Tag: Reads

  • B Is For… Book Review – What Dreams May Come


    I’ve just finished reading a YA book by author Beth M. Honeycutt. I’m so glad my friend Rochelle Bradley introduced me because the story What Dreams May Come is very, very sweet. And Ms. Honeycutt is a professional editor, which makes this a very polished read.
    Ellie Cross, our young protagonist, has a frequent dream companion named Gabe. He visits her regularly, appearing as if on cue to commiserate over deep sorrows or share surprising joys. And she can spill her heart to him utterly since there’s no reason for regret or hesitation simply because Gabe isn’t real.
    After all, her mother even paid a therapist to help convince Ellie. So the shy, overlooked girl makes the best of the situation, enjoying this long-lasting companionship as a private sanctuary. If she must keep Gabe’s continued appearance secret from her mother, then so be it. At least someone accepts her without judgment or disappointment.
    I feel that Ellie, however bullied at school, could have easily come across as terribly unappreciative of the good in her life. I mean, things could be so much worse as the young lady herself comes to learn. However, Ms. Honeycutt does a lovely job of balancing over-reactive teenage angst with deep human pain.
    As for escapism, who wouldn’t want their own private guardian angel? And maybe, just maybe, they can take real human form. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
    You can find various retailers with some very reasonable prices here:
    –

  • A Flash Fiction for Your Tuesday, by Darla

    The Revival

    “It’s a little inappropriate for you to be acting cute, isn’t it?”
    Stella jolted.  “What?!”
    Drew nodded toward the umbrella on the passenger seat.  Knuckles white on the steering wheel, his narrowing eyes froze her from the rearview mirror.
    “You think it’s cuteto run around in the rain?”
    “Only my bangs got wet.  See?  Hood.”
    “You need to take better care as a future mother,” he demanded, not laughing.  “Seatbelt.”
    Grateful to break eye contact, Stella complied.  She didn’t understand why he made her ride in the back tonight.  She wasn’t pregnant yet.
    And I don’t want to be pregnant now.  We agreed to wait.
    She thought of his new church.  Too busy with her job, Stella had never attended.  That was changing tonight.  Up to this point, she had only seen a few congregants visiting Drew when she came home late from work.  Only one couple stayed for introductions.
    The woman, Marie, acted almost manic about her upcoming childbirth.  Marie’s husband, eyes traversing Stella’s trim torso with tight lipped discernment, guided Marie past and out the door.  He ignored Stella’s farewell.
    Wanting to ask what the men discussed, Stella joked about the couple.  Her remark about a “Stepford wife” earned Drew’s glower.
    That night he convinced Stella to make love despite her fatigue and consternation.  Stella would not have called it truly lovemaking.  The pattern persisted, intimacy evolving into cold coupling when she acquiesced.
    This night, watching street lights flash across clasped hands, Stella tried to remember when Drew first started acting odd.  His finding a church had not been surprising.  The newlyweds fresh out of college joked about his search for spiritual enlightenment.  But he’d respected Stella’s interest in establishing an IT consulting career.
    She planned to work from home after establishing clientele.  First, they needed a home.  Their apartment’s small second bedroom barely contained her desk and files.  And her ambition required laying groundwork, solidifying big business contacts which sometimes required late night schmoozing.
    Parenthood will have to wait.
    The car stopped at a red light.  She glanced up.  Drew’s stare caused her to look toward the window.
    “You really like this church,” she remarked with false levity toward her pale reflection.  “Will Marie and her husband…?”
    “Robert.”
    She closed her eyes.  “Yes.  Robert.  Will they be there?”
    “Of course.  They wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
    “What?”
    “The Wednesday revival.”
    “Oh.  Is that what this is?”
    “That’s what I told you,” Drew rumbled.
    Stella’s eyebrows shot up, her mouth opening.  Before any snide comment emerged about how he’d told her nothing until now, she rolled her lips between her teeth and gently bit down.  Disagreement these days only deepened the chill wafting from her once-lighthearted spouse.
    The car stopped and Stella made sure Drew had it in park so as not to receive further rebuke before unbuckling her safety belt.  Nothing happened when she pulled the door handle.
    “Drew, do you have the child locks on the doors?”
    “Safety first, Stella,” Drew remarked, turned away as he exited the driver side, “We wouldn’t want you falling out of a moving vehicle and hurting yourself.”
    His door slammed shut and Stella’s throat constricted.  Waiting for Drew to come around and open her door, she attempted to stretch her legs in the cramped space.  As crazy as it all seemed, running seemed like an excellent idea.
    But Drew didn’t come around the car.  He held a hand out behind his back, not even offering her a glance as his palm indicated she should wait.
    What the heck?
    Several young men opened the door of the weatherworn building as Drew approached.  Wearing wide grins, several patted him on the back.  Stella could make out nothing beyond the crowded doorway.  Then a trio stepped out into the New York City rain alongside Drew.  The rest retreated, and Stella thought she heard applause before the door closed.
    Droplets sparkled in the hair of all four men, stained glass windows casting a glow in primary colors.  Stella noticed with absurd clarity how one held a closed umbrella.
    How chivalrous.
    Swallowing a snort, she yelped when Drew opened the door and two strangers blocked her escape.  One reached for her arm.  Robert and Drew stood silent.  Stella scrambled away, turning, only to back herself against the other locked door.  She rattled the handle, her efforts impotent.
    The word “impotent” actually popping into her panicked mind, Stella let out a sound indistinguishable between a laugh and a yelp.  The leering male leaning in appeared anything but that.  She tried to kick his groin.  He only got a vice grip on her advancing right ankle.
    God, let him be left-handed, Stella begged, her fear making the absurd wish seem logical.
    Crying out to Drew, Stella felt something snap in her right hip when the assailant yanked.  Suffering only a few minor forearm impacts, he grunted and stilled her flailing leg.  Gaze finding her husband, she saw only excitement in his feverish eyes and bared teeth.  Her grip on the door handle gave way as her lower body dropped and the attempt hyper-extended her left shoulder.
    At least I’m right handed, she thought.  I can still punch him where it hurts.
    Then Stella landed on the pavement.  The impact caused an explosion of stars before her vision and forced the air from her lungs, preventing her scream.  Drew stepped aside for an old woman.  She bent bearing a handkerchief, an acrid smell assaulting Stella’s nostrils even as she noticed the Bible in the other gnarled hand.
    “Don’t cry,” a woman soothed through spinning darkness.
    “Marie,” Stella croaked, hip and shoulder throbbing above overall achiness.  “Help.”
    “You’re fine, Sister Stella.  Stay still.  The drugs will wear off soon.”
    Stella tried to sit but the world twisted.  Bile rose in her throat.
    “Mother Montgomery didn’t want you hurting yourself or any potential fathers.”
    Stella heaved until emptied.  She shuddered at that consideration.
    Am I empty?
    “It’s a blessed calling.”
    “Calling?”
    “We’re here to revive the church.”
    –

