Dear Author » Ginn Hale

Dear Author Recommends for March

Jane — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:00:29 +0000

March is sparse with recommendations but save your money because April has a full slate.

Historical

The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh (reissued in a 2-in-1 with A Promise of Spring, which I’m NOT recommending). Recommended by Janine and Sunita. Reviewed here.

Amazon BN Sony Kobo

PNR

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs. Recommended by Josephine, Janine, and Jane (The ending is a game changer) Review here.

Amazon BN Sony Kobo

Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison. Recommended by Shuzluva and Jane. Reviewed here.

Amazon BN Sony Kobo

GLBT

Irregulars by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara and Ginn Hale. Recommended by Sunita.

Blind Eye Books

Dark Soul #4 by Aleksandr Voinov. Recommended by Sunita

Amazon BN Sony Kobo ARE

Other

Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik. Recommended by Jayne. Reviewed here.

Amazon BN Sony Kobo HQN ARE

Sunita’s Best of 2011 List

Sunita — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:00:30 +0000

In alphabetical order by author’s last name:

If It Ain’t Love by Tamara Allen (my review here)
The Only Gold by Tamara Allen
Vienna Waltz by Teresa Grant
The Rifter by Ginn Hale (Janine’s and my joint review of 1-5 here; my review of 6 & 7 here)
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley (my review here)
Come Unto These Yellow Sands by Josh Lanyon (my review here)
A Night of Scandal by Sarah Morgan (my review here)
GhosTV by Jordan Castillo Price
Petit Morts #11-#17 by Jordan Castillo Price, Sean Kennedy, Josh Lanyon, and Clare London
Death By Misfortune by A.M. Riley
The Penhally Bay Series by Various Authors (my post on Books 1-8 here)

Reviews of unlinked books to come.

What Janine is Reading, October 2011

Janine — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:00:06 +0000

October was a month for reading material with fantastical elements. All three of the works I read were promising, but only one ended up satisfying me.

White Cat by Holly Black

My husband and I started reading this contemporary YA paranormal, which Jia reviewed favorably awhile back, after it was recommended by a friend. We started reading it, but it went back to the library unfinished. I can see why other people enjoyed it – it’s got a twisty plot, solid prose, complex yet consistent worldbuilding, and an intriguing premise. But neither of us connected with Cassel, the main character – a teenager from a family of con artists.

The other problem (for me anyway) was that it was clear from the beginning that things weren’t what they appeared but it was so difficult to know what was actually going on in the story. I mean, when every significant character in the book is a con artist or criminal of some kind, and even the narrator may be under a spell that makes it hard for him to know what is real or unreal – whether he’s playing a con or being played himself — well, as clever and cool as all that sounds, it also makes it hard to know what we readers can believe, and when I can’t believe or trust anything, I can’t make myself care about it, either. DNF.

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

This was another Jia recommendation, and one that worked better for both of us. We picked this up because I was intrigued by the setting, a fantastical place modeled on China in a historical era I couldn’t identify. Silver Pheonix turnedout to be as much about its milieu as anything.

After a leering merchant tries to force her to become his fourth wife, our intrepid heroine, Ai Ling, embarks on the journey to the emperor’s palace, in order to retrieve her missing father. Along the way she makes some friends, including the serious and brave Chen Yong, whose history is connected to hers, unbeknownst to either of them. As they battle various threats, Chen Yong remains steadfastly at Ai Ling’s side, and she falls for him, but it’s unclear what his own feelings are.

Although the romance was subtle and the characterization wasn’t that deep, this story was very enjoyable at the level of an adventure story. Based on Jia’s review of the sequel, I’m not sure whether to continue with the series, but this book had a great setting and was fun to read. B-.

Witches’ Blood (Installment #4 of The Rifter) by Ginn Hale

Back in August, Sunita and I reviewed the early installments of Ginn Hale’s ten-part fantasy serial, The Rifter. Sunita reviewed installments 1-5, and I reviewed 1-3. The Rifter excited me not only because of its intriguing premise, its detailed worldbuilding , and its appealing main characters, Kyle and John, but also because of its structure.

The early segments contained shifts not only in POV and setting, but also in time. What I mean by this is that as we switched back and forth from John to Kyle and back, we learned that although they no longer occupied the same point in time. This device allowed the author to show not only events as they unfolded, but also their consequences years later, and not always in that order.

Right or wrong, this set up an expectation in me that the book would continue in this fashion, and we would shift back and forth in time and POV in each installment. Installment #4, though, was set completely in the same time and place that we had already visited in #3, the Rahtal’pesha monastery. This made Witches’ Blood feel static to me, and it didn’t help that event-wise, not much that was pivotal happened in this installment.

Rathal’pesha is an austere setting, and John finds himself persecuted at times, so Witches’ Blood felt oppressively dark to me. Since I didn’t anticipate having to wait to wait so long to return to Kyle’s POV and time frame, I felt frustrated by the slow pacing of Witches’ Blood, especially when it came to things like descriptions of food. Despite the consistently good chararacterization, language and worldbuilding, my main thought was that I wanted the story to move forward more.

I really wanted to love Witches’ Blood, especially after waxing enthusiastic about the first three installments of The Rifter. Instead, it took me a couple of months to read this installment, which was only 100 or so pages long. C+.

The Rifter at Blind Eye Books

What about you? What did you read in October? And if you’ve read any of the books I mentioned, what did you think of them?

Janine

What Sunita is Reading in late September and early October

Sunita — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:54:57 +0000

I’ve been reading for review, trying out new authors and trying to find more self-published work. I seem to be partway through an awful lot of books. It’s a mixed bag in terms of content and quality.

Reckless Runaway At the Racecourse, by Ros Clarke. Ros and I follow each other on Twitter and she offered this, her first self-published book, for free on Smashwords for a short time. I’ve had it in the TBR for a while. So far it’s a sweet story, very much in the Harlequin/Mills and Boon tradition. The hero and heroine meet cute at the races when she runs out onto the track while a horse race is in progress in order to rescue her expensive shoe and escape her predatory boss (the hero is more worried about the horses than the heroine, which I appreciated). It looks like an opposites-attract story. The writing is solid (nice, snappy dialogue) and the production values are good so far. I’ll finish and report back.

Something Different by S. A. Reid. The author offered this book for review, and Joan/SarahF reviewed it and liked it very much. I was intrigued and frustrated in equal parts by the opening chapters. The protagonist is an unhappily married man with a stereotypically horrible wife who denies him sex (authors, can we have a moratorium on this kind of character? Please?). He is miserable but lacks the courage to change his situation. He goes out looking for a prostitute in a park and finds a young, handsome man rather than the woman he was initially seeking. They are attracted to each other and begin a relationship. The author makes a number of missteps in depicting the setting, including the use of American English and odd contextual information (the setting is suburban London), and the protagonist comes across as pathetic rather than sympathetic. But the writing style is good and I’m curious to see if the author can redeem this guy.

