Tag Archives: M/M

Moments in Time

Review of Moments in Time (Moments in Time #1-3), by Karen Stivali

I won a signed copy of Karen Stivali‘s Moments in Time (#1-3) from Just Love Romance. I read it as part of my #DiverseRomanceBingo challenge, as it contains a bi character, Jewish characters and is written by an #OwnVoices author.

Description from Goodreads:

Moment of Impact
Beyond Collin Fitzpatrick’s dorm room, the students of his conservative college think he’s straight, as does his Catholic family, who’d disown him if they learned the truth. Inside, he’s safe with his sexy roommate Tanner D’Amico. Tanner wants to show the world how much he loves Collin, but Collin’s not sure he’s ready for the impact stepping outside will make.

Moment of Truth
Collin expected to spend another summer fixing cars and working at the college pizzeria. Instead, he’s living in a beach house on Fire Island, and for the first time, he and Tanner can publicly be known as boyfriends. Being “out” takes some getting used to, and doubt and jealousy threaten their happiness. Collin and Tanner must confront the truth or risk losing it all.

Moment of Clarity
Spending the summer on Fire Island brought Collin and Tanner closer than ever, but back in their conservative college town, new challenges confront them.

When Collin’s relationship with Tanner becomes an issue in his brother’s custody battle and Tanner struggles with feelings for his heartbroken friend Wendy, Collin wonders if everyone would be better off without him. In order to save them both, Tanner must make it clear his love for Collin is all that matters.

Review:

Hmm, there is plenty to appreciate here. It’s a sweet read about two university-aged guys falling in love. And it is sweet. It’s nice to see a confident bi character. It’s nice to see Catholic and Jewish characters. It was nice that the guys didn’t go from virginal to straight porn sex in an instant and that sex could be something other than penetrative. I liked that there wasn’t a lot of angst about who did what to who and what that did or didn’t make them. I liked Collin coming exploring himself for the first time and Tanner’s patience with him. And I just plain liked Collin and Tanner.

However, the plot often felt like little snippets of life between extended sex scenes. There was far too much sex for me. Not that I mind a lot of sex, but the balance of sex to plot felt too heavily weighted toward sex. I got bored with it. I thought a lot of the conflict felt contrived (and often predictable) and the easy way everything miraculously resolved itself in the end was too pat and easy to be believable.

Lastly, I had major concerns with the representation of women in the novelettes. There are basically only six women in the whole book. One is the classic saintly mother. Of the other five, one was willing to abandon her friends for a boyfriend and willing to steal another’s lover. A second was a wife/mother who cheated on her husband, abandoned her children and was vilely homophobic. A third was a homophobic mother that disowned her gay son and the last was a girl who actively pursued a man she knew to be in a committed, monogamous relationship. I get that this is a book about men loving men, but why does that mean women are so often only presented as the enemy? As if we can only be saints, which less face it removes them from the human realm and consideration, or dangerous to the male characters in the book?

For the most part however, I enjoyed this and have no real qualm recommending it to readers.


What I’m drinking: Loyd: The Magical Experience Flowery Earl Grey (seriously, that’s what it’s called!) I’d add a link, but it’s kind of frightening, in this day and age, how little web presence Loyd tea apparently has.

bitterwood

Book Review of Bitterwood, by Rowan Speedwell

BitterwoodI received a copy of Bitterwood, by Rowan Speedwell from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Outrunning a winter storm in the north, Captain Faran of the King’s Guard leads his men and a young mage named Meric to shelter at Bitterwood Manor, the ancestral home of the Daenes. Faran and his troops have been searching for weeks for a mysterious, lion-like beast that reportedly haunts the uncharted northern woods. For Meric, finding that prophesied cat is a matter of life and death.

Though Faran is deeply focused on their mission, the enigmatic Joss Daene, Lord of Bitterwood, fascinates him. Strong and proud, Joss is everything Faran wants in a lover. More, if he were honest. But Joss belongs to Bitterwood, and Faran to his duty.

Together they will need to brave the oldest, darkest part of the Bitterwood in the coldest, deepest snows of winter to find the legendary cat. But time is running out—for Meric, for the kingdom, and for Faran and Joss’s fledgling love.

Review:
This was a cute, sweet story of little depth but plenty of ‘aww’ moments. For flat out feel-goods this is worth picking up. If you’re looking for fleshed out characters or significant plotting, maybe not so much. I thought everyone was just a little too goody-goody to be taken seriously. Everyone was kind, considerate, generous, and instantly in love. Again, it was sweet and I enjoyed it, but it’s not to be taken seriously.

I was however thrilled to see that the mystery of the Daene cat didn’t work out the way I expected and a surprise is always a nice thing to find. Similarly, I liked that the mature, softer around the middle people got a love story too. That is a rare thing. So, for those who like prioritize heart and flowers over twisty plots, this will likely be a winner.

Lineage

Book Review of Lineage (Masters of the Lines #1), by Angela Fiddler

LineageI downloaded Lineage, by Angela Fiddler (aka Barbara Geiger) from Amazon. It was, and still is, free.

Description from Goodreads:
Love didn’t just kick you when it were down; it staked you out and turned you into a vampire. Not that Vision was bitter. His ex-lover taught him nothing lasts forever, while his ex-master taught him to submit and the fine art of not resisting silk restraints. In exchange, Vision let both of them keep their heads. He considered it a fair trade-off. 

Now Vision is a master, but still finds himself wanting to be on his knees. 

Enter Hanz. He’s just a driver, but he knows what Vision wants and how to make it sting the way Vision likes most. 

Vision won’t be fooled again. Sure, Hanz is sweet. The respect feels genuine, and, what’s worse, he honestly seems to love Vision. Older, wiser masters counsel Vision against Hanz. And, of course, they’re right. Hanz does have something to hide.And, as if on cue, along comes Vision’s ex-lover, the cause of and solution to being kicked, staked, and vamped. Vision is caught again, and this time not with ropes and silk. Now if he can only keep his neck and his heart intact…

Review:
Did I read a different book than everyone else? Because this has pretty good reviews, but I thought it was a bloomin’ hot mess! Half of it is in flashbacks, which honestly is better written than the scenes in the present, but better isn’t good. There is no interaction between Vision and Hanz before a single aborted sex scene and them deciding they were in love forever. None you guys! There was far too much sex. It cluttered up the already choppy narrative, but more than that it was utterly random. Like people standing in a hallway and one suddenly dropping to his knees to blow the other. What? Why?

The book is labeled #1, but there is obviously history somewhere and I REALLY felt the lack of it. The world isn’t explained. Vampires tapping ley lines, cool, but why? How? Is that what makes you a Master? Why don’t male and female vampires interact? Are they all gay? Why did Bethany need Hanz’s sister’s blood to turn him? What is a talent and how do you get one? No idea.

There are plot holes. Vampires need to be released from their previous masters, but Vision was never released from his. So, how’s that work? Plot points aren’t explained. Vision is the only master with two territories. I know where one came from. Where did he get the second? No idea. Vision is supposed to have betrayed all his masters. How? No idea.

Then, the whole thing ended by introducing a new character and a cliffhanger. Really? Yeah, I wasn’t happy with this one.