Urban Shaman by Lyn Gala

May 7, 2010Kassa 7 Comments

Urban Shaman by Lyn Gala

Blurb:
New York City cop Miguel Rassin’s life is going downhill fast. He’s got a spotty record from the Army, a one-night stand who won’t go away, and a flock of reporters trying to crucify him for shooting a civilian waving a toy pistol. Now kids are turning up missing in the Bronx, and he’s partnered with by-the-book Detective Rob Jackson, a man with problems of his own. Their first suspect is a local shaman, Nikolai Adleman, who is either the strangest holy man ever or a con working his own angle.

Miguel’s trying to navigate a baffling case that has more questions than answers, caught between a surprising physical desire for Nikolai and his new partner’s suspicions about a shaman who claims supernatural forces are at work. Miguel has always tried to avoid relationships out of guilt and fear, but Nikolai sees the darkness in Miguel’s heart—and the fortitude Miguel has hidden deep inside, a strength that will help him solve the case and reclaim his life.

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

for something totally different….

Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale

April 29, 2010Kassa 8 Comments

Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale

Blurb:
Kiram Kir-Zaki may be considered a mechanist prodigy among his own people, but when he becomes the first Haldiim ever admitted to the prestigious Sagrada Academy, he is thrown into a world where power, superstition and swordplay outweigh even the most scholarly of achievements.

But when the intimidation from his Cadeleonian classmates turns bloody, Kiram unexpectedly finds himself befriended by Javier Tornesal, the leader of a group of cardsharps, duelists and lotharios who call themselves Hellions.

However Javier is a dangerous friend to have. Wielder of the White Hell and sole heir of a Dukedom, he is surrounded by rumors of forbidden seductions, murder and damnation. His enemies are many and any one of his secrets could not only end his life but Kiram’s as well.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

classic fantasy story…

Double Blind by Heidi Cullinan

April 21, 2010Kassa 4 Comments

Double Blind by Heidi Cullinan

Blurb:
Poker player and professional smartass Randy Jansen believes in fate but doesn’t let it rule his life. Whether he’s at the table or between the sheets, Randy always knows the odds, and he only plays the games he can win—until he meets Ethan Ellison. Ethan came to Las Vegas with a broken heart and shattered spirit, and when he sits down at the roulette table with his last five dollars, he means this to be one of his last acts on earth. But Randy ropes him into first one bet, and then another, and then another…. Pretty soon they’re playing poker on the Strip and having the time of their lives—and all this even before Randy gets Ethan into his bed.

But before Ethan can plot out a new course for his life, they’re drafted into the schemes of Randy’s former lover, a tricky gangster who needs a fall guy. To survive, Ethan will have to stop waiting on fate and start making his own luck, and Randy will have to face the demons of his past and accept that to win this round, he’s going to have to put up a big ante. It isn’t money going into the pot this time, either: it’s his heart, and Ethan’s too—because for better or for worse, the game of love has a double blind.

Read about Randy before he meets Ethan in Special Delivery.

i always did wonder if santa was a kinky bastard…

The Year Without Summer by G.S. Wiley

April 20, 2010Kassa 4 Comments

The Year Without Summer by G.S. Wiley

Blurb:
Lieutenant Robert Pierce of the Royal Navy was raised in the shadow of his father, a great admiral, and has spent his life on the high seas fighting the ships of Napoleon Bonaparte. When he loses a leg in battle and is confined to land, Robert is devastated. Taken in by his sister Maria, Robert faces the infamously cold, wet summer of 1816 trying to adjust to his new life. It’s made all the gloomier by his worry for his best friend and lover, Lieutenant John Burgess, who is still at sea…until a visitor brings a bright ray of sunshine into Robert’s overcast life.

4.5 of 5 stars

Maybe one day GS Wiley will have a happy ending..

The Cat in the Cradle by Jay Bell

April 19, 2010Kassa 4 Comments

The Cat in the Cradle by Jay Bell

Blurb:

“An interesting and intriguing novel with many original ideas.”~Piers Anthony, author of the Apprentice Adept and Xanth series

The Cat in the Cradle is Jay Bell’s debut fantasy novel. The novel takes the reader on an exploration of the Five Lands and the different realms of the strange and fantastic Oligarchs. Each Oligarch possesses a different colored loka that enables them to wield a unique style of magic. Dylan, aided by his talking cat Kio, must prevent the lokas from falling into the hands of a power hungry killer before the Five Lands is brought to its knees. The print version of The Cat in the Cradle features 25 original illustrations, one for each chapter.

fantasy YA ..

