I'm self-centered, sullen, and frequently rude, so it's usually a toss up when I read about someone so pure and good. Either I want to scoop their eyeI'm self-centered, sullen, and frequently rude, so it's usually a toss up when I read about someone so pure and good. Either I want to scoop their eyeballs out and just go Hostel on their holier than me asses because who are they kidding with their Mary Sue-ing and Gary Stu-ing - people are not that fucking kind; or I want to self flagellate and curl into a fetal position because I'm a horrible person and I deserve horrible things.
This book is all in the latter category. I went through it alternating between fascination with the story and Brute's journey, and shame because people suck I suck this is why I can't have nice things.
Brute is a kind soul and a huge heart wrapped in 7'6" of ugly. He endures taunts, jeers, and disgust from the people in his village and has resigned himself to a future of hard labor with little pay and occasional trips to the city to visit a molly house where the whores treat him as well as the people from his village.
His fortunes change when he saves the prince and is given the reward of a relatively easy but mysterious job guarding a prisoner said to be a witch and a traitor. He does more than guard, however, and ends up falling for his mysterious ward and choosing between a life with friends and respect that he's come to earn in the palace or trying to find a way to break his beloved from the tower.
It was very easy to fall in love with Brute. He was fairy tale kind, hardworking, well-endowed, resilient, and a perfect combination of resignation and hope that I had no idea could be pulled off well. We first met him bullied, orphaned, and friendless yet insistent on surrounding himself with music even if said music could only be found in his out of tune humming. We cheered when he got his chance at a better life and loved him even more when he didn't turn out to be an asshole like other former bullying victims when situations are reversed.
Gray, the prisoner, IMO was a perfect match for Brute, not because he was blind and wouldn't care how Shrek-y the giant looked, but because they both had been given shitty hands by the gods and could really appreciate the gift of having someone touch you without anger, disgust, or that awful need of other people to be mean just because they could. They were both grateful for every scrap of kindness and the value of even the smallest acts of friendship.
And it's not just Brute and Gray that shone in this story, but the world itself. It sort of felt like medieval fantasy ala Game of Thrones and I loved every detail of the kingdom and the islands and the people. The supporting characters were also fleshed out from the whores to the most adorable little schoolgirl. Even the food was described so wonderfully that I could almost taste it.
I loved this story. I loved Gray. I loved Brute.
Sure, some might say the giant was too kind and too noble and basically too good to be true, but fuck if I care. With how shitty things are in real life and how I can't stand my own company sometimes, it's nice to read about someone who's not always watching out for #1 or thinking the world owes them shit. I do that enough by myself, thanks.
I was tempted to rate this a star lower just because I got a bit cross with the Josh Lanyon ending (for the love of God, an epilogue would not give you a rash!), but Brute deserved everything I could give him. With how awesome this book made me feel, I felt I owed the guy as much....more
Much like its protagonist, Mark, this book is full of of quiet strength and understated awesomeness.
There won't be acrobatic sex. Except for the firstMuch like its protagonist, Mark, this book is full of of quiet strength and understated awesomeness.
There won't be acrobatic sex. Except for the first couple scenes, the man lovin' in this one are short but erotic, straightforward but sweet. Smut slut that I am, I appreciated that since Mark has other things going on in his life besides the awesome sex and I wanted to hear about those, too. Besides, there's only so much exhaustive descriptions of a guy's penis a woman can handle and it's nice to take a breather once in a while. I know. One cannot possibly have enough exhaustive descriptions of male anatomy, but I just recently braved a Cameron Dane book so I'm pretty much set when it comes to the annual quota of unapologetically dirty plot-forgetting sex. As much as Mark and Jaime here like to do the deed, they had to talk more and call me a tween girl, but I loved that.
As much fodder as there is for angst, it won't be overdone. Yes, Mark's family are either using him or being ignorant homophobes and Jaime's father is sick, but Mark treats these issues with hope and tolerance unadorned with the dreaded melodramatic brush of "Why God why?!". Sure, Mark can cling to hope pretty stubbornly that you sometimes want to sit him down for a long talk and then give him a small smack on the back of the head for his naivete, but that's Mark. He has faith in people he loves and he doesn't give up on them, not if there's still a sliver of a chance that things could still work. And he does all these without overdramatizing things or acting like a self-sacrificing martyr.
