Another Hammer novel, this time staring Montana and Billy. This is one of the better couples so I gave this a try. In classic SM style, 90% is sex and there is a great deal of repetition. At 300 pages (pdf format), the conversations were circular and similar.

“I’m a stupid, horrible person.”
“No you’re not.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”

Rinse and repeat for almost the entire book. However, just as I was getting bored the plot takes a good turn when Montana gets into trouble. Unfortunately the entire process is summed up in about a page and the rest of the book deals with the emotional and sexual repercussions. I wish the book had lingered on the actual action, which would have been very interesting, although the results were definitely a departure from the repetitiveness of the book so far. The ending is a cliffhanger and clearly sets up another so of course I’ll have to read that one too, even though the characters involved (Oliver/Jack) are not my favorite.

For those that like Montana/Billy, you’ll want to read this. It’s almost entirely sex and dialogue so it’s a lightening fast read, even if it some scenes were clearly cut and paste over and over. The second half of the book picks up so stick with it. There are the usual editing mistakes and problems which show no one even proof read this but those reading the book likely already know this.

Get it HERE!

Carol of the Bellskis by Astrid Amara

This is a fun, holiday themed story that is easy, light, and empty. Seth is involved with his closeted boss, Lars. When Lars refuses to go on vacation with Seth out of fear of discovery, it’s the last straw for Seth. Seth angrily breaks up with Lars and heads out to Canada to his family’s Bed and Breakfast. But the owners (Seth’s aunt/uncle) are missing and the guests are arriving.

The premise is cute but slightly overdone with easy solutions everywhere. Seth can’t cook but not to worry; Lars is also a gourmet chef and happened to listen to a kosher cooking CD on his drive up. Then there are a serious of mishaps and requests from the finicky guests that I wasn’t sure why they were included. Perhaps the book was trying to be funny and charming but the antics were kind of boring and I skimmed over them to the connection between Seth and Lars. The characters are decent and well developed, even as the final resolutions to everything are incredibly simplistic and way too easy.

However, I really liked Seth and Lars for their strengths and weaknesses. Lars’ fear of coming out and Seth’s frustration with such are shown against the backdrop of a solid relationship and good connection. Although there are some glaring editing mistakes in the book, overall this is a quick, easy read that you won’t remember. There are also a number of mistakes in this book which made me think this had been published with TQ but no, just typical crap editing from Loose Id of late.