That of Jeremy and Ben is once again one of those sweet love stories between young men that leaves you with an happy smile. It’s not an easy story, there are prejudices, both for Ben being gay than African-American, and changing life decisions to take, and in the end, you don’t know if everything will be all right for the two of them, but that is right and natural, we are talking of twenty and something boys who have still to build their future life, but the future perspective are good.

The story starts in the aftermath of what has initiated the above said life changing decision: Ben and Jeremy are roommates, and even if from Ben’s side it was probably love at first sight, he has never said anything to Jeremy, who is apparently straight and above all so shy that is almost impossible to push him into something sexual. But then Jeremy’s mother died, he realizes that he has no family, he starts to weight what is important in his life, and the only positive factor is Ben. On a faithful night that we don’t read, something happens between Jeremy and Ben, and now Jeremy is questioning everything he thought to know.

I think Jeremy is the classical example of man who is neither gay or straight, he simply has to be in love to have sex. It sounds old fashioned, but I think it’s the right definition for him; what is creating trouble to Jeremy is not the realization that he can be gay, actually I think that he has never thought to himself in that way, but more the difficulties that they will face if they will decide to be together. A no little part of them is also the interracial relationship, with Jeremy being from a deep south country where the racial prejudice is still strong. If Jeremy will choose to be with Ben, he knows that he will have to renounce to everything he considered home and family before.

On Ben’s side the only trouble he sees is that he doesn’t want to force Jeremy if he is not sure; Ben is slightly older than Jeremy, and openly gay, and so he fears to have in someway influenced Jeremy. Ben is gentle and kind, even when he thinks Jeremy is rejecting him, he never once let it lack his support to the friend. Unconsciously he is giving to Jeremy the substitution to the family he will loose if they will be together.

The story is basically a sweet romance, there is a bit of angst, but really not so much. Jeremy and Ben already know what is better for them, they need only to let the aftermath of their first night together to go down, and everything else will be clear, right there in front of their eyes.

One of the nicest thing in the story is, by the way, Al’s character, the straight other roommate of Jeremy and Ben: he is a so nice guy that maybe for the first time in year, it made me almost want to read his story, even if it is an het romance.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Wanting.html

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

For January, Lethe Press is offering ebook editions of Best Gay Stories 2008 for only $3.06! 20 stories by such well-known authors as Jeff Mann, Holly Black, Jameson Currier, and David Levithan, for less than a quarter each, that's a great deal!

Spread the word!

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bestgaystories2008-13610-145.html

Editor Steve Berman has selected twenty stories--some moving essays, some splendid works of fiction--from the prior year that best feature the lives, loves and losses of gay men. With tales by fresh voices and established writers, Best Gay Stories offers readers indiscretions, poignant trysts, and reminiscences that are as evocative as they are imaginative.

The contributors to this year's volume are: M. S. Allen, Holly Black, Richard Bowes, Tom Cardamone, Jameson Currier, Peter Dube, Erastes, Greg Herren, James Klise, David Levithan, Raymond Luczak, Joseph Manera, Jeff Mann, Billy Merrell, Ethan Mordden, Paul Reidinger, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Paul Russell, Aaron Shurin, and Robert Warwick.

Happy New Year!

I confess, it feels good to have all the festivities over, and I'm optimistic about this decade. And may 2010 be the year we discover the secrets of teleportation and alchemy!

First off, thanks to Lily at Rainbow Reviews for a nice review of Carol of the Bellskis!

Thanks also to All About Romance's website which gave Holiday Outing a B. B is for blintzes! Thanks Katie Mack!

So what's the plan for 2010? I have several books in progress or waiting in the stuffy, overcrowded lobby of my mind....