  • Darla’s Recommended Read: The Sound of Many Waters

    Do you enjoy novels that take you on a mysterious, extraordinary journey?  If so, Sean Bloomfield’s first publication is one you definitely want to pick up.  While written in an intelligent way still easy enough to follow without causing brain freeze, this particular trip takes the reader over land and sea, back and forth in time, and even into the human soul.

    I must say it was known to me from the time of download that, unlike many of my Kindle e-books, this plot is not about romance.  Don’t expect to read some simple story about soul mates overcoming all odds to be together.  What you will find in this plot, however, is lots of heart.

    “The Sound of Many Waters” follows two stories through amazing twists and turns, ultimately converging in a way virtually impossible to foresee.  If anyone out there guessed the ending, you have my utmost respect.
    The two tales are intertwined by Spanish gold – one following a Spanish Conquistador who loses everything but begins reclaiming his humanity and the other tracking a modern day fellow with a good heart and extremely rotten luck.  Whether or not you particularly like these very human men, you cannot help being riveted by their ensuing trials, tribulations, and intermittent triumphs.  And the people they meet along the way are entirely tangible, however fantastic or humble his or her role might be.
    I implore you to check out “The Sound of Many Waters”, the first book in many months that I plan to re-read from start to finish.  There is so much delightful symbolism that I want to journey with these characters again, especially knowing what I know now.  And I hope to get friends and family hooked into the tale, with hope of sharing my experience.

