Tag Archives: m/m romance

Legally Bound

Book Review of Legally Bound (Bound #1), by J.R. Gray

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Legally BoundI bought a copy of Legally Bound, by J. R. Gray, from Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
The last thing Daniel, a hard-working public defender, expected to see the morning after a one night stand was his hook-up staring back at him from the wrong side of the law. Assigned to work his case, Daniel vows to keep things professional with Rafael but has a hard time controlling his craving for dominance, the control, and the connection they shared. Rafael, a paid Dominant in the Chicago underworld, has been dealing with a cop problem for far too long. Used to sex with no emotion, he’s entranced with Daniel’s submission, his innocence, and…could there be something more? Can Daniel clear Rafael’s name, keeping him out of jail and in his life, with the odds, a cop, and the mounting evidence against them?

Review:
This was one of those books that I both loved and grit my teeth about. I really liked the characters (especially the side characters). I Really appreciated the vulnerable Dom and the way the characters were more than their titles. Doms still knelt in front of others, subs had backbones and demands. I liked that Gray wasn’t ridged in their categorizing of people. I liked the writing and enjoyed the book for the most part.

But…but there are some too stupid to be believed moments in the book. Sure, they moved the plot along and the characters found ways to incorporate them and make the best of the mess, but I could not believe they were oblivious and unaware enough to do them. I did not appreciate the representation of the harpy wife and the constant degradation tossed her way. Yes, I understood Jesse was supposed to have, at least partially and unconsciously, helped to sculpt that relationship, but it jut felt very anti-woman to me, even if it wasn’t meant to. (And this is just so regrettably common in M/M romances on the whole.) And lastly, I thought there was a bit too much sex.

So, this is a middle of the road read for me. But I’d read the next one if it fell in my lap, so it’s not a fail by a long shot.

Book Review of Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, by Ginn Hale

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Champion of the Scarlet Wold, 1Well, I am just gobbling up all the Ginn Hale books I can get my grubby little hands on. This time it was Champion of the Scarlet Wolf (book 1 & 2). I borrowed them from the library.

Description of book one:
Five years after abandoning the Sagrada Acedemy (Lord of the White Hell universe), Elezar Grunito has become infamous in the sanctified circles of noble dueling rings for his brutal temper and lethal blade. Men and women of all ranks gather to cheer and jeer, none of them knowing Elezar’s true purpose. But a violent death outside the ring marks Elezar as a wanted man and sends him into hiding in the far northern wilds of Labara.

There, creatures of myth and witchcraft—long since driven from Cadeleon—lurk in dark woods and prowl the winding streets. Soldiers and priests alike fear the return of witch-queens and even demons. Elezar soon learns that magic takes many forms, some too alluring to resist, others too terrible to endure. But just as he begins to find his place in this strange new country, the past he left behind along with his school days returns to challenge him once again.

Review:
A really quite marvelous read. Yes, there were some copy edit issues that really surprised me and yes, I cringed at the cliché use of the scorned woman going bad (seriously authors, women do have other motivations in life than men), but mostly I really quite enjoyed this.

I found Elezar’s tarnished honor and torn desires created a complex hero and I thought that Skellan, as a wholly under-estimated badass, was endearing. Their slow burn relationship was a pleasure and the Grimma/witches was an interesting culture.

However, though it was fun to see Javier and Kiram again, I admit they didn’t seem to add much to the plot and I thought Elezar and Skellan deserved the stage to themselves. But maybe J & K will become more important in book 2. Lastly, I thought that the villain was defeated too easily. Not in the sense that it was an easy thing to do or without sacrifice, but that the understanding of what to do and actually doing it seemed to come out of nowhere and be accomplished in a very short, almost anti-climatic amount of time.

So, I had complaints, but mostly I enjoyed then and can’t wait to jump into book two.

Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, 2Description of book two:
Skellan meant to save his city and avenge the woman who raised him. Instead he’s plunged his country into war and shaken their delicate alliance with the great nation of Cadeleon. 

Now only he and his crumbling city stand between an army of old gods and the world of mortal folk. But even as Skellan raises the city’s wards he struggles to unify the disparate defenders of Milmuraille. 

Though he promises his friends that neither political machinations nor magical power will ever undermine his ideals, the merciless reality of battling gods soon threatens to claim all he hopes to save.

