Hi guys we have Rodd Clark stopping by today with his new re-release Ash and Cinders, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~
Ash and Cinders
(The Gabriel Church Tales 03)
by
Rodd Clark
Christian Maxwell is resigned when Gabe tells him he’s leaving Seattle to protect him, until the truth sinks in, and Chris realizes he may never see Gabe again. Reacting in anger, the two part with cold hostility instead of a warm and loving embrace.
Deciding not to fight Chris’s obvious disapproval, Gabe leaves anyway, heading south in his faithful Dodge pickup.
Gabriel Church is a wanted man, and when he landed in Sonora, California, he believed it would be the first stop in his continuing journey. Road blind and far too weary to continue driving, he has no way of knowing he is about to run out of luck.
Hi guys we have Rodd Clark stopping by today with his new re-release Torn and Frayed, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~
Torn and Frayed
(The Gabriel Church Tales 02)
by
Rodd Clark
Conscience isn’t something all people are born with…
Gabriel Church is a portrait in contrast. It would be easy to get lost in his pale-blue eyes, ache with the need to feel the strength of his masculine frame. He appears to be nothing but animal and instinct. The only people who know the full depth of that truth are dead, murdered, or two thousand miles away.
Gabe is a serial killer, and for the first time in his life, he has more on his mind than his own survival. This time he is running from Seattle to protect the only person he thinks innocent in his laundry list of crime and murder: Christian Maxwell, his biographer and unexpected lover.
Drawn to a place he never thought to return, Gabe finds new and different realities. Realities that insist he let go of his tragic past, those incredible perceptions of God, and his own divinity. He must open his eyes to what the love of a good man can do to heal a broken soul.
Hi guys we have Rodd Clark stopping by today with his new re-release Rubble And The Wreckage, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~
Rubble And The Wreckage
(The Gabriel Church Tales 01)
by
Rodd Clark
Everything Crumbles
Gabriel Church knows you can’t take a life without first understanding just how feeble it is. If you desire murder, you hold a life in your hand. Whether you release it to grant life or grip tighter to end it, it is at your command and discretion.
Gabriel is a serial killer with a story to tell.
Christian Maxwell studied abnormal psychology in college but chose instead to focus on a career in writing. His background comes in handy when he thinks of writing about a serial killer. He can’t think of anyone more qualified to write the story of Gabriel Lee Church and in the murderer’s own words.
It’s been done before, but never with a killer who has yet to be captured or convicted. With nothing more than a gentleman’s understanding between them, Christian records Gabriel’s life story. Gabriel doesn’t ask for his complicity, nor does he ask for his silence. Christian’s interest in the man, though, is fast becoming something more than academic.
When Christian and Gabriel become unexpected friends and then lovers, the question remains: What is Gabriel’s endgame…and why does he want his story told?
Warning: Contains scenes of graphic violence, suggestion of child sexual abuse, on-page child physical abuse, use of derogatory language, homophobia
Title: Torn and Frayed Series: A Gabriel Church Tale, #2 Author: Rodd Clark Genre: Psychological Thriller Length: 264 pages Publisher: Driven Press (9 Jan 2016) Heat Level: Low Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2.5 Hearts Blurb: “Conscience isn’t something all people are born with . . .”
Gabriel Church is a portrait in contrast. It would be easy to get lost in his pale-blue eyes, ache with the need to feel the strength of his masculine frame. He appears to be nothing but animal and instinct. The only people who know the full depth of that truth are dead, murdered, or two thousand miles away.
Gabe is a serial killer. For the first time in his life, he has more on his mind than his own survival. This time he is running from Seattle to protect the only person he thinks innocent in his laundry list of crime and murder: Christian Maxwell, his biographer and unexpected lover.
Drawn to a place he never thought to return, Gabe finds new and different realities. Realities that insist he let go of his tragic past, those incredible perceptions of God, and his own divinity.