    To read the author’s own synopsis, learn more about him, and find a link through which to purchase “The Sound of Many Waters,” please go to SeanBloomfield.com – The Sound of Many Watersand poke around.  You’ll be glad you did.  Happy reading!

  • Writer Wednesday – A Line From “Life After Joe”

    Yesterday I finished devouring a gay romance by British author Harper Fox.  She’s a writer of M/M erotica whose work I only just discovered but find stirring on multiple levels.  As you can guess by the title of this post, I would like to quote a line from her title “Life After Joe”.

    I kissed him, lightly but with a shudder of fervour across my spine, as if I had wings that were trying to unfurl.

    This could easily continue as a review of the book.  Instead, I want to share what this line inspires in me as a writer.

    Adoring the idea of romantic relationships between men, I try to offer that feeling through my storytelling.  Yet, in retrospect of reading Ms. Fox’s line, perhaps my methods are too clinical.  Now I feel challenged to experiment with more emotive descriptions, even sprinkling in a line or two that some might consider flowery.

    After all, a guy should be allowed to think in a baroque way once in a while, even if he’d feel cheesy expressing the words.  Wish me luck in convincing “my” men.

    Please check out Amazon’s Harper Fox Page  And happy writing!

  • Free Reads

    Lately I’ve found myself gobbling up most everything slashy male on male written by Jet Mykles. Yesterday, I discovered her website features a stash of free stories, many a click away on the website Fiction with Friction.

    While it is not family or work safe, I thought I’d plug her free reads today. If you like hot m/m action, check her out! In addition, you can read an interview she kindly granted me for the Nightlight blog here: Nightlight Featuring Jet Mykles

    Jet Mykles Free Reads

    Happy reading!

  • Essential Ingredients

    I had an irresistible urge to re-read The School of Essential Ingedients by Erica Bauermeister today. The story follows several characters who take a cooking class in vivid detail. While each individual character’s story is perhaps too short to be truly satisfying, I can’t help but sink into the world that Bauermeister creates. Every page is a feast for the senses – tastes and sounds and smells and touches so clearly drawn that you cannot help but feel like you’re in the same room as the characters.

    Now, I love food. I’m not always very adventurous in terms of what I actually eat, but there is almost nothing I enjoy more than sitting around a table with friends and family and diving into a really great meal, from appetizers through dessert. So of course I love a book that’s all about the ways food can evoke and create memories and really shape our lives.
    What drew me to The School of Essential Ingredients today, though, was not so much the food, but the author’s ability to make me taste it and feel it. The language isn’t especially complex, the word choices are plain language rather than literary extravaganzas mined from a thesaurus. But each sentence is carefully crafted and fitted to its place in the story.
    Sometimes I need to remember that. That it’s not always about word count or productivity, but about the craft itself, about making the words on the page really count.

  • Book Review of “Kelland”

    Just hours ago I finished the novel “Kelland” by Paul G. Bens, Jr. I’m still sorry it’s over, actually.

    I would call the book a drama first, with minor supernatural elements. The biggest of these is, who is Kelland? Man? Woman? Child? Lover? Priest?

    Kelland is all these things, depending upon what the interacting character needs for his or her part to play out. I honestly don’t even know what Mr. Bens would say Kelland actually is! Angel? Devil?

    All I can say for sure is that I was drawn into the stories of the five main characters from the start. It didn’t matter that the vignettes jumped back and forth through time and from person to person. Never once did I feel at a loss from beginning to end. Rather, this reader loathed putting the title down. At the same time, I could do so and come back to where I left off without confusion setting in.

    There is a dark side to each of the story threads, and they culminate into something any reasonable human being will find sadly disturbing and downright infuriating. But rather than being a depressing tale, I found in “Kelland” an exultant scope of hope and redemption. It’s a story of forgiveness.

    If you’re looking for pirates, ghosts, or lots of steamy sex scenes, don’t buy this book. If, instead, you want to read compelling drama about believable people in real situations, “Kelland” just might be for you. I appreciated all 250 pages and wanted more when they ended, so I would definitely recommend this for the reader willing to walk down those twisting alleys of the human psyche.

  • A bit of fiction to see you through another Tuesday…

    Penny for Your Thoughts

    “What are you thinking?”

