FCKH8

There are some great videos out there for FCKH8 (love the blond with the megaphone, hilarious). This one has been making the rounds of Twitter and Facebook and they are donating money to fight that weird TN law that would ban the word gay in schools. *eye roll* There's lots of f-bombs in this one so if you'd rather not have small children picking up some language then beware when you play it.


FCKH8.com: The "Teachers Can't Talk About Homos" Law from FCKH8.com on Vimeo.

This one is the making of their calendar using ST8 Against H8. Could they use more oil on these men? And how do I get that job? But they are sexy and fun. This one is good about hiding all the naughty parts, mores the pity but there is still some language. :-)

Making of Video: FCKH8 "STR8 AGAINST H8" 2011 Calendar from FCKH8.com on Vimeo.

I also want this hoodie. I'm so tired of black/gray hoodies. I need some colour and a good cause. I would also like this t-shirt. I'm going to see if my kid wants one too before I order.

These are cute too.

The best gift you can give me on my birthday ....

Yes, today is my birthday and we won't discuss how many years have passed before today, because I prefer to pretend it's far fewer than it is. However, despite my advanced age, I am in the Cocky & Rude Fight Club. I'm up against Paula Deen, a woman who thinks that deep fried mayonnaise is haute cuisine.

So stop by and vote for me. Several times. There is no limit on how many times you can vote. Leave a funny, snarky, obscure comment if you wish as well. We love those over at C&R. So in the competition of two old gray-haired broads, help me come out on top and I'll give you some NSFW cookies. (Click on the logo below.) That seems to have helped me in the past. LOL

Have a great day.

Oh and as an extra special gift to y'all, stop by Brief Encounters and leave your name for a chance to win Eden Winters new short story Fanning the Flames, a follow-up to her excellent Christmas short The Match Before Christmas.

Torquere Tuesday

I seem to have read a lot of Torquere books lately. So I'll sum them all up here in one fell swoop.

Alphabet Soup by CB Conwy (209 pages)
Torquere Press

This is sort of a follow-up to The Russian Bear featuring the carpenter who built their bookshelves, Andy. Andy keeps seeking greater and great physical experiences at the club trying to fly, it's not really working. He meets CK, a new guy in town and CK is totally unlike other guys, he's not into beating him senseless and is very laid back and calm. It completely throws Andy for a loop and CK can't figure out what this guy is all about either since he flip flops constantly. However after a bad experience at the club, Andy agrees to try things CK's way, which means also a few forced therapy sessions where Andy reveals what happened to him with an abusive ex and why he's been seeking out greater and greater physical pain. There's not much outside drama here. It's all about CK helping Andy see that sub-space isn't just about enduring enough pain until your body shuts down. There are some really sad and tender parts and it's not insta-cure with the magic dick. It's hard for Andy to change his thoughts and CK fears that maybe part of the attraction is thanks for helping him. But on the whole for those who don't like hardcore BDSM, it's a good choice as it looks at a different side of it from more of the D/s angle than the s/m side. I'm curious if Andy's boss/friend who is in the lifestyle will get a story.

Something Green by Drew Zachary (114 pages)
Torquere Press

So PI DB and his ghostly sidekick/lover are back. Things have improved and they are getting paying cases and actually using the ghost aspect to attract clients. At another crime scene where he seemed to know ahead of time to be there and can't explain why, a cop approaches him and subtly asks questions and lets him know he believes in paranormal stuff because his partner used to have the talent. Seems he means partner in all ways and his partner was killed and he hopes Jesse can find out if he's still around. At the same time, the ghost of the man who used to own Madam Yanya's place (the medium who helped DB and Jesse) is back and refuses to leave. He was a fence and they suspect there is something hidden in the basement, so DB sets about cleaning it up meanwhile giving clues to Joe the cop about other crimes they stumble on. Despite the fact that as a rule I dislike ghost stories, I adore Jesse and DB. DB now regularly tells him he loves him, and more and more often during sex Jesse gets solid and they can touch and kiss and their constant sniping and banter is cute and funny. Jesse is also wildly jealous because he's sure Joe is coming on to DB, but he's oblivious and says no, until forced to admit it and then has to explain to Joe who his boyfriend is. Very funny scene. A cute series for sure.

