In the Pink

I'm not so in the pink actually. The reason your getting pretty boys in pink is because I haven't read a complete book all week. I'm almost done one but I've been a giant ball of blah. I've been diddling around with some writing and surfing the net and combined with being away for work I just haven't been up to my normal level. It's supposed to be a nice weekend, maybe I'll get my reading mojo back. Hope everyone has a super weekend.

Usually I post a song with the colour in the title, but today I'll use the colour in the artist. This is a double post for Josherz who not only has a thing for his favourite peepaw actor Robert Downey up top (I insist that is a pink t-shirt, maybe with a hint of raspberry) but P!nk is the only woman he would likely go SFY (Straight For You) given the opportunity. Although I have a feeling Pink would be a top so they'd do okay.

Yaoi Update

I don't have much to update but I did finally finish the two yaoi manga I received. I thought I lost one as I couldn't find it and was in a panic before I left on my trip and mentioned it to the kid who calmly told me she'd put it on top of the fridge off the counter. Whew. I wondered how I could lose a book in my own house. I know I need to clean more but that seemed excessive. LOL

The Devil's Secret by Hinako Takanga (170 pages)

Mauro is a young priest who finds Raoul beaten in his backyard. Raoul has horns and a tail but is sure he's not a demon. Despite his reservations, Mauro takes him in and Raoul starts to become ill. When he finally has sex with Mauro he feels much better and suspects he might be an incubus. All of a sudden his older brother appears and Raoul is a demon, but fell through a crack in the time space continuum (or something like that) and they want him to return home. He loves Mauro though and becomes depressed. Mauro accepts their love. It was a cute story about him accepting his lover was a demon which kind of goes against the whole priest thing. :-)

There are a couple of other shorts, one about a student teacher who is accosted on the street by a young man who thinks he's attractive. It turns out the boy is one of his students. Ooops. This causes problems as he's very aggressive in his pursuit. It was done in a bit of a humorous manner.

There is then a short about Raoul's older brother and his part-time demon lover and a tiff they have over a gift that the lover gives him. On the whole I enjoyed this manga. Nothing amazing but some cute stories and it tends to be the style of drawing I enjoy.

A Foreign Love Affair by Ayano Yamane (159 pages)

Ranmaru, the son of a yakuza is forced to marry an older woman from another yakuza clan to join their families. His wife insists on going to Italy for their marriage/honeymoon but they basically hate each other and Ranmaru insists on wearing his kimono everywhere. He's a typical spoiled man who has other do his bidding. On their boat where they get married, he meets Alberto, an Italian who is fan of Japanese culture. After a fight with his wife he ends up with Alberto and they have sex. They part, and after yet another fight with his wife Ranmaru has some adventures and ends up kidnapped and nearly sold as a sex slave until Alberto rescues him and sweeps him off his feet. I did enjoy this one. Ranmaru starts out being a bit of an unlikable character but I liked how he developed over the story and his relationship with Alberto. This author also has a drawing style I enjoy.

Halifax Day 2 & 3 - Days of Food

Yesterday was a long day of meetings and arguing over wording and all that stuff that happens when you get people from 8 different governments in a room together. Whew. It was also a day of food. For lunch we went here, where apparently Juno actress Ellen Page is great friends with the owner and hangs out there regularly. We didn't see her. However we had some great organic free-range blah blah blah food. It was a nice lunch and it was courtesy of our host. So freeeeee!

Then for dinner we went to the home of another member of the host team for a lobster dinner. Umm, I hate lobster. :-) But I like salmon so I got a grilled salmon fillet. (Notice I said grilled and not barbecued all you southerners. Are you happy?) I saw about twenty lobster fighting desperately to escape as they dropped into a gigantic pot of boiling water screaming, crying, begging for mercy. Okay, they just kind of waved their arms around a bit. Not so dramatic. But it was an impressively huge pot.

