Finally Friday

I'm wildly jealous of my daughter who is starting spring break today. A week of not getting up in the morning. Lucky her. Oh to be 14 again. Ummm. Maybe not.

So I have read two stories since I finished Immortality is the Suck. Considering it took me four days to read that I'm fairly blazing through them. Okay, they weren't hugely long but that's still pretty good. *pats self on back*

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. The rain is coming our way after two weeks of lovely sun, but it will wash all the crud off everything now that the snow is nearly melted. Hopefully it will be fresh and lovely next week. Well lovlier. So life is good.

The Prayer Waltz by KZ Snow (114 pages)

Steven's lover Frank, a former priest, died about 8 months ago. As part of the healing process he heads 3 hours from Minneapolis to his lover's former small town to try and figure out what made him tick. At the church where he was posted (I'm sure there's a word but I'm falling into diplomatic speak) he starts to get some closure. He heads to the bar across the street and meets Evan (who was cleaning in the church). Seems Evan knew Frank so Steven invites him back to his room to talk. He finds out that Evan and Frank had a fling while Frank was still a priest. He's feeling very confused and wonders if he ever knew Frank during their 4 years together. He's attracted to Evan though and they strike up a friendship which after a few rough moments here and there takes off like wildfire while Steven continues to figure out who Frank really was. Okay, I needed a tissue here a couple of times. I'm not talking all out sobbing but I think in the first 5 pages in the church I was sniffling. Evan lost his teen son in a car accident a year ago so I was sniffling some more as he writes his son letters as a way of coping with the loss. Damn you woman, don't make me sniffle. I also chuckled several times as well especially at the end when Steven is helping clean the church. I would classify this is a gentle story. You just got that feel, yes there was angst but it wasn't the kind of harsh angst, in fact I think the cover fits very well. Those soft muted blues and purples reminded me of the book. A very soft way of writing and dealing with loss on both sides. So I think it was a terrific read and KZ really made me feel the emotion of the two men. Hence the tissue (okay, it was a napkin, but close enough).

Home Sweet Home by Clare London (31 pages)

This is a little short about free spirt Chaz who is moving house. He gets a call from his ex Ryan who offers to help but he tends to be the kind of guy who takes charge and has a plan for everything which makes Chaz crazy so he turns him down. Ryan shows up on moving day and they talk about WHY they are taking a break. Chaz doesn't even own a bed or a couch, but hey, he's got a sleeping bag, what more does he need? Ryan probably has matching end tables. LOL It's a little story about two people who love each other and have to agree to disagree in some cases and both have to bend a little to be together. I was quite amazed that although the story only takes place over a few hours, you find out a lot about their long term relationship. Just from listening to them talk you can understand what went before and why they are like they are a bit and why they would drive each other crazy. Personally, no matter how hot Chaz was I think I'd be doomed. While my end tables don't match (okay, I only have one) I at least HAVE one. And a bed. So a cute little short about opposites attracting.

As an aside, I am concerned that the pregnant woman around the corner from me who has been sneezing her head off all day is going to shoot that baby right out. LOL Not sure if she has allergies or what but the poor woman has been sneezing all day.

Don't have much today

I have been in kind of a reading slump. 247 pages since Sunday? What's up with that? It's like read 3 paragraphs, surf the net, read 5 paragraphs, flick around the TV channels, read 3 paragraphs, have conversation with cat. Sigh. And it's not reflection of the book because I really enjoyed it, just couldn't focus. We'll see how it goes now that I've actually finished one and I went shopping yesterday so I have lots of new things to read and no excuses.

So what's new you ask? Well, I did find out and internet friend of mine has been diagnosed with liver cancer. We don't talk regularly although we run into each other on blogs and we always said if he wasn't gay we'd get married. :-) My heart breaks for him. They've said 9-12 months, whatever that means and I know liver cancer is a bitch. Wish I was closer but Virginia is very far away. So that kind of sucks. It also makes me realize how fragile internet friendships can be. He takes breaks from the internet periodically where we don't talk and if something happened to him and he disappeared forever I'd likely never know why. That's kind of sad. I sometimes think I should leave a message in my will of all the websites I need to have it announced if I die. Wow, morbid huh?

