Month: March 2019

Review: Daddy Issues by Seth King

I wanted to like this book, but couldn’t.

1 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 222 pages. Published April 10th 2018

Blurb:

Their bond is forbidden. Their relationship could upend lives. But their love? It’s a force of nature… 

Ten years ago, a desperate and confused Robert Glazer briefly married a woman before confronting his sexuality and starting his life as an out gay man. They divorced and lost contact – until now. 

Today, a sudden family death throws Robert and his ex-wife back together for the first time. That’s where Robert meets her son Eliot, who was raised with his own father and is now a gorgeous – and openly gay – adult. And to Robert and Eliot’s surprise, sparks fly. 

Passion ignites, then threatens to explode. Soon Eliot knows three things. One: Robert is not his father figure, and never was – in fact, he barely remembers him. Two: news of their union would still rock his whole world. And three: he craves Robert more than anything he has ever wanted. And as suspicions arise, their attraction only grows…

Likes:

  • The blurb sucked me in.
  • The prologue made me interested.
  • The cover is hot.

Dislikes:

  • Everything else.

DNF 5%

I was excited when this book showed up in my BookBub email because I was looking for another book to read. What a disappointment.

Maybe I’m getting more picky the older I get (I’ll turn 30 next year) but I had a very strong negative reaction to this book. Which is a shame because the premise was promising. Even the prologue made me eager to read more despite being written in first person present tense, which I generally don’t like.

But when I got to Part 1 of the actual story, everything fell apart in a massive way.

The second sentence is “He’s in town for the funeral” which sets a tone in my mind that this is a somber situation. And that is not born out by what follows next, and I’m not just talking about the insta-lust between Eliot and Robert.

We’re immediately dropped into Eliot’s rambling internal monologue stream-of-consciousness info dump. No real setup of the scene or the location. Just brief mentions of a buffet line and a banquet room and now I have no idea where these characters are. All I know is they’re undressing each other with their eyes.

It’s Eliot’s inner rambling that killed it for me. All the rest of it I could have dealt with. It seriously felt like I was being beaten over the head by the info. I only needed to be told once that Robert was Eliot’s stepfather for a short time, they never lived together, and Eliot never saw Robert as a father figure. Instead, the info was repeated several times.

It got to the point where I just wanted Eliot to shut up. But when I went to skip ahead, I discovered there were no chapter marks in the book. That alone would have taken it down half a star for poor book design.

I skipped ahead to Robert’s point of view and find… more of the exactly the same kind of internal rambling without anything happening to move the plot along. Ugh. What was worse, there was this constant back and forth in the internal monologue. I’ll paraphrase.

This is wrong.

Or is it?

Yeah, definitely wrong.

But he’s so hot, and I want him. How wrong can it be?

Very wrong. Think pure thoughts.

What made me quit for good was Eliot bringing his cheating boyfriend, who has a temper and who Eliot knows he shouldn’t have taken back, with him to his grandmother’s weeklong celebration of life getaway. Eliot admits he’s spineless for tanking his ex back but it’s not his fault, see. He’s southern and has good manners and doesn’t want to rock the boat.

Nope.

On the one hand, I feel really bad because I only got 28 pages into this book. On the other hand, I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy any part of this if the beginning got on my nerves this much. Oh well.

Review: The Shamwell Tales Series by J.L. Merrow

Series rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Books Include:

Likes:

  • Slow burn romances.
  • Quiet little English town.
  • J.L. Merrow’s writing style.
  • Some incredibly quirky characters.
  • Some really great kids.
  • Very little homophobia (and what little there was got overcome in the end).
  • The English slang.
  • Blue collar workers who were proud of their jobs.

Dislikes:

  • Sex scenes were short, not too steamy, and at the end of the books.
  • Some similarities in the types of couples.

To be fair to Out! I did like all the books in this series. The quiet, slow atmosphere of Shamwell was just what I was looking for, but I can see why some people thought it was too slow and boring. This is not a series where a lot of things happen. All of the drama comes either from miscommunication (or no communication at all) or everyday outside forces.