This is Shadow. He was the resident cat who refused to look me in the eye for a photo. He had a HUGE bell around his neck to frighten off the birds but was super friendly. They had a gorgeous home and their backyard was small but beautifully maintained and we were able to spend most of the evening on the deck.

Here are the remaining lobster in the since after most people already had at least one. I should have taken a picture when they dumped the whole mess of them in there.

So today was our last day and we only went until 2:00 because some people booked a 4:00 flight. Hello? WTF? It's a FULL day of work. So for my project in November I already told everyone that the class goes until 4:30 Friday. If you HAVE to leave fine, it happens, but don't be planning on getting to the airport before 5:00. Grrr. So we ended up rushing through stuff to get finished but we came up with some concrete plans that now have me having to do some work. LOL Webinar baby, webinar. We're all about the webinar in my Division. It's our "thing".

Anyway, I didn't really have a grasp on what was going on last night, that we would be invading someone's home, so had not taken a hostess gift. So today we all chipped in $5 and after the meeting I found a florist and we sent a plant to our hosts. I know the food was probably paid for, but it was still the cleaning and cooking and organizing and having a bunch of strangers in your house. I thought a plant would last longer than live flowers and she told me an orchid is pretty easy. I'll take her word for it.

Oh, after my church poster, I suddenly noticed this on the back of the bathroom door at the place we met today. I'm telling you it makes you stop and read. You want my what? Ewwwww. LOL

So now I'm using the free wireless in the hotel lobby as my shuttle to the airport comes in about 20 min. My flight leaves at 6:00. I tried to get an earlier flight but the early flight is not direct and I'd end up home later than if I wait for my flight. So I'll be home before 7:00. Not too bad.

Hope everyone is having a great week. I must say I haven't read anything much. I've been goofing around with the cirque story again and surfing the net. :-) See y'all soon.

Halifax Day 1

So made it to Halifax today. Since the planned meetings for today never panned out, I had the afternoon to be a bit of a tourist. I've never been to Halifax before so this was a treat. I am staying right across the street from the Public Gardens. They are really beautiful with this little stream running though. I understand it got damaged badly when a hurricane roared through a few years ago but it looked lovely.



This is a bandstand gazebo type thing. There were a lot of chairs on the far side so I figure they must use it fairly regularly.
In another this seemed apropos. A pigeon sitting on poor PM Diefenbaker's head. The pigeon looked right at home.
This was a very cool looking store with the building all painted to match the merchandise. Lots of hippy dippy Indian/Asian stuff.
Right next door was this shop with a giant bee on a red flower. Very cool.

Above the Indian store was this poster in a window. Ooookay.

I figured this was supposed to be a giant wave but it looked like a big blue tongue.

When I marry rich I want this for my wedding present. I know lots of people love boats but unless it looks like this, I'm really not interested.

This is a harbour cruise you can take. It was quite cool and windy though today so I imagine it was really cold out on the water.

I had to walk back up this hill to get to my hotel. It doesn't look bad but I come from Ottawa. We HAVE not hills. I was pretty sweaty when I got back up there.

They had lots of these dolphins all over the wharf area painted by different organizations. I forget who this was. Dept. of culture or something like that.

This was a giant decorated lobster outside of a restaurant. I thought it was cute.

Most people know my stance on religion, well, I don't have one, a stance I suppose, I don't believe, but I was kind of half-way raised in the United Church of Canada. My family are still members in our small town and if I HAD to be a member of a church this would be my choice. VERY liberal, one of the few churches in Canada who perform gay marriages, allow gay clergy and in my small town the new minister was an unwed mother. *gasp* But I walked by a HUGE United Church and I just happened to catch this little poster on the bulletin board outside. Thought it was pretty clever and in this case probably true.

So all day tomorrow I am in meetings and then our host is organizing a big lobster dinner for us all at his house. I hate lobster. LOL So I think I'm getting salmon. I love salmon. Then Wed. our meeting is over around 3:00 and my flight leaves at 6:00 so I won't really have much more time for touristy activities so I'm glad I got the chance to walk around today. Plus it's supposed to rain so today was nice. Not sure I'll be posting much for the next couple of days but have a super week.

