The Brush Whistler's Song by Augusta Li

The Brush Whistler's Song by Augusta Li
Stars: 4.5/5

Length: 22,000 words (55 pages)
Blurb
Young Arjin is caught in the web of an ancient truce. Barely into his adulthood, he is given as tribute to the mysterious Najadira, part of a race of nigh-immortal horned warriors known as the Ansari. But Arjin is no innocent. Since his childhood, he has been trained for this day, groomed by the temple priests for a singular purpose: not to please the Ansari, but to murder him and free his people from the terms of their agreement.

Najadira, though, is old and jaded, and unsurprised by Arjin's true nature. Still, he chooses to keep Arjin near to him, finding that the young man's zeal quickens his old blood like few before him ever did. He allows Arjin access into his world, a world of beauty and wonder that had before now been denied. And as Arjin learns more about Najadira, he begins to question his teachings about the Ansari. Ultimately, he must choose between taking a life in the service of his beliefs or abandoning his duty and thereby condemning his soul to the decadence and sin surrounding him.

Overall
Wow. That's about all I can say. In a relatively short span Li creates a world, fills it with color, and brings the two main characters to life. My only complaint is that I want more!

Review
I think what immediately caught my eye with this story is the gorgeous descriptions Li uses in detailing Arjin's new home. Everything is bright and colorful and very nearly jumps off the page. After reading an excerpt, I very much wanted to delve into the decadent writing. And it's absolutely worth it. Not only is the writing a wonderful practice of the art, but the story and characters hold up in comparison.

Arjin is a man on a mission and despite Najadira knowing what that mission is, the two bond. Najadira is fighting against Arjin's entire past, while Arjin struggles between what he knows and what he feels. In some ways this reminds me of Every Good Thing by M. Jules Aedin, although much shorter. Arjin's inner conflict is what propels the story and gives plot to these two living together, and the reader will delight in seeing Arjin be swayed by Najadira and then repulsed.

This tale explores self-discovery and coming of age, in addition to several religious and cultural concepts, and in doing so can push some sensitive subjects, although I felt everything was handled respectfully. There were some convenient plot elements in this regard, but they weren't off-putting.

If I could say one negative (aside from wanting to see more of these two, although their story is quite complete), it's that I felt a giant question was left hanging in the air in regards to Najadira's immortality and Arjin's mortality. The fact that this was never addressed soured (a little) the wonderful conclusion this story draws.

In general I found this to be a delightful story that is quickly devoured and leaves a lingering splash of color across the palate.

Shoulda Been a Cowboy by Terry O'Reilly

Shoulda Been a Cowboy by Terry O'Reilly
Stars: 2/5

Length: 21,354 words
Blurb
Charlie Bradley has always entertained cowboy fantasies. When his boyfriend Jared offers him the choice of where to go on their summer vacation, Charlie chooses Stallions and Studs, a dude ranch catering to a gay clientele.

Upon arrival, Charlie meets the very handsome and studly Wade Connors, a riding instructor. Charlie is immediately enthralled with the man and finds his feelings, fight them as he may, are turning into love.

Wade, however, is a man who chooses a guest as his flavor of the week -- to romance, play with, and then move on. But this week Wade finds Charlie becoming more than he bargained for. What will happen when the week ends and Charlie has to leave for home?

Overall
If you're looking for cowboy smut with a weak, but existent, plot, this may be up your alley. I found it fairly lacking and hard to believe, but I still read the whole thing.

Review
I think my biggest beef with the story is that it's completely unbelievable. While I can imagine a couple with a relationship like Charlie and Jared, the way everything falls into place is just too neat, especially since it's so hard to imagine Charlie staying with Jared anyway. Along those same lines, this story deals with cheating, although not entirely of the main characters, so those who are sensitive to that should probably avoid this all together.

What's not believeable is what happens at the end. And some of the horse stuff. Being a 'natural' is good and all, but being a natural doesn't equal being able to rodeo better than people who work on the farm (unless they're incompetent, but that's never implied). Obviously some things needed to be forced in order to resolve issues within the short space, but the "solutions" felt extremely flimsy to me.

That aside, if you're looking for a range full of hot cowboys who cater to gay clientele (and I DO mean cater!), you may find this a tasty little bite, although I didn't find it satisfying.