He sort of reminded me of Al Fletcher from Muscling Through, only geekier. They're both kind, gentle giants who don't ask much from life and of whom other people can take advantage unless someone can balance them out and show them they can be and deserve more. That's where Jaime comes in. He's pretty much Mark's Larry Morton. He loves Mark for Mark, recognizes the fact that Mark needs to be selfish once in a while, and proceeds to help Mark become more than just the pushover brother, the quiet son, or the tolerant boyfriend.
I also loved that the supporting characters were not just caricatures of whatever purpose they have to serve in the story, but felt like real people with real emotions. Special shout out to Mark's nephew, Luke, though 'cause that was one cool kid. Made me wish I had a nerd nephew to balance my three-year-old niece demanding Guns N' Roses be played at the house every time she comes visit. It's always "Patience" or "Sweet Chai Oh My". Not that her aunt is complaining, mind.
Anyway, there's nothing over the top with this book. It's a simple, engaging look at Mark's journey of self-discovery and testicles-growing and his good fortune in finding in Jaime someone who can help him with both. They might not be flashy people - nor is the storytelling loud or showy - but they're likable and funny and have a believable HEA.
This book is so much more than what its cover and title imply and it's unfortunate how I almost missed out on decent writing and memorable c4.75 stars
This book is so much more than what its cover and title imply and it's unfortunate how I almost missed out on decent writing and memorable characters just 'cause I was expecting a gay spoof of - written in the same level of competence as - that book that shall not be named. Thankfully, I'm a huge GFY slut so the reluctance didn't last very long and boy am I glad I finally checked this baby out.
Andrew temporarily moved to NYC to take care of his sister who's been fighting cancer. His initial plan was to survive on acting gigs while in the city, but after having no luck getting something that pays, he reluctantly accepts an offer to work as a male escort. I'm saying reluctantly because the guy's a staunch defender of his heterosexuality and is pretty much afraid of gay people. In his job, he meets Cormac - a closeted politician, some interesting clients, yummy fellow escorts, and we get to share in Andrew's confusion with his gender preference, his devotion to his sister, his issues with his father, and his delicious baby steps into the world of buttsex and blowjobs.
The thing, though, is this book is not as lighthearted as one might think based on its blurb. I thought it was at first and was getting myself all geared up to just enjoy some superficial angst with lots and lots of chemistry-less sex, but that just shows you what I know, which is practically nothing.
Andrew is not just an airhead with a convenient excuse to whore himself out. He's actually a pretty confused guy who just needs a bit of push, a little bit of shove, and some serious penetration in order to realize some truths about himself. Truths that he could arguably live without, but are essential to him living his life the way it's supposed to be lived - honest, unashamed, and happy. If the way to those truths had to be painful, arousing, and/or touchingly heartbreaking, he - and in turn, we, as a reader - just needs to suck it up and make sure the Kindle stays dry in spite of the embarrassing snot and tears flowing perilously close to its screen. Especially since Cormac, the gay virgin closeted hottie of a politician, also has to face and own up to his own truths and the HEA might be sweet, but these boys had to work for it.
This is not saying that the story is an angst-fest the likes of which only witnessed in Amy Lane books. It's still pretty light despite its potential to be grittier - not that I'm complaining, mind. Andrew gives us a look at the life of a male escort with the naked waiter gigs and near-naked house cleaning jobs with a light hand on both humor and seediness. What I mean is he didn't make fun of the jobs too much that they felt like a shot from an R-rated sitcom nor did he infuse his stories with the expected seedy narrative complete with self-flaggelation. I'm ok with either, but it was nice to get something from the middle in this case.
He also had a chance to preach on gay rights, BDSM, and the meaning of life, but thankfully treated all with the same brush as he did the majority of his story - with a "This is what I think. I've made my position clear. I'm not gonna beat you over the head with it". It might not be much, and I like having a bit of a lecture in my romance novels, but the author showed restraint with the lecture and I appreciated it.
What I didn't appreciate much, though, is the skimping in the description of the setting. New York City, in most stories I've read, has always been treated as a beloved supporting character. Every detail is usually lovingly described. With this one, the story could have been set in any other big city and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. Sure, the other MC waxed poetic with his love for New York, but Andrew clearly doesn't feel much since he barely gives the city a glance. I wouldn't normally notice something like this, but I kept on forgetting where the book was set while reading and had to stop and think about it. That should not happen when the setting is NYC, IMO.
Other than that, though, this is a great book - light while still tackling heavy subjects; the author giving the subplots the seriousness they deserve but practicing admirable restraint when it comes to over dramatizing the angst. The love story felt real and showed a lot of chemistry between MCs. The supporting characters were memorable and not just there to fill the pages with rentboy candy.
