Does this guy not have an amazing ass?

Or maybe it's just the underwear. I generally hate Hello Kitty but I think this guy could make me change my mind. Thanks to my friend Polt for posting this. I knew you guys would appreciate it.

Yay, It's the Weeeekend!

This has seemed to be an unusually long week. Not sure why but it's been dragging. No big plans for the weekend except going to the dentist tomorrow. Yippee. Blah. It's going to be around or above freezing here which means slush. Ugh. I haven't done that much reading the last couple of days, a few shorter ones but hopefully this weekend I can get working on some of my longer books. Lily pointed me to some free JM Snyder shorts as well which helped. ;-) Have a good one everyone.

The Night Sky Man by Mallory Path (28 pages)



I'm totally cheating and saying Jen did a super review here at Wave's so you can read mostly what I thought and my comments are also in the post. But I have to say the writing style was very unique and dream-like which really added to the book and I don't think is easy to pull off. A nice little short.

Joy Ride by J.M. Snyder (17 pages)



This is a freebie you can get at All Romance Ebooks. Free is always good. Mack drives a Harley, typical biker dude but young Brad drives a Japanese bike and has been teasing Mack for weeks with suggestive comments. Finally he goads Mack into a "race" where Mack decides to see if Brad is ready to put his money where his mouth is. There is a some fun on a Harley in the country and then the question is was Brad just after a one-off or could there be more. So just a little short about teasing and flirting and maybe getting what you asked for after all. If you are into motorcycles there is lots of descriptions of them driving, it's not really my thing. I didn't like it as much as the other free shorts but it was okay.

Lift Me Up by Rayne Auster (79 pages)



I have never read this author before but the premise sounded great so I took it. It's done in an unusual narrative style, first person but done as if he's talking to you personally and retelling the story. It starts with Avery recounting a tale of hot sex in an elevator, but seems he's not the one getting it. He's so devastated by his best friend's actions that he collapsed by his apartment door. Dylan trips over him while moving in and ends up breaking his ankle. Avery and Dylan are immediately attracted and they start dating by default, as Dylan helps care for Avery with his broken ankle. There is some stuff with Dylan's ex and Dylan trying to find out why Avery refuses to take the elevator but goes up 12 flights of stairs instead (must have incredible cardiovascular health LOL). There is a touch of humour as tech nerd Avery doesn't think of himself as much of a catch and lawyer Dylan is gorgeous, but I was really taken in by the way the story is told. You only get Avery's perspective and he doesn't tell you OR Dylan much until Dylan prods and pokes enough. You never find out exactly what the deal is with the elevator until later, why he never had sex for two years until he lets it drop, you just glimpses of things. You don't know much about Dylan except what Avery tells you, mentions he's not perfect but you don't know why exactly but you still know there relationship is special. So I'm not sure what it was, but the style combined with characters I enjoyed made this work for me. I would definitely check out this author again.

Love in the Library by J.M. Snyder (21 pages)



Another freebie. :-) Johnny just got a job at the campus library and is stuck re-shelving books. His first night the stupid cart wheel gets stuck in the crack between the floor and the elevator and Adam comes to his rescue. Adam flirts outrageously but Johnny's not very confident and even when Adam gives him his phone number he doesn't follow-up. Adam tracks him down again and they make a date for Friday. The work schedule changes and Johnny has to work Friday but Adam finds a way for them to watch a movie anyway (they have rooms for viewing films) at the library during work hours. Let's just say they don't do much watching. :-) This is just a sweet story, no graphic on-page smexin' but I thought it was very cute with shy Johnny totally take aback by aggressive (not in a bad way) Adam and his pursuit. Pretty good for free.

C'est tout. Have a good weekend everyone.

Wednesday Update

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. Well, sort of. The week is dragging yet flying by. Go figure. More snow this morning. Sigh. Not much but still, after a day of sun it's a bit depressing. And a few more months to go. Enough whining. One long book, one shortish and one shorty short. I like to spread the love. In order from smallest to biggest. I should have added it's Josh Lanyon's birthday today so you can spam him with good wishes on Facebook or his website.

King Kong vs The Skinny Pirate by Addison Albright (10 pages)



I am an Addison Albright fan and enjoy her shorts, this one no exception. Blaine (a classy lawyer) goes trawling at the bar and orders a "skinny pirate" (rum and diet coke) and is sitting beside a guy he refers to as King Kong (big bear). Pickings are slim and he and George decide to give it a whirl even though neither one is the other's type AT ALL. Blaine's not even sure he'll be able to get a hard-on with all that hair. Surprisingly he has the best sex ever. Blaine starts searching for George and a week or so later he finds him in the bar and they decide to give it a try despite their acknowledged differences in lifestyle. It's just a cute story of two guys finding someone they totally mesh with in a package they totally didn't expect. In 10 pages you just get to the start of their relationship but I like Addison's writing style. So a cute taste.