•  A contemporary mystery romance complete with horses, hot Brazilians, and would-be murderers.
• A "space opera" collaborative work with the amazing Ginn Hale and Nicole Kimberling. It's not certain, but we've been working on another anthology, although this time it will be set around a space station and a carbon dioxide-breathing population. My story will of course have terrorists, crying, torture, hot Brazilians (oh wait no sorry wrong novel), hot SPIES, and perhaps miniature desktop elephants.
• An AU medical mystery story set in a homesteader community suffering a terrible plague. Vague description, I know, but its a work in progress and I'm still not 100% sure where it's going to go.
• Fire, the sequel to Water, which will follow the development of the supernatural beings, the Valde, as they struggle to break free of their human body prisons and finish the war they started so long ago.

And of course, something will probably peak my interest halfway through the year and I'll write that story instead and abandon all hope of maintaining any sort of writing schedule, which is why I can give you no guarantees, other than this: MORE TO COME.

Hope you all are as hopefully about 2010 as I am! May the teleportation to our gold reserves begin!

Judy York has been an illustrator for nearly thirty years, and has worked for many book publishers including Ballantine, Berkley, Dorchester, Harlequin and Zebra. She received fine art training at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Pratt Institute in New York, and has been a member of The Graphic Artists Guild, The National Arts Club and The Salmagundi Club.



( more pics )

For many years Judy worked in oils, but her introduction to the digital medium proved to be the start of a love affair that continues to this day. Exploring new and creative ways to meld her traditional drawing, painting and picture making skills with tools available only through modern technology has been a source of endless fascination for her. The result of this exploration has led to her mastery of numerous styles, ranging from very painterly to photographic.

Judy has also continued to create works of fine art in oils. Her paintings have been shown in New York, Scottsdale AZ., Atlanta GA. and Connecticut. Among the many public and private collections that display her work, she is proud to include the R. W. Norton Art Foundation of Shreveport, LA.

Judy currently resides in Connecticut with her husband, artist Charles Gehm

http://www.judyyork.com/

Rebecca Stratton wrote two books as a Harlequin Presents author. Writing for the Harlequin Romance imprint, she published 43 novels.

She also wrote under the name Lucy Gillen. As an author for Harlequin Romance, Lucy Gillen published 36 novels.

She is one of the famous author of Mills&Boon. She passed away in January 5, 1982.

First Book - The Golden Madonna (1973): The Golden Madonna (Harlequin Romance, 1748)

Last Book - The Man from Nowhere (1982): The Man from Nowhere

Recently I read another geeky/hunk story that didn’t respect the usual rules of romance making the geeky a willing bottom and the hunk an eager top. Conventional Wisdom is maybe on this line, but it adds also an element more, the Cinderfella factor.

Lucas / Bill (Bill is the name he uses when in incognito) is a tv fiction actor who was invited to a Sci-fic convention. He is not sure what to expect, and to add to a less than eager mood he has also had yet another confrontation with his family, who don’t accept his homosexuality. Plus Lucas, playing the heartthrob for the fans, can’t live openly his being gay and so he has no outlet, not in his private than public life; he is so repressed that it’s 2 years that he has not had a same-sex relationship, worst he has also had to fake a straight relationship for the media. So when Lucas meets Trent, openly gay and clearly willing, he is ready to accept the risk to have a weekend long affair in the hotel where the convention is held.

Trent is a penniless video store clerk with a passion for video game. He is gay, goth and cute but in a mousy way. He also has no idea who Lucas / Bill is, and sincerely it doesn’t matter: when the handsome man nears him in the hotel bar, Trent doesn’t think twice to grab the chance. There is a bit of Cinderfella here, with Lucas being in an hotel suite and Trent having to share a twin room with another friend: when Lucas is willing to share his suite with him, and above all his bed, Trent doesn’t look the gift horse in the mouth. And if Bill is a little reticent with his life and work, well, since he is not at all reticent in bed, even that doesn’t matter. Trent is not searching for the love of his life, yes, he maybe is a little bit dumbstruck with the situation, but he is willing to play along. I found endearing Trent’s behaviour, his outbursts of sincerity soon followed by a sudden blush when he realized what he has said, Trent seems to be a really friendly, nice and happy-to-go type of guy, not the usual mourning goth guy.

