            |
When I was growing up, I used to spend entire days closed up in my room reading. Sadly, I don’t have that kind of time anymore, so I’m always happy to get a book referral from someone I trust. The books below are among those on my Keeper Shelf. They may or may not have great “literary merit” or rank in the Romance Writer’s Hall of Fame, but that’s not the point for me. Reading these books is a pure self-indulgent pleasure. Think of this list as a personal referral, a bunch of books that make me smile, that I thumb through to find my favorite parts every so often, that make me sigh with writer’s envy. They are books that I hope you will enjoy as well. 2007 Update Coming Soon!
I bought this book after reading Rob Knight’s short story, Amethyst. That story was intense, almost spellbinding, and I was curious to see what Knight would do with a full-length book. Interestingly, the two were very different. Where Amethyst had a hypnotic, musical quality to it, Touching Evil had more of a soft touch, but managed to be just as emotionally compelling. Knight has a real gift for writing relationships, and both stories really fascinated me. Premise: Ten years ago Greg fell down a flight of stairs, and it changed his life forever. The resulting head injury left him altered: Now, whenever he touches things he gets flashes of their history, glimpses into people’s heads. He despises the “talent” because he gets no peace, and he finds it necessary to isolate himself just to maintain his sanity. Eventually, however, he discovered that his ability could be useful to the police. Over the years, he has become friends with Artie, a detective who understands his ability. Artie helps Greg to use the visions to solve crimes, and also to cope with the outside world. Still, daily life is never easy for Greg, and it becomes even more difficult when he becomes the target of a sociopathic serial killer. What I liked as a reader: The relationship between Greg and Artie is incredibly sweet. They’re the kind of people that you’d want to know in real life, and they have the kind of relationship that everyone dreams of: with a friend who truly knows them, and loves them for who they are. Touching Evil has hot sex, and a sinister mystery, but I thought the love between the Greg and Artie was the most intense part of the book. What I liked as a writer: We’ve all heard the theory that women are more verbal and men are more physical. One of the things that I find interesting about m/m romances is the non-verbal expressions of love. I think it’s hard to write that well -- in many books there’s a lot of sex, but I don’t FEEL the love. Touching Evil didn’t have tons of “I love you”s and there wasn’t sex on every page, but I felt the love in every one of the interactions between Greg and Artie. This was a really beautiful love story. [posted 8/26/06]
I remember when this book came out. I didn’t buy it at the time because I didn’t know the authors -- makes me wonder how many great books I’ve passed up in similar fashion -- and I didn’t like the title. I know, that’s an absolutely ridiculous reason not to buy a book. J Anyway, I was reading through the Men in Uniform anthology, and I came across "Job Satisfaction" by Jane Davitt. It was only about ten pages, but her characters really blew me away. They resonated with me -- I believed in them and wanted to know more about them. Intrigued, I decided to read her story Broomsticks and Stones. I ended up loving that one, too -- again, the characters just got to me. So, of course, I had to read Laying the Ghost, despite my issues with the title. J I recommend all three of the titles I mentioned, but I’m writing about this one because it’s the longest of the three -- more story to enjoy. Premise: John has spent his whole life on the island of Traigshee. Surrounded by the same handful friends and family who have lived on the island for generations, John is, nevertheless, alone. When he first sees American, Nick Kelly step off the ferry, he knows his life is about to change. When the two meet, the attraction is immediate, but is John willing to risk being socially ostracized by becoming involved with a man? And Nick is fighting demons of his own… What I liked as a reader: I liked the characters a lot, obviously. J Nick and John are wonderful men, and their story is poignant, sweet, and hot. Really hot. Also, I’m a sucker for a good ghost story. Set on one of the Hebrides Islands in Scotland, the island felt as alive as any of the other characters in this book. What I liked as a writer: Maybe reading so many romances over the years has made me hard to please, but I find myself disappointed after finishing books more and more these days. When I open any romance, I’m hoping for nothing less than absolute magic. I want to feel the love, I want to know that these two characters are perfectly right for each other, I want to see that soul-deep connection that happens when they’re together -- but I need the writer to make me believe it all. Davitt and Snow made me believe. Don’t start this one unless you have time to read it all the way through -- once you enter this world, you won’t want to leave. [posted 8/11/2006]
