The Novel Approach

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Archive for the month “January, 2012”

The Decisions We Make by RJ Scott


If The Decisions We Make has done anything, it’s proven to me that RJ Scott has definitely found her place in the YA LGBT genre. All the angst, agony, and emotion that make their way into her adult M/M romances translate beautifully with her teenage characters as they struggle to find a place to belong and build a path to happiness on the often turbulent journey to adulthood.

When the Walker family opens its heart and home to a lonely and hurting young boy, it also opens the door to a new life for Daniel Keyes. Being an only child and an orphan who is suddenly thrust into a boisterous but unconditionally loving and accepting family, Daniel has a difficult time adjusting to, let alone finding, his place within the fold. His new foster-brother, Jamie, becomes Daniel’s best friend and protector and, as the boys grow into young men, the object of Daniel’s love and desire.

As Daniel and Jamie work to discover who they are, accept who they are and what they mean to each other, and suffer the consequences of the decision they make to reshape their already close bond into something beyond friendship and family, the pain and sacrifices they’ve made could tear them apart even before they’ve had the chance to discover where they might go. It soon becomes clear to the boys that you can’t decided who you fall in love with, but you can decide whether that love is worth the cost.

This is a story that challenges perceptions in the reader and encourages some introspection into the definition of family and what is or isn’t taboo, when two young men who are brothers in every way but biologically toe the line between loving each other and falling in love with each other. RJ Scott handles the subject skillfully and is sensitive to the emotions and issues and ultimate support of a loving family whose concern is the welfare and happiness of its two youngest sons.

This is a story that challenges labels—whether it’s jock or piano prodigy or being physically branded with a single word that hatred uses to discriminate—and encourages overcoming those barriers to be true to oneself.

Small Gem – 9:05 by K.C. Burn


9:05 by K.C. Burn

Socially introverted accountant Scott Taylor’s world is stuck in a state of suspended animation–his coworkers, the falling snow, the clocks–all frozen, at 9:05, to be precise. As Scott continues to move through the motions of what should be the advancement of the days and weeks, eating, sleeping, and eventually daring to converse with the people he’d spent his workdays avoiding, he discovers a budding courage to interact with those whom he’d purposefully avoided before.

Devlin Moreau is the gorgeous man Scott had never been brave enough to make eye contact with, let alone say hello to, but as Devlin grows less intimidating in his silence, and Scott grows braver in his solitude, life and the world begin to change, even while it remains the same.

One of the things I loved most about this little gem is the fact that I never truly knew whether the story was indeed intended to be a sci-fi/fantasy, or whether the stop-motion state of Scott’s life was merely a metaphor for the isolation and loneliness that his shyness created. Either way, K.C. Burn wrote a story of hope and possibility that left me wanting more.

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Small Gem – When the Sea and the Sky Turn to Blood by Amy Lane


“Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.”

Amy Lane says that Fire and Ice will help to bring about the evolution of man by becoming human, joining together to nurture Rain and loving with the heart and soul of gods, only to be destroyed, in the end, by the hatred and prejudice that dwell within those whose ignorance exceeds their tolerance.

Fire and Ice suffer greatly for their love and illuminate man’s faults in this cautionary fairy tale brimming with imagination and emotion, and serving as an indictment against those who would stand in judgment against those who love in a different way.

This is a small gem that leaves a big impression upon the reader. Wonderful, in true Amy Lane style.

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Inheritance (Dominion #1) and Reclamation (Dominion #2) by Lissa Kasey

Seiran Rou’s life was marked for misery the moment he was born into the female dominated society of witches, made all the more difficult by the fact that his mother is the leader of the Dominion–the governing body of witches–as well as the fact that she saw his being born a boy as reason enough to mistreat and torment him throughout his childhood.

Seiran’s life has been punctuated by random acts of abuse, everything from rape to being repeatedly bullied and hexed during his freshman year of college. His first sexual experience at the age of eleven, with an older boy, marked the beginning of Seiran’s downward spiral into intimacy and commitment issues. Matthew Pierson’s betrayal continues to haunt Seiran psychologically, and he fights back by being emotionally unavailable, seduces men simply because he can, but it’s strictly one and done, sex with no strings attached.

His one and only exception is Gabe Santini, the millenniums old vampire who has loved Seiran since the moment they met five years earlier. Gabe is the one and only man with the power to make or break Seiran. Gabe is the one and only man Seiran could love, if only he could find the courage and strength to let it happen.

Lissa Kasey has created a supernatural world in contemporary Minnesota, where vampires, shapeshifters, and elemental witches coexist. It’s a place where a witch can still be burnt at the stake as punishment for magical crimes. It’s a place where sometimes the only crime one commits is that of being born the wrong sex. Seiran’s fate and the balance of his future hinge on the fact that he is the son of Tanaka Rou, he’s male, and he’s the most powerful male earth witch to come along in decades. Seiran is a target and his life is in near constant danger. When the murder of a coworker brings that danger directly to his threshold, the race begins to find and stop a serial killer who is disposing of witches and stealing their powers, before the killer gets to him.

