Drew HuntBesprekingen

This was a decent enough story but it just did not work for me. It seemed to me that if Calvin couldn't win Brock with his charm and hot sex then he was going to buy him. It also seemed that Junior was more the adult than Brock. I did not care for the insta-love in this story.

Paul is in a bind. His house has flooded...again...and he needs a place to stay. It's just that there aren't many options for him to choose from. Except Trevor. And Trevor's a nice guy, but he's gay and rather obvious about it. And it's not that Paul has a problem with gay people, he's just not sure he's comfortable staying with one in such close quarters. But when all other options exhaust themselves--and as Paul realizes he is maybe being just a bit unfair to his colleague--he takes Trevor up on his offer for a place to crash. What Paul doesn't expect is that he will learn a lot more about Trevor and about his preconceptions of gay guys than he ever thought he would. Of course, he also doesn't expect that he's about to learn something even more unexpected about himself...

This is a charming and entertaining read. Some of Paul's reactions, especially early on, are a bit humorous. And it is interesting to watch his journey as he starts to come to some unexpected realizations. With our identities being self-constructed based on social influences, it is easy for us to think that our own experiences are universal. But not everyone gets to the same place in the same way, and stories that help us see the perspective of another person help to enrich the ways in which we view the world. That's probably a bit deeper analysis than the author intended, but I kept it brief--especially for those of you who are just in it for the steamy scenes, of which there are a few to keep you interested...

Read as part of BioB's spring clean.

DNF 17%

"Nick's mind conjured up a fantasy of drinking chocolate milk from Brad's rapidly-hardening teat."

And I'm done.

A very mixed bag of 'best of' stories.

My favourite stories (all 4 star reads) were
Batteries Not Included by J.L. Merrow
Just My Style by J.M. Snyder
What's in Your Box? (Djinn #1) by A.R. Moler

FYI I've not read the Hat trick story as I've not read the rest of the story.

Sweet story about a rocker and his boyfriend. An established couple, William has noticed that Tank has been reserved and quiet for a few days. He’s worrying that he is t good enough, but luckily this is a short story that doesn’t have any angst. Very sweet and likable characters.

Read as part of BioB's spring clean.

DNF 17%

"Nick's mind conjured up a fantasy of drinking chocolate milk from Brad's rapidly-hardening teat."

And I'm done.

A very mixed bag of 'best of' stories.

My favourite stories (all 4 star reads) were
Batteries Not Included by J.L. Merrow
Just My Style by J.M. Snyder
What's in Your Box? (Djinn #1) by A.R. Moler

FYI I've not read the Hat trick story as I've not read the rest of the story.

Gosh, but I'm a sucker for a happy ending! But best of all, the journey was most satisfying too!

And just sayin'...if there were more priests around like Jerry, more of us would stay with the church. Just sayin'...

Sweet but satisfying.

Wry, cheeky sense of humour! I smiled throughout!

This story delivers what the title says: it is about the ‘first flames of love’ between Simon, a librarian, and Mark, who has run away from home after his father got really upset when he found out Mark is gay. Their romance is slow to develop, both of them uncertain about themselves and their chances with the other man. It is a quiet story which grows emotionally more intense as Simon realizes he loves Mark. I liked that it is set in England and that two very normal men are the main characters.

Simon's self-esteem couldn’t be much lower and being who he is, a shy, retiring librarian, he doesn’t even know what to do for companionship. The few attempts he has made were unsuccessful, so he retreats back into his shell. His desperate attempt to find another man to ‘cuddle’ with (he doesn’t dare imagine anything more) leads him to a male prostitute. Luckily, the first contact is with Mark who is in trouble because he got taken advantage of by an unscrupulous pimp. Mark not having any real desire to keep selling his body opens up the possibility of something more for the two of them.

Mark remains a bit of a mystery since Simon tells the story in first person. What I did get to see showed a man who needs love and understanding as badly as Simon does. He also doesn’t think he deserves someone special and has no idea what to do to change his life. I only got to see him through Simon’s eyes, but what I did see, I liked.

