Dear Author » Barbara-Sheridan

REVIEW: Falling Through Glass by Barbara Sheridan

Jayne — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:05 +0000

Dear Ms. Sheridan,

When Tina submitted a list of new books to Dear Author for possible review, “Falling Through Glass” grabbed my attention. Hmmm, time travel to 19th century Japan in the waning days of samurai warriors. Can’t get much more different than that.

Since I’m feeling lazy this morning. I’m just going to steal the blurb at Liquid Silver.

Los Angeles
Present Day

Japanese-American Emiko Maeda set aside her film school studies following the sudden death of her father. At odds with her mother and burdened with the guilt over her role in the tragic accident, she moves in with her uncle Jake and comes into possession of an antique mirror. While accompanying Jake to Japan on a film shoot, Emmi is caught in a freak storm and plunged through time–into Feudal Japan and the world of samurai.

Kyoto, Japan
1864

The city of Kyoto is ablaze with violence and on the brink of civil war. Nakagawa Kaemon is a young samurai with a secret. He gathers information on those who claim to "Revere the emperor" but harbor their own agenda to control the country. Kae is honor bound to execute anyone who poses a threat to the throne even if it is Emmi, the unusual young woman he has come to love.

The first 50 pages of this book almost lost me. Way too much telling and not showing. I had actually put the book down at this point only to rethink it the next morning. I want to promote different times and places in books so I hefted it up and kept going. I’m not sure if it was my determination to finish the book or at this point you started more showing and less telling but it’s then that things started to pick up and become more interesting.

But I have to ask, what is with heroine casually accepting that her Uncle Jake has time traveled? I’d be all “WTF?!” but she just brushes it off in the conversation almost like Jake was merely saying he’d gone to San Diego for the day. Then when she tells Kae she’s from the future, he does the same. Or at least initially, though later he does think a little on what she’s said. But it’s more that he wants to see this future than any freaked out, “OMG! (or Japanese equivalent), she says she’s from the freakin’ future!” Emmi’s g-g-g-whatever grandfather is the same. His “visions” were never actually explained to my satisfaction. Ditto how Emmi’s mother’s monk works in the story.

Emmi is young – and she does act it at times. Pouting when Kae leaves her alone, excited about her wedding night – let loose your inner slut!, hasn’t had her maternal hormones kick in yet as seen when she takes Matsuhito out slumming through the festival, worries about possible STDs after her hot wedding night. Emmi also creates a ruckus whenever she’s let loose. I just wish she’d take a little more responsibility for the people she injured and the property she destroyed. Instead she pouts some more and tries to put the blame on everyone but herself. It takes possible deadly consequences to others (Emmi have you ever heard of seppuku?) before she finally does realize when she’s done something wrong.

Lucky for Emmi that Kae can look deep into her eyes and “just tell” that she’s not a traitor. Which he’ll believe until she does something – yet again – to make him rethink his position on that. At one point, Kae thinks that he wished he had more time to just sit with Emmi and get to know her. So did I. These two fall in love fairly quickly given all the unusual aspects of how they meet and get to know each other.

At first, I wondered if we’d get Emmi’s view of how things differ from her world vs 1864. Specific things and not just, “wow I’m in the past.” I loved her thoughts on the Shimabara brothel district, the palace, the hair gunk and face paint, the whole physical process of dressing for the wedding and actually walking in her outfit. This made the story more immediate and interesting to me.

Along the same lines, the scenes of the fair when Emmi and Kae attend as well as when she takes Prince Matsuhito there, are fun and a wonderful way to “show” the past and how Emmi views it.

The use of the historical actions as a way to decide whether or not Emmi’d stay in the past or return to the present is great. With TT books, I dislike any lingering regrets of “should I stay or should I go?” You remove all doubts about this. I was a little lost at times with regard to the historical action going on at this point in Japan but not enough for the story to lose me.

I hope that she and Kae work out their differing views on marriage and a woman’s place in it. But hey, at least he’ll buy her lingerie! Oh, loved the haiku poem but did you not want to include any of Emmi’s crappy poetry?

