Angelic Friday Part 2

I suppose technically this is Part 3, but only the second time I formally did Angelic Friday.

Ascension by RJ Scott (11 pages)
Sariel by Mary Calmes (29 pages)
The Platypus Learns Astrophysics by Matthew Vandrew (26 pages)

Ascension - Sabrael has been tasked for centuries to watch over a family. He goes down to check on Adam, the last remaining member to find him packing up the family business. Although Adam shouldn't be able to see him he can and they go out for coffee, after some kissing they go out for dinner and end up at Adam's place. This is done mostly from Sabrael's perspective and it kind of has a dreamy feeling, because Sabrael isn't sure why he was sent to Adam, he hasn't had these human feelings before so you kind of feel is awkwardness and sense of being unsure about his place.

Sariel *- Jake works for a museum and is invited to his boss' villa in Italy. When he arrives it seems his boss is some kind of psycho serial killer who plans on raping and murdering him. Jake has a choice, choose silence and be left to the monster or beg them to rape and kill him themselves. He chooses the "monster" and through his kindness the monster is revealed to be a banished angel. Okay, this was like a Biblical history lesson, I'm not religious, I don't have a clue about this stuff and while it was complicated I was able to follow it. Although this angel seemed capable of spontaneously creating the self-lubing ass in his partner. Ack. He must have been Japanese. It was definitely different from the others, almost more horror at first or X-Files meets the Vatican.

The Platypus Learns Astrophysics - Jonas is a crabby CEO with an Alzheimer's afflicted mother. Suddenly angel Micah shows up in his office to make his life "better". He just has to touch him and Jonas will be happy. When it doesn't work Micah is stuck on earth until he finds out why it didn't work. While Jonas is pissed he's stuck with a gorgeous guy (with Ken doll genitals) he starts to get used to having Micah around when suddenly the Boss shows up pissed at Micah's actions. I really enjoyed this one and spent most of the story smiling. Jonas is a total PITA, he's surly and annoying and most of the time Micah is able to stand up to him and put him in his place. There is also a sad moment as Jonas deals with his Mom. On the whole this is one of my favourites so far in the anthology but I love me a surly snarky hero.

* Need some help because this is making me nuts. This story talks about the Nephilim, the children of angels and humans. There was a story I either read or heard about where someone had to protect a man who was descended from the Nephilim. Anyone have any freaking clue what I'm talking about? I remember because I'd never heard of them before that story and poof, here they are again.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am going to my daughter's high school musical (nothing like the movie) tonight. She and 5 of her friends did all the sets. Oh yeah, my ex is going as well. Sigh. But it's nice she invited us. Oh happy birthday to my Mom today. Have a good one.

Thursday Update

Isn't it Friday yet? Sigh. What a long week. Someone asked me when the next holiday for us was today and I said "May 24". She's like "Seriously? That long? Really?" Ummm. Yeah, sorry. A month. Ugh. Oh well, spring has arrived back in Canada and I have to say it looks really beautiful out, as I am in. *shrug* I haven't been reading all that much, a few things here and there but here's the last couple.

Jude in Chains by KZ Snow (125 pages)

Misha has decided to go undercover at one of the gay reprogramming camps to do a magazine article. When he arrives he runs into Jude with whom he’d had a close encounter a couple of years ago. He’s determined that Jude won’t get sucked into the program and lose himself. It’s an exposé of his time at the centre, the kind of things they do and a few of the people he meets. It’s also him spending a fair bit of time with Jude both getting to know him and trying to convince him that being gay is not a horrible thing. Okay, people who know me are aware that I have serious issues with religious intolerance in my books (a couple of DNF in there) and I was worried about this. I luvs me some KZ Snow, but I know that not all themes are for all people. Now comes the big BUT, whew, I really enjoyed this and while the owners/leaders of this retreat are intolerant, they aren’t as bad as some stories I’ve heard *shudder* and it’s not page after page of spewed hatred. I smiled often, there are some genuinely humerous moments and I felt a bit sad sometimes too for the men who so desperately wanted to be "normal". Misha’s statement to Jude "I just wish you loved who you are as much as I do." pretty much says it all. If only everyone could feel that kind of self-acceptance the world would be a kinder place. So for others like me who are thinking "Ewwww religious fundies, run, run fast!" the focus is not so much on that but on inner acceptance and exploration. I’m glad I took a chance.