Bear, Otter, and the Kid by T. J. Klune. This debut m/m romance came out earlier this year and generated unbelievable buzz. I didn’t think it was my kind of book but I was curious, so I downloaded a sample and discovered that the excerpt alone was ~~9000+~~ 900+ Kindle locations. It is in dire need of editing and has one of those narrators who talks all the time and tells you everything in his head, if you know what I mean. And yet his voice is oddly compelling. The ridiculous names are explained fairly quickly. The Kid is revoltingly precocious. But the story is engaging, and last week it was discounted to $2.99 at Amazon, so I decided to buy it and see how far I could get. The basic storyline: the narrator, his younger brother, his best friend, and his girlfriend/other best friend form a family-like unit after the irresponsible mother takes off. The (male) best friend’s brother reappears after being essentially gone for three years and upsets the equilibrium. Cue romance and drama.

Among the Living (PsyCop #1) by Jordan Castillo Price. For some reason I totally managed to miss reading any of Jordan Castillo Price’s m/m paranormal mysteries, even though she was the subject of an If You Like column here at Dear Author. I’d heard wonderful things about her books for years, and I have enjoyed the Petit Morts series. I finally rectified this omission by downloading the first of the PsyCop books. Price makes it easy by offering half the book for free on her website. It’s well worth buying the other half. The protagonist is a psychic detective who sees and talks to dead people. He’s part of a Chicago police force in which psychics of various abilities are partnered with non-psychics (stiffs). The narrator is funny and endearing, the writing is smooth, the romantic storyline is appealing, and the mystery is pretty good. Full review to come.

The Silent City (Rifter #8) by Ginn Hale. I read it in one sitting and loved it, but you probably knew that. We jump back in time in this installment, to when John was coming to grips with being The Rifter. Much of the story here revolves around his attempts to manage the vast powers he has on Basawar. Kyle/Ravishan is present as well. We learn more about the Fai’daum, and we find out how John became Jath’ibaye (in more ways than one). The story is dark, violent, and almost claustrophic. It is also romantic and even sweet at times. I have no idea how this epic, epic fantasy can be wrapped up in just two more installments. Luckily, I’m pretty sure Ms. Hale does. Full review to come, but not right away.

A Baby for Eve by Maggie Kingsley. When I did my post on the Harlequin Medical Romance line last year, a commenter suggested this book. Not only does the heroine have an abortion, she goes on with her life and eventually gets to have an HEA. I tracked it down and discovered it was part of Penhally Bay, Mills & Boon’s Centennial series in the Medical line. The entire series finally started being issued in the US market this year, and this month the Kingsley was published (in print form; the ebook releases next month). I read it and liked it last year, but I decided to reread it and see if it was really good, or I just thought so because I was so happy to find a book with this setup. Review to come.

The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge. This book, which was first published in 1984, has been reissued in paperback by Sourcebooks. I read it soon after it came out and I’ve dipped into it frequently since then. As biographies go, it’s a bit workmanlike: Hodge, herself a well-known author, employes a straightforward chronology that intertwines events in Heyer’s life with the research and writing of her novels. But it’s invaluable for Heyer enthusiasts. I decided to do a full reread before I embark on the new biography of Heyer by Jennifer Kloester (which is already available in the UK but won’t be published in the US until 2012). If readers are interested I’ll do a full review.

REVIEW: Broken Fortress & Enemies and Shadows (Rifter Parts 6 & 7) by Ginn Hale

Sunita — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:00:11 +0000

[Spoiler alert: I think I've managed to avoid direct spoilers for these two installments, but it's almost impossible to talk substantively about the series without referring to events that occur after the first installment, The Shattered Gates. Proceed at your own risk.]

Dear Ms. Hale,
Your Rifter series has been a revelation to me this year. It is one of the most compelling things I’ve read in recent memory, and I find the installment aspect fascinating. I look forward to each month’s release, but I almost never read it when I receive it. I circle the new installment like a dog with a new and obviously delicious bone: I read the summary at the beginning, then I put it aside; then I read the first few pages, then I stop and put it down; and then, finally, I clear a couple of hours and sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting. Slowly. And then I try to find people to converse with about it. The Rifter sucks me in, it makes me think, and it regularly surprises me.

It is also immensely frustrating to review, because between the incompleteness of the monthly installment and the spoiler problem, the gap between what I want to say and what I can say feels almost insurmountable. How do I convey my enthusiasm without spoiling the series for other readers? In our earlier joint review Janine was vigilant at maintaining the balance, but here I have to find a way to do it on my own.

First, a very brief overview of these two installments. They are set in the same time period, and the main characters are closer to the Kyle and John we met in The Shattered Gates. Both men have experienced a great deal, but the time jumps that occur regularly throughout the series have put them together here. John is firmly entrenched in his role as a divinity, while Kahlil is still somethign of an outsider, to Basawar and especially to the Fai’daum. Kahlil and John have arrived at this point in time through different journeys, but they recognize each other, and Kahlil wants to stay with and serve John/Jath’ibaye. This choice settles him into Fai’daum society, where he is viewed with some suspicion at first, but he finds several roles which help to integrate him into the community.

Meanwhile, Jath’ibaye is managing the complexities of being a leader and divine being in Basawar even as he continues to feel mortal thoughts and emotions. These emotions have far greater power in Basawar than they did in his homeland, and controlling and channeling them takes enormous energy. In addition, John/Jath’ibaye has a fuller understanding of events that have occurred in the past than Kahlil does, which means that while on some levels they are able to meet as near-equals, on others Jath’ibaye is burdened with both power and knowledge. For his part, Kahlil has to deal with his imperfect and shifting memories:

“I try not to think about the past too much.” Kahlil shrugged. “You’d be surprised by how little you have to know about yourself to just get through the day.”

“Sounds like hell,” Jath’ibaye replied.

“When I first arrived it was, but lately …” Kahlil sighed. “I don’t know. Either I’m getting used to it or my memories are beginning to settle out.”

“Settle out?” Jath’ibaye asked.

“I can think about the past a little more easily. There are still two histories, but instead of just crashing into each other, it’s more like …” Kahlil tried to think of a way to describe the interplay of the two sets of memories in his mind.

“You know when you look out this window,” Kahlil said at last, “there’s the view outside but there’s also your reflection in the glass. You can watch everything going on outside, but the reflection is always there. And every now and then you notice it, and the entire view outside goes out of focus. But if you shift your focus, the view comes back. That’s kind of how it is for me.”

These two installments fuse the more standard plot developments of a Fantasy novel with the romance between Kyle/Kahlil and John/Jath’ibaye. But they also foreground the parallel individual experiences and challenges each faces as a being who is something more than mortal. We first met them when Jath’ibaye was John Toffler, graduate student, and Kahlil was Kyle, milkman and other-worldly being. Now the roles are reversed, as John is a god and Kyle may no longer be a Kahlil. Yet each retains aspects of those lives and their memories, and each negotiates the contradictions inherent in his transformation.