Long, longer, longest

Really, get your minds out of the gutter. I meant the length of the books. Sheesh. Dirty dirty minds. :-D

It's a gorgeous weekend here weather-wise. I'm off to Halifax for business Monday so have to get some laundry done up and all those chores and tasks completed before I leave. Tomorrow. I'm sure tomorrow I'll have time.

Twice in a Lifetime by Shawn Lane (113 pages)
Amber Quill Press

Florist Jude still suffers periodic nightmares of the murder of his lover five years ago. One day at the diner he sees a gorgeous cowboy come in. Rex is the new vet in town and is indeed from Texas. When Jude's cat decides to have a go at the neighbor's chihuahua, he has his reason to meet the vet, who asks him out. Jude is not looking for a relationship but they start dating and things are going really well until Rex wants him to meet his family which freaks Jude out. After his dead lover's family treated him cruelly when he was murdered and his own family is less than accepting, he's not too keen on the idea of having to deal with that again. It is a very sweet story and Jude is fun and flamboyant and Rex loves him that way. He doesn't try to change him, doesn't try to push him into therapy for dealing with the murder, just supports him. It a very enjoyable story with some steamy semxin' as Rex and Jude definitely have chemistry.

Squire by Jet Mykles (158 pages)
Loose Id

After Rabin filled in for Brent on the Heaven Sent tour his own band fell apart when their label dropped them. He's now got the chance to work with Brent and moves to Chicago and in with Brent and Hell for a month until he gets settled. Brent's cousin Izzy is also staying with him and he's a total flirt, but that's fine because Rabin is straight. Right? His last weekend at the house he and Izzy hook up but Izzy says it's no big deal, let's keep it a secret because you're straight. Right? Things are not going well with the music and he and Izzy continue to see each other but Izzy insists it be secret. When Rabin's band have the chance to fulfil their old contract it means leaving Izzy and heading to LA. Rabin's not happy, but he's straight so no big deal. Right? Things are awful in LA and when he almost hooks up with another gay singer he realizes he loves Izzy, he hates the direction the band is going and after a blow-up with his band mates heads back to Chicago. This is typical Jet Mykles in the vein of Heaven Sent and if you loved that series I think you'll love this one. Izzy is cute and flirty and fun and it was nice to Rabin figure out that he did love him and it wasn't just an experiment. I stayed up until after 2:00 last night to finish so that says something. :-)

Fun with Dick and Shane by Gillibran Brown (225 pages)

Gillibran is the houseboy and submissive to Dick and Shane, an established couple. Shane is the oldest and the head of the house, Dick is his sub and Gilli is both their subs. Shane is the harsh one, Dick is the one who sooths Gilli when he gets his ass tanned which happens on a fairly regular basis. He's stubborn and lippy and immature and he knows it. He just can't keep his mouth shut and while he agreed to do what they tell him, he just can't resist pushing. This is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. Gillibran is hilarious. His mind is always in over-drive. He also gets stuck in his head, dwelling on stuff, and then spiraling down which sometimes triggers his insolence. There's not a lot of sex in the book, not described, just talked about in passing, there is a lot of spanking and not in a fun way, it's punishment, and while it's D/s it's not BDSM. This is written in diary form from Sept. - Dec. so everyday or every few days he writes and entry and sometimes larger "stories" about big events. I will definitely be checking out the sequel and if you want a good laugh, this is great. There are some emotional moments, but for me the humour stood out. I'd say this is one of my fave books I've read in a while. I have to quote this part about the snail because I laughed out loud.