Probably the most interesting thing of the story, aside the sex that is good and nice, it’s the setting. Clearly the author knows about conventions and what happens during it, and having chosen to set the story in the Washington D.C.’s area helps even more in making all the situation realistic. The author also chooses to not give a clear answer on the eternal question “how can a public persona comes out without losing his fans”, maintaining the story more on a light level: yes, maybe Trent and Lucas are more than occasional lovers, yes, maybe there is even love between them, but all this will be cleared in a following moment, maybe with time and acquaintance, when they will be sure that it’s not only a weekend fling.

On a final note, I would be more than interested in reading Cindy Lou’s son story, since her mother was a very nice character.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=205&products_id=2093

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

They are in full swing, and thank to you my LiveJournal is an a good position, but the websites up to me are way more older and wider:

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/reviewsite.shtml

and in the various polls there are some friends, you can vote them at this link:

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/

These are the names/titles I recognize in the polls

( Read more... )

I don't know who Christian Sancho is, aside being an Argentinan actor/model, but I bet he is very good... yes, yes, I can say that, and no, it's not for the cute bum! (fingers crossed since I'm a liar...)

Joke aside it's really interesting to see what happens behind a photo shoot... wouldn't you have wanted to be the one to take of that towel or to wet that... all right, let the images speak: 



He's starring in the telenovela Las alas del amor... Ángel. He plays the role of an angel, who's looking for a heart that's pure. And he is very sexy as face for Carlo Pignatelli:

http://www.carlopignatelli.com/

A group of not so young friends meet in a pub once a week to mourn the loss of true love and to convince who is still hoping to find it that it’s a useless search. Then the bartender let it drop the bomb: are they sure that the one that got away is not there somewhere for them to find again?

One of them is sure that he did that mistake. Eric, 44 years old, has embraced the life of single for years, always saying that he has never found the right man, but he knew that he is a liar. True love he found, he was Chandler, the sweet guy three years younger than him that was his boyfriend in college. But Eric as a young boy was selfish and still unscathed by life, and when college ended, he didn’t look back twice after leaving Chandler. Not only that, he also behaved in a very cold way with him, surely breaking his heart. So now Eric is sure that trying to re-conquer Chandler’s heart will be an hard fight, but one that Eric is ready to face.

I like both men’s perspective: Eric for sure is trying to recapture his lost youth, but no more in the selfish way he had before; now it’s more a bittersweet hunt, I think he has really understood how fool it was. Anyway, he has not yet lost all his selfishness, since he is still ready to turn up Chandler’s life. Chandler on the other hand, was really in love with Eric, and probably he still is, but he is no more the trusting boy for whom Eric was the world. He is ready to loose Eric’s forever, he has already lost him, the most important thing is not losing his heart again, since this time he has no more all the life to mend the wound.

These two are not two young men with the star in the eyes, and I like also that they are not even desperate middle ages men; this is not their last chance at love, but for sure it’s their last chance to mend a more than 20 years old wound. Another thing that I noticed is that they are neither perfect beautiful gay hero: Eric’s strength is in his attitude, at least it was when they were young; to Chandler’s eyes he is beautiful, but from what I gathered, he is a slightly above the average handsome man, not model material. Chandler then is for sure not pretty, not in the face and not in the body, his strength is in his gentle soul. Probably 20 years before Eric noticed him since Chandler was so star struck that he pleased Eric’s ego; but this gave to Chandler the chance to show to Eric who he really was, behind the physical exterior.

The author didn’t either play the sometime easy sex card here: I was so heartwarmed by the story that I would have been glad to arrive to the end without sex. In the end there is also the sex, and it’s nice, but it’s not the main event of the story.

Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks (free ebook, you can download it for free from the website)

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Like last week with Dylan Rosser, this week I'd like to feature a photographer that is often protagonist of this kind of posts, but not always his name is clearly stated. A Rick Day's work is clearly recognizable, at least for me, aside for the sports theme, that he collected in this new coffe table book, Players, there is also the use of cold colors (white, black, grey, cold red) that mixed together are all then cold.