Earth and Sun, Cedar and Sage by Margaret Mills & Tedy Ward (77 pages)



This was one of the Dreamspinner Christmas things that I didn't read and everyone said it is amazing and I finally sucked it up and read it. There is a reason why I don't read historicals, I had to skim over part of it. I KNOW really really bad shit happened, I don't want to read about it. But besides that, Jed is a half-breed traveling with Gideon whose family owned a traveling wild west show. They are heading to New Orleans but it's Christmas and they are only in Arizona and it's starting to snow. They stop at a small town and face prejudice which just makes Gideon wacky despite Jed telling him to let it go. They find friendship in the form of the livery stable owner who lets them sleep there (no boarding house with take a Native American) and tells them of an abandoned mining camp where they can set up house if they want. They do spend a few days and get to know each other better and Gideon (20) finds out why Jed (much older) was so adamant about not fooling around in the livery. (skimmed part). After "educating" the locals and proving that Jed is not a savage they still decide to push on to New Orleans where Gideon believes they can have a "normal" life, relatively speaking.

It was really well written - there was some nice background about aboriginal customs such as smudging and despite Jed's stoic nature you knew he loved Gideon and it was obvious Gideon had that naive enthusiasm of youth. I liked the characters but the constant living in fear of discovery combined with being aboriginal and dealing with that causes a level of angst for me I don't particularly enjoy. (You'll likely notice I also slipped into calling him aboriginal or Native America because as a Canadian we never use the word Indian unless you are from Mumbai. Just NOT done, and I have difficulty even typing it in that context. PC is us. :-)

Three Wrong Turns in the Desert by Neil Placky (198 pages)



I have never read anything by this author although I've seen his name on a few things. Aidan is dumped by his lover of 10 years and on a whim decides to head to Tunisia to teach English and start a new life (or perhaps get his old life back before he hooked up with rich, stoic, boring Blake). He is being chased by some kids when he dives into a bar and sees a hot guy showering naked in the courtyard. He is intrigued so comes back and ends up meeting Liam. They are chatting and when they leave they see a man who looks suspiciously like Aidan get gunned down. Ooops. Seems Liam was supposed to be the other guy's bodyguard and thought Aidan was him. Liam convinces Aidan to help him get the information from the dead guy's hotel room and it has to be delivered to a desert tribe. There is an attraction and when Aidan's work visa doesn't come through he decides to help Liam, a former Navy SEAL deliver the information, but someone is after them and they are nearly kidnapped, end up hiding out on a tour bus and on a camel train and catching terrorists. It's quite the rollicking tale of them on the run one step ahead of the bad guys and despite Aidan being an ESL teacher for 10 years, he's smart and resourceful and Liam finds himself liking him as a person and not just a hot bod.

The ending seems to leave it open for a sequel as Aidan and Liam decide to become partners in Tunisia and take on more jobs. I really liked Aidan, he was spunky and realized his life had sucked despite having every kitchen gadget and appliance known to man and 300 thread count sheets. Liam basically was forced out of the SEALs when he admitted he was gay and had "lone wolf" issues, but it was a fun read. Was it realistic? Oh probably TOTALLY not, but that wasn't the point, it was a fun adventure story with two hot guys. So if you like that sort of thing I would recommend it. It was a fun read. My ONLY complaint, in the picture the main guy (Liam) has nipple rings and even Aidan comments on them in the shower but then Liam takes them out and they are never mentioned again. Hello, put those babies back in. Neil? Are you listening? They better be back in for the next story. Just sayin'.

Oh and did you know there is a place in Tunisia called Tataouine, like in Star Wars and apparently they filmed there and there's a hotel you can stay in with Star Wars stuff? I'm hoping the author didn't lie to me about that because it tickled me pink. Damn he was in his prime then.

Have a great rest of week.

Monday Blahs

I'm in a slump. I just wanna be a blob on my couch. I did ZERO Sunday after taking my daughter to her lesson except eat donuts, nap and read and watch TV. None of my weekend tasks were accomplished or even started and barely considered. Today I'm still feeling lumpy but duty calls (and a paycheck). So I read two books, both longish so yay me.

No Good Deed by Lynn Lorenz (250 pages)



Daniel is an Asian-America (4th generation Texan) 42 year old cop in a small town near Houston. One day he overhears a radio call at work about someone being run off the road and feels compelled to go and see what's going on. When he gets there a cop has been shot (but not dead), another guy is dead and a cute gay guy (Mark) is in the back of the cop car. Thankfully the cop had his video camera turned on and it seems the dead guy shot the cop and was preparing to kill both of them when the cop made Mark use his gun to save them both. Meanwhile there is much fear that Mark will sue since he was treated very badly but he just wants to go away and forget about it, no publicity. Daniel is drawn to him right away but later finds out that Mark survived a near deadly beating 10 years ago from his ex and has basically been a wreck since and this incident is not helping. Eventually they agree to try but Mark's psychiatrist sets some rules that Mark has to take the lead and alpha Daniel has to back off which he agrees. Meanwhile there is some political stuff going on with the mayor and his advisor who is trying to blackmail half the town and hates Daniel with a passion and due to his actions puts Mark in danger from his newly released ex.