Man Down by Stephani Hecht (76 pages)

Jessie is a young twinky paramedic student who meets Randal, an older more experienced paramedic who has just started working for their city again. Randal is immediately attracted (as is Jessie) but Jessie is so not his type. Randal likes em bigger and bulkier and more fly by night. Jessie is an incorrigible flirt though and is up for a good time with no strings, he’s focused on getting his life on track and it’s obvious something bad happened to him in the past but he won’t discuss it with Randal. During a training session Jessie freaks and finally has to tell Randal about his past and he’s sure that Randal will reject him once he knows. This has a bit of the characters from Running Hot which was nice to see and there is a fair bit of humour (I really like Matt, too bad he’s straight. GFY Stephani?). It’s a nice story of an older guy/younger guy getting over a bad past.

BDSFerret by Celia Kyle (16 pages)

Okay, Chris found this and I got so intrigued I had to read it. It's billed as comedy/parody and it has a pretty cute cover for Changeling Press. Mika is a were-ferret who decides on Christmas Eve he needs to get laid and he needs someone dominant to do it. Even though he lives in a town of prairie dogs and he's a ferret, which is a predator, he's much more of a sub. So he goes to the local gay bar where he hooks up with very dominant prairie dog and bar owner Owen. It's just the one night covered in the book. Was it comedy/parody? Well there were some cute moments, I liked Mika, he's kind of your usual flighty nervous sub type and yes, were-ferrets and were-prairie dogs are kind of funny. It's not rolling on the floor funny but it's cute and all in all an okay read for something different. However $3 for 16 pages ain't cheap, luckily I had a credit sitting at Changeling so it didn't really hurt that much.

2010 Year of the Internet Get-Together

What the heck you ask is up with all the various junk up there? What does it mean? It means 2010 is my year to hook-up with total strangers off the internet. Woohoo. How fun is that? :-D No, not "hook-up", but meet-up anyway.

I've always said I exist in 3 distinct sphere's on-line. Rarely the three shall meet, although two and three tend to overlap. *Waves to Polt* So this year I have three meetings in the works.

The first in late June is a virtual group of ladies I belong to. We are all working moms (hence our fantasy tattoo I made up there WM) and have been together for 5+ years I think now. We've been through births, deaths, divorces, marriages, etc. So this year is one member's 40th birthday and she is renting a huge house near DC and at least a dozen of us (wish everyone could come) are going to meet up and spend 4 days talking and drinking and laughing. This is a Me-only trip, no kids or husbands allowed on this one so I'm quite looking forward to it.

My summer vacation plans with my daughter include heading down to New England and circling around to NYC, Philadelphia. A couple of years ago I discovered the blog Puntabulous (Super Viagra is a mascot). Craig is super funny and a great guy so I started posting and like our blogs here, I got to know the other posters and we've been going on for a couple of years now. Last year my daughter and I met 7 other posters. This year Craig is offering to host a party at his place for some of us. Looking at the invite list there is about 20, not all will make it but many will who live near. Oh yeah, me, Michelle, one straight guy and 17 gay guys. Ack. You can see why the term "hook-up" will be used in my case only in the most non-sexual sense. I'm very excited though. I'm going to get to see some of the guys again and meet a few I haven't met yet and Michelle of course.

Then in October falls the great yaoi-con convergence. :-) Kris, Chris, Tracy, Jen, me (and my kid again) will be in San Francisco where we will leave our mark on the city and attend yaoi-con (not my kid - must be 18). Clare London will be there and a few other authors and bloggers so it will be an amazing five days. Oh yeah, 6 females in an apartment. Should be interesting. ;-)

So this is my year of meeting new (and old) friends in real life. See? The internet isn't just virtual. It can lead to real life face-to-face friends and in the case of Puntabulous, one real life romance. I'm so keeping that plot bunny on the back burner. :-) Till they get married maybe and merge their cat children.