Keeping Promise Rock

April 17, 2010Kassa 6 Comments

Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane

Blurb:
Carrick Francis has spent most of his life jumping into trouble with both feet. The only thing saving him from prison or worse is his absolute devotion to Deacon Winters. Deacon was Crick’s sanity and salvation during a miserable, abusive childhood, and Crick would do anything to stay with him forever. So when Deacon’s father dies, Crick puts his college plans on hold to help Deacon as Deacon has helped him.

Deacon’s greatest wish is to see Crick escape his memories and the town they grew up in so Crick can enjoy a shining future. But after two years of growing feelings and temptation, the painfully shy Deacon finally succumbs to Crick’s determined advances and admits he sees himself as part of Crick’s life.

It nearly destroys Deacon when he discovers Crick has been waiting for him to push him away, just like Crick’s family did in the past. When Crick’s knack for volatile decisions lands him far away from home, Deacon is left, shell-shocked and alone, struggling to reforge his heart in a world where love with Crick is a promise, but by no means a certainty.

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Another on the keeper shelf…

Anchors Aweigh by Janey Chapel

April 12, 2010Kassa 6 Comments

Anchors Aweigh by Janey Chapel

Blurb:
Sequel to MARITIME MEN. After completing Navy SEAL training, Cooper Fitch and Eli Jones face assignment into different platoons. Since the strength of their mutual physical attraction is exceeded only by their emotional reliance on each other, the idea of being separated for a year or more is a bitter pill to swallow. But missing Eli may be just the beginning of Cooper’s troubles: he’s got an undisciplined man in his platoon, an uptight commanding officer, and his own insecurity about his leadership skills to deal with. Without Eli at his back, Cooper starts to wonder if he really has what it takes to be a SEAL.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

hot men in uniform… what’s better?

Helpless by MJ Pearson

April 9, 2010Kassa Leave a comment

Helpless by M.J. Pearson

Blurb:
In London during the gross indecency trial of Oscar Wilde, Douglas Shrove finds himself still haunted by memories of his dead lover while skirting violence, blackmail and the affections of two men.

There are two who seek you out

That is what the gypsy told Douglas Shrove a few months after the death of his lover. And the gypsy was right. Two men were vying for his affections.

Mark Goldcrest: an aristocrat like himself; a golden Adonis, cool and discreet.

Warren Scott: a shabbily-dressed denizen of a Bohemian world that Douglas can’t begin to understand.

One is what he seems, and one is not, and one is dangerous.

But which is which? Both men are attractive and attracted to him…but one has a dangerous secret.

One is what he seems, and one is not, and one is dangerous.

One of Douglas Shrove’s admirers could be his salvation—if the other doesn’t destroy him first.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

really entertaining and omg… no sex!

No Rest for the Wicked by A.M. Riley

March 30, 2010Kassa 5 Comments

No Rest for the Wicked by A.M. Riley

Adam has gone through a lot of changes in the past year, a new taste for ‘O’ neg blood and allergy to sunlight being the least of them. Maybe it’s the cute young grad student who has been sniffing around Adam’s longtime sex partner, Peter. Or maybe immortality gives a man a little too much time to think. But Adam’s feeling motivated to change a few of his ways. If he could just get Peter to stop working long enough to notice.

Peter has his own issues with dating a dead man. And after over a decade of being in love with a commitment-phobe, he’s finding it hard to believe that Adam isn’t sampling the goods of the hot young vampire he works with.

They manage their issues the way they always have. By not talking about them…until a high profile computer software genius turns up drained in Hollywood, revealing a new vampire gang in Los Angeles, and all of their troubles come to a head. There’s no rest for the wicked.

undead bulges work just fine…

Henry and Jim by J.M. Snyder

March 5, 2010Kassa 3 Comments

Henry and Jim by J.M. Snyder

Blurb:
A bittersweet short story about a lifetime love affair. Henry and Jim have spent a life in love, from the very first date arranged by Henry’s sister, through the rocky times they worked to make ends meet, and into their twilight years.
Old men now, Henry reminisces about the love they’ve shared as he learns to cope with Jim’s fading memory and his own fear of being forgotten by the only man he’s ever loved.

NOTE: This story appears in the anthologies Best Gay Romance 2008 published by Cleis Press andBest Gay Stories 2009 published by Lethe Press, as well as in my print collection So In Love.

beautiful ..

three am

book reviews and the velvet rope overkill

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highly recommended

Urban Shaman by Lyn Gala

Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale

Double Blind by Heidi Cullinan

The Year Without Summer by G.S. Wiley

The Cat in the Cradle by Jay Bell

Keeping Promise Rock

Anchors Aweigh by Janey Chapel

Helpless by MJ Pearson

No Rest for the Wicked by A.M. Riley

Henry and Jim by J.M. Snyder