I hate fucking snails, not that I ever have, fucked one I mean, as with mangoes and fruit I’m just not into humping animals and stuff. I don’t know anyone who is, not personally, though Dick did once express an interest in pony play. I told him he could ride me anytime, but not after sticking a saddle and bridle on me. This houseboy does not wear stirrups or crawl round the floor with a horsetail butt plug protruding from his arse, while someone chivvies him along with a riding crop. Fuck that for a game of gee-gees. To compensate a bit for shattering his kinky pony fantasy I whinnied enthusiastically during sex, which was a mistake really, because it put him off his stroke and he couldn’t do anything for laughing. Shane was a bit taken aback as well and smartly cuffed Dick up the back of the head for encouraging my horseplay. Dick said he wouldn’t have minded so much if he had actually encouraged me to horseplay. Getting back to escargot. Like I said, I’ve never sexually molested a gastropod. I wouldn’t know where to start really. If rumours are true a snail’s sex organs are located on the back of its head, how about that eh? It gives a whole new meaning to having your brains fucked out, no wonder their eyes are out on stalks.

Oh, I got this at the GLBT Bookshelf Rummage Sale for only $3 (50% off), so pop on over and support the site and get some books for a good price. You can't afford NOT to do some shopping.

Thursday - What a long week for a short week

Monday was a holiday which should in theory make the week pass quickly but ... Not so it seems. Ugh. Long week and not a great one. Well, on the upside I got approval for my vacation in October so Yaoi-Con and blogger mayhem in San Francisco is a go; the apartment is paid for, we're good to go. Hopefully get tickets tomorrow.

On the downside. I got to my car after work yesterday and it had a flat flat tire. Ugh. There was a screw sticking out of it. I drive through a couple of construction zones in the morning so I presume that's where I picked it up. So that meant phoning a tow truck because I'm a girl and I don't know HOW to change a tire (I watched closely so do now LOL) and paying him money, then finding out that evening that they couldn't repair it and I couldn't get new ones then so having to go back this morning and buy TWO new tires since they couldn't really have just one new on the front. Grrrr. Oh well. What can you do? When I told the guy my tire was flat and I needed a new one he goes "Do you want us to install it?" Umm. No, I'll just take it in a bag to go. Do I LOOK like a mechanic? I don't think so. Put the damn things on. LOL Luckily cutie Ryan helped out which made the monetary outlay only slightly less painful. I would have needed significantly more personal attention from him to make it pain-free. ;-)

So anyway, whine whine whine, bitch bitch bitch. We won't even get started on the job stuff. :-)

Love Runes by Jay Lygon (162 pages)
Torquere Books

This is the continuation of Chaos Magic. Things have settle down a bit for Sam and Hector. Hector is going to therapy, Sam is trying to be good but they still have their moments. Hector buys Sam a motorcycle which causes some issues, as Sam's impulse control is pretty much non-existent. Eventually Hector finds out why Sam looks so young which involves giving away his power. He is needless to say, not impressed and after a blow-up Sam leaves and is convinced by his ex that maybe Hector is done with him. At the Beltane celebration it all comes to a head when Hector shows up and they find out the ex is not quite as reformed as you think leading to a show-down. Sam made me crazy. He was honest to god like a three year old. He just followed people blindly, you'd think he hadn't a brain in his head. LOL I felt for Hector, really I did. This one has some ouchy parts, yeah, hey Sam likes it ouchy. Not really my thing but it fits with who they are. I had to take a break through for some sugar after, but I'm looking forward to seeing how things progress in book 3.

Bewitched by Bella's Brother by Amy Lane (185 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Sebastian and Bella are best friends and are heading up to Spokane to go to university ... again. It will be Sebastian's second Ph.D. They are spending the summer with Bella's recently divorced older brother and his young son. Sebastian is immediately attracted to Asa and Asa returns the feelings and is very open about wanting more, but Sebastian has baggage and is determined to keep it superficial and go to school and not deal with grown-up issues despite how he feels and his connection with Bella's family. Okay, this was my sugar after the previous book. I chuckled out loud several times. Sebastian has a mouth that just won't quit and there is lots of very humorous interactions between Bella and Sebastian and Sebastian and ... well, most anyone. There is a bit of angst as the reason Asa has custody of his son and why Bella and Asa have a strained relationship, but on the whole, besides wanting to slap Sebastian upside the head toward the end, its a fun read when you are looking for something that leaves you feeling good.

