Archive for 'm/m'
As there are many ways to get romance wrong, there are exponentially more ways to get BDSM romance wrong. BDSM is tricky. If you’re writing it because it’s hot, but you’ve got no experience with it, you’re almost bound to get it wrong. Almost, but not always, I hasten to add. Examples of successful BDSM romances by authors who aren’t BDSM-identified themselves — as far as I know — are Ann Somerville’s Remastering Jerna and Matthew Haldeman-Time’s An Affair in Paradise and Victoria Dahl’s The Wicked West. So the “authenticity” of a writer who is BDSM-identified isn’t necessary, if that author has imagination, empathy, and has done their research. But still, there are many many ways to get BDSM hideously, awfully, horrifically wrong. I’ve written before about how not to write BDSM romance, but I’ve recently had a string of truly scary BDSM romances cross my computer screen, all scary in very different ways, so I thought I’d combine reviews into a discussion of What NOT To Do.
 Thirty Days by Shayla Kersten (Liquid Silver Books)
This book horrified me. So much so that I literally can’t bring myself …
Dear Ladies,
 It’s taken me far too long to finally review this offering which I got in ::winces:: April. Bad moi. But here it is at last.
Once Burned by Emery Sanborne
Dear Ms Sanborne,
Hot firefighters, hot attraction, hot sex. “Once Burned” has all three. Plus lots of local Philadelphia color. Andreas Sullivan has tried to date a fellow firefighter before and all it got him was trouble and heartache. Will this time be any different?
Andreas and Bobby seem to have had some problems with being accepted as gay both by their families and by society. Andreas has been in more than one fight though he’s decided to try and shrug off antigay comments. One of his brothers wasn’t totally accepting of his lifestyle though now it appears that the brother is trying. Bobby’s father, a former Army man, only came to accept Bobby’s sexual orientation when faced with the greater disappointment of his son joining the Marines. Both are experienced and have had long and short relationships though there’s not as much about Bobby’s backstory and history as Andreas’s.
The firefighter stuff adds some color and shading to the story and serves as the …
Dear Ms. Pearce,
 I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began your latest book, Simply Wicked, not having read you before and having only the vague idea that you write erotic romance, a term that has come to be applied a bit too broadly to provide much useful information for me as a reader. The fourth line from the opening was thus both a bit startling and edifying:
He licked his lips, tasting dried blood, brandy and the acrid tang of another man’s cum.
Ok-ay, then, that clears up the erotic romance part, I guess.
Anthony Sokorvsky is the 25-year-old younger son of an aristocratic family. Marguerite is a widow whose husband, Lord Lockwood, was killed in a duel under scandalous circumstances two years previously. They are brought together when her younger siblings decide that Marguerite needs to get out and circulate and choose Anthony to squire her (he seems an odd choice given that they know him from his frequent appearances at their mother’s brothel).
I felt rather at sea in the early chapters of Simply Wicked – though it is ostensibly set in 1819 London, at times it almost seems like an …
Note: It will be hard to totally avoid spoilers in this review.
Dear Laura Baumbach and Josh Lanyon,
 Dr. Sarah read and recommended “Mexican Heat” back in February but it’s taken me this long for a spare moment to check it out. Hot action, hot love and hot loving all rolled up in one book. I can see why Dr. Sarah likes it.
I’ll use the Samhain blurb because 1) I’m lazy and 2) it’ll sorta, kinda avoid spoilers. At least at this point.
SFPD detective Gabriel Sandalini might as well have put a gun to his own head. One red-hot sexual encounter in a bar’s back room has put two years of deep undercover work in jeopardy—two years of danger and deception as he worked his way into crime boss Ricco Botelli’s inner circle. Gabriel can’t afford emotional entanglements. Hell, he can’t afford emotions. But that was before he had a name to pin on that anonymous one-off—Miguel Ortega.
Miguel Ortega doesn’t trust anyone, but tough, street-smart Gabriel brings out the conquistador in his Spanish blood. But distractions are nothing short of deadly right now, not with his boss’s impending marriage to Botelli’s sister, which will ensure peace—and
…
Dear Ms. Day,
 Last May, when I reviewed Wicked Gentlemen, Ann Somerville recommended some m/m romances to me. I checked out excerpts from the books she mentioned, and of them all, A Strong and Sudden Thaw stood out the most.
I purchased a copy of the book intending to read and probably review it, but not long after that, you posted that the publisher which originally put out your book in October 2006, Iris Print, was sending you royalty checks that bounced. Since you officially requested that readers not purchase new copies of A Strong and Sudden Thaw, I was torn over whether to review the book. I didn’t so much make a decision not to do it, as was enticed by the many other books clamoring for my attention, and as time passed, I forgot about my good intentions to review your book.