Rick Day loves to play with the expectations of the contemplator. Superficially it’s all about sports, about immaculate and trained bodies in chunky rugby wear, tight trunks or simply naked. But Rick Day is not just taking pictures of masculine sex appeal. His work impresses with an almost corporeal tension.

'I wanted to blur the lines of sexuality with this project. Men and women should be able to turn the pages and lose themselves in beauty and lust' - Rick Day.

Amazon: Players

 

( Players by Rick Day ) 

A true Southerner, self-taught photographer Rick Day moved to New York City in 1994 and has become a noted name in Fashion Photography. His work has been published in numerous publications such as Elle, Details, Teen Vogue and GQ and shot advertising campaigns for Gap, Ritani and Rufskin. When not traveling, he spends his time in the East Village with his dogs Mila and Luna always shooting the hottest faces in the industry. In a generation where beauty is obsession and sex is a product, he seems to have flawlessly "cataloged the world's sexiest exhibitionists", in their most intimate moments, with his coffee table book Players.

And to complete the "sport" offer, there is not only one but two calendars. Players is the calendar version of the coffe table book:

Amazon: Players 2010 Calendar

And if haven't had enough of Players, you can have also some Athletes:

Amazon: Athletes 2010 Wall Calendar

And now, to complete the post, as usual a triplet of Men Candy. Obviously the selection is among the models who worked for Rick Day.

Jed Hill (born January 23, 1985), former All-Ohio selection from Struthers HS, has played defensive end and tackle during his career at Penn State for the Nittany Lions.

 

( Jed Hill )

Jed, full name Jedidiah James Hill, majored in crime, law and justice.

Today he decided to become a model and, here too, the results are arriving and his image is all around the world.

Jed was the man of the month for September 2008 on DNA Magazine, his agency is R&L Models in New York

---

Luke Guldan is a new face at R&L Models in New York, one of the country's premier fitness agencies. The “sport” pic is by Jon Malinwoski, the pics in which Luke Guldan wears that nice flowers shirt are by Rodney K. Folkert, the pics in which Luke has a metropolitan attire and the one in front of the mirror are by Rick Day.

 

( Luke Guldan ) 

Luke Guldan is one of the fastest-rising models working in fashion today, plus a fitness expert and dieting guru. Luke has competed in the 2007 INBF Natural Hercules Bodybuilding Competition held in New York City on June 30th.

@Luke Guldan: http://lukeguldan.com/

Jamie Dominic, born 22 years ago as Jamie Dominic Mason, is a successful model. He is signed by Silver Model Management in New York.

 

( Jamie Dominic ) 

Besides being a model Jamie Dominic has another big talent. He is a musician. And has been since he was 5 years old. At that young age he already entertained his family and friends with singing, and at the sweet age of 10 he got his first guitar, that he used to practice music for hours in a row in his bed room. Not without success. Over the years Jamie has played in a dozen different bands, one of them coming very close to landing a record contract. Now he is solo, and even though he likes the cooperation with others, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“If I make it big awesome. If I don’t that’s awesome too. My main goal is to touch the hearts of a lot of people along whatever path I take.”

@Model Mayhem: http://www.modelmayhem.com/jamiedominic

Joan Delano Aiken (September 4, 1924 – January 4, 2004) was an English novelist. She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, Conrad Aiken (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry), and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge.

She worked for the BBC and the UNIC, before she started writing professionally, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).

Many of her most popular books, including the Wolves Chronicles, were set in an elaborate alternate history of Britain in which James II is never deposed in the Glorious Revolution, but supporters of the House of Hanover continually agitate against the monarchy. These books also toy with the geography of London, adding a Canal District among other features.

Her series of children's books about Arabel and Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake. Others are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.

Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.

( Read more... )

First Book - All You've Ever Wanted (1953): All You've Ever Wanted

Last Book - The Witch of Clatteringshaws (2005): The Witch of Clatteringshaws (Wolves Chronicles)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Aiken

Things I have made recently, and my thoughts thereupon:

Blackeyed peas - unqualified success! Very yummy, and also good luck. Of course, I still have a somewhat terrifying amount of leftovers, but still, yay.

