Hi guys, we have J.A. Rock popping in today with her newest release Slave Hunt, we have a great excerpt, and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Slave Hunt
(The Subs Club 05)
by
J.A. Rock
Thirty people. Two hours. Only the strong will survive. When Riddle decides to put on a slave hunt, the Subs Club is on board. Tops hunting bottoms in the woods with paintball guns? Yes. Captives strung up on whipping posts, at the mercy of their captors? Hell yes. But on the morning of the hunt, nothing’s going according to plan. Miles and Drix are at odds over Miles’s reluctance to move in together. Dave is determined to show up D, who thinks Dave won’t last two minutes in the woods. Gould finds himself torn between obeying his master’s orders and living out a longtime fantasy. And Kamen inadvertently becomes a double agent when he aligns himself with two different parties.
By the end of the hunt, alliances will be forged and broken, loyalties will be tested, relationships will be strengthened…and someone will barrel roll. Narrated by ten different characters, Slave Hunt tells the story of two hours in the woods that will change everyone forever. Or at least, remind them that love is the greatest victory of all.
FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness and con man Henry Page are on the run again. This time they’re headed back to where it all began: Altona, Indiana. Population: some goats. Henry’s not happy about lying low at the McGuinness family farm, but they’ve got nowhere else to go.
While Mac fights to clear his name and Henry struggles with whose side he’s really on, a ghost from the past threatens to destroy everything. And those aren’t the only storms on the radar. Cut off from both sides of the law, Mac and Henry must rely on their tenuous partnership to survive.
If Henry can convince himself to let Mac see the man behind the disguises, they’ll stand a chance of beating the forces that conspire against them. The course of true love never did run smooth, but for the two of them, it might be their only hope.
Review: The third book in the Playing the Fool trilogy, The Tempest continues on with the Shakespeare references, lots of dramatic action, a lovely mystery that comes full circle. There was a lot to bring together in this last book, many characters to tie together and a future to weave for Mac and Cheese. I was very satisfied with this ending, though saddened there could be no redemption for one of my favorite characters…I’ll let you read about it!
The sexual tension between Henry and Mac took some backwards steps a few times, unveiling Henry’s insecurity, leaving me wondering if Mac could really help heal those old wounds and the distance between them.
One of my favorite characters, Henry’s sister, plays a pivotal role in The Tempest, and I’m so glad of it! It helps bring the future together for them all.
The narrator does another wonderful job, though there does seem to be a chapter missing….wish I had that, but the story still moves forward at a fast pace.
An action packed trilogy, something to read that feels fresh and different than what the m/m genre has been pumping out lately. Worth a read or listen for sure. Oh and I can’t forget to throw in there…I totally LOVE Mac’s parents. Wish I had them myself!
There’s something rotten in the state of Indiana. When con man Henry Page takes it upon himself to investigate the death of an elderly patient at a care facility, he does so in true Shakespearean tradition: dressed as a girl.
FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness has more to worry about than Henry’s latest crazy idea. Someone is trying to send him a message – via a corpse with a couple of bullets in it. He needs to figure out who’s trying to set him up before he gets arrested, and he really doesn’t have time for Henry’s shenanigans. Then again, he’d probably be able to focus better if Henry didn’t look so damn distracting in a baby doll dress and a wig.
But when Mac discovers that Henry has been keeping a secret that connects the cases, he has to find a way to live on the right side of the law when he just might be in love with the wrong sort of man.
Review: A continuation of The Two Gentlemen of Altona, book two in the Playing the Fool series, The Merchant of Death keeps playing along with Henry’s creative acts. It’s very hard to review this highly entertaining mystery without giving away the big surprises, but there’s plenty of new adventures and new characters to this story.
Henry is making himself at home at the station, making friends among Mac’s staff members, and along the way he’s making Mac crazy. A constant change in identity, keeping Mac guessing, and keeping the bad guys off his tail, all start to spell trouble for our lovely couple.
We learn a new secret about Henry, something right out of Shakespeare’s classics, and he will do anything to protect and care for that secret, even if it means ending his romance with Mac before it gets a chance to truly begin. Henry’s biggest guise yet is to play the sexy temptress, throwing Mac for yet another loop when he finds himself attracted to Henry even disguised as a woman.
There is plenty of nail biting action, murderous plots, and humor in this second book, but this time we get hot and steamy too! We finally get to see the fireworks fly between Mac and Henry, even though there’s a bit of a surprise and twist in the bedroom too!
More characters come to visit us, we get to learn so much more about Henry’s back story, and as we get to know the other court members in Henry’s life, one can easily see new stories begin to unfold.
Russo is an excellent narrator, giving unique and enjoyable voices to both male and female roles. I really look forward to the next book in the series.
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (11th February 2016)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating:♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Blurb:Mischief, thou art afoot.
Special Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness is having a rough week. Not only is he on a new diet, but he’s also been tasked with keeping Henry Page – the world’s most irritating witness – alive. Which is tough when Mac’s a breath away from killing the Shakespeare-quoting, ethically-challenged, egg-obsessed Henry himself. Unless killing isn’t really what Mac wants to do to him.
Con man Henry Page prefers to keep his distance from the law… though he wouldn’t mind getting a little closer to uptight, handsome Agent McGuinness. As the sole witness to a mob hit, Henry’s a valuable asset to the FBI. But he’s got his own agenda, and it doesn’t involve testifying.