As a result of fully becoming the Rifter on Basawar, Jath’ibaye has enormous power and responsibility, and he doesn’t fight this role; sometimes he seems resigned at best, while at others he appears to embrace it. Kahlil feels more mortal and even wearied by the constant need to reconcile his imperfect memories of the past with the difficulties of of his present existence, but he still has crucial and rare abilities.

In both cases, the portrayal of the tension between strength and privilege on the one hand and the sorrow for what is lost on the other is one of the more nuanced depictions I can remember reading in a Fantasy series. They aren’t heavy-handed in any way, but they enrich my understanding of the characters, and they add a poignancy and depth to the romance. This is particularly impressive because the romance is an important component of the series but it necessarily shares a lot of page time with the complex plot.

By the end of Enemies and Shadows, the suspense has been ratcheted way up and the reader is left teetering on a very scary cliffhanger. Newly introduced characters have become critical players, long-established characters’ arcs have taken new directions, and the gentle passages between Kahlil and Jath’ibaye have given way to violent and traumatic events that make an optimistic ending seem further and further away. And since there are only three installments left to go, you don’t have many pages in which to bring it about. Somehow, though, I think you’ll pull it off.

Grade: A-

~ Sunita

Buy the serial at Blind Eye Books.

What Sunita is reading, for the week ending August 21

Sunita — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:00:52 +0000

My reading weeks are highly variable. Sometimes I read half a dozen (or more) novels in their entirety, sometimes I don’t make it through a single one. This was a good week. I was doing some catching up of series in preparation for new releases, as well as following up on reads that have been recommended here and elsewhere. A number of these are short-story or novella length, so I read more variety than I do in a week where I’m reading full-length novels.

Enemies and Shadows (The Rifter #7) by Ginn Hale

Yes, I have the ARC. And yes, it totally rocks. #6 and #7 are set in the same time frame and focus on Kahlil and John, and they integrate fantasy and romance beautifully. There are some lovely scenes between the protagonists, the plot moves forward in a way that grips me and doesn’t let go, and I know it’s going to get worse before it gets better, emotion-wise. I can’t say much more than that for obvious reasons. I’ll have a post on these two installments early next month. This serial continues to be one of the best things I’ve read all year, maybe one of the best things I’ve read in any year.

Blind Eye Books

Muscling Through by J.L. Merrow

Reviewed here by Joan/SarahF. The review and the comments made me want to read this. I agree with Tumperkin/Joanna’s take: Al is slow, but not exactly stupid. I enjoyed the book, although it didn’t grab me as much emotionally as I expected. I’m okay with that, because sometimes I read to see what the author is going to do with a particular trope or setup. In this case, Merrow’s choice to use a somewhat inarticulate narrator made the story particularly interesting. It was a thought-provoking exploration of what we mean when we say someone is smart (or stupid), and what might lead opposites to become attracted to each other. An unusual story that has stayed with me.

Old Poison by Josh Lanyon

This is the second novella in the Dangerous Ground series (Jayne reviewed the first one here). Federal agents Will and Taylor got together in DG #1 and they are working out the parameters of their relationship. They have to keep it hidden if they want to continue as partners, and they’re still kind of hesitant even though they have strong feelings for each other. Although Will is the reliable one, he feels less trustworthy than Taylor in terms of commitment because he doesn’t seem to believe that Taylor is in it for the long haul. Plot-wise, something and someone from Taylor’s past come back to haunt him and he narrowly escapes. This series is as close to timepass for me as anything written by Josh Lanyon can be. I’m not really invested in the characters, but the writing is first-rate and Lanyon plots a romantic mystery as well as anyone in the genre. The fourth in the series releases next month, and I plan to catch up by reading #3 before then.

For One Night Only by Anne Brooke

Even when her books don’t entirely work for me, I find Brooke’s work to be compelling and readable. She reminds me a bit of Harper Fox, in that the emotional level is intense but emotions are taken seriously and explored with sensitivity and nuance. This is a short character study of a Dom who discovers the hard way how dangerously insensitive and callous he has been, and who takes steps to learn to be a better person, not just a better practitioner of BDSM. It’s not an easy read, and it’s not particularly romantic, but it’s unusual, intriguing, and well written. Apparently another story from the second protagonist’s perspective is in the works, and I’ll be on the lookout for it.

Goodreads | Amazon | BN

Under the Gun by HelenKay Dimon.

This is the first book in Dimon’s current series in Harlequin’s Intrigue line. There are five in all, and the fifth is out next month. I read one out of sequence and I wanted to go back to the beginning and read in order. The hero is an agent with The Recovery Project, a quasi-governmental organization. The heroine is his former fiancee who dumped him for someone she soon regretted. Together they try to find out who has framed her for murder and wants to kill her. Dimon can really write category suspense; her plotting is tight, her writing is good, and you can believe it when the characters start to fall for each other. The romance has to occur fairly quickly, given the constraints of the line, but I still found it satisfying. Dimon has quickly become one of my go-to authors in the Intrigue line.

Immortality is the Suck by A.M. Riley

Riley is one of my autobuy authors for mystery and contemporaries in m/m, but I had avoided the menage and paranormal books. Then last week I really needed to read a sure thing by a reliable author and I downloaded a sample. Even though it was midnight, I had to buy the book immediately. So far, we have a decidedly unheroic narrator who doesn’t know why he’s undead, and although he clearly loves his fuck-buddy and best friend, he is incapable of even temporary fidelity. Even while mostly dead. The protagonists are cops, with the narrator deep undercover in a gang and in danger of going rogue before he’s shot. Being mostly dead doesn’t keep him from being wanted by both the criminals and the cops. I’ve only read a few chapters, but it’s Riley, so I’m pretty sure it will stay this good. I love the narrator’s voice. And there’s a sequel!

Goodreads | Amazon | BN

Spoil of War by Phoenix Sullivan

Yeah, I went there. I’m only four chapters in, although I have skimmed more than that, but I had to take a break. I see nothing so far to make me disagree with January’s review. I was prepared for the rapetastic nature of the plot, but I didn’t expect to find the heroine quite so appalling. The author seems to want the reader to like and even admire Elsbeth, because everyone except the Bad People wants to be her friend or fall in love with her. But I find her immature, self-centered, and oblivious of other’s feelings to an extreme that makes her unbelievable as a heroine. And while I’m not an expert on the early medieval period, even I can tell a historical mashup of the 6th through 12th centuries when I see it.

