August | 2012 | The Novel Approach

Archive for the month “August, 2012”

31 Aug 2012

Yes (A Vasquez & James Novella) by Lou Sylvre

“Where there is great love, there are also miracles.” – Willa Sibert Cather

Loving Luki Vasquez has always been pretty easy for me. For that matter, loving Sonny Bly James has been a non-effort too, because of their strength, because of the way they’ve fought courageously to get where they are, because now, six years later, they need that strength and courage more than ever before when the threat to Luki’s life comes from something other than a bomb or the barrel of a gun.

This time it’s cancer that’s out to get him, and it’s coming at Luki with a vengeance, showing no mercy, giving no quarter, and taking its toll on everything and everyone Luki cherishes.

Yes is a heart-wrenching and sometimes very difficult story to read, especially if cancer has threatened or stolen someone you love. Lou Sylvre has woven a beautiful and effective story that illustrates perfectly how overwhelming and unrelenting this disease is not only in the way it attacks its victims but also in the way it does its best to destroy the lives and relationships of everyone involved.

This is a story of loving and fearing and dying and living. It’s a story of hope in the face of hopelessness, faith tested by helplessness, endurance diminished by the cruel nature of illness, courage that doesn’t mean being unafraid but means looking at the nightmare head on and living in spite of that fear. This is a story in which love is tested by the desire to let go and to give in to a disease that kills indiscriminately but, in the end, drawing upon the strength of that love and knowing the fight to live is worth the cost of waging that war.

Buy Yes HERE.

Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Lou Sylvre and tagged Dreamspinner Press, Lou Sylvre

30 Aug 2012

Stained Glass by Jamie Samms

“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills.” – Ernest Hemingway

Jamie Samms’ Stained Glass is an emotionally turbulent story of survival, the story of Lawrence McKenna, a man who in the hands of the wrong Dom discovers that he is a sexual submissive, and must afterward cope with what that means to him and how his baser needs change the definition of who he is. Laurie is a man who uses alcohol as an emotional and physical Novocain, using it to deaden the pain in the aftermath of Nash Winter’s psychological flailing and subsequent suicide, numbing himself to the words and memories that continue to claw their way into his subconscious, words that hold the power to break an already fragmented soul.

This is a story of healing, but in doing so, Laurie must first confront those memories, the good, the bad, and the ugly of his relationship with Nash, and find the strength buried within the broken places before he will be able to admit that his submission is not a weakness, nor is the pleasure he finds in the sort of control he desires a defect, even if it means finding his truths with a substitute for the man he wants but cannot have.

Stained Glass is a story of friendships and family, not the kind where those closest to you prop you up and tell you what you want to hear, but the kind where those who love you the most sit you down and tell you the truth, even if that truth is painful to hear and accept.

This is the story of one friendship in particular, one that could be so much more if the timing and circumstances weren’t determined to undermine the men involved. Jeff and Laurie mean the world to each other, but that world seems resolved to bend them to the point of breaking, to the point where their love and their need for each other becomes like a weakness that neither are strong enough to bear until they can repair what’s most damaged in them both.

Jamie Samms has written a powerful and provocative story of two imperfect men, men who are shattered, whose lives are stained by misery, who are struggling to put the pieces of their lives back together so that with and for each other they can be whole and can each be whom the other needs in order to find peace.

Stained Glass is an angst heavy book that does nothing to sugarcoat the reality of the lives of its characters. It’s a raw and candid story of emotional abuse, alcoholism, suicide, and salvation, definitely not for the faint-hearted but most definitely a story I loved.

Buy Stained Glass HERE.

Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Jamie Samms and tagged Dreamspinner Press, Jamie Samms | Leave a Comment

28 Aug 2012

Wings of Equity by Sean Kennedy

“The people choose to call me a hero. I don’t think what I do is heroic. It’s just doing what’s right for those who are worse off than you.” – Icarus

Sean Kennedy’s Wings of Equity is a cleverly steampunked tale filled with airships and flying trains, amazing machines and advanced technology, in a world where a dirigible captain turned bounty hunter, Ezra Kneebone, seeks to collect the price on the head of a Robin Hood-like vigilante dubbed Icarus, who soars through the skies on mechanical wings as he conspires to rob from the rich and give to the poor, rebelling against everything his wealthy and estranged father represents.