Otherwise same old same old. Spring seems to be here. There is hardly any snow left in the open areas. My daughter is on spring break next week. We were going to go to Quebec City for a couple of days but now we are going to San Francisco in October so I'm saving my money for that. She'll spend a couple of days with her Dad's and maybe I'll take some afternoons off. We can meet for lunch and hang out downtown. Work is pretty slow and boring so nothing exciting there either. Blah. So the one book I did read.

Immortality is the Suck by AM Riley (247 pages)

Adam is a cop but he's worked in undercover vice for years as part of a motorcycle gang in LA. He is a dirty cop in that he deals drugs, has been hooked on drugs, and doesn't really see that it's a big deal. He's not bad-bad, but he's not good. He's had an on-going affair with perfect cop Peter for 15 years. Adam is killed one night and wakes up a vampire. He spends the rest of the book dragging Peter into his shit as he tries to figure out what is going on and gets caught up in a plan to start a vampire gang who will rule LA. He ends up helping the police break up the gang, almost against his will. Adam is a total dick, he cheats on Peter every 5 minutes, treats him like dirt, steals drugs, lies, etc. but you don't hate him because he knows he's a total dick. He's quite aware that he's an asshole and all the things he does are wrong and it niggles a bit at the back of his head, but not enough to make him stop and Peter certainly doesn't help by giving in everytime Adam comes around. Being undead gives him a bit more time to think about it, he doesn't really change, but he does admit to even more than before. So I think if he had been "it's not my fault" about everything he would have been annoying but because he owns his behaviour you can accept him. I also like the way it's written as if he's talking to you directly. There are little comments about not looking away because you are reading a book. Kind of as if he told his story to someone who wrote it down. It worked for me. So on the whole, despite the fact I would love to find Adam loathsome I quite liked him (which is how he's managed to get away with his behaviour so long). I did want to give Peter the odd kick in the ass but on the whole a great read. There is a sequel which I bought yesterday as well, so hopefully I'll enjoy it as much. For those though who like their romance heroes monogamous and falling in true love this is not that book.

Oh and that cover? It was one of the first ones using that shade of blue (it's all the rage now though) and I'm telling you, I would buy a VCR manual if it had that colour on the cover.

To lighten things up a bit and since Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos is sending me music with a Canadian theme, here's a little video about Canada for you all to enjoy.

Some Teen Boy Love

No I'm not promoting kiddie porn. (Hush some of you, they are legal by a mile.) My friend Jere at Blind Prophecy posted this video which is a bit of a spoof of the Taylor Swift video for You Belong With Me with a gay twist. (I should have added that it's not graphically gay, it's very sweet and just like the Taylor Swift one but with boys. However it could be loud, so if you're at work turn down the speakers.) I posted Taylor's video as well so you can see the connection if you care. The screaming at the beginning of the first one is kind of annoying but once they get going it's fine.

I'm OTT!!!! Yay me!

Thanks to Lily at ♥ ♥ I Love Books ♥ ♥ , I received this lovely award. It means I have to answer the questions below using only one word answers. We'll see how I do. Thanks again Lily, love your blog and all your luscious eye candy. (Take into account some of these answers come from when I typed it, not from when it is posted. I may well have laughed since Monday.)

Your cell phone? Slider

Your hair? Short

Your mother? Great

Your father? Retired

Your favorite food? Bread

Your dream last night? Forget

Your favorite drink? Water

Your dream/goal? Travel

What room are you in? Office (work)

Your hobby? Reading

Your fear? Snakes

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Chile

Where were you last night? Home

Something that you aren't? Skinny

Muffins? Chocolate

Wish list item? Money

Where did you grow up? Manitoba

Last thing you did? Coffee

What are you wearing? Clothes

Your TV? Dying

Your pets? Annoying

Friends? On-line

Your life? Boring

Your mood? Meh (is that a word?)

Missing someone? Nope

Vehicle? Red

Something you're not wearing? Mittens

Your favorite store? Books

Your favorite color? Blue

When was the last time you laughed? Monday

Last time you cried? Monday

Your best friend? Far

One place that you go to over and over? Work

Facebook? Fun

Favorite place to eat? Black Thorn (two words but hey, it's my fave)

We are then supposed to choose someone else to pass on the award and I choose Chris of Stumbling Over Chaos. The woman is a whizz with the links and I always find very funny and cool stuff on her site to pass on to friends. Her "reviews" are even shorter than mine :-) and her pics of her kidlets are always adorable. Oh and we mustn't forget the stock photography guys. Maybe I'll even take up knitting some day if she keeps blogging about that too. Enjoy Chris.