Fudge with candy cane chunks - ...not an unqualified success, as I was stupid and grabbed evaporated milk instead of condensed, and then had to scramble for a new recipe, and then I put too much in, and...well, the long and short of it is that I have nearly a pint's worth of this dark, dense, incredibly rich goo which, while tasting delicious, strongly resembles something Willy Wonka would use to try to take over the world. Depp!Wonka, not Wilder!Wonka, so you know it's scary. It is currently brooding in the fridge, casting threatening glances at the leftover mashed potatoes.

Also I wrote some stories for Yuletide. It was honestly a HUGE relief that I was able to write them, as I've been incredibly emo for months now about my writing and the extent to which I wasn't doing any. Having completed two stories back to back, and one of them in the space of about 30 hours, was really much-needed evidence that I could get stuff done if I just knuckled down and did it.

For ScarabDynasty, in the Fairytales category, I wrote Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Duckling. I have pretty much been blown away by the response to this story; I was very nervous about it, and when sending it to my beta was asking her in all seriousness if I should just scrap it entirely for the sake of whatever reputation I have. Fortunately hangingfire is used to my histronics, calmed me down, and gave me a few really on-point suggestions. And this is why I love her.

And as a pinch hit, I wrote Beauty and Family for phantasmagorienne, a fic for Robin McKinley's Sunshine. I hadn't written anything in this fandom since dizzy_land ended, where I played Sunshine herself, so this was a really nice little jaunt back. The prompt had included something I'd wondered myself, viz: what was up with Sunshine's parents and their relationship? and I jumped on the chance to answer that question.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased! I could wish that the two stories weren't so similar in style and structure, but that is mainly just 'cause I'm self-conscious about that kind of thing.

So, seriously, \Yuletide/!

Oh, and I am in the process of rounding up old fic and posting it to the AO3, but it is making me realize how many things I have still unfinished, so I keep getting distracted. Will probably link there when done.

A new friend on this LiveJournal, I will not say who to preserve the privacy but if she agrees I will do, asked me if I ever voice my likes and dislikes on books. She was very kind (and if you are wondering I was not at all bothered by the questions, I love that you made them) and she seemed really interested in my answer. She also told me that she can understand when I liked a movie, but not the same with books. She for example didn't understand my prefercenes on Genre. She asked if I'm available to discuss my reviews.

Well I decided to post my reply here since she was not the first to ask it; to some question I already posted in the past, to some other probably not.

I don't rate books and that is a choice I will not change. Other blogs do that, and I have the feeling that sometime the rating is used with other purposes. Just an example, I read a book, it was particular, sure, but I thought it was very very good. Then I read a review by another blog, it gave 1 on a rate 1 to 5. I wondered, since I'm not English and it wasn't really my genre, if I wasn't wrong in my thought. Then a very important reviewer, university professor and expert in Mystery (it was a Mystery) said to me that the book was wonderful... mmm, I still don't understand that 1.

Anyway I'm always up to discuss one of my review if people ask or leave a comment. But people don't leave comment. I'm sure people read them, I also see the outgoing clicks to buy the book (or at least to further browse it), and some publishers/authors told me that when I post a review the sells go up. So why people don't comment? I don't know. But I prefer no comment to some flaming fights/wanking feast or to have 40 comments from 5 people, I hate the long threads where the same people add something only to raise the number of comments.

I don't like all the books, only that, if I really don't like a book, I prefer to not post about it. If I liked it so and so, I try to list the positive things, but people who know me said that they can understand when the book was not exactly my liking. Same as when I love a book, my friends said that it comes clear from what I wrote.

I love historical romance, but not if they are too heavy. I like contemporary, I prefer comedy to drama, I don't like very much fantasy and even less sci-fic. I like Young Adult. But basically, I read almost all, the important thing is to capture my interest long enough.

