Amber Green

The Huntsman Bareback by Amber Green is a reissue of another novel I enjoyed the first time around. It is one book in a series about mysterious psychic vampires known as huntsmen, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel (the other books are male-female paranormal romances). The author has a refreshingly pared-down writing style that throws the reader into the story without slowing the pace with excessive explanation. As you read and work things out, you have the breathless feeling of being one of the characters, tossed about on the waves of action and adventure. You get the author’s usual vivid Florida setting in all its tropical, sleazy, urgent glory. She writes powerful dialog and creates wonderful alpha male characters whose lust and aggression are tempered by realism and a sense of humor.

The book opens with the innocent and appealing Brian, a bareback huntsman – that is, he is a psychic vampire who no longer has a twin brother to watch his back and act as a balancing influence to keep him from degenerating into a mindless predator. Brian is trying to start a new life in a gritty Florida community as a paramedic. However, the hidden community of huntsmen will be monitoring him closely, poised to wipe him out if he becomes unstable. Meanwhile, he accidentally witnesses a gang murder which draws him into the orbit of hard-charging police lieutenant Joe who must solve the crime. Joe doesn’t think he’s attracted to guys, but Brian might find a way to convince him otherwise, if they both don’t meet their demise at the hands of the huntsmen.… (meer)

Golden Boys by Amber Green offers the fast pace, colorful dialog, hot sex scenes, and strong sense of place (specifically the strange tropical world of Florida) for which this author is known. Readers like me who seek out diverse viewpoints and cultures in m/m fiction should be especially delighted to find that the hero and his love interest are southern African-Americans. The one thing that readers might find off-putting is that one is a closeted rap-star, which leaves the future of their relationship a bit uncertain. I urge you to read it anyway, however, because all the other plot threads wrap up beautifully, making this a satisfying story about an exceptionally appealing hero.

The story begins with our first-person narrator Ethan whose large, close-knit, religious family is reeling from the double-impact of him coming out as gay right after he’s flunked out of medical school. Ethan, now awash in debt, takes a grueling job as a nurse to save up for physical therapy school. Meanwhile, his uncle, who is an FBI agent, approaches him with a mission. Ethan’s boyhood friend Jell, who is now a famous rapper, has information about some drug dealers but has retreated into a detox facility and refuses to cooperate with the FBI. The uncle thinks that Jell still has feelings for Ethan, and urges Ethan to go undercover to draw him out. However, this forces Ethan and Jell to attempt a perilous break-out and retreat to a weird retirement village where they struggle with their mutual attraction while trying to stay alive.

Val for AReCafe… (meer)