I quite enjoyed the story (stayed up way too late to finish it) although I didn't care as much about the political intrigue but it was used to force the issue with Mark. It was a change in that Daniel suffered from depression, in part from the feeling he disappointed his Asian parents by first having a failed marriage and then by becoming a cop instead of running the family business. He has considered suicide several time and while I wasn't thrilled with his alternative (girl parts involved) he was definitely a flawed guy and knew it. You know Mark has issues because he tells you but it's all told from Daniel's perspective so you don't get much about what Mark is thinking. I liked how it was handled though and two guys struggling with mental health issues with a 10 year age difference try to make it work. The only thing that kind of niggled at me was Daniel had evidence that the bad guy had presumably had sex with a young boy and he didn't do anything with it but use it as a trump card to get what he wanted. As a cop you'd think that you would turn the guy in but maybe he does later. I'll go with that. He said "looked 14" but maybe he was 17 (legal in Texas which I know due to the woman arrested there recently for having sex with a 16 year old up here in Canada - which is legal here) and looked younger, many do. So if you like Lynn Lorenz you'll likely enjoy this book as well.

Bedknobs and Beanstalks edited by EM Lynley (240 pages)



This is an anthology of reworked fairy tales which I generally enjoy. There are nine fairy tales by nine authors. Maybe I'll quickly go through them. Time killer here.

1) Jack and the Peenstalk by Clancy Nacht - Jack is a size queen who finally gets his wish. It was quite humourous and set in current times with reference to the US mortgage crisis, the crappy economy and Jack having a degree in Philosophy which entitled him to work at Starbucks.

2) The Rebelliously Single Prince by Leonore Black - I have no clue which fairy tale this is exactly. Prince Keiran refuses to marry someone he doesn't love and spends more time screwing the stable boys. After failed attempts to find a wife the king locks him in the tower at night until he agrees, but every morning he looks freshly fucked anyway. The king sends his minion to find out why, but the minion touched by true love refuses to give away Kieran's secret. A cute story.

3) Cry Wolf by Mercy Loomis - A take on the obvious here with a fae wolf shifter called a pookha. I am unfamiliar with pookhas so it was a good little story that taught me something. Kind of an unclear HFN ending.

4) Kintaro: The Golden Boy by S.J. Frost - This is based on a Japanese tale but I have no clue about what. Kintaro's mother escapes with him into the forest to protect him from the men who killed her husband. When he's grown he's discovered by a samurai that takes him back to his lord to train him where he is partnered with another samurai who's mate was killed. I really liked the story, but again, was lost on the fairy tale part.

5) Ashes and Crystal by Jason Rubis - This is the Cinderella tale retold with a cross-dressing Ashes hoping to get the chance to try on the glass slipper. A cute little story with more about Ashes familial relationship than his relationship with the prince.

6) Handsome and Grateful as told to Kilt Kirkpatric - This was done as if someone was telling the story and was quite humourously done. Some pop culture references thrown in, lots of German words for food and Hansel and Gretal are much older. This also includes f/f but I didn't mind. It was an interesting style which perhaps caught my attention.

7) The King's Honor by JL Merrow - This is the fairy tale of the princesses who danced their slippers into holes or something like that. I had an OLD fairy tale book as a kid and it was the only place I'd ever seen this story so it really made me sit up and take note. Every night the king's 12 daughters disappear and dance their slippers into holes. Any young man who can solve the mystery gets a wife and kingship or gets their head chopped off. A young man on his way to try runs into a woodcutter in the forest and they hit it off. *wink* *wink* With the help of the woodcutter's grandmother he is able to solve the mystery, but will he become king? Hmmm. I quite enjoyed and it was a rarely told story that took me back.

8) Swan Made by Mina Kelly - I'm not sure the exact tale but a man finds a cloak of swan feathers and hides it in his house. Suddenly a naked guy breaks in looking for "something" and they have sex and start living together. One day the man disappears and with it the hidden cloak which he had been searcing for. Joseph goes looking for him and finds him and offers to let him live with him for as long as he wants. Good writing but I think the Joseph was kind of dense.

9) Merman's Tale by Jay Di Meo - Karan is a fisherman on a lake known for it's mermen and other creatures but he needs the fish which are plentiful there to help his sick mother. He is attacked by the mermen but saved by Tir who makes him promise to keep him in his hut for 3 days. While Karan is attracted he's a bit freaked by the tail but he falls in love thus breaking the evil spell. It was okay and interesting that the merman had no parts, if you know what I mean.

So on the whole I quite enjoy Jack, Kintaro and the King's Honor although I have to say they were all good stories and none that made me go "ewww". The only thing I can see is that people who really want to avoid f/f might find the Hansel and Gretal one off-putting but as I said, the manner in which it's written made it a non-issue and truth be told it was kind of hot.

That's it. Laundry tonight. I already started before I left home this morning. I need a maid.

Saturday Reading - It's Cold out There

I dare this sweetie to come skiing here today wearing this outfit. He will truly understand the term shrinkage. It's -22 C (I'll make all the Americans google a conversion site) but the sun is shining, the sun is shining. Was, it's night now. After two weeks of no sun I don't really care how cold it is. Until I have to drive my daughter to lessons tomorrow morning at 7:45. (Who the hell decided 8:15 on Sunday morning is a good lesson time?) I spent most of the day struggling to get a virus off our main computer. Arrgghh. Seems to be better but what a pain. So I actually did most of this reading yesterday as I was doing the other stuff today.