Review:
I am so happy to have discovered Ginn Hale. Wow. This wrapped the series up nicely (though I could see some of the other Hellions maybe getting a book or two). I have very few complaints. I adored Skellen and Elezar as much, if not more, than I did in book one. I liked the world, the side characters, the writing, pretty much all of it.

I did think it felt overly long, like the middle dragged a bit. As with the other three books by Hale that I’ve read, the editing is surprisingly problematic. There aren’t a ton, but everything is so well done that I just don’t expect to stumble across copy edit mistakes. And I thought the ending a bit abrupt. Both in the sense that the final danger was quickly overcome and in the sense that after the climactic battle we’re given very little winding down of the story. But despite my grumbles I’ll be looking for more of Hale’s writing for sure.

Book Review of Omega’s Touch & Omega’s Fate, by Wolf Specter

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Since the last two books for my Omega Weekend Challenge turned out to both be short(ish) stories by the same person (Wolf Specter), I’ve just combined them into one post. Here are Omega’s Touch and Omega’s Fate.

Omega's TouchDescription from Goodreads:
An Omega who can kill with a Touch. An Alpha determined to save his son. Will they clash- or will they accept their bond?

Brilliant, indolent Dilyn spent years hiding his power as an Omega. He doesn’t want to bond to an Alpha, doesn’t want to lose control of his life, or his gift. But when called upon by his Alpha to do something useful, Dilyn reluctantly travels to a strange pack in order to Heal a dangerously injured new wolf.

Gwyr promises he won’t try and bond the Omega to him. But resolve flees when he sees the snarky young wolf for the first time. His wolf knows they were meant to be together- but Gwyr can’t break his word. And Healing his son, Tanner, is more important than convincing a skittish Omega that he is worth the risk.

Dilyn struggles to Heal, struggles to retain his independence in the face of unexpected temptation… should he trust that Gwyr isn’t a tyrant, but is an Alpha willing to allow Dilyn his freedom? Is a mate bond worth risking freedom?

Review:
Hmmm, simplistic and rushed but not all together bad. Characters seemed to  make instant, unprovoked changes in attitudes and the bit at the end, about dragons, seemed irrelevant (probably for a future book).

My main problem with this, however, was the way Dilyn was forced into something he didn’t want. It’s clear from beginning to end that he doesn’t want to mate, but he’s forced to anyway. And I simply couldn’t believe that love was supposed to have developed  (making it all ok in theory) when the whole danger to Dilyn in the first place was that ANY ALPHA WOULD BE ATTRACTED TO ANY OMEGA AND TRY TO CLAIM HIM, which suggests to me that there was nothing any more special between him and Gwyr that any other alpha and omega, no matter how hard the author tried to pretend that the world she set up didn’t work the way she set it up.

25633475Description from Goodreads:
The Mating Ball used to be a yearly event where bachelor Alpha werewolves meet potential mates, but now it’s a party mostly used to hook up with as many people as you can. 

Ethan, one of the humans hired to entertain the werewolves, goes into the event with only one expectation: getting paid for having fun. The prospect of maybe meeting an Alpha female is only a bonus. 

Max, a successful Alpha, has been getting pressure from all sides to settle down and prove his Alpha genes. Two problems: he doesn’t believe that the Mating Ball works and he is only interested in men. 

Once there, he meets Ethan, who catches his attention immediately, but the man insists that he isn’t gay, or interested in Max. As the ball comes to an end, the two men can no longer deny their attraction and take off together. Only to wake up to a very special surprise. 

Review:
You know how sometimes when you listen to an audiobook you can put it on faster than real life? That’s what this story is like. The plot rockets at an unfollowable pace. The characters morph from screeching harpy, to sulking child, to hesitant lover, to enthusiastic lover, to morning sickness at light speed. The Mpreg is thrown in at the last as unbelievable attempt at a twist. The world isn’t explained at all. I’m not even certain if Omegas are wolves or the humans who come to the party. I don’t know if they actually mated for life or just mated, as in had sex. The reader isn’t given enough information and the whole thing is just ridiculous. The idea could have been interesting if had actually been developed. But it hasn’t been and that negates any charm it might have had.