    Oh, he would ask that. Robert stressed the importance of honesty in our relationship, regardless of how painful the truth could be. I decided to offer him a not-so-subtle cue, giving him a chance to retract the question.

    “Are you sure you want to know?”

    “Penny, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”

    “All right. I was thinking how the ocean matches Trey’s eyes.”

    “Oh.”

    He said nothing more, for which I was grateful. A part of me had wanted him to know, I realized. I didn’t want an argument, nor did hurting Robert appeal to me, but Trey’s presence in my thoughts deserved recognition. At least I’d spared Robert the details.

    I couldn’t help but envision what came to mind, though. Half a world away from Robert’s and my Villa on the Mediterranean Sea, certain bed sheets emphasized this particular aquamarine. Candlelight even caused those facets to sparkle like the sun on restive waters.

    The continuing silence hung as uneasily as a shredded flag. I didn’t know how to dispel my apathy, which had become palpable long before I met Trey Stone. Robert and I had come here in a last ditch effort to blow some life into the dying embers of our marriage.

    I’d agreed to this trip with the same lack of enthusiasm that I brought into everything these days. Since breaking off my relationship with Trey, nothing seemed worthwhile. Even work at the veterinary clinic, however rewarding, failed to engage me.

    It didn’t matter that Trey wasn’t human. My heart didn’t care that his lifelong career centered upon torturing mankind. In fact, that’s how I met my daemon, assigned to torment my mafia enforcer of a spouse.

    The villa’s private pool rippled in a sudden gust and my hat flew off in the next instant as the same puff of wind reached my seat. Robert laughed humorlessly and surged from his chair.

    “I’ll get it, Penny,” he offered. “I don’t want the sun to freckle that delicate complexion of yours or for you to spill your drink.”

    What would have sounded like a compliment in another era struck me as a criticism of my Irish roots today. Robert appeared bronze, only slightly more on holiday than back home. It was his Israeli heritage, olive skin and piercing eyes above a hawk-like nose, that first attracted me. Overlaying his masculine form, Trey’s willowy figure appeared in my mind’s eye. My face flushed with the recall of my hands appearing almost dark against the pearl luminescence of milk-smooth skin.

    Not really caring, I wondered if Robert would take the blood tingling my cheeks as a result of too much afternoon heat. Fairly soon, I planned on taking my customary afternoon siesta beneath the lazy spin of a ceiling fan.

    “In fact,” I mumbled under my breath, “better late than never.”

    More loudly, I thanked my husband for the return of my hat. Proud of myself, I kept the words free of bitter irony when Robert’s big hand smashed the article on my head, flattening my hair. He never had been gentle. I placed my unfinished cocktail on a poolside table.

    “Time for your beauty rest, eh? I’ll join you in an hour or so.”

    I knew Robert planned on waking me to make love, if that’s what one could call our mating. My husband took and I gave in his brutish idea of matrimonial bonding.

    Whereas Robert considered the act his right upon my body, Trey had taught me the beauty and joy of sharing one another. Those days were gone, though, ended because continuing would have resulted in his banishment from Hell.

    Trey didn’t belong anywhere else, despite his protests. And neither did I, apparently, deserve anything different than the purgatory of life as the wife of a serial killer. Perhaps I was paying for sins from a past life. Either way, this one held enough merit that I didn’t want to risk it by trying to escape.

    Dire thoughts aside, I dropped my beach bag with an almost contented sigh. The air in the room, warm and balmy, carried a nice fragrance. The piquant odor proved illusive. I couldn’t place the scent, redolent of neither the exotic flowers on the nightstand nor the humid sea.

    What was it?

    I almost identified the oddly familiar fragrance as I stripped off my loose caftan and prepared to lie naked on the lush bed. Trey? Yes, only different, somehow.

    Lying back, I thought that I had surely drunk myself into this olfactory hallucination. Then the wall to my right began to shimmer.

    White sparkles appeared. I rubbed my eyes, promising myself to cut out the afternoon beverages.

    I scrubbed my face hard. This had to be a dream. Feathers winged the ceiling from a background of sparks, a familiar face as pallid as parchment bent toward me with a benign smile.

    “Penny?”

    “Yes,” I answered, feeling stupid.