Goodreads | Amazon | BN

Best of 2008 List: Reviewer Janine

Janine — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:12:29 +0000

Janine was our third “Ja(y)ne” here at Dear Author. She provides beautifully written, well articulated reviews. She has varied tastes and puts an emphasis on well written prose. Janine is a slow, but careful reader:

DELICIOUS by Sherry Thomas*, Grade A
CRY WOLF by Patricia Briggs, Grade A
PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS by Sherry Thomas*, Grade A-/A
WICKED INTENTIONS by Lydia Joyce, Grade A-
“LOS CONVERSOS” by Jesse Sandoval, in the anthology TANGLE, Grade A-
“EMBER” by Bettie Sharpe**, Grade A-
THE EDGE OF IMPROPRIETY by Pam Rosenthal, Grade A-
THE DUKE OF SHADOWS by Meredith Duran*, Grade A-
“REMEMBER” by Astrid Amara, in the anthology TANGLE, Grade A-
YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS by Loretta Chase, Grade B+/A-
GRIMSPACE by Ann Aguirre, Grade B+/A-
“LORD RONAN’S SHOES” by Astrid Amara, in the anthology TANGLE, Grade B+/A-
QUEEN OF DRAGONS by Shana Abe, Grade B+
“FERAL MACHINES” by Ginn Hale, in the anthology TANGLE, Grade B+
LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH by Emily Giffin, Grade B+
MINE TO POSSESS by Nailini Singh, Grade B+

*Full disclosure from Janine: Meredith Duran and Sherry Thomas are my good friends and critique partners, but since I enjoyed their 2008 books very much, I felt it would be a glaring omission not to include their them on my list of favorites.

**Added by Janine in 2009: Readers should know that I am now exchanging critiques with Bettie Sharpe as well. However, that was not the case when I read “EMBER.”

Ginn Hale Offers Up Free Fiction

Jane — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:14:51 +0000

Ginn Hale had issues with her print publisher and promised that if the publisher failed to meet it second publication date, she would put out her short story for free. You can find it here. Related posts: Fiction DB Is Now Free Universal Strips Down and Offers DRM Free Music Oprah Offers 2nd Free Book [...] Related posts:

REVIEW: Tangle XY (Anthology edited by Nicole Kimberling)

Janine — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:00:40 +0000

Dear Readers,

Since this review covers my responses to nine short stories and two novellas, I’ve decided that for the sake of clarity, it would be simper to address this letter to you rather than to eleven authors.

Tangle XY is an anthology featuring a variety of same-sex love stories. All the romances here have two heroes, most contain fantastical elements, and happily, I enjoyed the majority of them. Here are my impressions of each one:

“Moons of Blood and Amber” by Gene Mederos

This high fantasy novelette, the first story in the anthology, centers on Prince Ballantyr’s attempt to ascend to the throne and acquire the title of Pentarch, or high king of five realms. Ballantyr’s lover and high councilor, Dallan Haleson, is actually the POV character of the novelette, which alternates between the storyline of Ballantyr’s attempt to gain the pentarchy, and that of how Ballantyr and Dallan first met.

In the former storyline, Ballantyr’s ascension is contested by his older half-brother Taranthel, against whom Ballantyr has to prove himself in contests of fighting prowess and knowledge of the law. He and Dallan must also solve the problem of how they are to come up with an heir for Ballantyr’s throne, when Ballantyr wants Dallan, who cannot provide him with biological children, to rule at his side.

In the storyline of Dallan’s past, Dallan, then a young man, is captured along with a thief, a witch and a simpleton, and the four of them are thrown into a dark pit where menace awaits them. To say more would be to give away too much.

Although there were some nice moments in this novelette, especially in the flashback storyline when Dallan and his fellow prisoners had to cooperate and discover the extent of their abilities in order to survive, some things I wanted explained were not.

The present storyline was a lot less compelling since Dallan’s life was for the most part secure and the fate of the pentarchy should Taranthel inherit it is never detailed. Ballantyr seems to give his and Dallan’s personal lives more importance than the lives of his future subjects, so I was not entirely convinced that he was the better ruler. I felt that this storyline relied on a portrayal of Taranthel and his mother as stock villains, and that some of the explanations that were given were not necessary. I also felt that in the end, things get resolved too easily.

With both storylines, some of the writing felt a bit clichéd to me, as when Ballantyr says “Now that I’ve found you, do you think I’d ever let you go?” My grade for “Moons of Blood and Amber” is a C-.

“Monument” by Steven Adamson

This contemporary short story begins with a flashback. When Ian was ten years old and on a drive with his family, he saw a white obelisk made of concrete on the side of the road. Ian’s dad explained that the obelisk is a monument to a town that used to be there but is now gone. Ian’s imagination is powerful, and he can see the lost town when he looks at the monument.

Now Ian is nineteen years old and still in the closet. His father is the local sheriff and he’s not sure whether his sexual orientation would be accepted by his parents and by others who know him. For that reason, Ian is somewhat secretive about his relationship with Rick, a boy with “girly speech and curling hands” whom Ian thinks their acquaintances suspect of being gay.

Rick and Ian have been wanting to sleep together, but haven’t been able to find the privacy to do so. Then Ian has the idea of taking Rick to see the monument by moonlight. What will happen when they get there?

Although the narration and the dialogue in this short story were both smoothly written, I didn’t feel all that invested in the outcome of the story. The characters were believable and real, but I didn’t care that much about them. The plot was not very eventful, either. “Monument” seemed like more of a mood piece than a story where something significant happens, and since the story was neither deeply romantic nor all that spooky, it didn’t work all that well for me on the level of mood piece, either, though it wasn’t a bad way to pass the time. My grade for “Monument” is a C.

“Lord Ronan’s Shoes” by Astrid Amara

In this story (which is somewhere between a short story and a novelette in length), Evander is a relatively new servant in the home of Lord Ronan, a vassal to the king. Though very handsome, Lord Ronan is a difficult master. He constantly criticizes his servants, strikes them, and finds other ways to punish them. Evander, who is Lord Ronan’s Master of Shoes, is as miserable as Lord Ronan’s other servants.

One day, while in the city to look for replacement buckles, Evander happens on a crone selling unusual boots. The boots, she claims, will improve their wearer’s health and sweeten his disposition. On impulse, Evander purchases them for Lord Ronan. And indeed, after wearing the boots, Lord Ronan becomes kind and amiable. Not only that, he is strongly attracted to Evander and does not hesitate to seduce him.

But Evander feels guilty for his part in enchanting Lord Ronan. And he is quickly falling in love with his spellbound master. If Lord Ronan realizes what Evander did, will he forgive him? And if he removes his boots, will he still be the man Evander loves?

This story was thoroughly delightful. It had a fairy tale quality that I loved and I also enjoyed the way it mixed folktale tropes like the crone, the enchanted boots and the thicket of brambles that grew around Lord Ronan’s house with elements I don’t usually associate with fairy tales, like the lives of servants or the M/M relationship.

I thought the prose was very polished, and although there wasn’t much build up to the physical relationship between Lord Ronan and Evander, it turned quite romantic afterward. The happy ending was slightly rushed, but touching all the same. Like the boots Evander bought for Lord Ronan, the story shimmers and gleams.

Amara has a novel, The Archer’s Heart, coming out in September, which Jia plans to review, and if “Lord Ronan’s Shoes” is a good example of her writing, my hopes for The Archer’s Heart are high. My grade for “Lord Ronan’s Shoes” is a B+/A-.