Mother May I by Drew Zachary (213 pages)
Torquere Press

DB and Jesse again. Since Joe is able to run interference for them at the police station, things have improved and they can afford a secretary, one who is even willing to believe that Jesse is real. A new client claims his mother is haunting him and causing his girlfriends to leave and he wants Jesse and DB to get rid of her. Then they start talking about mothers and out of the blue DB's mom shows up in town and is staying with them. Well that puts a serious kink in Jesse's sex-life and while she's nice enough, she's one of those overwhelming mothers eager to have DB hooked up leaving Jesse facing jealousy again. And it seems the ghost mother is not upset about the "harlots", she hates that her son is gambling away her money. There's no great crime in this one to be solved, and they never do get the mother to cross over although Jesse finally tells her she's dead, but on the upside Jesse stays solid long enough for them to have real sex, although he's still disappointed it wasn't over the kitchen table as he had hoped, but his goal was before his birthday so there is still time. Again, Jesse and DB are just so damned cute and the stories are amusing and light, just a really enjoyable read. If you can get past the fact that Jesse is a ghost, which seemed to work for me.

 An Eye Spy Christmas Carol by Drew Zachary (20 pages)
Torquere Press

Well, I just had to finish off the series. It's Christmas and DB is not feeling it. He finds the whole thing annoying. On Christmas Eve he's visited by the ghost of the owner of the office building who tells him to expect 3 ghosts. DB really doesn't care, he sees more than 3 ghosts before he has his first coffee everyday. Jesse finally comes home late and claims he's the spirit of Christmas present and they are getting it on when they are interrupted by the Ghost of Christmas Future who warns him about smoking and poor health habits. Both Jesse and DB are pissed that the guy interrupted them, and after being unable to get back in the mood he decides to give Jesse his gift, a small tree with ghostly decorations. Jesse is touched and has been working on moving things and manages to get one of the ornaments on the tree. It's just a cute story of the two guys, still in love and with Jesse being able to hold his form more often and maybe DB finds a bit of the Christmas spirit after all. A cute follow-up for fans of the series.

Monday Mumbling ... Shifters

Okay, I'll admit I'm developing a reputation in some circles as having a bit of a shifter fetish, but today we'll twist it a bit further. I would say when the popularity of shifters began it's upswing, most were canine - usually wolves but sometimes dogs, coyotes, etc. - or felines - large cats as a rule, not house cats. But then authors started to get more creative and the rest of the creatures of the night - and day - came out of the woodwork to join the romance community. There are more and more these days which is a good thing I think. So these are some of my recommended unusual shifter reads that I've enjoyed. Hope you have some more you can add that you've enjoyed.

Two recent books that I've enjoyed in part because of the use of a light touch with unusual shifters have been:

Ermine and Bougainvillea by ID Locke which I reviewed HERE. Wynn is an ermine shifter who hooks up with a half-dryad. It's a kinky BDSM romance that I totally loved.

Another unusual critter was found in Tortoise Interruptus by JL Merrow. A very funny story about a tortoise shifter who has no control over when it happens. A great read I reviewed HERE.

While some other authors have used avian shifters in their stories such as Stephani Hecht in her Lost Shifter books where there are hawks and ravens, Duck by Kim Dare is set in a world with only avian shifters. This D/s story made me sniffly but it was really well done and was pretty faithful to bird traits I think translated into the human world. I reviewed Duck HERE.

Val, lover all all things reptilian ;-) gave us a super sexy alligator shifter in Call and Answer. I'm really happy to hear that this will be an ongoing series because I would love to read more about the guys and see how they work out that whole human/reptile love thing. :-) I reviewed this story HERE .