Puppy, Car, and Snow by Amy Lane

Puppy, Car, and Snow by Amy Lane
Stars: 4/5

Length: 92 pages
Blurb
Ryan’s entire life changed the night Scott surprised him in a bathroom at a party. Now Ryan’s soulless climb up the corporate ladder has stalled—but his quality life has become a whirlwind of laughter, joy and surprises, thanks to Scotty’s playful, gentle heart.

After three years together, they’re going to Ryan’s parents’ cabin to spend Christmas. Snowed in by the weather and locked under the icy glare of his mother’s disapproval, can Ryan show he has found the most profound happiness in the simplest of things?

Overall
I can always trust on Lane for a sweet story, especially if it's around the holidays. I needed some cheering, so I picked this one up and found it to be a good mix of sweet, realistic, and funny. A great Christmas story.

Review
I'm not familiar with Ryan and Scott's previous stories, but I think the background Lane provided gave enough facts that I wasn't lost while not rehashing it for those who are familiar with these two men. They have a Love-at-First-Sight background, but they've also spent three years building a real life together, which I find just as wonderful as the first coming together.

I think what really brings this story to life is the characters. They are, well, a bunch of characters! (Sorry, couldn't help it.) Although our narrators (Scott and Ryan trade off back and forth) have already formed opinions about the cast, what's really great is that those opinions are able to be pushed and stretched.

The bigoted character isn't just a bigot. He has some other qualities too. The stuck-up sister? Also a caring mother. In a short space, Lane takes this tiny cast and shows the depth of people, even people you don't like who you're stuck with because they're family. It left me with a very positive, Christmas-y feel.

The plot was good, cute, but I think outshone by the interplay of characters, so I don't really have much to say on it. A good, joyous tale!

precious_boy by KZ Snow

precious_boy by KZ Snow
Stars: 3.5/5

Length: 142 pages
Blurb
It was just an amateur porn video, like thousands of others on the Internet. Like hundreds Jonathan Wright had seen and hundreds more he'd ignored. He hadn't intended to watch it, but he gives in to his curiosity. When he sees the lithe, blond young man who's doing naughty things with a bearish, older man, he's seduced… and feels like a pervert afterward. The youth in the video seems a little too young, despite the fact he runs his own escort service. Worse yet, Jon gets the nagging feeling he's seen "Justin Time," aka precious_boy, before.

When Jon takes a chance and meets Justin in a Chicago hotel room, Jon's past, present, and possibly his future begin to converge in alarming and confusing ways. There's no escaping the resulting dilemma: Jon must decide just how involved he wants to get with a sweet kid whose life has turned sour… a decision made more complex by a surprising connection to a lover from Jon's past.

Overall
A sweet, kind of cute, story that was enjoyable but didn't leave a lasting impression.

Review
The story/plot isn't bad and has several strong points, the majority of which centers around Ethan and his strengths. He's in a bad situation and while he hasn't made the best choices, he's also strong enough to recognize that and, with a little help, do what is needed to change. The coming together of these two men is sweet and enjoyable, although I felt it was a little forced sometimes.

I wasn't enthralled with the characters and found the leading male especially lacking. While the plot covers some pretty heavy topics, nothing feels like it's developed deep enough to really appreciate the struggle of the characters. Jon may be representing a realistic character, but as the reader, I didn't like him. He wasn't bad or hateable, but he wasn't someone I actually cared about either. Readers who don't mind Jon and his issues probably will enjoy this story more.

I founded the majority of the characters likeable and that they added nice flairs to the story. However, when Jon sleeps with Ethan's father when he knows he feels attracted to Ethan (and knows Ethan's father is lame), I found my dislike of Jon growing. He really isn't that bad of a guy, and maybe my obsessive reading of true love tales has tainted me, but I found the action unsavory. Jon of course grows and matures over the course of the story into a man who is worthy of Ethan, but I still found it difficult to like him.

A Knitter in His Natural Habitat (Knitting, #4) by Amy Lane

A Knitter in His Natural Habitat (Knitting, #4) by Amy Lane
Stars: 5/5

Length: 212 pages
Blurb
Stanley’s life took a left turn at a knitting shop and hit a dead end. The closest thing he’s had to a relationship breaks things off to date a “nice boy,” and none of the pretty young things in Boulder’s limited gay scene do it for Stanley. He needs to reevaluate whether working as a floor designer for a series of craft stores is really where he wants to be.

