Zahra OwensBesprekingen
Auteur van Diplomacy
Besprekingen
What a beautifully written story about two totally opposite and complex men destined to be together. Rory McCowan spent three years in prison for stealing horses from the Blue River Ranch. Tim Conroy has been carrying a torch for Rory from day one and talks his boss, Hunter Krause, into hiring Rory back at the same ranch he stole the horses from. Hunter makes Tim fully responsible for Rory and his actions which keeps the two men in close contact. Rory has a hard time being accepted back at the ranch but slowly proves his worth as a good ranch hand. Tim wants to help Rory even more and offers to teach Rory how to ride so that he can become a wrangler and make more money. Rory tries to push Tim away and plans to leave the ranch as soon as his parole is up but he can't shake him. Rory also can't shake his awful past and feelings of worthlessness, abandoned by his mother at the age of six to grow up mostly on the streets, turning tricks at sixteen, PTSD from serving in Iraq and more arrests than you can shake a stick at. He cannot see why anyone would be interested in him especially the perpetually optimistic Tim so Rory finds his courage in a bottle and lives as a functional alcoholic. Tim and the others at the ranch miss the alcoholism until one day Tim finds Rory at a motel they had used for sex going through withdrawal. Rory is admitted to the hospital and treated with Tim by his side coaching and protecting him all the way. Tim has his own experiences with alcohol from an alcoholic mother and middle brother and knows the ups and downs of recovery. I liked both Tim and Rory quite a bit once I understood what motivated them to do what they did. The speech that Rory gave at the AA meeting for his six months sober was very touching. There were times that I wanted to slap both men for the way they treated each other. Tim gave too much and Rory didn't give enough. Ms Owens wove many wonderful secondary characters into the story who helped both Tim and Rory and gave depth to the romance story. The story flowed extremely well with a good mix of action, sex and emotional play. I recommend this book highly to anyone looking to invest themselves emotionally in a great cowboy romance.
Two closeted career diplomats meet at a formal affair but with the first handshake sparks fly. Their sceret relationship starts out as pure lust but evolves into a love that can shatter their careers and force then into the open,
Morning Glow by Taylor Lochland - 2 stars
A Trail of Feathers by Sarah Ann Watts - DNF
Heart's Salvation by Réve Garrison - 2 stars
In the Hands of the Gods by Jana Denardo - 3,5 stars
A Voice in the Darkness by Patric Michael - 4 stars
Some Comfort by S. Blaise - 4,5 stars
Ascension by RJ Scott - 2 stars
Sariel by Mary Calmes - 2 stars
The Platypus Learns Astrophysics by Matthew Vandrew - 5 stars
The Angel Blues by Cornelia Grey - 3 stars
Redemption by Clare London - 2,5 stars
Herbal Tea by H.J. Brues - 3 stars
The Tenth Avatar by Roland Graeme - 3.5 stars
Santangelo by Zahra Owens - 4 stars
The Archangel of Castro by Diana Copland - 4 stars
A bit of a slow burn here at first, especially considering the animosity between these two in the beginning. But when things do finally spark, there's an intense fire that I was fairly certain was never going to go out.
The first part is very sweet, I can see a lot of people liking it, but it's not my thing, so don't look too close at my review. The second part is... confusing? unnecessary? attached by aliens? :/
***
The story is set in the far future, where everyone must be matched by matchmakers the moment they were born. People in this society start working at 15 and retire at 30, either continuing to do their job full time, part time or retiring completely. On the first day of their retirement they also meet their match. Not everyone is so lucky, tho, and there are people who have to wait much longer to meet their soulmate due to the age difference.
Mal and Varr are matched by Matchmakers. Varr is one of the Matchmakers, 18 years older than Mal, very experienced and deeply respected by his colleagues. Mal is about to be trained as one, too. They meet on Mal's first day of retirement and immediately leave for their vacation. The destination turns out to be a huge surprise for Mal. He has never been out of the city and has to learn basics about the real outdoors, the simple life of the fishermen and non-programmed weather.
Both men keep their distance from each other, waiting for the other one to make the first move, but finally it happens. All is well, the sex is great and the lovers return back to the city (approximately 60% into the book) to find Mal's pregnant sister missing.
There was a lot of repetition and over explaining in the first part, in sharp contrast with a rushed and confusing, clearly not well-thought through second part of the story. I have no idea why the sister's story was even there. The way the society worked was fine enough, the failed drama added to question Matchmaking being unnecessary. I guess it was an attempt at mystery-suspense and some angst.
The first 60% - 3.5 stars for the short sweet bonding story.
