Month: May 2010

The Angel of 13th Street by Eden Winters

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The Angel of 13th Street The Angel of 13th Street by Eden Winters

Blurb:
The Angel. That’s what the young hustlers call Noah Everett, the man who’ll help them get off the streets. Once a hustler himself, Noah doesn’t take his own good advice, which is, “Don’t let this ruin your life.” Haunted by the past and those he couldn’t save, Noah carefully keeps others at bay until his self-imposed loneliness is shattered by determined, ambitious, but homeless eighteen-year-old Jeremy Kincaid.

A ruthless pimp has targeted Jeremy, but if Noah will fight to get anonymous young men out of the life, he’ll fight harder to keep Jeremy from getting in, even if it means a return to old stomping grounds to make a deal with the devil. To save Jeremy, Noah risks more than just his body. He risks his soul as well, because Willie Carnell, pimp, was once Billy Cordell, Noah’s lover.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

rent boy makes good… awe (with hot sex)

Excerpts – good, bad, indifferent

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Over on Three Dollar Bill Reviews Friday ramblings, I’m asking if readers actually read excerpts or if they pass them by. Check out the post HERE and feel free to comment. I don’t read excerpts but perhaps you do?

For those that can’t be bothered to comment *cough* you can fill out this quick and easy poll! Because I’m just that curious … 

Happy Friday!



Book Dating

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Unfortunately I don’t mean the love we all have for our books and collections. The single minded passion that rarely is matched elsewhere (don’t lie).

No, I’m talking about contemporary books that clearly place themselves in a certain time frame. By this I mean mentioning and incorporating trends of the time into the books. Now clearly any contemporary book written today will automatically be dated compared to future books. I mean today’s book won’t have the bells and whistles that the future books will have, just as reading books from the ‘80s and ‘90s don’t have the same advances in technology and cultural attitudes that current books exhibit.

So there is a sense that is an inevitable byproduct of writing contemporary books. Yet with how popular they are, I don’t see that changing. But I wonder about certain brands or trends being used that may date the book in a more obvious way. Perhaps contemporary books only have a short shelf life. Whereas a historical can be read any time and remains the same, contemporary books get dated quickly and often left aside. 

An example of the more obvious "dating" methods used, a few years ago books talked about myspace pages. A trend that is now seriously over and those books feel even more dated regardless that they’re relatively recent. I read a book the other day that mentioned twitter and facebook, which brought the same question back. If for some reason those social medias go by the way of myspace, would that "date" the book even more?

But on the flip side, does that resonate with fans who are reading the right now. Perhaps it doesn’t matter if a reader 3 years from now picks it up and laughs about the outdated references. I mean some books still feature the mullet so what can I say?

What about you, readers?
Are you bothered by obvious dating mechanisms such as trends or social media?
What if you pick up the book for the first time years after?

Kindred Hearts by G.S. Wiley

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Kindred HeartsKindred Hearts by G.S. Wiley

Blurb:
Crippled by a devastating stammer, Alfie would prefer to hide himself away in the audience of London’s theaters. But as the perfect Georgian gentleman, it’s his responsibility to find a husband for his ward Eleanor. The pain of having to converse with strangers is lessened by the appearance of the kind-hearted Lord George Caldwell and his cousin Lieutenant Markham, who is far more interesting than any character Alfie has seen on stage, and far more intriguing than any man he’s ever met in person.

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

different….

Above the Dungeon by S.M. Johnson

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Above the Dungeon Above the Dungeon by S.M. Johnson

Blurb:
With the ink barely dry on his Ivy League diploma, Dare is expected join the family business, marry his high school sweetheart, and commit to life in conservative suburbia. But in a moment of panic he runs away to NYC, where his cousin gets him a bartending job at a club above the legendary Master Roman’s dungeon. When Roman takes an interest in Dare, he’s not sure if he should run like hell, or follow his submissive heart.

As he draws Dare into the world of BDSM, Roman has to contend with the feelings and insecurities of his primary partner, Jeff, who has a habit of falling in love with others. But this time it’s Roman’s turn, and Jeff’s not sure their relationship can survive the inclusion of a new guy.

Alternately told from points of view of Dare and Jeff, Above the Dungeon is a series of highly erotic BDSM scenes tied together with tight plot and intense relationship dynamics

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

when you just can’t get enough dick…

Puppy Love by Jeff Erno

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Puppy Love Puppy Love by Jeff Erno

Blurb:
Matt is everything that Petey is not. He is self-confident and brave. Matt is tall and masculine and athletic. He is a natural-born leader. Puppy Love is their love story, their romance. It is both a coming-of-age and coming-out story, but sexual orientation is not the primary focus. Petey struggles with his identity both as a homosexual and as a submissive. What do you do when you love someone who is truly superior to yourself in every meaningful way? How do you feel, and what if these feelings are not what everyone tells you you’re supposed to feel? We are taught that every individual is equal, but what if you know, through experience, that this is not the case? What if, in a society in which everyone is supposed to be a leader, you discover that your passion, your destiny, is to submit? In Puppy Love, Petey Drinkell discovers the true nature of power, its role in sexual relationships, and his own role in the power structure. Puppy Love is perhaps the world’s first gay BDSM coming-of-age novel. This erotic epic is more than classic erotica; it also challenges the fundamental assumptions we make about human relationships and democracy.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 you’re not a baby, you’re just (VERY) emotional…

The Christmas Visit by Marshall Thornton

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The Christmas VisitThe Christmas Visit by Marshall Thornton

Blurb:
After his mother’s death, a Chicago advertising executive in his early thirties returns to his tiny upstate New York hometown to spend the Christmas holiday with his recently widowed father. While struggling to get along with his prickly father, he finds himself becoming involved with the teenage crush he’s never forgotten, now a closeted sheriff’s deputy. The relationship still has the same old fire, but it complicated by the old crush being married. Suddenly, everything takes a backseat solving the mystery at the center of the deputy’s marriage. Will a Christmas visit bring happiness to anyone, or will it end in misery?

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

what is with no name characters?