C2‘s review of The Englor Affair (Sci-Regency Series, Book 2) by J.L. Langley
Gay Erotic Sci-Fi Romance eBook released by Samhain Publishing 11 Nov 08 (print release Fall 2009)

The Englor Affair picks up just after the end of My Fair Captain, J.L. Langley’s first story in her Sci-Fi Regency series.  The blurb makes it sound like his brother is still missing but that isn’t true.  He was rescued in the first book.  Most of the major world-building and the Admiral’s decision to return to Englor to see what he can discover about the kidnapping plot is found in MFC, too. 

To catch new readers up to speed: This series is set in the far future.  The planets Regelence and Englor both have societies based on the English Regency period.  This gives the books a familiar feel for Historical Regency readers – we see members of the aristocracy going to balls and the opera and discussing matters in Parliament.  At the same time, there are elements familiar to sci-fi readers – starships, computers of all sorts (including AI butlers!), fragger guns and more.  While some might think the two genres wouldn’t play well together, Ms. Langley makes everything fit together in a surprisingly seamless way.

Regelence society is patriarchal – so patriarchal that male-male relationships are the norm for the aristocracy.  This not the case for Englorian society.  Englor is a more literal interpretation of England’s Regency era.  Homosexuality is frowned upon and, at the beginning of The Englor Affair, there are rumblings of having it declared punishable by death.  Awkward if you’re the Crown Prince and gay… just ask Simon.

As we begin, Prince Payton of Regelence has been asked by his new brother-in-law, Nate, an Intergalactic Navy Admiral, to hack into an Englorian computer system.  They are trying to find out why Payton’s brother, Aiden, and Nate’s son were kidnapped by an Englorian spy.  To carry out his mission, Payton is disguised as a member of Nate’s starship crew.

After arriving on Englor, Payton continues his attempts to decipher coded messages and break into the Englor Marines computer system.  At the same time, he tries to find out all he can about Simon Hollister, a colonel in the Englor Marines and heir to the Englorian throne.  Simon may have a connection to the coded messages.  One evening, during a visit to the base gym, Payton meets an extremely handsome redhead (guess who).  Even after he learns the identity of his redhead, Payton ignores Nate’s earlier warnings to stay away from Simon.

While trying to unravel mystery behind Aiden’s kidnapping and its connection to Englor, Simon and Payton also must deal with Englorian society’s view of same-sex relationships and how it affects them and their future – especially after they are caught in a compromising situation.  After Simon learns that Payton is really a Regelen prince, it becomes clear that the only option is marriage.  One does not compromise a prince and just walk away like nothing happened, after all.

Since things were accelerated a bit, Simon and Payton must figure out the dynamics of their relationship at the same time they are trying to solve the mystery.  Payton is quite young (19!) and still trying to establish his independence, especially since in Regelence young men are chaperoned until age 25 or marriage, whichever comes first.  Simon is older and, as a Englorian Marine and royal heir, used to being in command.  It isn’t surprising that they clash a bit.

It was a good decision by Ms. Langley to not show Englorians magically accepting the relationship between Simon and Payton, since that would have rung false in a Regency-based society.  However, she didn’t dwell on the negative view and showed several other same-sex couples stepping forward in support so it isn’t difficult to see changes and, hopefully, a larger acceptance coming along as the series continues.

If you like Regencies, sci-fi, and M/M stories, give this series a try.  I do recommend starting with the first book since it sets up some major plot points (and it’s just really good, too).  For those who have never read M/M and are interested, I say this is a good series to start with.  The Regency-like setting allows for familiar elements and I enjoy the notion that the young men of Regelence are protected and guarded just like their female Earth-bound Regency era counterparts (and we all know how things usually turn out for those young ladies).  For those who have been anxiously awaiting this sequel, you won’t be disappointed.

Grade: A-

Summary:

In hiding who he was, Payton found himself…and the man he would grow to love.

After his brother is kidnapped, Prince Payton Townsend masquerades as an Admiral’s assistant in order to track the culprits through the tangled mysteries of the planet Englor. He finds way more than he bargained for in the form of Marine Colonel Simon Hollister.

Simon is no ordinary soldier. He’s heir to Englor and his life is mapped out for him: throne, bride, and eventually an heir. He never expected a dalliance with Payton to blossom into love, or that the organization that taught him to lead would threaten that love—and their lives.