If you want to read about normal men, with problems and issues that match, if you like a quietly developing love story that takes its time to go from the first sparks to the initial flame, and if you want a happy ending, you may like this story.





NOTE: This book was provided by JMS Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

This second story about Simon the librarian and Mark the ex-prostitute is as much fun, as quietly entertaining, and as romantic as the first book. The fire between the two men definitely burns brighter, with all the positives, like increased passion, and pitfalls, like insecurities and a few uncomfortable moments with prejudiced friends, that goes with the increased stakes. I really liked following their adventures and I loved the ending!

Simon has made a remarkable change since the first book and settling down with Mark is clearly doing him good. I liked the mix of work-related stories at the library, the descriptions of his life with Mark, and their ever developing relationship. He is more of an equal partner for Mark now, and that is not only wonderful to see, but adds up to a more balanced situation.

Mark has clearly made some progress as well. He feels much more comfortable, his self-esteem is growing and he comes out of his shell, especially with Sam, the boy next door. It gives him a sense of family he’s never had, and Simon likes Sam enough to support Mark in this.

The many secondary characters (some of them back from the first book) added to the rich background and gave the book a feel of being told a tale while sitting around a fire. Not one about great adventures or monumental efforts, just a story about day-to-day life and mastering all the bigger and smaller obstacles all of us face every day as well. It makes for a good story, one that you can easily feel comfortable with. If that is the kind of thing you like, you will probably love this book.




NOTE: This book was provided by JMS Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

The blurb had me curious about this book, particularly the bit about eight-year-old Adam gets his own back when a bigoted Santa tries to lecture him about his gay dad wanting a new boyfriend. Adam sounded like a great kid, and he definitely didn’t disappoint! I just love kids like that who know what they want, say what they think, and basically get the adults around them to listen because they approach life in such an uncomplicated way, entirely based on common sense. The old boyfriend made daddy cry – so, clearly, he needs a better one. I wish we were all so wise!

Garth trying to "cancel Christmas" is understandable from where he is, depressed about his cheating ex leaving, but he should have known better. When you have children, as he does, you cannot just ignore a major holiday. Luckily he comes to his senses with his mother's "help" as a reminder, and goes off to the mall for some last-minute shopping. The "Santa incident" mortifies him and he fears the worst when a built security guard approaches them, but then Adam becomes the guy's newest friend and "arranges" a date for the men. It made me laugh out loud.

Tony, the security guard who notices the commotion around the "fallen" Santa is the one who goes to talk to Garth, but needs to clarify a few things with Adam first. That whole discussion is just too cute for words, and when Adam ends up asking Tony to be Daddy's new boyfriend, Gareth is embarrassed but secretly hopeful, and Tony is totally with the program.

This is a wonderful and much-too-short story with great characters and a very, very romantic feel to it. I just hope Drew Hunt will write a longer book about Tony, Garth, and his super-cute son Adam! If you like romantic holiday stories, if you enjoy reading about kids for whom life is still simple, and if you're looking for a cute, sweet read with a Christmassy message of hope, then you will probably like this short story. I think it's adorable.


NOTE: This book was provided by JMS Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

Freaking adorable short story. Highly recommended for all romantics.

A simple sweet story. three stars

2.5 stars.

I just loved the story of Calvin and his Cowboy Brock. It was a sweet love story and shows just what can happen when you are able to put past hurts and misunderstandings behind you. Love Junior and how mature he seemed to be. It seems that Brock made sure to avoid the same mistakes his father had made raising him. But the sequel on my wish list.

2.5 stars.

Nice, good feelings novella, I have to confess I managed right till the last page to not shed any tear, but one escaped in the end.

