Posts labeled Book Reviews
Review - Calamity by Toshi Drake
My rating:
The Padua's xenobiologist Damon Wild is on his way to a planet where he hopes to plant some saplings he has been cultivating. Unfortunately, the Siwa pirates still won't leave anyone associated with the Padua alone and attack his shuttle. Damon crashes on a small planet and loses most of his memories from a blow to his head. To make matters worse, the planet appears to be on the brink of a global volcanic catastrophe.
Tags: Science Fiction
Review - The Blacksmith's Apprentice by Bey Deckard
My rating:
Village blacksmith Eyck is a big, muscular guy, but he's really a gentle and kind-hearted man who thinks the caste system is outdated. When he sees a low-caste slave being brutally beaten, he has to intervene. He ends up buying the slave and tells the mute teen boy he's free, but the frightened teenager runs away in the night. Five years later, the young man, now grown up and calling himself Wex, show up asking to be Eyck's apprentice.
Tags: Science Fiction Fantasy
Review - Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
My rating:
Prince Kiem enjoys the life of a royal, even if some of his more outrageous behavior sends the emperor into displeasure. When the emperor summons the Prince this time, it's not for another dressing down. It's to announce that Kiem will be marrying Count Jainan, the recently widowed husband of Kiem's cousin Taam. The marriage is necessary to maintain the fragile alliance between the empire and the vassal planet Thea.
Tags: Science Fiction Mystery
Review - Hybrid Incubator by Meraki P. Dark
My rating:
Alex has been an avid ecologist since he was a young boy picking up trash in the woods that people carelessly discarded. Unfortunately, even with a doctorate in environmental science, his passion doesn't pay the bills. After another fruitless day of interviewing for jobs he is over-qualified for, Alex feels the need for a drink. Slightly drunk, he agrees to a road trip with another patron who is also a bit down on his luck.
Tags: Kidnapped by Aliens Science Fiction Non Consensual M-preg
Review - The Cricketer's Arms by Garrick Jones
My rating:
WWII Army veteran Clyde Smith quit the Sydney police force three months ago so he wouldn't have to put with the corruption that meant he didn't know who he could trust. He's making a modest living as a freelance journalist and private investigator. One day his ex-partner, and former lover, Sam, shows up with news of a strange murder that someone seems to want Clyde's help solving. As Clyde digs into the investigation, he uncovers a complex web entangling gay men, the Italian mob, drugs, and match-fixing.
Tags: Private Eyes Australia Crime
Review - Mind Controlling the Brute by Adara Wolf & R. Phoenix
My rating:
Bruce engages in a lot of manly outdoor sports, so he's a big strapping fellow. Big everywhere, apparently. His mother is trying to marry him off to a well-off lady, which is the thing to do. However, it doesn't help his prospects that his family is on the verge of bankruptcy, and everyone seems to know it. At one of those parties where he's supposed to woo one of those women, Bruce spots Saville.
Tags: Non Consensual Fantasy Short
Review - From the Noblest Motives by Angel Martinez
My rating:
Damien and Blaze are back on the trail of the remaining children who went missing from a Variant school after a new lead comes in. Unfortunately, the trail Damien picks up suddenly disappears. Just as the two are deciding whether or not to quit the search, news comes that their friend and Variant rights activist Shudder has been arrested. His capture and show trial sets off a chain of events that reunites the three men but also places them firmly in the eye of a storm brewing around their rights.
Tags: Science Fiction
Review - The Uses of Illicit Art by Wendy Palmer
My rating:
Kit is an Artisan, a person with magical powers. His rather unusual gift is locks. He can open almost any door, safe, or vault. After he registered with the Artisan's Guild, which is supposed to protect him, his information was leaked, and the young man became the target of unsavory characters that coerced Kit into helping them with their illegal activities. Of course, that got him into trouble with the very guild that was supposed to keep him safe, so now he's in hiding.
Tags: Fantasy Magic Victorian Era Nineteenth Century Queer
Review - The Consort by J. Warren
My rating:
James Van Ryan is one of the hottest porn stars on Earth as well as its far-flung colonies across the galaxy. He's had a long and lucrative career, but his manager warns him that changes in technology as well as industry fickleness means that his amuse-by date is rapidly approaching. So when the love-struck ruler of a planet on the outer rim makes a proposal to James to be his consort, it seems like the best option.
Tags: Science Fiction
Review - Cold Snap by Sam Clover
My rating:
Although only 20 years old, Iddy has already lived on the streets for several years. He ran away from home when his parents decided he was not the kind of child they expected and tried to have him institutionalized. Iddy has learned to survive, but it's not safe on the streets right now. The weather has turned extremely cold, and someone, or something, is murdering homeless people. Not just killing them but tearing them apart.
Tags: Paranormal Shifters