 

One book that covers nearly every base in the shifter world was the unusual western ... anthology? joint writing project? Shifting Sands. I'm not sure how to explain it by  Ally Blue, JL Langley, Brenda Bryer, Kimberly Gardner, Jet Mykles, and Willa Okati. I reviewed it yesterday but it covers ALL the bases including the unusual critters of snake, rat, pig, sheep, dragon, rabbit, rooster and monkey, along with bull, tigers, horse, and dog. An interesting concept.




So any other good ones out there? I'm waiting for the  giraffe shifter some author is going to write. That long tongue? Fodder for amazing sex scenes. I've still got an idea shifting around in my head for that penguin whose killer whale lover cheats on him. :-)

S for Sunday and slow but sure wins the race ...

Not that it is a race. But I've read a couple of "S" books. So seven more letters to go. Just doesn't seem to be anything cropping up with those letters that's catching my eye, although KZ was kind enough to release Visible Friend so I have a V book now. I'll have to get to that soon.

Gorgeous weekend here. Spring seems to have finally arrived. Although my parents got 1.5 feet of snow and vehicles were getting stuck on the main street. Sigh. I definitely now why I left Manitoba now. LOL It will melt quickly but what a drag. I did remember to phone my Mom last night. Well, my kidlet did, so we're good. Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday.

Shifting Sands by Ally Blue, JL Langley, Brenda Bryce, Kimberly Gardner, Jet Mykles, Willa Okati (340 pages)
MLR Press

This is an interesting way of writing a book, it's not an anthology but not a joint writing project in the traditional sense. Set on a ranch in Texas, the owner Ben married a Chinese woman (he's not entirely sure why he married her since he's gay, as is most of his staff) and after her failed attempts to seduce the other hands, she leaves with a young man cursing them all. What this means is that every full moon, for 24 hours or so, they turn into an animal. They've learned to live with it, and each ranch hands story is written by another author. It seems that when they fall in love, their lover also turns into an animal and it took me awhile to catch on, but they are the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. Many of the stories have a humorous overtone. It's hard to take yourself too seriously when  you turn into a rat or a rooster. I was really impressed that all of the stories were so even in tone. You would not think "Oh, definitely a different author here." but each story had it's own feel as well, that each man was distinctive. So if you're looking for something a bit different with touches of angst, humor and hot smexin' cowboys, it's a great choice. And think of the Chinese zodiac, there are some different shifters in there you don't see too often.

My Heart is Within You (Triquetra 1) by Marguerite Labbe (375 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Look at me reading long books. :-)  Kristair is a very old vampire who seems to be falling ill. His own creator just disappeared one day and she suffered the same symptoms. He hopes that by putting his heart in the body of another he can somehow stave off the end. He sees Jacob playing football and knows he's the one, but he doesn't want to just enthrall him to do it, so he basically starts stalking him. Jacob is freaked at first, but then adjusts and for several months they chat outside Jacob's window and eventually he invites Kristair in and they get freaky. He also agrees to the magical heart thingy to help him. The problem is some organization called the Syndicate want Kristair, and randomly send attack teams to kill/capture him. I wasn't really sure what was behind that all, and given this is a series I suppose that will come. The Syndicate finally realize Kristair has a lover and they kidnap him, manage to turn one of Jacob's roommates into their minion and the fight is on, with Kristair asking for aid from what I gather are gangster vamps. However when Jacob is shot, Kristair puts his soul in him to save him, the illness attacks and Kristair dies. WTF? How can he die at the end. *sniffle* Okay, it's a series and it's paranormal so you know it's not all that it could be. Anyway, I did enjoy it and kept reading for over 300 pages so I definitely want to know what happens next now that Jacob is alone and really really pissed. Because it's a long book there were a fair amount of secondary characters, Jacob's roommates, Kristair's foster-daughter, the vampire mobsters, they were all interesting and well done. I look forward to the next story in the series.