To Be Where You Are by KZ Snow (81 pages)

This is the continuation of Adin and Jackson following InDescent which I read Thursday. The guys finally realize that they want to be together but Adin's fucked up sense of honour won't let him leave Celia. Just when he thinks she's ready to part she seems to change her mind throwing Adin off kilter. Also Jackson's friend is trying to get him to find his lost boyfriend who looks like he might have gotten himself mixed up in some voodoo hoodoo. Another adventure for Jackson with tons of info about voodoo and the struggle to be with someone you love. I was very happy with how it ended as I desperately wanted them together as they were perfect for each other. Not so much wizardry in this one but some humour, some REALLY hot smexin' and adventure. Another great read.

I am counting this as one of my challenge reads because although I said 90+ pages it's so haphazard. I checked and there are something like 550+ words per page vs 350 words in the next books but they are twice as long.

Full Moon Mating by Stormy Glenn (177 pages)



This is book 1 in a werewolf series. Joe is the local sheriff of a predominantly were-town. He is called to the scene of a shooting and finds apparently mute Nate bent over the body. He realizes Nate is not the shooter but after he has a seizure he decides to take him home and he realizes he's his mate. Well, seems Nate isn't mute except when he wants to be and he is on the run from someone called the Teacher who keeps various young men with paranormal abilities (Nate can read people's emotions and tell if they are lying when he touches them which is painful except for Joe) captive so he can profit from their skills. Nate has been on the run for 2 years but is willing to take the chance with Joe. Of course down the road Teacher tracks him down and there is a showdown and a rescue of the other young men.

It's pretty typical Stormy Glenn and pretty typical werewolves. I do enjoy reading her work but it's an easy read, it doesn't take much brain power, you know where it's going but the characters are likable. Yes, it's insta-love but I can live with that in a werewolf story. However there was at least one glaring error. They are going out for their anniversary dinner and several times they mention 2 months. But much is also made of the fact that on the full moon the guy turns into a wolf/human hybrid and has wild sex with his mate. So I figured if it's two months they've done this, but suddenly during dinner it says it's their 3 week anniversary and they haven 't had full-moon sex. Umm. 2 months or 3 weeks, someone decide here. That really annoyed me and I even vented to my daughter. Lazy editing I think. But as I said, quick easy read, kind of like Doritos, not high class food but you enjoy them while scarfing them down.

Just a Taste of Me by Stormy Glenn (168 pages)



This is book 2 in the series. Straight alpha Quilliam Reese (who is usually referred to as Reese and it took me forever to really grasp his first name) is at the bar checking out the chicks when he sees an adorable guy come in and head to the bathroom. He also sees someone follow him and despite his better judgment goes to the rescue. Seems there are vampires who coexist with the weres and for some reason Reese feels compelled to save the guy, not only save him but he bites him and mates with him right there in the bathroom. So he basically kidnaps Keely and takes him home with him having sex (first buttsecks ever) in the truck. Keely is one of the captive guys from the first book although you only meet him here. Keely is waving the rainbow flag high, adores wearing nail polish, has a feather boa, etc. Despite himself Reese falls in love and loves Keely as he is. However there is some weird shit going on and Keely is attacked by pack members and it has to do with supplying the vampires with were blood which is an aphrodisiac.

Keely was a great character. When Reese and Devlin his beta who lives with him have a fight Keely goes nuts on them with the cookie sheets and isn't afraid to voice his opinion. It's also Keely's friends who manage to save the day at the end of the day. There were no blatant errors like the last one but one things is they have this knot in their penis that locks them with their mate a la dogs. But they talk about the knot being at the end of the penis and that it stimulates the prostate. Okay, I'm not all up on my male anatomy, but I thought the prostate was located only a couple of inches inside (I could google this but I'm lazy - I've seen enough videos to fake it), and if the guy has a typical romance penis it is at LEAST 7 inches, probably more. So if the penis is full lodged in the guy's ass with a knot at the END, then there would be zero prostate stimulation unless it was at the BASE like a canine (or similar to a butt plug) where the stimulation would be greater. I don't know, if you're going to use animal traits, use them right. But hey, it's not my world.

TGIF .... yaaaaaay!

So after so rudely accusing Chris of binge reading, what did I do? Ummm. Yeah. And I'm not done yet. Will finish off the first series this weekend. Two long books, yay me! Well, relatively speaking. Shades of Grey is calling my name and at 400 pages may mean I won't have much to post in the next bit. But I do try to change my hottie every evening. A friend has also asked me to beta read his children's fantasy novel he finished so that should keep be busy as well. I'm very honoured.