Like Mrs. Giggles, I also got the impression that this is a sequel to some other book. That I was missing some information that would allow some of the incidents in this book to make sense. There is a lot I like in the story and I wish I could give this book a higher rating but with all the issues I have with it, I’m afraid not.

~Jayne

FTC discloser – A free copy of this ebook was provided to Dear Author by the publisher for a potential review.

This book can be purchased at Liquid Silver Books.

REVIEW: Beautiful C*cksucker II: Such a Good Boy by Barbara Sheridan

SarahF — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:37:26 +0000

Dear Ms. Sheridan.

Thank you for sending me your story when I was moaning on Twitter one night about wanting to read a BDSM romance. I hope you don’t regret it.

When I agreed to read the book, I had no idea it was #2 of the Beautiful C*cksucker series. I had no idea that BC *was* a series. I tend to agree with the outrage over the name (Paul Bens’ original reaction, Teddy Pig’s response, Karen Knows Best’s extensive discussion) but I also know that in BDSM play, some epithets that would otherwise be unacceptable (“cunt” comes to mind) are endearments during a scene. Which is not to say that they should be used as titles to the book/series. I will admit, though, that I deliberately avoided most of the debate and arguments because it was too huge and I’ve only got so much mental energy. But if the writing for BC#1 was anything like the writing for BC#2, we should all just have ignored it and let it slip into well-deserved obscurity.

I also had no idea how BC#2 connects with BC#1. And OMFG, doing the research, BC#2 is the second romance for the dom of BC#1 after his sub from BC#1 fucking DIES!! Holy Flying Spaghetti Monster, if I’d known that, I wouldn’t have read it. Don’t freaking kill off the main characters from a previous book! Cardinal Sin of Romance #1! Even if it is after 20 years of “happiness.”

Right. So. That aside…Mikisaburo Nabeshimi is a high-profile cop in Tokyo. He goes to New York to drop his son off at Columbia and meets Dave Kirkland, a brash young cop, when Miki meets a friend of his at the courthouse. Dave is the unofficial foster son of a Chinese woman killed by the man that Miki’s friend successfully defends against the murder charge. (Confused yet, dear readers? This is a novella. None of these stories are really resolved.) The story is the progression of Miki and Dave’s D/s relationship as they chase down Miki’s friend’s client and prove that he’s actually guilty of serial murder.

So, my notes say: “Dave is a bratty little shit with no personality, Miki is stereotypical inscrutable Japanese dom.” I think that kind of sums it all up. This is one of those books that, to my mind, get BDSM so wrong, it’s scary and dangerous. Miki basically inflicts his domination on Dave, a complete BDSM newbie without a clue of what Miki’s doing. He makes Dave guess what’s going on, never talks with him about anything, “punishes” Dave in various ways for infractions in protocol and behavior that they haven’t talked about or agreed to, and just in general acts like an absolute shit. The whole concept of

“I can sense what you need even if you can’t. Trust me”

is actually contrary to all good BDSM practice. It’s not sexy, it’s frightening. Then again, Dave is an immature asshole who takes risk after risk without thought for the personal or broader consequences. BDSM is about safe, sane, and consensual, and all three of those require open and honest communication. BDSM is both mentally and physically dangerous when not discussed openly and for Miki to keep Dave guessing, to never talk to him about what they’re doing, is stupid and wrong. (And biting hard enough to leave a scar, without TALKING ABOUT IT BEFOREHAND, is not only wrong, it’s actually about impossible.)

What is also stupid and wrong is that Miki decides that he and Dave will go under cover to catch the killer. He informs Dave of this fact, then acts the same way with the undercover assignment as he does with the BDSM: never talks to Dave, never tells Dave his plans, keeps Dave guessing and on his toes and in the dark. Which is all very well for the sex (or not), but OMFG!stupid for a freaking undercover assignment that could get either or both of them KILLED! Metaphor for the relationship? I think so, but not in a good way.