Danger and intrigue abound as they learn more about their shared enemy, and about each other. What they learn could help them rise above to an enduring love—or pull them apart.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Shannon C.’s review of The Ballad of Jimothy Redwing by Maia Strong
Fantasy gay erotic romance ebook released by Samhain Publishing 10 Jun 08

There are two things that are guaranteed to make me swoon with delight. One is fantasy. The other is a musician hero. This story features both, which made me exceedingly happy. While I did have my fair share of nits to pick, I thought that the world Maia Strong created was interesting and I would visit it again.

Jimothy Redwing, the title character, is a wandering minstrel. On his way to the city of Couvin, where he needs to deliver some important mail, he meets up with Ricky, and the two of them spend a wonderful night full of great sex together. Upon his arrival into the city, Jimothy realizes that his new lover is not what he seems, and he finds himself drawn into various political conspiracies.

I really liked both Jimothy and Ricky. They were likeable young men, and neither of them fit into any specific role. They were both really nice beta guys, and they were cute together. The actual sexoring didn’t entirely work for me, but the romance itself was very sweet.

Aside from our leads, Ms. Strong introduces us to a variety of interesting characters, all of whom were drawn very well, despite the fact that they were sort of peripheral to the main romance. I got the sense that Maeve and Japheth, the owners of an inn where Jimothy stays, had lives outside of what was happening with Jimothy and Ricky. I was also relieved to see that there wasn’t any sequel-baiting going on.

The non-romance plot takes up far more of the story than does the actual romance, but I was fascinated with it. There was a bit of a mystery which I liked, and in the process of solving that mystery, we learn a great deal about Ms. Strong’s world.

Not everything worked quite so well for me, but most of my nits are pretty subjective. I didn’t find much of Jimothy’s poetry especially compelling, for example, and sometimes the way the characters talked didn’t quite seem real. I don’t expect high-falutin’ language in my fantasy, but I felt a bit like I was reading Americans talking in bad British accents while at a ren fair. And some of the offhand comments during and after sex scenes bothered me. I really didn’t need to know, for example, that one character left a three foot rope of ejaculate on the sheets. I mean, ewww. Did we have to be *that* specific? Also, I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. I imagine that Ms. Strong has left herself some room for writing a sequel with more adventures of Jimothy and Ricky, but I’d have liked a less tenuous HEA at the end of this book.

Those things might not bother other people, and though they did detract from my own enjoyment of the story, I still think fans of m/m romance or fantasy romance might enjoy this. I know I’ll definitely be interested in seeing what else Ms. Strong can do.

Grade: B-

Summary:
New lover. New city. New dangers.

Wand’ring Minstrel Jimothy Redwing is used to life on the road, living by the words and music that are his stock in trade. While he’s comfortable finding his way alone, he’s always amenable to a friendly stranger who knows the lay of the land. Ricky Lennox is smart, funny, handsome, and very amenable.

With a place to stay, a sexy new lover, and some local contacts, Jimothy looks forward to delivering the letters in his care—including a message for the local ruler—and earning a little money with his music before moving on.

Ricky’s declaration he’s interested in more than just a one-night tryst starts Jimothy thinking about settling into a life of perfect harmony. But things hit a sour note when he learns his lover’s true identity—and exactly what’s in the epistle to Kanbec’s ruler.

Jimothy’s journey turns out to be far more complicated than he could have dreamed, and as dangerous as any epic ballad. For himself—and for Ricky.

Warning: This book contains a sexy musician, hot nekkid manlove, violence, and nuns dressed in blue.

You can read an excerpt here.

Shannon C.’s review of Undeniable Magnetism by Bonnie Dee
Contemporary M/M Erotic Romance Ebook released by Loose ID 25 Mar 08

I really like Bonnie Dee’s writing. I’ve only read a couple of her books so far, but I love that she tackles a variety of genres, and her characters have a lot of warmth and seem like people it would be fun to get to know. In Undeniable Magnetism, a recent release from Loose ID, Ms. Dee continues in that vein and provides a nice character study with two protagonists who are both the kind of guys one might actually run into at some point in real life.

Essentially, the plot here is simple. Simon Chase goes to a bar to de-stress, a bar owned by Jay Moran. After a heated encounter, Jay never expects to see Simon again, but on a whim, Simon calls him and the two begin a relationship. The conflict here is that like in the real world, not everybody in Simon and Jay’s world really embraces the men’s sexuality, and the two of them have to come to a place where they can accept that.

