Tag Archives: M/M

Book Review of S.K. Hart’s Swordmaster Dasan

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swordmaster dasan 1

Swordmaster dasan 2

swordmaster dasan short
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Some time ago I grabbed free copies of S. Hart‘s Swordmaster Dasan short stories. Being the manga addict I am, I adore the covers. I tend to avoid posting about short stories/novellas/novelettes (whatever you want to call them), but these deserve a little attention so I’m making an exception. All three are currently free on  Smashwords and the first is also free on Amazon.

Deciding how to structure this was a little awkward, so just try to bear with me. 

Descriptions:

Book One:
Swordmaster Kyo Dasan is known for both his abilities and bitterness regarding visitors throughout the territory, seemingly comfortable only when alone.

Localem Arada, nicknamed Loki for his tendency to find trouble wherever he goes, finds himself at the mercy of the man he needs totrain him. Despite his reluctance, he agrees to the Swordmaster’soffer regarding alternative means of payment.

Book Two:
It has been three years since Kyo has seen his student when an opportunity to cross paths with him presents itself. He immediatelydiscovers that Loki has gotten into trouble again, and intervenes.

Reviews:

Book One:
I find that I really like Hart’s writing and characters. Granted there is little to this story except A LOT of sex, but hey that’s what I picked it up for so it’s not really anything to complain about. The world building felt a little week, but especially so since there appeared to be some quite detailed races/peoples/societies involved. This book is apparently set in the same universe as Hart’s Playing with Tigers series, which I haven’t read yet. I get the feeling that a lot of the lacking social details are set out in those Tigers books, because the author has obviously taken the time to develop them even if not seen here. Either way I still found the story easily followable and I adored Loki and Kyo.

I had to drop a star because some of the earlier sex scenes felt almost like rapes even if Loki had consented. I had a hard time relaxing into that. That’s just me though. Hart even warns in the introduction that the Swordmaster Dasan books arn’t “meant to display safe or proper bondage practices,” so I can’t claim to have been unprepared. It’s fiction afterall. I can appreciate that. But like everyone, I have my own personal limits.

A fun, well-written read.

(As an aside I actually couldn’t help by imagine Kyo as the Onime-no-Kyo from Samurai Deeper Kyo. They really look nothing alike, but between the name and the constant cruelties my mind made the leap and wouldn’t let it go.)

Book Two:
Yep, it just keeps getting better. Kyo and Loki are wonderful characters. Hart seems to excel at creating situational tension that tugs at the readers heart strings without ever feeling sappy or over played. Often I’m not even certain where it comes from, only that it’s there. Here you really feel both Kyo and Loki’s frustration, even as they steadfastly refuse to acknowledge it. They simply drive each-other to distraction…and are very very hot together.

Loki does seem to have accomplished A LOT in the three years he was separated from Kyo. He seems to have accrued too much experience in so little time. But he also grew up and returned very much a man…very much the man Kyo needs. If only Kyo would get out of his own way on the subject. I love their dynamic.

The writing here is just as crisp and wonderful as in the previous book. I did notice a minor tendency to reuse stock phrases, but nothing off putting or technically incorrect in any manner. The plot thickens up a bit in this volume too, which is nice. The books ends at a fairly natural point, but there is obviously going to be a third book. (There better be a book three and I’m fairly sure I’ve seen mention of it somewhere.) I can’t wait.

Yunan Holliday:

At barely 20 pages there isn’t much to it, but it’s a fun little short to tide us over until book three comes out. Plus, I think we should all start celebrating Divainya Rekeshna.

scrap metal

Book Review of Harper Fox’s Scrap Metal

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Scrap Metal

I grabbed Harper Fox’s M/M Scottish Romance, Scrap Metal, from the Amazon KDP list.

Description from Goodreads:
One year ago, before Fate took a wrecking ball to his life, Nichol was happily working on his doctorate in linguistics. Now he’s hip deep in sheep, mud and collies. His late brother and mother had been well suited to life on Seacliff Farm. Nichol? Not so much.

As lambing season progresses in the teeth of an icy north wind, the last straw is the intruder Nichol catches in the barn. He says his name is Cam, and he’s on the run from a Glasgow gang. Something about the young man’s tired resignation touches Nichol deeply, and instead of giving him the business end of a shotgun, he offers Cam a blanket and a place to stay.

Somehow, Cam quickly charms his way through Nichol’s defenses and into his heart. Even his grandfather takes to the cheeky city boy, whose hard work and good head for figures help set the farm back on its feet.

As the cold Scottish springtime melts into summer, Nichol finds himself falling in love. When tragedy strikes, Cam’s resolutely held secret is finally revealed and Nichol must face the truth. He’s given his heart away, and it’s time to pay the price.