Ezra and his partner Jazille fly upon the Lilliput, dreaming of a day when they might craft a whole new fleet of airships, for which they need a lot of quick capital. Capturing the elusive Icarus and collecting the bounty seems to be the ideal way to make that happen, giving Ezra what he needs without becoming financially indebted to Jazz’s lover, the wealthy Lady Bart. It seems like the ideal plan, but as is usually the case with ideal plans, there’s one major complication—Ezra isn’t the only man looking to capture that prey and collect the reward, and the danger to himself, Jazz, and the Lilliput, not to mention to Ezra’s own conscience and personal integrity, quickly becomes a price that’s too high to pay. Especially after Ezra meets and loses his heart to the man he’s supposed to turn over to the government.

If you’re a fan of steampunk and all the imagination that goes into creating a world where technology conflicts with the times, Wings of Equity is a great read, filled with fun and humor and fast paced adventure, loads of danger and chaos, air battles and falling flying machines that only borrow their place in the sky before they surrender to earth’s gravity, in a sometimes spectacular fashion.

There were times I thought the romance between Ezra and Icarus, who will eventually come to trust Ezra with the power of his true identity, was overshadowed a bit by the world building, and even, to a certain extent, by the relationship between Jazz and her lady, Bart, but the thrills and danger came fast and frequently enough that, in the end, I didn’t miss the message of Ezra and Icarus’ relationship, which, for me, was that there are times when the heart and the conscience must overrule ambition and force you to see what’s truly imperative, not giving up on your ideals and dreams but adapting them to include the ideals and dreams of someone you love.

Buy Wings of Equity HERE.

Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Sean Kennedy and tagged Dreamspinner Press, Sean Kennedy | Leave a Comment

26 Aug 2012

(Un)masked by Anyta Sunday and Andrew Q. Gordon

“Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” – James Arthur Baldwin

Oscar Wilde once said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Well, Jayden Walker and Graham “Gristle” Thistle may not live in the literal gutter, but they’re barely one small step up from there, living in a place they’ve dubbed “the hovel”, dreaming of the day they’ll book the Tory Street Theater where they’ll direct and perform one of Jay’s plays. It’s a reach-for-the-stars dream that seems as if it might never be fulfilled, but that doesn’t keep Jay from trying, nor does it keep him from hiding his continued failures from Gristle to save his brother from the disappointment of knowing that dream might never become a reality.

(Un)masked is a story of mixed mythologies and a play-within-a-play that follows the same thematic elements as Anyta Sunday’s wonderful (In)visible, in which a centuries old curse obscures its bearer from being seen as he truly is. It’s a story that might just make you believe we each have a soul mate whom no one else can see for who he truly is because no one else can see that person with his whole heart.

This is the sentimental and dramatic story of Lethe Cross, the young man who is carrying the curse that masks his true identity and causes others to see him, for better or for worse, as the person they most want to see. It’s an affliction that’s been passed down from his many times great grandmother and a misery he’s determined will die with him. This is a story of love and loss and sacrifice, the story of a determination that propels a man to do what he must, in order to remain set on his convictions and to stay the course regardless of the costly forfeit he must make.

It was fortune that brought Jay and Lethe together; it was magic that made Jay see Lethe for who he really is. It was love that helped them endure and persevere to their happy ending, and it was faith that made their dreams come true.

(Un)masked is a heart-tugger of a romantic story that maybe didn’t resonate quite as deeply with me as (In)visible, in a book-to-book comparison, but (In)visible did set the bar fairly high, so even not quite meeting that standard still left room for a pretty enjoyable read in (Un)masked.

Buy (Un)masked HERE.

Posted in Andrew Q. Gordon, Anyta Sunday, Dreamspinner Press and tagged Andrew Q. Gordon, Anyta Sunday, Dreamspinner Press | Leave a Comment

23 Aug 2012

Small Gems – Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov

“You’re alive. If you want I can fly.” – William Goldman

In the midst of conflict and the horrors of war, there is quiet. There is a certain hush, a sense of peace and silence that can be found not in the arms of battle but in the arms of someone who holds the answers to the questions written in the longing for connection.