The thing that really works here are the characters. Jay and Simon are both guys. Sometimes when I read plot descriptions of gay romance, I feel like the author could just give one of the guys a set of breasts instead of a penis, do the occasional find and replace, and you’d have a het romance. This frustrates me as a reader, because if I wanted to read a het romance, I would, well, read a het romance. But both men do very masculine things and they talk like men. Their issues were very realistic, and because of that, I was rooting for them the entire time I was reading.

I also liked the fact that Ms. Dee subverts a few stereotypes. Simon is the upper-crust one who attended the best schools and parties. Simon is black. Jay grew up in a poor, ethnically mixed neighborhood and owns a bar. He’s white. The race thing does come up occasionally for both of them, and I felt it was addressed in a sensitive way.

Overall, I think this is a great example of M/M romance. I didn’t even mind the relatively short page count, because Ms. Dee manages to pack a lot into those pages. I definitely recommend this one.

Grade: A-

Summary:
When Simon walks into Jay’s bar for a drink, he never expects to find himself having an afternoon quickie in the back room. Although he’s very attracted to the blond, blue-eyed bartender, he’s never experienced a real relationship with another man and isn’t ready for the commitment that entails.

Jay is ready for Mr. Right, and when he meets hot, hunky Simon, he believes he’s found his match. But convincing the reserved man that their brief encounter could evolve into something more will take all his considerable persuasive skills.

Jay is blue collar, Irish. Simon is an African American from a society family. Can two men from such different backgrounds find common ground? Undeniable magnetism draws them to one another, but only love can keep them together.
You can read an excerpt here

Shannon C.’s review of Heaven by Jet Mykles
Contemporary gay romance eBook released by Loose ID 30 May 06

I’ve been in kind of a reading slump lately. Nothing really looks good, particularly the books I had to review. So a couple of days ago, I went trolling through blogland and ended up stumbling across a rec somewhere–I honestly don’t recall where–for Jet Mykles’ Heaven Sent series. Since contemporary gay romance is so far beyond my general reading tastes, I figured I should read this book and hopefully get out of my funk.

I’m not sure that this book is what I was looking for. It’s a competently written story with characters who were likeable, but I just didn’t relate very well.

Heaven Sent is the hottest up and coming rock band. They hit it big on the Internet and then became a household name. Tyler Purcell, the manager of the Weiss Strand Hotel, hires the band to perform on the hotel’s new nightclub’s opening night. Tyler, however, is not prepared for the barrage of feelings that sexy lead singer Johnny Heaven elicits in him.

My major problem with this book was with Tyler. I think that coming to terms with one’s sexuality is a really really big deal. It is not the sort of thing that happens after a few really amazing sexual encounters. It got on my nerves that Tyler protested so very much. He’s not gay. No, really. Really not gay over here. He just likes anal sex and blow jobs when performed by another man. And Johnny… Johnny could never love him. They’re from two different worlds, oh noes! I felt like Tyler spent much of the book wringing his hands, his lower lip trembling in misery.

Johnny, on the other hand, is just adorable. There’s not a whole lot of depth to him, but he’s pretty sweet. I loved his enthusiasm about video games. I’ve met guys like him, too. And he definitely seemed to know what he was doing as far as being a top. Plus, I’m a sucker for musician heroes.

This book is a lot shorter than I normally go for, which explains why the characters weren’t developed as much as I wish they’d been. I did like that, aside from Tyler’s wishy-washiness, there wasn’t any huge external conflict to detract the focus from Tyler and Johnny. But the romance aspect never entirely went anywhere for me. For a nice female fantasy about two very pretty boys getting hot and sweaty with each other, it’s great, but if I wanted to read that, I’d read fanfiction for free.

I suspect other readers will like this a lot more than I do, and I suspect that my reading funk contributes to the lowering of the grade. I might read more in this series because I am intrigued by the band’s hot bass player and his book doesn’t look like it features the whole “I’m soooo not gay except for the fact that I like having sex with men” angle.

Grade: C

     Summary:

     The Weiss Strande Hotel is in trouble. Business just isn’t what it used to be when Tyler’s father ran the family-owned hotel. On top of business being down, dad’s sick with cancer and bills have skyrocketed.

     Desperate to save his family interest, Tyler and his best friend sink their hopes and what’s left of their money into a new venture: a nightclub at the hotel. It’s imperative that the White Room is a success, or else the hotel will go under. Lady Luck seems to be with them, however, because they manage to sign the mega-popular rock group Heaven Sent to play the grand opening.