But this story has a happy ending. In July, Iris Print went out of business, and two and a half months ago, a new edition of A Strong and Sudden Thaw was published by Lethe Press. …
Dear Mrs. Sims,
 I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect of a Gay Victorian romance novel written by a mid-west cookie baking grandmother. But I guess it just goes to show that 1) readers should never prejudge a book and 2) any author can write about anything if the story is in them to be told.
This really is in the vein of the long Victorian novels of yore. We get two protagonists both of whom had bad and good childhoods. Jack Rourke and his twin brother Michael are the sons of a whore and an abusive sailor father. Raised, if you can use the term, in the rookeries of London, most of what they know is being poor and being beaten whenever their father’s ship docks.
Jack has found an escape in the company of a troupe of actors and a mentor in its lead actress. After a final, horrible confrontation with his father, he escapes with her help and is adopted by her wealthy brother into a world he could never have imagined. Taking the name Kit St. Denys, he becomes one of England’s most accomplished young actors leading a true rags to riches existence.
Nicholas …
DISCLAIMER: So as to avoid the appearance of impropriety in this conversational review by Joan/Sarah F. and Janine., Joan/Sarah F. says: “I acted as a first-reader for MHT on this story. While I wouldn’t say I was a critique partner or even a beta-reader, MHT did send me this story to see if I thought it got BDSM right. As I had nothing to correct, my input (”OMG! It’s fantastic!”) had no effect on the finished product.” Janine says: “I don’t know the author at all and only read the review copy with which DA was provided.” We encourage you to seek out other reviews should this review leave you with some questions about whether this story would work for you.
Janine: Adam is vacationing on a tropical island with his friend Stacy. As the story opens, Adam has been eyeing Brett, a fellow tourist, but because of Stacy’s drunken antics, he does not have much opportunity to approach the man he desires.
After lusting from afar, Adam get his chance when their tour bus stops and Brett struggles to use his digital camera. Adam gives Brett a few pointers and takes the opportunity to flirt …
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
 I think I’ve mentioned before that anthologies usually make me twitch. I know I’m usually looking at a few great stories, some good ones, a few ‘meh’ ones and a couple that make me shudder. Depending on how many are in the collection. It’s rare that I read an entire anthology. It’s even rarer when every one of the entries is good. Congratulations.
I won’t discuss every story – for that I’ll say people should check out Elisa Rolle’s review – but I will talk about why I like them. Because the writing is good, the characters are people I could walk down the street and see at any street corner. Okay, maybe not the historical molly house party goers, the men in the French Foreign Legion or the Prince from the fairy tale but most of the rest are just ordinary people, living their lives, trying to do what we all attempt in life.
Some have found that special someone and have relationships that have lasted for years or mere days. Others are still searching. Some have experienced loss, either through death, divorce or social pressure. They’re having problems …
Dear Ms. Blue,
 When I began looking into various prolific m/m authors, your name seemed to be very prominent. When Samhain offered us a chance to review this novel, and I noticed it’s set in North Carolina, it seemed fate. Kismet. Meant to be. After I finished it, I’m not so sure.
Falling in love is easy. Holding on to it can tear your life apart.
A Bay City Paranormal Investigations story.
When Dean Delapore takes a break from Bay City Paranormal Investigations, he doesn’t expect his work to follow him to the eclectic town of Carrboro, North Carolina. The chance to investigate a haunting at the Blue Skye Inn and Winery is more than he can resist, mainly because of the inn’s owner. Deceptively shy and gorgeous, Sommer Skye is not only fantastic company, he’s the best lay Dean’s had in ages.
As Dean probes the misty secrets of the haunted inn, he unexpectedly peels away the layers hiding Sommer’s private pain. Pain Sommer’s not sure he can withstand. By the time Dean realizes just how deep his feelings for the innkeeper run, it’s far too late to turn back.
Now if only
…
Dear Ms Allen,
 I had heard high praise for your novel, “Whistling in the Dark,” after my initial foray into m/m stories. And I’d actually bought a copy of the book in its previous form though I hadn’t read it yet. So, when you offered the new and improved version to us for review, I decided it was time for me to get off my lazy butt and actually read the darn thing.
It’s post war New York City and everything is changing. Old conventions are being abandoned for the bright new possibilities as flappers bob their hair and raise their hemlines. People can actually buy a newfangled contraption called a radio and listen to music in their homes. Sleek cars cruise the streets and wild parties take place on rooftops. Jazz fills nightclubs and people are hurrying to buy up booze before Prohibition finally goes into effect. The city that never sleeps has something for everyone. You just have to know where to look.