When evidence surfaces of a mole in the FBI office, Mac and Henry are forced to go into hiding. Holed up in a fishing cabin, they’re surprised to discover that their feelings run more than skin deep. But as the mob closes in, Henry has to make his escape. And Mac has to decide how far he’s willing to go to keep Henry by his side.
Review: The Two Gentlemen of Altona is a funny, devious, and fast paced who dunnit with a healthy dose of attraction thrown in. It’s a very “Catch me if you can!” scenario between Mac and Henry. Many humorous references to Shakespeare are woven into this funny mystery.
As far as the heat goes, our two characters seem to have chemistry, but they keep missing the ignition process…leaving us wanting and waiting until the next book!
My favorite thing about The Two Gentlemen of Altona is the character Henry, or whatever identity he’s going with. He’s so creative, devious, and totally enjoys getting under Mac’s skin. I love how he keeps picking on Mac about his diet. It’s a simple ploy, but so funny in the ways he uses it.
The narrator, Nick J. Russo does a wonderful job giving each character a unique sounds, I’ve enjoyed many of his narrations, and the Playing the Fool series is just as top notch as all of the others.
This is a series you’ll definitely want to read in order, and it’s serial, so you won’t get all your answers or even half of them in this book. Totally worth the listen, and I look forward to more!
Genre: Science Fiction, Alternate World / Alternate Universe
Length: Novel (346 pages)
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (July 11, 2016)
Heat Level: Low – Moderate
Heart Rating:♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Blurb: What humans want from the Silver Planet is water. What they find is a race of humanoids who are sentient, but as emotionless and serene as the plants and placid lakes they tend.
B, captain of the mission, doesn’t believe that the “Silvers” are intelligent, and lets his crew experiment on them. But then he bonds with Imms, who seems different from the others—interested in learning, intrigued by human feelings. And B realizes that capturing, studying, and killing this planet’s natives has done incalculable damage.
When a fire aboard B’s ship kills most of the crew and endangers Imms, B decides to take him back to Earth. But the simplicity of the Silver Planet doesn’t follow them. Imms learns the full spectrum of human emotions, including a love B is frightened to return, and a mistrust of the bureaucracy that wants to treat Imms like a test subject, even if they have to eliminate B to do it.
(Note: This is a revised second edition, originally published elsewhere.)
Review: Captain B and his crew are tasked to investigate an unknown lifeform named Silvers. They travel to Silvers and discover humanoids almost devoid of emotions. One such Silver is Imms. He is an enigma of his kind as he actually feels emotions.
Imms goes back to earth with Captain B. I found it interesting to see how Imms tried to blend into his new surroundings. Things were not easy for him in the least.
I found the book to be interesting as two men from different worlds collide. It makes you think of all you know and what it means to be human. Are things really as they seem or are they different and we just do not see past what is right in front of us.
I loved the details regarding Imms and his planet. I was impressed by the complex yet simplicity of the story.
Hi guys, we have J.A. Rock stopping by today with her new re-release The Silvers, we have a fantastic guest post, a fantastic excerpt and a fabulous giveaway, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~
The Silvers
by
J.A. Rock
What humans want from the Silver Planet is water. What they find is a race of humanoids who are sentient, but as emotionless and serene as the plants and placid lakes they tend.
B, captain of the mission, doesn’t believe that the “Silvers” are intelligent, and lets his crew experiment on them. But then he bonds with Imms, who seems different from the others—interested in learning, intrigued by human feelings. And B realizes that capturing, studying, and killing this planet’s natives has done incalculable damage.
When a fire aboard B’s ship kills most of the crew and endangers Imms, B decides to take him back to Earth. But the simplicity of the Silver Planet doesn’t follow them. Imms learns the full spectrum of human emotions, including a love B is frightened to return, and a mistrust of the bureaucracy that wants to treat Imms like a test subject, even if they have to eliminate B to do it.
Hi peeps, we have J.A. Rock stopping by with her newest addition to The Subs Club series 24/7, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant giveaway so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
24/7
(The Subs Club 04)
by
J.A. Rock
We started the Subs Club to make the kink community safer for subs. Except now the others are so busy chasing their happy endings, it’s like they’ve forgotten what Bill did to Hal and the fact that he got away with it. They used to think I was betraying Hal’s memory by hooking up with the owners of the club where he died. Now they don’t seem to care about any of it anymore.
Maybe I am sometimes angry with GK and Kel for giving Bill a second chance, but they’ve been mentoring me for a year now, and whatever else they’ve done, they make me feel incredibly safe. So I want to try something: I want to offer them my complete submission, 24/7. To serve the people who forgave Bill. That’s the way I want to hurt.
Except I’m starting to care about them in a way I never meant to—and I think they feel the same way. But after Hal, I don’t know if I want to be in love again. Because what I really need, more than anything, is to see Bill brought to justice. Even if I have to do it myself. Even if it means losing GK and Kel.
FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness and con man Henry Page are on the run again. This time they’re headed back to where it all began: Altona, Indiana. Population: some goats. Henry’s not happy about lying low at the McGuinness family farm, but they’ve got nowhere else to go.
While Mac fights to clear his name and Henry struggles with whose side he’s really on, a ghost from the past threatens to destroy everything. And those aren’t the only storms on the radar. Cut off from both sides of the law, Mac and Henry must rely on their tenuous partnership to survive.