There are story lines that go nowhere and coincidences that are just too much to believe (Dave’s best friend’s suicide?! The fact that Miki figures out the connection between the NY killing and killings in Japan in about a second?! Dave’s inherited apartment?!). All the incest imagery was strange and freaky and odd: Miki’s (platonic, lesbian) wife talking to Dave about their son gets Dave all hot and bothered, for example. Ick. And finally, Miki talks about his former lover (hero of BC#1, remember) as a friend and sometimes lover, but not as the love of his life: this is romance? How am I supposed to trust the HEA of this book if you’ve not only destroyed but called into question the very existence of the HEA of the previous book? All this AND the resolution of the suspense plot is confusing (I have no idea of who is doing what, where, and in what order) and anti-climactic.

So. Just no. Thank you for your generosity and I’m sorry I couldn’t like the book. But just no.

Grade: D

Best Regards,
-Joan/Sarah F.

As a Mean Girl review, this one doesn’t really need an FTC disclaimer, but here’s one anyway: This book was provided to the reviewer by the author. The reviewer did not pay for this book but received it free. We endorse good books that portray BDSM positively, realistically, and safely, but this book isn’t and doesn’t.

REVIEW: CB- Blood Brothers by Barbara Sheridan and Anne Cain, a Dueling Blog

Jane — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 10:00:27 +0000

Dear Ms. Sheridan and Ms. Cain:

Jayne and I decided to both read your book and then get together and chat about it. The end of the chat is spoiler heavy so we’ve encased the end part in spoiler quotes. For those who read the news feed, please beware that this is a spoiler filled post. On to the discussion:

[14:04] Jayne: wow, that was so totally different from what I was expecting
[14:04] Jane: You must not have read the blurb
[14:04] Jayne: no, I didn’t
[14:05] Jayne: I wanted to be fresh and spontaneous
[14:05] Jayne: not tied down by preconceptions
[14:05] Jane: It did say that there was a dangerous stranger that would come between the two young men.
[14:05] Jane: I was a bit surprised at the stranger’s identity.
[14:05] Jayne: how so?
[14:06] Jane: Because I thought it was a dangerous man in that it merely threatened the relationship not in way that would threaten their entire existence and way of life.

[14:06] Jayne: yeah, Kiyoshi was such a wimp
[14:06] Jayne: in the beginning
[14:06] Jane: Very.
[14:06] Jane: and not just phyisically.

[14:06] Jayne: Liu always did go for what he wanted.
[14:07] Jane: That’s true. He stated in character for the entire book.
[14:07] Jayne: even when Kiyoshi is burning up with fever, Liu is still stroking him and getting what he(Liu) wants
[14:07] Jayne: Kiyoshi doesn’t want to suck and swallow but does it because Liu wants him too
[14:07] Jane: Hey, what’s a little fever when you have a boner. Besides I read somewhere that sex was good for a person when they weren’t feeling well.
[14:08] Jayne: LOL, maybe I should tell our nurses that
[14:08] Jayne: new age medicine
[14:08] Jayne: it is supposed to induce labor
[14:08] Jane: Gives a whole new meaning to bedside manner, then. But back to the book, I would say that the strength of purpose shown in Kiyoshi later in the story wasn’t consistent with the Kiyoshi portrayed in the major part of the tale.
[14:09] Jayne: no, Kiyoshi did get stronger from Kuro’s blood
[14:10] Jane: I agree that he got physically stronger but why would he get emotionally stronger.
[14:10] Jayne: especially since he was always a pansy and willing to let Liu take his punishments

[14:10] Jane: Speaking of names, I was confused about the character’s names in the beginning.
[14:11] Jayne: and all those little endearments and honorifics….
[14:11] Jayne: Gee Gee and dai dai
[14:11] Jane: It was nice of the authors to make the effort of introducing us to the culture in that way, but I think a short story there isn’t enough space for the reader to become acclimated to the differing names.
[14:12] Jayne: I was stumbling the first few pages trying to keep up with names and nicknames and item names
[14:12] Jane: I had to read the first chapter twice and mentally jot down who was who.