But for Sutton Albright, New York is a last resort. He could go home to the family empire in Topeka but after what he was expelled from college for …
Dear Ms. Bailey:
 Thanks so much for writing a novel that could be used as a writing manual entitled How Not to Write a Romance. It’s an invaluable resource for all other romance authors out there. It must have taken considerable time and unknown talent to include so many stereotypes, mistakes, crushed conventions, and sheer bad writing as examples, or maybe as warnings, to other authors.
I was particularly impressed with the character list:
- The gay cop who tries to prove himself by going undercover, without any authorization from his superiors, as the bodyguard and right-hand man of a new mob boss.
- His Latina partner who uses so much Spanish slang and cursing, her dialogue is almost unreadable.
- The crime boss whose evilitude is obvious because he’s a sadist! Of course, because you know about those dirty sadists! And he’s British, so automatically more evil!
- The stunningly beautifully gorgeous rent boy who is the crime boss’s boyfriend. He’s fuckable! And defiant! Lonely! And out for revenge! He fucks anyone who asks. Except for the gay cop. Even though they Lurrve each other instantly! He’s got an awful horrible background that’s revealed in pointless info-dump, rather than through subtle hints and
…
Dear Mr. Lanyon,
 When we posted Sarah’s guest review of Anah Crow’s book , we got numerous posts lauding the fact that we had put up an m/m themed book and (seemingly) wanting more. I’m not a math wiz but I can put two and two together and began hunting through the m/m offerings of various epubs. Jane’s review of your Adrien English mystery series had brought your name to my attention earlier this year. So, being the m/m newbie that I am, I decided to try one of your books since Jane knows good writing when she reads it.
Another reason I picked your book to begin with is the fact that as a Gay man (Edited to add: At least I’ll continue to assume you’re a man until it’s proven otherwise), you certainly know of what you write. I wouldn’t have to worry about writing a review of how realistic the sexual attraction between Will and Taylor is only to have readers post that no Gay man would act/react that way, etc, etc. It would be kind of a safety net for my tottering steps out on the high wire. I also …
Dear Mrs. Beecroft,
 I’m sorry it took me so long to finally read the book you offered to DA way back in….oh dear, was it really February? ::Winces:: Note to self: must forgo sleep in order to read more books. But better late than never.
The way you opened the book was very powerful. It gives us an immediate hit to the gut as well as a good view of one of our heroes, Midshipman Josh Andrews. He’s trapped and horrified and angry all at once as he is forced to face what might happen to him if he doesn’t watch his step. Buggery is specifically forbidden by the Articles of War to which all Navy men are subject as well as unlawful in civilian life. Poor Josh is damned no matter where he is. And if anyone ever catches him out or lures him, as was the case for the poor sod (literally) he watches hung from a yardarm, he’s on his way to a necktie party.
So he can’t move, can’t look away from poor Henderson’s final death kicks because Captain Walker is watching for any signs of sympathy, any indications …
Dear Ms. Wiest,
 I have Mrs. Giggles to thank for clueing me in to this black comedy. Though I don’t think it’s quite as side splittingly hilarious as Mrs. G finds it, it is quite funny. I do agree with her statement that it’s the Coen brothers meets small town Texas meets gay comedy. As well, it’s best to check your PC hat and coat at the door before settling down to read it.
The opening scene is one of the funniest, as well as one of the most descriptive, I’ve read in ages. Little 84 year old Miss Odessa, camped out in her brown recliner with her shotgun laid across her lap as she waits for the sorry ass bastard who’s trying to sneak up on her in the dead of night to steal her Social Security money. Her dog Bucky snapping and snarling as he yanks at his chain to get loose. Miss Odessa calling out, “You want my check, you white mother-fucker? Then you better have the balls to come and get it!” right before she blasts away with the double barreled shotgun and, uh, puts an end to …
 I emailed Jane a couple of days ago, wondering if she’d be interested in reviews of BDSM romances (BDSM is a combination acronym of the sexual practices/identities of Bondage/Discipline, Domination/Submission, and Sadist/Masochism and covers under its umbrella many sexual paraphilia and fetishes). While I’m a contributing blogger at Teach Me Tonight and at Romancing the Blog, the reviews I want to do are not appropriate for either forum. I don’t want to analyze these books, I just want to pimp them. I want to show the world how brilliant these books are as romances despite the fact that a large portion of the population might find their subject matter repellent. I want to pimp the books that get BDSM relationships, that understand how they can be just a loving and supportive as vanilla relationships. So while I might be “blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd” when it comes to these books, at least I’m aware of it, right? And I’m still writing a review—showing the bad with the good, trying to be at least slightly impartial (is that like being a little bit pregnant?).
