Day: November 27, 2014

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Safe in his Arms by Renae Kaye

Dreamspinner Presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5736

safe arm

Blurb

In the late-night quiet of the caravan park shower room, Lon Taylor washes away the filth of the Western Australian mines. He’s not looking for anyone, but when Casey offers, Lon doesn’t turn him down.

Welcoming the young man in his big, hairy arms, Lon provides a safety to Casey that he has never known, and Casey wants to stay forever. Still reeling from the breakup of his family years ago, Lon’s not sure he’s ready for the responsibility of the comfort and security Casey craves.

But perhaps Lon can risk opening his heart again and hoping for a brighter future. Casey has some pretty big skeletons in his past to deal with. And Lon wonders what Casey will do when he finds out how badly Lon failed at protecting the ones he loved eight years ago.

Morgan’s Review

Lon comes home from working in the mines, hot, sweaty, exhausted. After a nice shower and shave he catches the eye of a hot, young, twink staring at him in the public showers. He asks the twin (Casey) to either suck his cock or quit staring. Figuring that will make the little guy scamper away, he turns back to his shaving. But what does he hear instead of the pattering of feet? “I’ll take option A.”

Renae Kaye’s book starts off with a bang right from page one and never lets up.

The story is both simple and complex. It’s simple in that Lon and Casey meet and immediately want each other. It’s complex in that both men have a past that is heavily influencing their future.

Casey was abused in his past. Badly. Really, really badly. But he’s strong and resilient, and despite receiving some amazingly bad therapy (not abuse, just wrong advice) he’s on the road to recovery. But he still has moments of weakness, of panic and it’s those moments that drive him into Lon’s giant arms.

Lon is a big guy, always has been. In addition to being physically immense, his heart is of equal size. He’s the caretaker. The guy you go to for help.   That back-fired once and now he’s gun-shy. Though Casey fits him perfectly,  Lon’s afraid he might let him down, and afraid Casey might not want him when he knows more about Lon’s past.

Despite their issues, (Lon’s past, Casey’s past, their age difference, family opinion, Lon’s work schedule ) they begin their affair and it burns brightly. Little by little they get to know each other and to overcome the hurdles. Fortunately, they have great friends with great advice and Casey has a wonderful new therapist who helps him to see things clearly.

In just a few months it becomes clear that the couple are more to each other than a casual fling and things really heat up. But the past resurfaces in a couple of different ways, forcing the lovers to face things they hadn’t wanted to bring to light. It seems like things might not ever be smooth sailing, but when pushed, the truth, as always, sets them free.

**
Again, I was delighted with Kaye’s writing. Though her books are both funny and touching, Safe in his Arms is also deeply emotional. It is clear she did some research because the subject matter here is not an easy one. I applaud how thoroughly she addresses the issues of intimacy between partners when one has been abused. There was no quick solution or “magic wand waving” to fix the problem. The couple had to address the very real concerns each had, and face them directly. (I also thought it was hilarious how the hurdle manifested for Casey, such a simplistic problem for a nineteen year old but when viewed through the eyes of the therapist it was really a very complex issue.)

I also really appreciated the fact that Kaye’s secondary characters were real people, too. They had flaws and talents, none being all good or all bad. I thought it was great that Casey’s grandma suddenly took a different tack in the middle of the book when faced with Lon as a boyfriend for her grandson. It made her very real. I also loved the intriguing side story about Lon’s brother and sisters. Every bit of the story was important and fascinating and kept me turning pages to see what would happen.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it giving it 6 of 5 hearts.

amazing

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Alliance in Blood (Partnership in Blood Book 1) by Ariel Tachna

Dreamspinner Presents:   http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5684

alliance

Blurb

“Partnership in Blood Volume One”

Can a desperate wizard and a bitter, disillusioned vampire find a way to build the partnership that could save their world?

In a world rocked by magical war, vampires are seen by many as less than human, as the stereotypical creatures of the night who prey on others. But as the war intensifies, the wizards know they need an advantage to turn the tide in their favor: the strength and edge the vampires can give them in the battle against the dark wizards who seek to destroy life as they know it.