If Henry can convince himself to let Mac see the man behind the disguises, they’ll stand a chance of beating the forces that conspire against them. The course of true love never did run smooth, but for the two of them, it might be their only hope.
Review: The third book in the Playing the Fool trilogy, The Tempest continues on with the Shakespeare references, lots of dramatic action, a lovely mystery that comes full circle. There was a lot to bring together in this last book, many characters to tie together and a future to weave for Mac and Cheese. I was very satisfied with this ending, though saddened there could be no redemption for one of my favorite characters…I’ll let you read about it!
The sexual tension between Henry and Mac took some backwards steps a few times, unveiling Henry’s insecurity, leaving me wondering if Mac could really help heal those old wounds and the distance between them.
One of my favorite characters, Henry’s sister, plays a pivotal role in The Tempest, and I’m so glad of it! It helps bring the future together for them all.
The narrator does another wonderful job, though there does seem to be a chapter missing….wish I had that, but the story still moves forward at a fast pace.
An action packed trilogy, something to read that feels fresh and different from what the m/m genre has been pumping out lately. Worth a read or listen for sure. Oh and I can’t forget to throw in there…I totally LOVE Mac’s parents. Wish I had them myself!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Hi guys, we have J.A. Rock stopping by with the tour to her new release Manties in a Twist, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Aerin’s review, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Manties in a Twist
(The Subs Club 03)
by
J.A. Rock
Look, I’ll never stop missing Hal, but this Subs Club my friends started to review suck-ass doms isn’t gonna bring him back or give him justice. For me, it’s just another chance to hang out with my friends, even if they think I’m too dumb to understand the important work we’re supposedly doing.
But maybe I’m not as dumb as they think—at least I know when I’ve got a good thing going. Which is why I just moved in with my dom. Ryan’s awesome possum. He’s really short, never makes me feel stupid, and is up for anything. One word: costumes. Two more words: women’s underwear. We’re all about the lace, no leather.
Except when we do pony play. We first tried it as a joke, but turns out I’m ballin’ at it. Now PetPlayFest is coming up, and I wanna take down the Subs Club’s archrival, Cinnamon the ponygirl, in the horse show.
My friends think I’m spending too much time with Ryan and ignoring my obligations to the group. But since when is friendship an obligation? Ryan’s my first serious relationship, and I want to take it . . . seriously. At some point I need to think about my future, not my past.
Title: Manties In a Twist Series:The Subs Club, #3 Author: J.A. Rock Genre: BDSM/Humor Length: Novel (283 pages) Publisher: Riptide Publishing (April 2nd 2016) Heat Level: Explicit Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts Blurb:Look, I’ll never stop missing Hal, but this Subs Club, my friends, started to review suck-ass Doms isn’t gonna bring him back or give him justice. For me, it’s just another chance to hang out with my friends, even if they think I’m too dumb to understand the important work we’re supposedly doing.
But maybe I’m not as dumb as they think—at least I know when I’ve got a good thing going. Which is why I just moved in with my dom. Ryan’s awesome possum. He’s really short, never makes me feel stupid, and is up for anything. One word: costumes. Two more words: women’s underwear. We’re all about the lace, no leather.
Except when we do pony play. We first tried it as a joke, but turns out I’m ballin’ at it. Now PetPlayFest is coming up, and I wanna take down the Subs Club’s archrival, Cinnamon the ponygirl, in the horse show.
My friends think I’m spending too much time with Ryan and ignoring my obligations to the group. But since when is friendship an obligation? Ryan’s my first serious relationship, and I want to take it . . . seriously. At some point I need to think about my future, not my past.
Review: I’ve read many J.A. Rock books and I have to say this series is definitely her best writing yet. I’m not sure whether she found her true calling or maybe the characters won’t stop nagging her until she tells their stories, but these books seem to me like they’re written from the heart.
Kamen has been one of my favorite characters in this series and I found his hilarious and original songs to be a constant source of amusement. Kamen has been the easy-going one, the least smart, and the one his friends counted on no matter what.
Kamen seemed like a pretty simple character so far, sort of “what you see is what you get”, but we all know still waters run deep. That couldn’t be any more accurate when it comes to Kamen. Kamen has the biggest heart of all, he loves his friends, loves his mother, he loves Ryan, and he wants nothing more than for everyone to get along and be like a big happy family.
We know from Pain Slut that Kamen and Ryan are going to be together, but I never expected the tension their relationship brought to Kamen and David’s friendship. There’s jealousy and hurt feelings, and Kamen’s heart is broken along with mine, because Kamen should NEVER be anything but happy.
Ryan and Kamen’s relationship is very different from the previous two couples’; this isn’t so much the case of I’m the Dom, you’re the sub, drop your trousers so I can stripe your ass. Kamen and Ryan are more about lace panties and sexy dresses, scorching hot role play and even some pony games. They have their own brand of kink very different from what we’ve gotten so far, which is absolutely great!
I really loved Kamen’s honest, hilarious and very much real reactions to seeing himself in women’s lace panties. What I found absolutely fantastic was that I totally forgot Kamen isn’t a real person! I mean I had to remind myself over and over again that Rock has written this character and this isn’t a story told by a real-life character, and trust me when I say this doesn’t happen to me often!
While I liked Ryan and Kamen as a couple, I wasn’t too sure of my feelings for Ryan as an individual. I thought he was too possessive of Kamen and he never truly tried to understand and become a part of the friendship with the rest of the guys.