Just to encourage you, here's some cookies as bait.

Jon Kartajarena

Chad White

Fabulous Freebies

So in the last little while I won some free books, so I decided to read all of them (I think it's all of them that were outstanding) in one fell swoop.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Pepper Espinoza (106 pages)

I won this at Wave's as the Amber Allure free book.

Set in 1970, Alan and Simon are actors who have been friends and coworkers for years. Following the end of their TV show and an unexpected night of passion following Alan's divorce, they have a falling out and Alan leaves town, presumably for NYC. Alan's ex contacts Simon saying that Alan is working some hick town traveling theatre and sends him to find him as Alan's kids miss him. When he finds him, Alan finally explains that he has to stay because he sold his soul to the devil and his payment is to be in the same play over and over in Georgia. Once Simon realizes it's true, he confronts the devil and comes up with a plan for him and Alan to perform a piece and if they are good enough they get to go free, if not he gets Simon's soul as well. Meanwhile Simon and Alan act on their long-time feelings for each other. It was an interesting concept. I'm not sure quite why it was set in 1970 as that didn't really factor in except for a lack of cell phones. I liked how Alan and Simon finally admitted their feelings and how it was resolved although probably completely unrealistically as they didn't seem worried at all about Alan's ex's reaction to them being together or how it could affect their careers. Alan was pretty angsty but then I suppose being stuck in "Hell" can do that to a guy. If you're looking for something kind of different with a paranormal feel it's a good read.

Maritime Men by Janie Chapel (60 pages)

I won this on Janey Chapel's LiveJournal site. Thanks so much Janey.

Eli and Cooper are in the same unit training to be Navy Seals. Eli is the defacto leader of the group and manages to get them through the grueling training. One night Cooper helps Eli out with his "frustration" and then they kind of start fooling around and getting closer, not only as friends but lovers and yet they never say they are gay or that they are exclusive. They just kind of let it happen. I REALLY enjoyed these guys. What I particularly liked was while neither had been in a gay relationship before they didn't get freaked about it. Cooper in particular still seemed to like girls but was content to have sex with Eli and he loved him, in part because of the bonding through training. So I'm really looking forward to Anchors Aweigh now so I can find out what happens to Eli and Cooper. They were a great couple with very distinctly different but likable personalities.

Seeing You by Dakota Flint (54 pages)

I won this courtesy of Jen of Well Read and Dakota over at DIK. Thanks Jen and Dakota.

Following the death of his brother, Dylan left the ranch his brother ran with his partner Wade, partly because it was hard to be there and partly because he had always been in love with Wade as well. He gets the call to come back home because the ranch has gone to hell in a hand basket. He comes home and kicks Wade in the ass and gets the ranch back on track. He admits how he feels about Wade but doesn't jump in to be Wade's security blanket until he gets his head on straight. Okay, everyone knows I have a squick factor, big time, with the sibling hooking up with an in-law following death and I just didn't know if this would work, but I won it and I thought it would push me out of my boundaries a bit. So did it work for me or not? Oh yeah. I even needed a freaking tissue. *sniff* *sniff* Really well done and I wasn't squicked at all and yes, it's pretty angsty (see tissue reference) but it's also very hopeful I guess is the word, that you can move on after your life is shattered. So I'm glad I got the chance to read it and thanks again Jen and Dakota.

And the Truth is Revealed

So now I get to share with you the real me and reveal the truth. Or at least tell you what I was lying about.

1. I am allergic to dogs. LIE
I have no allergies that I know of.
2. I come from a family of 5 siblings and I am the youngest. LIE
I am an only child.
3. I have never owned any type of house/property. LIE
I did own a house years ago, but home ownership is not my cup of tea.
4. I lived for two years in Warsaw, Poland. TRUTH
From 97-99 I lived in Poland for my job.
5. I can juggle 5 balls at one time. LIE
At one time I could sort of juggle 3 but I was never any good.
6. In university I played on the women's varsity hockey team. LIE
I did pay on the intramural team, but those varsity girls were too rough for me.
7. I was over 30 the first time I went on an airplane. LIE
I was 16 and going to Europe for 3 weeks without parents for a band trip. Woohoo.
8. My ex insisted on naming our daughter after his first girlfriend. LIE
I would have killed him. LOL
9. My parents were both doctors. LIE
My Dad worked in a warehouse and my Mom was a middle manager for the phone company
10. I grew up on a farm. TRUTH
I actually lived with my Grandparents as a child on their small farm.

