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Book Review of The Gentleman and the Rogue, by Summer Devon & Bonnie Dee

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The Gentleman and the RogueI bought a copy of The Gentleman and the Rogue, by Summer Devon & Bonnie Dee.

Description from Goodreads:
Lad from the streets meets lord of the manor. Both men’s lives will be changed forever.

When Sir Alan Watleigh goes searching for sex, he never imagines the street rat he brings home for one last bit of pleasure in his darkest hour will be the man who hauls him back from the edge of the grave. Despite his harsh life in the slums of London, Jem is a bright, cheerful young man. He’s also witty, irreverent, glib, and makes Alan laugh–a rare occasion since war time trauma and the death of his family have made the man a ghost of his former self.

A single night of meaningless sex turns into an offer of permanent employment. Jem acts as Alan’s valet, but offers him so much more than polished boots and starched cravats. Just as the men are adjusting to their new living arrangement, news about a former soldier under his command sends Sir Watleigh and Jem on the road to save a child in danger.

The journey brings them closer together as they travel from lust toward love. They rescue the girl from the clutches of an insane surgeon, who is as interested in experimenting on the vulnerable human spirit as he is on physical bodies. Alan realizes his love for Jem when he nearly loses him, but is Alan’s love strong enough to risk society discovering the truth about him? And is he strong enough to finally accept his sexual nature?

Review:
I have to admit that I’ve not historically been a fan of historical novels, though I’ve read a couple recently and I’m starting to convert. Further, I’ve never enjoyed stories based on the cliché ‘hooker with the golden heart’ trope, especially when that golden heart is healing some emotionally damaged wealthy patron, as it so often is in romance. So, this book had a lot going against it from the beginning. But I found that I enjoyed it despite containing elements I’ve traditionally dismissed as unpalatable.

The reason, I think, is that it never tried to play Jem off as a prostitute in name only. Think Julia Roberts in Pretty woman and how she was a prostitute, but shown to be so new as to be almost unspoilt. She’s a whore in name, but not practice. The authors didn’t do that here. They never tried to play Jem off as anything other than what he was and as such I was much more able to tolerate him than I would have been otherwise. Similarly, Alan wasn’t made out to be some pure soul who’d done something other than hire a man for sex. That something more developed is bonus, but the story made no attempt to dismiss Jem’s profession. I liked that.

The authors also never hid Jem’s motives behind pure good heartedness. He had ulterior motives in the beginning and by acknowledging them, the reader was more able to watch and believe as they changed to genuine affection for Alan (and visa versa).

I did think that the bad guy’s tendency to monologue his ill intentions was a little cheesy, I had a little trouble with some of the cant used (possibly because I’ve read so few historical novels) and I might have like a more obvious declaration of love from Alan, but all in all, I rather enjoyed the book.

Review of End of the Trail (End Of The Trail #1), by Jane Elliot

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End of the TrailI downloaded a copy of Jane Elliot‘s End of the Trail from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Will Connors is struggling to hold together a failing farm; his wife has died, his son has gone, he’s not without enemies and he’s dealing with the after-effects of a debilitating accident. It’s a life of toil which doesn’t allow for very much pleasure, and he’s in danger of becoming embittered until a chance acquaintance wanders back into his life and everything begins to change. The problem, however, is that John Anderson has a price on his head – and, very soon, Will and John find themselves desperately concealing more than one dangerous secret.

Review:
Wow, I can honestly say I did not expect to like this as much as I did. It’s a wonderfully slow, angst free, subtle, Gay For You story and I very much enjoyed it. I liked the way it was situated in the time period. I liked the way Will still desperately loved his wife and missed his son. (Women are so often poorly presented in MM and that wasn’t the case here.) I appreciated the way sex wasn’t gratuitous, in either frequency or scope. These men didn’t suddenly start going at it like rabbits just because they were snowed in together. They had to learn to work around Will’s gimp leg, for example. I loved the way each man had his own personality and quirks. John and those chickens, for example. There was a lot to love in this book.

I did think the way John found to do good and contribute toward his redemption was a little sappy and unrealistic. I would have expected that sort of thing to take a year or more to set up, not a few weeks. Also, there wasn’t any real excitement. Everything kind of plods along nicely, but anyone looking for an action-packed read would be disappointed.

All-in-all, it was a great feel-good read and I’ll be looking for the sequel, as well as more of Jane Elliot’s work.

Wyn Dead Walk

Book Review of Wyn Dead Walk (Terrwyn Harvey, #1), by A. Rosemary Mauller

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Wyn Dead WalkTwo years ago today, I apparently downloaded a free copy of Wyn Dead Walk, by A. Rosemary Mauller, from Amazon. So, I suppose it qualifies for my TBR challenge.

Description from Goodreads:
As a practicing necromancer Terrwyn Harvey has seen things that most people only thought existed in nightmares…

and as Keeper of the Dead, supernatural sheriff of the underworld, it’s her job to keep them from discovering the truth.

A task that’s easier said than done when eight hundred year old vampire, Alexander Norris, approaches Wyn with a job offer she can’t refuse.

An illegal spell used to raise the dead has resurfaced and Wyn must find the necromancer responsible before she loses her job or worse… her life.

Review:
This book was ok, amusing in its own way, but it was not a winner for me. I thought a lot of it just barely hung together, I found the main characters annoying and I figured out the bad guys before the 50% mark. Meh.

My biggest complaint comes down to the difference between what we’re told Wyn was and what we’re shown she was. We’re told that she’s the Keeper of the Dead, essentially the über necromancer, but we’re shown that she is utterly inept.

We’re told that she’s been training in necromancy since she was born and is a child genius (thus her high position at a mere 23-years-old), but in the book I remember her using magic twice. Once she needed help with something we’re told she’s an expert at and once as more of a relaxation technique than as a skill. Not once did she use it to defend herself when attacked.

We’re told she’s taken down vampires, demons, witches, warlocks, etc. But we’re also told that her training did not include combat teachings. A fact that makes no sense since her father was also fighting the supernatural, so it seems an odd thing to leave out. Especially since when she became Keeper of the Dead, she inherited a sword held by eight generations of Keepers, inferring that fighting is an expected skill set. What’s more, each and every-time she’s attacked she almost dies and has to be rescued, at one point by a 12-year-old boy. (Because apparently even he’s better than she is.) She swings her sword twice in the whole book, despite lugging it around all the time. She’s useless.

This all made the argument that she was special, stronger and/or skilled enough to be given the highest necromancer position available and be responsible policing all activities between the living and the dead and for training all future necromancers in the St. Louis area completely unbelievable.

The vast majority of the book is dedicated to her love life; or rather to the men she lusts after and who, of course, lust after her. First, there is her long-term, on again off again, live in boyfriend who despite seeming like a nice guy gets screwed in the book. Then there is the sexy vampire. Then there is the hunky werewolf, who she randomly invites out for a drink and kisses. I have no idea why. He played no role in the rest of the book. My guess is he’s a set up for another triangle in a future book. Meh.

The writing itself was fine. It flowed well enough and other than Wyn and Alex’s constant and annoying bickering the dialogue flowed well. The book needed a serious re-edit though.

All in all, the book was entertaining enough as long as you don’t look too deeply at the logic of it.