But at the same time all this conflict allowed us to see just how many layers Kamen has, how mature his thinking is regarding their friend’s death, what his hopes and desires and dreams are regarding the future, and how deeply and completely he loves Ryan. I loved Kamen to pieces, but at times I wished someone else for him, someone other than Ryan.
This was a great book, fantastic even, but not exactly what I expected to get considering this is Kamen’s book. He has been the funniest and the quirkiest of them all, so I expected more genuine humor. There was certainly moments that were funny.
I thought there was too much focus on the pony competition. I understood the reason behind Kamen’s motivation, but it wasn’t something I could connect with. And the competition itself was leaning more towards ridiculous than real, with eye rolling moments and incredulous WTF moments as well.
This was a great book but my least favorite so far; my favorite book remains David and D’s book.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: The Subs Club Series: The Subs Club, #1 Author: J.A. Rock Genre: BDSM/Contemporary Length: 297 pages Publisher: Riptide Publishing (December 5th 2015) Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts Blurb:A year ago, my best friend Hal died at the hands of an incompetent “dom.” So I started the Subs Club, a private blog where submissives can review Doms and call out the douche bags.
A perfect example of the kind of arrogant asshole I mean? The Disciplinarian. He has a pornstache. He loves meat, stoicism, America, and real discipline. And he thinks subs exist to serve him.
But . . . not everything about him is awful. His Davy Crockett act just seems like a cover for his fear of intimacy, and part of me wants to show him it’s okay to get close to people. And, I mean, sue me, but I have fantasized about real discipline. Not role-play, but like, Dave, you’re gonna be thirty in four years and you still work in a mall; get your ass in gear or I’ll spank it.
Not that I’d ever trust anyone with that kind of control.
I’m gonna redefine “battle of wills” for the Disciplinarian. Or I’m gonna bone him. It’s hard to say.
Review: Sooooo….I swore off BDSM books for a little while. And then this one happened. I have no clue what got me to request it, but I was lucky enough to receive it the very next day, so I started it.
The first two chapters were a mindfuck for me, because I had a hard time wrapping my head around all the characters, and whether they were male or female. I love unique names, but in this case, every time I was sure someone was a male, it ended up being a female and vice versa. Thankfully all my confusion cleared after chapter two, and then my enjoyment of this book finally began. Sort of….
Here’s the deal…I wasn’t sure I was going to like this entirely. I knew I was going to like Dave the sub and his friends, because I warmed up to them almost instantly. But I wasn’t sure this book was going to get an emotional reaction out of me.
Being in Dave’s head was a delight from the very beginning. He’s a mouthy, disrespectful, conniving, bratty sub, who loved nothing more than to push his Doms to get a reaction out of them. What came out of his mouth was rarely the same thing that was going through his head, and being in his head was just as delightful as it was emotionally draining. Yep, silly me thinking this book wasn’t going to get an emotional reaction out of me.
Dave and his friends are still struggling to accept the death of their deal friend Hal during a BDSM scene gone wrong, and their worry about other people finding the same faith gives birth to The Subs Club, an online Dom rating website, where subs from all over the world can tell-all about the Doms they played with.
Once Dave becomes fixated with a Dom called the Disciplinarian, his real emotional struggle begins, and that’s when my emotional involvement went from 0 to 100 in about three seconds.
The Disciplinarian is, “In his forties, probably. Big-boned, a little paunchy even. Fucking pornstache, which normally would have been a deal breaker, but his was combined with some additional rugged facial hair that mitigated the situation. And he was mountain man-ish enough that the ’stache seemed not only right, but also necessary. His face was wide, his jaw square, and he wore his light-brown hair in an uneven crew cut.
I was digging the long-sleeved polo, jeans, and loafers in a yeah, daddy kind of way. He caught me staring, and his pornstache twitched slightly. ”
Hilarious description, isn’t it? Yeah, David was a delightfully hilarious character, while also being extremely complex and multilayered; one minute you think you know him, and the next he only proves you wrong.
Thoughts like,
“Your facial hair is stupid, but I still want your penis inside me.”
“And then one day they’ll make our babies in a test tube and we can feed each other ice cream on the beach while our children play in the sand and then we can grow old together and fart in bed during reruns of Community. But, like, I get it. You’re straight, and it’s cool.”
“Shut up, behave, and show him you can be good. No, wait, what the fuck, don’t change for him. Be who you are. Be a mouthy little cockwad. Give it to him. Challenge him. Make him sorry he signed on for six weeks of you.”
got a good laugh out of me, while others brought tears to my eyes and put lumps in my throat.
“I imagined doing that thing from movies and TV where I’d turn and Hal would be sitting next to me. He’d be a snarky ghost, commenting on my application fails; picking up random objects in my room and being like, Wow, you haven’t changed at all, have you? And I’d be all, What’s it like being dead? And he’d say something bittersweet and ghostly like, Well, Dave, you ain’t lived until you’ve died. But when I turned he wasn’t there. I tried talking to a photo of him on my desk, but it just felt awkward. ”
“I think there’s a balance.” “I know there is. I had it, before Hal. And now I’m so fucking paranoid.” “You think something’s going to happen to you?” “That’s the weird thing. It’s not even about me. I don’t, like, fear for my own life. I fear for theirs.” “Whose?” “My friends. I just think, ‘What if I lose them too?’”