Then Stanley does a peculiar thing: he starts to live the life he fell into. Stitch by stitch, he knits his life into something meaningful. Just when he does, Johnny, the store’s new delivery boy, walks in.

Johnny is like no one Stanley has ever met: he doesn’t believe in quickies in the bathroom and has a soft spot for theater and opera. There has to be a catch. When Johnny’s dark past comes back to haunt them, Stanley realizes how much he loves his cushy life in the yarn store—but he’ll give it all up to keep the man who makes his ordinary life extraordinary.

Overall
As much as I love Amy Lane's stuff, I had low expectations for this one. Stanley is portrayed as bit of a slut in previous stories, and Johnny's dramatic dark past seemed eye roll worthy. I expected cheesy and shallow with characters I didn't like.

I love being wrong. Stanley is a bit of a slut, but he sort of reforms, and the drama that happens is dark enough to be meaningful and not just drama to further the romance. In fact, the romance is fairly secure by the time the drama happens. And Johnny is a completely sweet gentleman.

Absolutely worth picking up, especially if you like sweet, heart-stopping stories.

Review
This is just charming. Stanley and his makeshift family are charming, Johnny charms the pants off Stanley, and of course, life is knitting. While I think everyone can enjoy Stanley's story (and Jeremy's and Craw's), I think fiber workers (knitters, etc) probably enjoy it a little more—at least I do. It's inspiring. And sweet, and cuddly and some days just plain squee-worthy.

The characters in this Knitting book are kind, helpful, and pleasant to be around. While they may have habits that annoy you, they are still people you'd want to be your friends. They're nice and want to be good to you. They think you deserve something great. It makes the entire story a joy to read, although some may find it not conflicted enough. Honestly, the characters are a little too good to feel realistic, but they don't feel unrealistic either. (I know, that didn’t make sense!)

I was surprised where the plot went and how things turned out. It was a wondrous shock to see how things unfolded. In many ways this is the darkest of the Knitting series, although the purity of the characters never makes it feel too desperate. Even when horrible things are happening, there is still a sense of hope that radiates in the actions and the writing.

Final perk: The entire cast from previous books reappear and play significant roles. We see more of Jeremy and Aiden, we get to see Ariadne have her baby, and more Craw and Ben—plus the Ben-Stanley conversation from Stanley's view, which is very different from how Craw interpreted it. A warm, fuzzy family of knitters who help Stanley and Johnny come together.

Aliens, Smith and Jones by Blaine D. Arden

Aliens, Smith and Jones by Blaine D. Arden
Stars: 3.5/5

Length: 75,000 (200 pages)
Blurb
Connor Smith works for Primrose, an organization tasked with monitoring and tracking aliens and alien technology. It's a job that doesn't know the meaning of "nine-to-five". It also doesn't leave much room for a social life, a complication that Connor hasn't minded, until now. At the prodding of his best friend, Connor reluctantly puts himself back in the dating pool, even though it means lying about his remarkable life.

Elsewhere, Noah Jones has led a remarkable life of his own. Stranded on Earth in 1648, Noah was forced to transform himself permanently into human form to survive. He soon learned that in doing so, he'd become effectively immortal, aging only at a glacial pace. Alone, with no way to contact his people or return home, Noah becomes a silent observer of human civilization—always in the world, but never of the world. Then, hundreds of years later, he sees a face in a crowd and instantly feels a connection that he thought he'd never feel again. But he's too late: Connor's already taken.

Destiny is not without a sense of humor, though, and the two men are pulled inexorably closer, snared by the same web of dangers and conspiracies. Worse, Primrose is now aware of Noah, and they aren't ones to leave an alien unrestrained. So while Connor struggles to understand the strange pull he feels toward Noah, forces without as well as within are working against them to keep them apart.

Overall
An enjoyable romance/mystery with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. Some fun and interesting characters, some twists I wasn’t expecting, but some of the mystery in the mystery plot was not too mysterious.

Review
Noah and Connor are good leading men. They are decent guys who aren't perfect, they have a good chemistry (alien biology aside!), and you want them to have a happy ending. They are also surrounded by various other types of characters, which keeps interactions fresh and lets Arden show different reactions to different situations and really build them as people.