“Los Conversos” by Jesse Sandoval

I suspect the setting for this short story is an alternate reality Mexico, but I’m not certain. Nor am I certain exactly when the story is set, though I would guess a century or two in the past. But I was so swept up in the bits of magical realism that are woven throughout the story like golden threads, and in the beautiful imagery Sandoval employs that I hardly cared.

The story begins when Acilino presents Cardinal Silencio with stained glass window panes for a cathedral. Acilino has spent three years making the panes, which are so beautiful that on seeing them, the cardinal weeps. His tears pass through the glass and turn into pomegranate seeds. But the seeds are bitter and Acilino’s skin dark, so the cardinal refuses to acknowledge the miracle. Instead he calls Acilino “El Egipcio,” alluding to his Egyptian heritage.

Acilino is so bitter that a black pearl forms in his mouth. This often happens when he is angry, and he believes the trait, along with his emerald-colored blood, comes from his unusual grandmother.

Rosario, who shares a house and little else with Acilino, also has an unusual heritage. It is whispered that he is a Jew who converted to Christianity, and indeed, Acilino has never seen him touch pork.

Although they are both outsiders to the other townspeople, Acilino and Rosario have never become close. But now Acilino’s anger with the cardinal is so sharp that Rosario is able to draw his secret hopes out of him, and then make a confession of his own.

This story was beautifully written and I enjoyed it very much. The magical elements were as unusual as they were unexpected. “Los Conversos” is about being an outsider and the difficulties of finding acceptance, but also about how it is possible for two outsiders to find what they are looking for in one another. I liked the story so much that I wish it had been longer and that I could see Acilino and Rosario’s relationship developing further. That is the one quibble I have.

Jesse Sandoval’s bio at the end of the book states that “He plays guitar better than he writes.” If that is the case, I would love to hear him play. My grade for “Los Conversos” is an A-.

“The Lost Gentleman” by Mark Allan Gunnells

Jeremy Tesler’s rental car breaks down on a deserted road in the middle of a rainstorm in this contemporary paranormal short story. Jeremy leaves his car and tries to take shelter in a dilapidated house he believes to be deserted. But when he enters the house, he encounters a mysterious older gentleman. Jeremy has always preferred his lovers to be younger, so he is quite surprised by his attraction to Dominic Whitman.

Almost right away, there are signs that Dominic isn’t quite what he appears to be. He doesn’t have a telephone, and when lightning flashes, he disappears from view. But despite Jeremy’s attraction to Dominic, it takes him a long time to understand what’s going on, and when he does, he realizes that the obstacles he and Dominic are faced with if they are to have a relationship go beyond an age gap.

The best thing I can say about this story is that there are some nice descriptions in it, such as those of the run-down house with its chipped bricks and askew shutters. But in my opinion the weaknesses here far outnumber the strengths. Jeremy is a shallow main character, and as for Dominic, I hardly feel that I know him. I would have loved to have heard more about his background but some crucial information is left out.

There is a lot of telling and not much showing, and in fact, while the initial attraction and the final commitment were shown, I felt that the all-important process of falling in love that took place in the middle was merely summarized. I also feel that much of the language is not very fresh (expressions that seem very familiar, like “I’ll get out of your hair,” and “You look like a drowned rat” are peppered through the dialogue), that the obvious is sometimes stated, and that the set up of the plot includes a lot of the usual haunted house clichés.

Most disappointingly, I never felt the love between Jeremy and Dominic or cared about the outcome of their relationship, and I also felt that the obstacles that separated them were removed too easily. My grade for “The Lost Gentleman” is a D.

“Release in A minor” by Tenea D. Johnson

This story, which takes up only a little over four pages, is so short that I almost feel I shouldn’t describe it lest I give too much away. But since reviewing requires me to give a description, I will say that it centers on Clyde, a jazz trumpet player now living in Baton Rouge. Back in New Orleans, Clyde was known as “Le Appeleurf” (“The Summoner”) for the brilliance of his playing. Now Clyde plays by himself for the twilight bayou and in doing so he summons memories. This story concerns a memory of Clyde with his lover Tony.

The language in which “Release in A minor” is written has a lush, sweeping beauty. Take for example the first few lines of the story:

Clyde plays his trumpet cleanly into the hollow. The notes float across the lake and out into the rising shade of night. They bend around the cypress trees, dip into the water, and stretch out of Baton Rouge toward the city.

I loved the writing, so I really wanted to love “Release in A minor.” I ended up feeling, though, that the story needed to be a bit longer. Clyde seems like he could be a sympathetic and interesting character, but I felt that I wanted to know more about him. Tony is even sketchier, and remains a cipher. Because we aren’t given the context of Clyde and Tony’s relationship, the love scene between them didn’t move me, despite the gorgeous writing.

It is always tough to grade a story or book that is so strong in its language but weak in other ways. I can’t really recommend “Release in A minor” but because I might read parts of it again, and because it left me feeling that I would love to read a longer work by Tenea D. Johnson, I give it a C+.

“The Coming of the Fourth Dawn” by Jeremiah Job Levine

This action-packed fantasy tale gets off to a great start. The narrator of the story is Vikram, a sorcerer. He and his swordsman lover Chalith are mercenaries in the Northwestern lands. Up until recently the lands were held by the Amin Karana, whom Vikram refers to as “barbarous Skull Collectors.” But the Karana were defeated by an army Vikram and Chalith fought in, and now other powers in the lands want the territory the Karana once had. Chalith and Vikram are waiting for the next war to begin.

But in the meantime, they have to earn a living. When a small group of cultists called The Children of the Fourth Dawn wants to hire Vikram and Chalith to guide them through a haunted forest to a secret temple, Chalith accepts their money and agrees to the mission without consulting Vikram, who feels the job is too dangerous.

The Children of the Fourth Dawn are led by a young witch named Nahua. As the journey to the forest proceeds, it becomes clear to Vikram that Nahua is power-hungry and that her quest to find the temple is a product of her dangerous ambition. She flirts with Chalith, which upsets Vikram, who feels that his lover is perfect while he himself is very far from perfection. But soon Chalith and Vikram have bigger problems than Nahua’s advances. The group reaches the forest, and though at first it seems quiet and inviting, appearances prove to be deceiving.

I loved the beginning of “The Children of the Fourth Dawn.” The worldbuilding in this story seemed fascinating, and it is not often that I read about mercenaries. Vikram was an interesting and mysterious character and Chalith’s devotion to him was romantic and sexy. The middle portion of the story, which deals with the haunted forest, was also well-executed.

But as the story moves forward, the focus shifts from Vikram and Chalith’s relationship to the nature of Nahua’s quest. I don’t want to say too much about the ending, but it involves a climactic showdown that may appeal to lovers of epic fantasy. I, on the other hand, would have preferred a little less action and magic and a bit more relationship development. I would have loved to find out why Vikram didn’t feel worthy of Chalith, and to see more interaction between the two heroes. Still, “The Children of the Fourth Dawn” is a very entertaining story, and I give it a B-.