And now, I'm ready if you want to discuss all of above ;-)

Anyone else have the sudden urge to bust out singing Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire  whilst reading m/m romance? And why is it so popular to do the burny/stretchy thing with only a fingerful of spit, anyways?

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

>.<

Kathleen Givens was born in New York City, but spent her early years living in the Northeast and Georgia before landing in Southern California at the age of ten. As a result, she was fluent in Valley Girl, Steel Magnolia, and Manhattanite.

From an early age, Kathleen was entranced by the history, legends and sagas of the people who mixed together to form Scotland, Ireland, England and later the United States. She liked to weave elements of their myths and legends into her work, to mix fictional and factual characters, and set them against turbulent backdrops of war and social and political upheavals. And then add a love story, of course.

Kathleen made her writing debut at the age of ten with a rewrite of Little Women, in which Jo marries Laurie and no one dies. It is not in print. In high school she and a friend wrote a dreadful 250-page play about an English rock group. Surprisingly, it is not in print either.

Her official writing career began in 1999 with the acclaimed Scottish historicals, Kilgannon and The Wild Rose of Kilgannon, the epic love story of an English woman who falls in love with a rugged Highlander. The series left her readers thirsting for more stories of the glittering streets of London and the misty Scottish Highlands.

( Read more... )

First Book - Kilgannon (1999): Kilgannon

Last Book - Rivals for the Crown (2007): Rivals for the Crown

http://www.kathleengivens.com/about.shtml

For sure it’s not an easy book: Sparrow and Brooks decided to lay bare the reality of two men who barely make end’s meet every month; they are not exactly poor, but they are not far from it.

When they meet, Sean is a vet from Iraq who was severely injured: he has fake knees that allow him to walk, if the time is good, but also give him great pain; he has a retina problem he solves using special glasses when outside; he is not able to walk outside without risking a breakdown and each rumour reminds him of the front. With the social security helps, the drugs from the system and a side-job as erotic romance writer he is not good, but he can go on. After a few months of this life he is also able to think to a relationship and his target is Gabe, the cute boy in a wheelchair he meets at the clinic. Before he has never had the courage to talk to him but in a particular good day, he finds it. From that moment on Gabe becomes his anchor.

Gabe is a psychic card reader by phone and like Sean, he is able to maintain himself without saving nothing. He is extremely independent but when he meets Sean, probably he recognizes a soul mate. Yes, it’s true, it’s probably the disability that bonds them together, and it’s obviously more convenient for them to live together, it’s cheaper, but I don’t think that it’s only that. Sean needs someone to take care of, to make him feel confident, when to everyone else it’s obvious that he is the one to need a caretaker. Sean has a family, a family that probably would have helped him, but instead he is living alone; I think Sean ran way from that life since he is no more the same person; he is no more the next door good boy. Even being gay would have been difficult, let alone fall in love for a long haired psychic card reader who is also a pagan worshipper.

On the other hand, Gabe has never known what a real family means. Living with Sean is not a convenience, it’s a dream comes true, he has finally someone near him all the time. To the reader it could seem that it’s Gabe who hunts the nightmare away for Sean, but there are worst things happening by day that Gabe avoids being with Sean. While Sean’s story is presented to the reader since the first moment, Gabe’s ones remains hidden, like often happens with that type of trouble: Sean’s troubles are big but bare, everyone can see them, and maybe even jokes him for that, instead Gabe’s ones are more subdued and then more dangerous.

I like the development of the story, since it was not a boy meets boy and happily ever after, it was more a chronicle of all the steps they took to build their life together. Deciding to move in together was only the first step, but then they had to learn how to live together, how to take decision together, how to cope to adversities, big and small, together, how to fight each other together. Sean and Gabe are not building only a love relationship, they are tightening a bond that borders dangerously in dependency; I fear the moment they could be separated, I don’t think they would be able to survive.

http://pinkpetalbooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=41

Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

I have never read Harry Potter’s books, but I had the feeling that the author was playing a bit with that world, even if the fantasy world is more medieval than Victorian.