A recommended read especially if you've read S.A. Reid before since I belatedly found out Reid and Baggins are the same person. ...more
Starring a superficial narrator with a tendency towards assholery, this hilarious and erotic piece is just what I needed. Sure, the character3.5 stars
Starring a superficial narrator with a tendency towards assholery, this hilarious and erotic piece is just what I needed. Sure, the characters could use more fleshing out and the MCs could have shown more of why they're drawn to each other besides the flippant but understandable "he's got a big dick and it's aiming at me" excuse, but that's just me being an HEA slut. For a nice sunny afternoon HFN, this hit the spot....more
Well that packed quite an emotional punch. Not so much as it made me bawl my eyes out, but more of it having me go through from heartache to excitemenWell that packed quite an emotional punch. Not so much as it made me bawl my eyes out, but more of it having me go through from heartache to excitement to swooning to hopeful to just overall satisfied with how everything played out.
Since reading Tamara Allen's Downtime, I've been searching for another decent time travel m/m romance (view spoiler)[but with a different ending in that the couple decides to pick now instead of then as their HEA time setting (hide spoiler)].
Ted Ennis goes out for a smoke outside Criterion Theather and ends up in Victorian London where he meets rentboy Jem Pocket. After a few interesting meetings, feelings are developed and they ultimately - well mostly Ted - have to decide whether they should be together and how they will manage it.
I've just gotten off a recent and very disappointing Merrow read and I wasn't sure I'd actually love this as much as I eventually did.
Unlike Light the Fire, though, this was written in first person POV and Ted - while not exactly in the same league as other more distinct Merrow narrators - was a damn sight better to read about than Kurt. I think the most noticeable distinction is that while both Kurt and Ted have lost loved ones and are trying to move on, Ted actually showed me his heartbreak and loss. My heart ached multiple times while Ted vaguely recalls memories from his past. I felt detached from him in the beginning, not really able to find a voice to match his narrative, but I chalk it up to him trying to be numb and mechanical - all the better to avoid the pain. His voice took on more life when he met Jem and the relationship developed and it was nice seeing the difference in the way he told his story.
I expected Jem to just be a convenient vessel for Ted's moving on, but I should have trusted Merrow more despite the disappointment of my last read because Jem was not just a convenient rentboy, but fleshed out and vulnerable, gorgeous but flawed. I loved how he was uncomplicated but not simple, and so accepting without being naive.
The setting was also portrayed beautifully, but that was to be expected. I'm not a stickler for historical details as long as there are no glaring errors and I trust the author, so everything described in Ted's jaunt through Victorian London - as well as the info on the punishment for homosexuals - I took as facts.
And as for the usual Merrow-Kinks pairing, I'm happy to report that my inner playlist is back and has chosen as this book's OST....more
You know that annoying MC everybody - and I mean everybody - obviously likes and has a hard-on for but is still irritatingly unaware and would just shYou know that annoying MC everybody - and I mean everybody - obviously likes and has a hard-on for but is still irritatingly unaware and would just shrug off the attention and sometimes misinterpret it? Yeah, I know, Mary Calmes has a template and uses it pretty much on all of her books. Well, Nick is like that only - plot twist! - the reader is also unaware of all the attention until it's spelled out. This reader, anyway. God knows with the way my brain has been working, there might have been neon signs posted announcing the carnal desires of people around Nick and I'm dawdling along wrapped with Nick in his insecurities and consistent cluelessness.
This is a sexy, fun, pretty hilarious read (watch out for the pants-ripping power of Riley's erection) that manages to make a Gary Stu character likable and not irritating the crap out of you because the reader is unaware that he's actually Gary Stu until it's too late. So he's like an undercover Gary Stu. Or a ninja Gary Stu, if you will.
Sure, towards the end, the clueless gig got a teeny bit tiring and the character and their romance could have used more meat (ha! - meat), but it's an entertaining enough fluff-piece that had me checking out more of this author's work....more
I'd write a review, but I'm off to the next book in the series. And the next. And the next. Then, I'm reading every diary entry on Gilli's wBrilliant.
I'd write a review, but I'm off to the next book in the series. And the next. And the next. Then, I'm reading every diary entry on Gilli's website. God, I think I'm addicted to this immature, insecure, totally adorable cheeky sub. ...more
I can't. Write a review for this, I mean. At least not a proper one. I'd just gush and embarrass myself.