[14:13] Jayne: the authors do a lot of head hopping
[14:13] Jayne: I could usually keep up with who was who but readers do have to keep thinking the whole time
[14:13] Jane: I am nodding my head here. With the number of name changes, that became a challenge.
[14:14] Jayne: and all for just 3 main characters
[14:14] Jane: I feel like an ignorant schmuck complaining about this, particular when those name changes probably added a lot of authenticity (which we often complain about), but it was distracting and unnecessary.
[14:14] Jayne: did the different names have some meaning? why would the authors throw in so many?
[14:15] Jayne: and why make Liu half Chinese?
[14:15] Jane: I was uncertain about that aspect too. It was too many details for such a short book.
[14:15] Jane: Words cannot be wasted in a short story.

[14:15] Jayne: Kiyoshi’s mother could have hated him anyway without all that distraction
[14:15] Jane: Yes, and the hate of Kiyoshi’s mother, frankly, didn’t help in advancing the story much.
[14:16] Jayne: why bother with her at all?
[14:17] Jane: Was it Kiyoshi’s mother or Liu’s mother? I think it was Liu, wasn’t it? Because later he adopts the name that reflects part of his Chinese heritage?
[14:18] Jayne: Liu’s mother was Chinese. But why mention either mother?

[14:18] Jayne: did either mother help the story?
[14:18] Jane: No, neither mother helped the story and the name changes were unnecessary.

[14:19] Jane: But putting those issues aside (and setting aside the ending for a moment), what did you think of the tale?
[14:20] Jayne: very dark, very violent. it reminded me of your review for the recent vampire book when you said that it went back to vampires being evil and vicious not the defanged creatures we’ve been getting lately who just almost can’t bring themselves to drink blood
[14:20] Jane: I thought of the Armintrout book too. I appreciate having the variety – the dark and terrible vampires v. the warm and cuddly vampires.
[14:20] Jayne: “Ohh, blood! Oh, I can’t bear it.”

[14:21] Jane: I also thought that the sex was integral with the plot. It seemed to me that you couldn’t separate the violence and the sex.
–> spoiler
[14:22] Jayne: There is one point near the end when Kuro and Liu stumble out of a building and the authors mention that they had gorged themselves on blood and sex
[14:22] Jayne: the vampires, not the authors–> end spoiler
[14:22] Jayne: I agree that those parts are integral
[14:23] Jane: Right. Who knows about the authors. But the storyline really had an undertone of awful suspense and once engaged, I thought it was very interesting. I really couldn’t wait to see what happened.
[14:23] Jayne: I did read it quickly in one setting.

[14:25] Jane: What was so disappointing was the fact that there was no payoff for me at the end. The story ended abruptly. In fact, when I scrolled to the next page and it said “Epilogue” I was afraid that I had skipped some pages or my ebook download was corrupted!

–> spoiler
[14:26] Jayne: me too. I really expected that somehow Liu and Kiyoshi would end up together. I mean, Liu didn’t cut Kiyoshi’s head off so I was thinking that he would somehow ditch Kuro or kill him and go back to find Kiyoshi –> end spoiler

[14:26] Jane: Not only was the ending abrupt but it was unresolved.

[14:27] Jayne: is it marketed as a gay romance?
[14:27] Jane: I don’t know. I would have to go look
[14:27] Jayne: or gay vampire tale
[14:27] Jayne: I did feel cheated if it’s supposed to be a romance
[14:27] Jane: A Historical/Erotica – Yaoi, Gay, Vampire
[14:27] Jane: I wonder what Yaoi is.