Happy Queen's Day to all the Dutch Girls

Today is a big celebration in the Netherlands, a day to celebrate the Queen, so in additional to a few boys in lovely Dutch orange, we have some hot Dutch models. You guys have some pretties to be sure. Have a fun day of celebrations or lounging around home, whichever works for you.

Also happy birthday to my Mom, although she doesn't know this blog exists so certainly won't see the wishes here. Let's hope I don't forget to phone her. Ack! We're both awful at that. 

 

 

Kim Uylenbroek

Dennis Vandeneijk

 Mark Vanderloo

The End.

Random Update #2

Yesterday I volunteered for a bit at my daughter's book sale at her school. I was sent home early because they had enough kids helping out but I had a good look at some of the books. Of course there weren't any m/m books although. I did find something called A Queer Kind of Love by George Baxt, it's supposed to be a mystery of some kind. For a buck you can't go wrong. Lots of rain here and there was thunder but obviously not as bad as in Alabama. I have friends there but luckily they were out of the path of the storms. I haven't heard the damage but I saw some pictures which were very scary.

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Firecracker by Jaye Valentine (28 pages)
Noble Romance

Isaac and Jeff pay some rather dangerous sex games. Isaac likes to have sex with strangers and Jeff, a cop, backs him up. It's a game to them and they know they love each other. After a shopping trip, Isaac decides to dress up like a woman and get "pimped out" by Jeff. Although Jeff changes the game a bit when he brings his old college friend Leo into it. Leo was one of the "strangers" that Isaac sucked off in an alley a bit ago. Leo will be the pimp, then Jeff will come in and "arrest" Isaac for prostitution. Things go well until the cops pull up and it's not Jeff, it's real cops and they take Isaac off somewhere with the threat that if he keeps them happy they'll let him go, then Jeff comes to the rescue as the whole thing is all a set-up. After some three-way sex with Leo back home, Isaac starts to question their games as he was really freaked and realized what "could" happen even if Jeff is looking out for him. This was very hot but I could see trouble on the horizon with Leo. They went from total strangers to inviting the same guy twice to play and ... I see things taking a negative turn. I think if it had been kept to total strangers I would have liked it better and I could have seen it being more their kink.

Rediscovery by Ariel Tachna (58 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Michael is at a gay gamers convention and sees a hot leather vendor, however after a very scary experience at a BDSM club he doesn't want anything to do with doms and leather. However he sees Lee watching and playing with the kids of one of the women from the m/m romance booth next door and starts to wonder if maybe his image of all guys into leather being mean gruff doms is wrong. When he sees Lee waiting for a table for dinner, he invites him on impulse and gets to know him. After the show they go on a date and Lee explains his philosophy of life of really stopping and looking where you live, at the life around you rather than racing through which in turn makes Michael look at his own life. This is a slow sweet romance, with two guys getting to know each other. Michael is quite up front about why the leather bothers him, but Lee is vanilla and it's just how he makes his living and they work through Michael's fears and don't rush into anything. If you're looking for something without a lot of angst and drama it's a good choice for a soothing read.

The Charlie Factor by Diana DeRicci (178 pages)
Purple Sword

Charlie, a former firefighter, is recovering from nearly dying in a fire set by his ex. He needs to walk with a cane, is badly scarred, his leg damaged, and can never work again. To top it off, once his coworkers found out he was gay they pretty much shunned him. He's moved to the beach and one day Gregory's dog comes over to say hi. Charlie is stand-offish, but when Greg helps him avoid a sink-hole they become friends even though Greg is straight. Charlie is attracted for the first time since the accident, and Greg is starting to get freaked out as well because he's feeling things for a guy. When Greg goes home to California for Thanksgiving he talks to some of his gay friends and he admits he may be gay. When he goes back he's determined to make a move. Charlie's resistant at first and there is some mini-drama but they work things out, and it's going well until while out walking the dog, Charlie falls and then shuns Greg because he doesn't feel worthy. Greg decides to move back to California for a job, will there be any chance for them? It's nice to have a scarred hero, someone who's not perfect and Greg didn't care about the scars or disability. Of course Charlie was a total ass about the "I'm not good enough thing" and Greg's dad doesn't take to well to the "I'm gay" declaration, but his friends were great and Charlie's sister was good at kicking his ass. So it's a nice GFY with a handicapped hero.

