Tag Archives: self published

Book Review: Caged in Myth, by J.T. Fairfield

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caged in myth cover About the book:

Abandoned as a baby and left in an orphanage for supernatural children, Octavian Julius McKellter— “Jay” to everyone who doesn’t want a punch in the face—now seventeen, is working full-time as a zookeeper at the Bayou Zoo and Aquarium while struggling to finish his GED.

The Bayou Zoo, staffed entirely by supernaturals, is one of many zoos across the country secretly housing magical creatures deemed too dangerous by the supernatural community to remain in the wild.

Jay ‘s job is made more complicated when accidents start happening too often to truly be accidents and habitats in Area Five—the covert section of the zoo which houses the magical creatures— are sabotaged, allowing some of the creatures to escape.

Working closely with Colin, a fellow zookeeper, to determine who’s causing the problems and why, is both a dream come true and a nightmare for Jay. Being gay isn’t something Jay’s prepared to accept with enthusiasm. Colin’s the first male he’s ever been attracted to, and the guy doesn’t even have the decency to be effeminate, which Jay thinks would somehow be easier to accept. Colin’s tall, strong, and everything that’s masculine. And Jay can’t stop thinking about what it would feel like to press their lips together or draw his fingers down Colin’s tightly-packed abs.

Because someone’s bent on exposing supernaturals to the world by releasing the Bayou Zoo’s magical creatures, even if it means a little death and destruction in the process, there’s little time for Jay to worry about the ramifications of his shifting sexuality or the way Colin looks without his shirt on.

Keeping his sexuality a secret seems like just as big a job as keeping the entire Supernatural community and its captive magical creatures shrouded from the human world. As the sabotage attempts escalate, Jay must juggle his budding relationship with Colin, discovering who’s behind the disruption in Area Five, and staying alive while capturing loosened, deadly Gryphons, Gnomes and Harpies.

Review:

First off, WHY IS THIS NOT LABELED AS A SERIAL? (Even worse, it’s labeled ‘book one,’ which I consider purposeful misdirection on the author’s part.) This ends before it really begins, with a very abrupt To Be Continued. I literally cursed when I reached it because I had been enjoying it. But now I just consider it a waste of an hour and a half. Hey Fairfield, wish you hadn’t wasted my time with publishing part of a freakin’ story!

I’m so annoyed I can’t even bring myself to lay out what I like and don’t like. It’s all eclipsed by my anger at getting shafted by ANOTHER unlabeled serial and ANOTHER unexpected cliffhanger…no, not a cliffhanger. A cliffhanger suggests that something has been left hanging. But this is more of a sheer drop-off. The story is literally just getting started, and it ends. Nothing even pretends to wrap up. Literally nothing. It’s basically just the first 8 chapters of a, say, 30-chapter book. Like someone ripped the pages out and handed them to me loose.

Even though I liked the writing (though it was sloppy) and the characters and was invested in the story, one-star for not being a complete….anything. And being as it’s been out almost 4 years and there isn’t a 2nd, I doubt it ever will be.

Book Review: Full Exposure & Five Dates, by Amy Jo Cousins

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Technically, these two Amy Jo Cousins novellas, Full Exposure and Five Dates, are just a little too short to normally be granted a review page (I usually say nothing less than 100 pages). But I read them together, so I’ll make a single post out of two slightly too-short books with equally short reviews and call it a day.
full exposure and five dates

Full Exposure:

There’s more than one way to be a rock star.

Evan Pak is a card-carrying geek (he even has the job to prove it), but when his photographer brother invites him to tag along on a photo shoot with rock star Riley Flood, he figures it will be two days of ogling and eye-rolling and nothing more. But the reckless bad boy is nothing like he expected, and Evan is mesmerized by the mix of cocky and sweet he sees in Riley. When a spontaneous idea ends with Evan stripping down under the hot lights for an intimate portrait for Riley’s next album cover, Evan is absolutely sure their connection won’t end when the lights are turned off. Especially since Riley can’t seem to keep his hands off the tattoos Evan hides under his clothes.

Even a spoiled rock star wants to give up control sometimes, if only for a weekend. The world is full of people who want things from Riley and the demands on him never stop. Evan knows exactly how to turn off the noise in Riley’s head and it starts by putting him on his knees.

Together, they will push each other higher and farther than either one of them have ever gone before. It’s easy to take risks when there’s a time limit on the game. But when their time is up, what comes next if they don’t want the game to end?

My review:

I’ve not read many ‘Don’t Read in the Closet’ stories, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Plus, if I’m honest, I tend to avoid books that are less than 100 pages long. That’s kind of my random, ‘I consider this worth my time’ length. But AJC posted a teaser of this somewhere and it did its job. It made me want the rest of the story. I’m glad about that because I really quite enjoyed it.

Five Dates:

Helping his sister Lucy raise her kid has put Devin’s love life on hold. When he loses a bet to her and the penalty is to go out on five dates with men she’s chosen from Guys4Guys.com, he thinks that’s bad enough. Finding out she used a thirteen-year-old picture of him to score a date with a young guy who looks like a rock star? Epically bad.

Jay thought he wanted to fall for an older man. But his last boyfriend left him feeling humiliated and determined to stick to guys his own age. When he realizes he’s been conned into a date with exactly the kind of man he’s sworn to avoid, he’s ready to walk away on the spot. Only Devin’s swift apologies convince Jay to accept dinner to make up for the deception.

“The date doesn’t count for the bet unless you get a goodnight kiss.” After one not-a-date dinner with Jay, Devin isn’t worried about his sister’s rules. He just wishes he could convince Jay to go out with him for real. Jay wants no part of Devin, but Devin wants every part of Jay . . . so he asks Jay to help update his look for the rest of his dates. But once Jay’s made Devin over into the perfect date, will he be able to let him go?