This is the story of Dennis, a kind-hearted, but a little goofy gay man, who was a Children Books’s author when he was alive. Dennis died too young, after only 10 years of shared joy with his lover Colton. When he discovers that alterlife is a paradise welcoming to everyone, Dennis doesn’t know if hoping Colton will join him soon, or wishing for him a long life. In the meantime, Dennis is assigned to Brett, a young college guy. Dennis doesn’t understand why a total stranger is welcoming him, but little by little he will understand that Brett is the son of the heart he has never had.

There is a lovely romance in this story, but it’s not really the central theme of it; it’s more like a fantasy tale, a tale that aims to give hope to everyone, hope that we are all loved.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HO67NY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Calvin's Cowboy was an entertaining read.Calvin returns home to repair his parent's house for sale and hires an old high-school nemesis as handyman. Both men have come a long way since their teen years and they fall into a romance.I found Brock to be immature and had trouble with his parenting skills. Calvin was much too forgiving of Brock's obvious faults. I found Brock's son a more mature character than either of our heroes. At times I felt like yelling at the men to grow up.That being said, I did enjoy this book and will likely read more by this author if they come my way.

This is the second chapter in the very common life of Colin and Martin, two ordinary gay men living in northern UK. I remember their story was very, very romantic, about a blind gay man, Martin, who was setting out to spend yet one another Christmas alone with his guide dog and that fell in love just days before Christmas with the delivery guy, Colin.

Nor Colin or Martin are “special” men, and aside for Martin having a disability, they are pretty much not “hero” material… what is heroic in being a delivery guy? But nevertheless the story was romantic, the love between Colin and Martin sweet, and Colin, despite his boring job, was a wonderful romance hero, sweeping Martin away in a brisky December night and giving him the most perfect date of his life.

Now 5 year later Colin and Martin are living together, but they reached almost a breaking point: Colin inadvertently caused the death of Martin’s dog, and Martin is not able to forgive him. That is what made so special to me this novella; sorry if I’m rude, but when there is a character with disability in a romance novel, they are almost always saints… they are never wrong, they are always so polite that sometime I’d like to knock them off to see if I would have a reaction. I loved that Martin was not perfect, I loved that he was angry, and bitter towards Colin, even if, truth be told, Colin didn’t deserve it. Why I loved it? Since they were realistic. Can you imagine Martin’s feeling of loss when he is deprived of his guide dog? True, Colin is there, loving him, but to Martin is like someone was emasculating him.

Don’t worry though, this is a seasonal romance, a Christmas tale, and as such, our common heroes will find a way towards happiness.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GKMKFS/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

This short story is sweet and tender, very romantic and with very little sex, but only since it was not necessary, the amount of good feelings was enough to warm your heart, in perfect agreement with the seasonal romance theme.

Colin is a big and kind man who works as delivery man; a delivery man can know a lot of the people he delivers grocery to, and so Colin knows that Martin, the blind gentle guy will spend Christmas alone. Colin has thought a lot about Martin, who has always a gentle word for him; Colin’s interest is a romantic one, despite Martin is not exactly handsome, on the contrary he has his face scarred by a juvenile illness and he is a bit over weighted; but Colin has learned the hard way that appearance is nothing, his former lover Simon, a very handsome man, was also always ready to cheat on him, something that he is sure Martin would never do.

Sure, I think there is a bit of “comfortable” love here, Colin is probably thinking that Martin will never cheat on him because he has no chance to do that; this is the devil advocate in me speaking, since Colin never once, in all the story, will ever have a bad thought regarding Martin, and Martin is so fragile and hopeful that my heart was all for him. Martin has a lot of love in him he wants to share with someone, and he falls for Colin without even knowing how Colin is or if he is even gay: Martin falls for Colin’s kindness, for the need Martin has of a friend, and if this friend will become also a lover, that is a bonus, but really Martin would be glad enough even if their relationship was only one of friendship.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A14QKU/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Disappointing. Clearly the first 30 pages had been written and rewritten but the rest had not been worked over so well. It's not a bad story, just boring. Andy the pig farmer is too staid, Luke the aging twink is okay but their story has no charm or delicacy, it's just stolidly and heavily recounted.