This is what Aleksandr Voinov has done in Skybound. He has created an image with words that is bleak but at the same time filled with hope among the fear of death. It is a picture painted of victory in the certainty of defeat, where a kiss can give you the wings to fly and surrendering doesn’t mean losing but gaining the promise of a future that might otherwise have been lost.

The year is 1945 and the Second World War is gasping its final breaths. It is a place and time when Felix and Baldur discover there is something more worth fighting and living for than their country’s directives. Skybound was an entirely new experience for me. I’ve read stories from the American side of the war, from the British, but this is the first time I’ve read a story set on the German side, which illustrated to me how easy it is to forget that in battle, regardless of what side a man is on, the casualties are still altogether human ones.

Skybound is an example of the perfect short story: spare because that was the mood and tone of the time in which it takes place, sedate yet filled with a sense of urgency that translates into a raw and undeniable longing to be somewhere, anywhere, as long as it’s on the winning side of life.

I’ve read a lot of Aleksandr Voinov’s work and I have to say that this story is at the top of my very tall heap of favorites.

Buy Skybound HERE.

Posted in Aleksandr Voinov, Riptide Publishing, Small Gems and tagged Aleksandr Voinov, Riptide Publishing | Leave a Comment

22 Aug 2012

Outtakes of a Walking Mistake by Anthony Paull

“So much of adolescence is an ill-defined dying, an intolerable waiting, a longing for another place and time, another condition.” – Theodore Roethke

Tyler Morris just wants to find someone who’s brave enough to hold his hand, someone who isn’t ashamed to be his boyfriend. He’s guarding his virtue, saving himself for just the right boy, but while he’s busy waiting, the sex deprived part of Tyler’s sixteen-year-old libido is working to convince the apparently straight Billy Greske that he needs a boyfriend, while at the same time lusting a little bit for Eric Bryant, the bad boy who refuses to be labeled.

Tyler’s mother ran away with the circus, his dad’s in complete denial of Tye’s sexuality, his best friend Jenny is bipolar and more than a little fragile, and he’s just landed a small but fortunate part in a school film that may be a bit too controversial for the governing powers. It’s a part, though, that could just convince Billy that kissing a boy will straight up rock his world.

Outtakes of a Walking Mistake is a book that reminded me what a miracle it is that any of us managed to survive high school, being brave enough to admit you’re the square peg when everyone wants you to fit into the round hole, and growing up, experiencing the pangs of first lust, realizing that what you want and what’s right for you can be two very different things, that you’re worth waiting for, worth fighting for, that your self-respect is worth far more than settling as anyone’s dirty little secret.

Sometimes life can feel as though it’s little more than a series of mistakes to learn from. Sometimes it takes a series of lies and exposed secrets to lead you to the truth that life is full of small cuts and gaping wounds that shape who we are, that some of those hurts will eventually heal better than others, and that sometimes what you’ve been led to believe is as flexible as what you’ve been told is the truth.

Tyler is a sweet and funny narrator of his play, but for as much humor as there is in his story, there’s also a lot of heart there to remind you that being in that in between stage, when you’re no longer a kid but aren’t quite an adult, can be a really difficult transition to navigate.

Anthony Paull skillfully directs the reader through each scene, stepping back and wisely leaving his characters large and in charge, emoting and finding their marks and motivations within the simple act of living.

Buy Outtakes of a Walking Mistake from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Posted in Anthony Paull, Feelmagik Productions and tagged Anthony Paull, Feelmagik Productions | Leave a Comment

17 Aug 2012

Simple Gifts (Cornwall Novellas, #2) by L.B. Gregg

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – Seneca

When you have a history of screwing things up, beginnings and endings are pretty well par for the course. When you have a history of preferring to be alone, it makes the screwing up part a lot easier. At least, that’s the case for Jason Ferris and Robb Sharpe, who began in high school and ended when Robb joined the army and Jason never heard from him again.

Ten years, a Christmas party, a lawn ornament with homicidal tendencies, and one blizzard later, and Jason and Robb are back together again. Not together-together. More like stuck between a black out and a hard place at Jace’s apartment, because neither of them wants to be snowed in at chez Sharpe for the holidays, which you might not think would be so bad considering there’s still a lot going on between the two of them. But war is hell and sometimes life is too, and sometimes the fight to survive is the hardest fought battle of all, and just hoping to get by and to bring some order to the chaos of your existence is the best you can ask for until you finally find you can allow yourself to hope for more.