InDescent by KZ Snow (146 pages)



It seemed to take me a bit to get started on this one but once I got going I didn't want to stop. More of Jackson (wizard) and Adin (former vampire). Jackson is feeling conflicted about his relationship with Adin, he hardly gets to see him and misses him and some weird shit is starting to happen. At the same time his wizard enemy has devised a cockamamie plan to suck Jackson into a magical crystal and be free of him at last. (Cue evil laughter) While Jackson's trying to figure out what the hell is going on, Adin comes to visit and is starting to revert to vampire which causes problems for the couple as well. In the end Jackson finds out he has to enter the crystal and repair some damage which is letting other worldly creatures out and has to face up to his relationship fears and deal with Adin. It's a very complex story with a spirit guidey thing and Polish fairy tale characters thrown but I really enjoyed it. Some humour, some tears, some danger. I was especially impressed with all the stuff inside the crystal, the imagination (unless KZ's been in said crystal) and also with Jackson having to face up to the realities that is his relationship with Adin and his own personal truth about himself. So a terrific read. I'm looking forward to the next book this weekend. Oh, one of my favourite sentences with a phrase I am going to try and use in the next week or so: Miki had always struck him as a half-bubble off plumb.

Utopia X 4: Finding Utopia by KZ Snow (95 pages)



This is the final book in the Utopia X series and a fine wrap-up. The guys are finding it impossible to engage the Celestine crystal with sexual energy since they all have their own men and really don't want to be together that way. They go off to the head office to explain and while they are gone Pablo heads out to the clubs with his old friends. Win gets home and finds Pablo passed out, a used condom next to the bed and their house trashed. After a fight Win kicks him out and Pablo can't remember what happened but is sure he'd never cheat and is determined to find out what really did happen. Meanwhile some dark elves are planning to take over the city and manage to capture the three guys causing Win to shift because he's so upset about Pablo and the whole situation. Pablo manages to ride to the rescue (on a scooter? LOL) and save the day thanks to some magical help. You really have to read the whole series to read this one or you'll be lost. But they are so worth it. I loved that when Pablo gets kicked to the curb he doesn't resort to that whining "but let me explaaaaaiiiinn" stuff and gets just as pissed off and leaves in a righteous huff when Win is so harsh. (Though it did look bad.) I also liked that he was willing to come back and fix things once he'd figured it out. There weren't 40 pages of him being stubborn and refusing to address the issue. So that I loved. I did wish there had been more Ridley but as KZ said, it was almost impossible to include everyone from the other books so she chose and I can live with that. There is more about their neighbor Skeep and a run-away elf he helped which would be fun to find out more about and you find out more about Andrew and his background. So lots of fodder for future explorations of this world which maybe some day she will write for us. So I thought it was a very appropriate ending, with some relationship drama, some action and a nice HEA for all concerned. Great series though, really, for those who like fantasy or UF it's so worth it.

So that's it. Not much in way of quantity but definitely higher quality than a few of late. Have a super weekend.

It's Hump Day!!!

Doesn't this picture just remind you of a couple of books? Jet Mykles Hell perhaps? Or Ally Blue's The Happy Onion? Perserverence, he has it.

So I have hardly read anything because ... I don't know, busy busy. Went to see Sherlock Holmes last night. Lots of excitement, action, mystery and intrigue. And Robert Downey Jr. shirtless. I know, I know, he's not to everyone's taste but considering I'm usually all about the twinky boys he works for me. But now that you people actually show up here and read stuff I feel compelled to put something here even if I don't read much. Arrgghh. The pressure.

Umm, besides my lack of reading and pictures of dogs humping, there is a very funny post by K.A. Mitchell over at Slash and Burn today. Her characters give their New Year's resolutions.

Lily has some of the new books that are released this week with some interesting ones listed. Cowpunk? Ooookay. KZ's final (?) book in the Utopia X is out this week and there is one that has caught my eye by an author I've never heard of, Rayne Auster. So I might see a bit of shopping in my future. Just a bit.

Speaking of KZ, she's blogging over at Clare London's place today. It's Clare's birthday month - Happy Birthday Clare!!! - and she's having a guest poster everyday so you can go and check out all the fun. Just click on the dates at the top and read all the fun posts. Yesterday was Josh Lanyon, I know Wave is doing a post and who knows who else. Lots of fun and funny stuff there.

Okay, I did do a bit of reading so I shall mention that as well.

Go Fish by HT Murray (46 pages)

It's short, it's only 46 pages but is one of the funniest 46 pages I've read in a while. It's so funny I was literally laughing out loud (not LOLing in my head) and my daughter thought I was insane. Okay, it was so good I had to read part of it out loud to her. (the non-smexin' part) It was so what I needed Monday. Straight Ian lives with his best friend forever Cal who is gay. Ian notices himself noticing Cal in other ways and he's not completely freaked out about it, but doesn't do anything. He gets a fish bowl to decorate his room and Cal buys him a fish and starts sneaking into his room to check them. To keep Cal coming in they get more fish and more fish and finally kiss but it doesn't seem to go further until Ian enlists the help of the teenage girl at the pet store who as been selling them fish. It was just so funny, they are completely hapless and everything that can go wrong seems to until FINALLY they manage to get it together. Okay, here is the funny paragraph I read to my daughter:

That noise Ian was making? Totally a squeal. It was the love child of a dolphin and a sea monkey. And yes, Ian knew sea monkeys didn't make noise, but he couldn't figure out how a dolphin would get on land and mate with a regular monkey, and therefore, it had to have been a sea monkey. "Eeaagggaaghheee!" That was not a sound human vocal cords evolved to create.