So congrats to Lily and KZ who got both answers right. You know me too well. (Or you are lucky guessers.) Here's a little reward for you.

Weekend Wrap-Up

I've kind of fallen off the reading wagon. Maybe it was actually counting that I read 50 stories in Feb. which freaked me out and stalled me out. LOL Okay, lots of those were very short but that's not the point.

I have read a couple of shorts and yes, I finished Ryland's Sacrifice.

On Call: Afternoon by P.D. Singer

Jen did a great review of this which pretty much mirrors my thoughts exactly. It also made me smile when at the end Keith is outlining some of the reasons he thinks he and Dante get along and he is really nervous about the last one. When he finally blurts it out I think I literally snorted out loud. Cute and funny and sweet. But as I said at Jen's, I got sucked into a similar situation with the AR Moler Sips where when I got to #4 they still hadn't even declared that they were dating. 50 pages later and it wasn't moving anywhere, I hadn't found out appreciably more about the couple since story 2. Jen heard there is only one more installment so I hope that it will see the relationship actually move forward in some way and I'll feel satisfied with the ending.

Everybody Fucks Raymond by Kris Klein (26 pages)

Again, see the above link at Jen's. I felt the same, there were some moments in the middle that induced eye rolling. He claimed he hadn't had sex in a year but just "happened" to have a box of condoms in his gym bag. Why would you just wander around town with a box of condoms if you're not sexually active? HOWEVER, after my last post where we discussed using condoms, I would rather roll my eyes at that than be screaming "Nooooooo, don't bareback you idiot!" so in the end it worked out. The style and language is also much rougher than most romances. I'm not going to say it's because it was written by a guy because I read other books by TA Chase or Josh Lanyon that don't have that style, but it reminded me more of a "letters to Penthouse" than romance during the sex scene. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just different. Again at the end I kind of snorted out loud with amusement. On the whole it was a decent read.

Ryland's Sacrifice by Kim Dare (100 pages)

Okay, I finished it. I can't believe that Arslan didn't smack the shit out of him because the bloody kid (I say kid although I think he was 26, he didn't act it) made no freaking sense half the time he was "explaining". I read for pages with a frown on my face trying to figure out WTF he was talking about. To be honest, because I found him so frustrating and annoying I just didn't care about him much at the end. I'm much more interested in the couple Blaine and Luthor or the little guy Kefir. I was kind of like "yeah yeah, go away now, you're annoying me, let's get on with the story of someone more interesting whom I like". Would I read another book in the series? Depends on who it's about and how much I'm going to have to put up with Mr. I-Talk-In-Riddles-That-Make-No-Sense Ryland. I liked the concept and as I said, I developed an interest in some of the other characters. I wouldn't say I disliked Ryland, I just stopped caring about him and whether he got a HEA. Not good

Tag! I'm it.

Eyre at A Reader's Journey tagged me on this one. You have to give 10 statements about yourself, only 2 of which are true. And you my pretties get to sort out the truths from the lies. It's harder than you think, seriously. (For me I mean.)

1. I am allergic to dogs.
2. I come from a family of 5 siblings and I am the youngest.
3. I have never owned any type of house/property.
4. I lived for two years in Warsaw, Poland.
5. I can juggle 5 balls at one time.
6. In university I played on the women's varsity hockey team.
7. I was over 30 the first time I went on an airplane.
8. My ex insisted on naming our daughter after his first girlfriend.
9. My parents were both doctors.
10. I grew up on a farm.

Good luck with that. :-) I'll reveal the truth Sunday morning. Who to tag, who to tag? How about .....

1. Kris of Kris 'n' Good Books
2. Tracy of Tracy's Place
3. Erotic Horizons of EH on Books n' More
4. Val of Obsidian Bookshelf
5. Wren of Nonsense and Little Things.

And just for your viewing pleasure, Eyre posted this lovely on Facebook this morning. Mmmmmm.

