rainbow reviews

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…

Winner Takes All by Elizabeth Silver & Jenny Urban

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Winner Takes AllWinner Takes All by Elizabeth Silver & Jenny Urban

Blurb:
Dominic Taylor and Matt Harris have been friendly rivals – with occasional benefits – for a few years. With the downturn in the economy, though, Matt’s business is struggling. Dom, whose company is doing well, offers Matt a bet that could help save Matt’s company. But the terms of the bet would literally put Matt’s ass on the line and change the dynamic of their friendship.

As the deadline approaches, they graduate from making out to making love, raising the stakes as they each come to terms with what they really want, and what really matters.

No matter who wins, there will be no going back for either one of them. Because the winner takes all.

smutty, sexy fun

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.

not sure I’d agree on the tight plot comment…

The Next Competitor by K.P. Kincaid

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The Next Competitor by K.P. Kincaid

Blurb:
It’s the all-important Olympic season and eighteen-year-old American figure skater Alex Grady is discovering that there are many obstacles along the way on his quest to win a gold medal. For starters, he has to get through endless hours of practice under the watchful eye of his stern and slightly terrifying Russian coach. Then he has to contend with his all-American rival, Tanner Nielsen. Tanner has the talent, looks, poise and picture-perfect girlfriend that make him the ideal poster boy for United States figure skating.
Alex has the talent and his looks aren’t bad, but the filter between his brain and his mouth is missing, and he definitely doesn’t have a girlfriend. He doesn’t have a boyfriend either, although he finds himself thinking far too much about pairs skater Matt Savelli, which is ridiculous, since goody two-shoes Matt is totally not his type. Besides, Alex doesn’t have time to worry about dating, not with the Olympics looming, right? Can he find a way to go for the gold and still remain true to himself?

Changing a few details from real life is now fiction?

Ockham’s Razor by Alan Michael Williams

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Ockham’s Razor by Alan Michael Williams

Blurb:

Micah doesn’t like how his Mormon faith pigeonholes his sexuality: that being "gay" is like being "hooked on a drug." When he was little, he would lie in bed at night and imagine God giving out awards to all those gay spirits who saw past the ignorance of the Church, living their lives on Earth freely. Micah figured he would just walk away from all things Mormon and never look back. That is, until Brendan came along.

very interesting but problematic….

Christ Like by Emanuel Xavier

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Christ Like by Emanuel Xavier

Blurb:

Mikey is a spirited but self-destructive survivor of sexual abuse, a gay Latino native New Yorker caught somewhere between Catholic guilt and club kid decadence looking to fit in as part of a family. Instead, Mikey delves into a demimonde of petty thieves, prostitutes, and pushers. Haunted by a father that Mikey has never met, a difficult childhood, recurring nightmares, the reality of death, and Christ, the story unfolds through the ‘80’s and ‘90’s following him on his journey through a fascinating world filled with Santeros, transsexuals and voguing queens.

stunning

Drag Queen in the Court of Death by Caro Soles

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Drag Queen in the Court of Death by Caro Soles

Blurb:
While cleaning out his dead ex-lover Ronnie’s apartment, staid history professor Michael Dunn-Barten makes a grisly discovery ~ a mummified corpse in a trunk. Suddenly Michael must travel back 25 years to find answers by revisiting everybody who knew Ronnie. Back to the 1960s, back to the realization of his sexuality and the boy he loved. Back to the troubling time when his wife threw him out and his family disowned him. Back to uncover disturbing answers amidst drag queens and murky memories ~ and to reveal whether or not his first real love was truly a twisted killer. Drag Queen in the Court of Death is a taut thriller about a man who needs to face his past in order to forge a future. He must unravel a mystery that’s a quarter century old ~ no matter how painful the truth may be.

[LOATHE this cover. I actually bought the old version of the book just for the better cover.]

simply fabulous mystery..

Androgynous Murder House Party by Steven A. Rigolosi

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Androgynous Murder House Party by Steven A. Rigolosi

Blurb:

Six longtime friends gather for a holiday weekend at the Long Island estate of independently wealthy snob Robin Anders. As near-fatal accidents and mishaps mount, Robin is faced with the possibility that one of the six is plotting murder most foul ~ and that Robin may be the intended victim. But no deaths occur until the group returns home to Manhattan. Robin decides to investigate the suspicious circumstances, while the reader is faced with a larger mystery to solve: Are Robin, Lee, Alex, Law, Chris, Terry, and J male or female, straight or gay? And who exactly is Robin Anders? Is Robin a modern take on Oscar Wilde’s ferociously snobby Lady Bracknell, zealously guarding Manhattan from the barbarians at the gate? Or is Robin a misunderstood soul in the tradition of John Kennedy Toole’s Ignatius Reilly? Or can Robin be the heir apparent to Sarah Caudwell’s Hilary Tamar, who finds the confines of gender identification much too constricting in an effective narrator? All will be revealed in the final chapter of Androgynous Murder House Party … perhaps.

a clever and thoroughly unique mystery..

A Report from Winter by Wayne Courtois

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A Report from Winter by Wayne Courtois

Blurb:
A Report from Winter is a death-in-the-family story, a love story, and a meditation on the meaning of ”winter” ~ as a season and as a metaphor for family relationships.

It’s January 1998, and southern Maine is recovering from one of the worst ice storms in history. Into this unforgiving environment comes the author, flying home from Kansas City after a ten-year absence. His mother, Jennie, is dying of cancer. Though receiving excellent care in a nursing home, she has lost the ability to communicate. Needing support, Wayne makes an SOS call to Ralph, his longtime partner. Ralph boards a plane to Portland for his first exposure to a Maine winter, and to Wayne’s family as well, including a feisty aunt and an emotionally distant brother. The contrast between a nurturing gay relationship and dysfunctional family bonds is as sharp as the wind sweeping in from the sea.

Stubbornly unsentimental, A Report from Winter weaves childhood memories of winter with the harsh realities of living in a family where there’s not enough love to go around. The memoir is a tribute to hard-won relationships built on mutual trust and understanding, defying an uncaring world.

Beautiful and touching..