Lusting for Covers – Moira Rogers’ Crossroads

Lusting for Covers is a weekly meme, held on Sunday, that allows bloggers to share their current cover obsession with fellow book lovers. This meme is hosted by TBQ.

The cover that I picked this week is the one from Moira Rogers’ Crossroads. I have won this book in the Valentine’s contest over at Black Raven’s Erotic Café. It’s the second book in a series and I have the first book Crux on my ereader, but haven’t read that yet.

Why this cover? First of all I like the colors, purple is one of my favorites. And in general I love colorful covers. Second there’s a lot to look at: the girl in the pink dress of course catches your eye and behind her we see a street with lighted buildings which reminds of the fact that this series is set in New Orleans. The full moon and wolf complete the picture and give a hint of the supernatural nature of the story. The cover of the first book has the same elements and I like it when the books can be recognized as part of a series by their cover art.

Back blurb:
He’s the last man she should ever want. She’s the last woman he can ever have.

Southern Arcana, Book 2

Coming from a family with psychic gifts, Derek Gabriel was aware of but separate from the dangers of the supernatural world, until a rogue wolf shifter stripped away his humanity. The change he barely survived didn’t drive him insane, but the cultural bias against him as an inferior transformed wolf might. And it doesn’t help that he’s fallen for the daughter of the most powerful wolf in the country.
Almost from the moment she was born, Nicole Peyton started planning her escape from the strict confines of elite shapeshifter society, an old-fashioned world where women are valued only for their bloodlines and bank accounts. In New Orleans she has a bar she loves, friends in decidedly low places, and a smoldering sensual tension with an incredibly attractive and deliciously unsuitable man.
Their forbidden longing erupts into unbridled need—until Nick’s sister burns into town with a strike team hard on her heels. Saving her means Nick has to play by the Conclave’s rules…and give up the man she is growing to love.
Unless Derek does something completely crazy—issue a challenge that could shake the foundations of their world.

Product Warnings
This book contains forbidden lust, strip poker, instinct-driven sex in odd places, devious shapeshifters, and love and loss in a world of paranormal politics and supernatural schemes.

Buy the book here>>>

Weekend Ponderings: Me and M/F vs M/M Romance & Reading Jambrea Jo Jones

I’m wondering for a short while now, what on earth is happening to my reading preferences!!
I find myself turning more and more toward M/M books. For example when I look at my purchases from the last month, about 8 out of the 10 books is M/M. It’s an addictive genre and I blame a few of my blogging friends for feeding the addiction ;) I won’t name them but you can check out my daily blogroll - maybe 5 of the 25 bloggers aren’t reading M/M (yet). The rest is recommending me, on a daily base, one good M/M romance after the other *sigh*. And then there’s the numerous amount of authors that write excellent M/M smut, to blame. Really, the majority of my favorite authors write M/M romance.

Not a big problem, if it were not so that I find myself more and more disliking M/F romances too. Or maybe dislike is a bit too strong, but at least enjoying it less! And I realize that it’s me, and not necessarily the books, that have changed.

Take for example the book I’ve finished yesterday: Magnus. It’s written by the lovely Jambrea Jo Jones who gave the book to me as a present, without expecting anything in return.
This is an enjoyable M/F romance in which we have a very hot alpha hero, a Marine with the name Joe ‘Magnus’ Rivers. Take a peek at the cover, that’s perfectly picturing him. His love interest is a NCIS woman, Emily, who’s undercover and investigating his team. She’s sassy, tough and well trained – not the typical soft type. I like a heroine like her who can get the alpha hero to his knees because she impresses him.

Wait, let me give you the backblurb first:

Marine Colonel Joe “Magnus” Rivers’ job is his reason for being. Protecting the United States of America from all threats is his sole purpose in life. That life is turned upside down when a woman is assigned to his team of elite Marines and his attraction to her threatens his career.

NCIS Special Agent Emily Patterson’s orders: infiltrate Colonel Rivers’ team and find the culprits behind a slate of kidnappings connected to a sex slave ring. Her mission parameters didn’t include an attraction for Colonel Rivers but nothing in Emily’s career could have prepared her for Magnus. Her job becomes more difficult as she gets to know the man behind the uniform and Emily finds herself wanting to prove herself to him, potentially exposing her identity before she clears Mag.

Mag and Emily struggle against their growing feelings for one another, both knowing the consequences of giving in to lust. Mag is Emily’s team leader and fraternizing is against the rules. Emily is investigating Mag and his team; getting involved with him could ruin her investigation and her career.

