Posts labeled Book Reviews
Review - Code Name: Liberty by Marshall Thornton
My rating: 
In the summer of 1980, Carter is running for re-election against Ronald Reagan. Iran is holding Americans hostage in Tehran. Twenty-year-old Patrick is waiting tables in a French restaurant at the top of one of Washington, DC’s posh hotels. On a night out at a club, Patrick meets “David,” who claims to be a Persian prince. David really is a prince, and the two have great chemistry, but David makes it clear that he’ll one day have to do his duty, marry a woman and produce heirs.
Review - Damnatio by S.P. Somtow
My rating:
Sporus is on his way to Greece with Nero, after the emperor had the young man’s genitals removed so that he would remain looking forever young, in the image of the Empress Poppaea, whom Nero killed in a fit of rage. The onetime slave may now be Empress of Rome, but in every way that matters, Sporus has less freedom than when he belonged to Petronius. I had thought that this third book would be the final in the series, but there’s now a fourth book announced.
Tags: Ancient Rome Novella
Review - The Ugly Duckling by Sean Michael
My rating:
Brook agrees to a blind date that his old friend set up. His date turns out to be Ducky, one of a group of boys that bullied Brook in high school. They’ve both grown up since then. Brook is no longer the geeky kid, but a ballet dancer. Ducky is apologetic over his bad behavior and the two hit it off in a big way. “The Ugly Duckling” is a very short romance tale about two men finding a connection.
Tags: Fantasy Fairy Tales Novella
Review - Fox of Fox Hall by R. Cooper
My rating:
Fox was orphaned at a young age. Neighboring farmers took him in for a while, but his youth and small size meant he wasn’t much good for farm work, and sooner or later, Fox was just another mouth to feed. So, the youth found himself on his own, but he was clever, had a good ear for music, and an excellent memory for all the popular ballads of the day.
Tags: Fantasy
Review - Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton
My rating:
Onetime child star, now B-list actor Jason wants to escape Hollywood, at least for a little while. He buys a house in the far north of Idaho, but soon after moving in, he sees someone at the window of the guest room over the garage. Fearing a paparazzi, Jason asks the sheriff to investigate, but she can’t find anyone in the room. Perhaps it’s haunted. Ben is no ghost. He’s been trapped inside a snow globe since the eve of the civil war, only able to project himself into the room where the globe is kept.
Tags: Fantasy
Review - The Girl in the Wind by Gregory Ashe
My rating:
Theo and Auggie are back home after being dragged into a murder investigation in the Ozarks. They’re hoping things can get back to normal, but then a girl goes missing on the first day of school, where Theo is a teacher. Auggie was helping the student with her college application project, so both men are concerned about her disappearance. As the pair look into what happened, several clues point back to the Cottonmouth Club, the place at the center of an investigation into drugs and wildlife smuggling.
Tags: Mystery
Review - The Problem With Perfect by Philip William Stover
My rating:
Ethan is the producer of a very popular gay lifestyle show, Myles of Style, starring Chase Myles, a very attractive young man Ethan met in a small cafe. Unfortunately, Ethan has created a bit of a monster with Chase, who treats everyone with disdain and is known for his frequent tantrums on set. It’s only a few weeks until pride and the pressure is on to get all the content filmed for the big day.
Tags: Contemporary
Review - Dragon's Dawn by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes
My rating:
Genya has been raised mostly by his mother. The slightly built young man spends his time having tea with the ladies of the court rather than in the “manly” pursuits preferred by his older brother and father. Genya has learned that it’s better to stay out of his father’s scheming sights. At nineteen years old, it can’t last. Genya expects to be married off one day, but is surprised when his father agrees to a plan by the king’s brother to have Genya wed Prince Mikhail.
Review - The Last Nights of the Frangipani Hotel by Bey Deckard
My rating:
Actor James Talbot is enjoying his vacation at a run-down hotel on a Caribbean island. The resort may have been grand at one time, but the years have taken their toll. Few people stay there these days, especially in the off-season, and that suits James just fine. His solitude is interrupted by the arrival of a guest who takes the cabin right next to James. The guest turns out to be another actor, Rudie, whom James has worked with in the past.
Tags: Novelette Contemporary
Review - The Accidental Master by M.A. Innes
My rating:
Jackson lets his sister talk him into placing a Facebook ad to promote his dog training business. Now, he’s getting emails from men into puppy play, which is not something he’s ever been interested in. He answers most of the messages with polite responses explaining the mixup. One email in particular catches Jackson’s imagination. It’s from two young men who are both submissives into puppy play. They’re in search of a dominant master to take them both under his wing.
Tags: D/s Puppy Play