     Already a huge fan of the group, Tyler couldn’t be more excited to welcome them to his hotel. He’s not at all prepared for the bomb of lust that hits him when he’s finally face-to-face with the painfully gorgeous lead singer, Johnnie Heaven. No, it couldn’t be lust. Yes, Johnnie’s probably the most beautiful person he’s ever seen, but Tyler is straight. It must be a misguided form of hero worship that he’s feeling.

     Tyler finds out that he and Johnnie share an obsession: video games. When Johnnie invites Tyler to his room to play, Tyler jumps at the chance. Who wouldn’t snap up the opportunity to spend time with their idol? He and Johnnie have a great time with the games, but Tyler soon discovers that Johnnie’s got more in mind. The rock star’s aims to introduce Tyler to a whole new level of game play.

     You can read an excerpt here.

Teddypig‘s review of Going Down by Ann Somerville
Gay Science Fiction & Fantasy released by Lulu (self-publishing house) on 27 Jan 08

Ann Somerville obviously loves this world she has created here in Going Down. The scope of world-building is rich and lightly foreign in feel and the characters she populates it with are familiar in some ways and fascinating in others. Paranormal gifts like empathy and telepathy are relatively common place and these gifted people populate the crowded streets in an almost ordinary fashion and their jobs in the Corps reflect a culture that has found a way to benefit from them.

[Ed.: The proceeds from the book are being donated by the author to Doctors Without Borders.]

Derzo Einan an empath, and our hero, is suffering though. He went through a traumatic event that has left him in pain and unable to function. He goes day after day abusing drugs and booze to ease his frayed nerves and numb the gift that has become a curse to him. He will eventually meet up with Troe Thalem, a man who suffers almost as greatly as he does but together they might just find the solution to their problems and the inner salvation they seek.

I would NOT consider this “Gay Romance” or “Gay Erotica” even slightly which are two of the tags that I saw on the Lulu page for this story. It is way way way too Young Adult in feel. That’s not a horrible thing in all honesty and it does not feel forced. Reading Ann Somerville’s Going Down I caught a hint of Ursula K. Le Guin peeking from amongst the cracks here and there.

I have got to ask because it kept coming up when thinking about this story… Why bother to even hint at a possible romance between the two men towards the end when you never really define them sexually for most of the book? I was fine without it really and with their situation and the emotional scars etc etc etc, and so little time left in the story for any real romantic development or for understanding how homosexuality was handled in the society they lived in, I came away finding the stronger sexual tones used at the end a little heavy handed to me. I am just saying the whole homosexual nature of this story seemed unused and unnecessary to even be commented on.

I guess others will see this as a sweet type of gay romance, which I think is more implied than actually written, but I grew up reading Young Adult, Science Fiction/Fantasy buddy stories and adding in my own spicy homosexual undertones and this is a fine example of the kind of story I thrived on.

I just wish it had more adult flavoring.

Grade: C

Blurb:

Derzo Einan wanted to help people, and for fifteen years he rescued others from fires, floods and natural disasters. But in the aftermath of a horrific event, he’s left unable to help anyone, not even himself, his gift of empathy now more of a curse and his career in tatters. Running from his demons, Einan finds refuge in a big city, discovering an underclass of helpless hopeless people even worse off than himself—and another soul as troubled and damaged as him. In saving one more person, will he find his own salvation?

Read an excerpt.

Read more from Teddypig at The Naughty Bits.

Teddypig and Bev(QB)’s review of The Perfect Cover by Claire Thompson
Contemporary gay romance ebook released by Ellora’s Cave 26 Dec 07

So what happens when an opinionated, Big City Gay Man with a deliciously wicked sense of humor teams up with an opinionated, pervy, suburban Ohio soccer Mom to dish about a Gay Romance written by a female author?

Bev(QB): Although I’m sure most authors will say they don’t write for a specific audience, the fact is that a large percentage of gay ROMANCES (as opposed to gay erotica) are written by women and read by straight women. But I’ve also heard that these same romances are gaining an audience within the gay community because a lot of gay men want to read romance, not just sex. So, Teddy, is that an Urban Legend?

Teddypig: Well Bev, I just read somewhere about this concept of “exploitive MM Romances” and how we Gay guys are getting used and abused by Straight women writers misrepresenting us to the general Straight women Romance reading populace as horny devils willing to have sex at a the drop of the soap. My response was… and? You have a problem with that? What gave you the first clue that maybe, because we are already rebelling against mainstream society’s view of sexuality, we might be kinda more likely to explore this brave new world of hot man on man action at any and every given opportunity provided us? Now I try not to over generalize but, um… yeah that is usually the way it works out.

