Tag Archives: m/m romance

Shadow Scars

Book Review of Shadow Scars: Rogue Wolf (Haven City #1), by Zoe Perdita

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Shadow ScarI grabbed a copy of Zoe Perdita‘s Shadow Scars from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting, it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
Conner, a rogue wolf and murder detective, isn’t looking for a lover when he moves to Haven City. He wants to solve crimes and keep to himself – unable to trust anyone since his pack betrayed him six years before. 

But Seth Alwen, his new partner, is different. He excites the wolf’s animal instincts – waking up the passion Conner buried long ago. Seth’s not only beautiful and alluring; he’s also haunted by the death of his former partner. And despite his better judgment, Conner aches to relieve the man of his guilt.

Seth’s a seer, but ever since his old partner died his powers have been on the fritz. 

Enter Conner Sharp, Seth’s sexy and mysterious new partner. While the dark-haired stranger ignites Seth’s desire, he also awakens the seer’s power with every touch. Seth sees their future together – a future rich with lust and danger – but is it a future the enigmatic Conner wants?

As the two men solve a series of murders, their sizzling attraction overflows into the bedroom. Is the overwhelming passion just a fling or is it forever?

Review:
Eh. Ok, but not great. I have nothing particularly good or bad to say about this book. It was just ok. Conner and Seth are fine characters. I liked them ok. The sex was ok. The world was simplistic, but ok. The mystery was ok. It was basically something to hang the romance on and I didn’t think it ended particularly satisfactorily. We were given a pretty pat ‘and then this happened’ wrap up as an ending that left more unexplained and open for the sequel than it explained. But it did conclude.

The writing was also ok. Nothing about it was particularly good, but other than a couple really annoying things (like hips that buckle instead of buck, even when a person is laying supine) and some repetition, nothing about it was bad either. It was all ok. (Could have done with a tad more editing, though.)

This is one of those books you read and forget because it all just feels so insubstantial and flat. But if I found the sequel as a freebie I’d give it a read.

Waiting for the Flood

Book Review of Waiting for the Flood, by Alexis Hall

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Waiting for the FloodI received a copy of Waiting for the Flood, by Alexis Hall, from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
People come as well as go.

Twelve years ago, Edwin Tully came to Oxford and fell in love with a boy named Marius. He was brilliant. An artist. It was going to be forever.

Two years ago, it ended.

Now Edwin lives alone in the house they used to share. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to a build a future from the fragments of the past.

Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin’s quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons, but he offers Edwin the hope of something he thought he would never have again.

As the two men grow closer in their struggle against the rising waters, Edwin learns he can’t protect himself from everything—and sometimes he doesn’t need to try.

Review:
I’ve basically come to the conclusion that I will read anything Alexis Hall writes and enjoy it. (Have a spare shopping list, good Sir? I could probably pass an afternoon with it.) I love the way he can pack such an emotional punch into fewer words than any author I know of. It’s beautiful and I always (ALWAYS) fall in love with his characters. Waiting for the Flood is no different.

Having said all that, it didn’t work quite as well for me as some of the others. Still loved it, just a smidgen less than, say, Prosperity. The reasons are that some of the vague wordage left unclear of exact meanings. I didn’t care for the 3rd person intro to first person point of view chapters. (Though I loved the way the chapter title and first sentence merged. I was clever and created a wonderful sense of place.) Once the initial obstacle was overcome, the men seemed to jump from rocky start to relationship in milliseconds and I…OK, I hate to admit this but…I really felt Hall’s Oxbridge education on this one.

This is something I find both endearing (because who doesn’t like smart fiction) and off-putting (because some of it leaves me feeling a bit like a dullard in comparison). On the whole, however, I loved finding some wonderful surprise references, Edwin’s carefulness with words, Mrs. P. (Mrs. P!), Adam’s gentle insistence and two adult men addressing grownup concerns without the need for over the top drama. Certainly, opening yourself to love again is a daunting adventure of its own, if only looked at properly.

Borderline

Book Review of Borderline (Delarosa Secrets, #1), by T.A. Chase

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BorderlineI bought a copy of Borderline, by T. A. Chase.

Description from Goodreads:

Surrounded by secrets, two men search for a serial killer, while trying to keep it from becoming personal.

Mac Guzman is a Texas Ranger and lead detective on a serial killer case rocking the city of Houston. He’s willing to take help from anyone, especially when it comes in the form of the gorgeous FBI profiler, Tanner Wallace. Mixing business with pleasure has never been an option for Mac, but he just might change his mind and seduce Tanner into his bed. 

Tanner Wallace joined the Bureau and became a profiler to catch bad guys. Also, it might have a little to do with making up for the evil caused by his family’s business. When he’s called in to consult on a serial killer case in Houston, Tanner never expects to meet Mac. The handsome Texas Ranger brings to mind hot, sweaty nights wrapped in each other’s arms, yet Tanner knows Mac would walk away if he ever found out who Tanner’s family really is. 

With the threat of another murder hanging over their heads, Tanner and Mac will have to find a way to work past their differences before the killer strikes again.

Review:
Honestly, while this might be a fine book, I found myself bored. It somehow comes across as unengaging, despite involving an FBI profiler, a Texas Ranger and a Drug Kingpin. It almost seems like boredom shouldn’t be possible, but apparently it is.

Everything about this book was just OK. The characters were OK. The plot was OK. The setting is OK. The sex was on the low side of OK. The mystery was OK. The writing was OK (though it could do with a little more editing).

Basically, while nothing was horrible, it wasn’t great either. My biggest complaints were that the scenes from the killer’s point of view were horribly cheesy and stiff. The sex scenes were of the uninspired, stick it in and be done kind, with little foreplay or buildup, and didn’t inspire any of the emotions the book claimed were resulting from it. The fact that Mac would risk letting the perp walk on a technicality by not recusing himself from the investigation seemed unlikely, as did the fact that Tanner would risk so very much by telling Mac about his family. And the writing was occasionally stiff, especially in dialogue where names were used far too often to feel natural.

All in all, an OK read, but nothing I’m going to rave about.