M/M Rut Challenge Complete!!!

So Kris in her boredom wisdom put out a reading challenge here-after referred to as the "m/m rut challenge". If you have yet had the pleasure of joining said challenge, click on the icon on the left for details. We were to read something outside of our usual comfort level, be it genre, author or trope. I committed to reading one historical and one fantasy as neither are favourite genres for me. While this book was not the historical I'd planned on, combined with the one I read on the weekend I think I was successful in that category.

Written in Blood by Luisa Prieto (133 pages)

Collin is a reporter in London who covered a child serial killer story and now is disgusted by London's fascination with some men who were caught in a gay brothel (of course he's gay). His friends decide to cheer him up by taking him to a het brothel. He manages to slip out and when one of his friends pursues him leaps in a cab with a handsome stranger. He ends up at the guy's hotel and after some hot smexin' he realizes the guy is a vampire (sucking his blood was a clue I suppose) and get so caught up he drinks the vampires blood. Ooops. In the morning he finds out de Sonac is in London to kill the reporter responsible for his friend (the serial killer's) death. Double ooops, that would be Collin. Collin runs with de Sonac on his tail but he forces de Sonac to examine his friend's behaviour. He may have done good deeds but he also killed 40 kids and skinned their bodies. They come to an uneasy truce with Collin giving de Sonac time to mourn his friend and accept that Collin was the one responsible for his death. It's hardly a HEA or even a HFN but I enjoyed the part about how we look at things, do 400 years of good deeds cancel out 40 deaths of kids, many who likely would have died in poverty anyway? Did killing a murderer make it better than killing someone innocent. So some interesting themes that came up.

Gaven by J.C. Owens (86 pages)

Medieval fantasy is really not my thing, so why do I seem to own so many (that sit in my TBR file forever)? Gaven is captured by the invading army that destroyed his keep. Seems that Gaven was not who he thought but is the son of the commander of the invading army. In their culture young recruits are given to an older solder for "training" (if you know what I mean). Seems he's to be given to Vlar (some kind of blood drinking creature). Gaven is freaked as being gay was baaaad in his culture and he really can't accept that he's one of the "enemy". His father's lover convinces them to give him some time and tries to explain things to him but Gaven still can't accept it (especially the butt secks part) so first chance he gets he runs. Vlar finds him and rescues him from baddies but when his father goes to punish the guards he takes their punishment. He's nearly whipped to death but the soldiers take him in and help him because they respect him for doing it. After he recovers and they get home he is officially given to Vlar and has his "first time". Then .... the end. What? How can you end it? Took me forever to get into it and then when I do .... nothing. What's the deal with the wolves and Vlar and will Gaven's father ever forgive him for running? Will he come to crave the butt secks? Sigh. The whole relationship storyline started on the last page more or less. So despite my lack of interest in these type of fantasy stories I would get a sequel because I want to have my questions answered. Which I'm not sure I applaud as good marketing or pisses me off that you suck me in and know I'll have to buy the next book now. It wasn't very long and I would have loved more explanation of things, the differences between Gaven's old people and new, how he came to be with them, etc. Some stuff was alluded too but not very clearly. While not to my taste I liked it enough to want to know more.