Opposing factions in the witch community want Seiran, someone within one of those factions wants him dead, and it’s his own mother who’s at the top of the list of suspects that might be attempting to frame Seiran for the crimes.

Well written and briskly paced, this series is one of those lucky finds for me, where I stumbled across a couple of great reads by virtue of little more than an interesting blurb, but the purchases paid off 100% in the introduction of compelling characters living in a world that I don’t claim to fully understand the inner machinations of yet (I’m not sure I’m supposed to know all the political underpinnings at this point) but am more than excited for another installment in the series.

I think my only area of concern, really, was a momentary feeling of “this again?” in Reclamation (Book 2), fueling my belief that there might be an unfortunate formula the series was falling into, but the final result was a suspenseful and emotional climax that left me pulling for Seiran and reconfirmed that I’ll be on board for book 3.

BUY LINKS:

Inheritance

Reclamation

My Lost Weekend With Michael and Wild Bill


I spent two days zigzagging throughout the Midwest, including spending some time in the stinkiest city in the US–Terra Haute, IN–ended up in Vegas, and never even left the comfort of my own home. I spent those two days buried deeply in the ten short stories/novelettes that comprise Jordan Castillo Price’s Channeling Morpheus/Sweet Oblivion series.

The paranormal sub-genre (vampires/werewolves/shapeshifters) has been done to death over the course of the past several years, which is why it took me so long to get around to reading this series. I’ve been a long time fan of JCP’s PsyCop books. In fact, Victor and Jacob are right at the top of my list of all-time favorite fictional couples, so it wasn’t anything other than my own paranormal burnout that kept me from digging into Michael and Wild Bill’s world. After all, how many permutations of the vampire mythos can there be, really? Bram Stoker introduced Dracula to popular culture over a hundred years ago, and authors have, ever since, been re-creating the mythology and giving it new twists to keep things fresh and expanding on all the metaphors for sex. But even still, there’s only so much that can be made new from an old concept.

Or so I thought.

Jordan Castillo Price has put her definitive stamp on some of the old tropes, keeping some concepts in tact while debunking others, to give Wild Bill and the rest of her vamps an original and uber-erotic spin in the centrifuge, definitively separating them from the herd. There’s no need for metaphors for sex in this series, because the sex is entirely literal and incredibly seductive.

Michael and Wild Bill are two halves of the same whole, in an entirely symbiotic relationship that survives, thrives, and has become a physical and emotional imperative that connects them in spite of the fact that they sometimes practice an open relationship. They are distinct yet entwined by something deeper than love. They’re bonded by blood and a metaphysical link that makes it impossible to think of one without the other. They’re yin/yang and it works perfectly within the circles in which they move.

This is one of those series I can see myself reading over and over again. Why? What makes some books immanently re-readable? For me, it’s something that all my favorite authors do better than others: dialogue. It isn’t enough to simply tell a story. What is essential for me is to “listen” to the characters and the way they speak, the way they relate to each other, the way they interact and react to each other. That’s not to say plot is unimportant; it is. But becoming emotionally invested in what’s happening in the lives of the characters is the ultimate payoff.

And I feel like I hit the jackpot with Michael and Wild Bill.

BUY LINKS:

Channeling Morpheus (1-5) Bundle

Sweet Oblivion (6-10)

The Archer’s Heart by Astrid Amara

The Archer's HeartThe Archer’s Heart by Astrid Amara
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Archer’s Heart is posed as an epic tale of avarice, hypocrisy, betrayal, and dishonor, and juxtaposes the injustice of the caste system in a mythical India against the belief that it is God’s intent for those of lower birth to subjugate to their superiors. It’s a country that’s on the cusp of being torn apart by two men who each have claims to the throne. This is a classic story of “a house divided against itself cannot stand”, awash in treachery and the dysfunction of a political and social system that does not abide by the “all men are created equal” belief system. It is a place where the circumstances of one’s birth leaves him impotent against the possibility of ever elevating his position in life, but through the unlikeliest of chances, which certainly was a factor in my sometimes negative reaction to the storyline. Kudos to the author for the gut-check to my conscience, for sure.

At 656 pages, this was a sweeping, if not somewhat unevenly paced saga of privilege and loss. At its barest bones, it is the story of a man, Jandu Paran, 4th in line to the throne, who begins his journey as a spoiled, egotistical royal that is entirely invested in the faith of his superiority over the lower castes. His world is turned upside down, however, when he becomes intimately involved with his cousin, Keshan Adara, a man whose metaphysical prowess allows him to see into the future; he is a man who dreams of a country that one day will see a person for his abilities and what he can contribute to his country, not for the constrictions of his birth. Jandu’s transformation from entitlement to deprivation, as he is stripped of everything, including his identity, as well as Keshan’s downfall and the mutual sacrifices the men ultimately make for the sake of love, provided for a satisfying payoff in the end.

Corruption and dishonor are a way of life for some of the characters in this novel, where a sworn oath, regardless of how wrong that vow is, takes precedence over the guidance of heart and ethics. A man’s birth order dictates his right to rule, even though it supersedes his competence to rule, which lent a good bit of emotional conflict to the story. The author made me loathe quite a few characters in this book, made me hate every single thing they stood for, which isn’t a bad thing at all when considering that any reaction is better than complete apathy. This is a story about changing social consciousness, after all, so it goes without saying there has to be evil for the heroes to defeat.