And sometimes it’s the simplest gifts that are the most priceless and hold the most promise for a new beginning. A thousand times over.

Simple Gifts is a spare little story but not so simple, really. Jason and Robb both carry their pasts like scars that are proof of the damage left behind but are also proof that they’ve survived. Once again, L.B. Gregg created two characters that I was completely involved with, but not only that, she also gave me a story that tugged at my heartstrings just a little bit, which just adds another layer to the many reasons I love her storytelling ways.

Buy Simple Gifts HERE.

Posted in L.B. Gregg, Musa Publishing and tagged L.B. Gregg, Musa Publishing | Leave a Comment

16 Aug 2012

Dudleytown (Cornwall Novellas #1) by L.B. Gregg

“The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions.” – Unknown

Alex Strauss thinks he knows his college roommate, Shannon Murray, pretty well. For instance, he knows for a fact that Shannon’s straight. Poor Alex got some rather unfortunate visual evidence of that. Alex also knows that it’s not totally unheard of for straight guys to want to experiment a little. In fact, Alex has been on the receiving end of a few of those straight boy experiments himself and has always regretted it afterwards. He’s done playing guinea pig for the bi-flexible and the het-curious, is done being used and then treated like dirt, so even if Shannon was all about it, it wouldn’t happen. Probably. Maybe. All that conviction hasn’t stopped Alex from falling a little bit in love with Shannon, though. Poor guy.

In a dark and dangerous forest that feels a little bit like a trippy fall down the rabbit hole to Chunderland, where things don’t necessarily go bump in the night as much as they go splat on the windshield, Alex, Shannon, and Riley O’Leary take a shortcut to Dudleytown that ends up a bit of a bloody, vomitous mess and makes them a target for an escaped convict. Riley’s gone missing and it’s up to Alex and Shannon to find and rescue him. If, that is, Alex can quit jumping to conclusions long enough to read the signals Shannon’s sending him and just go along with the fact that everyone’s got his own way of being who he is.

This was a fast paced and fun story about two guys playing for the same team who had to learn to trust they were following the same playbook. I knew L.B. Gregg could make me laugh. Apparently, I now also know she can make me laugh and give me the heebie jeebies at the same time. Dudleytown reads like the best icky parts of a horror movie without all the “what an idiot, don’t go in there!” stuff that normally goes along with them. Maybe there’s a little bit of sex at the oddest moment, but at least no one gets murdered with his pants down around his ankles.

Buy Dudleytown HERE.

Posted in L.B. Gregg, Musa Publishing and tagged L.B. Gregg, Musa Publishing | Leave a Comment

14 Aug 2012

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.” – Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I learned so much as I watched Ari and Dante discover the secrets of their small corner of the vast universe.

• I learned that feeling small and insignificant and inadequate doesn’t make it true.
• I learned it’s possible to run away from something and not even realize you’re running or understand exactly what it is you’re running from.
• I learned that feeling sorry for yourself is the quickest path to loneliness.
• I learned silence can be just as powerful and destructive as anger.
• I learned it’s possible to wear the scars of battle without ever going to war.
• I learned that the most crippling scars of war are the ones that live inside of you.
• I learned there’s a difference between feeling real and feeling valid.
• I learned that a face can be the light in an otherwise dark world.
• I learned that it’s possible to love someone more than you think you’re capable of ever bearing.
• I learned that we all are in a constant state of discovering who we are, no matter our age.
• I learned it’s possible to look for something but not know exactly what it is you’re looking for.
• I learned that love is an instinct and is sometimes directed not by what we say but what we do.
• I learned that hiding from yourself is easier than hiding from the people who see you for who you truly are.
• I learned it’s possible to be so near to someone that it’s impossible to see all they mean to you.
• I learned it’s possible to be ashamed and have no idea why.
• I learned that all the mysteries of the universe can be found in a kiss and can be solved just by holding someone’s hand.

Reading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe taught me that there’s such a thing as too much, and that it’s possible for a book to be written sparely and still be full and abundantly powerful.