Having Reading Issues

I've had a couple of duds in the last few days I will discuss later. Work is ultra-boring, I'd rather be at home most days, spring is coming (lots of sunshine) but I'm still feeling blahbitty blah. What's up with that. Sigh.

On an up note, Wren is back from traipsing around the Caribbean in her bikini drinking rum punch and ogling hot men. She has done another smokin' installment of Handcuffed Hottie in the Hood so go and read. That will perk you up on a Thursday.

Love is Blindness by Sean Michael (58 pages)

Kieran is a literature prof and one night at a poetry slam he sees a hot gothy guy. The guy sits with him and turns out Lucien is blind. Within minutes they are headed back to Kieran's place where they have unsafe sex. Not only does Lucien bite him and therefore tastes his blood but he convinces Kieran (who is high) to bareback. Lucien has decided that Kerian is THE ONE. A couple of days later Kieran is back at the cafe hoping to see Lucien who shows up with his posse of lesbian (?) goth girls. He and Kieran head back and Lucien reveals he's a vampire and wants Kieran to join him. For about 25 seconds Kieran thinks he's got mental issues but more or less decides to go with the flow and becomes a vampire. Umm. Okay. I know it's a short story but sheesh Kieran. What's the hurry? It's essentially a couple of long sex scenes and they are very sensual since Lucien is blind, lots of emphasis on touch and taste and sound . It was what it was. A short erotic read with an emphasis on a third nipple. 0_0 (This one of the good cause books from ARe.)

Love Means ... Courage by Andrew Grey (242 pages)

This is the prequel to Love Means ... No Shame which I enjoyed. It's the story of Geoff's Dads Len and Cliff who attended high school together. They nearly share a kiss once but after graduation go their separate ways, Len to college and Cliff running the family farm. Cliff ends up marrying Ruby, Len's best friend and have a child Geoff (of the other book). Ruby is killed in a car crash with Cliff's Dad and a year later things are not going well on the farm and Len has now become friends with Cliff's sister Janelle. When Len loses his job she proposes he work for Cliff. He more or less takes over running the farm and gives Cliff the kick in the ass he needs to get his shit together. Things start improving and Cliff admits he's always liked guys, including Len. They start a relationship in secret and while most people figure it out and are fine with it Janelle, whom Len has only ever thought of as a friend (boys are so dumb), thinks Len is her man and when she finds them in bed together decides to start trouble. The "courage" part comes in with standing up for who you are and not hiding. I really did enjoy this one and I know some people said it was their fave of the three. Not sure which was my fave, they all had things I enjoyed. It was set in 1984 so there were lots of references to music and pop culture that set the period although I tried not to visualize the guys in high waist jeans. LOL I think it was well done and dealing with the little guy was pretty well handled and is that not the cutest picture on the cover of that little guy in the hat? I'm so glad he's not mine. :-) Adorable but BTDT. Also dealing with trying to have a relationship with a toddler was interesting. At least they didn't ignore the fact like they do in some books or have a mysterious nanny who raises the kid. So I think all three books are definitely worth reading. No huge conflicts with serial killers, aliens or war, just relationship stuff that most people deal with.

Now for the books I had trouble with:

Stuck on You - Anthology (206 pages)

These are supposed to be stories about guys "who just can't seem to keep their hands off each other and whose lives become emeshed (sic) and entwined in hot, romantic ways." The first story was by JM Snyder and I enjoyed it although I think it could have been much longer and more enjoyable but hey, it's an anthology. I get it. The next one? Ummm. No. It didn't appear to fit the theme and I didn't care for the writing style at all. Seemed very unprofessional. The next? A martial arts instructor and his student he's been lusting over have sex in his office. The end. Ooookay. Next a guy meets the new guy at work when they have to clean up a spill in aisle 5 and they have sex in the bathroom 20 min. later. WTF? That's stuck on someone? To me that means maybe you dated, you break up, you get back together, can't stay away. Not "Hi, my name is Jim, let's fuck. Wanna go on a date now?" Sigh. So it's obviously a book of erotica more than romance and as far as I can tell a majority of the stories do not fit what I thought I was getting which is not their fault, perhaps it's my interpretation of the blurb. Lots of authors I've never read so if you want to try something a bit less in the romance genre (at least what I read) it might be worth it. Plus it has Second Chance by Selene Kitt which I had already read. It will be a DNF for me. Although maybe someday I'll open it again and check out the other stories. Who knows.