So if you are having a shitty day or just need a laugh (hell, it's January in the northern hemisphere, we could ALL use a smile), I highly recommend this book. Oh, I HAD sea monkeys as a kid. Don't tell me you didn't, or at least didn't try to grow them.

Sleeping with Money by Barbara Katagiri (205 pages)



Woohoo, I can count this towards my challenge. Yakuza member Tatsurou is a debt collector. He's not great at and rarely has any money but he's in a particularly tight spot getting some money from an old man. Seems the old man had helped Tatsurou as a troubled teen and he is having issues being as tough as he should be. When his boss tells him get the money or else he ends up drunk and meets up with his high school nemesis Sagami who runs a big bank. Sagami offers to loan him the money and he has to pay by sleeping with Sagami. Tatsurou is torn between getting the money and freaking out about sleeping with a guy, Sagami in particular. But he agrees, resisting (and coming) all the while. Once a month he repays his debt in bed and despite himself starts to like it but would never admit it. He is once again sent to get money from the old man and accidently almost gets himself killed burning down the building. When he's fired for being weak Sagami offers him a job but Tatsurou resists yet is coming to love Sagami. There is more action with a rival Yakuza gang, a kidnapping, a rescue and unexpected aid from Tatsurou's assistant whom he can't seem to get rid of.

On the whole this is one of the yaoi novels that I really enoyed. I actually wanted to know what happened. I'm not sure if it was the translation which seemed to use a lot of North American phrasing so it didn't sound so stilted and odd. I liked that it showed what Tatsurou was thinking, how he came from a shitty childhood and had trust issues, dealing with liking a guy when he was always straight, having to save face by not admitting he liked Sagami. So I liked his character a lot. You didn't find out much about Sagami except that he loved Tatsurou since high school. (They are 27 now.) But this one really worked for me even if I don't understand the whole Yakuza system and that legitimate lending institutes hire the mob to collect on their debts. Seriously? Okay, cultural divide happening again. LOL But I stayed up until 12:35 last night so I could finish it so I obviously got caught up in the plot despite stuff that really doesn't make sense to me not being Japanese.

"I'm finished reading shorts" she said ... and lied

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The last of the shorts ... I think

I think I'm ready to tackle some longer books now. But I am REALLY getting tired of this weather. Snow, snow, snow. I have fears we are going to have another winter like a few years ago where we came within centimetres of beating the all-time snow record for our city. They stopped plowing the streets because there was no where to put the snow. Sigh. It's light snow but it JUST WON'T STOP!!!! Vent done.

The Stroke of Midnight by Jordan Castillo Price (12 pages)


This is a little Psycop freebie (that I kept forgetting to snap up). Jacob and Vic are supposed to go to a NYE party at Vic's friends' Keith and Manny. Vic gets called in on a case and Jacob goes alone to the party where he feels a bit melancholy without Vic and his friend Keith who left the department after being outed has been getting snarkier and snarkier. He goes home early and Vic manages to sneak home and give him a NY kiss in the guise of taking his meds. It is interesting to see things from Jacob's perspective and to sort of realize they have lives outside of the book. That Jacob has friends he sees and talks to that you don't realize. Just a cute little story to give us a taste before the next book.

Silver Lining by Lucius Parhellion (35 pages)

Grooviest author name ever. Anyway, this is set in the 1950's where Rob and Phillip (who is referred to as Argent - his last name, in the whole story) are scientists doing some work on the nuclear bomb tests in Nevada. They are stuck in Vegas and bored and feel each other out and find out they are both gay. But due to the nature of the program, they are watched constantly, their phones and rooms bugged, etc. They take it very well though in my opinion, they just kind of accept that it's the way it is. They have a free day and go hiking but get caught in a storm. They are soaked and cold so stop at a hotel to get dry and warm and manage to get some alone time. *wink* *wink* They agree to meet-up back in Washington and pursue things. I did learn a lot about the nuclear program (and I think was sitting open mouthed at some of the stuff that was done which now seems so incredibly stupid) and the whole nature of hiding you are gay when you are being followed and watched more than usual, in a time where being gay would get you fired. I liked how they dealt with it, I guess years of practice of being the soul of discretion. So it was an interesting story from an historical perspective as well as enjoying the two characters together.

A Knight at the Speedway by Jaxx Steele (50 pages)

Artis and Kris were best friends in college and then Kris went off to join the motorcycle racing circuit and Artis stayed in Indianapolis as a travel agent. 10 year's later Kris is coming to town to race but he can't get tickets. A good friend manages to get him tickets to the trials and a chance to meet with the riders after. Kris is thrilled to see Artis after 10 years and invites him to the party that night. Kris makes a move on Artis and tells him he's been in love with him forever. Also seems that Artis has been following Kris around the world and been to nearly every race thanks to his travel agent job. They have smoking sex and Kris tells him he wants to move back and be with him and quit racing. Artis freaks and doesn't want to be responsible for ruining Kris' dream of racing and runs. Later he gets invited to an anonymous party by none other than Kris who quit anyway and moved back to open a racetrack there. Issues. They haven't even SPOKEN in 10 years and within hours Kris is asking to move in with Artis and willing to quit his job. Okay, maybe he's not that happy but hell, maybe Artis is married with two kids or something. They never got that far. And seriously, stalking the guy around the world, your former best friend but you never ONCE make any attempt to say hi, how are you? Although this wasn't insta-love in the traditional sense, they hadn't even known each other was gay when they were friends so it wasn't a case of former lovers reunited, it just moved WAY too fast for me.