2011 is going to be hard-pressed to live up to this one. In honour of meeting new friends and reconnecting with old, some hugging cookies. :-)

I've been tagged.

Eyre tagged me on this one. I have to say 10 things that make me happy and which I'll experience today (yesterday now). I won't tag anyone on this one as most people I know have been tagged.

1. My daughter (obviously we had dinner together)
2. Sunshine (beautiful sunny day today)
3. Reading (laughed out loud on the bus today - oops)
4. Chocolate
   
5. Traveling
6. "Cookies" (everyday I have cookies)
   
7. My blogger friends who make me laugh (everyday)
   
8. Hugs
9. Watching my cats attack a little piece of paper or plastic on the floor
10. Lightning storms
    

If you haven't been tagged yet feel free to grab the idea and list your own 10 things.

Sorry for the screw-up those of you who get feeds, I was setting the date and the stupid thing blinked and posted so I deleted it and started over. :-

Monday Updates

By Texas Photographer, Matthew T Rader

I am so blah about work these days. Things are in total upheaval thanks to "transformation", my job package is so vague no one knows what I'm supposed to be doing including me and the morale is at an almost all-time low. Ugh. I know I shouldn't complain, I have a job that pays well and keeps me in books, but it's hard to get motivated to go there when things are so crappy. Makes me feel blah about life in general. I did manage to do laundry on the weekend but never made it grocery shopping. Sigh. Oh well, life goes on.

What did I do instead of grocery shopping (obviously not reading based on the fact there are only two books in this post)? I created a Tumblr blog called Cookie Time. Sigh. I see pictures around the internet and think, "Oh, I like that, I should save it some where" but then I lose track and I can never remember where I saw it. You also have to be careful at Flickr and Photobucket as they will delete questionable pictures. So I made a new blog. I just put a few of my pictures in there and hopped around a bit adding some others but I'll gradually get some more stuff in there. It's not as graphic as some, I really don't find pics of some guy's organ the size of Arkansas all that appealing and blow jobs bore me, so they are mostly PG-13 and arty pics along with other things I find that amuse and amaze me. On with the books.

Freeze Frame by Mia Watts (110 pages)

Sage, a half-blood fairy who can freeze time randomly, is tasked to get a DNA sample from a tough biker Mason. Mason is not his type but he's oddly attracted. When Mason is attacked he saves his life and is tasked to keep an eye on him. Dill finds out that usually when he freezes time everyone has no awareness but Mason did and also if Dill touches him frozen then the skill transfers and Dill freezes and Mason can move in time. Dill is pretty up front with Mason about what he wants and Mason admits he's attracted but his childhood in the system has taught him not to trust. They work together to find out who is trying to do him in while getting closer. This is a book in a series but you really don't need to read the others to read it. Sage, his brother was the first book and he's in this one but his history doesn't bear on the story much. Their fairy mother is a riot, she's very open about sex and her kid's love lives which has them all cringing and was quite funny. I did get a big confused the first time that Dill switched with Mason being frozen but on the whole a fun read with some humour and drama and a titch of angst.

The Delaney's and Me by Anne Brooke (26 pages)

Liam makes a scene when he breaks up with his mob connected boyfriend. He now lives in fear of what he knows is coming from his ex's cousins, twins who run the "business". They finally approach him and offer an option, shoot him or have sex with them. Umm. No brainer for Liam and he decides if he's going to have sex he's going to enjoy it and starts to tempt them while they continue to threaten him. Eventually they get back to his place where things heat up considerably. I really liked Liam. He's sort of completely flighty and his thought process amused me greatly. It's not a romance, although there is the suggestion that they'll all get together again. For those who dislike twincest there isn't much interaction between the brothers except for a 3-way kiss