In a dangerous move and show of good will, the wizards ask the leader of the vampires to meet with them, so that they might plead their cause. One desperate man, Alain Magnier, and one bitter, disillusioned vampire, Orlando St. Clair, meet in Paris, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance of their decision: Will the vampires join the cause and form a partnership with the wizards to win the war?

Morgan’s Review

There is a war being waged by renegade wizards. The good wizards seek an alliance with the vampires who have had an animosity towards the wizards for years. In order to broker a peace agreement, the emissary for the wizards, Alain, agrees to have his blood sampled by the emissary from the vampires, Orlando, as an olive branch and also as a means to prove his sincerity and honesty. Instead of merely proving these, which it does, it also gives Orlando a burst of magic that is both erotic, and provides safety from the sun!

The bond between them is so strong that the couple quickly goes from allies to lovers. However, this is no simple case of “insta-love/lust”. Yes, they are both immediately and exaggeratedly attracted to each other, but Orlando has a long history of mistrust. His “maker” raped him and abused him in other ways, repeatedly, over years. Only by killing him did Orlando get free, though he is still crippled by the emotional scars left behind. Alain is a true and gentle soul who seeks only to make Orlando feel whole again, both for the sake of the alliance and for their budding relationship.

Meanwhile, the other wizards and vampires must find their own “pairing”. It is determined that this bond between Orlando and Alain can also be found with others (though not necessarily the deep, sexual bonding). They test one another and several couples emerge.

Once the couples are joined they begin their work to spread this knowledge among vampires and wizards and begin to build their part of the resistance.

**

This is the first of four books. It is a unique take on the “mate” that we see in a lot of paranormal books in that (at least at first blush) not every “mate” is a sexual partner. (That remains to be seen in further books.)

Orlando and Alain share a deep and instant, but very imperfect bond and it is clear that their struggle to overcome Orlando’s past will play an important role in the coming books.

The other couples look like they, too, will play important roles in upcoming story lines and some of the pairings are m/f and f/f.

The overall feel of this book is very dark and as some have said, “gothic”. The language is more formal and stilted, perhaps because it takes place in Europe, though it is in modern times.

These are long books. The world building is significant and lengthy. There is a fair amount of the “love story” but that is at least equaled by the “other”. IE The other couples, the war, the world building, etcetera.

I really like Alain. He’s just generous and giving and so sincere. It’s obvious how much he cares for Orlando already, though it’s only been days. The other couples are intriguing as well. Orlando is a bit much. He is moody and guarded and scarred. Something like a old, vampire, emo teenager. I am hoping we see him open up as the story evolves, and that we see him returning the adoration fed him by Alain. Right now it feels very lopsided.

Overall, this is a great start to a fascinating series with a very complex, dark and yet romantic world.

I give it 4 of 5 hearts

4

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Pukawiss the Outcast (The Two Spirit Chronicles #1) by Jay Jordan Hawke

PukawissFrom Dreamspinner:

When family complications take Joshua away from his fundamentalist Christian mother and leave him with his grandfather, he finds himself immersed in a mysterious and magical world. Joshua’s grandfather is a Wisconsin Ojibwe Indian who, along with an array of quirky characters, runs a recreated sixteenth-century village for the tourists who visit the reservation. Joshua’s mother kept him from his Ojibwe heritage, so living on the reservation is liberating for him. The more he learns about Ojibwe traditions, the more he feels at home.

One Ojibwe legend in particular captivates him. Pukawiss was a powerful manitou known for introducing dance to his people, and his nontraditional lifestyle inspires Joshua to embrace both his burgeoning sexuality and his status as an outcast. Ultimately, Joshua summons the courage necessary to reject his strict upbringing and to accept the mysterious path set before him.

Kimi’s thoughts:

Joshua is a teen living in modern America, with a white mother and a father who is Ojibwe living as a “non Indian”. What does that mean? It means his father tries to conform to what the narrow definition of civilised Christian that his wife insists on, only to end up disconnected from himself and his family. Joshua’s father takes off, leaving Joshua alone with his mother’s rigid outlook and rules. This would be difficult enough, but Joshua’s world is thrown further topsy turvy when his mother decides she needs to find herself and that Joshua should go stay on the Ojibwa reservation with a grandfather he barely remembers.