This is a romance with a lot of action which makes it a fast paced read. A lot more than what’s mentioned in the backblurb is going on (I won’t spoil). And there’s even another point of view, that of the bad guy, added to the story. I have to admit that those were not my favorite parts and were a bit farfetched at some point, but the whole investigation and action part rounds up nicely in the end. Ms. Jones kept me at the edge of my seat with that.

So far it doesn’t seem to make any difference if this is an M/F or an M/M romance, but that’s because I haven’t said anything about the interaction between hero and heroine yet. Magnus is a Marine colonel who’s used to hand out orders. He’s acting like the alpha hottie he is, which is fine. I could live with the fact that he’s cursing a lot, his favorite word being ‘f*ck’. It fits his character of a tough military guy in a way. I had a wee bit more trouble with his repeated ‘claim’ that Emily was his. I couldn’t help thinking that such a claim would not be easily made in a gay relationship, unless it’s D/s, but this wasn’t. And when ‘the bad guy’ character made the same claim, it didn’t make it any better… But okay.
Though what bothered me somehow was that Emily turned into a helpless heap at one point. Her training as a special agent and her fighting skills seemed to become non-existing and that surprised me a little bit. Again I couldn’t help thinking that this could be conveniently serving the theme (in some M/F romances) of the strong hero rescuing the damsel in distress, where the man is all manly and the woman is all weak so to speak.
The feminist in me growls when there’s only a hint of this theme present… Nothing more than a hint was present in Magnus though. When on top of that the heroine’s only wish is to have him inside her, while she’s badly hurt and falling apart, I have a hard time liking her. That doesn't mean that I didn't like Emily, I'm using her as an example to make my point about inequality between men and women.

I’m not saying that in M/M romances both heroes are always equals, but there it doesn’t seem to bother me as much when they are not. Probably because the traditional patterns of sex differences aren’t playing a role. And I don’t identify with one of the heroes as I do with the heroine in a M/F story.

I know that when Magnus would have had two heroes instead of a hero and heroine I would have liked it much more. I still enjoyed this story, but the niggles about the above M/F issues moderated my enjoyment a little. I’ve read another short story by Jambrea Jo Jones, The Runaway Man which is M/M and proved my point. Granted, sex scenes took place off page, and this was only a very short story showing a few fragments out of the life of two guys, but none of the above itches regarding inequality were presenting itself. I enjoyed this story a lot.

I’m convinced that other readers, especially those who like military, alpha heroes, will enjoy this story more than I did (3 out of 5 stars)! Don't get me wrong, I like it! The love scenes are really hot and the growing love between Mag and Emily is sweet! But M/F readers will probably really love it instead of only like it.

I’m wondering now if I should avoid reading M/F with alpha heroes completely from now on. Or am I the only reader of M/M romances who’s having this kind of troubles with issues like this?

Happy Gay Friday & A Question

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Let the weekend begin! I hope you enjoy this week’s gay couple.

I had the best M/M week I could wish for. I read and loved Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy, as my post yesterday proofs! I can’t stop declaring my love for this book and its narrator Simon :) So, one more time, if you haven’t read this book, go read it now, it’s fabulous!

I have a question for all the fellow lovers of this book, because I had a little convo on Twitter with Mr. Kennedy and a sequel was mentioned (I might have dropped the word)...
I would definitely read a sequel if there would be one released. My question is:
Would you want to read a sequel to Tigers and Devils or are you afraid that it might ruin it?

And another thing that popped up and I would love to know more about: Is the definite release date for Duty & Devotion by Tere Michaels announced yet? On the authors blog it said March, but no exact date yet…

Have a nice weekend!

High Five, Low Five Review of Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy for the DIK Book Reading Challenge

Sean Kennedy
Tigers and Devils
Dreamspinner Press, March 2009
Genre & Keywords: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Sports, Coming Out, Film, Australia
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 1 out of 3 flames

I’ve read this M/M romance for the DIK Challenge, it’s a full length novel and I bought it as an ebook (my pdf-file has 605 pages but the paperback about 360).
This is one of my High 5, Low 5 reviews. The High Five are five things that have impressed me or that I really enjoyed, and the Low Five are five things that had me shaking my head in a less admiring way.