Review:

I thought it was cute and really enjoyed the beginning. But the latter half didn’t work so well for me. Devin goes and does something out of character to move the plot along, and the conclusion comes about because someone basically changes their mind about something. But the underlying issue was neither addressed nor solved. It felt rushed and unsupported. However, the writing was wonderful and I liked both characters a lot.

eternal guardians covers

Book Review: Marked, Entwined, Temped – by Elisabeth Naughton

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This is a replacement post. I see that I reviewed Elisabeth Naughton’s Marked, Entwined, and Tempted on Goodreads. But I do not see that I posted them here. I am rectifying that. I believe the first was an Amazon freebie, and I purchased the second two.

eternal guardians covers

About Marked:

THERON — Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Eternal Guardians, an elite group of warriors that defend the mortal realm.

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the immortal realm nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

My Review:
I grabbed Marked off of the KDP free list just because the cover is so tempting. The main character, Theron, lives up to it too. The book reminded me A LOT of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood, though I don’t know which series came first. The Eternal Guardians has the same leather-clad, hulking alpha-males oozing testosterone all over the place and falling hard for that certain female. But hey, that’s why we read these types of books to start with, right? It’s all good.

I liked Casey’s strong spine and Theron’s dedication to his duty. The Greek pantheon makes for an interesting casting too. Though, starting with a little knowledge of the mythology will probably help. For example, I misremembered Persephone and Hades’ relationship at one point and was confused when she was excited to see him. The book does present the mythological history, so no worries if you don’t know it.

Other reviewers have commented on the random placement of sex scenes, and it’s true. The first one seemed to especially come out of left field. It generally bothers me to find characters thinking about sex when their circumstances are life-threatening. Seriously, who thinks about getting down and dirty when they’re running for their life? I’m fairly sure some aspect of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comes into play here. The steamy nature of the same scenes kinda makes up for it, though.

While it didn’t top my favorites list by a long shot, I enjoyed it enough to buy the second and look forward to the third. (Demetrius was one of my favorites.) So I have no real complaints. It amused me for an evening and, therefore, served its purpose.

About Entwined:

ZANDER — The most feared of the Eternal Guardians. It’s rumored he can’t be killed, and he always fights like he has nothing to lose. But even he has to have a vulnerability… somewhere.

Forces of daemons are gathering and have broken through the barriers of the mortal realm. Now more than ever the Eternal Guardians are needed to protect both their own world and the humans’. Zander can’t afford to think about what might have been with the bewitching physician he once regarded as his soul mate. But with eternity stretching before him, he also can’t fathom spending his life without the one woman who makes him feel most alive. Perhaps he’s found his weakness, after all…

My Review:
Entwined continues much in the same vein as Marked and focuses on Zander. He makes a good tortured soul and the breach with his soulmate is believable. I generally enjoyed the book. If anything I think that it is better than the first. The world-building was done in book one, leaving more room for story here. I really liked that the Brothers…oh, did I say that…Arghonauts interact more. I like their snarky comments to one another. The women aren’t wilting violets and are more than willing to stand up for themselves, even if their culture doesn’t approve.

I did have a few issues worth venting about, though. How did Atalanta manage to raise Max to be a good kid? I’m having a hard time believing he would be psychologically sound after ten years with her. I’m just saying. Did Callia’s father really deserve to be forgiven so quickly? Did Zander, for that matter? The happy ending seemed a little too convenient. If it was being arranged ahead of time, surely someone would have said something, or the existing plans would have been canceled. Lastly, the book could do with a bit more editing. There are some inconsistencies, like “she covered her hand with her mouth “instead of mouth with hand. There are also a lot of fragment sentences. I realize that lines such as “That hurt. A lot.” is a writing device intended to force the reader to stop, thereby emphasizing the last statement. But here, it is used so much and in such a manner that it often just felt too jarring; commas would have a similar effect and not have rattled my brain so much.

Despite all of that, I enjoyed the read. Zander and Callia are a steamy couple. The Eternal Guardian’s effort to protect their worlds is honorable, and the politics of Argolea are interesting. I look forward to reading the third in the series.

About Tempted:

DEMETRIUS — He’s the hulking, brooding warrior his fellow Guardians avoid. Too dark. Too damaged. And given his heritage, he knows it’s best to keep everyone at arm’s length.

Isadora is missing. The words pound through his head like a frantic drumbeat. For her own protection, Demetrius did all he could to avoid the fragile princess. And now she’s gone—kidnapped. To get her back, he’ll have to go to the black place in his soul he’s always shunned.

As daemons ravage the human realm and his loyalty to the Guardians is put to the ultimate test, Demetrius realizes that Isadora is stronger than anyone thought. And finally letting her into his heart may be the only way to save them both.

My Review:
I have to say I think that this series is getting better as it goes along. Tempted focuses on the Guardian Demetrius, his soul mate, and his secret. I liked the way Isadora finally came into her own, but Demetrius stole the show. One of my favorite types of characters is the brooding, damaged male whose game is completely thrown off by a female. That is Demetrius all over. He is big, strong, dark, and cruel, but in the presence of little ‘ol Isadora, he’s…well, maybe not an awkward, blushing teenager, but definitely not himself. It makes me smile. The smex was pretty amped up too. There was no lack of steam here. I did get tired of the Robinson Crusoe routine after a while. I thought the plot stalled for a little bit, but not long enough for me to consider dropping it or anything.

Note: I also read Enraptured and Enslaved. But I only reviewed them as heavy-handed and repetative.