Joshua is in for deep culture shock. he doesn’t know the native tongue spoken on a daily basis by members of the tribe, doesn’t know any of the legends, recognise any of the foods, know how to tribal dance, and encounters racism from two fronts as he’s not white enough nor Ojibwe enough according to some.  Adding to his confusion is an increased awareness of his own sexuality. He finds personal strength through the tale of Pukawiss and through it, reaches out to embrace his native heritage and accept his homosexuality.

This doesn’t set well with church volunteers who have self appointed themselves as outreach workers to the tribe, and his mother hears of his “heathen” ways. It leads to a conflict between himself, the tribe, his grandfather, mother, and the self appointed guardians of “Christian civilisation”. The far right religious views of the ministry and his mother are accompanied by ideas of “civilising” that in years past led to the en masse removal of Indian children across the uS and Canada and re-education at boarding schools where they were punished for speaking their native tongues, disallowed to eat their traditional foods, dance their dances, share their legends, or do anything else that was perceived as “Indian”. It’s what led Joshua’s father to break as he did, and why Joshua had no knowledge of his own heritage. How Joshua stands firm, claiming the power of Pukawiss for himself, is a story of great power.

Rating: amazing

kimisig

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Protector of the Alpha (Shifting Needs #1) by Parker Williams

Protector400x600Adopted at an early age by a wealthy family, Jake Davis has always seemed to have an easy life. Even in college he was blessed with good grades and an apparently clear path to a pro football career. Good thing his best friend keeps hanging around to keep his head from getting too swollen.
Zakiya Incekara has always been…odd. Being fluent in six languages and having a flair for international cooking should open the world to him, but those skills leave him isolated.
When Jake sees Zak for the first time, with water beading down his slender form, something inside him shifts, and it hungers for Zak. To have him. To claim him. And Jake knows that whatever it is, it won’t be denied.
When they are approached by a man who claims knowledge of a secret past they share, Jake and Zak are thrust into a world they would never have believed existed. The forests of Alaska might seem an odd place to find your destiny, but these men will meet the challenges head on, as they learn that sometimes you have to make sacrifices to be Protector of the Alpha.

Jake turned from the bar, and Zak watched as the bright smile turn into a sneer. He dropped the tray, the catfish crashing to the floor, before he stalked to where Zak sat. Jake grabbed a man, probably about forty, by his throat and pushed him against the wall.

“You don’t so much as breathe near him,” Jake snarled.

The man looked cool as he smiled and croaked out. “You are everything I had heard you would be, and more, my lord.”

Kimi’s Thoughts:

This is the first instalment of a brand new shifter series by Parker Williams, and as a fan of shifter stories I was really looking forward to seeing what he brought to the table. It’s got some familiar tropes (instant mate attraction via delicious scent for example) but it also offers up some that are not so familiar and mixes in some new, so that what we get is a shifter story that is both familiar and that little bit different. I quite liked how he wove active magic in with the mythos of his world.

Featuring young men at university, the main characters are brash, often insecure, filled with bravado and uncertainties, and of course, not immune to being horny. Williams manages to capture the essence of what it is to be a barely minted adult without homogenising any of the group or reverting to stereotypes. Zak in particular was an interesting character, with his upbringing handing him multilingual ability and a broad knowledge of international customs and cookery, but lacking in interpersonal social skills and a penchant for overly correct speech.

The hows and whys of how Zak, Jake, and jake’s best friend Casey came to cross paths and attend the same university turns out to have been years in the making.  They discover they are important chess pieces in an epic struggle to reclaim the pack they never knew they had back from a power crazed alpha. And I do mean crazed- this is one seriously twisted power sociopath they find themselves up against. How twisted? Twisted every bit as bad as some of the worst in Game of Thrones.

My only personal niggle was how the final boss fight played out. With the big lead in to the death match, the fight scene itself seemed to be over far too quickly. The ending is in itself satisfying with just enough of a lead in to the next book in the series that I was left hungry for the next volume without feeling left on too huge a cliffhanger without resolution to this volume’s main plot line.

Rating: 4

kimisig

To Buy: Amazon UK  Amazon US ARe  Smashwords