Making Lemonade - Lemon Yellow by TC Blue (56 pages)



This was highly recommended by Jen and I was kind of shying away because of the content and I wasn't sure I could wrap my head around it. (Still not sure I have 100%) but then the Silver Lining book reminded me of it so I tracked it down and read it. I'm glad I did. So Evan and Bill were together 8 years (Bill was 16 years older) when Bill died of cancer. Evan is devastated but offers his home to Bill's nephew Gray who's coming to pay his condolences. Meanwhile Gray thinks he's coming to meet Eva. Ooops. But he's fine with it, he's gay as well and it explains why Bill never came home much. Gray is about 30. After a rough night of memories Evan kisses Gray and kind of freaks but Gray doesn't push and tells him to come visit them in Montana as he's family. They form a phone friendship and it follows their lives as Evan deals with the grief and their growing closeness but Evan is still freaked. His lover's nephew? Ewwwww. He goes to visit but isn't ready and Gray agrees to wait for him. Okay, I still get a bit squicked thinking of the relative factor. I try to visualize it in my own life and *shudder*. But I found the fact that the story takes place over almost one year and built up gradually and they hadn't known each other all their lives kind of thing made it work. I really liked the relationship they developed over the year with Gray giving Evan what he needed to heal, not pushing him like some of his friends did. So I have to agree with Jen, it was an excellent story and I'm glad I finally read it. I forgot to say that I didn't like Gray's sister much. She's all "yeah yeah, go for it." *wink wink nudge nudge* Then man's spouse had just died for Christ's sake. Have some sympathy lady. Maybe he's not ready to hop into bed with his dead lover's nephew. She annoyed me everytime she was "on page".

Fuck the Foreplay by JM Snyder (16 pages)


This was a freebie I found when buying JCP's At the Stroke of Midnight. Free, how could I say no? Tory is in his first semester at college and hating it because he's missing Jon, his boyfriend. Jon and he were family friends for years and finally started dating when Tory was 16 and Jon 18. Tory's roommate is going away for the long weekend and Jon is coming to town and Tory is DESPERATE for some smexin'. When Jon gets there, they kick the roommate out and have a quickie, hence the title. It's just a little steamy story about two guys in love and peach lube. The author mentions doing a story explaining how they got together but I'm not sure how long ago that was or if it's ever been done.

U Don't Know Me by Rakun (200 pages)

This is Korean yaoi. Is that such a thing? I think it has another name. Anyway, Seyun and Yoojin have been friends since they were children, their parents were friends but now they go to different high schools. One day Yoojin gets pissed off because he thinks Seyun has been sleeping around and basically rapes him. Ooops. Seems it's another guy who LOOKS like Seyun. (I never really got the whole subplot of the friend who looks like Seyun). Anyway, they both confess their love and start dating. But Seyun's mother took off (too stressed) and his Dad moved away for business so he's not big on relationships. Yoojin's parents have take Seyun under their wing and want him to move in with them but he gets too freaked having sex with Yoojin in his parents' house. The parents both know they are together, and after freaking are supportive. Seyun gets past his fear of the relationship going to hell when his friend says basically enoy it while you can. There is also a guy who wants Seyun to be a prostitute but I didn't quite get that either. LOL Some of it didn't make sense to me but I did like the relationship between the two guys, that they'd been friends forever and besides the initial time they were both eager to have sex as often as they could. And it's all on the page. LOL Not overly graphic but lots of nekkidness. Although Yoojin's father seemed to be constantly beating on him for hurting Seyun or for no reason whatsoever. Is that normal for a Korean dad to beat up his 17 year old 6'4" son? I've also noticed lots of yaoi where the mother has simply abandoned the family. Does this happen in Asia? On the whole I enjoyed this but as I said, a bit of it went over my head and some of the cultural stuff maybe I didn't get. Was it supposed to be funny when his Dad beat him? *shrug* A good read though.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a fun New Year's Eve celebration, however you spent it and that 2010 brings you many wonderful things. I stayed home and read and played on the computer and watched TV (all more or less simultaneously). Seems we got quite a bit of snow and it's still snowing so I'm glad I wasn't out and about last night. My kidlet gets home from Toronto tonight so I'm looking forward to hearing all about her trip. I did read 4 shorts last night/this morning so I'm going to have to buckle down and read longer ones now. I think I'm ready and for my reading challenge I said books of over 90 pages to count. Well crap, I missed Silver which I read. Oh well, I'll save it for next time.