The rest - 1 star.
SPOILERS!!!!
The amount of sick people in this book is mind-boggling! Left and right peeps get laid and as a result diagnosed with scary STD stuff while catching other extremely scary non-STD illness and die, get mental illness and abuse their kids and die, get sick and die, get abused by crowds (twice) and diagnosed with scary STD stuff (twice), get sick and almost die, get sick and die, get PTSD and OCD, held hostage and get hurt (this time with no STD as a result)... *pants...* Lemme catch my breath...
These are all different people, mind you! Except for "abused by crowds (twice), diagnosed with scary STD stuff (twice) and held hostage and get hurt (but only once, thank God!)" - that all happens to one person.
Not sure I can get over the amount of sick people in this book. This is way over the top even for my love for PTSD-ing OCD-ing souls (as a matter of fact I JUST commented on that while discussing [b:Inheritance|11776426|Inheritance (Dominion, #1)|Lissa Kasey|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1313709546s/11776426.jpg|16727965]).
Not badly written, I loved the idea in general, but - c'mon! People drop sick and dead left and right!
2.5 stars.
This was one of those books that surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially after having seen some reviews. Having said that, I truly enjoyed all aspects of this story. The MC's are both interesting, well-fleshed out characters. The other parties, while not perfect, weren't made to be the stereotypical bitchy or horrendous females. The political story lines seemed well researched and well-written. I also enjoyed that while there was a HEA, it wasn't immediate, which made it more believable and honest as far as I'm concerned. I'm glad I was finally given the push to read this story which has been sitting on my tbr pile for waaaaayyyyyyyy too long!
This was so freakin' good...hot, edgy and just plain YUM!
But
A great contemporary romance.
When their newly discovered friendship is threatened by a burglar, James comes to the rescue. I can't say anything more without giving away the twist that follows, so I won't. I loved this story from beginning to end. The characters are interesting, the writing is very good and the ending is wonderful. It moves 'at a leisurely pace' and I found it easy to enjoy.
I rejoiced with Fran when he gained a measure of freedom upon arriving at college, remembering that, to some degree, I felt the same at that stage of my life. I think we all do, but it was even more significant for Fran. Repressed by his preacher father, he hopes mainly for a free choice of profession, not even daring to think about his preference for men. The ‘moral’ imperative against that is much too deep seated. He struggles with his preconceived ideas for quite a while, but he is the kind of man who puts people first. Jay is a friend, one who knows and admits he is gay, and that counts for more than anything in Fran’s book.
Jay is a delightful breath of fresh air for Fran. Jay knows he is gay and has learned not to care about those who do not like the fact. He has a supportive family, so that helps, but, mostly, this is just who he is. Nobody makes him hide, and he teaches Fran this by example more than anything. Jay is a wonderful friend and I really believe he’d stayed ‘just a friend’ if that is what Fran would have decided.
The emotional depth of Fran coming to terms with who he is as he falls in love with Jay is wonderful. I loved how these two men interacted and admired both of them for taking the decisions they did. If you like reading about a man learning who he is and taking the first hesitant steps into a new life, I am sure you’ll like this short book.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Queer Magazine Online.
Successful business partnerships, like the one Caz Cleary the photographer and Ted Palit the "visual magician" have in this story, usually mean the partners are also friends. In this story, Ted loves Caz as much more than a friend, but believes he doesn't stand a chance. Caz is the flighty one, always after the next party or lover, and usually with some twink on his arm. All of that changes when Ted's mother's health takes a turn for the worse, and Ted finds out how much Caz wants to support him.
If you lie stories about friends who become more, if you enjoy reading about men with intense emotions who believe they can never have it all, only to discover they can, and if you're looking for a read full of love, hope, and a discovery what family really means, then you will probably like this novella.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.
However, as much as I loved and admired the idea and the concept behind it, I also think it should come with a huge warning! I read the entire thing with an expectation of these men, so good at their jobs and very much in love, to be rewarded for all their hard work, but – nothing of the kind happens. I know the mistake was mine, the assumption it would end well my own fault, so to speak. All of this to say that if, like me, you expect what is set up to look and feel like a romance to have a happy ending, don't read this book. Personally, I found the message of the book "live in the moment and appreciate what you have" to be utterly depressing in the way it came across. To have the two main characters bonded and so in love it hurts, yet to never, ever let them come together – except in the moment of death for Dafydd - that is just utterly cruel.
