Posts rated 2 stars
Review - Obsexsion by Matt Converse
My rating: 
Michael has retired his “Matt Jaxx” stripper persona and now lives in domestic bliss with his boyfriend Justin. But life isn’t perfect. Michael is still plagued by nightmares of the deranged stalker he dubbed “The Creeper”. He just has to console himself that his attacker is safely behind bars. When Justin gets a gig modeling in Paris for six months, both men wonder what it means for their budding relationship, but agree it’s too good an opportunity for Justin to pass up.
Tags: Thriller
Review - Hell to Pay by Zen DiPietro
My rating:
Cabot Layne and his unlikely team just seem to keep getting sucked deeper into their involvement with the Planetary Alliance (PAC) as everyone seeks to avoid the impeding conflict with the invading Barony coalition. The situation makes for unlikely bedfellows, such as the PAC and notorious crime boss Ditnya Caine. While “Hell to Pay” still features the finely tuned writing of this series, it doesn’t really advance the story or the characters very far.
Tags: Science Fiction
Review - Ganymede: Abducted by the Gods by Wendy Rathbone
My rating:
In Greek mythology, Ganymede was a young man or boy born in the area that would become Troy. He was supposedly so beautiful that the god Zeus, chief among all the immortals, kidnaps and brings Ganymede to Olympus to serve as his cup-bearer and become immortal himself. This retelling of the classic story is given from Ganymede’s point of view, and puts a science fiction spin on the tale. Although not original, the idea that the gods of Greek mythology were aliens from a technologically advanced civilization is still well played.
Tags: Ancient Greece Myth Science Fiction
Review - Hunter & Hunted by Zoe Perdita
My rating:
Spence has been living on the streets for six months. He’s not exactly homeless, Spence walked away from his privileged life with rich parents who haven’t even realized he is gone. He is surviving, barely, when he has an encounter with a sexual predator who like to prey on homeless gay boys who have no legal recourse. Although Spence probably doesn’t really need rescuing, Hunter intercedes with the predator, who he has been trying to corner.
Tags: Fantasy Superheroes
Review - Stay With Me by A.L. Lamb
My rating:
Curtis is a thirty-something bear-ish fellow who works in a bank. One day, on a lunch break, he spots a waiter in a local Asian restaurant. The younger man, Joseph, fascinates Curtis and he returns repeatedly to the restaurant just to see him. He can tell that Joseph is troubled, but it takes him a while to strike up a conversation, and even longer to ask Joseph out on date.
Tags: Novelette
Review - Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure
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The planet of Valchondria was once great. They sent people out among the stars to colonize other worlds, but then they turned inward and forgot about their former glory. An engineered virus has eliminated most diseases, but there’s nothing much to live fore. An ever more oppressive regime seeks to remove every perceived source of differences between people, attempting to turn the population into docile sheep. However, some of these sheep are not so docile, such as the scientist Taldra, who wants to bring back the glory days of Valchondria by returning to space.
Review - Penetration Fascination
My rating:
Snow is a hardened denizen of the town of Westgate, a place that makes the old “wild west” look tame. He is a thief, con man, and when necessary a murderer, but that just makes him an average citizen in this town. While Show usually just looks after himself, young newcomer Erin catches his eye, and when the boy is about to be robbed and raped, he steps in to save the day.
Review - Lord and Master
My rating:
This review originally appeared in a slightly different form at BDSM Book Reviews. Reynold, the next Duke of Wilton, is very attached to his young lover and submissive sex slave, Lord David Litchfield, but the lad is immature and becomes jealous of Reynold’s friendship with Lord John. The suspicion erupts more than once in a public argument, so to avoid scandal Lord Reynold buys a commission in the army and leaves for the Americas, where revolution is brewing.
Tags: Eighteenth Century Historical BDSM
Review - Achilles: A Love Story
My rating:
This review was originally written for the Speak Its Name web site: The Greek era has always been one of my favorites for historical romance. Perhaps it’s because Mary Ranault’s Alexander books were the first historical novels with a gay bent I ever read, or maybe it’s just because it was a time when love between men was not only accepted, but almost expected. So I had high, perhaps unreasonable, hopes when offered “Achilles: A Love Story”.
Tags: Historical Ancient Greece
Review: Transgressions
My rating:
I’ve always enjoyed Erastes work, especially Mere Mortals, which was the last of her works I read. Unfortunately, Transgressions failed to capture my imagination. There’s nothing I can put my finger on as to why the book didn’t do it for me, and it’s probably not any one thing. This is a much longer work than most of Erastes’ books, and it does move along rather slowly in the beginning, as her books do.