Every once in a while you read a book that you don’t want to finish because you’re not ready yet to ‘live’ without the characters you’ve just learned to know and love. Tigers and Devils is such a book for me! The main characters Simon and Declan and almost all of the secondary characters as well, have become so dear to me while I was reading their story, that I just wanted to keep reading about them. Knowing at the same time that when I did do that, their story would come to an end… So I managed to slow down a little, but not much, and in the end I finished their story way too soon. Now all I have left is trying to convince others to read Tigers and Devils so that I can talk about Simon and Declan a little bit more with other people.

Back Blurb:
Football, friends, and film are the most important parts of Simon Murray's life, likely in that order. Despite being lonely, Simon is cautious about looking for more, and his best friends despair of him ever finding that special someone to share his life. Against his will, they drag him to a party, where Simon barges into a football conversation and ends up defending the honour of star forward Declan Tyler -- unaware that the athlete is present and listening.

Like his entire family, Simon revels in living in Melbourne, Victoria, the home of Australian Rules football and mecca for serious fans. There, players are deemed gods and treated as such – until they do something to cause them to fall out of public favour. Declan is suffering a horrendous year of injuries, and the public is taking him to task for it, so Simon's support is a bright spot in his struggles. In that first awkward meeting, neither man has any idea they will change each other's lives forever.

As Simon and Declan fumble toward building a relationship together, there is yet another obstacle in their way: keeping Declan's homosexuality a secret amidst the intrusion of well-meaning friends and an increasingly suspicious media. They realise that nothing remains hidden forever… and they know the situation will only become more complicated when Declan's private life is revealed. Declan will be forced to make some tough choices that may result in losing either the career he loves or the man he wants. And Simon has never been known to make things easy – for himself or for others.

High 5

• Simon as the narrator
I love Sean Kennedy’s choice to voice this love story through Simon. He’s a brilliant narrator. I’m usually not a big fan of first person narratives, although I’m learning to appreciate them more and more after reading L.B. Gregg’s and Josh Lanyon’s stories. But in Tigers and Devils it’s really Simon’s voice that made me fall in love with the book (and with him as a side effect). He’s witty, funny, self mocking and perceptive in telling his and Declan’s love story. He knows he can be stubborn and a drama queen but he can’t help himself. He’s constantly commenting on his own narrative, like when he and Declan first kiss:

I was surprised that he tasted like beer, but at the good point, before it becomes stale and a little rank. I know I’m not exactly selling the romanticism here, but I was pleasantly thrilled by it at the time.

But most of all he had me laughing out loud all the time with very short intervals at times, like the next two quotes on the same page, not far apart from each other:

“So what are you going to wear?”
I looked at her, wondering if she thought I had suddenly grown a vagina in the past five minutes. “Clothes.”
She sighed. “Men.”

(Btw I think I would find this type of joke less amusing in a M/F romance then in this story)

And a few lines further down the page:

I pictured myself trying to be cool and debonair over coffee with Declan – and then falling comatose into my latte and drowning before him.
He was a footballer; he had quick reflexes. Hopefully his resuscitation skills would be just as good.

Simon is also the foot in his mouth kinda guy. That’s actually how he and Declan met and what Declan liked about him. At the party where they first ran into each other Simon is defending Declan’s honor as a football player in the same sentence in which he calls him an arrogant prick. He didn’t know Declan was listening of course. But later on in their relationship this type of honesty still occurs and causes a few more embarrassing moments. Luckily for Simon, Declan finds this all refreshing and cute.

• Great sub characters
I like a story in which the protags are not some lonesome cowboys but have a good supportive group of friends and/or family. And both Simon and Declan have wonderful friends. Especially Simon’s best friends Roger and Fran (Roger’s wife) are very well developed, three-dimensional characters. It was a joy to read about Simon and Roger’s little squabbles and bigger fights. And Fran is just a woman after my own heart, she is great: sweet, funny, loyal and honest. Roger and Fran have their counterparts in Declan’s friends Abe and Lisa. Not as three-dimensional as Roger and Fran, because we only get Simon’s POV and not Declan’s, but as important to Declan.