Ryland's Sacrifice by Kim Dare (100 pages)

As a general rule I enjoy Kim Dare's work and I like shifters so hey it should be good for me. I got to page 51 and if it had been paper I would have thrown it. Rather than explain in three sentences what had happened, Ryland comes up with some cockamamie plan (I didn't even get as far as the whole plan) to "fix" it and you just KNOW it's going to end badly. I did slam the lid down on my netbook in disgust and go watch a friend's video of him opening his birthday gifts. Much more satisfying. Sigh. Now Lily tells me it ends without Ryland having to be rescued so I will likely go back and skim the parts that make me crazy and see how it ends but I was kind of stunned by my strong reaction to be honest. I can usually go with the flow with most books and it takes a lot to make be stop cold half way like that. So I'm sure you'll see how I felt soon enough because I'm compelled to see if Ryland can redeem himself. Stupid boys are not sexy.

Feeling a bit lost without the Olympics

My daughter noted last night we can't remember what any of the other channels are. We only know 7, 27 and 30. The three Olympic channels. We did watch Top Chef Masters. Seems we missed a couple but it was kind of weird not to have sports, sports and more sports.

Spring, I hope, is coming to Canada, unlike parts of the US who are still getting snow. What's up with that? It's supposed to be +7 here on the weekend (45F). Yay spring. We are likely heading to Quebec City for a few days in mid-March when my daughter is on spring break which I hope will be fun. I've read a couple of books but am feeling kind of blah despite the sunshine.

A Fair Trade by BA Tortuga (44 pages)

This was one of the shorts at ARe which was benefiting heart research. Cotton is a cowboy who is bathing in a water hole when two crows show up. They try to steal his spurs but he chases them off. That night they show up again and turn into men and he figures he's going crazy or dead or dreaming but he's not going to turn down a chance to go to their place. They have some hot smexin' and he decides to stay with them for evah. What I liked about this was the way the birds thought. They spoke English and they understood everything but the way they talked and spoke had kind of an innocence to it, more child-like way of thinking about some things. You knew they weren't normal humans. It found it rather endearing. So it's a smexy little short with a different twist. Not sure they are twins, they apparently look the same, but then all crows do, don't they?

(And I'd swear that guy in the back is the same one on Chris's site today. I looked closely but I can't be sure. I think it's his chin/lip, I tried to compare the nipple. LOL)

Family Unit by ZA Maxfield (256 pages)

Richard at 45 is raising his 9 year old grandson Nick. At Halloween they trick-or-treat at "crazy army guy's" house who scares the crap out of them but Richard loves it. Retired army guy (not so crazy) Logan kind of starts stalking (in a not too creepy way) Richard. One day he joins him jogging and when he openly flirts Richard is so shocked he runs into a light pole (and made me laugh - I'm so mean). Logan takes him to the hospital and they admit they are attracted but Richard hasn't dated since he got custody of Nick who's mother is an addict and his father (Richard's son) died when Nick was 3. They try to work around it, with Nick NOT thrilled that Grandpa has a boyfriend. Not that he's a boy but that anyone is rivalling his affections and has serious issues because of his mother's neglect/abandonment as a child. It's basically the two guys figuring out how to be together as a family which Logan wants/misses with some drama surrounding Nick's mother's desire to be back in his life with a druggie boyfriend in tow. I liked it that both guys are older and yet Richard didn't act older all the time which was nice because I don't FEEL 45 and I'd like to think if I met someone I could be fun too. I remember someone reviewing this and saying sometimes they acted old and sometimes not, but as a grown-up sometimes you have to do the responsible grown-up stuff and act your age and sometimes you get to have fun and be goofy. It's a time of split personalities I think.

I also liked that while Nick was not thrilled I think he was portrayed accurately. Sometimes kids in books seems older or younger than they are but I think the fact that ZAM has young boys (a little older) means she can write a 9 year old with a lot of accuracy, how they behave and what they are interested in. I also think his response is completely in line with how he would react with his father figure never dating in 6 years suddenly bringing home a guy, not just any guy but "scary army guy". LOL There was lots of humour, them googling chicken liver because they didn't know what it looked like and talking about gutting fish. I am pretty much a ZAM fangirl though, so I love her work and if you are looking for a book with mature heroes I think it's a great choice.