Tag Archives: m/m romance

Finding His Feet

Book Review of Finding His Feet, by Sandra Bard

I borrowed Sandra Bard‘s Finding His Feet from Hoopla, through my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Kaden Pace, a soldier injured while on a mission, hides the extent of his damage by wearing his high-tech armor, desperate to prove his worth to his administrators and make himself useful in order to hold on to his independence. But during a simple assignment to escort two cadets across the country to retrieve the armor of a dead warrior, things start to fall apart.

They meet Shun, a young man with a secret, who steals the armor they were supposed to recover. Chasing Shun brings them to an abandoned town, where they encounter even more trouble. Stranded in the deserted city, Kaden finds himself relying more and more on Shun, the person he’d come to capture, while fighting off an invasion from the neighboring country.

But even when he returns to camp, Kaden’s problems are not over. Now he has to find a way to save Shun, whom he’s growing to care for, and keep his team alive as they make one last-ditch attempt to get back the armor Shun stole. Armor that is now in enemy hands, on an island in the middle of the sea, at Ground Zero where it all began. 

Review:
That was, oh man, you guys…I just didn’t think it was very good. It’s got a cool cover and the writing itself flowed fine (save a few telling-heavy passages), but there was just nothing about the story I found believable. An endless war that never really materialized. 15-year-old soldiers being sent out on missions. Soldiers who were unprofessional at every turn. Distrusted civilians being included in missions. Confidential information shared left, right and centre. A ‘romance’ that came out of nowhere. A totally predictable ‘twist’ at the end that was wholly unsupported. Questionable treatment and attitude towards amputees and disabilities. The male partner of the main character being presented as fulfilling the traditional wifely position. Hand-wavey science. A cliched happy ending. It wasn’t a bad book. But it sure didn’t work for me.

Dog Days

Boook Review of Dog Days, by T.A. Moore

I borrowed Dog Days, by T. A. Moore from Hoopla.

Description from Goodreads:
The world ends not with a bang, but with a downpour. Tornadoes spin through the heart of London, New York cooks in a heat wave that melts tarmac, and Russia freezes under an ever-thickening layer of permafrost. People rally at first—organizing aid drops and evacuating populations—but the weather is only getting worse. 

In Durham, mild-mannered academic Danny Fennick has battened down to sit out the storm. He grew up in the Scottish Highlands, so he’s seen harsh winters before. Besides, he has an advantage. He’s a werewolf. Or, to be precise, a weredog. Less impressive, but still useful. 

Except the other werewolves don’t believe this is any ordinary winter, and they’re coming down over the Wall to mark their new territory. Including Danny’s ex, Jack–the Crown Prince Pup of the Numitor’s pack–and the prince’s brother, who wants to kill him. 

A wolf winter isn’t white. It’s red as blood.

Review:
Eh, it was cute in its own way, I guess. I liked Danny a lot, but I never warmed up to Jack. He was arrogant and rude, start to finish. And yes, I get that as a wolf he didn’t have the same human sentiments or mores, but I never liked him. And disliking one of the main characters is hard on a book.

The writing was fine, but it all felt a little pointless. There is a whole apocalyptic set up and quite a lot of time is dedicated to it, but ultimately it’s all backdrop to a minor battle that doesn’t really effect anything in the long run. Maybe this is the first in a series, it might make more sense then. But as it stands now, I finished it feeling pretty meh about the whole thing. I didn’t dislike it, but I wasn’t overly impressed either.

Book Review of Wolf in King’s Clothing, by Parker Foye

I received a copy of Wolf in King’s Clothing, by Parker Foye, through Netgalley.

Description form Goodreads:
An exiled shifter. His alpha mate. And a desire so intense it could be the death of them…  

York, England, 1912  

Kent was a pack outcast. His shifter instincts cruelly muted, he was collared and kept as a stray. Until he was offered his freedom—for something in return. He must rescue Hadrian, an alpha held hostage in the wolf highlands. It’s a pleasure for Kent to follow the captive’s scent, one so wild and virile it gives him a rush. Though he despises being treated like a mutt called to heel, he’ll gladly fall to his knees for an alpha like Hadrian. 

Hadrian has never met anyone like this damaged wolf warrior. His savior who licks the blood from his wounds and who arouses in him feelings he doesn’t understand or want to control. But Hadrian suspects that more than desire binds them. It’s betrayal. Pawns in an elaborate and feral deceit, they’re now caught in the deepening maze of a vengeful shifter world, where navigating the mysteries of the heart could prove just as unpredictable and dangerous as the enemies they face. 

Review:
Here’s the thing, I liked this book. I thought the pairing was cute and was all for their happily every after. But liking a book isn’t enough to ignore the fact that it basically doesn’t make sense. I’ve finished it and still have no idea what exactly was happening. Was it a power grab? And if so, was it against Hadrian or Kent’s boss? Was Kent actually an outcast, as the blurb suggests? If so, when and why? What exactly happened at the end? How did Hadrian heal Kent? What of Hadrian’s pack? Friend or foe? The plot was so full of holes that I couldn’t follow the story. I liked the mechanical writing. I liked the characters. But the rest o the book was a mess.