    “It’s Trey. Well, Treylek, now. I forsook my duties. Come to heaven with me.”

    “Home?”

    “Yes. You’re forgiven. The marriage is absolved. ‘Until death do you part’ is no longer an obstacle. Gabe finished my work.”

    I willed my ivory wings to spread, relieved to feel them after so long playing as human. Home. Love. Treylek.

    “I’m ready.”

    ~The End~

  • Review of ‘Dark Desires after Dusk’

    I recently finished Kresley Cole’s novel, ‘Dark Desires after Dusk’. It is one of her ‘Immortals after Dark’ series. I found it a different take on the often cliched paranormal romance novels that are so popular at the moment.

    In the tradition of all good romance novels, Ms. Cole offers us a young, beautiful heroine, Holly Ashwin. The author ups the ante though by giving our young lady an unusual quirk, Obsessive Compulsive Disease. We find her constantly counting everything around her and arranging them into groups of three. She also finds herself helpless when it comes to leaving a room unorganized. As part of the story, she and the hero stay in a string of hotel rooms and she is compelled to rearrange the furniture in each and every one of them; placing lamps in the exact center of the bedside tables and aligning the phone, and its cord perfectly against the wall before she can rest. The author manages to make Holly’s faults endearing, not poking fun at her or making her into a caricature.

    Our hero fares just as well in Ms. Cole’s hands. He is everything a girl could want; a bad boy with a good heart. Cadeon is a brutally handsome demon, a mercenary with a guilty past. He holds himself responsible for the loss of his brother’s throne, the one thing he cannot forgive himself for. Until fate sends him a chance at redemption, in the form of our heroine. He has fallen in love with Holly from afar, watching her, wanting her, yet aware that it is forbidden for a demon to marry a mortal. Cadeon’s current assignment is to deliver Holly to a dark wizard in exchange for a magical sword, the only thing that can help him regain his brother’s kingdom. Torn between love, lust and duty, he struggles with his conscience. He jealously protects her as they travel towards the wizard’s fortress, all the while wondering if he’ll be able to give her up, even for the sake of his brother and their tortured subjects.

    The universe the author has built around these characters is well drawn and detailed. She manages to weave witches, vampires, werewolves and more legendary creatures into her stories, yet keep them believeable, even while they coexist with humans in our current timeline. Many of the characters from her other books show up in this book. It’s good to see them again and renew old friendships.

    Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read. I found it difficult to put down, even giving up sleep to see what happened next. I can’t wait to get the next book in the series!

  • A Gentleman’s Wager by Madelynne Ellis

    A Gentleman's Wager (Black Lace) A Gentleman’s Wager is about the pains and pleasures of the regency period, set in the countryside during the winter season. The three main characters are: Bella, the flamboyant and exciting country lady; Lucerne, the bright young city landowner who refurbishes his country estate; and Vaughan, the dark and dangerous Marquis. Bella and Vaughan both desire Lucerne, doing their best to seduce him away from the other’s affections.

    This book is, in a word, brilliant. It totally captivated me. A great example of what erotica should be – elegant yet depraved and utterly, deliciously morish. I deeply enjoyed the characters, all maintaining their unique personalities throughout and developing as well, which I was delighted with. The dialogue was wonderful and not too Jane Austin yet convincingly of the period. And, oh, the sex scenes was perfect. Some detailed, some blurred, it was masterful the way Madelynne Ellis knew which to use when, not one being cringe-worthy.

    Unfortunately, the plot was a little too watery and cliché for me to appreciate. As told in the title, the plot device is a bet between two men – a minor character Charles Aubrey and the wicked Vaughan – who wager on Vaughan’s ability to bed Louisa (Bella’s prudish best friend) and Bella. Countless books and movies have used this, and I was disappointed when I came to it but happily it didn’t detract to much pleasure from the rest of the novel.

    There were also a few place that could have done with a little more research, such as what was eaten during the regency era. Sadly, Madelynne Ellis skims over most meals which is regrettable, as it could have enhanced the experience.

    Overall, as I said, brilliant. If only the plot had more care, it would have reached five-stars. I have high hopes for Ellis’ sequel, Phantasmagoria and I will be on the look out for more works from this author. I give this book 4 out of 5.