Master Preston's Bright Bottom by Lee Benoit (35 pages)
Torquere Books

I have read a few stories in different TQ anthologies about Dom Preston and his boy Paulo. While the master/boy thing is not usually my thing, I really have enjoyed these two. This is the story of how older retired Dom Preston and Paulo finally hook up. Paulo is desperate, but Preston's not looking for a newbie, however Paulo offers to do odd jobs and yard work for Preston when he hears he's busy and basically insinuates himself into his life until Preston relents. Apparently Preston and Paulo had a scene earlier at a club which got Paulo hooked on him, but that must have been in another book. I've only read scenes after they were together. I do enjoy visiting regulars in different anthologies but it can be a bit frustrating when you come at it from different angles, sometimes a story from 2 years into a relationship, followed by when they met, then forward in time, then back. Ack! It's a bit confusing. But I do like this particular couple.

Logan's Project by Chris Owen (17 pages)
Torquere Books

This was previously published in Bend Over Big Boy. Logan is renovating a warehouse into apartments. One night later he goes to check out progress and runs into a demolition guy he refers to as Mr. Big. He's very attracted but Mr. Big basically avoids him. However being only two of them he can't very well avoid him and he agrees to go upstairs. Logan and his penis, which would set off the metal detector at the airport, come on to Mr. Big and hot smexin' occurs as Logan is definitely a top. It's just a little smexy interlude on a construction site and if you like it gritty and grubby it's the story for you.

I seem to be back in the reading saddle

Didn't do much all weekend. The kid spent most of it at her barn doing ... horsey stuff. I spend most of it doing laundry and reading. Not bad all around. the weather was wet and cold so I didn't feel guilty about spending the long weekend indoors.

Hardass City by Kiernan Kelly (109 pages)
Torquere Books

Brad is a top gamer in the game Hardass City. One night he's approached in the game by the only gamer better than him who wants to talk to Brad about some strange game developments. Jeff actually came up with the game concept and was cut out by his partners who cheated him out of his share. Now he suspects something hinky is happening because the guys want to sell the game and are cheating the players out of money they owe them so Brad and Jeff work together to bring down the bad guys. It's very different in that there will be a chapter of Brad and Jeff as their alter egos Dare and Spike working the game to keep the players "alive" and then Brad and Jeff out in the real world trying to get the evidence to make Jeff's case. I'm not a gamer (I don't have the eye-hand coordination to even play Pac Man) so I don't really get being THAT into a game, so that part was kind of a "huh?" to me. When Jeff and Brad finally get together, it was very steamy though. It was interesting though to have the virtual and real world aspects in one book.

Touch Me Gently by J.R. Loveless (195 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Kaden was badly abused as a youngster and has PTSD and basically freaks when around large men and loses his job again when he has yet another panic attack. His employment counsellor on a whim tells him his cousin in Montana needs a cook on his ranch, so Kaden takes the job leaving New York behind. He's not sure it was a great idea as Logan the owner is a big guy and there are tons of big cowboys around including one that decides he wants to get up close and personal which sends him into a tailspin which means cutting. Although Logan is straight, he and his sister Shea work on earning Kaden's trust and of course Logan is attracted. There is lots of angst as Kaden has panic attacks and struggles against cutting and I am a sucker for the abused kid finds love in a gentle man story. My only niggles were after Logan decides he's gay he takes to blow jobs and buttsecks like a pro and Kaden is often referred to as "the teen" which kind of threw me off since he's 19, I know he's technically a teen but I kept thinking 15 (probably because I have a "teen") and although Logan was only 28, it still bugged me a bit. I prefer just names to the kid, teen, younger man, etc.