Anyway, kidding aside, I think it is great women writers are exploring the members of another culture they have something in common with. Dating, putting up with, and unfortunately, sometimes even loving those primitive hard headed creatures known as MEN — also known as pigs or jerks on occasion. So here’s to more exploiting Ladies!

Bev(QB): Yeah, something in common– that makes sense. I don’t read lesbian fiction because I’m not attracted to other women, so I can’t relate to anyone in the story. With gay male romances, however, it’s hardly a stretch to identify with the attraction for the male characters. Plus, particularly in contemporary romance stories, gay relationships have a whole different dynamic than straight romances. The leads are usually friends and there is none of that alpha asshole angst that we get in so many male/female stories. Maybe I’m generalizing, but the gay romance stories often come closer to mirroring the dynamics in real life STRAIGHT relationships.

But what about The Perfect Cover? Did Claire Thompson nail it [hee] for you

Teddypig: I have to admit I really tried to hate this eBook. The damn thing starts with the lamest setup EVA. There is this Club Med style Gay resort out on some tropical island that all these gor-jesus Gay men all work at during the winter and swap spit. Sorta like Palm Springs but without all the wrinkles and with non-chlorinated water surrounding it.

First off we are introduced to Ryan Weston, perfectly long hair, perfectly muscled body, and perfectly STRAIGHT. Then we switch over and meet Sean Evans, perfectly… Oh here let me show you…

Sean had honey blond hair streaked with thick swaths of bleached gold from his hours in the sun. His eyes were a disarmingly pale blue, or so a lover had once told him, the contrast to his tan face making them look even bluer. He wasn’t especially tall, maybe five feet ten inches, but every bit of him was solid muscle. He didn’t think of himself in terms of being good-looking or not. It didn’t occur to him.

Yeah right, maybe it did not occur to him, but the reader just spent a whole paragraph reviewing how good looking he is in his own damn point of view. So, I started gearing up early for the snarkfest to come. Hey, it’s a dirty job, but since Mrs Giggles swore off snark, someone has to do it.

Bev(QB): Yeah, but ya gotta admit the “visuals” were stunning, right? Picture Travis Fimmel (in his Tarzan days) bumpin’ uglies with… well… Travis Fimmel.

For me, the “snark alert” moment came when Ryan tried on his work attire– a Speedo– and then walked into Sean’s bedroom and asked him how it looked. No straight man in the history of the world, would EVER ask another man that question! And to invite a *gasp* GAY MAN to peruse his nearly naked body?! Just wouldn’t happen. Ryan is comfortable being on an island of gay men hitting on him (no straight man’s homophobia?!), he’s had fantasies about being with another man, and he’s in effect asking a buddy “Do these make my ass look big?”, but he considers himself completely straight?! Yeah, by that point, I had visions of snark dancing in my head too, Teddy.

Teddypig: Well Bev, Sean gets the hots immediately for Ryan because it is the Tru Lurve. Then Ryan plays the old “I’m Straight” card. Despite his poor crushed Gay heart, Sean agrees to keep Ryan’s secret (baby) and they plan a deception to keep Ryan’s sweet virginal ass on Gay Sex Island by pretending to be a couple in Tru Lurve. HOW CONVENIENT! In real life Teddypig is sitting there cringing in his seat listing all of the reasons he would be running away from the confused Straight boy:

• Lack of Gay experience and knowing himself.
• Bad sex.
• Temptation to have sex with every Gay loser he meets.
• BAD sex.
• Inability to place value in a real relationship with another guy.
• BAD SEX!

Bev(QB): “I didn’t even know I was gay!” is one of my favorite themes in gay romances. However, I think in the back of my mind I always assumed it was just a fantasy dreamt up by female authors. But Thompson turned this into a completely believable story for me when she had Sean explain to Ryan how he could be gay or bisexual and not realize it. Then Ryan internalized what Sean said and starting putting the pieces together.

Teddypig: Bev my rule of thumb is, dump the genders and look at what is going on under the hood. In this case we’ve got a Straight guy and a Gay guy. That equates in Romance to the Barbara Cartland, wilting virgin with experienced horny suitor story. YAWN! [Bev(QB): Hey! I just said I LOVE those stories!]