“D hated me, Miles was out of the club, Gould was mad at me, and probably everyone in the community knew I was behind the review blog and wanted “me to die. I couldn’t control how they felt. I couldn’t control who lived or died or fell in love or got hurt . . . anything. Give it up. I found myself in Tranquility, staring at the bench where Hal had died. ”Fuck you,” I said to the bench. “Seriously, fuck you.” I kicked it.
And then I kicked it again, because kicking it felt wonderful.”
Seriously, this dude broke my heart! And I loved it! I loved his character to pieces, especially his interactions and relationship with his friends Gould, Kamen and Miles; talk about amazing secondary characters! I couldn’t pick who my favorite was, but if I was forced I’d probably have to go with Kamen, because his songs freaking rocked, and made me laugh out loud! “He started playing a jaunty acoustic version of Pink’s “Try,” and sang: “Where there is a David there is gonna be a cane “Where there is a cane, someone’s bound to get hurt “But just because it hurts doesn’t mean you’re gonna die “You gotta bend over and—” “Okay, Kamen, thank you.” Yes Kamen, thank you!!!!!
David’s relationship with D was refreshing and delightful, because it had development and progression, passion and feelings, and they weren’t perfect! I didn’t think it was going to work for me, but it SO DID! D was a Dom, but he was also a human, a person whose feelings came through loud and clear. And `i truly believe J.A did an amazing job writing him.
I can’t wait for the next book, because after seeing the title I believe it’s going to be Miles’s story, and he’s totally turned mysterious on us towards the end. I honestly can’t figure out how this book snuck up on me, but I went from enjoying it to loving it, and I can’t tell you when that happened.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: Take the Long Way Home Series: N/A Author: J.A. Rock Genre: Contemporary/ Young Adult Length: Novel (223 pages) Publisher: Loose Id LLC (January 20th, 2015) Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts Reviewer: Aerin Blurb: Dresden Marich has failed out of high school three months shy of graduation. He’s infatuated with his online friend, Evan, alienated from his family and former classmates, and still trying to recover from his father’s death six years ago. He’s also keeping a troubling secret about his older brother, Gunner, who is away at boot camp.
Then Dresden meets Caleb, a judgmental environmentalist who’s hardly Dresden’s fantasy come true. But Caleb seems to understand Dresden’s desire for rough sex, big feelings, and, ultimately, safety. As Dresden becomes embroiled in a farmers market drama involving Caleb, a couple of bullying tomato enthusiasts, and a gang of vigilante vegans, he discovers he might be willing to trade a fantasy relationship with Evan for a shot at something real with Caleb.
But Dresden fears telling quick-to-judge Caleb his secret, and the news that Gunner is coming home sends him fleeing to California for a chance to meet Evan in person and hopefully fall in love. When the encounter doesn’t go as expected, Dresden faces a choice: stay in California and carve out a new life, or take the long road home to his family, Caleb, and a past he must face if he has any hope for a future.
Review: Wow this book was depressing! I mean seriously full of angst, it left me feeling unsettled and sad. I usually like Rock’s writing, all her books are well written and coherent; so is this one, but it didn’t quite work for me.
This is told in 1st person present and it’s one of my least favorite styles; however, I have to admit it worked in this book but I still would’ve preferred something different. This is the story of 18-year-old Dresden, a high school dropout, who is suffering from depression, has some metal issues that stem from his inability to deal with his father’s death and from the lack of professional help. His world is sad. His mind is an erratic place that left me feeling frustrated and sad.
I believe he just needed to know where his place in this world is, and I believe his mother’s shortcomings as a parent affected his ability to understand and like who he is. Rather than a romance, this is more a coming of age story, a story about a teenager learning who he really is, making mistakes and learning from them, learning to appreciate the people who matter most and finding his own purpose in life.
Caleb is a 24-year-old (young) man who befriends Dresden;
I’m not sure how I feel about Caleb. He goes from a nurturing and caring person, who seems to understand that Dresden has some problems with self-esteem, to someone who engages in heavy kink in a blink of an eye. Don’t get me wrong, I love kink in my books, but here it felt….wrong.
They didn’t take the time to know each other and figure out where this need for kink is coming from, which was absolutely necessary considering that Dresden needs it because of his inability to otherwise express any emotional feelings. The kid’s got issues and it was plain to see; and introducing autoerotic asphyxiation so fast into their sex life, when none of them had any experience with it seemed irresponsible.
Also, there was no chemistry between them despite of the intensity of their sex life.
On the positive side, I have to admit the author did a fantastic job creating the perfect mindset for an 18-year-old boy; I never once doubted it was an insecure, immature, smart, troublesome teenager doing all the thinking and talking. And there were some humorous parts that helped me finish this story because without them, I would’ve given up on it half way through.
Some would say there’s a HFN ending but I’m not so sure I can see it that way. I mean I agree that Caleb and Dresden are together and things between them are better, Caleb made peace with his brother and with what happened between them years ago. But Dresden is far from being ok psychologically speaking. I still think he’s a work in progress that only just began.
I recommend this book but only to those who enjoy dark, depressing, angsty stories.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Hiya guys, we have Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock stopping by on their The Merchant of Death blog tour, we have a great guest post, a fantastic excerpt and a fantastic giveaway. So check out my review and the rest of the post then leave a comment with some way for the authors to contact you! <3 ~Pixie~
The Merchant of Death
by
Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock
All’s fair in love and war.