While there were times along the way that I considered relegating this series to my DNF pile, as the pacing of the narrative suffered under the belief that “more is more” and I found myself wanting to skim, the author would manage to rally and redirect the plot at the last minute and draw me back in.

I didn’t have the strong positive reaction to this novel that others did, but I did end up liking it in spite of some of the things I disliked about it.

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Pole Star by Josephine Myles

Pole StarPole Star by Josephine Myles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This short, hot, sexy little story is just chock-full of naughty bits and grins and outright laughs that really illuminate Josephine Myles’ gift for creating characters who can charm their way right into your heart in record time.

Matt Lovell should get hazard pay. Really, who knew that pole dancing could lead to serious on-the-job injuries? Matt does now that he’s ended up in the emergency room with a broken foot, where he meets Sal, his radiographer/secret fan, and sparks ignite. Good thing Matt’s wearing his firefighter’s costume, then, even if his spangled thong isn’t necessarily a regulation undergarment.

Steve Carter and his rainbow socks, Andrew Wheeler and his clothing kink, Jos and his leather fetish… see a pattern? Me too! And Josephine makes all these juicy little apparel obsessions so much fun to experience; it’s easy to see why the men who love them find these guys so utterly irresistible.

You’ve got to know it’s true love when you’re willing to share your underpants.

Cup O’ Porn 1 Year Birthday Bash – Free Download Coming Soon

Tailor Made by Josephine Myles

Tailor MadeTailor Made by Josephine Myles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tailor Made is the story of two men who are both uncompromising in the way they’ve chosen to live their respective lives. They each stand firmly on opposing principals—Felix, the unapologetic manslut, and Andrew, the virgin who prefers to save himself for the one he deems as the perfect catch—until, that is, they meet and ultimately learn that oftentimes the heart is a force with which the libido can’t compromise.

Josephine Myles has artfully stitched together a story (wink, wink) that immediately drew me in with its humor and warmth. Felix and Andrew’s differences, the way in which they related to each other and drew upon their conflicting ideals while succumbing to the irresistible pull of those differences, grew into a common and mutual urge to be what the other wanted and needed, and played perfectly against the other. They also learned, eventually, that wanting and needing don’t necessarily always go hand in hand, that wanting something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good or right for you.

This was fun and flirty story that, at times, made me want to give Felix a good thwap on the head for not grabbing on to what was right in front of him, the connection that went beyond the physical, but it was his transformation that gave the biggest payoff in the end, as the artist goes through a bit of a renaissance himself, finally realizing the beauty of love can be captured with a look from the artist who observes things from a new and intimate perspective.

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Small Gems – Short Stories That Leave a Big Impression

The Haunted Glade by Hayden Thorne

In true fairytale fashion, where enchanted forests house mystical beings and inspire the legends passed down to the village children, eighteen year old Yves Milford hears music that only the village potter, Irwin Blythe, can hear as well. It is a song that calls to those who love differently, a song that will awaken Yves’ understanding and embracing of his sexuality. With Irwin’s help, Yves will find acceptance, and will come to bear the mantle of responsibility to help others on their journey, when the time comes to pay the gift forward.

The Haunted Glade is a small gem, one of those beautiful little stories that leaves a big impression. Its message is universal and is delivered in a touching and magical way that inspires an immediate affinity with the characters and the story. It is a coming-of-age tale of affirmation and fulfillment, delivered with a lovely moral.

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His Holy Bones (Rifter, #10) by Ginn Hale

His Holy Bones (Rifter, #10)His Holy Bones by Ginn Hale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So it began and so it ended, at well more than 1000 pages of nothing less than outstanding character exposition, world building, dialogue, narrative, humor, action, terror, violence, heartbreak, romance. This was the Chronicles of Basawar and was everything great speculative fiction should be. While each installment of the Rifter series might not have stood as strongly as others, individually, the sum of each of its parts, collectively, is simply stunning.

This is a sweeping story of sacrifice and duty, of the ultimate corruption of power and the perversion of a religion that persecutes indiscriminately and seeks to propagate its authority through the violation of its followers. On the opposite side of the coin, it is a story of devotion to the earth god and the reluctant, arduous, and fearful journey of a man who becomes a deity. It is a story of love and loss and redemption. It is the story of divination and of altering the future through acts of free will and conscience and commitment, proving that nothing is preordained where there are choices to be made.

His Holy Bones and the Rifter series itself is a complex journey that is, at its most simple, a story of the power of love and the deep spiritual connection between two men that defies the bonds of death. Ginn Hale sends her readers on an incomparable adventure through time and space, to a land threatened by unseen forces, to a place where our own world is seen as the Promised Land, to a place where sorcery is both salvation and destruction, to a point where unconditional faith delivers miracles.

The series all comes down to a pivotal moment, when the key to the future becomes the will to survive for the love and compassion of mankind, and for the love of the one who is your destiny.

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