More Shorts for Me Today

I can't seem to settle down to a longer book. I have about 3 that I've read 15 or so pages then kind of wandered off. So I read some shorter ones and maybe that will settle me down.

Loving the Rain by Drew Zachary (37 pages)



This is a re-read for me. I read it a long time ago and it's set in my city (and I didn't find myself going "Argggh, that street is NOT there!" so that's good. Tony is on his way to his temp job and as he's getting his hot chocolate it starts pouring. He decides to wait it out and asks to sit at Brendan's table. Some instant flirting and they agree to meet for dinner. They then become boyfriends. The end. LOL More or less, it's just a story about two young guys meeting and getting to know one another. It's a bit contrived, Tony is an artist who makes statues out of found objects (as well as photography and drawing) and Brendan works for Friends of the Earth who are all into recycling and saving the planet. He's a vegetarian (mostly). They are both idealistic. But I liked both guys, it's a fun relationship and Drew Zachary writes hot smexin'. There is a fisting scene for those who care, but it's pretty well done, not lots of detail on the physical, more the emotional. Anyway, it's a cute read that I like to go back to from time to time. Oh and the stupid Arcana cover has NOTHING to do with the story. Not a dog in sight. Or girl for that matter.

Wolf in Man's Clothing by Dakota Rebel (34 pages)



Christian (a werewolf) finds Rhys on the side of the road with a broken down car in the forest ... on his way to his Grandmother's house and he's wearing a red hoodie. *wink* *wink* (Ref: See hottie of the day) Anyway, he offers to take Rhys to his cabin to call for help (no cell reception) and they are instantly attracted. So they have some hot smexin' and Rhys convinces Christian to come with him to his Grandma's house for her birthday. He agrees but is afraid to tell Rhys he's a werewolf because he'll freak. While at Grandma's (who knows he's a wolf because her brother was) she is attacked by a lynx (seriously? never heard of that) and Christian shifts to save her but Rhys shoots him. Ooops. Anyway, alls well that ends well thanks to shifting and healing. It was a cute little story told in first person from Christian's point of view. It smacks of insta-love but I kind of let it go convincing myself that it's because he's a werewolf. There were enough sly jibes at the Little Riding Riding Hood story to make it amusing enough to get past the insta-love.

Now, comes the but .... Nothing wrong with the story and I know authors have zero control over their book once the publisher gets it. But in light of my post at Kris' I had to bring it up. I opened the pdf file and it's 47 pages. Not really. Starts on page 6 and ends on page 39. What's at the back you say? Blurbs for other books. Okay, this is a new publisher to me (Resplendence) so I'll check it out. Of the 10 blurbs in the back of an m/m book, 8, yes 80% were for m/f books. I can understand an m/f blurb for the author herself, because those are her books and she should be promoted in her own story, but 80%? I bought m/m, not m/f, not m/f/m, pure menz. So 72% of this book was story. Compare that to the book above where there was a cover and one page at the end with publisher info. Hmmmm. *squinty-eyed glare at Resplendence* (It wasn't cheap either.)

Open Sesame by Mia Watts (41 pages)



Alister is discussing a business deal with his uncle that was close to insider trading. His uncle made a ton of money before the company went belly-up. As he's leaving he is kidnapped by four guys. Seems the four brothers from the defunct company want answers and money back for the pensions of their employees and intend to blackmail Alister's uncle for the money and get information from him how they knew the company was going under. The plan seems to be for Oz (Oscar) to tie Alister to a bed and fuck the information out of him. Oooookay. But Oz has had a thing for Alister for a while so he's down with the plan. Things get very steamy and pretty soon Alister is untied, they're fucking like bunnies and he's spilling his guts (doesn't know much anyway). In they end they realize they like each other and even though Alister is free to go he chooses to stay with Oz. Issues: The whole plot is totally far-fetched. His mean brothers actually agree to let him fuck the info out of Alister? Mmmhmm. It's never clear if they figure out the solution and get the money back from his uncle (vaguely hinted at) and Alister has just been kidnapped and gets a hard-on within minutes while cuffed and his head in a bag. Non-issues? All of the above. It's basically one long 30 page seduction scene and it is seriously smoking hot. Logical, no. Steamy, oh yeah. I did like Alister's spunk (not that, get your mind out of the gutter) and Oz was a good character too and I was happy they were getting together so if you just take it for what it is, a fun read with some very steamy built-up sex, it's great.

So you ask, was this book better in terms of crap at the back? Not much. 12 out of 53 pages of "stuff" (front and back). 77% of the book was story. Slightly better than 72% for the one above. Of the 12 blurbs in the back, 6 were for m/f books, so 50%. Still, 50% too many, IMHO.