There’s something rotten in the state of Indiana. When con man Henry Page takes it upon himself to investigate the death of an elderly patient at a care facility, he does so in true Shakespearean tradition: dressed as a girl.
FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness has more to worry about than Henry’s latest crazy idea. Someone is trying to send him a message—via a corpse with a couple of bullets in it. He needs to figure out who’s trying to set him up before he gets arrested, and he really doesn’t have time for Henry’s shenanigans. Then again, he’d probably be able to focus better if Henry didn’t look so damn distracting in a babydoll dress and a wig.
But when Mac discovers that Henry has been keeping a secret that connects the cases, he has to find a way to live on the right side of the law when he just might be in love with the wrong sort of man.
You can check out THE MERCHANT OF DEATH atRiptide.
Hi guys, we have the pleasure of having Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock stopping by today on their The Two Gentlemen Of Altona blog tour, we have a tantalizing excerpt, a great giveaway and my review for you to enjoy. So check out the post and leave a comment to win some great prizes! <3 ~Pixie~
The Two Gentlemen Of Altona
(Playing the Fool 01)
by
Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock
Mischief, thou art afoot.
Special Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness is having a rough week. Not only is he on a new diet, but he’s also been tasked with keeping Henry Page—the world’s most irritating witness—alive. Which is tough when Mac’s a breath away from killing the Shakespeare-quoting, ethically-challenged, egg-obsessed Henry himself. Unless killing isn’t really what Mac wants to do to him.
Con man Henry Page prefers to keep his distance from the law . . . though he wouldn’t mind getting a little closer to uptight, handsome Agent McGuinness. As the sole witness to a mob hit, Henry’s a valuable asset to the FBI. But he’s got his own agenda, and it doesn’t involve testifying.
When evidence surfaces of a mole in the FBI office, Mac and Henry are forced to go into hiding. Holed up in a fishing cabin, they’re surprised to discover that their feelings run more than skin deep. But as the mob closes in, Henry has to make his escape. And Mac has to decide how far he’s willing to go to keep Henry by his side.
Title: Mark Cooper versus America Author: J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry Genre: New Adult Romance Length: Novel (273 pages) ISBN: 978-1-62300-583-2 Publisher: Loose Id (January 28th, 2014) Heat Level: Explicit Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts Reviewer: Thommie Blurb: Mark Cooper is angry, homesick, and about to take his stepdad’s dubious advice and rush Prescott College’s biggest party fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi. Greek life is as foreign to Aussie transplant Mark as Pennsylvania’s snowstorms and bear sightings. So, when the fraternity extends Mark a bid, Mark vows to get himself kicked out by the end of pledge period. But then he’s drawn into Alpha Delt’s feud with a neighboring fraternity.
Studious Deacon Holt is disappointed to learn Mark’s pledging Alpha Delt, his fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa’s sworn enemy. Mark is too beautiful for Deacon to pass up an invitation for sex, but beyond sex, Deacon’s not sure. He wants a relationship, but a difficult family situation prevents him from pursuing anything beyond his studies.
Mark and Deacon’s affair heats up as the war between their fraternities escalates. They explore kinks they didn’t know they had while keeping their liaison a secret from their brothers. But what Romeo and Juliet didn’t teach these star-crossed lovers is how to move beyond sex and into a place where they share more than a bed. That’s something they’ll have to figure out on their own—if the friction between their houses, and between Mark and America, doesn’t tear them apart. Purchase Link: http://www.loose-id.com/mark-cooper-versus-america.html Review: This book is a gem. That’s the most proper word to describe it. While the theme is the old college kids and frat-boys rivalry, the execution of this book is brilliant.
First of all, the description and portrayal of this young man, Mark, who has come from another country, hell another continent the other side of the planet, to live in America is plain brilliant. His enormous change in his life, his education, his knowledge and lifestyle are displayed with great mastery. His anger toward everything and his sense of loss that he so hard tries to hide, how much he tries for the sake of his family and on for his very few friends, his sweetness under all that bravado, everything about Mark is a lure. He literally is enchanting and requires no effort from you to like him and love him even. His antics as he tries to do what he’s asked – practically join a frat house for the sake of his stepfather and make an effort to be nice and make friends – trying to assimilate to this new life, trying to understand his peers yet not wanting to settle and change for no one… I loved him.
I loved how scared he was, how much people and love mattered to him when all he tried to do was hide it under the mask of the uncaring and daredevil. It’s been a long time since I felt for a character that he’s too close to being real and Mark managed to give me that feeling.
Then, there’s Deacon – Deke – and his amazing, supportive character. Deke is fantastic in his own way and his relationship with Mark was a treat for me to read. Their “hook up gone repeatedly wrong” was brilliant, witnessing this relationship bloom and evolve was the best part of the book. There are no words to describe the mastery of the writing for this couple, their wonderful kinks that were revealed through natural exploration and chance, making me at least love the intimate scenes beyond description.
The trap of going too far and being a stereotypical cliché in the “BDSM” genre was so brilliantly avoided and at the same time provided a beautiful, gorgeous eroticism to this book that left me speechless. Everything I read was an adventure that mixed the social, sensual, and emotional parts of this novel with a subtlety worth any praise.
I loved it – it seems I can’t say that enough – it was truly a very enjoyable book, full with humor and a playfulness that had you with a smile on your face almost non-stop. If that’s what you’re looking for then yes I totally recommend this book. Definitely “frat-boys” written right for me.