“Fag Hag” by Lawrence Schimel

This short story is about a lonely witch. One day her familiar, a cat named Avery, announces that a visitor is about to come and ask for a love potion. When a boy arrives at her door, the witch, who likes to frighten strangers, assumes that the boy wants the potion to make a girl fall in love with him. But it turns out he wants another boy, and is willing to pay the witch with his labor.

The story is so short that I don’t want to say much more about what happens. The witch and the boy’s relationship develops into something touching and human, but the story isn’t quite as vivid and memorable as I would have liked for it to be. I also wish it had been a bit longer, so I would have had more time to become invested in the characters. Still, there is a nice twist to what happens with the love potion, and for the most part (aside from the gimmicky title), I liked “Fag Hag.” My grade for it is a B-.

“Remember” by Astrid Amara

It is February of 1898 and Alexander Clark has recently become engaged to Miss Florence Tyler. Alexander, the narrator of “Remember,” isn’t looking forward to married life, but his uncle has threatened to cut him off if he doesn’t marry, and Alex, a writer, sees no other way to support himself. He hopes to console himself through encounters with attractive men in his London club. The memories of such meetings will have to last a lifetime after his wedding, since Alex knows he will not be able to take lovers once he crosses the threshold into married life.

Alex’s future mother-in-law, Mrs. Tyler, charges Alex with an important task. The Tyler family’s wedding rings, heirlooms said to be enchanted, have gone missing, and Mrs. Tyler wants Alex to hire a magician to locate them. Not just any magician, but a man who calls himself Obscurity, and who is said to have a talent for finding anything that has gone missing. Alex is skeptical that magicians can do anything more than perform stage tricks, but he dutifully goes to the Thaumaturgy Club to seek out Obscurity.

At the Thaumaturgy Club, the bartender suggests that Alex inquire with a Mr. Trevarian who runs the Eidolon Theatre. But before Alex can do so, he is transfixed by the sight of a beautiful, tall man with pale skin and raven hair. The man introduces himself as Stephen Radner, a magician. Alex and Stephen begin a lively conversation, and as they talk, Alex notices that Stephen moves almost too fluidly and quickly. The chemistry between the two is potent, and they end up in Alex’s flat, making passionate love. But the next day, Alex can barely remember the encounter, and cannot call to mind the face of his lover from the night before.

Alex locates Mr. Trevarian at the Eidolon Theatre, and the man explains that Obscurity is not a performing magician, but a practitioner of the black arts. Trevarian advises Alex not to seek such a man, but on seeing Alex’s disappointment, he gives him a clue that may be able to lead him to Obscurity.

At tea with his fiancée and her mother, Alex tells Mrs. Tyler that he is making progress toward locating the wedding rings. He tries to suppress his own despondency at the thought of marrying Florence, who also seems to have little enthusiasm for the match. He also notices that Florence comes alive when her mother’s solicitor enters the room.

To console himself, Alex goes to his club, hoping to find some companionship. And indeed, once there, he sees a beautiful young man with pale skin, raven hair, and fluid movements. There is something almost hypnotically attractive about this stranger, who introduces himself as Stephen Radner. Alex feels a comforting familiarity with him as well. But he is certain he has never met Radner before. Surely he could never forget meeting such a beautiful man…

“Remember” takes a little while to pick up steam, but once it does, it becomes apparent that this is a charming and clever tale. I liked Alex fairly well, and found the mysterious Stephen fascinating. I wished we could know more about Stephen, but since Alex is the narrator and his memory disappears after encountering Stephen, I understand why it wasn’t possible for readers to be given a lot more information about Stephen than what is revealed to us.

I thought there was a nice sense of suspense over whether Alex will find his missing memories, which become more and more important to him, before Obscurity finds the missing wedding rings and Alex marries Florence.

I liked that Florence was not a villainess, but simply as unsuitable for Alex as he was for her. Although I did feel that there were moments when Alex and Stephen were a little too open about the romantic nature of their relationship, given the times, I thought that otherwise late Victorian London was depicted well. I also loved the eerie feel of this historical fantasy.

At 45 pages, “Remember” feels exactly long enough for the story told in those pages, and I loved its heartwarming ending. Like “Lord Ronan’s Shoes,” Amara’s other story in this anthology, “Remember” makes me excited about Amara’s upcoming novel, The Archer’s Heart. My grade for “Remember” is an A-.

“Crossing the Distance” by Erin McKay

The narrator of this 73 page fantasy novella is Aev, an albino or “White Child” as such people are known in his world. Aev is born in a primitive prairie village where villagers believe that White Children are ill omens. Aev’s father abandons his mother when she insists on keeping baby Aev rather than leaving him to the elements.

From birth, Aev senses another presence in his mind and as he grows older he realizes it is another boy named Trest. Trest is another White Child, but he is also an Elldreni aristocrat whose life is much different than Aev’s. While Aev suffers from malnutrition that keeps him small in size, and listens to the wind howling all day long, Trest is athletic and used to having the best of everything. Since Aev can literally become Trest in his mind, he often does so for hours at a time, and in this way, he acquires Trest’s vocabulary and knowledge. He becomes almost unable to communicate with the villagers, including his own mother, when he comes out of the trances that bring him into Trest’s mind.

Then an illness sweeps through Aev’s village, and when he is sick, the mental bond between the boys temporarily breaks. When they make contact again, Aev learns that Trest was so distressed by his disappearance that his father has sent soldiers to bring Aev to him. Aev, who has never fit in his village, parts from his mother and the villagers without a backward glance.

Aev’s arrival in the Elldreni Court is a shock to his system, since, although he has experienced it through Trest’s eyes, it is something else to see that luxury in person. But he is thrilled to be united with Trest. Though Aev is officially adopted by Trest’s father, it is clear that the feelings between Aev and Trest are tender, and eventually they become lovers.

But soon after that, Aev and Trest learn that Trest’s father, the military, and the king had another purpose in uniting them. White Children (so referred to even in adulthood) who share a mental bond can serve an important strategic purpose, and Trest and Aev are expected to do so. But it is a role that will require painful sacrifices of them, and make them pawns in the military’s game…

I’m of two minds about “Crossing the Distance.” On the one hand the story had interesting world building, believable characters (except for one side character whose change of heart seemed to me to come out of nowhere), and was never less than compelling. I turned the pages easily and quickly.

But on the other hand, I also found it disturbing, because Aev was so powerless, in so many ways: since he was physically smaller than Trest and most other people around them, because of his mental bond with Trest, which could overtake him completely; in terms of his socio-economic background, which made him dependent on Trest and his family’s support; and lastly, in the sense that both he and Trest become pawns later in the story.

It doesn’t help even when they are older, albino characters are referred to as White Children, and that Aev is small because of early malnutrition. Since the story starts with Aev’s birth and his age is never given at a later point, I wasn’t sure how old he was when he and Trest became lovers. I know Trest was sixteen or older, so I finally made up my mind that Aev was close to him in age, but I wish his age had been mentioned, because it was hard for me not to picture him as underage at first, and that made some scenes (especially one that bordered on rape) extremely disturbing to read.

