New Post - How exciting

Some of these I missed the other day and some I just read. I think I'm caught up now and can focus on some yaoi.

The Tattooed Heart by J.M. Snyder (41 pages)



Chris and Lee have been friends since 2nd grade. Chris is now a tattoo artist who doesn't get much chance to do his own designs except on Lee who has been in love with Chris for years but never told him. He's happy to be Chris' canvas. Chris has a new BF who might be the "one" and Lee pretends to be thrilled. One night the bar oblivious Chris gets caught with his hand down Lee's pants (innocently trying to show off his tattoo to some chicks) when his BF tells him to get a clue, he's in love with Lee and vice versa. Okay, beyond the present tense which the author uses (which I seem to be getting used to) I just wanted more. There is no discussion of how Chris goes from in love with his boyfriend to dealing with the revelation and then telling Lee. It just seems to happen and no explanation as to why Lee hasn't made a move in 16 or so years. Usually the "he's straight" plot device is used but here they were both gay. So I just wanted more, I never felt connected to the guys. Maybe longer would have given more chance to get into their brains better.

Sweet Reunion by Shawn Lane (64 pages)



Jason goes home to be with his mother who is dying of cancer. He was a cop who was shot on duty and forced to retire. He left behind his small town and his first love/r Danny after his father beat him badly for being gay. While in town he tries to reconnect with Danny and conveniently both of them are now single but have been in relationships in the past. They talk a bit about what a shit Jason's dad was (abusive alcoholic) and why his Mom put up with it and realize they both still love each other. It was a sweet story about dealing with the past and how your life has changed, both because of Jason's injury and just growing up and dealing with things. I quite liked both characters and wanted them to have a second chance.

Out of the Blue by Josh Lanyon (54 pages)



I won this at Wave's (thanks Josh and Wave) and hadn't read it yet. I'm not a real historical fan so that likely was part of the hold up. Bat (British) and Cowboy (American) are pilots in WWI. Most every run they make 2 out of 6 don't come back but Bat and Cowboy have been sticking it out. Bat was having a relationship with another pilot who was killed and he's devastated. Cowboy offers to offers to get Bat out of a tight spot and it turns out for a price, sex. You really got a sense of how awful it was for these guys. I was discussing this with some friends last night and saying how pilots were the most endangered back then and now unless a plane crashes for some reason, rarely do military pilots die. There aren't dog fights, they whish in, drop some bombs and disappear. Anyway, it didn't bother me that Cowboy was essentially blackmailing Bat into sex for some reason. Hey, they could all die this afternoon and he liked him and wanted a relationship so all's fair in love and war right? Literally? I liked how Cowboy made Bat think about things a different way and kind of shook him up and out of his funk. You hope they survived and had some kind of good life on the other side. So very evocative of the time and lots of emotion on the pilots' parts.

Devilish Good Time by J.M. Snyder (25 pages)



This is a little Halloween spooky story. Jacob goes to a Halloween party but its really not his thing. He sees jock Bobby who he was crushing on in last year's drama class. Bobby starts talking to him and Bobby's friends show up and want to bail because the party is lame and they invite Jacob to come along. He's not sure why but he goes along and Bobby makes it very obvious what he wants and isn't shy about letting everyone know. Seems they are going to park so the m/f in the front can get it on and Bobby and Jacob can do their thing. Amber tells them a story about the Jersey Devil (not the hockey player) and gets pissed when they call her on her plans to scare them. So Bobby and Jacob have to go to the woods to fool around. Jacob's a virgin but is returning the bj favour when something starts prancing around the woods and they get totally freaked and run back to the car and leap in and take off as something jumps on the car. They get to a gas station and and they see big scratches on the back of the car. Doo doo. What was it. ooooooh. So a cute spooky story and I really liked Jacob and Bobby, I liked that Bobby was completely out and his friends were good with that and Jacob trying to go with the flow but feeling overwhelmed by having his crush pay attention to him and be faced with first time sex acts. So I really liked this one.

Damn Gorgeous by Jaye Valentine (56 pages)



Spenser writes for a tabloid making up shit about werewolves and aliens and heads to Lizzie Borden's home town. He stays at a B&B with a sexy dreadlocked shaded hot guy owner. They hit it off and go for dinner and Virgil decides to reveal his secret. He's a gorgon, snakes on the head an all. Since Spenser is fascinated with all things paranormal he only freaks slightly and then has sex because really, we all want to have sex with guys with snakes on their head. Arrgghh. Can you see the goose flesh on my arms? Anyway, Virgil takes him to a wild underground club (literally) where he sees that vampires and werewolves and fairies, etc. are all real and it seems for some unexplained reason they are going to reveal themselves to humans. In the end Spenser stays with him and starts writing a guide-book on supernatural creatures so that when they are revealed people will know what to do. I liked the story, I really liked the underground club and all the creatures, I liked Spenser, I didn't like snake head. As someone with a snake phobia the idea just grossed me out. How could you sit and watch a movie with snakes wiggling around and wanting to touch you. Ewwwww. Those shudders are back. I wanted to be objective but some things you just can't get past and snakes is one of them for me.