of a few weeks? That I could see. So I was a bit confused about it all but on the whole enjoyed it, but as I said, time to lay off the football player/geek storyline for me for a bit.