Short week for me - Did some reading on the weekend

Monday was our holiday in Canada. (Victoria Day, or the May 2-4 weekend because you buy and drink a 2-4 of beer. Which I didn't thank you very much.) It was a perfect day Monday. My daughter had her riding show (and did really well - I'll post about that later) and I got a bit burned. I was only out from 11:30 - 1:30, but standing in the middle of a field in the sun was enough. It's going to be HOT for us the next few days. Ugh. I do not have central air so my house is not great. Luckily it's still cooling off at night so it's not too bad. I'll have to get the window unit in my bedroom which helps. So having an extra day off, even with the trip to Montreal Sunday means I got a fair bit of reading done.

Mobry’s Dick by KZ Snow (165 pages)

This starts with a prologue at turn of the century where gay magician Alain Mobry is doing one of his shows. He’s renowned for automaton machines, the clockwork mechanical tricks. He’s crushing on another magician known as “The Turk” who sort of shows interest but also shuns him leaving Mobry confused. Then in present day Cam is hanging out at a flea market and runs into hot guy Paul who’s looking for a specific object. Cam actually finds it and buys it and Paul tells him it’s one of Mobry’s gadgets, a "dick". Cam’s not sure he’s gay, in fact is trying to be straight but Paul makes him question that. He later finds out Paul may not be who or what he thought and he has to cope with that, while figuring out the mystery of the dick and dealing with the results of Paul pissing off his ex who wants the gadget. I won’t say too much more and I’m not a huge fan of historicals but I thought there was just enough in this for me not to lose interest. Once it gets to a certain point in history, it focuses on the present day which I appreciated and while I’m not sure I loved what Cam got up to after he decided he’s gay (the romantic in me) I’m pretty sure it made complete sense realistically. The mystery of the dick, what happened to Mobry and whether Cam and Paul would finally get their act together kept me reading. It was a great read with a touch of everything, drama, mystery, humour, hot smexin’. :-)

I just realized that we are soon going to have to start indicating WHICH turn of the century. Not 2000, but 1900.

Witness by LA Gilbert (around 200 pages I think)

Ben is a cop who is just coasting along. On a call he meets Reece, a bike messenger but he’s too unsure to take the opening when Reese gives it to him. Then he runs over Reece’s bike and takes the opportunity to buy him a new one and ask him out. When Reece is attacked and his bike stolen Ben takes him home to help him get over his injuries. They start to grow closer as Reece heals and they get to know each other, however Reece has some secrets and emotional baggage he’s going to have to deal with if this is going to be long term. If you are in the mood for something light and not too angsty it’s a perfect read. There is no stalker, no major crisis, no big misunderstanding (thank god), just two guys struggling along the way I think most people do. Sometimes I really like that kind of lightness and no big drama and it worked for me on that level. Reece and Ben are both likable guys, they have normal friends, and jobs that suck sometimes and dreams just like regular people. I enjoyed it anyway, but those who like heavier plot driven stories likely may find it a bit fluffy.

Winner Takes All by Jenny Urban & Elizabeth Silver (100 pages)

Matt and Dom are friends. Thanks to the downturn in the economy Matt’s construction business is on the brink of going under. He is straight but lately after drinking too much he and Dom have been sharing some hand jobs and Dom would like more but figures crushing on a straight guy is bad. When Dom finds out they are going for a hostile take-over of Matt’s company he makes him a bet, if he can’t get the company back on it’s feet in a month, Dom gets Matt sexually for a week and vice versa if he does. Matt at first resists but figures if he can save the jobs of his employees he’ll take it. Meanwhile they continue to see each other and Matt starts to question how straight he is as Dom steps up the moves and pushes Matt further and further. Uh, mixed feelings. It was okay, but I found they talked non-stop during sex and Matt was the ultimate pushy bottom, he was always calling Dom names and telling him to get on with it and it was definitely not lovey dovey. I guess it suited their personalities but I was kind of with Dom and his idea of getting a freaking gag for Matt. On the whole it was a decent read without too much angst or conflict.

One odd note, I found these guys never took off their ties. They’d be home for a couple of hours and still be wearing a shirt and tie. They’d go to the bar to watch basketball after work and still be wearing their tie. Where I come from a tie is like pantyhose, the first thing you take off if you don’t need to wear it. A few times I though, “Why is he still wearing a tie?” Minor point of course, but it stood out for me. Maybe I’m just too casual.

Curious? by lots of people (300 pages)

This is an anthology which is supposedly for the woman who’s a bit curious about m/m and wants to try it out. It’s fine for die-hard fans as well. I read it pretty much all in one go, more or less. One unusual aspect is a short by Amy Lane which has chapters interspersed throughout the book. I’m not sure that worked for me because I had a couple of days between when I started and when I got back to it and it took me awhile to remember what the heck had happened in the previous chapter. It works fine if you read it all in one sitting but if you are reading it over a period of days it is easy to forget. And interesting concept though, I’ll give it that.

Favourites? Hmmm. To be honest I don’t seem to have any that really stand out. I mean they were all “good”, none that I thought “Well, that was crap” but I’m not sure any where like “Greatest thing I ever read”. I will say We are Stardust by M. Jules Aedin set during Woodstock in the 60’s was interesting as the setting was very unusual. There were a couple that involved horses which always suckers me in, Snowman by Isabelle Rowan and In His Eyes by Bethany Brown. I also found The Neighbors by Janey Chapel intriguing, a voyeuristic woman watches her new gay neighbors getting funky. An interesting twist.

Some have next to no sex, some have lots of sex, nothing too extremely kinky but it’s a nice mix. It would be a good start for someone who wants to test the waters, plus you get to try some great authors like Sean Kennedy, Chrissy Munder, Cat Ford, GS Wiley along with those I mentioned, plus others. I enjoyed it and was able to read it straight through and not find it repetitive because the subject matter was so broad.