Random Update #1

Well, I seem to have lost my way on the ABC challenge. I just can't find something that I WANT to read with the letters I need and that's part of my issue with challenges. I want to read what appeals to me at the time, not what I HAVE to read. So I'll read what I want and if it fits, it fits.

I did get a lot read over the Easter holiday. My daughter was away most of it so I had lots of time to just do what I wanted but I did manage to do a full clean on my main floor. Now my upstairs is waiting for me. Blah. Nice to have a short work week though. That works for me.

It can stop raining any time as well. It's going to rain ALL week. Why did all of our umbrellas disappear? Well, we have one and the kidlet needs to go to her volunteer place this afternoon so I let her have it since my jacket has a hood and hers doesn't, plus she has to walk further than I do. I should probably head to the dollar store and stock up.

Ermine & Bougainvillea by ID Locke (71 pages)
Torquere Press

Wynn is an ermine shifter who is being chased by homophobic coyotes. They toss him around a bit, but he manages to escape into a bush with thorns and collapses. He awakens to find a man, Etireh, who knows he's a shifter, and he soon realizes he's a dryad, a tree sprite. Amazingly he's able to enter the tree (vine really) that half-dryad Etireh lives in which freaks Etireh out. However he's gay as well and Wynn is cute soooo.... Eventually they get back together, and seem to be perfectly in synch in the bedroom. Etireh is a dom and Wynn is happy to be a sub (bedroom only), and seems that magical folk can play MUCH harder than with humans and both want that. Etireh also controls the vines in his tree and they are an extension of him. So if they touch Wynn, it's like him touching Wynn. And lets just say vines = kink, with a fair bit of pain and whipping tossed in for good measure. Although the vine sex might not be for everyone, it was very well done and I thought it was pretty hot and sexy. There is also a lot of humour, Wynn is a smart ass all the way and learning about the world of dryads and how it all works was interesting and while it's only 75 pages or so, it wasn't overwhelming, with enough time for the guys to get to know each other. There is a follow-up short to this I will be reviewing on BER in a week or so, but I would recommend this if you like something BDSMy, and something different with the vines. And look at the little eye on that cover. Staring at you, willing you to read this. :-)

Detour by Talia Carmichael (163 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Robert is a chemistry professor and rushing to meet his friend for lunch he gets pulled over for running a red light, and as well has a flat tire. The cop helps him with the tire and gives him a warning and then lo and behold he runs into the cop at the restaurant later, but he's sure the guy is straight. They run into each other again when a lab is vandalized at the university, and Miguel invites him to a poker game. He's still sure he's straight. He ends up spending the next month hanging out with Miguel and still clueless, thinks he's straight until Miguel FINALLY breaks the news. They quickly move forward since they've practically been dating for a month although Robert didn't know it. *eye roll* There is some drama when one of the poker buddies and Miguel's coworkers is killed (which was very sad) and when Robert walks in on a robbery and is shot. I think this is a start of a series (based on the title) and there were tons of guys at the poker night and many of them are gay including a couple of Miguel's brothers, Robert's lab assistant and his best friend who just moved to California. So I see them getting their stories and I was quite curious about his friend's story as stuff was hinted at. If I had any complaint it was that everyone was so damn perfect and nice and went out of their way to help people, donating furniture to his impoverished lab assistant, helping his friend landscape. Not that I want people to be assholes, but it just seemed like everyone was so perfect. But I will definitely check out more in the series when they come to see what happens to everyone.