He must open his eyes to what the love of a good man can do to heal a broken soul.
But when the killer is confronted by his own willingness to love and sacrifice, he is forced to ultimately ask the question: Just how far will he go to save a life . . . when all he’s ever done is take them?
Review: Just like the first book in this series, I found this one really hard to review. In fact, I’ve sat on my thoughts for a week trying to figure out what the hell to say. You can read my review of the first book, I really did not like Rubble and Wreckage and a lot of it came down to what I saw as fundamental in the plot.
However, I am a stubborn person, especially when it comes to my books. It’s rare that I dislike a book so much that I refuse to read the next book in the series, in the hopes that it has improved or picked up.
So yes, I gave this one a chance.
Torn and Frayed is a direct sequel from Rubble and Wreckage, so it is vital that you have read the first book. If you feel as I do – let your stubbornness guide you, although I found that because of much of what I saw as flaws in book 1 meant that they were also there in book 2. I called them fundamental flaws earlier, because it is the actual basis of the entire plot that I had trouble suspending my disbelief for.
In this installment, serial killer Gabriel Church isn’t so much on the run, but wandering around until he realizes that mentally he is on the run, but from his feelings. This seemed like it could be good; Gabe is realizing his humanity despite the fact there is something in him that means he cannot be like everyone else. After all, he is a sociopath that rationalizes each murder he’s committed without an ounce of remorse.
Once again, for me, I thought back to the Dexter series (books and TV, yes) and thinking about the “Dark Passenger”. The quote used in the blurb instantly sparked my interest because those two words flashed in my head. Perhaps it is my love for how that particular series was written (though, no, I realize Dexter did not have sex with men) and how it was handled that I cannot find myself really liking this series. I don’t know.
Then there is Christian. I have found him to be a hopelessly sad and naïve character. In fact, by the conclusion of this I wanted Christian not only get some sort of counseling but to find a decent guy who isn’t Gabe Church. His and Gabe’s relationship in this book isn’t so much a relationship as it is a series of hook ups.
By the end of the book there is no real conclusion on, in some ways, on this relationship. I didn’t ever expect a HEA but I just wanted something.
This book also had the addition of Detective Scott Keen – and his wife Carol. For me they were an interesting aspect in the story. Of course, it could be because they were new and exciting. For me that was the best part of the entire story. Yet, ultimately, at the same time, for me, it highlighted how naïve Christian is, when you think about it.
Like Rubble and Wreckage, this is described as an erotic romance. It isn’t. It isn’t really a “gay for you” story either, because Gabe, despite the fact he often meets up with Christian for sex, vehemently denies being gay – or bisexual. In fact, in the story he states that sleeping/trolling with women is easier than with gay men.
I feel like I’m in a minority for not liking this series, but there you go, that’s just my opinion, as much as it is worth. I’m not sure who to recommend it to but one thing is for certain: people looking for a romance probably will not like it. Gabe sleeping with Christian is just an incidental part of the plot, I feel.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: Rubble and Wreckage Series: Gabriel Church Tales, #1 Author: Rodd Clark Genre: Crime Thriller Length: 315 pages Publisher: Driven Press (30 Jan 2015) Heat Level: Low Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2.5 Hearts Blurb: Gabriel Church knows you can’t take a life without first understanding just how feeble life is, how tentative and weak it stands alone. If you desire murder, you hold a life in your hand. Whether you release it to grant life or grip tighter to end it, it is at your command and discretion.
Gabriel is a serial killer with a story he wants told.
Christian Maxwell studied abnormal psychology in college but chose instead to focus on a career in writing. His background comes in handy when he thinks of writing about a serial killer. He can’t think of anyone more qualified to write the story of Gabriel Lee Church, and do so in the murderer’s own words. It’s been done before, but never with a killer who has yet to be captured or convicted.