This one was another impulse buy -- I think it was the excerpt that snagged me. Although Madison Hayes is well-known to most, she’s new to me. What a find! With the gritty suspense plot and the hard-edged bad boy hero, this story reminded me of one of my favorite romance writers: Anne Stuart. After reading this story, I will be greedily devouring Hayes’s backlist over the next few weeks. J Premise: Julie is an American tourist who gets separated from her group and finds herself stranded in Liverpool. Almost immediately, she realizes she is in danger, and finds an unlikely protector in the form of Dicky, a rough and coarse man, to whom she is instantly attracted. Dicky is a street-wise rogue. He knows the best thing for Julie is for him to stay far away, but danger and their mutual attraction make that impossible. What I liked as a reader: Hard to know where to begin with this one. I guess I’ll start by saying that when I finished, I immediately went back to re-read a few choice scenes. It wasn’t to examine the writing -- although her craft is marvelous -- and I wasn’t skipping to the sex scenes -- though they were sizzling. I re-read certain parts because they were so emotionally effective that I wanted to feel those moments again. And you really feel for these characters, especially Dicky. Gloriously heroic, terribly flawed, heart-meltingly sweet, painfully rough -- he’s magnificent and nowhere near perfect. And Hayes did something magical with Julie, as well -- I think it was that, as a heroine, she didn’t dominate and didn’t get in the way of the reader. This book has the perfect balance of suspense plot and romance, a to-die-for bad-boy hero, it’s intense, fast paced, with beautiful writing… What else do you need? What I liked as a writer: As I mentioned above, Hayes achieved the perfectly balance between the suspense plot and the romance. The story never felt overburdened with one or the other. The pacing was magical -- I was lost in the story, the words held me captive. I really liked this line: “Dicky’s voice was a soft whisper, raw, like the sound of tearing paper.” Ahh, Dicky…*sigh*…one day I hope I’ll be able to write a character like that. What are you still doing here? You should be at Ellora’s Cave buying this book! [posted 7/20/2006]
Review coming soon! [posted 7/13/2006]
M/m romances are new to Ellora’s Cave. Though they have been in the forefront of the erotic romance movement from the beginning, EC has been slow to publish m/m. Their first title -- Golden Boy by Claire Thompson -- appeared only a month ago. I bought Golden Boy because I was curious about two things: What kind of m/m romance would Ellora’s Cave, whose description of their trademarked romantica reads “a man and a woman develop ‘in love’ feelings,” publish; and also, what kind of m/m romance would Claire Thompson, known for her m/f BDSM, write? As it turned out, both Ellora’s Cave and Claire Thompson had a winner -- I liked Golden Boy a lot. (But I really hope Thompson has a sequel planned...) As a result, the very morning Continuum of Longing came out, I snapped it up. Premise: James and Tom are both VPs at a small local bank. Longtime colleagues, in the way of workplace friendships, they never talk about their personal relationships. Tom, who has had a crush on James for years, assumes his friend is straight as an arrow. And although James suspects that Tom may be gay, he never asks. Unexpected events surrounding a loan proposal provide an opportunity for them to take their relationship in a new direction. What I liked as a reader: What great characters! Both of these guys were good, strong men who expressed deep and complex emotions. Their reactions and motivations felt real to me, and their tender friendship was beautiful. What I liked as a writer: I’ve said this before: Writing full and compelling characters in a short work is difficult. Thompson made James and Tom feel complete and real to me. When I reach the last page of the book and feel myself reading more slowly in an attempt to make it last, I know the writer has done their job. I dragged my feet as long as I could on this one -- luckily, it was short enough that I could read it again right away. A quick, sweet read. It’ll make you smile. [posted 6/28/2006]
I’m a big Joey W. Hill fan -- I think I’ve mentioned that before. Her stories are often daring and thought-provoking, in addition to being sexy, romantic, and extremely well-written. I bought, and read, the Forgotten Wishes anthology quite a while ago, but came across it again as I began re-reading some of my favorite “witch stories” -- Joey W. Hill’s story in the anthology, Threads of Faith, is one of those. I had a moment of fear as I went to post this -- Forgotten Wishes is no longer available at Ellora’s Cave. “How cruel,” I thought, “that anyone who doesn’t already own it won't have the opportunity to read it!” Luckily, as I was cruising through Hill’s website, I discovered that Threads of Faith will be re-released separately in July. Yay! Be sure to snag a copy for yourself. J Premise: Marissa is a witch, living in the woods outside of a small town. She lives here, in isolation, because she seeks to shield herself for the negative thoughts of others. She is a powerful empath -- but not just any empath, she draws people’s negative energy/thoughts. She wears glamour to disguise herself -- everyone sees an old woman -- and performs small spells potions for those who venture to see her. One day a man comes for a visit. He shocks Marissa because he has True Sight and sees through her glamour. He has come seeking a love potion, but the price the potion requires is the most unexpected thing of all. What I liked as a reader: *sigh* Such a sweet story. It’s got that fairy tale-love feel to it -- you know, the “you complete me” thing. (If you don’t know how I feel about fairy tales, read my recommendations of Blood Red and Happily Never After.) And Conlon -- oh, my! -- what a man. I love how he just gets Marissa, and his seduction is so lovely -- he seduces her mind and body at the same time. What I liked as a writer: I love the way Hill reveals clues to the story’s mysteries, bit by bit. It’s the same in all of her stories -- though there is usually some sort of secret or significant back-story, Hill doesn’t rush it. Perfect pacing. She writes hot and sweet like nobody’s business, and she blows me away with her ability to make her heroes (convincingly) super alpha and super sensitive at the same time -- an incredibly difficult task. If you’re looking for a hot, sweet, romantic story, look no further than Threads of Faith. [posted 6/22/2006]
Review coming soon! [posted 6/15/2006]
|
|
All images and literary works are the property of Jeanne Laws and may not be used without permission.