I grabbed Laura Harner‘s short story Altered States and the subsequent novella written with T.A. Webb, Deep Blues Goodbye, off of the KDP free list. I then bought Deadly Shades of Gold. As of the time of posting the first two appear to still be free and MrsConditReadsBooks seems to have a giveaway running for the third (though the one thing I couldn’t find posted was the closing date. So…)
I have to start out by saying that I almost missed out on reading this series. I’d seen Altered States on the KDP list a couple of times and never paid it any attention. It had the double handicap of being a short story, which I tend to ignore, and a cover that doesn’t really appeal to me, which I ignored. I never even read the description. Mistake. I’m pretty sure M/M vampires would have gotten my attention from the start. It sure did when I found them in the blurb for Beep Blues Goodbye. It was only when I realised that they were a set that I went back and got Altered States too.
It’s a good thing I’m a little obsessive about reading descriptions of books even if I don’t like covers. Otherwise I would have passed on DBG too. And if I didn’t read reviews I wouldn’t have realised that AS is a prequel. I would have missed out on a whole lot of fun. So thank you to all those wonderful reviewers who made that connection apparent.
Before I get on with reviewing the series let me pause and mention that all three books…or rather the short story and both novellas wouldn’t stand alone very well. It’s one story. Each ends in a severe cliffhanger and a reader would be scrambling to catch up if they read a latter book without having read the first ones. That’s why I’m breaking my usual routine and reviewing them all as one. I’m also going to forgo my usual rant about partial books. We all know I would normally make it here, ’cause yes, none of these instalments is a full story arc in itself and, yes, that normally makes me grind my teeth (especially when they are all short enough to fit in one binding). But I’m letting it go here because I got two of the three for free and enjoyed them so very much. Moving on…
I could sum my review of this series up in one explicative ridden sentence. GAWD DAMN, THAT MOTHER FUCKIN’ SHIT IS HOT!! But, while that may be all some need to know before picking the series up (probably would have been enough for me), letting my less than eloquent inner teenager (or apparently budding cougar) out wouldn’t tell you much of substance about these gems.
The series starts out following Sam Garrett, New Orleans Police Detective and gay black man. He is smart, sarcastic, sexy, and honest in his lustiness. I love that. I found his character to be a joy. Well spoken black men are too rare in fiction and well spoken gay black men few and far between. When he is partnered with the arrogant, by the books detective Travis Boudreaux things start to go a little sideways.
When Boudreaux later “had the bad taste to sit up at his own funeral” the series finally earns its paranormal tags. There are vampires, werewolves/bears/panthers/dogs, cops, hookers, feds, Homeland security, and mobsters involved in an ever expanding plot. There is also some really, really steamy sex. One particular dance scene had me fanning myself and I don’t even know if the M/M/M ménage à trois is physically possible. (Being singularly lacking in a penis I suppose I’ll never find out.) But Wow!
What really struck me about AS and DBG is that they were unquestionably steamy reads, but they did this without all of the power plays. No one was dominated, subjugated, or abused in any fashion. There were no whips, blindfolds, or kinks of any sort, but the sex still smoldered. I don’t mean to make grand sweeping generalities, but I kind of think modern erotica’s frequent heavy dependence on fetishism is a plot crutch. Yes, it is titillating to read about exotic sex, but it takes a stronger story to keep the scene equally captivating without taping into people’s sense of the taboo. These didn’t go there. They didn’t need to. DSoG did a little bit in the character of Henri, but he’s the über bad guy so I can forgive it.
In and amongst all of this testosterone-laden male goodness is a story too. There is a murder mystery to solve and a gentle romance struggling to bud. There are some wonderfully colourful characters too—Russ, Jet, Danny, and right there at the end Wayne. The man-banter between these guys is great. I can’t wait for more.
If I understand correctly there should be another book, Free Falling Crimson apparently, out later in the year. This makes me very, very happy.