I really liked the English slang in the book, even thought I didn’t know some of it, because it made the books very atmospheric. Shamwell really did become like a subtle character of its own in a lot of little ways. The people who lived there were very simple, in a good way, while the ones who moved there were all on the flamboyant side.

This brings me to the similarities between the books. In each one, one of the two main characters has just moved to town. All the newcomers are well-educated and come from wealthy families or are well off themselves. Their love interests are blue collar working men, except Patrick who works for a non-profit, which is not a high paying job. The men from Shamwell are generally more connected to their families than the men who have just moved there.

Despite these similarities, each of the couples was very different from the others, both in terms of the problems they face and how they interact with each other. I enjoyed reading about all of the couples and nothing glaringly wrong pulled me out of any of the stories.

Out! was my least favorite not because anything was wrong with it but because Patrick and Mark were both less flamboyant characters than the other couples. Rob, David, and Tristan were all fabulous characters with fun, memorable quirks. I don’t think Patrick or Mark was boring per se, but compared to the fabulous three, they didn’t stand out as much. Fen and Lex stood out more.

Overall, I could have happily read more books in this series. It was cute and low angst and I’m really glad I picked it up. Caught! Was the first book I’ve ever ready by J.L. Merrow and I will definitely pick up something else she’s written.

Review: Spun! (The Shamwell Tales #4) by J.L. Merrow

Loved the main characters.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 316 pages. Published July 3rd 2017 by Riptide Publishing

Blurb:

With friends like these . . .

An ill-advised encounter at the office party leaves David Greenlake jobless and homeless in one heady weekend. But he quickly begs work from his ex-boss and takes a room in Shamwell with easygoing postman Rory Deamer. David doesn’t mean to flirt with the recently divorced Rory—just like he doesn’t consciously decide to breathe. After all, Rory’s far too nice for him. And far too straight.

Rory finds his new lodger surprisingly fun to be with, and what’s more, David is a hit with Rory’s troubled children. But while Rory’s world may have turned upside down in the last few years, there’s one thing he’s sure of: he’s straight as a die. So he can’t be falling for David . . . can he?

Their friends and family think they know all the answers, and David’s office party hookup has his own plans for romance. Rory and David need to make up their minds and take a stand for what they really want—or their love could be over before it’s even begun.

Likes:

  • Rory and David, both individually and as a couple.
  • Friends to lovers romance.
  • How accepting Rory is.
  • How the romance is sweet and slow.
  • Gregory the teddy bear.

Dislikes:

  • Barry (although I think he was meant to be hated)
  • Rory’s ex-wife and current husband.
  • How people didn’t seem to think much of David and his ability to stick with things.

I’ve been looking forward to this book ever since I found out that David was going to be one of the main characters. I loved him in Out! and I love him in this book. Is he perfect? No, but that makes him human. And we really see his growth through the story.

I was a little uncertain about Rory going into this book. He’s never been interested in guys and he has an ex-wife and kids. I really didn’t see how he and David were going to fit together, but they did. Rory is like a marshmallow with a core of steel. He does let others push him around a little too much, but watching him stand up for David and their relationship showed his true inner strength.

The friends to lovers trope is one I enjoy, and this book had it in spades. David and Rory start off as roommates of a sort and quickly become friends. The romance takes time but it’s believable. As is them staying together in the long run. Seeing David and Rory interact with Rory’s kids really makes them feel like they became a family by the end.

There were a number of characters in the book who were less than pleasant, but they were supposed to be. I’m glad that

Spoiler

I love books where you can really feel that a couple is going to be able to weather any storm that comes up, even after the last word is written. I feel that way with David and Rory. I would never have thought they’d be a good couple, but they were. Best of all, they were a great couple to end the series with!

Be sure to check out the review for the other three books in the series – Caught!, Played!, and Out!, as well as the series review.

Between the Sheets: An Erotic Gay Short Story by May Lacer

My fourth short story is now available on Amazon! I am so excited, not to mention proud of myself for keeping to my schedule for a month. Between the Sheets is available for purchase for $2.99 or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. Find it here!