I found …
Dear Ms. Amara,
 There’s a continuing discussion among fantasy circles about non-Western settings and non-Caucasian characters in fantasy. Or more to the point, the lack thereof. I confess I count myself among their number. I realize many people take it as a given that a fantasy setting should be faux medieval Europe but these days, the settings of different novels have gotten so generic as to be interchangeable. I know I often find myself sighing over the pseudo medieval setting in many a fantasy novel and then hoping something else in the book — the prose, the plot, characters, other aspects of the worldbuilding, anything — will make up for it. And then I read a book like this and I ask myself why I should even settle in the first place.
I think many people will pass this novel by because they’ll label it as “just” a gay fantasy published by a smaller, independent publisher. That’s a great disservice and those readers honestly have no idea what they’re missing. Because there’s another ongoing discussion in SF/F circles about the lack of non-white and/or queer characters, and if this book doesn’t fit the bill, I don’t know …
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 …
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, …
Dear Ms. Green,
 I read and enjoyed the first novel in this Hunstmen world last year. And despite being for the most part paranormaled out, when you mentioned that there would be sequels to come, I was excited. Here’s a world that is radically different from most paranormals out there and one which was fairly well thought out. The fact that it was set during WWII didn’t hurt my appreciation either. When you contacted me with the information that book two was now out and did I want to review it, my immediate response was “OMG sure.” I might even have put an exclamation point in that email reply. Now that I’ve read it, I’m sure I probably should have added one even if I didn’t.
I guess I should also say that I don’t read many M/M romances. I have read some and usually they just don’t do much for me, perhaps because most are more erotica/romantica. Your book feels like a M/M romance to me. Yeah, there’s hot sex but I came away from the story feeling that Joe and Brian are a couple with a HEA. And that we …
 Dear Ms. Collingwood,
I both liked and didn’t like your novella Lieutenant Samuel Blackwood (deceased).
I was attracted to it as soon as Jane offered it to us, because your email mentioned it was a penny-dreadful styled ghost story, and I love the ghost stories of the Victorian era (it’s set in Georgian times but the style it’s written in is from the Victorian period). I didn’t realize it was a romance, and a MxM one, until fellow reviewer Jayne mentioned it in an email when I was already 20 pages into the 80.
And therein lies the duel nature of my feelings toward this piece. As a Victorian-style ghost story you did an admirable job, beginning with the naval men around the fire hearing a hair-raising story about a cursed ship from one of its men. I was surprised and pleased when at the quarter mark it shifted into present tense and the most intriguing character of the first part, Daniel Leigh, decided to challenge the curse himself by joining the crew.
There were hints about the sexual inclination of the …
Ichigenme…The First Case is Civil Law, by Fumi Yoshinaga. Published by 801 Media. Retail: $15.99. 1/2 volumes released. Rated 18+ (Mature content, graphic sex between males showing at most some blurred [Japanese self-censored] naughty bits, NOT FOR KIDS). A-.
Dear Readers,
A law education in Japan is slightly different than one in the US. Students compete to enter specialized schools straight out of high school. There they receive a general education, as well as enough of a specialized education to enable them to get jobs as one of many several types of legal careers such as a professional arbitrator or a legal consultant. If they wish to become lawyers instead, they must pass the bar, then be accepted into a training program after which they will finally become actual lawyers. Only 1000 a year make it. There are relatively few genuine lawyers in Japan, and lots of lawyer-substitutes. < insert joke here >
So most of the law school students don’t have much hope at gaining such an elevated position. Combining that with the relief all Japanese college students feel at …
Dear Ms. Ellwood:
 You have a fun sense of humor and your prose is quite readable. The romance, however, seemed rushed and pushed aside for the sake of the explicit sexual content. I had trouble believing that this couple truly loved each other or whether they just enjoyed the sex.
Cal Briscoe is a studio musician who struggles with the fact that at the age of fifty-one, he is unmarried and essentially alone. This loneliness is punctuated by the imminent marriage of his best friend, Brady, the hero in Truth or Dare, to a woman that Cal fancies himself with, Ellie. Much of the beginning half of the story is spent on the poignant feelings Cal exhibits when he longs for Ellie and his unrequited love for her.
Upon the urging of Brady, Cal decides to take refuge in Ellie’s hometown of Dareville, Virginia. There he meets Sue Carmichael, a photographer. Sue and Cal are opposites (the contest entry said think the Odd Couple) and often rub each other the wrong way.
The story is about taking chances and moving outside of one’s comfort zone for both Sue and …
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