There was never anything more than a gentleman’s understanding between the two men that Christian would record Gabriel’s life story. The killer did not ask for his complicity in any crimes, nor did he ever ask for his silence. Christian’s interest in the man, though, is fast becoming something more than academic. When the writer and his subject become unexpected friends and then lovers, the question remains: What is Gabriel’s endgame . . . and why does he want his story told?
Review: Okay, this is a complicated one for me. I’ve not read anything by Rodd Clark before and to be totally honest, I’m not entirely sure if I am willing to read more (but there is a sequel to this book which I would like to give a chance despite my thoughts on this book).
I was interested when I read the blurb, though I already had a couple of reservations. But immediately I was reminded of the Dexter books by Jeff Lindsay (and yes, the TV series) and I have to admit that having read the entire Dexter series did actually colour my thoughts and reactions of this story, although Gabe is definitely no anti-hero like Dexter. The mention of Florida on the first page definitely helped me cement the connection in my mind.
Things are pretty straight forward when you read the blurb. Gabe is a killer – one that isn’t in jail – and he is being interviewed by writer, Christian. Christian wants to get into the mind of a killer and wants to know what makes Gabe tick. It is a very promising start that, unfortunately, doesn’t hold for me.
The fact that Gabe isn’t in jail is the first stumbling block for me. How did Christian know to track him down? Why didn’t he go to the police, especially with Gabe’s nonchalant claim that he has killed 40 people? Seriously, dude, does the words shallow bush grave mean anything to you? What makes you think you aren’t going to be the next victim?
At first this made me wonder that Christian is also a sociopathic serial killer, or at least a sociopath of some description. Yes, Christian is socially awkward and so far in the closet it isn’t funny, but I do like to think that isn’t an indication for Christian to be a sociopath.
This also leads me to the next stumbling block(s), which brings up my connection to Dexter once more. How does one expect a relationship with a sociopath to go? A sociopath has no empathy or no social cues, but it evident that Gabe definitely draws Christian into his web. I think it’s also clear at this point that I didn’t really connect or like Christian either, which we will call the third stumbling block.
Finally, I am going to add what I consider to be the fourth and fifth stumbling blocks of this story. For readers of MM books that don’t like girly bits in their books (with some rather vivid sex scenes which are more detailed than the MM sex scenes), you may want to avoid this. There is also cheating involved. Yes, I know we have a sociopath on our hands here, but still, I’m not happy about it. Also, the twisted (and very predictable way) Gabe deals with things should set off alarm bells in Christian’s utterly besotted mind.
The writing style also didn’t overly appeal to me. I got irritated at the repeated description of Christian as “the writer”. I know he’s a writer, it felt a bit silly because we know Christian so there was no reason to describe him as though he isn’t a main character that we don’t already know.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Hi guys, we have Rodd Clark stopping by with the release of the paperback of his newest release Torn and Frayed, we have a great excerpt, and a fantastic giveaway so enjoy the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Torn and Frayed
(Gabriel Church Tales 02)
by
Torn and Frayed
“Conscience isn’t something all people are born with…”
Gabriel Church is a portrait in contrast. It would be easy to get lost in his pale-blue eyes, ache with the need to feel the strength of his masculine frame. He appears to be nothing but animal and instinct. The only people who know the full depth of that truth are dead, murdered, or two thousand miles away.
Gabe is a serial killer. For the first time in his life, he has more on his mind than his own survival. This time he is running from Seattle to protect the only person he thinks innocent in his laundry list of crime and murder: Christian Maxwell, his biographer and unexpected lover. Drawn to a place he never thought to return, Gabe finds new and different realities. Realities that insist he let go of his tragic past, those incredible perceptions of God, and his own divinity. He must open his eyes to what the love of a good man can do to heal a broken soul.
But when the killer is confronted by his own willingness to love and sacrifice, he is forced to ultimately ask the question: Just how far will he go to save a life . . . when all he’s ever done is take them?
Title: Torn and Frayed
Title: Rubble and Wreckage
