Featuring the White Queen and Red Knight from Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There,” this erotic short story by Jaye Valentine incorporates Carrollian elements of nonsensical comparison and White Queen-specific time distortions, all wrapped up in a pretty, gender-bending package.
March was a relatively productive reading month with two exceptional stories, The Summer Between by Andrew Binks and The Decade of Blind Dates by Richard Alther. I also read and reviewed the latest installment of Andrew Grey’s Love Means Series, Love Means … No Boundaries and a sweet western/cowboy m/m romance by Leiland Dale entitled, When The Blue Bird Calls.
Love Means … No Boundaries by Andrew Grey (Dreamspinner Press) – Read Review
The Summer Between by Andrew Binks (Nightwood Editions/ Harbour Publishing) – Read Review
When The Blue Bird Calls by Leiland Dale (Silver Publishing) – Read Review
The Decade of Blind Dates by Richard Alther (Lethe Press) – Read Review
Peter Bauman, a forty-five-year-old divorced gay painter, plunges into the personal ads just prior to the Internet in his quest for the perfect partner.
He dates a colorful cast of characters from a Connecticut physician, a rabid Republican, to a Texas-two-stepping, tattooed punk. Next there’s the heavier-than-advertised geek who arrives with a bag of sex toys, but Peter is more serious with a handsome, stern Maine woodsman, followed by a British aristocrat patron who declines further intimacy because of his AIDS.
As Peter negotiates his new gay identity, his best friend, Barry, counsels and supports him at every step, especially as Peter deals with a health crisis. During a decade of sex and shenanigans, Peter, encouraged by his ex-wife, daughter, and son, examines his life and, at last, discovers his soul mate.
Devon Reid, veterinarian, had a partner of two years, a beautiful house, and a fantastic job. Then, life as he knew it, changed. Six months ago, he became his mother’s sole caretaker when her cancer returned. With his constant absence from home, his relationship ends leaving him alone in one of the most emotionally draining points in his life. When his mother passes, he is lonely and loses his zest for life. With his emotions and life in turmoil, Devon decides it’s time to make a change.
Leaving the city life behind and taking a job in a small town in Montana, was just what the doctor ordered. Then, he meets the hunky ranch foreman, Greg Elliot. Greg has lived most of his life on a ranch. Living in a small town didn’t offer many prospects for a relationship, until he meets the new veterinarian in town.
While they try to resist the obvious mutual attraction, a fateful call during the night changes it all. What is a city boy to do when a small town cowboy ropes him in?
Like his attempts to swim over the dark water of the river that lies between him and the object of his affections, twelve-year-old Dougaldo Montmigny struggles against oppression, homophobia and racism to realise his love for Tomahawk Clark, a thirteen-year-old Métis boy, during a summer destined to become a painful lesson on love and desire.
Joey Sutherland has found a home with Geoff Laughton and his partner, Eli, living and working at the farm that has become a refuge after a motorcycle accident left him with a scarred face and a lot of insecurities. When Geoff’s aunt Mari convinces them to take in a musician from the National Youth Symphony, Joey is reluctantly roped into picking him up, already anticipating the disgust he’ll see on the man’s face.
But Robert Edward Jameson surprises him: he’s outgoing and friendly, he’s willing to try just about anything around the farm, and he’s blind, which goes a long way toward easing Joey’s nerves.
Joey and Robbie become inseparable and discover the beginnings of love. But summer is coming to an end, and Robbie will return to his home in Mississippi, where his family and servants see to everything he could want or need. Joey can only hope Robbie will take a chance on love and escape the boundaries that have shaped his sightless life.
Despite an extremely busy period at work I did manage to do a bit of reading over the months of January and February with a mix of books from some new and familiar authors and a reread of a beloved anthology.
Fool for Love: New Gay Fiction by editors Timothy J. Lambert and R.D. Cochrane (Cleis Press) – Read Review
The Best Gift by Shawn Lane (Amber Quill Press/Amber Allure) – Read Review
Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing: Adrien English Mysteries (Books 1 and 2) by Josh Lanyon (Loose Id) – Read Review
The Hell You Say: Adrien English Mysteries (Book 3) by Josh Lanyon (Loose Id) – Read Review
Death of a Pirate King: Adrien English Mysteries (Book 4) by Josh Lanyon (Loose Id) – Read Review
The Dark Tide: Adrien English Mysteries (Book 5) by Josh Lanyon (Loose Id) – Read Review
Between Brothers by J.M. Snyder (JMS Books) – Read Review
Firecracker by Jaye Valentine (Noble Romance Publishing) – Read Review
Myth has it that Adrien’s art deco period building houses more than his bookstore and flat in the form of an unsolved mystery – the disappearance of 1950s jazz musician Jay Stevens. But myth becomes stark reality when construction workers find a skeleton beneath the floorboards during the renovation of Adrien’s bookstore, and all evidence points to the fact that these remains are those of Jay Stevens and that he was murdered some fifty years ago. To further complicate matters, someone has been trying to break into Adrien’s building pointing to the probability that the murder and attempted nightly intrusions are somehow linked.
While the LAPD does show up to investigate, their resources are stretched and focused on current, rather than half a century old cold cases. But the nightly intrusions continue and Adrien is compelled to do something about the mystery himself since the LAPD is lukewarm on the matter. Adrien hires Jake who has quit the force and struck out on his own as a private investigator. Adrien and Jake once again become sleuthing partners, but the mystery is not the only thing that needs resolving. They quickly realize that they must come to terms with the many issues left hanging in their relationship all the while trying to not get themselves killed as they investigate the murder.
Issac Lang is deeply in love with his live-in life-partner, Baltimore City police officer Jeff Taylor, and has a serious kink for risky role-play sex with strangers. Jeff finds Isaac’s wild ways incredibly hot, and he’s more than willing to help facilitate Isaac’s lustful cravings.
Jeff trusts Isaac to be emotionally faithful despite the sexual experimentation, and Isaac trusts Jeff to watch his back and keep him safe from harm. Not a lifestyle everyone might aspire to or could successfully manage, but Isaac and Jeff make their quest for kink work to keep the sparks flying in their relationship.
Adrien English has finally received some recognition for his writing and his book “Murder Will Out” has been optioned by Hollywood actor Paul Kane. As a result, Adrien finds himself at a Tinseltown luncheon with all sorts of Hollywood types. Not his usual crowd, but because there are plans to turn his book into a movie he’s making a concerted effort. During the luncheon, Adrien is seated next to movie financier Porter Jones and forced to endure Porter’s self-absorbed conversation on deep-sea fishing. But when Porter Jones drops dead face down in his soup, Adrien once again finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Adrien receives another jolt when the LAPD shows up and he comes face-to-face with his former lover – Jake Riordan. Now a lieutenant, Jake arrives with an ambitious young dick named Alonzo. As they begin questioning the guests, it becomes apparent that Adrien has been singled-out as a person of interest. Adrien’s connection to Porter’s death is completely circumstantial but with forensic results pointing to murder detective Alonzo remains suspicious. With Jake’s concurrence Adrien is solicited to put his sleuthing skills to work by asking a few questions of the possible suspects. This throws Adrien and Jake together once again working to solve the crime, much to the displeasure of Adrien’s boyfriend Guy. But little does anyone know that bringing Adrien and Jake together to investigate the murder is all part of the master plan.
Indie Reviews 