Ari Mendoza narrates this story, the story of a fifteen year old loner who meets Dante Quintana in the summer of 1987 and is suddenly not so lonely anymore, though he still feels very much alone with his anger and frustration. This is the story of a boy on the verge of evolution and the slow and sometimes painful discovery that being ashamed of how he feels doesn’t make those feelings inevitably shameful.

I’m going to confess I selected this book for it’s title and cover. I loved this book for all its many truths and loved that Benjamin Alire Sáenz wrote it in such a way that it felt as though it might have been autobiographical in its realism yet felt universal to each and every person who’s ever struggled while navigating their way through those teenage years, when knowing yourself really was as impossible as knowing all the secrets of the universe.

Buy Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe HERE.

Posted in Benjamin Alire Saenz, Simon and Schuster and tagged Benjamin Alire Saenz, Simon and Schuster | Leave a Comment

13 Aug 2012

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Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run #6) by Abigail Roux

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

Well, Ty and Zane did an awful lot of saying what they felt in this installment of the Cut & Run series. I just did an awful lot of feeling what they said, which I really didn’t mind at all—not that I matter, but it was still pretty shivery and goose bumpy inducing all the same for me. Ty Grady, Zane Garrett, jeans and boots and cowboy hats… The mental picture doesn’t get much better than that.

They’ve come out to their families now. Actually, Grandpa Chester, he of the wicked shovel and questionable soundness of mind, outed them to Ty’s family, which just goes to show what happens when you underestimate the mental faculties of the mostly befuddled. It ended up going fairly well in the end, though it was touch and go with Ty and his dad for about a West Virginia minute. Ty and Earl did their talking with their fists and Ty ended up with his hand in a cast for all it was worth. But that’s just how they roll, and it all came out okay once the manly testosterone anointing stopped.

It couldn’t have gone any smoother with Zane and his dad. His mom, though? Uh huh. Let’s just say I’m not her biggest fan and leave it at that, which is fine since her own family barely tolerates her. She is definitely not a mom of the warm and fluffy variety. She’s more a mom of the eats her own young variety, especially if it’s to preserve the reputation of the Carter-Garrett clan, and the idea of the Garrett line dying with Zane because he’s in love with another man is more than her shriveled little heart can tolerate.

Given the choice, going back home to Texas was never going to be at the top of Zane’s To-Do list, but as they say, blood is thicker than water and when there’s been bloodshed, how could he possibly stay away, even if it takes him away from the man he’s only just reconciled his love for? Leave it to Ty to go all rogue agent, though, so he could get to the Lone Star state to be with Zane again and help him figure out what’s going on. Something bad’s going down on the family ranch and we’re not just talking cattle rustling here. God no, that’d be much too pedestrian for these men. ::yawn:: No, we’re talking exotic animals going missing and a tiger that develops an unnatural attachment to Ty-the-Cat-Whispering Fed. Really, is there anything that man can’t do?

A precocious and formidable toddler; horses that want to eat Ty; a tiger that may love him, and may or may not find him tasty; lassos and guns and tranquilizer darts and pinheaded bigots; danger and suspicion and illegal activity are all par for the course in Stars & Stripes.

This wasn’t a federal mission for Grady and Garrett. No, this was entirely personal, which gave the storyline a slightly different feel, and for me, didn’t quite equal the depth or complexity of the previous books, but that’s not to say it was bad at all, far from it. Please. This is Ty and Zane, and their banter and aggressive sensuality alone make these don’t-bother-me-I’m-reading books. I’m hoping the next book will throw these guys back into the chaotic mix of cat and mouse, government mandated undercover work I’ve always loved.

Buy Stars & Stripes HERE.

Posted in Abigail Roux, Riptide Publishing and tagged Abigail Roux, Riptide Publishing

The Novel Approach

Reviews, Ramblings, and Randomness

Archive for the month “August, 2012”

Yes (A Vasquez & James Novella) by Lou Sylvre

Stained Glass by Jamie Samms

Wings of Equity by Sean Kennedy

(Un)masked by Anyta Sunday and Andrew Q. Gordon

Small Gems – Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov

Outtakes of a Walking Mistake by Anthony Paull

Simple Gifts (Cornwall Novellas, #2) by L.B. Gregg

Dudleytown (Cornwall Novellas #1) by L.B. Gregg

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run #6) by Abigail Roux

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