Friday Update

Well, I did manage to get some reading beyond yaoi done on vacation and since I got back. Only work today and then the weekend. After Canada Day it's a nice system. One day of work and two days off. I could live with that.

If you'd like to read a cute free story, author Matthew Vandrew has a story up on his site called Strange Carnivorous Flowers from Outerspace. A very funny and touching m/m short. Stop by and give it a read.

Wolf Town by Joely Skye (55 pages)

Werewolf Rory is sent to Toronto to watch Scott, who is a Minder (can control people with his mind). Usually Minders end up in pods and use their powers for nastiness but Scott has been on the run for a couple of years. When Scott is attacked by some nasty Minders, Rory rescues him and takes him to Wolf Town. Scott is freaked and runs because he fears bringing down the Minders on the town. Rory and his father manage to track him down in ... Ottawa, (how funny) and convince him to come back and give a relationship with Rory a go. I think this might be part of a series of books the author writes about Minders but I read it as a stand-alone and it was fine. I liked Rory's openness (reminded me of a big puppy) and Scott who was so used to being alone and on the run but desperately wanted human contact. It was a fun quick read for me. I think it's the first I've read by this author and I would definitely try more.

Luke by Jan Irving (90 pages)

Small-town out doctor Taylor sees a young man at a church when he's going to check on a patient. He's immediately struck by him but doesn't think much until he finds the man outside with a baby who seems ill. Taylor takes Luke and Jessica to his house/office to check the baby who is fine. Luke's girlfriend (?) dumped him with their baby and he's considering giving her up as he has no job. Taylor offers them a place to stay in exchange for work around his crumbling ranch and the attraction between the two (buttsecks virgin Luke) ensues. I am a sucker for the guy with a baby storyline and I quite enjoyed this. Luke's jealousy over Taylor's casual relationship with a professor was kind of amusing as he hadn't even really admitted that he was attracted yet and I liked that Taylor was up front about his attraction to Luke, that he never pretended he didn't find him hot. Also the stress of dealing with babies who don't sleep all night and get sick was I think pretty accurate (what I remember LOL). This is a follow-on to another book whose title I forget but I think there was really only one or two scenes with the other character so is fine as a stand-alone.

Tatterdemalion by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox (184 pages)

Dane is a cursed shifter whose mage "boss" sends him to rescue a young mage who has been held against his will when his rich political family decided they wanted him "cured" of his magic. He's basically been tortured and experimented on for two years. Dane is then assigned to take charge of Lindsay and help him get his magic fixed and thus begins their journey to Germany, Mexico, back and home all while trying to stay one or two steps ahead of the bad guys who are determined to get Lindsay back. I really liked this. I liked that it was an adventure story as they dealt with all the fixing magic thing and I liked the relationship as hard-ass loner Dane comes to care for Lindsay and while Lindsay is physically frail at first, he's strong inside and never broke in captivity. They compliment each other well. I understand there will be a sequel, I hope so because the ending did not clarify what happened to the bad guys and brought up some other kinds of mages but then didn't say more so I was left with more questions than answers but if it's setting up for more that would be good. I keep saying Dane calls Lindsay "little bunny" which I found cute but I know some people hate stories with pet names, but it seemed fitting. Anyway, this is one of my fave books I've read recently and I know it stuck with me if I find myself lying in bed thinking about it days after the fact. That's my "clue" that it worked for me in a big way.

His One and Only by Shawn Lane (78 pages)

This is book 4 in the series. Drew sees law partner Mark at Barnaby's BBQ and invites him out for coffee. He doesn't really expect him to show up but amazingly he does. Mark lost his partner years earlier and doesn't date and he doesn't really think he wants to date Drew despite how attractive he finds him and he gives him the "let's be friends" speech which Drew accepts. However once his mother kicks some sense into him they start dating and things are going well until Mark's total obliviousness ends up sending a bad message to Drew who to be honest overreacts and breaks things off. When Drew's mother falls ill Mark comes to support him and they work out their problems. At the end all of the couples in the books along with Drew's friend Steve and his girlfriend come together for one big huggable moment. I enjoyed these stories, they are light fun reads, not too much angst but a few misunderstandings along the way.