Army Green by J. Rocci (125 pages)
Torquere Books

Cam and his veteran lover Evan run a riding therapy/lessons farm. Evan lost his left leg and hearing in one ear but has recovered. After talking with his old commander, Evan agrees to bring Reo, a wild child from his unit who saved his life when an IED got him. Cam and Evan develop some strain in their relationship when Reo starts stirring things up and Evan makes excuses for him. There is also an underlying story of Reo and Derrick, a young man who is leaving for college in a few months and their unspoken attraction. There isn't much story or conflict really, just the of a story of an established couple coping with everyday stresses. I'm wondering if there will be an additional book with Derrick and Reo because it was hinted at but nothing really came of it. It was humorous to see city-boy Reo deal with horses.

Happy Labour Day

This is supposed to be the last long weekend of summer for those of us in the US and Canada, but seems it's more like the first long weekend of fall. We've gone from temps in the 90/100's to 50's and 60's. Quite a shock, but it definitely seems like back-to-school.

No big plans this weekend. Saturday I picked the kidlet up from camp at her horse show. Wet, cold, windy, not very pleasant but she got two second place and one sixth so she was happy. Yesterday she had a riding lesson and today she is at the barn all day doing ... I have no clue. Braiding manes or something. LOL So I'm home doing the ton of wet gross laundry that came home from camp. I get to have all the fun. :-) Hope everyone who has the day off enjoys their day.

Trinity Trespass by Val Kovalin (145 pages)
Loose Id

Parnell and Navarro have been tasked to head into New Mexico and fetch a demon-angel hybrid and stop the "crime boss" who is after the hybrid. This is a very complex story which I'll try to summarize but I know I'll fail greatly. Parnell and Navarro are demons who are trying to police the angels who are the bad guys, think drug mafia in Mexico. New Mexico is a "holy site", if you will, for demons and it has a force field around it. When Navarro and Parnell cross they are no longer connected to the collective and can't feel each other's thoughts. There is also the whole other plot of Navarro wanting a real relationship with Parnell and Parnell being paranoid about giving up something (although he's not really sure what). So in parallel with finding the hybrid and stopping the bad guy there is a relationship power-play. I wanted to smack Parnell more than once. He was so freaking paranoid about everything he never shared information that practically got them all killed. His complete lack of trust made me a bit crazy. I have to say the scene with the two men and Sanchez, the hybrid, was HOT! For those who only like the two love interests together, you won't find that here, but I'm really hoping that Val has a sequel up her sleeve because I definitely want to know what happens to the three now. If you like complex worlds with political intrigue and black and white being more shades of gray, I think you'll love this one. Oh yeah, and hot smexin'. :-)

Talker by Amy Lane (91 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Tattooed pierced Tate and Brian meet when they are both on the track team at university. They are both outsiders and strike up a friendship. When Brian loses his scholarship due to injury, they move in together and live in poverty and friendship. It follows their friendship over a couple of years when some incidents with Tate, who is desperate to find love, gets hurt, both emotionally and physically. Finally, with the help of his girlfriend, Brian figures out he's gay and in love with Tate. However even when he tells Tate, he doesn't HEAR him. Finally Brian seeks the help of his Aunt to SHOW Tate that he loves him and is gay. My heart broke for Tate who had been badly burned as an infant and hence the tattoos to cover the scars and his scarred heart. Brian was sometimes totally oblivious and had no clue about social cues, but their friendship was touching and I have to admit I may have sniffled just a tiny bit. It's a sweet story.