The novella does end with Aev on more equal footing with Trest and others, and on an upbeat note, although Aev and Trest’s future was remains somewhat uncertain. Since “Crossing the Distance” isn’t a romance genre novella, I don’t want to judge it by the standards of one. I wasn’t sorry I read the novella, but I probably won’t read it again. I would say that the storytelling is at B level, but my enjoyment level was more of a C, so I’ll split the difference and give “Crossing the Distance” a grade of C+/B-.

“Feral Machines” by Ginn Hale

Ginn Hale’s 76-page science fiction novella, “Feral Machines,” was the main reason for my initial interest in Tangle (though I hope that by now this review has made it clear that this anthology also contains other gems). I loved Hale’s novel, Wicked Gentlemen (reviewed here), so I was eager to read more by this talented author.

Andrew is one of the two remaining volunteers on Casaverde, a wildlife habitat that is less than two years from attaining self-government status. It’s a refuge for many species of animals and plants, but the sanctuary it offers these species has been threatened since the Department of Development discovered that Casaverde also contains rich mineral deposits. At the time, there were many volunteers on Casaverde, but an outbreak of malaria gave the Department of Development the excuse to try and drive out the volunteers with a rigorous quarantine that cut off most of their supplies.

Now most of the volunteers have left, and only two — the minimum required for Casaverde to become a self-governing colony — remain. But Rannon, the second of the two, has lost his mind and wanders out in the jungle laying traps that may or may not be intended for Andrew. Andrew knows Rannon needs help, but if he allows Rannon to be airlifted away, it would mean that the wildlife preserve would be lost.

Meanwhile, Andrew himself is suffering from malaria and having a difficult time maintaining the compound he lives in. The jungle he loves is slowly encroaching on it, and Andrew doesn’t know if he can last the required twenty-three months.

Andrew needs help desperately, so, since he is permitted to receive military grade shipments, he orders three “synthetics,” military-grade cyborgs, to help him tend to Casaverde and his home. Two of them are BZs, child-sized, tentacled, chirping cyborgs that do not contain any human DNA. The third is AK-0019, a large, humanoid cyborg who may or may not be part human.

Although he is hesitant to do it, Andrew takes ownership of the cyborgs through a chip that controls receptors in the BZs’ and AK’s bodies. But Andrew is lonely and in his need for companionship, he can’t help but think of the synthetics’ comfort, and soon he is offering them food and asking them to choose names for themselves. The more he gets to know the synthetics, the worse he feels about owning them — and in the case of the AK, about the sexual attraction that he feels for the cyborg.

Andrew knows it would be a travesty to act on such an attraction while owning the sentient being he is attracted to. But if he sets the AK and the BZs free, will they still help him maintain Casaverde? Or will the wildlife preserve and all its inhabitants fall victim to the military?

While “Feral Machines” isn’t as intriguing in its world-building as Wicked Gentlemen, its charms include sympathetic characters and compelling moral dilemmas.

Despite some initial reservations about Andrew, I quickly grew to like him. The BZs and the AK were even more sympathetic, and at one point in the story, the plight of their slavery moved me to tears. I did feel that the story was a bit idealized, in that when Andrew freed the synthetics, I expected a bit more backlash from them, either toward their former master, however benevolent, or toward those who had previously owned them.

The setting was so well-described that I could practically taste and smell its verdant jungles, and hear the music of the birdsongs and the BZs’ trills. The storyline was moving and its conclusion heartwarming, with an ending where every creature found its place of sanctuary. I enjoyed the compassionate spirit of “Feral Machines” very much, and I give the novella a B+.

While not every story in Tangle XY worked for me, the majority did, and I feel that the anthology was worth my time. The variety subgenres in editor Nicole Kimberling’s selections kept my interest engaged most of the time, and the stories by Amara, Hale and Sandoval were especially good. Toward the end of the anthology I felt some longing for a female POV, something that was not present in any of the stories but “Fag Hag.” Still, I’m glad I read Tangle XY. My overall grade for the entire anthology is a B-.

Sincerely,

Janine

This book can be purchased at Blind Eye Books. No ebook as far as I know.

REVIEW: Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale

Janine — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:00:55 +0000

Dear Ms. Hale,

I first heard of your book, Wicked Gentlemen, when it was nominated in the GLBT category of our DA BWAHA March Madness tournament. Wicked Gentlemen made it to the third round of the tournament, which means it was the runner-up in the GLBT category.

At the time we were collecting votes, K.Z. Snow mentioned that the prose and storyline in the pdf excerpt posted on your site were phenomenal. Since I’m always hungry for the combination of phenomenal prose and storyline, I proceeded to read the excerpt. I was very impressed, and I quickly ordered the book.

Wicked Gentlemen is comprised of two closely connected novellas which blend the genres of steampunk paranormal, M/M romance, suspense and allegory smoothly and expertly. The first novella, “Mr. Sykes and the Firefly” is written in first person and narrated by one of the book’s two heroes, while the second novella, “Captain Harper and the Sixty Second Circle,” is written in third person, in the POV of the book’s other hero.

Both novellas are set in a world patterned after Victorian England, but one in which the descendants of demons, known as “Prodigals” have risen from hell to accept salvation from human priests. But instead of salvation the Prodigals encountered persecution. They are confined to the city, where most of them live in a subterranean ghetto called Hells Below. If they are suspected of any crime, they can be arrested and interrogated by the Inquisition, a religious police force.

Belimai Sykes is a Prodigal who resides above ground and makes his living by offering various services for hire. Like other Prodigals, Belimai possesses pointy ears, black nails and yellow eyes. Besides these, his demon ancestors also bequeathed him paranormal abilities, but since the nature of these aren’t revealed immediately, I won’t spoil their discovery for readers. In his past, Belimai was captured and tortured by the Inquisition, an experience which left him scarred and addicted to a drug called ophorium.

As “Mr. Sykes and the Firefly” begins, two men arrive at Belimai’s door. One is a physician, Dr. Edward Talbott, and the other an inquisitor, Captain William Harper. The two men are brothers-in-law. They want Belimai to investigate an abduction. Harper’s sister, Joan, who is also Tablott’s wife, has gone missing. She was last seen in a carriage which had been broken into. While Dr. Talbott reported the break in, his wife rode home in the carriage. But on their arrival at the Tablott residence, the driver and groom discovered that the interior of the carriage was empty.

Before her disappearance, Joan had been receiving warning letters from a Prodigal named Mr. Roffcale. Joan and Roffcale were both members of the Good Commons Society, an organization of activists that agitates for suffrage for both women and Prodigals. Joan’s involvement with the Commons was not a matter of public knowledge, though she often wrote controversial pamphlets. Now Captain Harper has arrested Roffcale and is holding him in a cell, but he hopes to avoid interrogating Roffcale since he doesn’t want Joan’s activism to become publicized.

