Acrobat by Mary Calmes

Acrobat by Mary Calmes
Stars: 3/5

Length: 250 pages
Blurb
Forty-five-year-old English professor Nathan Qells is very good at making people feel important. What he’s not very good at is sticking around afterward. He’s a nice guy; he just doesn’t feel things the way other people do. So even after all the time he’s spent taking care of Michael, the kid across the hall, he doesn’t realize that Michael’s mob muscle uncle and guardian, Andreo Fiore, has slowly been falling in love with him.

Dreo has bigger problems than getting Nate to see him as a potential partner. He’s raising his nephew, trying to leave his unsavory job, and starting his own business, a process made infinitely more difficult when a series of hits takes out some key underworld players. Still, Dreo is determined to build a life he can be proud of—a life with Nate as a cornerstone. A life that is starting to look like exactly what Nate has been seeking. Unfortunately for Dreo—and for Nate—the last hits were just part of a major reorganization, and Dreo’s obvious love for Nate has made him a target too.

Overall
I went into this book hesitant, as my previous Calmes's book didn't really grab me and while I liked elements of it, in other parts I found it lacking. Sadly, I felt similarly about this one. There are large parts that I like and there's an overall good sense of humor throughout, but the irritants I came across kept me from thoroughly enjoying the story.

Review
The biggest annoyance is the main character. Not that he's a bad guy or anything--he's not. He's actually rather likable. However, he has no sense of his own attraction, and never seems to have had one, despite everyone in the book saying how attractive he is. Part of his issues is with his age, which was understandable, since he seems to be drawn to younger men, but instead of him being focused on age and how he's not as attractive as he once was, he's constantly surprised and denying his own attractiveness. While I can buy him denying that he looks as good as he did when 20, it's hard to believe he never realized he's actually a sexy beast when we've been given no reason for him not to realize it.

Along those lines, because he's such a sexy man who is super nice, people fall all over him. This isn't too noticeable in the beginning, but when he's being introduced to various Italian families, it becomes too much--at least for me. Maybe it's because I'll never be that person who everyone is falling over to be nice to, but I find the humble beauty queen to be somewhat irritating.

The plot isn't bad, and it does add some suspense and move events along, but it didn't feel real. I won't say much, because it'd be giving it away, but the mob and police involvements seemed a little too ridiculous for me to take seriously. (OK, some of the mob scenes "felt" real in an appropriate mob movie kind of way [totally acceptable], but some of the politics fell flat). If you're hardcore about contemporary stories being realistic, this will probably leave a weird taste in your mouth.

On the other hand, while it's probably unrealistic, I do love how the mob politics were handled in regard to Dreo trying to get out. I really loved Tony who, despite being a mobster, is a really cool guy. I thought it was nice to minimize some of the kerfluffle on that end, plus it shows the contrast of old school and the advancing perspectives (even if it was only acceptable because Dreo was getting out).

I loved Dreo with his single-mindedness and Italian whispering, his possessiveness and the moments when he backs off to not be a controlling jerk. Classic tough guy with squishy insides. Many of the characters come together to make this a fun little story, and I do like Nate, despite some of my qualms with him, and he comes to some very poignant conclusions that are very thoughtful (I actually highlighted them on my reader). The characters are fun to watch, funny, and have a variety of personalities that come together nicely. They are what really make the book work.

Readers who love Calmes's work will probably like this one as well, but her 'style' rubs me wrong, so I don't know if I'll ever really appreciate her works as much as others.

Requested this book for review.

Change of Heart by Mary Calmes

Change of Heart by Mary Calmes
Stars: 2.5-3/5

Blurb
As a young gay man―and a werepanther―all Jin Rayne yearns for is a normal life. Having fled his past, he wants nothing more than to start over, but Jin’s old life doesn’t want to let him go. When his travels bring him to a new city, he crosses paths with the leader of the local were-tribe.

Logan Church is a shock and an enigma, and Jin fears that Logan is both the mate he fears and the love of his life. Jin doesn't want to go back to the old ways, and mating would irrevocably tie him to them. But Jin is the mate Logan needs at his side to help him lead his tribe, and he won't give Jin up so easily. It will take time and trust for Jin to discover the joy in belonging to Logan and how to love without restraint.

Overall
I wanted to enjoy this novel more than I actually did, and while parts of it really grabbed me and held my attention, most of it dragged on and on and on. Part of the problem was imbalance of information. On one hand, we would be given the same information repeatedly, and while it was important, it wasn't so difficulty to understand that the reader didn't get it the first time. On the other there was a habit of not mentioning a vital piece of cultural information until it's useful to the main character, either for him to use or to be used against him. While with the number of cultural-specific elements it would have been difficult to be warned about things, I felt like information "talking up" the main character was stressed while plot-relevant information was left on a need-to-know basis.

The storyline, while it had its faults, kept me interested enough to continue reading, and I was happy with the results, but there were definitely parts that left me wanting. I think my biggest mark against this book is that I enjoyed it to a degree that made me want to like it more and made me want to see the story live up to its potential. I'm not sure I'd recommend this book to someone else, but I wouldn't talk someone out of it either, especially if they enjoy shapeshifter stories.

Strengths
While neither of the characters are types that endeared me to them, I appreciated them as people, and I appreciated how they were handled. Logan is a top dog―so to speak―and acts accordingly. Sure he has tender moments with his mate, but he also is pushy, bossy and, at moments, scary in his violence. I found Jin annoying, but I could also understand some of his behaviors and defenses, even if they did make me want to grab his ear and twist until he apologized. For me, his flops between “woe is me” and “cocky bastard” were hard to take, although that's just how some people are. Even not liking the characters, I thought they were interesting.

Another strength was the challenge from an outside character and the resulting struggle between characters, both trying to protect one another while facing despairing odds. The build up from when the challenge is issued up through the resulting solution were pretty intense, although some of the resolution felt a little too easily resolved.

Weaknesses
Info dumping had to be my biggest peeve with this novel. Admittedly, there is a lot of vital cultural information for the reader to know, but sometimes we're given too much information―repeatedly--and other times we're just given the brush off with bare minimal information. When the info was being repeated, I felt like the author was playing me as stupid, and when it wasn't developed, I felt like the author was hiding things or not bothering. I think this was even more frustrating because of the potential this world had in being exceptionally interesting.

Along those lines, I think if this were the second or third book in a series, where world development had already happened to create a basis for what's going on, then things may have come out smoother. As it was, the writing felt a little bogged down with facts.

Jin portrayed all the qualities of a “Mary Sue”: He's special (not just to one or two people, but to everyone, even if it's just so they can hate him; he's powerful; he has specific physical attributes that distinguish him as different; and he's the sole focus of the story. The last I'm willing to let slide, a little, because a lot of other things do happen that revolve around him but could be considered outside events. Otherwise, he comes across as bit of a self insert, and some of his more feminine qualities made me feel like he was written as a stereotypical woman. However, these moments didn't happen all the time, which made them all the more glaring when they did.

It's difficult with main character with special powers who are the focus of the story to not come across as being Mary Sues, but it is done. However, Jin's “Mary Sue qualities” didn't detract too terribly from the story, most of the time. Usually he just came off as a little self-centered.

Requested this book for review.