Olympic Figure Skating Redux

So last night I took my daughter to Stars on Ice the Canadian edition. I know we probably shouldn't support that organization after the whole Johnny Weir debacle, but my daughter had sent me the link on Facebook. I didn't tell her I bought tickets until this week so she was surprised. Most of the Olympic athletes were there and several world and Canadian champions from past years. You really have no clue how fast they spin or how quickly they can move and cover the ice until you see it live. We were in about row 8 in the corner so had a pretty good view. The pictures aren't great but for no flash and using our little Kodak camera they turned out pretty well. And seeing my normally reserved "too cool" teen cheering and excited about seeing the athletes was worth it. I was afraid we'd be late as the arena is in a residential area and it took us 10 minutes to go 1.5 blocks. Arrggh. I was going crazy but we made it with 10 min. to spare. So that was our exciting Saturday night out. Unfortunately the Senators lost the hockey game in in overtime just as we got home so we are out of the play-offs. The kid is delighted as she's a Pittsburgh fan, I am meh. :-) Have a great Sunday everyone.

Somebody's been shopping.

I swear it's been at least two weeks since I bought anything. There were 13 pages of new books at ARe. Whew. Most of them I'd already read but it told me I haven't been there for a while. So I'm back on a mostly short kick and as I finish those I'll move on to the longer ones.

Oh, stop by Wave's today and tell me which type of facial hair you prefer and if I missed any heroes who have the stuff.

Dressing Up is Half the Fun by Misa Izanki (18 pages)

Yes yes, I'm still buying the books in this series (world?). Whatever, I particularly liked this couple. Ravi hasn't seen Max in nearly two weeks because with Halloween approaching he's busy making costumes for the club dancers. He comes over finally and they make plans to go to a Halloween party at a very exclusive sex toy store. (Seriously, a party at a toy store ... right - okay, moving on). Anyway, Max has made a special costume for Ravi and himself and after smexin' time they head off to the party and arrive to a gift bag (use your imagination) and "entertainment" in the dungeon. What kind of entertainment you ask? No freaking clue because it was "the end". What? How can you not tell me what kind of debauchery is happening on Halloween in the sex toy store? Grrrrr. I was quite looking forward to descriptions of sexy wild costumes, live sex shows, animal sacrifice, I don't know but SOMETHING. Sigh. Yeah yeah I know. Stop buying them. But once you start .... slippery slope.

The Stripper's Story, A Valentine's Day Tale by Vic Winter (18 pages)

Steve works as a stripper and is a bit depressed that on V-Day he has no SO, but decides that he's treating himself to a nice dinner out. He thinks V-Day is a bit of a cash grab anyway, but he's happy to take the extra tips since gay guys seem to like taking their dates to strip clubs on V-Day. Oookay. He has to wait in the bar and runs into Joshua who he went to high school with. They get talking and decide to blow off the snooty steak house and go for pizza then blow each other. It's told in first person from Steve's perspective and he is pretty cynical about the whole thing but thinks maybe Joshua could be someone special and that it's more than a suck and run and the get along great. So it's a cute little story about reconnecting and I enjoyed Steve's perspective on the whole V-Day and commercialism.

Toy Box: Shaving by Sean Michael, Winnie Jerome, Lee Benoit (70 pages)

Water and Steel: This is a follow-up to another story I've never read but Jim's master joins him in the shower and he shaves Marcus' head and then Marcus shave him "down there" and they have some smexin' in the tub. Because I've never read these guys it's simply a piece of erotica involving shaving. It's okay though.

Leave Your Worries Behind: Nathan is having a bitch of a week. Cory his best friend invites him to stay with him and his older lover Alex for awhile. At dinner, Alex makes a move and it seems they are interested in having Nathan as more than a friend. So for two weeks they all have some fun when Nathan realizes that Cory and Alex are into BDSM and that being with him they are vanilla-ing it down. He confesses he wants to try it more hardcore and is involved in a shaving scene between Cory and Alex. It was an okay story. The shaving was with a straight razor but didn't sound too freaky, maybe because it's told from water Nathan's perspective.

