Hello from rainy So Cal!
The weather around here is insane, I’m tellin ya. Last week it was anywhere from 80-100 degrees…until Sunday and then it was overcast and chilly. Today it’s about 50 and raining. I love living here but I gotta say that sometimes the weather just baffles me. lol
It was a quiet week and a lovely weekend. Thank you to all of you who wished me happy birthday on twitter, facebook or on The Book Binge or on Nath’s blog (it was Nath’s birthday too!). I have to say that I felt very loved on Friday. 🙂 The fam and I went out on Friday night to a lovely restaurant called Sabor Cocina. I had a margarita as big as my head (I’ve never had one from there and it was huge – and tasty) and Enchiladas de Marisco (Fresh crab, wild pacific shrimp, spinach, poblano cream sauce, crema and avocado). OMG I was in heaven! Saturday was a running around and shopping day. On Sunday the whole fam went to see Iron Man 3 (which was great) and then we spent the day working on the State Tower project for my youngest, doing laundry, cleaning house and watching Cake Boss on Netflix. Overall it was just a fun weekend.
On to what I read last week:
I started off the week with 18% Gray by Anne Tenino. This story is set in the future when the states have been divided and there are Red States and Blue States. The Red states are controlling and conservative, the Blue…aren’t. In a Blue state there is QESA (Queer Extraction Services) and they go into Red states and covertly remove/rescue those who are Queer and in need of extraction. Matt works for QESA and is sent into Idaho to rescue James but James has some funky things going on in his body and it’s not an easy extraction since there are so many people looking for him. The story is about the 2 men getting out of Idaho but also getting to know each other again. They had been friends until the age of 14 when James caught Matt in a compromising position with another man and then teased and ostracized him in high school. This is a good futuristic/sci fi type read. I wasn’t sure what to expect but should have known it would be good because of Anne Tenino. I haven’t read anything by her that I haven’t liked. The story did get a bit slow in the middle as it seemed there were almost too many obstacles for the two men but the rest was pretty darned good. 3.5 out of 5
Next up was The Laird’s Forbidden Lover by Amelia C. Gormley. The story of two men who are distant cousins who fall in love but only see each other one, maybe two times a year. My review for this will go up on Wednesday.
After that it was Game On by Tracy Solheim. This is the first book in a series about a football team called the Baltimore Blaze. This story has the General Manager’s assistant falling for the new quarterback but he’s got serious relationship issues due to the death of his mother and the abandonment of his father. Throw in a stalker for the heroine and a half-brother for the hero and there you have it. It was a good story but I did have some issues with the heroine as she knew what the hero was like but expected different from him every time. I find that so annoying in a heroine as it seems like she just can’t take him as he is but that’s a whole other issue. lol My review for this will go up on Book Binge tomorrow if you’d like to know about what I thought. 3.25 out fo 5
KC, at Bat by Tom Mendicino is about two boys who find each other one summer while working for a moving company. KC is one of the summer league’s star players and pretty much bound for the NBL, while Charlie starts the summer being a scrawny thing he soon puts on muscle from the moving company. KC and Charlie fall for each other but it’s an awkward time between the two at first. I really enjoyed this story so, so much. The book says Book One so I’m hoping we get the rest of Charlie and KC’s story as we’re kind of left hanging in the end. This one doesn’t come out til June 6th but I just couldn’t wait to read it after reading the blurb. I put a few of my thoughts down here at Goodreads. 4.5 out of 5
It continued being a mostly m/m week with Little Stalker by Erica Pike. This novella was about a guy who gets drunk and sleeps with women when he’s not really even attracted to them – because he’s attracted to men. He won’t admit that to himself or anyone else. He’s got a stalker though who follows him around and when they get together it’s explosive. Really cute story that ended with a HFN. 3.75 out of 5
Welcome, Brother by Erica Pike was a novella about a Freshman in college who applies to The Nova Britannia Brotherhood. He fears he won’t get in but he does – and his mentor Hunter is someone that Kyler has a huge crush on. It gets more intense the longer they’re together but Kyler doesn’t even know if Hunter’s gay. When a gay bashing occurs in the Brotherhood it brings out ghosts from Hunter’s past but Kyler is there to help him out. This was such a good story. I really liked the way the story was set up and how it played out. I thought the characters were very well written and enjoyed every moment of this story. 4 out of 5
Last for the week was Wild by Zoe Perdita. Wild is a born werewolf who is an omega and was banished from his pack because they didn’t want to waste the money it would take to feed him. Wild has been on his own for 5 years when he’s caught in a trap and saved by Caleb who was bitten by a werewolf. Caleb takes Wild in and gives him food and shelter, and even a position as his assistant but Wild wants more as he knows that Caleb is his mate. They also have to deal with a local wolf pack and werewolf hunters who were brought near by Wild. The story was good but a little repetitive for my liking. Wild really pushed Caleb and I found it got old after a bit. It was definitely a slower paced story but interesting. 3.25 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Roses in Moonlight by Lynn Kurland
Unbroken by Melody Grace
Take What You Want by Jeannette Grey
Happy Reading!
And now it's sunny and warm here! 🙂