Belimai agrees to take the case, and he and Captain Harper go to the Inquisition House to question Roffcale. Just entering the Inquisition House is agony for Belimai, who is assaulted with painful memories of his stay there. But worse is yet to come. When Belimai and Harper reach Roffcale’s cell they find only his disemboweled remains.

The sight leaves them both shaken, and when Captain Harper suggests that he owes Belimai a drink, Belimai prefers getting drunk to a sleepless night of trying to forget the murder. While they are drinking together, Belimai warms to Harper, despite his being an inquisitor. A drunk Harper then ends up in Belimai’s bed, but the next morning, they dismiss their lovemaking in what is a wonderful bit of dialogue and narration:

“About last night…” Harper shifted slightly. “I think it would be best if we got it clear between the two of us–”

“I have no intention of telling anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.” I smiled so that Harper could see my long teeth. “And I don’t think you’re likely to go bragging about it, so what’s left to say?”

“No, I meant between us… We were both pretty drunk. I just wanted you to understand that… ” Harper paused, unwilling to go on. Steadily, the pause began to spread into a lingering silence. He seemed unable to make himself speak of the night before. It amused, but didn’t surprise me.

“You want to make it clear that it was just a drunk fuck?” I filled in for him at last.

Belimai is incredibly hard on himself, but his self-deprecation is also part of what makes him fascinating. For example, his response to the above conversation is as follows:

It was pleasant to find another man as willing to let go as myself. Others had lingered in my bed and concerned themselves with the syringes scattered across my desk. They had clung to me as I descended into ruin. Some had attempted to save me. I had been wept on, slapped, and pulled into a dozen chapels by men who had mistaken me for their true love.

None of them had understood that my moments of sweetness were pure ophorium. Everything that they seemed to love about me came from the needles they detested. The man they desired was an illusion, an ugly stone made briefly beautiful by a trick of the light. In their own ways, each of them had fallen as deeply in love with my addiction as I had. None of them had known how absurd they were, begging me to leave behind that drug that was the source of all they loved most about me. My kindness, my calm, even my careless ease. Ophorium made me their perfect lover because it erased the truth of what I was.

But Belimai is in fact a better person than he believes he is, and Captain Harper is also not quite what he first appears to be. As they investigate Joan’s disappearance and Roffcale’s murder, which seems to be related to other killings, they begin to see through each other’s facades, even as things become more and more dangerous for them.

Wicked Gentlemen is a one of the most original books I have read in a long time. Though I’m not an expert on the paranormal and fantasy genres, the world building here struck me as fresh, consistent and startling.

The world of Wicked Gentlemen is constructed of unexpected combinations of pieces from our own history and mythologies that fit together into a flawless design. You also use physical, sensory details like the Prodigals’ sensitivity to light and holy water, and the humans’ sensitivity to heat, to make the reader feel that world.

Not only that, by making the priesthood police force threatening and dangerous, and the Prodigals victims of persecution, you raise thought provoking questions about the line between maintaining law and order and allowing personal freedom. But though it can be read as an allegory about racism, homophobia, and other forms of persecution, Wicked Gentlemen never feels preachy.

The characters of Belimai and Captain Harper are both appealing and extremely interesting, and a few of the secondary characters are almost as intriguing. Even though some of them only appear in a few pages, they felt very real to me.

The mystery and suspense plots are also well-executed, especially the one in the second novella, “Captain Harper and the Sixty Second Circle.” I wish I could say more about this novella, as I enjoyed it very much, but since it picks up where Belimai and Harper’s lives and relationship were left at the end of “Mr. Sykes and the Firefly,” I think that to do so would reveal too much.

Suffice to say that Harper, when we finally get his point-of-view in the second novella, is just as intriguing as Belimai.

The contrast between Belimai and Harper is the engine that drives the book.
Where Harper is a respected member of high society and a priest-inquisitor, Belimai is viewed by the same society which so respects Harper as guilty until proven innocent. If Harper is the pinnacle for which some men aspire, Belimai is viewed as the dregs.

The gap in their positions, and Harper’s seeming flawlessness in comparison with Belimai, is epitomized in the first moment of intimacy between them:

I led Captain Harper back to my rooms and peeled off his black coat and his priest’s collar. Slowly, I worked his gloves off, exposing his long fingers. His nails were as pink and glossy as the insides of a seashell. Each was tipped with a perfect white crescent. I kissed the soft skin of his palm. His stainless body was everything mine could never be. I hungered for that perfection.

It is that gap in their status that makes their relationship forbidden on all sorts of levels. Not just because they are both men, and the world in which they lived is Victorian in its sensibilities, but because of the mistrust, prejudice, and bigotry that separates their two races, and also since their stations in life are so very different that most of their acquaintances would not understand the relationship if they became aware of it. The barriers they face make their hunger for each other extremely compelling.

Harper and Belimai’s personalities are different as well, at least on the surface. Belimai is a sarcastic, self-deprecating rebel who is often contrary just for the sake of being contrary; Harper is seemingly devoted to duty. But the disappearance of his sister triggers long-dormant impulses in Harper, impulses that reveal that he too, is at heart a rebel, if one of a more quiet and less overt sort.

Just as the two men contrast, so do the two novellas, which differ not only in their suspense story arcs and POV characters but also in the fact that the first is narrated in first person and the second in third person.

Although I found that choice unusual, it worked for me because it made the book more textured and varied, and because while first person narration was suitable to Belimai’s talkative personality, third person was more appropriate for the quiet and private Captain Harper.

I have just a few quibbles about Wicked Gentlemen. First, there were a few times when I felt that the grittiness of the descriptions was slightly overdone, such as for example in a scene in which Harper just barely dodges the contents of a chamberpot. Second the description was frequently vivid and sharp; I loved, for example, this bit of ophorium high:

Two hours later, the night blossomed. The sky unfolded in rich waves of purple and blue velvet. Breezes traced pale violet ribbons through the darkness. Tiny buds of glittering stars burst into brilliant illuminations.

But as much as I loved your writing style, I noticed, after a while, that all the sentences were either short or medium-length, and I would have loved a little more variety in sentence length — an occasional long sentence here or there would have been nice.

Lastly, there were so many interesting characters, situations, and backstories in Wicked Gentlemen that I would have loved for the book to be a bit longer so that these could have been explored in more depth. More of Belimai and Harper’s relationship would have been good, too.

For our readers who may be wondering, I should mention that there is only one explicit love scene — but that one is pretty high on the heat meter. There is also violence in the book, but though I tend to be fairly sensitive to violence, I was able to handle it.

Although Wicked Gentlemen is not perfect, it is so sharply observed, so uniquely constructed, so original, and so touching in places that I have to give it a high recommendation. I am not in the habit of reading M/M romances but I enjoyed this one so much that I was very glad of the chance I took by spending $12.95 on it, and I’m now off to buy the anthology Tangle, which contains your novella, “Feral Machines.” As for Wicked Gentlemen, it’s an A- for me.

Sincerely,

Janine

This book can be purchased in trade paperback from Amazon or directly from the publisher. No ebook format.