Fireflies in the Bathtub: This is the story of Paulo and Preston who I've read about in these Toybox things but not sure they have a full story. I do like them though. Preston has bad arthritis and is having trouble shaving and it bothers him, the loss of control. However Paulo starts a shaving ritual that is more for their master/boy relationship. Paulo also convinces Preston to let him redo the bathroom and he calls in his hoard of Portuguese cousins to help him do it quickly. As a birthday gift for Preston he gets a bunch of fireflies and releases them in the bathroom. This one made me laugh a bit when Paolo reveals his bug surprise:

" ... I thought they were just like us."
"Biophosphorescent beetles?"
"Sir, jeeze! No, ..."

So all in all an okay Toybox, I am disappointed that Sean Michael didn't do a Denny and Cain from the Cherry Sours series. Oh well.

The Riddle of the Sands by Geoffrey Knight (253 pages)

Woohoo, look at that, it's not a short. I finished this on the bus back to the airport Wednesday. The Fathom's Five boys are back, this time searching for a lost pyramid in Egypt in exchange for the antidote to a poison their old nemesis shot into Jake's young homeless friend. The story focuses on Jake as he races to try and save Sam and then some about Shane and a British reporter Daniel he meets and who tags along with them and also Will and his father have some face-time as his diplomat father is captured by the bad guy as well. There's not all that much smexin' in this one, some at the beginning but once they get running around the world they don't really have much time. But it's very much The Mummy, Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider all rolled into one. You just have to run with the adventure and not let things like no scars after serious cuts, guys running around Cairo in the buff which no one notices and snakes that bite only the bad guys not the good guys, go. :-) It's not meant to be realistic or taken seriously. I did want to kick Will's father in the nads because I work with diplomats every freaking day and NONE of them are as big a pretentious prick as this guy. But ... fantasy, breath in, let it go. Trust me, the life of a diplomat abroad is not $500 shirts and champagne and caviar. I only wish.

Angelic Friday

I've decided that each Friday I will review three stories from the A Brush of Wings anthology in an effort to keep myself from binging. It's harder than it sounds because you want to see what's next. But if I skip a few days it will help.

In the Hands of the Gods by Jana Denardo (22 pages)
A Voice in the Darkness by Patric Michael (28 pages)
Some Comfort by S. Blaise (9 pages)

Last time all three stories had a similar theme and these I found had more variety.

In the Hands of the Gods - This is set in Pompeii. Tiberius is the lone surviving member of his family and is a wealthy olive oil merchant. At a friend's party he meets Priscus. He and Priscus, who is visiting from Rome, start a taboo relationship (same social status is a no-no). Priscus finally convinces Tiberius to pack up his household and come to Rome for a while and start business there. While enroute, Vesuvius blows. Seems Priscus is more than he seems and Tiberius devout care of the household god served him well. I really enjoyed this as I've not read anything set in that time and reading about the gym and the bath and sort of daily life as interesting for me. Not a traditional angel story as they didn't really have angels then I suppose.

A Voice in the Darkness - Landon and his husband Bryce are on their way home from finalizing their adoption of a young boy when they are caught in a land slide and their car is crushed. Landon wakes up to himself and Bryce injured and a good Samaritan Danyel talking to him from outside the car. Danyel encourages him to help Bryce and to try and get them out before another rock falls and crushes them. At the last minute help arrives but there is no sign of Danyel. Who was he? I quite liked this as it used Landon's memories of their fight to adopt their little guy and while Bryce was unconscious for the story you got to know him through Landon's memories and feeling the desperation as Landon tried to save them and Danyel's calm presence was well done.

Some Comfort - Dale is home from Iraq and feeling a bit out of place. He's hanging at an ice rink when Mal, who saved his life in Iraq shows up out of the blue. Mal had always told him that he needed someone to look out for him and had taken on the task. They talk for a while and when Dale doesn't want to be with his family they hang out and Mal soothes Dale and tells him he's destined for great things. Dale falls asleep and Mal vows to protect and watch over him. This was a sweet story although it left me feeling a bit sad for Mal and I would have loved to read more about them both. It was only 9 pages but you got the sense of Mal's love for Dale and what I sensed was the futility of this love. So I would have loved to see them get a HEA otherworldly being or not. :-)

As I said, the first two had a different theme from the last ones I read which was a refreshing change and while the third one had the angel offering comfort theme it was done differently, I guess in a more benign manner. Have a heavenly weekend everyone.