Two Man Advantage by Riley Shane (77 pages)
Loose-Id

Nate is having a rough day. He's planned a get-away in the snow with his lover for their 2 year anniversary when he's dumped at the airport. He goes anyway only to find a naked hottie in the bed of the cabin he rented. Although the guy is hot, and even in a drunken stupor, grabs him and kisses him, Nate does NOT do casual sex and not on the day he's been dumped. Kyle is a former NHL hockey player whose career ended due to an injury several months ago, and he's licking his wounds and self-medicating. He also delights in making uptight Nate crazy, and convinces him to share the cabin. Nate is not thrilled but deals with it and his attraction to Kyle. Finally, after a day or so when Kyle walks in on him, he gives in, although he's oblivious to who Kyle is. They spend the rest of the week getting to know each other and Nate realizes he was in love with the idea of having a partner, not the guy himself and he helps Kyle realize that his life is not over because he can't play hockey. It runs pretty close to the insta-love line as declarations are made pretty fast, but on the whole it worked for me and I think the fact that Kyle liked to make Nate crazy just for the hell of it, and had a temper and it wasn't all rainbows and hearts made it work better. If you're in the mood for quickie feel-good story with a couple of likable guys, a good choice.

Monday Mumbling ... Turn around and spread 'em.

Yep, it's law enforcement day. Le sigh. A man in uniform works for me, or half out of it. Ahem. I'm going to talk today about some of my favourite police officers in m/m romance. I'm going to try not to repeat myself as last week there were two or three cops who I could choose for here too, Brandon of James Buchanan's series and Vic and Jacob from the PsyCop series. But beyond those, I do have a penchant for law enforcement. I think part of that comes from my many years of reading police dramas and mysteries. I still love a good who done it, but now I like some romance mixed in to some degree. I hope you will share some of your favorite guys you'd be happy to "spread 'em" for decide to break the law.

Three of my favourite cops are the trio featured in the two Hell Cop anthologies. Each author writes a story of a cop and their partner and their adventures. I know I'm not in the majority, but my favourite of the three was Detective Jay Yervant, the permanently on-fire hottie who couldn't touch another human without burning them, until he met sexy innocent Brian, who'd never seen demons before moving to town and getting himself in a spot of trouble. I think I felt for Jay who couldn't touch anyone and desperately wished he could. But all three guys are great and the the crime aspect of each story is as important as the romance and all three authors, Astrid Amara, Nicole Kimberling and Ginn Hale are favourites of mine.

 Hank and Charlie from Shady Ridge and the Neon Sky by Chris Owen were a great couple. Two cops from a small town, one who never really expected to find a long-term partner work out their relationship while escaping to the gay bar a few hours away. I just liked both guys who were "normal" and it was kind of a slow romance without any great drama. They happen to be cops, but the crime drama was not the primary focus of this book.

Ungh. Nate and Caesar. Le sigh. As you can see on my banner up top, this one of the first m/m books I ever read and I had no clue what I was in for but I was totally hooked on James Buchanan from that point on. These two were smoking together and it had a real police story woven in including child abuse and corrupt cops and finding love between a cop and a career criminal. I "heard" that there is supposed to be a sequel to this story and I dream of the day it becomes a reality. :-) oh and Caesar's dog Poncho is as much of a character as the two guys and he's not ignored like so many dogs in fiction. They don't "forget" he exists when they go off somewhere. This is a frequent re-read for me.

Yep, look up, waaaaay up. Another first book for me was Crossing Borders by ZA Maxfield. I totally fell in love with Michael and Tristan. I know not everyone loves this book but it struck all the right buttons with me and remains one of my faves I know I can turn to when I need a comfort read. ZAM's sense of humour came through as it always does. This is another story where the fact that Michael is a police officer factors into their relationship development, but it's not a mystery book with a crime to be solved.