If you're looking for a challenging read and one that will make you think about humankind's history, if you enjoy playing with unusual thought experiments and "what ifs", and if you're a fan of bittersweet romance (heavy on the bitter), you might enjoy this book.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Jesse always knew what he wanted, but he understands that Kaye couldn’t give it to him. He loves Kaye with all his heart, and I really felt for him. He has been disappointed before, but can’t help loving Kaye.
Kaye is a really troubled man; he comes off as a bit of a bastard at first, but as I discovered through Jesse’s eyes what he’d been through, I started to understand him better. He still behaves badly, and hurts Jesse, and I wasn’t sure they’d be good together even at the end of the story, but that actually fits the character. It just isn’t fair to Jesse!
If you like stories about deeply troubled men who try to deal with lots of trauma and will probably never be able to truly recover, if you want some psychology with your romance, and if you don’t mind and ending that is not exactly overly optimistic, you will probably like this story.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Queer Magazine Online
A read that made me feel with the characters as well as think about them and how they had coped. Very nice!
Fucking.
Loved.
It.
4.5 Stars
It was Mary Calmes goodness wrapped together with history - I love history. Yep, there's an alpha angel who possessed the hell out of Jacob, a regular grad student who almost raped by bad guys. We don't know a lot of Jacob's back story. I didn't think it was needed so I am happy. It's instalove but it surpasses it because for angels in this story, there is no in between. They can see your inner most desires and wants . it's either black or white. No gray. So I won't gripe with the binding declarations made because it was inevitable. But also made from free will.
Hot stuff.
Angels are not my fave paranormal read. I lump them together with psychics. (Bottom of the totem pole for me) I might read more stories from the anthology, I might not. *shrugs*"
You might be wondering what flash fiction is. According to Wikipedia, no set word-count defines it – but it’s short. It could be 1000 words, 300 words, or even only 55 words. The average length in this collection is about 1000 words. Of these twenty-one flash fictions, seventeen are gay romance, two are lesbian romance, one is gender-fluid, and one is a ménage à trois, with a gay male couple focusing on a woman. Each story is categorized into one of three levels of sexual explicitness: Perfectly Decent, A Teasing Glimpse, and The Full Monty!
Standouts include Clare London’s story “Our Place”, which shows how the right phrase can end a story on a perfect note. Josephine Myles’s story “Giving It Up” is subtle and complex, with a funny twist. “Thoughts in Spring” by Mara Ismine features some intriguingly weird interaction between bird and man that builds to a delightfully unexpected conclusion. “Like a Girl” by JL Merrow, which centers on two female karate students, features such a strong narrative voice that I can hear the British accents in my mind like a movie soundtrack. “Sunshine Superman” by Elin Gregory effortlessly covers a huge span of narrative time, and makes a powerful emotional impact. British Flash is a terrific introduction to several of the leading British authors in the GLBTQ romance field.
Val for AReCafe
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Allora, io non ho grandi conoscenza in merito a come funzioni un’ambasciata, ma immagino che durante un allarme bomba ci siano dei rigidi protocolli di sicurezza da seguire, in modo che nessunǝ si faccia male e lз professionistз possano lavorare per scongiurare un disastro. Non credo che in queste circostanze sia previsto che l’ambasciatore statunitense (Jack) si faccia il vice responsabile della gestione delle informazioni dell’ambasciata inglese (Lucas) sulla sua scrivania, mentre il suo responsabile della sicurezza tempesta la porta di pugni e lo chiama a gran voce perché lo scemo manco gli risponde per dirgli che sta bene.
Sono anche abbastanza sicura che rapire l’ambasciatore USA in Belgio non sia proprio un atto alla portata di qualunque gruppo criminale: non capisco quindi perché in Diplomazia non si faccia in tempo a leggere che Jack è stato rapito che è già libero. Neanche il tempo di creare un po’ di angst, niente: serve giusto a far sì che i due si separino, ma lo fanno in una maniera così incomprensibile che non so perché Jack non sputi a Lucas non appena si rivedono.
Non riesco a giustificarli nemmeno in nome del Grande Ammore perché questi due sono appassionati e appassionanti quanto lo spot che avverte del passaggio al nuovo standard del digitale terrestre. Mi sono sentita così coinvolta dal loro amore impossibile che ho iniziato a sperare che la moglie di Jack e la fidanzata di Lucas di mettessero insieme e scappassero da qualche parte, generando un mega scandalo.
L’unica cosa che ho apprezzato di questo romanzo – ed è un elemento presente in molti libri di questo tipo – è la premura di mostrare quanto sia crudele l’impossibilità delle coppie omosessuali di avere gli stessi diritti di quelle eterosessuali: non salva Diplomazia dall’infamia, ma mi fa provare molto affetto per questo genere.