A minute to update

So the meetings are going well. Some of the stuff I sat in on today was a bit over my head, phyto-sanitary issues - eeek - but it went well. Had a great lunch. Just to emphasize how open my workplace is (or the government in general I suppose), I was sitting with a bunch of guys (30's and 40's) and we started talking about traveling. One guy who is a VERY high ranking official in his Department starts telling us how he had just started dating his partner when he invited him to go to Rio where he was staying for a month and he ended up dancing in the Carnivale parade. We were joking that it was either true love or the guy would have been staring at his dust. Talk about throwing your relationship in the deep end. I'm so glad I work in an environment where he didn't have to hide that story because it was entertaining as hell.

I then took a quick wander downtown. Well, in a town of 15,000 "downtown" is relative. LOL Everything closes at 5:00. I ended up getting a couple of things at the Christmas shop (I need more Christmas decorations like a hole in the head but I adore those shops) and got a small ceramic kitten and got my daughter a Pittsburgh hockey themed item as she is a fan. I also got her some banana flavoured peanut butter so she can always have peanut butter and banana sandwiches without the banana. :-) I really don't feel like going out so as I passed a grocery store I picked up some fruit and snacks and I can just relax in. We had such a nice lunch I'm not really in the mood or another big meal. Beautiful day here, too bad we were inside all day.

So tomorrow we head back to the airport at 3:30. I'm hoping I can move my flight up otherwise I'm stuck wit a 3+ our wait. On with the reading.

Sea of Sin by India Harper (50 pages)

Every year, closeted cop Chris goes on a gay cruise and fucks as many young guys as he can in 7 days. The first day he meets is next door neighbor Kieran who had no clue he was signing up for a floating orgy and is also older like Chris. He's not interested in the twinks but finds Chris' indulgence amusing. He indicates he might be up for something with Chris but keeps putting him off until Chris is so crazy to know what it will be like he gives up on the young guys and they end up in Kieran's cabin for three days with dick rash. At the end Chris wants to stay in touch but Kieran won't even tell him were he lives or his name as he says they both have careers neither is going to give up. They make some vague promise about Christmas in Cancun. I liked it up until the ending. Seriously, you don't even know the guy's last name and you want to meet in Cancun. Do you have any clue how BIG that city is? I don't need a HEA, HFN works but this wasn't even that and yet it hinted at more than erotica. I was left distinctly unsatisfied and would have preferred to read about Chris fucking everything that moved and in multiples of 4 and then going home. I wouldn't have felt kind of ripped off which I did.

Pinky Swear by Lynn Lorenz (113 pages)

Lane and Matt have been best friends forever, always swearing allegiance with pinky swear. Eventually Matt's dad beats him up yet again and kicks him out for being gay, Lane's family takes him in and raises him. Although Lane knows Matt is gay he doesn't tell him until at university and never reveals he's in love. At university they are room mates where Matt is a total slut, which kills Lane but finally 3 days before Matt is leaving for California for a job, he gets drunk and they have sex. He wakes up to find Matt gone and feels used and dumped like one of the myriad of men that passed through their apartment. Lane moves to New Orleans and 5 years later it's Katrina time. His elderly landlord refuses to leave so he stays with him. In the aftermath, Lane's newspaper sends him to NO to cover the story and he tries to find Lane and get him supplies. After Lane punches him (yay Lane) they talk and Lane finds out why Matt ran. Anytime someone makes another person feel like a cheap piece of crap it breaks my heart. I'll admit I shed a little tear for how badly Lane felt when Matt ran. You figured out why, but I still felt badly. Lane's landlord, an old queen was a riot and offered some good insight to Lane, I liked him a lot and I liked Matt too and you're happy they got their HEA, but I was also happy he got punched in the face. LOL Sometimes a guy just needs a punch in the head. I liked how the story followed their friendship from about age 12, showing how the relationship changed and the descriptions of NO post-Katrina were vivid and heart wrenching. All in all another great read from Lynn. Oh I won this, two Lynn Lorenz in a row. Hope she has another one coming soon, I'm on a roll. :-)