The novella starts with a six years old Hawk who is in the car of his wizard grandfather to learn the secret of the profession. The old man knows that he will be not able to see his nephew grow and so he entrusts the kid to Brael, his apprentice. It’s not said how old Brael is, but probably he is 15 or 20 years older than Hawk. Anyway the agreement with the old man is that Brael will take care of the kid only when he will be “of age”.

Shift in time, a now young adult Hawk meets again Brael, and it’s soon clear that Brael will not only teach Hawk the secret of magic, but also something else. Truth be told, in a scene, Brael explains that his “personal” interest in Hawk begun when Hawk was older, while he was looking for the boy from afar, waiting to stake his claim. It is only good that Hawk is infatuated of Brael, and he was also as a kid: for Hawk nothing is changed, Brael is still the fascinating wizard who told him stories when he was a kid, only that now he will tell him a different type of story. The author plays the innocent card for Hawk, with an hint or two, but not as much as he could have done.

If not for the sex, the story would be quite “innocent” and light: shadows who speak, wands and medallions who express their opinion and treat their owner. But the lightness and innocence is soon forgotten when Brael and Hawk are alone together.

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=A%20Magical%20Story

Amazon Kindle: A Magical Story

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

The most original thing of this novel is to take the stereotype characters and turn them over for a bit.

Police Officer James Everson is a man-hater, always changing men like he changes his underwear, not thinking twice to them after the “use”. Nevertheless he has a vague idea of Mr. Right, the man who in the end will conquer his heart and he is open to meet him. After all he has the example of his little brother Nicky who is happily in love with Troy, another police officer. There is probably a nice story behind it, how Nicky and Troy met and fell in love, I have the strong impression that this story exist but I didn’t find any track of it in Stormy Glenn’s backlist… Anyway James is not against the idea to fall in love himself; he has a good example around so he is predisposed.

Troy’s brother, Sammy, on the other hand, hasn’t had nice experiences in the past, actually he had very few and all of them were bad. Sammy is a geeky guy, a bookworm, who prefers to loose himself in his books while letting the world flows outside his front door. He also has no idea how the world could be dangerous, he is quite with the head on the clouds, something that can create big trouble in his life.

Being James and Sammy both gays, obviously Nicky and Troy would like to match them together but before they can realize their plan, James and Sammy meet in a bar. James has just finished to mentally listing all the external signs that he doesn’t like in a man, when Sammy enters the bar and he has exactly all of them. But something in Sammy, who presents himself as Dane, the penname he uses to write gay erotic romance, attracts James, something that goes beyond the physical attraction. Physical attraction that doesn’t lack, au contraire, when Sammy Dane is alone with James in a bedroom, suddenly he behaves like a tiger, ordering James around, playing a bit the Dominant, arriving also to top James in bed, something James hasn’t yet allowed. I think Sammy Dane feels confident in the confines of a bedroom since he can play all the scenes he writes in his books. And then, Sammy Dane naked is very well endowed, something that he can’t “wear” outside.

This side of Sammy Dane makes him unforgettable to James, and also the fact that the morning after Sammy Dane brushes him off like a less important one night stand. This is the behaviour that usually James has with his lovers, not the way round. I think Sammy Dane shows his insecurity in that way, he feared James’ rejection, and so he went away before it. But to James’ eyes it’s like a challenge, like an invite to pursue him. Outside the bedroom James is the hunter, but inside the bedroom he is the prey.

This is a nice novel, not much complicated and even the “dangerous” sub-plot is not so dangerous to distract the readers from the love story. There are also some aspects that I didn’t understand so much, or maybe the authors decided not to develop them: for example, how likely is that two gay brothers meet two other gay brothers? If this was a fantasy tale, I would have taken it like a fact, but this is a contemporary romance, and there is also an hint to a possible prejudice issue, like when James is in the hospital and Sammy Dane wants to visit him. Probably the author decided not to linger on this side of the story, to weight more on the romance side; after all this is a love story not a social essay, and I don’t think the author meant to give out a message if not the strength of true love.