Despite some issues I have with weaknesses (under the spoiler mark), I enjoyed the plot and the unfolding. Arden has created an interesting world here. It was fun to hang out in and see, and while it's not deeply developed, the reader can fill in the gaps. It's like a fun romance from X-Files. The beginning stuff when they still had silly alien stories.

Spoiler

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One weakness I found was that the mystery wasn't too mysterious. It's fairly obvious who dun what, but the suspense/adventure played out well and made up for the lack of mystery suspense. Along the same lines, the suspense between Noah and Connor getting together is lacking, as if you figure out A, then the solution to B is pretty obvious. While it's a general weakness of the story, the overall plot didn't really suffer, since while nothing is a surprise, per se, it's still a fun story to see unfold.

Another issue is with Connor and Noah's connection. Although I can understand that the reader never gets to find out why Connor is special and can emotion-meld with Noah because no one in the story knows, I still felt like it was a hole in the story. I wanted to know! Obviously authors have to make decisions, but some speculation would have been nice, since Connor shows no psychic or empathic tendencies.

Received this book for review.

Another movie review kind of day

The Hunger Games - In a dystopian future ruled by a totalitarian regime, resourceful Katniss and her partner, Peeta, represent their district in the lethal Hunger Games—a televised survival competition in which teenage contestants fight each other to the death.

(rent/buy) I avoided seeing this in theaters despite several friends (and many others) giving it a wonderful review. I was rather sick of hearing about it and even when my friends eventually sat me down to watch it, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat with excitement. The movie is enjoyable, well done, well acted, and gorgeous. The plot, pacing, characters and story are all fantastic, although I did feel like the ‘romance’ was forced and the story would be stronger without it.

American History X - A California neo-Nazi gets sent to prison for murder and comes out a changed man. But can he atone for his sins and prevent his younger brother from following in his hate-filled footsteps?

(rent/buy) This is not an easy movie. I added it to my Netflix queue because it’s sort of classic, and then I realized what it was about. It sat beside my TV for a month—or two—waiting to be watched. When I finally bit the bullet and watched, it was absolutely worth it! It’s good, but it’s also heavy-hitting enough that I know many people wouldn’t watch it again. But it’s definitely worth checking out once. Just don’t watch it when you need a happy movie, although ultimately there are a ton of positive messages. Great acting, great story.

Judas Kiss - While judging at his alma mater's film festival, failed director Zach Wells has a fling with a student contestant. The following day, Zach discovers that the young man is a past version of himself, offering him a chance to improve his own future.

(rent) This is an enjoyable but odd movie. It’s not crazy weird, but it is different. The acting, sets, and special effects were good and the plot/theme was interesting, although I think a few points of the plot can’t be looked at too closely, and I felt like some things were left open-ended. Overall, definitely worth a viewing, although it does hit on some heavy-duty topics.

Breaking Dawn, pt 2 - Brought back from near-death by Edward after childbirth, Bella begins her new life as a vampire and mother to their daughter, Renesmee. When the Volturi are led to believe that Renesmee was not born as a vampire but, rather, turned into one in violation of their code, the Volturi set out to destroy the child and the Cullen clan. The Cullens band together with vampires from around the world to stand united against the Volturi.

(rent) Yes, I watched this. Yes, I paid money at the movie theatre for it (though we went to the matinee, so it was cheaper). My friends and I made a pact to go see them all together after I laughed (silently, in stitches, probably terrifying the poor woman next to me) through the first one. It’s better than the first one, but no better than the others, really. And they got a little weird with their fight scene. So, yeah, it was another Twilight movie...pretty much what you’d expect.

What Happens Next - After rich businessman Paul Greco retires early, his imperious sister tries to get him to settle down with the woman of her choosing. But Paul seems more interested in developing his friendship with Andy, a charming young man he meets at a dog park.

(rent/buy) This was a sweet, cute, kind of awkward romantic comedy. The leads are attractive without being too attractive, which makes things feel more real, but the short scenes left me kind of unconnected with the pair. I didn’t feel a dynamic with them, although they were both nice men (although one is in the closet and causes all the eyerolls/hair pulling associated with that). It was enjoyable, but didn’t blow my socks off, but probably worth a cuddle on the couch.