Tag Archives: m/m romance

Rites of Spring

Book Review of Rites of Spring (Rites #1), by J.V. Speyer

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I received a copy of J. V. Speyer‘s Rites of Spring from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Cameron has given up on romance, after a difficult childhood made it difficult for him to trust enough for intimate relationships to develop. But mostly he’s happy with the life he’s built for himself. 

When two paranormal investigators show up at the home he recently inherited, claiming he may be in danger, he sends them packing, convinced they’re nothing but con men.

Until several incidents prove they’re telling the truth. The past Cameron tried so hard to leave behind is coming for him, and its angry.

Review:
Honestly, I wasn’t all that impressed. It was a serious case of an interesting plot let down by lackluster writing. I mean, there was just not tension in the writing and absolutely no realistic emotions. Ghosts are real…no reaction. Psychic are real…no reaction. Werewolves are real…no reaction. Someone from you past is trying to kill you…no reaction. The occult…no reaction. Demons…no reaction. Oh, but a stranger knock on your door…go bat-shit crazy aggressive on them.

Then there was the romance. Cameron and Jason’s back and forwards aggression, affection, aggression affection made no sense, was not believable and felt horribly contrived. Then it ended on a pretty week Happy For Now. I’m not sure if it even qualifies, to be honest.

Speyer did an adequate job with attachment disorder and PTSD. The book had a racially diverse cast and presented immigrants in a positive light. It also addressed some important themes like racism and discrimination against queer people. Unfortunately it did it with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but it did it all the same.

The Sumage Solution

Book Review of The Sumage Solution (San Andreas Shifters #1), by G. L. Carriger

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I purchased a copy of The Sumage Solution, by G. L. Carriger.

Description from Goodreads:
NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, presents an offbeat gay romance in which a sexy werewolf with a white knight complex meets a bad boy mage with an attitude problem. Sparks (and other things) fly.

Max fails everything – magic, relationships, life. So he works for DURPS (the DMV for supernatural creatures) as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck biker werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something oddly appealing about the huge, muscled Beta visiting his office for processing.

Bryan AKA Biff (yeah, he knows) is gay but he’s not out. There’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to leave the closet, if he can only get the man to go on a date. Everyone knows werewolves hate mages, but Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage in question.

Review:
I really quite enjoyed this. True, I thought some of the humor—fizzy jizz, spicy cum, etc—crossed the line into stupid-funny and made me roll my eyes and cringe, instead of laugh. And the endless banter sounded exactly the same, regardless of which two characters were actually bantering, which kind of sucked. But for the vast majority of the book I was thrilled. Bryan is one of the sweetest shifter leads I’ve read in a while and Max was a good pairing for him.

I’ve not read the prequel, but I was able to follow the plot and world easily. It does seem a well developed world, though it’s just barely laid out here. I was left with a few questions, but not enough to be dissatisfied at the end.

There were a few editing mishaps. Maximilian, who goes by Max was named Mac on more than one occasion, for example. (Yeah, X and C are next to one another on the keyboard.) But it is pretty clean.

All in all, I was pleased. I’m always a little wary when M/F authors cross over into LGBTQ+ stories. But in the Carriger books I’ve read, she always had strong, positive queer characters anyhow, so she made this transition well. I’ll be looking forward to more of The San Andreas Shifters.

Cutie and the Beast

Book Review of Cutie and the Beast (Fae Out of Water #1), by E.J. Russell

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I received a copy of E. J. Russell‘s Cutie and the Beast through netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Temp worker David Evans has been dreaming of Dr. Alun Kendrick ever since that one transcription job for him, because holy cats, that voice. Swoon. So when his agency offers him a position as Dr. Kendrick’s temporary office manager, David neglects to mention that he’s been permanently banished from offices. Because, forgiveness? Way easier than permission.

Alun Kendrick, former Queen’s Champion of Faerie’s Seelie Court, takes his job as a psychologist for Portland’s supernatural population extremely seriously. Secrecy is paramount: no non-supe can know of their existence. So when a gods-bedamned human shows up to replace his office manager, he intends to send the man packing. It shouldn’t be difficult—in the two hundred years since he was cursed, no human has ever failed to run screaming from his hideous face.

But cheeky David isn’t intimidated, and despite himself, Alun is drawn to David in a way that can only spell disaster: when fae consort with humans, it never ends well. And if the human has secrets of his own? The disaster might be greater than either of them could ever imagine.

Review:
Cute. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing particularly standout and stellar about it either. Both characters are likable and there are some cute side characters. The plot moves along, though it’s 100% predictable. There is very little on page sex and it ends with a happily ever after. I’ll happily read the next one, but I’m not chomping at the bit to get it.