Quick Sunday Update

Still having fun in Toronto, but we are off home this evening. Lots of shopping and walking, and stupid rain. A good friend of my daughter's came into the city and they got to spend the day together. Non-stop talking. :-)

Strangely after I added these pics I noticed how similar they are, shades of blue, naked man torso, another item in the pictures. And it wasn't that I chose two similar books since I read the second one a couple of weeks ago and had lost track of it.

The Trouble with Angel by JM Cartwright (222 pages)
Torquere Press

Angel has fought his way out of East LA. He's now a fashionista who works for an entertainment agent. When his boss has other commitments she sends him to help out client Brandon, a pro baseball player. Angel has always found Brandon attractive, but Brandon comes across as arrogant and aloof and straight. Brandon's a bit freaked out when Angel shows up and starts acting weird and all sort of flirty, and he won't tell Angel what is going on. Soon Angel finds out that Brandon has been given custody of his old coach's grandchildren whose parents had died just before he did. Brandon has decided that being in a couple would be a good idea, he intended to pretend it was Angel's boss, but suddenly casts Angel in the role of spouse, much to Angel's dismay. His boss also approves him working for Brandon for as long as he wants, and before long Brandon's confessing to being gay and has whisked Angel and the two kids (9 and 6) up to Oregon to a rundown old house in the country. Angel is pissed (as he well should be) but can't seem to resist when Brandon makes the moves. I had a few issues, one, getting kids who have just lost their parents attached to a pretend person is NOT smart. Of course they live HEA, it's a romance, but that was the stupidest thing ever. And Brandon took great delight in goading Angel to lose his Latin temper, which pissed me off to no end as well. On the upside, I think their struggles to figure out how to be parents of a sort to the kids was good, I liked Angel a lot and even Brandon had his moments (we'll discuss this more tomorrow :-), and I stayed up way too late reading it, so it definitely sucked me in. I loved Angel's mom when she showed up and the local vintner who seemed to rub Angel the wrong way. So there is lots to enjoy here and some of the things that bugged me others will probably find amusing and cute. Ah, personal taste. Still it was a good read.

Surviving the Change by Cari Z (122 pages)

Total-e-Bound

Blythe is a student who works nights in a bar to support himself. It's a shifter bar and he hasn't much use for shifters but it pays the bills. One night a new wolf shows up and decides to follow him home. He is NOT impressed and even though Dan is flirty and non-threatening, Blythe is not interested. However there are two rival packs in town (not all wolves, Dan's friend the one alpha is a lion and the rival alpha is a snake). Dan offers to fix Blythe's car in exchange for space on the couch as he's kind of homeless. They become friends but Blythe doesn't give in. You do eventually find out that Blythe had his reasons for being anti-shifter, it wasn't just to be contrary. There are problems though. As an unbonded male, Dan can't stick around too long as packs see him as a threat, however Blythe isn't coming around as quickly as would be useful to allow him to stay around. After a fight breaks out between the two groups at the bar and Dan saves Blythe but injures himself, Blythe finally gets with the problem, but when Dan kills the rival alpha's brother saving Blythe, Dan gives himself up to save Blythe, leading Blythe to band together with the good alpha to get Dan back, although they are nearly too late. I think those who enjoy shifter stores (aka me) will enjoy this. It started out kind of slow (not in a negative way) but with you getting to know Blythe and Dan and them becoming kind of friends and then flips into high gear once the other pack goes on the attack and Blythe has to make a stand. So if you like furry boys, a good read.