Blurb: Twenty-one-year-old Lane Moredock finally has a normal life. Six months after he was wrongly made a suspect in his parents’ ponzi scheme, he’s settled down with his older boyfriend, Derek, and is working and attending school. But his happiness is threatened when his mother launches a Christmastime PR campaign to help appeal her prison sentence, and asks introverted Lane to be part of it.
Derek Fields has his hands full taking Santa photos, bird-sitting his sister’s foul-mouthed macaw, and helping Lane prepare for a television interview neither of them wants him to do. As he eases Lane through his anxiety, he worries that Lane sees him as a caretaker rather than a boyfriend, and that their age difference really does matter. He and Lane compensate for the stress in their lives by taking their D/s relationship to new levels–a relationship that Lane’s mother insists he should be ashamed of.
As Christmas draws nearer, the pressure builds. Pushy elves. Snarky subs. A bad fight. A parrot in peril. How the hell is Derek going to give Lane a perfect Christmas when the Moredock legacy threatens to pull them apart before the new year?
Review:The Boy Who Belonged is a continuation of The Boy series and should be read after The Good Boy.
We see the relationship between Lane and Derek continue and a little bit of normalcy start to settle, that is until Lane’s mother adds to the holiday stress by reinserting herself into Lane’s life. As if the poor boy hasn’t suffered enough, his mother lays on the guilt, shame, the disappointment, and the seeds of doubt that his relationship with Derek is healthy or even real. As if, I had not hated that woman enough before! Both Derek and Lane are left questioning their relationship, have their first big fight, and reexamine both their needs and demands. Both are eager yet worried about taking their D/s play further, although both seem to need it. Can Derek help Lane navigate his parents issues, and will Lane see him as a “Daddy” or the man who loves him? Both do some serious thinking about age, their D/s relationship and their future together.
This story brings the point home about family being whom you make it, rather than those you are born to. And about the importance of friends. The whole Christmas thing added another level of stress and guilt to all parties involved. Will Derek and Lane be celebrating a happy first Christmas together, or will the pressures of family, work, and relationships prove to be too much to handle?
Blurb: Introverted college student Lane Moredock is in a bad place. His mother has been arrested for securities fraud, his father is on the run, and everyone, including the SEC, suspects Lane knows where the missing millions are. Lane, with no money and nowhere to live, makes a desperate deal that lands him in trouble and leaves him unwilling to trust a so-called Dom again.
Photographer Derek Fields lost money to the Moredocks, and is as sure as anyone that Lane is guilty despite his claims. A chance meeting with Lane shows him there might be something more to the young man than arrogance and privilege, and Derek wonders if Lane might be just what he’s been looking for: a sub with the potential to be a life partner.
As Lane slowly begins to open up to Derek and explore his needs as a submissive, the investigation closes tighter around him. Lane might be everything that Derek wants, but first Derek needs to trust that Lane is innocent–and Lane needs to trust Derek with the truth.
Review: Reminiscent of the Bernie Madoff investment scandal of 2008, The Good Boy follows the plight of the pyramid scheme suspects’ heir apparent through the loss of his family, friends and lifestyle, the abuse at the hands of his idol, and resulting suicide of his abuser, Landon has lost it all. Wanting the world to see him for who he is, professing his innocence, and willing to do anything to start new, to survive, Lane is at his worst when he runs into Derek.
Derek Fields is angry at what Lane’s parents have taken from him, and he doesn’t believe the son’s completely innocent, he views him as part of his problem, so when he sees the little rich boy at a party he’s hired to photograph, he feels not sympathy but anger and vengeance toward Lane. Even when he realizes that maybe Lane is in over his head with Acton, he takes a photo rather than stepping up to help, and walks away. That guilt will haunt him through the trials to come, the fact that he could have saved Lane from harm.
We see Lane go through terrible abuse at the hands of what he thought would be his Dom, Acton, the wealthy real estate tycoon who also lost so much to Lane’s parents. Luckily, he escapes with his life, but may never trust again, and does not understand his need for control and submission, blames himself for the pain that was inflicted.
When Derek and Lane run into each other again, Derek’s guilt and attraction make him pay close attention to the suffering submissive boy in front of him. He sees not a weak privileged boy, but a survivor, someone who needs his help, and he takes care of Lane’s wounds, and attempts to guide and protect him from the media, his parents, and himself. But is it love or guilt leading Derek’s choices? Can Lane even allow himself to be put in a submissive role again? Is he really ready for such things? There is definitely a psychological drama to this story. We see different aspects of BDSM from Domestic Discipline, to simple bondage, brats and Doms.
There is so much growth, so many hurdles between Derek and Lane, and that to me makes this an interesting and worthwhile read. To see how they handle those roadblocks and grow to be what each other needs most. I enjoy reading the BDSM genre and this book brought something new, and something a little scary, both sides fighting anger, blame, and guilt before their relationship even got off the ground. I was worried that was too much baggage to add to the give and take, and trust of a D/s relationship but Henry and Rock make it work! A recommended read!