• Declan’s attitude as outed gay footballer
Declan is a famous football player and as such has to deal with a lot of publicity. Media are hunting him down and eventually it’s a journalist who outs him as being gay. He stayed in the closet for a long time because of his profession and he also wants to keep his relation with Simon a secret. They manage to do that for a long time, until Declan lets his guards down when his father is hospitalized and looks for consolation from Simon, in a semi-public space. But after he’s outed, he gracefully accepts this fact, makes a public statement and doesn’t hide his sexuality any longer. Where Simon stays careful with public display of affection, Declan is way more carefree. He’s acting like a freed and proud man and never wants to hide in the closet again. I found him refreshing because of this attitude. It would have been so easy for Sean Kennedy to build some story tension with a different attitude from Declan, but the author didn’t chose for this simple way. He derived some tension from another issue between the guys. I loved Declan for his cool, controlled passion. And in between he came across as a funny guy as well. For example, when Simon tells him after a public kiss that he should be more careful, Declan responds with:

“Oh.” Declan clicked his fingers sarcastically. “I didn’t know, because I wasn’t given the queer handbook when I came out. Is there a number I can call to get one sent to me?”
“It’s like cats and hunting. It’s intuitive.”
“So you’re saying I’m a lousy cat?”

• The football rave
This book wouldn’t be the same without the love for football. It plays an important role in Simon’s life even before Declan starts to become part of it. Simon and Roger are huge fans of two different football teams, which causes some friendly rivalry between them. At one point it becomes an important symbol for their relationship when Roger shows up at a game without his infamous team scarf. Simon understands why and tells him to be proud of his team and buys him a new scarf, which is a big deal because even to have to touch the rival team's scarf is unthinkable. But for his friend he’s willing to bring this sacrifice.
The title of the book refers to the passion for football as well. Simon is a fan of the Tigers and Declan plays for the Devils.

• Beyond the HEA
I was pleasantly surprised that this story didn’t end at the point that most love stories end but took us a little bit further into the relationship. And there was some tension added in that part that made my heart wrench for those two fabulous guys. The book is structured like a football match in 4 quarters (I don’t know anything about Australian football, so I had no idea that there would be a fourth part, but I could tell by the amount of pages left that the story wasn’t at its end by far). The extra ‘playtime’ provided a good insight in their relationship which came across as very realistic, with ups and downs.


Low 5

• The love scenes
I can’t find more than one thing that I can call a Low, because there actually weren’t many in this book that are worth mentioning. If I have to name one - but it didn’t even make me shake my head or raise my eyebrows - it is that the love scenes were a bit tame and not very present. I wouldn’t have minded if the sex had been a wee bit hotter.

Those were my five highs and one low. I guess it’s obvious that I totally loved Tigers and Devils! It was a fabulous read, a heartwarming love story and an ode to friendship and football. I completely fell in love with Simon and developed a little crush on Declan too. This story gives an excellent impression of a gay relationship that has to deal with publicity, media and fame. And shows how it can be to come out of the closet, deal with a new way of public life and handle the communication with your partner in the midst of all this. Tigers and Devils made my Favorites of 2010 list for sure.

BTW There's a free story at Sean Kennedy's website that features Simon and Declan in the Tigers and Devils setting. Thanks Chris for mentioning that!

My Very Own Book Boyfriend

I’ve been tagged by Pixie @ Pixie’s Ponderings, Leontine @ Leontine’s Book Realm, Miranda @ Sweet Vernal Zephyr and K.C. @ Smokinhotbooks to build my own Book Boyfriend, a meme that ‘s originally from the lovely Gutter Girls. To tell you the truth I needed some time to think about my favorite BBF because, okay I can name a few characteristics that always work for me, but in general I like my boys in all sorts and sizes (well, as a matter of speak). So, I hope I can focus on the important things and not wander off in dreamland…

Here’s how The Gutter Girls started the fantasy:

We all have our favourite book boyfriends and now you have the chance to create one just for yourself and your fantasies! How do you play? Fill out the quiz bellow, post a picture of sexy man and tag five (5) other book addicts to do the same. Don't forget to pop to their blogs as let them know they have been tagged!
Once tagged... you have to do the same, grab the button, answer the questions, and keep it rolling! But don't forget the picture of the sexy man! It doesn't have to match your fantasy man, just a little eye candy for the rest of us... heheheee!

Okay, here we go:

1- Hair colour and style
Blond or dark hair will both do it for me (there you have it already), all right with a slight preference for dark hair. I like it short, well cropped and just long enough to run my fingers through it (a la Dean style). But honestly, longer hair can work for me too...

2- Eye colour and facial features
Bright eyes with a twinkle, blue or green. His face is of course handsome and strong in a rugged way. His smile is smashing and his lips are full and kissable. I love a bit of a scruff too.

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3- Height and body type
My man is tall but not too tall, 6’1 or 6’2 will do. And he’s got a strong, taut and lean body with visible muscles but not the body builder type, just athletic. His hands are important; I can fall in or out of love because of a guy’s hands :). They have to be strong as well, clean and tanned and a little bit roughened up. And let’s not forget that his butt must look good in a hip hugging jeans. And besides all that, he has a nice tribal tattoo and a subtle but hot nipple piercing.

