Tag Archives: m/m romance

Omega in the Shadows

Book Review of Omega in the Shadows (Lost Wolves #1), by Zoe Perdita

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Omega in the shadowsBook three in my Omega Weekend Challenge is Omega in the Shadows, by Zoe Perdita. I picked the book up at Amazon when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
Rowan Gregor is a CIA agent who vows never to get close to another wolf after his pack is brutally murdered by hunters. Enter Elijah Kane, an efficient and shadowy omega assassin on the run from the CIA. When Rowan is tasked with hunting down Kane, he ends up at the mercy of a wolf with nothing left to lose – a wolf who is sure Rowan is his mate. Elijah Kane is hell bent on proving he’s stronger and smarter than every alpha he meets – including the alpha CIA agent sent to kill him. But Rowan lights a fire of lust that Elijah can’t ignore. They share a rare connection – a mate connection – and he’s not going to give up on Rowan until the man sees it too. Trapped in a snowy wilderness and besieged by hunters, desire sizzles between Elijah and Rowan. Can they overcome their differences, and their pasts, and forge a bond to save their future?

Review:
This is one of those books where when someone asks how it was you seesaw your hand and say, “Hmmm, it’s ok.” That’s what it is, ok, not great but not necessarily all bad either. The story has teeth (Hah, see what I did there?), but it drags on and is quite repetitive, both in telling the readers the same things over and over and in using the same words too frequently. Examples: Assassin (100 times), Omega (149 times), Alpha (297 times)! Most of these in the context of saying, “The Omega” did this or “The Assassin” did that.

I also had a problem with the binary nature of the characters. There only seemed to be alpha and omega. This being emphasized by how often the characters are referred to by their rank (in a non-existent pack) as opposed to names. What would the character be if he wasn’t the most or least powerful wolf? But more disturbing than this was the gay versus straight debate. The argument, “I’m not gay,” “you’re attracted to me, so you’re gay,” “I sleep with women, so I’m not gay,” “you want me, so you’re gay,” *blow job* “I thought you weren’t gay,” “I guess I am gay” was often repeated and utterly ridiculous. One would think being bi just wasn’t a thing. And apparently getting one taste of a penis will miraculously change your orientation and your personality, because Rowan certainly seemed to make a 180.

Then, to top everything else off the book ends on a cliff-hanger; a cliff-hanger that, as far as I can see from reading the blurbs of the other books, isn’t directly picked back up. Book three might touch on it, but I’m particularly confident about that.

Between Ghosts

Book Review of Between Ghosts, by Garrett Leigh

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Between GhostsI received a copy of Garrett Leigh‘s Between Ghosts from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
In 2003, journalist Connor Regan marched through London to add his voice to a million others, decrying the imminent invasion of Iraq. Eight months later, his brother, James, was killed in action in Mosul.

Three years on, Connor finds himself bound for Iraq to embed with an elite SAS team. He sets his boots on the ground looking for closure and solace—anything to ease the pain of his brother’s death. Instead he finds Sergeant Nathan Thompson.

Nat Thompson is a veteran commander, hardened by years of combat and haunted by the loss of his best friend. Being lumbered with a civilian is a hassle Nat doesn’t need, and he vows to do nothing more than keep the hapless hack from harm’s way.

But Connor proves far from hapless, and too compelling to ignore for long. He walks straight through the steel wall Nat’s built around his heart, and when their mission puts him in mortal danger, Nat must lay old ghosts to rest and fight to the death for the only man he’s ever truly loved. 

Review:
I was disappointed with this one. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it but it never really grabbed me. My primary issue was that I never felt the chemistry between Conner and Nat. The romance was basically just insta-lust and while the reader was told many times how meaningful their encounters were, it all felt hollow since it was built on nothing.

My secondary issues was that the war was little more than a setting, not truly part of the plot, as far as I was concerned. Sure, Leigh had some interesting things to say against the violence of war and the meaninglessness of the West’s war in the Middle East (all of which I actually agree with) and the setting was vivid and well drafted, but the vast majority of the book was the two men mooning over each-other in a war torn Iraqi setting, rather than anything really incorporating that environment. Which meant, in the end, when something happened that actually did throw Conner against the people of Iraq, it felt as if the book had taken a departure from the previous 80% or so of the book. This is a romance story before a war story, for sure.

I don’t want to sound negative, because I did like the book even if it’s not making a favorites list. I thought the characters were well drawn. I especially appreciated the easy way that Nat’s bi-sexuality is handled and simply Leigh’s willingness to have a bi character. As I said, the setting was well described. I agreed with it’s politics. There was some humor in it. All good things.

It’s just that books that are predominantly based on ‘this person fills some mysterious missing void in another for no observable reason, therefore every little interaction is described as sooooo important, sooooo meaningful, soooo earth shatteringly better than anything else’ always annoy me a little. And there is a certain writing style that goes along with this that is like sandpaper on my skin.

Book Review: Fated Nights, by Wolf Specter / Rosa Swann

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fated nights coverAbout the book:
Three book bundle, enjoy all Rosa Swann’s series’ first books in ONE SET!!

Feathers and Microphones #1
Florian, fallen angel and now part-time bartender, and Seth, an up and coming rock star, both want the same out of their one night stand.

Only, the next morning leaves them yearning for each other even more and, after some fun in the kitchen, things turn complicated.

Seth wears the brand of a demon and Florian is not sure he can get involved with someone who made a pact with a demon, again.

Party at the Lunar Pack (Lunar Pack #1)
Roy never thought that one party with his sexy new neighbours would turn his whole life upside down!

Roy’s life exists of work, dinner and sleep, boring. His friends are getting married, or having kids, and he sits home alone, too focused on his job to have much of a social life, let alone a love life.

Then he finds a letter on the doormat, an invitation to a housewarming party next door. There he meets Clyde and Sam, they seem interested in him as more than just neighbours, and definitely ready to explore if that interest is mutual.

But why does he feel like there is more going on between the three of them? And why are Clyde and Sam acting all weird the next morning?

Omega’s Fate (Mated to the Alpha #1)
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:

This anthology contains three stories, one by Wolf Specter and two by Rosa Swan. However, comparing the writing, I have a strong suspicion these are the same author. Which is fine; everyone’s welcome to a pen name or two, and I could be wrong, of course. But it seems worth noting that if you do or don’t like one, you’re likely to feel the same about the other. I did.

One should probably also note that while this appears to be a collection of stories (I downloaded it thinking books, so imagine my disappointment), it’s actually three first parts in SERIALS, so don’t expect any conclusions anywhere in evidence. There aren’t any. I feel very very strongly that serials should be labeled as such, so I was a little ragey to find a whole book of them and no label anywhere in evidence. (We’re told ‘first in series’ but not serials. These are different.) Readers should be able to make an informed decision about what they read, and being denied pertinent information is rude, if not dishonest.

Despite my serious disappointment in what this book contains (or doesn’t) I did give each story a solid chance to impress me. They failed.