Iced by Diane Adams (18 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Taylor gets home in a heatwave and is dying with no a/c yet in the apartment. He strips off and is TRYING to get some coolness from the fan when Adam, his casual hook-up calls and wants to come over. Taylor is too hot but Adam shows up and they have some fun using ice and a cool wet tile floor in the kitchen. I really sensed the heat and how Taylor just felt like a giant unmoving slug who didn't want anyone to touch him. BTDT I should have read this a week ago when we were sweating, not on the weekend under a blanket. This was just a short interlude but there was a lot of reference made to Taylor's past relationships with his roommate and another guy and a lot of mention of the fact that he and Adam had dated before but Adam didn't want a relationship and now neither did he so it worked. I kept waiting for some kind of relationship development but .... Unless there is to be more stories for these guys, I'm not sure. It's hot and steamy (literally) but I didn't quite know why it mattered about Taylor's past relationships.

Saturday Shorts

So I've read a few shorts but haven't seemed able to focus lately on anything long. I'll get back in the groove I'm sure, I seem to be in a slump. Ugh.

Cross the Mountain by PD Singer (27 pages)
Torquere Books

This is a short follow-up to Fall Down the Mountain. Allan is completely healed from his injuries and he and Mark have been spending more time together. Mark has convinced him to try cross country skiing. Allan is not thrilled with the idea but goes along with it. He finds it harder than he expected and when he gets back to the apartment later he can barely move. This results in a great massage and ... Well, you know. :-) It was cute to get Allan's perspective and see how Mark had eased up on the mother-henning.

Making it Even by Dallas Coleman (20 pages)
Torquere Books

Ben and Joe run a B&B and own a restaurant somewhere in the Katrina zone. Joe in a stupid moment let some kid at the restaurant give him a bj, before he could confess the kid squealed to Ben. They have been in couples therapy for a bit and Joe has been doing penance by putting in new carpet, fixing up the yard, working hard. Finally he confronts Ben and asks when they are going to have sex. I find the two other stories I've read by this author are very unusual. This wasn't quite so out there, but there were little things thrown at you, like it seems Ben had been sleeping with the kid for weeks, so I was kind of like, who are you to punish your man then? There were other little statements thrown in that you didn't really know where it came from and were like "Wha? What did you just say? Wait a minute." But the story doesn't wait a minute. So I found it a bit like being on the outside and wanting to stop them and ask questions but you can't. An interesting feeling, a bit off-kilter.

I got the following books from the GLBT Bookshelf rummage sale as advertised by the ever enabling Chris. Things are quite cheap so check it out. There are full length novels as well as shorts.

Almost Home by Nicole Gordon (21 pages)

Gabe and Travis have been friends for years and Gabe helped Travis drown his sorrows over his asshole father over the years. Finally his Dad dies in prison and it's their last "celebration". Gabe is bi and Travis is straight, but they end up in bed (just friends) but wake up plastered together and Gabe ends up giving Travis a hand job. Then they vaguely talk about it and Gabe thinks about Travis hooking up with some girl and ... That's kind of it. He doesn't seem to be in love with Travis, there's no hint that Travis is going to go gay. It was kind of a "huh?" ending. Now what? Maybe there's more books where Gabe gets his HEA. I can only hope.

The Game in Spain by Lydia Nyx (19 pages)

Gabriel is a gymnastics coach who ends up in Spain during Carnival on the trail of his gymnast Alejandro. Seems he left a note saying whoever can catch him, Gabriel or Sebastian, Alejandro's ex, will get him. So there is a contest between the two men to end up with the gymnast. They both arrive at the same time and decide to teach Alejandro a lesson about teasing and leading on two men. But maybe things are not quite for Gabriel thinks. The descriptions of Spain during Carnival were very vivid and the smexing between the three was pretty steamy. I enjoyed it.