4- Visible age
33-37

5- Bangability ie: kinky/bi/size
He’s tireless and skilful with a little kink. He likes to take charge and only needs one look from me to know what I want. And every once in a while he doesn't mind to give up control :)

Do we really have to discuss size, lol, as if anyone will say that they like ‘m small, no way! :)

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6- Human or other
Human or shifter or vampire or… I really can’t choose!

7- Paranormal skills
Freeze time, so that we can endlessly enjoy each other’s company *waggles eyebrows* without the hassle of everyday life if we want to avoid that.

8- Interests
Traveling, movies, me, making love.

9- Habitat
Everywhere where I am, and I don't like to be in just one place all the time.

10- Special skills
Being sexy without effort, making my insides flutter with his smile, being charming in the company of other people, making me laugh, being inventive with his tongue.


A lot of the bloggers I could think of already have been tagged, and I don’t know for sure who has build their own book boyfriend yet, so if you already have done it, you can ignore the next tag. If not, consider yourself tagged.... :)

Chris @ http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/
Tam @ tamsreads.blogspot.com
Bronwyn @ bronwyngreenblog.blogspot.com
Kris @ krisngoodbooks.blogspot.com
Fallon @ fallonblake.blogspot.com

Todays Man Candy - hot jock

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I just felt like posting some man candy in honor of the jock I'm reading about at the moment: Declan from Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. He's so darn sexy and sweet, being a gay football player coming out of the closet.

But I actually fell in love with his partner Simon, who has a cute and funny way of looking at things. I think his narrating voice is totally adorable.

I have a little less than one third of the book to read and I find myself postponing it because I don't want to finish it yet. I want to stay with these guys a bit longer...

Ps: I don't know much about sports but I know that this is probably not an Australian footy ball player, like Declan is ;) Is that a rugby ball? Well, who cares, as long as he's hot, right? *g*

Mondays Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene

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This week’s sexy smutty scene is from Faery Surprising by Mia Watts. It’s the second book in her Faerily Imperfect series. I’ve read the first book, Mind F*cked and was pleasantly surprised by it. It’s a paranormal series and Sage (from book 1) and Flora (from book 2) have more siblings, with other gifts, who will appear in future installments of the series. I’ve understood that the next book will be released next month. Did I mention that Mia Watts’ writing is really humorous? If you like to chuckle, grin and laugh a few times while reading, I can really recommend this author.

Where the first book was a M/M romance, this one is a M/F story, which shows the next smuttalicious scene from page 25:

“
His stroking hand moved around her waist and drew her against his hard chest. She tried to remember what she normally did when a man got physical with her and she wanted to extract herself. Unfortunately, her body and head were at war about the proper course of action. Other than wrapping her legs around him and begging him to ride her hard and fast, she couldn’t think at all.
Ian’s lips brushed her ear. Shivers tripped over themselves to raise goose bumps and set tingles loose in her pussy. Her abdomen squeezed deep inside. Pressing her aching nipples to his hard, warm pecs drove her to slide her hand over the muscular contours of his shoulder. She delved her fingers into his hair. It was softer than the spiky style led her to believe.
“Definitely here,” he murmured, caressing her cheek with his.
Finally his lips touched the corner of hers. If she turned her head—if, nothin’. Why wait? Flora took the kiss he teased her with, devoured it. He tasted fresh and the fullness of his silken lips lit her need.
She was used to hard kisses and hurried gropes from business men whose time was money. She’d kissed players before, too, before she worked for the franchise. They’d been all hands and plunging tongues. This was different.
Ian kissed her like he was savoring ripe fruit. His tongue flickered against hers and his mouth stayed pliant. She could have handled rough and ready, pushing him away when she’d had her fill. Ian’s laid-back complexity made a paradox which knocked the starch from her knees and buried every ounce of her reserve.
His hand dipped to cup her ass. Turning with her, he shifted from doorway to office and pinned her against the wall with his hips. His cock rose full and firm between them. Flora tucked her hips, seeking more intimate contact.
”

Mia Watt’s weblog and website

Backblurb:
Flora Harper isn't amused when her faery "gift" transports her in the middle of a self-induced orgasm to a professional football locker room after practice. The fact that it's the team she works for, and their new quarterback, Ian Tate, wants to finish what she's started, flies in the face of the non-fraternization policy.
Ian has been traded to a rival city so he catch a blackmailer red-handed. Time is against him, as are the number of injuries he's had in his career. It sounds like a great deal, except filming the Public Relations specialist in a sexually compromising position leaves a sour taste in his mouth. When he discovers that the PR person is emotionally distant, hard-on inducing Flora, getting a whole lot closer to her feels so incredibly right… until she finds out why he's really on the team.