I'd like to say that it was beautiful, thoughI can't. Write a review for this, I mean. At least not a proper one. I'd just gush and embarrass myself.
I'd like to say that it was beautiful, though. Funny and charming and heartbreaking and sexy and filled with so much joy and love and hope that I think I'd need to watch the local news now just to even shit out. Don't want to be walking around with such positive thoughts - it's dangerous where I live....more
You know that thing where you open a book intending to just read a couple of chapters - halfway through at most - and you end up not wanting to close You know that thing where you open a book intending to just read a couple of chapters - halfway through at most - and you end up not wanting to close the damn thing 'cause - being a nosy git - you just have to find out what happens next, but you're tired and sleepy and guilty as hell 'cause you're supposed to be working on beating a deadline and not angst-ing over some fictional gay guys and their HEA, so you end up rushing through the ending and now you feel like if you'd just waited until you had enough sleep and not freaking out over your unfinished work, you'd have been able to focus more and given your undivided, unguilty attention to all the awesomeness the book had to offer?
*deep breath*
Yup. Happened with this book and I hate myself for it. This would have been a 5-star read if I hadn't been so damned itchy to get to the ending so I could go to sleep and then I end up staying up anyway trying to write a decent enough review to explain why I was an asshole in the first place and ruined my own reading experience.
Finding Zach is an intense, cry-athon of a novel about childhood friends finding each other after one MC's soul-crushing experience. The hook here is not really the romance though that itself is well done. It's the first chapter and how we're introduced to the MC and the previously mentioned soul-crushing experience that will grab the reader, suck their brains out, and feed it to them. It's not mind boggling so much as it's so pathetically heartbreaking and sick that you can't help but be morbidly interested while your heart is on the floor in thin julienned pieces.
Zach was fifteen when he was kidnapped while at the airport meeting his aunt in Costa Rica. He was in captivity for five years before he was found after an unrelated rescue - bone thin, physically and sexually abused, and - after having been treated (in almost every sense) a dog - could only express himself through barks, whines, and whimpers. He returns home and with the help of the people who love him - very slowly - gets his life back.
It's a slow and painful process, the life taking Zach had to do. It also felt realistic and raw and was so very well written - PTSD after that experience would be a bitch and a half. Zach is a likable character and while he might think that his being fucked up after the abuse makes him an asshole, he still came out not making excuses so much as explaining why. What I mean is he didn't go the easy route and played the victim card when it suited; the horrors in his past were just the reason for his issues now - not excuses. It made me like him more because he wasn't bending over backwards to get my sympathy.
David was also a great character although with all the intense getting-to-know we had with Zach, meeting him didn't pack as much punch. He was perfect for Zach, though. Sure, the history between them might have made it harder since they had to reconcile the before Zach with the now Zach, but that history also made it easier since Zach already knew he could trust David.
Don't think that the whole relationship was all lying in couches talking to shrinks or looking over the distance analyzing feelings, though. These guys also had enough chemistry to, well, do whatever it is chemistry is used for - make their own table of elements or something. Point is, there was a lot of playful moments to combat the serious, gut wrenching scenes and the sexy times are so hot like you wouldn't believe. I mean, imagine one MC introducing frottage to the delighted surprise of the other MC. Guy topped prolly half of Colorado but never discovered frotting. Scene was hot, y'all.
I also loved the fact that the insecurities and angst in this one aren't just because they need to talk more or one MC is an asshole that has learned to walk and talk, but due to valid and understandable - yet never overdone - hangups and issues. I like a good old fashioned misunderstanding that never should have been, but sometimes a girl just wants to read about a real fucking hurdle in a relationship and a valid reason to walk out of a restaurant for - and seeing him touch pinkies with another woman does not count, romance novel heroines!
The flashbacks were also written in such a way that did not require its own chapter or an introductory "ago", but came and went all sneaky and ninja-like and stress-free.
So overall a five-star read. But like I said, idiot here, so I rushed through the HEA, felt like I didn't really embraced it - being rushed and all - and now have to rate the book with four stars 'cause that was how the entire experience was for me. I'd prolly be able to explain better when I've had some sleep, but I wouldn't count it on it. Suffice it to say, if you're in the mood for an intense read with its own light moments and like your MCs all damaged and gorgeous and shit, this one's for you. Just make sure you have enough time and sleep 'cause this is defo a five-star read if you're not as big of an idiot as me....more
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