Posts labeled Novella
Review - Too Hot to Handle by Ruby Jones
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In a future when androids are sentient individuals, no longer the property of humans, someone is introducing a virus that essentially forces an infected android to sexually service a human or die. Police detective Carter is forced to team up with a former android partner, Evan, to investigate the problem. Carter never liked the idea of an android doing his job, but he has to admit Evan is very good at it.
Tags: Novella Science Fiction
Review - The Father by Jay L. North
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Oliver was orphaned at a young age and raised by a disinterested aunt. He’s never really felt like he belonged. Then he joined a church where he met Clara and fell in love. The two decide to get married, but the church requires couples to undergo a two-week initiation course to ensure “compatibility” before getting married. Oliver is nervous, but not too worried. He’s had nothing but positive experiences with the church.
Review - Memoriae by S.P. Somtow
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Note: Due to a health issue, the author published the third book of this trilogy in two parts. This is the review of the second part, titled “Memoriae.” If you haven’t read the first part yet, the completed third book can be purchased as a single volume titled “Damnatio Memoriae.” Sporus and Nero return to Rome from their trip to Greece, but Sporus knows that Nero’s days as emperor are numbered.
Tags: Ancient Rome Novella
Review - Uncle by Jay L. North
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College student Ben has been sharing his basement living space of his mother’s house with his Uncle Dev while the man’s flat is being renovated. Dev has been a father figure for Ben since his own father left, but with the closeness of sharing a space, the young man is developing an altogether different kind of feeling for his uncle. Ben keeps telling himself such feelings are wrong, but somehow that just makes them more exciting.
Review - Starry Nights by Julian Archer
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Jamal spots Xavier across a crowded room at the opening of an exhibition of Xavier’s paintings. Both men feel irresistibly drawn to each other, and it’s the start of a serious relationship. Can they withstand the pressures that will try to pull them apart? Sadly, this short novella feels like the outline of a story with a few sample paragraphs instead of a finished work. The writing that’s there is good, but it’s very disjointed.
Tags: Contemporary Novella
Review - My Name Is Jimmy by Garrick Jones
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Australian Jimmy and his best friend, Sandy, grew up together and are closer than brothers. At the start of World War II, the two enlisted. Jimmy got sent to Ceylon and then on to India and Southeast Asia. Sandy is posted to Darwin but then killed in the first big Japanese bombing in February 1942. After the war, Jimmy goes to Darwin to find out what happened to his friend.
Review - The Prince's Dearest Guards by Beau Van Dalen
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Prince Hal is celebrating his 21st birthday, although he doesn’t feel much like enjoying the party. The Prince is desperate to lose his virginity. That will probably have to wait, since tradition requires Hal to go on a hunt with his two newly appointed personal guards. When Hal meets his two guards, his outlook about the future changes drastically. He only needs to screw up the courage to tell the two handsome men what he wants.
Review - Damnatio by S.P. Somtow
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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
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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 - The Taste of New York by H Birchwood, Key Dyson & Raymond Roach
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Rich Merrill is in New York to speak at a conference. The city is still one of the major world financial centers despite all the changes wrought by the changing climate. Rich is definitely out of his element. Fortunately, he meets Solace King in a coffee shop. Like Rich, Sol is descended from genetically modified parents. Only, his genes give Sol a more elfin appearance, with pointy ears and a diminutive stature.
Tags: Science Fiction Novella