precious_boy by KZ Snow (134 pages)
Dreamspinner Press
When Jon sees a super cute, super young, guy doing on-line porn he thinks he looks familiar. He arranges to meet with the young man who also works as a prostitute, and his suspicions are confirmed. Ethan is his ex-lover's son who he hasn't seen since he was ten. He decides to take it upon himself to convince Ethan to give up his life of porn and prostitution and involved his ex in the plan, although Ethan's father is less than enthusiastic. Ethan confesses to having a crush on Jon way back, and despite his better judgment Jon is attracted to Ethan even though he's not yet 18, Jon is 10 years older and Ethan has a pimp/boyfriend who has big plans for him. I really enjoyed this and KZ had an interesting post on her blog today about people's differing reactions to the book. It was interesting to read what worked or didn't work for others. I had no problem with the age difference and there are many books with bigger gaps than that. I know lots of people hated that Jon and his ex got back together for the time it takes to have an orgasm, and I was kind of shaking my head at Jon and how blind he was, but it didn't bother me. But I know some people have very strong ideas about a "romance" and what it can or can not include. I find I'm much more fluid than I would have suspected when I rejoined the romance world. Then there was Jon's mother who I thought was amazing. Being Canadian her whole rant about legal ages for things really struck a chord. :-) I would have loved for Jon to sleep with him before he was 18 just to make a point, but yeah yeah, publisher guidelines, I know, call me a rebel. So this was the book that pulled me back into the reading game and I was certainly captivated from the start and really, amazing cover. ;-)
Snow Ho by Ethan Day (106 pages)
MLR Press
Boone had been looking forward to the ski trip with his boyfriend, who phoned him after he arrived and dumped him. Arrghh. However he decides to stay anyway and ends up in bed with hot man of flesh Wade. He doesn't like Wade much at first, but seems unable to stay away. Turns out Wade is much more popular than Boone had any clue and the fact that he's the town's Golden Boy makes for an interesting dating experience. This is chock full of Ethan Day's humour. Boone is a mile-a-minute talker with a smart ass comment for every occasion (in part that he uses as a shield against getting too close) and he's not about to change himself even for a famous boyfriend. I also liked that there was no declaration of true love and Boone wanted to take time to see if they had something. I haven't read the sequel yet but I'm looking forward to it.
Offside Pass by Stephani Hecht (90 pages)
eXtasy Books
Saul just talked himself into the job as sports reporter for a small newspaper and is covering the local hockey team. The talk of the town are three brothers who have managed to get themselves kicked out of the NHL due to their behaviour and are now at the bottom of the barrel. Saul is determined to find out what the real story is behind their decline and targets Devon, one of the openly gay brothers. Thanks to the press contributing to their downfall, Devon is hostile to say the least, however Saul perseveres. He even tracks down their older meth addict brother and gets the real story about their family, but by then he likes Devon so much he refuses to reveal it. His ambitious colleague is not so upstanding and Saul has to convince her to keep it quiet. There aren't many hockey stories out there, so this was a nice change and I liked Saul and Devon together. My only thought was that Saul didn't really "know" Devon when he made the decision to protect him, but on the whole I enjoyed this fun read and my heart broke for poor younger brother Trey when the truth came out. Hopefully he'll get his HEA soon. Another nice story that especially fans of the author and hockey will enjoy.
16 comments:
Oh love! It took me three tries to actually tear my eyes away from the hottie to read your post. He's gorgeous. I may have to steal that pic.
I must read Precious Boy so I can get in on the psychoanalysis!
I liked Offside Pass. Have Ethan's books on my TBR pile!
Glad you are reading again.
I really enjoyed precious_boy although that scene bothered me a bit. I was going "no, don't do it" and then "ugh, why'd you do it?" afterward. Mainly because I just didn't like Donald AT ALL!!!
I totally loved Sno Ho! Loads of fun and the sequel is great too.
I've got Stephani's on my TBR but am taking a slight break after reading the eight shifter stories.
Hope you have a great, and warmer, rest of your week. :)
He does look deliciously naughty doesn't he Wren? Yes, you must read it so you can analyze your reaction. :-)
Hockey is always fun for me and Ethan's sense of humour is legendary I think.
The joy of us all being different Lily. Sometimes it's a small thing that just sets us apart. Not a bad thing. :-)
Definitely take a break because you don't want to suffer author burn-out. Then when you're in the mood you can pick it up.
Hope you're feeling much better.
Haven't read p_b... yet. :) Much enjoyed Ethan's book, its sequel, and Stephani's hockey book.
And I'm SOOOO glad it's not bitterly cold anymore. Sad that I've been walking around with my jacket open because it just feels too warm all buttoned up now.
Hey thanks, Tam. I wouldn't have known this was here if Lily hadn't mentioned it in passing on my blog!
And your Hottie du Jour? What Wren said.
Everyone has said good things about that Ethan Day book so I really ought to read it at some point. I was a little disappointed by the first Ethan Day I read and have never bothered to pick up anything by him again, but maybe I'll try this one and give him another go. I'm worried that our sense of humours don't mesh as lots of people seem to find the book very funny but not me. *shrugs* Humour is such a subjective thing.
You must get to it Chris. And temperature is so relative. Yesterday I had to walk back from our other building and thought "Gee, it's kind of nice out today", then shook my head as it was -15C. Nice? But compared to -39 I can't complain. LOL
You're quite welcome KZ. That hottie is nice isn't he? :-D
Ethan's humour can be quite over the top Jen and I had issues to the end of one of his books, whereas I found this ending appropriate, however it's not the type of humour that appeals to all and I'm actually taking a break before I read the sequel because I think it would be a bit too much for me. I do tend to be more of a snarky dry humour lover than slapstick although having tried to ski I could relate to Boone's challenges getting skis and poles and boots to all work at the same time.
I've had my eye on precious boy for a while. Sounds like there are some interesting twist and turns. Thanks for the reviews!
Oh, and keep warm! I've got the fireplace blazing her in Upstate NY.
It's really worth a read Miranda. Not totally traditional romance but really well done. It's positively balmy here today. It's -3C (26F). It's like summer. I'll barely need my mittens. LOL Funny how your brain can convince itself of relative warmth or cold depending on what it recently experienced. :-)
Tam: It's 26F here, too! No need to button the jacket or wear a scarf... :)
Unless it's September and then I'll be swearing and cursing how COLD 26 is. LOL
But of course. :)
I'm glad your reading funk is behind you, Tam. All three look good and i' looking forward to reading them. Hope you'll have a great weekend!
Thanks Janna. They were all good ones. Hope you have a gerat weekend too.
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