 

Oh Adam, I should hate your guts and yet ... Well, he's not really a cop anymore, now that he's a vampire. but he's a totally unrepentant ass. He's a dirty cop, he cheats on his boyfriend the way the rest of us chew gum, and now he's dead to top it off and involved in a vampire gang war. Why do I care about this guy? He does finally get this act together somewhat as the story goes on, but he's never going to be the hero in the white hat riding to the rescue. AM Riley did an amazing job making me not just care about, but actually like, a total jerk. Go figure. :-)




So tell me who some of your favourite law enforcement officers are out there in m/m land. Maybe I've read about them too, or maybe I'll find a new guy (or more) to add to my list. I certainly couldn't list EVERY story I've enjoyed with a police officer, but these are ones that have stuck out in my head.

J .... Yay, I found a J book I wanted to read!

Woohoo. I'm getting there. Yes, I'm still overlapping but only 8 more to go.

 Jaynell's Wolf by Amber Kell (113 pages)
Silver Publishing

Jaynell's father has died and part of his last wishes was that Jaynell attend the wizard college even though at 24 he's older than most students. His first day, he runs into a werewolf, literally. Thomas tells him he's his mate, and even though wizards and wolves don't mix, he's determined they'll work it out. However he is willing to give Jay time to adjust to the concept, and much of the book is Jay getting used to just being on his own finally, dealing with the massive amounts of wizard power he has, and coping with life as an independent man of sorts. When his former tutor kills his house elves and threatens him to gain his power, he fully mates with Thomas to fight back. I noticed someone said this is like gay Harry Potter in university and it is in a way. There is the snotty guy, who thinks he's better, the smart friendly female student, good friends/roommates, the evil professor, house elves (gnomes). Avatars (aka more solid patronuses), but on the whole it's good fun and kind of takes a cheeky look at things with a fair amount of humour. Its the first in a series and I would definitely check out more. It's good when you need a light read with some familiar themes and likable, but stereotypical characters.

 Three Alarm Fire: EMS Heat 8 by Stephani Hecht (107 pages)
eXtasy Books

Dustin is Forrest's partner and friend. About a year ago or so, Dustin's boyfriend tried to kill him, ending with pushing him through a patio door and leaving him to bleed to death, while stealing his life savings and his mothers and running up credit cards. The guy then vanished. Vaughn, a firefighter sees Dustin at a community clean-up event but Dustin is still freaked by big guys and puts him off, however agrees to go for drinks at the bar later with everyone. Vaughn convinces him to go home but it doesn't quite work out. However when they finally hook up Vaughn convinces Dustin to press charges when the ex is caught and to move his Mom in with them (sep. apartment thank god). These books do have characters who seem to get over being severely scarred psychologically with the help of the right guy just being in their orbit and I though Dustin needed his ass kicked for not going to the cops. He's paying of $10K in credit card debt but doesn't tell the company what happened about identity theft or the cops. Hello, there are ways you don't have to pay that. It was still a sweet story with some funny stories about his work with Forrest.

With My Little Eye by Drew Zachary (71 pages)
Torquere Books

Private Investigator DB is back with Jesse his ghostly side-kick and lover. However Jesse has a habit of bringing home ghost cases which don't pay the rent and it's hard to explain to the police why he knows things. They are also fighting over Jesse wanting to consult someone about why sometimes they can touch during sex and sometimes not. When Jesse comes across the ghost of a young girl who was murdered in such a way it looks accidental, they enlist the help of a medium who can really see ghosts as well, to not only help with the sex problem but to use her as an excuse as to how they know about the crime and protect the little girl's friend who is also in danger. There is lots of fighting and hurt feelings as DB has never said I love you to anyone and he's not about to start now, especially in front of strangers. But more and more often they are able to make Jesse real so they can touch and it's really very sweet when they connect as real people and the wonder Jesse feels at being able to feel and taste DB for real. Of course DB still blows smoke rings just to bug Jesse and they argue over ghost cases, but it was a nice follow-up to Eye Spy. There are a couple of more stories to follow which I'll definitely be looking into.