Northern Exposure by Marguerite Labbe & Fae Sutherland (47 pages)


This is a continuation of the story of Angel and Sebastian who I think first came to us in one of the Sindustry anthologies. Sebastian is a Dom and Angel is a model who's never done the BDSM thing before but despite his mouthy attitude he and Sebastian seem to mesh. Their relationship is very "casual", no commitment, but Sebastian has invited Angel on a ski trip in Quebec for the holidays to kind of figure out if he wants it to be something more. After their first encounter in the hot springs he decides he does and tells Angel they have to do the dreaded "four letter word thing". Talk. When he proposes it to Angel, he freaks, he doesn't want things to change, he's afraid and they have a huge fight when Sebastian keeps pushing him. Eventually things calm down and Angel tells him more about why he's afraid and they agree to try it and see. I've never really connected with this couple before (there was another short but I can't remember where I read it) but this time I did. Maybe because this time I found out more about Angel and Sebastian, their families, why they were like they are in some ways, where the fears and needs came from and Sebastian's vulnerability. So while there was still hot smexin' in the pool, I felt more of an emotional connection and they weren't just "playing", that it was deeper. I have always liked Angel's personality though. If you haven't read the other stories this one will just be a little slice of life thing, you really need the others to get the full picture of how they came together and where they've moved since.

New Year, New Love, New Challenge by S. Blaise (19 pages)


This is the last in the Christmas series from Dreamspinner. Trent is an American working for an international bank in Scotland. Last year on NYE he met Andy and they've been together ever since. Trent is totally part of Andy's family and things are great but Andy gets quiet around NY a year later and Trent pushes him to find out why. Seems Andy works at the zoo and applied for an internship abroad because everyone else was and he was the one that got accepted to go to Kenya for a year. He doesn't want to do long distance but knows it's a great opportunity. Can they find a solution? For so few pages it was a very complete story. The first bit is them meeting the first night and Trent finding out what Scotsmen wear under their kilt. ;-) Then hops to the a year later with some stuff about how the year has passed. When I went back to check how many pages I was quite surprised it was only 19 because it seems liked there was a lot more stuff than would fit in19 pages. I've been enjoying the last few that WEREN'T insta-Christmas love. And you have a case here of an established couple dealing with career changes that affect your relationship. It was a nice little read with some details about how New Year's Eve is celebrated in Scotland. I enjoyed it. A great way to start off my 2010. Hopefully it's a good omen. I just read on Good Reads that this is Andy & Trent #2, their meeting was documented in more detail last year. Considering it was a revisit I thought it was done well.

A-Viking by Kiernan Kelly (72 pages)


See, I'm reading longer ones. This one seemed much shorter to be honest. I mean that in a good way, I was reading and boom looked over and the little button bar thing was almost at the bottom. Anyway, Bjorn is a Viking who comes home to find his family murdered. The man who killed them then sets out in pursuit of Bjorn but during a storm his ship capsizes. Chase is a hyperactive stockbroker who has been told to take a holiday or risk a heart attack. He goes to Florida and is running on the beach when he finds Bjorn washed up. Bjorn speaks some English but he can't figure out what the hell is going on. Chase takes him back to his hotel and then the fun ensues. I really like Kiernan Kelly's humour and having Bjorn experience things like a soft bed, a TV, pizza, telephones, it was really very funny. When Chase tells him to "take a shower" and he thinks he has to steal it was quite amusing. HOWEVER, it seems that Bjorn's nemesis as also come to this time and is still looking for him. After they are done getting all sweaty and sexy, the nemesis smashes through the patio doors and the sword fight begins. They end up on the beach with Bjorn about to make the final move when the bad guy disappears and Bjorn is left trapped in this time with Chase. There is a little epilogue about how Bjorn adapts to 2009. On the whole it was a very amusing story about a time traveller. Lots of humour, some action and some smexin'.

As Serious as the Grave by Kiernan Kelly (63 pages)


This could be subtitled "A Zombie Love Story". Honest to god. Seems 5 years ago when a comet went buy dead people started coming back to life. Not all but some. At first people went nuts and started rekilling them but then an act of Congress was passed to protect the rights of the "Living Challenged". Luckily for Tyler he'd only been dead a couple of hours from encephalitis but people who were dead longer are in pretty rough shape "Will had a bad case of the grunge, having been dead for at least three months before reawakening. Poor guy couldn't get a date if his life depended on it—pun fully intended. Women tended to shy away from men with less skin on their bones than the Heart Healthy Chicken Platter at Denny's." Seems people who hate the "reanimated" are called necrophobic. Tyler's straight best friend David insists they go to a gay bar and that he needs to hook up. He decides to go for it but when the potential date finds out he has no heartbeat the guy turns nasty and Tyler gets so angry he hits him. David is drunk by this time but drags him out and back to his place. Tyler nearly kisses a what he thinks is passed out David who wakes up. Tyler freaks but the next morning David confesses that he's been in love with Tyler and wants to be with him. Meanwhile a politician is stirring up hate and a mob has killed poor Will. There was also a threat at work against Tyler and he is attacked at David's house. Eventually Tyler and David decide to pack up and head off into the wilds because the anti-zombie sentiment is growing. This was really very funny "Are you fixing to kiss me, or eat my brain?" but on the other hand it is a bit of a moral story about accepting others. In this case they are the reanimated but it could be the Jews, gays, blacks, Japanese during the war, any group that has been targeted because they are different. So I think she managed to use a lot of humour to tell a bit of a cautionary tale about hysteria and hatred and what can happen when things get stirred up. So while you are chuckling along, after you are done you kind of go "interesting perspective". I really liked it.