Hump Day

Sigh. This has been a long week and it's only half-way over. 12 days and I'll be on my first me-only vacation since ..... 13 years I think. I've kind of done mini-vacations surrounding a business trip but this is the first time I'm heading out on my own. I'm going to Virginia to meet up with some internet friends of mine and celebrate one friend's 40th birthday. I'm looking forwarding to meeting some new ladies in person, seeing some friends again and seeing a few other friends along the way. So maybe that's why work is sucking. I'm kind of in a hurry up and get here mode. Anyway, I've done a bit of reading along the way.

The Cop and the Drifter by Christiane France (55 pages)

Cop Brad is out camping in the woods while he waits for an internal review of a screw-up at work. Out of the woods stumbles, what he assumes is runaway teen, Davie. After a rough start they share a meal and Davie tells his story. His father basically prostituted him out and then sold him to another man who did the same thing and he managed to escape and is looking for a job. Brad hooks him up with a guy who runs a shelter and needs help and despite being attracted and a quick hand-job in the woods, he's getting over his partner who died a few weeks ago so they lose touch. A year later he runs into Davie who is now working and they start to spend more time together at the shelter and .... well, you can imagine. It's a good story and I liked that there was a year to give Davie a chance to get his life together and for Brad to grieve his partner (although you don't read about it, it just hops - might have been nice to see how things went and make it longer). I did think Davie just spilling his guts about his abuse to a total stranger and cop seemed a bit out of the norm, but hey, I guess to him it was just a fact of life. No details are given but you get a good idea.

Wishing for a Home by T.A. Chase (93 pages)

Derek is a famous country singer whose life sucks. He's taking tons of pills and alcohol to function and his health is not great. Following his tour his doctors say 3 months minimum so his step-brother Edward arranges it so he can go to Tony and Brody's ranch in Wyoming. (Those of the Home of his Own and No Going Home). They are going to be out of town but Max the foreman is tasked with watching over him. He's not thrilled but they are both attracted and eventually give in even though Max knows Derek will leave eventually. Derek is deep in the closet because he's been told he needs to stay straight to keep his fans. It's a typical sweet romance of TA Chase, which I needed desperately the night I read it. It's kind of fun to see Les and Randy and the characters from the other books. I liked Max and his gruff non-talking side and it was funny to see everyone's reactions when he came out of his shell after hooking up with Derek. So if you're looking for typical Chase cowboys it's a nice addition to the series. Lots of other characters I presume will get their books eventually.

The Back Stairs by KC Kendricks (94 pages)

Fallon is a frazzled cop who is called to a murder scene of a young man. He talks to a young girl who claims not to know anything but eventually she tells him to go a boarding house and up the back stairs (great book cover tie-in). There he meets Sundown, a super hot guy who he assumes is a prostitute. He asks some questions and get evasive answers and before he knows it he's getting a blow job. He keeps being drawn back and there is also this dog that keeps showing up everywhere he goes. When another murder takes place, Sundown shows up and tells him to follow the dog. Fallon starts to think he's nuts, but he does and they manage to catch the murderer who claims the murdered boys were shape shifters (trip to the nut house for him). Fallon was injured in the capture and decides to take early retirement and tracks down Sundown to find out what the hell is going on and decide if they can have a relationship or not. The paranormal part was an unusual twist. I found Sundown's evasive answers as frustrating as Fallon did but I think that was part of the charm if you will. So if you want to try a shifter with a twist it's a good read. Oh and Fallon's partner, his beliefs and their relationship added a touch of humour to the book.