A Case of Mistaken Identity by Nicole Gordon (14 pages)

Matt heads to the club hoping to hell he doesn't find his actor boyfriend cheating on him. He sees him having sex with someone else and basically attacks him but is ignored. Then ... oh god, it's his BF's body double Christian. Ooops. As he's apologising and drooling over Christian's BF Jeremiah, he hears his BF having sex, so he WAS cheating. Suddenly Christian offers to let him give Jeremiah a bj. Umm. Okay. So he goes for it. There seems to be a D/s thing going on with Christian and Jeremiah and they invite Matt to come home with them after. HFTonight or lead to more? Not sure. It only takes place over an hour or so, probably less. LOL Not sure how great their stamina was, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

I'm off to pick up my daughter from camp (had to leave at 5:30 this morning. Ugh. Not right for a Saturday) and she's at a horse show all day so I won't be home until closer to dinner, so I'm not ignoring y'all. :-)

Don't have much to say

I've only read one book so we'll delve into that and since it's set in Canada I have definite opinions. LOL Oh did I mention I hate my job with the fiery passion of a thousand suns? No? Oh well I do. Today anyway. Thankfully there are two of us who feel this way, so I have someone to vent with. Really, I guess sucking up and reporting every dinky thing you do, every phone call, etc. during the staff meeting is the way to impress. Silly me. Oh and being psychic would help so that I would KNOW I didn't do something that no one told me to do. Duh. Let me work on that. Vent over. If I don't stop now I never will. Oh and when will the freaking heat STOP? 100F (40C) with the humidity AGAIN? Give me a break.

What else. Umm. Got my daughter's schedule for Grade 10 today since she's at camp (sweating her ass off I'm sure). First semester English 10 and 3 lame electives. Second semester, math, English 11, science and history. Ack. I have a feeling she'll be in the office begging to get math moved to first term because that's cruel and unusual punishment.

Okay, I only read one book lately. I find when it's hot I just can't focus on reading. My house isn't too bad since I keep it closed up tight during the day when no one is home and the only appliance I've been using is the toaster. But it's still not "cool" and I'm too lazy to go up to my air conditioned bedroom. See? I'm a whiny lazy ... Well, we'll just leave the ending of that sentence to your imagination.

The Manituw by Lisbeth Jenkins (91 pages)
Amber Quill Press

Robert is a British ocean scientist who has hired a boat in New Foundland to help him gather research data. When he arrives he finds his hot captain July in jail for drunken brawling. He's sure it's going to be a disaster but once they get going things are great *wink wink nudge nudge* Robert AND July both fall in love quickly but July has problems with the locals. He is a metis (half native American - or First Nations or Aboriginal as we say). Lots of the local townspeople take issue with him and they only have an RCMP officer who comes once a week so July doesn't want to stir up trouble. Robert meanwhile tries to get him to stand up for himself or at least leave with him. Doesn't end so well for them as they both have secrets. Of course it's a romance so it all ends HFN.

My issues: (Since I only did one book I can yammer more - and bore you more). I have no clue if the author is Canadian or lives on in the East Coast (the bio didn't say and I didn't search) but I think she represented that kind of small isolated village very well, and I'm kind of ashamed of that. You hear stories of aboriginal (or metis or white) women and men being treated badly, things happening that would lead to arrests in a larger area but no one wants to confront them because there isn't appropriate law enforcement. I find it appalling and something I'm not proud of about Canada, but it seems to be the nature of remote northern community.

I found the whole deal with the author/landlord a bit confusing. What was his purpose? And then how could Robert have a job in Toronto but be renting a place in NF? Umm, It's about a 3 hour between St. John's and TO, probably closer to six to whatever rinky dink town he was in. Was he going to commute? That would be a bitch. Was he just visiting? I didn't get it?

On the upside, the descriptions of the ocean and the boat and even a small village in NF was pretty amazing. Although of the two provinces I've never visited, NF is one of them, so I'm taking that impression from things people have told me. I liked both characters a lot although I wanted to smack July a bit for just "taking it", but such is life. LOL I did enjoy it but sometimes when our own warts are exposed it makes us cringe a bit. I love the cover too. I would definitely check out more work by the author and it is a quite different story so worth a read.
If you skimmed over that, someone posted this on Twitter and beside the fact that it's fairly hot guys in underwear, it's pretty amazing what they can do. They could give lessons to strippers.