Blurb:

Danny has had a terrible day at work. The college IT department has been flooded with calls as professors and students freak out about not being able to access their grade sheets. Danny has explained the same thing over and over all day, and wants nothing more than to go home and eat comfort food.

Luckily, he has an amazing boyfriend. When Logan texts and offers to make dinner, he also promises a surprise when Danny gets home. It’s the motivation Danny needs to get through the last hour of work. 

At home, Danny’s confused when Logan leads him to the bedroom and tells him to sit on the bed. But when his hand brushes the sheets, he understands. He’s never had silk sheets before, but Danny quickly realizes just how the luxurious softness can add to their lovemaking. 

*This short story contains steamy scenes meant for those 18 and up.

Between the Sheets is 25 pages long approximately 7000 words.

Review: Out! (The Shamwell Tales #3) by J.L. Merrow

I loved Mark’s gradual coming out.

3.75 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 322 pages. Published January 19th 2016 by Samhain Publishing

Blurb:

When the costs are added up, will love land in the black?

Mark Nugent has spent his life in the closet—at least, the small part of it he hasn’t spent in the office. Divorced when he could no longer deny his sexuality, he’s sworn off his workaholic ways and moved to Shamwell with his headstrong teen daughter to give her a stable home environment.

His resolve to put his love life on hold is severely tested when he joins a local organization and meets a lively yet intense young man who tempts him closer to the closet threshold.

Patrick Owen is an out-and-proud charity worker with strong principles—and a newly discovered weakness for an older man. One snag: Mark is adamant he’s not coming out to his daughter, and Patrick will be damned if he’s going to start a relationship with a lie.

Between Mark’s old-fashioned attitudes and a camp, flirtatious ex-colleague who wants Mark for himself, Patrick wonders if they’ll ever be on the same romantic page. And when Mark’s former career as a tax advisor clashes with Patrick’s social conscience, it could be the one stumbling block they can’t get past.


Warning: Contains historically inaccurate Spartan costumes, mangled movie quotes, dubious mathematical logic and a three-legged pub crawl. 

Likes:

  • Patrick and Mark and the people who try to get them together.
  • The Spartans and all the ways they try to collect money for charity.
  • Mark’s gradual process to coming out.
  • The focus on how age difference meant different experiences.

Dislikes:

  • Fen’s overblown teenage reactions.
  • Patrick had trouble seeing things from Mark’s point of view.
  • Mark’s parenting style needs work.
  • Not memorable.

Of the series this far, this book has made the least impression on me. I liked it well enough while I was reading it, but I find myself struggling to remember it even a day later. The previous two sets of main characters all had their defining thing – Rob with his bowties, Sean with his motorcycle, Tristan with his theatrics, and Con with his size.

Mark and Patrick don’t have a defining thing about them in the same way. That’s not to say they weren’t interesting, but I felt like the secondary characters really stole the show in many of the scenes they were in. Fen, David, and Lex had that ‘something extra’ that really made them stand out on the page, and I’m so happy David is going to be one of the main characters in the next book.

I did really like that Mark isn’t out of the closet at the start of the book. Watching him go through the process of getting comfortable enough to come out to everyone was nice, as was the acknowledgement that things were very different for LGBTQ+ people twenty years ago. Patrick had a hard time understanding this, and it led to a number of complications, but it also led to some honest and open moments.

I think my favorite part about J.L. Merrow’s writing is her ability to create great characters. And Fen was definitely an authentic teenager. Which made her a little annoying. I did end up liking her a little bit, especially her meddling in her father’s love life. Mark was trying his best to parent her, but sometimes I wished he’d just put down some rules and stick to them.

I’m so excited to get to David’s story next. I would have been mad if he didn’t get a happy ending of his own. And of course I’m looking forward to spending a little more time in Shamwell. On to the next book!

Note: I used the book cover was on the ebook I read. There is a different cover on Goodreads.

Be sure to check out the review for the other three books in the series – Caught!, Played!, and Spun! as well as the series review.