Blurb: Brin and his Dom, Ferg, have enjoyed a fun, sexy domestic discipline relationship for years. Brin knows his role–flamboyant, fabulous brat–and Ferg knows it’s his job to play the big bad Dom, giving Brin the punishment he desperately craves. When Brin is tasked with dressing his new friend Lane Moredock for a date with Brin’s ex, Derek, he’s excited–fashion is what he knows best, and Lane is going to look stunning. But what should be a fun afternoon takes a serious turn when Brin sees that Lane has been injured, and Lane’s reluctance to tell Brin the truth about it makes Brin start to question who he is, why things didn’t work with Derek, and what people really think of him. Is he just a flittery, glittery fashion fairy? Or does he mean something more to the people he loves? And can he find a way to bring these doubts up with Ferg–or is Ferg going to have to Top his way to the bottom of this?
Review: An interesting story from Ferg, the ultimate brat’s point of view. I actually recommend reading The Boy Who Belonged first, because then you understand where all characters are in the story arch.
This story gave me new insight into Brin’s character, because I truly felt he was quite a flake, but there is a much deeper soul, more than his bratty reputation, a truly concerned friend and lover. We see how important Brin becomes to Lane, not only a great friend but to his healing and understanding of himself as well. The two become close, and compare notes and swap secrets regarding each other’s relationships. Brin has the inside scoop for Lane because he is Derek’s ex-boyfriend and ex-sub. Once Lane realizes there is no need for jealousy, the two form a strong bond. This is also largely about Brin realizing his own value, to others and to Ferg.
A little lighter fare than The Good Boy, but a valuable piece for sure!
Blurb: A year after the body swap that let D/s couple Jayk and Amon experience each other’s lives for a day, the pair is ready to be married in a small, stress-free ceremony. Things are going smoothly until they meet Jennifer and Ron Gaines-Brake—a quarrelsome couple with a laundry list of troubles whose wedding is at the same venue. When Jayk and Amon are drawn into the other couple’s drama, their own doubts and fears about marriage start to surface. And when they accidentally switch bodies with Jennifer and Ron the day before the wedding, their simple, and stressfree celebration starts looking more and more like a nightmare.
As the couples attempt to deal with each other’s families, secrets, and last minute wedding preparations, things spiral out of control. Add to the mix a missing cat, a vigilant police officer, an intimidating dildo, and a cake like no other, and it’s anybody’s guess whether the weekend will end in bells or bedlam.
Review: While it started really good and somewhat funny, this book eventually didn’t sit well with me. I don’t know, perhaps I should have taken this with a grain of salt, as they say, but I simply couldn’t accept many elements of the story and in the end I finished this read disappointed.
So here we meet again Jayk and Amon as they get ready to tie the knot. Everything is going fine and both grooms are feeling great about their ceremony. If with a bit of anxiety and lots of excitement, when things start slowly taking the down path.
First they lose the cat, which leads Jayk into a brat-mode fit and Amon reining his temper and staying in control. At this part, I have to say, I started disliking Jayk. I don’t like brats; I may go as far as claim to detest them. This character’s behavior was unbelievable, very twelve-year-old and utterly unappealing. So that was the first part that had me stand back and look at this book with a wary eye.
Moving on, the pair reaches their destination – in a foul mood of course – and soon they learn that next day after their ceremony another couple is getting married. However, that couple is having trouble accepting that they can’t have a decent rehearsal dinner because of our guys’ marriage the previous day. This results in an instant dislike between the couples. That is only heightened when Jayk eavesdrops Jennifer (the bride) talking on the phone and gossiping about the “gays” getting married with her friend.
Now here is the crux of my issues. As latter events show Amon and Jayk body swap with Jennifer and Ron after a certain incident. The swap is known to last only twenty-four hours. In those hours our guys get to experience how it is to be fat and have a small penis – in Amon’s case – and how it is to be a woman, having the girly bits and being pregnant – in Jayk’s case. In addition to all their issues and problems and anxiety and fears.
But still, my question was why? What was the purpose of all that in the grand scheme of events? Because in the end, I was stuck with a book that was one massive study on bickering, whining, drama, inner philosophic ranting about the meaning of marriage and commitment and a case of our vaginas are better than your penises. Oh dear, I certainly didn’t expect that one coming. But the idea behind body swapping a gay couple with a hetero couple, I simply didn’t like it.
Of course there was the D/s relationship that had me cringing a bit there. I’ll be honest and admit that, while I’m all for kinks and fetishes, I have very little understanding for D/s relationships. I don’t get it. I love observing or reading for them as long as it feels logical to me. The scene where the Dom loses his control and temper with his sub and goes on punishing him because he got scared (the Dom) was horrifying and most horrifying was the fact that the text indicated the sub understanding from that act how much his Dom loves him.
I’ll use an example for that scene. Imagine for a moment a mother and her child walking on the park. The child drops his toy and he runs after it not realizing he’s crossing the street. He nearly gets run over by a car. The mom stunned, freezes and tries to understand she almost lost her only child. So she beats the kid because he scared her and she couldn’t imagine her life with him gone. The kid understands his mommy loves him… Right? Yeah, I suppose Jayk is no kid here although I can’t really make his age. One moment he acts like a damn twelve-year-old the next like forty and then twenty-four. Meh. his change of personality caused me a mental whiplash.
Anyway, maybe my sense of humor wasn’t up for this one because I simply didn’t like the plot, the story or the characters at all and some funny moments didn’t make up for the rest.
Title: Tempest
Title: The Merchant of Death
Title: The Two Gentlemen of Altona
Title: The Silvers (2nd Edition)
Title: The Tempest
Title: Manties In a Twist
Title: The Subs Club
Title: Take the Long Way Home
