Linda Reilly (2)

This was a really fun read. I'm still chuckling. A somewhat surprisig take on vampires linked to a Jewish guy during Christmas - I mean, can it get much more crazy?

David runs into hot-looking broker Nicholai when he visits friends in New York over the Christmas holidays. He's been denying the fact that he's gay but meeting Nicholai makes him realize there is no point. The two men hit it off so well that not even Nicholai's revelations about being an alien Vampeaerii from another planet can deter David from falling in love.

This is a story without deep emotions (it all happens too fast for that) but with lots of humor and a nice surprise at the end. Very enjoyable.… (meer)

Set in present-day New York City, Sculpting Clay is the story of Clay Stevens, a middle-aged gay writer whose life is suddenly turned upside down when his partner of eleven years unexpectedly dumps him. Distraught and confused, Clay mourns his lost love for the next several months until a new man enters his life. Young and strikingly handsome, Taran Lorenz works as a server at a local pub that Clay frequents. The two are instantly attracted to one another, and a romance ensues. Clay discovers that this mysterious and sexy young man is everything he’s ever dreamed of, yet he cannot seem to shake the memories and heartbreak of his former partner Javier.As Clay and Taran fall head-over-heels in love, Clay begins to discover that Taran is special in many ways. He never uses scented bathing products or deodorants, yet he always smells deliciously sweet, like fresh baked cookies. He has unexplained vertical scars which run down the sides of his spine. He doesn’t have much furniture in his apartment, not even a bed. Most interestingly, Clay’s appearance and energy level seem to be affected merely by being around Taran. He looks and feels years younger—rejuvenated.Ultimately it is the reemergence of Javier in Clay’s life which creates serious conflict for the protagonists. Taran questions whether Clay is completely over his feelings for his ex, and Clay is confused by his own conflicting desires. He genuinely is concerned about the well being of his ex-partner, but he knows he’s falling madly in love with Taran. It isn’t until Taran is nearly taken from Clay by a tyrannical wealthy businessman who attempts to murder him, that Clay realizes Taran is the only man he wants. It is at this point that Taran’s mysterious identity is revealed and Clay admits he’s in love. But is Clay too late? Has his indecisiveness and tardiness in sorting out his feelings cost him the man of his dreams?I found this story to be a unique blend of several genres, and it is difficult to explain in depth the way these genres mesh with one another without including spoilers. Obviously it is a romance, but it also contains a paranormal element. It is a thriller, containing mystery and suspense, and of course it is intensely erotic. It certainly has the potential to appeal to a wide audience of readers, yet it could also be disappointing to those who expect one thing and discover the story is dramatically different than their expectation.The writing style was very strong, and it had the feel of that of a seasoned writer. I didn’t get the sense that the book was written by a first-time, novice author. Certain phrasing within the dialogue seemed unrealistic to me, though. For example, when the author was writing laughter, she wrote it as “Ha, Ha”, as if the characters were actually speaking the words.I was also a bit distracted by recurring references to designer clothing and accessories. It seemed as if the characters were obsessed with fashion, and to me, this made them seem shallow. I personally don’t care one iota about fashion or designer name brands, and those who obsess upon these things seem pretentious to me. If the reader is one who does appreciate this kind of detail, however, then they may feel these references add a realistic touch.The strengths of this novel, in my opinion, far outweigh these minor criticisms. The plot was genuinely captivating. Not only was it interesting, but it also was very exciting. I particularly appreciated the way the author used foreshadowing references to lead the reader to the point where the “big reveal” was introduced, i.e. the paranormal or mythical element of the story. The initial love scenes in the book had me a bit concerned because they seemed a bit cheesy, but upon reflection I think this was intentional. The serious erotic scenes which were included towards the middle and end of the story were intense. In fact, they were both realistic and incredibly hot. The author skillfully developed her characters and demonstrated a remarkably realistic arc for each of the three primary characters. The protagonist Clay was at first rather annoying to me with all of his quirkiness, but the more of him I saw, the more I liked. With the exception of his fashion snobbery, I found him very endearing, and ultimately I yearned for his happiness. I was also impressed by Taran’s personality and by his genuine selflessness. Overall I found Sculpting Clay to be a worthwhile read. I’m thrilled by the talent of this new author and honestly look forward to hearing more from her. It is without hesitation that I highly recommend Sculpting Clay.… (meer)

When reading this novel, you have to be careful, this is clearly a book more aimed to a female target, and more, to the female readers who like their hero pretty and cute, even maybe a bit girlish. Then yes, if you consider that the pretty and cute boy really exists out there (he is not yet an endangered species), you can find also a niche of the male target that could be interested in this story. Said that, I also highlighted all the element that made me think on this novel: the sometime hyper-highlighting of some “girly” characteristics of the heroes, above all Taran (I remember, for example, a cherry flavoured mouth that made me think to lipstick, even if Taran was not wearing it); the obvious objectification of the male, Taran is an Armani model, Clay an independent wealthy fantasy writer who doesn’t really have to work; even Taran’s “innocence”, his almost absolute virginity (he had only a previous sex experience, one shot, and with a woman)… they are all points that I can easily link to the classical rules of romance, and romance usually is for women; again, I’m not saying the book was not interesting, it was and I will proceed now to say why it was, and I’m not saying the book is “not for men”, we all know that there are men who read (and write romance), even among the heterosexual crown, mine is only a fairly warning.

I like romance, you all know that; I even like the pretty boys, and Taran is a clear example of that. Taran is innocent in many aspect, he is a young fairy, and not, it’s not slang, he is really a fairy, little man with wings, but he decided to live in New York City with the external look of a young and cute man of 27 years old but with the experience of a barely legal boy. I don’t know if it was his main purpose from the beginning, but almost as soon as he arrives in NYC, he falls in love for Clay, a more than 46 years old man living in the near building. It’s obviously no fair game, even if Clay is rebounding from the breakup with his 10 years partner Javier, when Taran decides to meet him, Clay is taken. Taran, in his human form, is beautiful, long black hair, olive skin, and coquettish attitude. He is also a bit of a teaser, since he is very forward in his sexual innuendo, but he has not the experience to match them, and so, when they soon arrive to THE moment, Clay has to play the role of the “training ship”.

Even if Clay is way older than Taran, truth be told, I didn’t feel so much the age difference between them; maybe Taran, being 27 years old only as illusion, is for real older than his age, but he is also very young in comparison to his people; maybe Clay, living a life without obligations, has the chance to be younger in attitude if not in age… in a way or the other, those almost 20 years between Taran and Clay were not a limit at all, and didn’t create any friction.

The story is also very much focused on the two men, Clay and Taran; there was a subplot, something that could be also scaring and potentially angst, but all in all, it didn't interfere so much with the love story, in the end the 'villains' are not so dangerous.

One other thing I noticed of this story is that, even if quite heavy on the sexual innuendo, and very sensual in the description, when we arrive to the real sex scene, the author doesn’t linger so much; she spends more time on the foreplay, maybe even a bit on the first touches, and tastes, but not in the main course. It’s strange, since for sure this is not a sweet romance (meaning the formal use of the term, sweet romance is a romance without sex), there is sex, and I couldn’t say that the sex is not graphic, during the foreplay there are a lot of details, but it’s like the author prefers the anticipation to the realization. Sometime also I am like that, so, if you want something in the middle, not exactly sweet romance, not exactly erotica, probably this is a good compromise.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1615813535/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (meer)