Review:
This was just incredibly sweet, bitter-sweet I’ll grant you, but sweet. So many characters in this book were in devastating emotional pain for one reason or another and it was really touching the way they all managed to heal one another with nothing more than their mere presence and natural selves. Even old curmudgeons like Harry thawed a little bit before the end. Old hurts were forgiven and fresh ones avoided by new understanding.

The use of Gaelic, though occasionally distracting if not immediately translated, paired with the incredibly evocative description of the landscape gave the book a lot of atmosphere. The occasional Highland ghost didn’t seem out of place at all. Nor did the portent of change the animals tended to represent. It all contributed to the rich tapestry of superstitions and culture that was Arron island life. (And gawd do I ever want to visit now.)

The writing in very descriptive and really quite poignant. I didn’t so much read this book as feel it. I laughed, I teared up, I held my breath and eventually heaved a sigh of relief. The actual ending was a little too sappy for me, but the general ending I loved. I will definitely be seeking out more of Ms. Fox’s writing.

From the TBR: cleaning out the short story shelf

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So, it’s finally Summer vacation. Woo-hoo for 3 months of no pressing obligations. Deep, fortifying breath to face 3 months of bored children and an ever present husband. Gotta love ’em all, but there goes my routine. Yep, there it goes, right out the window and with it most of my reading time.

On the up side, that never missing mate can take those antsy children away some days, leaving me time to concentrate on my own writing. It’s been so long since I’ve had undisturbed writing time that I hardly remember how to fill it. But there is no way that I’m missing out on the opportunity should it present itself. 

I mention all of this because it heralds a change in my review schedule. The less I read, the less I review. It makes sense, right? I don’t think I’ll be able to post a review a day as I have been for the last few months. 

I might crawl right out of my own skin without a fiction fix though. So I’m making an effort to change what I read, rather than give up reading entirely. I’m not usually a huge short story fan, much preferring full length books. But a short story enables me to read a quick piece, but still have a blank slate in the morning when I want to write. (‘Cause lets face it. If I’m half way through a book I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else until I finish it.)

In an attempt to give this new review routine something akin to order I am trying to group them by subject matter. This week I’ve been reading M/M romances. All of them came from Amazon’s free list and many of them are still available for no charge. Here they are:

bonds of fireOh, I want so much more of this. It worked well as a short story, but there was enough to be expanded into a full length novel (always my preference). I love that, despite being short, the romance didn’t feel rushed. In fact it doesn’t really even come to a head in the story. I did feel a little bit like Malachi was shorted. Drekken’s attraction to Yakov is so overt that, despite being told Drekken is falling for Malachi too, he feels secondary. I was a little disturbed in the beginning because Yakov and Malachi are referred to as youths for so long that I was visualising them as 12ish. So when the attraction started heating up I got a little scared. I heaved a huge sigh of relief when their ages were finally addressed. They are 19 & 20. 

I adored the way the reader is keyed into Drekken’s emotions and even though he is a ‘big bad warrior’ he is able to show soft emotions without ever looking weak. I also really liked the way humans and dragons for families. It made for a really intriguing world. 

All in all I thought this was a touching, well-written story that I would love to see more of. I’m curious about the cause of the war, how Drekken and Miri manage as parents, and how Yakov and Malachi progress. I’d love to witness Drekken’s attempt to live near his mothers again and to see him try to keep from being further organised. Thrilled to have read it.

fire song

While I appreciate that the story was written for Hurricane Sandy relief (charity), it isn’t very well developed. It has a really interesting premise, a crippled Phoenix falling in love with an scarred human, but the writing is rough. There are a number of misused words and the plot seems really rushed. I did really like both male leads, though I didn’t think the family deserved the easy forgiveness and unearned happy ending. With a little work this could be really good though. I hope the author (who I suspect is quite young) puts the time and effort into a 2nd edition.

17673045I quite enjoyed this, but like many of the previous reviewers I think it would be best described as a teaser for something longer. Certainly it ends with the promise of more to come. It definitely isn’t anything standalone. There is no denying the baseless insta-lust/insta-love between the two main characters. I liked them both though. The single sex scene was plenty steamy and it’s well written. I’d happily read more of the story if there ever is one.

taming the foxThis was a sweet little M/M, shifter romance. Though in all honestly it could have been almost the same even if the two main characters hadn’t been shifters. In the end the challenge to overcome wasn’t even shifter related. Be that as it may I still enjoyed seeing the two characters find a way to come to terms with their circumstances and each-other. I would have liked to see a little more closure with Shane’s family. They seemed to accept everything a little too easily, all things considered. Plus, as hard and long as Harlan resisted he seemed to give in awfully easily in the end. I was especially pleased to find it a stand alone story. Those seem to be getting rarer these days. Worth reading.