I was pleasantly surprised though because after all those things I could quickly list as reasons for NOT getting involved with Straight guys who are learning they are Gay, Claire Thompson thought these through and actually addressed them one by one in the story.

Bev(QB): Exactly, Teddy. Another author would simply have used Ryan’s curiosity after watching all the gay men together at the resort to trigger his “switch.” But Thompson surprised me with her logical, intelligent arguments that sexuality is not black or white but rather shades of grey (or should that be described as the Colors of the Rainbow?).

Overall, I thought it was a sweet romance story with some flashes of intelligent insight that outweighed the snarktacular aspects. Odd that there were surprisingly few erotic scenes, though, when you consider this is the same Claire Thompson who writes all those BDSM stories.

Teddypig: I totally agree, it was sweet Bev. Maybe Scott & Scott, two Gay men who write The Gay Romance over at Loose-Id, should pick this book up to see how to do this type of Gay Romance without relying on their typical blah “Twinkies in Love” characters.

Don’t get me wrong though, these characters were too perfect. The place was too perfect. The Romance is too perfect. Everything is too, too perfect. If Claire wanted a perfect score from me she should have had them both fail in a couple of understandable ways that would show them being human and not Ken Dolls in Speedos. Intelligent and insightful does come to mind in thinking about this story and the cautious dance described. So that kicks this up a grade automatically for me despite the other flaws.

I will be reading your next Gay Romance, Claire, so dirty it up a bit, will you?

Exploit On Girl Friend!

Teddypig’s Grade: B

Bev(QB)’s Grade: B

Read the Ellora’s Cave summary.

Read an excerpt.

Read more from Teddypig at The Naughty Bits.

Read more from Bev(QB) at Cubie’s Confections.

Sandy M’s review of Two Spirits by Jory Strong
Contemporary gay paranormal ebook novella 19 Dec 07 by Ellora’s Cave

I’m probably going to show my ignorance here. Having read only a couple of other gay romance books, I’m not sure what to really expect when reading them. I start reading like I would any other romance, I want to like the characters, I want emotion with the romance, and, of course, I want a good storyline. The characters and the storyline in this book were not too much of a problem. It was the emotion that didn’t go quite far enough for me.

I really liked Trey, a man who has spent his life denying his true orientation, and now his life is further shattered because he’s still pretending to want women and he got caught up with the wrong woman who’s an evil human being through and through, but he’s a good guy and it’s that goodness that gets him in trouble. I felt for him and cheered at his triumph in at least part of his dilemma. Tenino was likeable. He knew he wanted Trey right of the bat and he’s dominant, which made him a little too hard for me. But I felt for him at moments also because he does want someone to love, someone to be his for the rest of his life. The two characters did together did work. Trey finally came out of his self-denial thanks to Tenino; Tenino finally had what he’d always envied his brother for. The relationship happened a little fast, though.

The storyline was okay. Trey is now in protective custody, hence his introduction to Tenino. I realize this is a short story, but I just felt that this storyline was used only to get Trey and Tenino together, like any old story could have done that so let’s just use this one. There was nothing different about it, a plot used a lot over the years. What I did like about the storyline, however, was the end where the paranormal element came into play with the Thunderbird legend of Tenino’s tribe.

What I didn’t get enough of was emotion. There were certain scenes between the two men where I found myself thinking there should have been a touch here, a loving word there, one of them getting more choked up, anything along those lines. There were some spots where those things were included, but considering these two men had just found the love of their lives, I just expected more feeling, more tenderness at times. We’re talking love here. I wanted to feel it.

Maybe I shouldn’t expect the same things I do with regular romances in a gay romance. I know men talk about different things than women, look at the world differently, but I think love is more universal, and men or women, we’re going to experience some of the same feelings, want a caress, an I love you once in a while. If I’m off my rocker, let me know.

Grade: C-

Blurb:

Trey’s worked hard at denying he’s gay. He’s suppressed it by never allowing himself to act on a same-sex attraction. He’s avoided it by becoming involved in relationships with women. But when he helps the Feds take down his girlfriend’s family, he ends up in protective custody – and in the arms of Tenino, a sheriff’s deputy who wants a permanent lover, one he can share the full truth about his Thunderbird spirit with.

The attraction is immediate, intense, undeniable. But their future together is uncertain. Trey’s ex-girlfriend is looking for him. And she wants revenge – of the fatal kind.

Read an excerpt.