https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=73

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Director: Edzard Onneken

Writers: Kerstin Österlin (screenplay) &
Jessica Schellack (screenplay)

Release Date: 3 November 2009 (Germany)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Plot: The divorced Katharina Remming lives in an Alpine village in Bavaria. One day she receives from her son Hans, who is a Berlin architecture student, the message that he wants to marry Nicki. Katharina has never seen Nicki and assuming that it is a female name, she falls from the clouds when Nicki turns out to be a man. So far, she has never dealt with homosexuality, and therefore she doesn't know how she should react. Without further ado, she sends Nicki and Hans out of the door.

Both of them go into the village inn and the next morning they are seen by a villager while kissing. Soon the whole village knows that Hans is gay, and all the prejudices of the villagers appear evident. Even Hans' father, Christian, initially doesn't accept the homosexuality of his son. Throughout the film he becomes closer to his ex-wife, Katharina, and sees that their son has found the love of his life and it doesn't matter to them that he is in love with a man.

@IMDb

 

( more pics )

Cast (in credits order)
Andreas Helgi Schmid ... Hans Remminger
Manuel Witting ... Nickolas 'Nicki'
Saskia Vester ... Katharina Remminger
Jürgen Tonkel ... Christian Remminger
Jenny Elvers ... Vera Remminger (as Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen)
Franziska Traub ... Rosi
Johannes Herrschmann ... Alois
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heide Ackermann ... Pensionswirtin
Kerstin Dietrich ... Andrea
Wolfgang Fischer ... Moosleitner (as Wolfi Fischer)
( rest of the cast )

  
Hans & Nicki

Sometime author and readers wonder what could happen “after” an happily ever after, when the passion maybe becomes routine, or when maybe you realize that what probably you thought was something without future, could well be your forever and ever, and well, it scares you.

David and Chris are 4 years old partners and really, everything seems perfect: they love each other, they desire each other, they even commit privately and David is wearing Chris’s ring, even if it’s not legal, it’s binding for them. So, no trouble in Paradise? Apparently, but then Jairo enters David’s life.

Jairo is a young detective and David will have to train him. Jairo is not only beautiful, but also someone who shares way more with David than Chris. I don’t know but I feel like David shelters Chris from his ugly life, and in doing so he is cutting him out. Instead with Jairo he can talk of everything, he can share everything. And when Jairo makes a move on him, at first David is tempted, who will not be? David is stronger than temptation, but he feels guilty all the same, even for a “mental” cheat.

On the other side there is Chris and his clear love for David, a love that pushes him maybe to have an irrational behaviour, like a magnet he attracts and drives back David according to his mood. He has all the right to be angry, and has all the right to question David, but after that, I don’t know, probably he should have been more willing to understand David’s reason, and not maybe the words of a jealous man.

Last Jairo, the third man, the villain in the old romances formula. At first I didn’t like him, but then I started to think, maybe he is really interested in David, it’s not only a question of sex. True Jairo is married and with sons, he is not exactly behaving like a good man, but maybe he had no choice, maybe he is only a former young boy who did what his family, all people around him, expected from him. For sure he can’t be the hero of this novel, and I didn’t expect for Chris to like him, but maybe I understood and comprehended why David likes him.

I like the intake of the author in this story, I like her courage to put in question her pair of heroes, to give us a glimpse of what reality and routing can do to a perfect romance, it made the romance more real. Even in the previous book David and Chris were not an ordinary couple, and their was not a whirlwind romance, au contraire, I think David put on stake a lot for being with Chris, and so it would have been not realistic if everything went smooth like oil between them.

A last note on the cops themed set: it’s not a big boom bam type of story, the crimes David is involved with are dirty and awful, but the author didn’t linger on the awfulness, she just gave you enough details to understand that these are not some unlikely fictional crimes, these are the day-to-day horror of metropolis chronicles.

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=PBLA0002

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L.A. Series:
1) L.A. Heat: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/604942.html
2) L.A. Mischief
3) L.A. Boneyard

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