–> spoiler
[14:27] Jayne: ah, so no guaranteed HEA then
[14:28] Jane: no, I didn’t mind the lack of HEA but I did mind that there was no resolution to the story.
[14:28] Jane: I mean, ultimately, shouldn’t there have been some mention as to what the other two vampires where doing?
[14:28] Jane: Why the viewpoint from just Kiyoshi?
[14:29] Jayne: what happens to Liu and Kuro? they just wander off to slaughter more of Japan and we never learn what happens to them?
[14:29] Jayne: oops, you already said that
[14:29] Jane: LOL
[14:29] Jane: yes, that was exactly my problem.
[14:29] Jayne: I guess since there are still people in Japan 200 years later, Liu and Kuro haven’t killed everyone
[14:30] Jane: What was the point of that?
[14:30] Jane: It’s like the whole bad mothers issue. Brought up but not dealt with.–> end spoiler

[14:30] Jayne: is this some Japanese viewpoint?
[14:30] Jane: Maybe I should google Yaio
[14:30] Jane: unresolved dangling plot threads are a Japanese product?
[14:30] Jayne: is it something we would know if we knew what Yaio was?
[14:31] Jane: Here’s a link to the wikipedia definition:
[14:31] Jayne: is this a literary form?
[14:32] Jane: It is a literary art form but I dont think it means that you write books with unresolved endings. Maybe we should consult with our resident Manga expert.
[14:32] Jayne: yes! good idea
[14:33] Jane: It does say this “Yaoi is often thought of as less “story-based” than heterosexual hentai manga or anime; as there are often pairings between mortal enimes or rivals.”

–> spoiler
[14:33] Jayne: and why pick Kiyoshi’s viewpoint? and not the other two if you’re only going to do one
[14:33] Jane: Exactly.
[14:33] Jayne: Kiyoshi is such a pansy
[14:34] Jane: It should have been from Liu’s perspective, imo, giving us a vague hint that Kiyoshi may have survived and that is how he lives with no regrets.
[14:34] Jayne: was Kiyoshi inherently “good” and half Chinese Liu “bad”?
[14:34] Jayne: is that how Kiyoshi resisted Kuro?
[14:35] Jayne: power corrupts. Liu wants power so he’s corrupted totally by Kuro?
[14:36] Jane: Maybe they were being philosophical, but if you are writing to an American audience, shouldn’t you make the story more accessible.
[14:37] Jayne: or at least give it a damn ending
[14:37] Jayne: we stupid Americans don’t like to have to think
[14:37] Jane: Yes, instead of making us google things to figure out whether this is some literature form popular in Japan akin to the haiku or iambic pentameter.
[14:37] Jayne: we want it all in 10 foot high letters
[14:38] Jane: Maybe they could have included subtitles.
[14:38] Jayne:
Story without end
It sucks if one is confused
So don’t you do it
[14:39] Jayne: ok my haiku needs a little work but the thought is there
[14:39] Jane: LOL
[14:39] Jane: maybe you should try a limerick
[14:39] Jane:
There once was a boy named K
Who had thing for Liu in the hay.
They drank some blood, killed some folk
and then Liu ran away.
[14:40] Jayne: fab dahling–> end spoiler

[14:41] Jane: okay, ending on our poor poetry attempts, what grade would you give it and would you try this type of book again (minus the sucky ending of course).
[14:42] Jayne: hmmmm I’d give it a C- at best. too many confusing names. too much space wasted on the mothers, and the SUCKY end
[14:42] Jayne: it was atmospheric
[14:42] Jayne: and the vampires were evil
[14:42] Jane: I would give it a C+ because it was atmospheric and the suspense was very well done. I hated the name changes and the terrible incomplete ending.

[14:43] Jayne: would I try this again? honestly, probably not
[14:43] Jane: I would try it again if it had a better ending.

–> spoiler
[14:45] Jayne: maybe if I read a story in which one of the lovers doesn’t try and kill the other then leave him….
[14:45] Jayne: more romance than erotica
[14:46] Jane: I would have liked to see Liu get a backbone and kill Kuro or Kiyoshi get a backbone and kill them both.
[14:46] Jane: Because what was all this nonsense about Liu loving Kiyoshi more than anything. Guess not.
[14:46] Jayne: better ending and not a sucky abrupt cut off
–> end spoiler