The Guilty Verdict Vol. 1 by Katsura Izumi (250 pages)

Toya is an editor for a publishing company and gets to be the editor for his idol, mystery writer Hodaka. His company is in financial trouble so they want him to pressure Hodaka to write another book sooner. Hodaka refuses until he comes up with a proposal, if Toya can beat him at pool, he'll write a chapter, if he loses he gets his body. (Has anyone told new editor JenB is this how it works?) Of course, engaged "straight" Toya is clueless until Hodaka ... ummm, has his way with him. He continues in this vein claiming it's for work so doesn't count although eventually he starts to go to Hodaka for sex voluntarily. He's treated like crap and after nearly having a breakdown withdraws as the editor. Eventually he determines the reason Hodaka treats him like crap is because he's socially retarded so he confesses his love and Hodaka confesses his ... like? There is a book 2 and 3. Did I like it? It was alright but Hodaka was a giant dick, but then Toya was your typical clueless straight guy. What did you think "use your body" meant? To do laundry? And the whole Japanese mindset of "must perform at work no matter what" gets a bit annoying. I would have told my boss what Hodaka was pulling and sued him or sexual harassment. LOL But I suppose then I would have missed out on twu wuv. It shall begin it's world tour with vol. 2 and 3 to follow.

1, 2, 3, Baby You and Me!

So I have managed to read a couple of things but thanks to traveling all day then working and finally getting something to eat at 8:30, I'm not really up to typing it up tonight. Probably tomorrow as I plan on staying in and relaxing and watching Glee. I have a super hotel room, whirlpool tub, fireplace, poofy bed and gigantic TV (that I haven't turned on). I just have to figure out how to set the alarm. Anyway, to entertain y'all, I'm stealing this idea from my friend Polt. Pick your favourite number between 1 and 10. :-)

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

The Verdict is In

So I read the book as chosen by the masses. Didn't do much else yesterday. That vicious pain in my shoulder blade is still there. Argghh. I am leaving town tomorrow for work so won't have a chance to go to the doctor if this doesn't get better. I'm going to go and get some Robaxicet or some kind of back pain meds to see if it helps. I have a ton of stuff to do today too in order to get ready and get my daughter ready as she's staying with a friend for the two nights I'm away. Sigh.

On the upside, KZ made me this. Is she not amazing? I have to get it up on the site somewhere.


Windows in Time by M. Jules Aedin (225 pages)

After breaking his leg falling down the stairs, Jonah needs help so is sister arranges for a nurse she works with to help him out while she's out of town. Nurse Liam turns out to be a hot younger guy. Meanwhile Jonah discovers a ghost in the window across from his apartment and the two of them go about figuring out who he is. The book then splits off with one chapter in present day with Liam and Jonah and one chapter about Buck and Oliver (the ghost and his lover). They are set 50 years ago, where Oliver, a cross dresser and Buck meet up (Oliver lived in Jonah's apartment) and follows their relationship to their death while Jonah and Liam figure out the crime and work on their own relationship which is erratic at best.

So did I like it? I did. Did I love it? Umm. No. Why? I really have zero interest in historicals set in the "golden age of Hollywood". The time period just doesn't grab me and I really don't get the whole crossdressing thing. I don't find it hot. *shrug* Different strokes. So I found myself kind of zipping through those chapters to get back to Jonah and Liam. Also you know that Buck and Oliver end badly (otherwise they wouldn't be ghosts) so it's difficult to know there is no HEA for them, at least on this earthly plane. So I thought it was a very interesting mechanism, to do chapter by chapter in different time periods, the writing was well done, the characters likable but it just didn't suck me in as much as some perhaps. Still, I think a worthy read and it's well loved by many.

Officers in Need 1 by John Simpson (22 pages)

Brian is a 38 year old Sargent who is paired up with 21 year old Sean, a rookie. He suspects Sean is gay and after their shift invites him to come home for a skinny dip in the pool. When Brian admits he's gay, they proceed with hot smexin' and Sean is so enamoured he even agrees to take take it up the butt the first time ever. Ummm. Wow. The concept of the story is fine, older cop-rookie love. The writing is .... wow, I'm pretty sure my 14 year old could write more realistic dialogue. There is hardly any usage of contractions. When you listen to people speak they use contractions and they don't use the other person's name all the time when you are alone. Anyway, unless you are a huge fan of the author, don't bother.

The Long and Winding Road

No, not the Beatles. YouTube. I went there looking for a video I wanted to show KZ et al at her place about the dessert Strawberry Shortcut and the next thing you know I'm looking at stuff like this.

Which led me to this.

Which led me to this.

Which led to this.

Talk about your twisted route to amusement.

The people have spoken!

So my next book to read will be M. Jules Aedin's Windows in Time. Now I've heard nothing but amazing things about this book so I have no clue why it's been in my TBR for months and months but obviously something held me back, but y'all have kick-started me into reading it.

Last night I read a couple of stories in the A Brush of Wings anthology and maybe what I'll do is quickly review them as I go along (I'm going to try and do the anthology thing a bit at a time which I've not been very successful in the past at doing). It's HUGE so trying to summarize the whole book I think would tip me over the edge.

Also stop by Lily's today and see the beautiful cookie video she made. Really gorgeous. She's so good at that.

Wren is at Three Dollar Bill Reviews today talking about why she writes and reads gay literature. Interesting perspective from Wren so stop by and give your two cents.

Wave also has a fun piece on alpha heroes. Go and tell us who your favourite fictional manly man is.

Morning Glow by Taylor Lockland (21 pages)
Trail of Feathers by Sarah Ann Watts (10 pages)
Heart's Salvation by Réve Garrison (22 pages)


All three stories are about angels who come to the aid of humans as they go through an emotional upheaval, the first a relationship break-up, the other two the deaths of their partners.

Morning Glow - Alan (the angel) always shows up in Benjamin's life when he's having a tough time then leaves. This time Benjamin realizes he's in love and is devastated when Alan has to leave and decides to follow him to Cleveland even though he knows the odds of finding him are small. And trust me, the odds of finding anything in Cleveland are small, their signage sucks. I couldn't even find the mall. Anyway, my heart broke for Ben when Alan left him again. *sniffle* Very nicely done story.

Trail of Feathers - New Year's Day morning Daniel is heading home alone when he runs into a young man, Leo, gathering up feathers outside the church. Leo invites him for coffee and "more". Daniel is still mourning his partner's death but feels compelled to do it. The style of this is very mystical and dreamlike. Daniel is kind of dazed and doing stuff but he's reserved and, I don't know. It's very what I call prosey, when a character thinks like this: When I come I cry out, and my cracked heart breaks open and bleeds. He holds me and takes me from the dark place where I am lost, and then he places his hand where I can feel the tear in my heart and says, “No looking back.” It's just a little too flowery for me but probably works for others.

Heart's Salvation - Aris is an angel who lives in a statue. When Nathanial comes to him heartbroken about the death of his wife and daughter he is compelled to take human form and stop Nathanial from committing suicide. He becomes so attached he asks to become human. Nathanial quickly takes him into his house and heart. Umm. I found it a bit "religious" for my taste and while Nathanial had had relationships with men I thought he took to the idea of not only a gay relationship but that Aris was/had been an angel pretty well. Oh and please don't use baby oil and condoms. Not good.

So it started out strong for me and tapered off a bit but there are 12 more to go and I think taking a break will be good because of the similar themes. It would be a shame to not give #9-12 a proper appreciation because of burn-out and not their quality.