Lusting for Covers - Mychael Black's The Lost Son

Lusting for Covers is a weekly meme, held on Sunday, that allows bloggers to share their current cover obsession with fellow book lovers. This meme is hosted by TBQ.

The cover that I picked this week is the one from Mychael Black's The Lost Son. I haven't read any of this author's books yet and I'm curious if they are any good...

Why this cover? This book is a m/m romance and first of all what I like about this cover is that it doesn't picture the usual nekkid male bodies (not that I mind those, not at all, but a little bit of variety is nice). Then I adore the armour that the men are cladded with, they look tough because of it. And another thing I think is well done is the nearly invisible fase of one of the guys, while the other one is completely visible (and pretty nice looking). This gives the 'masked' guy a mysterious glint and it leaves the reader with something to fantasize about.


Back blurb:

One warrior, one sorcerer, and a legacy that will change their lives forever…
Secrets of Socendor, Book 1
In the world of Socendor, humans are forbidden from using magic and elves keep their distance.

Kalen Ysindroc has risen far from his humble beginnings as a blacksmith’s adopted son. Now the king’s general, he investigates reports of magic-wielding half-human, half-elven lithings sighted along the kingdom’s borders. It would be a lonely life, if not for the company of his best friend and long-time elven lover, Micheil Theirauf, the king’s sorcerer.

An attempt on Kalen’s life makes it clear to Micheil that there’s more afoot than random breaks in the land’s defenses. His lover is plagued by dreams no human should endure, and Micheil’s probe into Kalen’s subconscious reveals a past neither of them expected. And a future Kalen can’t escape.

Suddenly, everything Kalen never knew about his life is laid bare. A father possessed of terrible magical power. A half-brother who could be the family Kalen never had—or the catalyst that will rip Micheil out of his life forever…
This title was previously published but has been revised.

Product Warnings:
Explicit gay sex (on a horse, even!), men in armor, swords (not just THAT kind!), sorcery, betrayal, and at least one conniving ghost.

Review of Racing Hearts by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Nancy Warren and Dorien Kelly

Vicki Lewis Thompson, Nancy Warren, Dorien Kelly

Racing Hearts: A Calculated Risk\An Outside Chance\This Time Around
Harlequin. February 9, 2010. ISBN 9780373837403. 320 pages

Genre & Keywords: Contemporary, NASCAR, Anthology, Valentine’s Day

Rating: êê½ -êêê
Heat level: ½

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review.

The Back Blurb:
She's plotted the course
Car chief Roni Kenway has a plan. She'll save her racing team and (hopefully) convince her crew chief, Judd Timmons, that she's the perfect mix of business and pleasure. But will she coast down Victory Lane…or crash into the wall?
She's in Daytona
Haunted by a sadistic book about last-chance love, Lucy Vanderwal hopes a trip to Daytona will end with love. But when she discovers her "last chance" guy is a lemon, Lucy meets rookie driver Sawyer Patton…and learns even a late starter can be a winner!
And she's behind the wheel!
Driver Megan Carter just got back from a dream vacation—sun, sand and a sizzling fling with Chris Donahue. Now all she needs is to prove herself on the race track. But how can she do that when Chris turns up in her garage—in her real life—and says he's there to stay?

I’ve read this book for the Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge 2010.

As you can see above when you look at the heat level of this anthology, Racing Hearts is not my usual read. It’s way less sexually explicit than a lot of the other books I review. This is more of a sweet and cute kind of romance anthology. From the three authors Vicki Lewis Thompson, Nancy Warren and Dorien Kelly, I’ve read some Blaze novels from the first two before and did enjoy those pretty much. Anyone who has ever read a Blaze knows that in those stories love scenes never take place behind closed doors. Sex scenes are fairly explicit and erotic in Blazes. Not so much in this anthology. Ms. Thompson and Ms. Warren can’t be accused of showing any naked body parts, except for an occasional man titty maybe, but it may have been that the bare chest was part of Ms. Kelly’s story, I’m not sure.

Anyway, this collection of three stories wasn't bad, it was pretty okay. Some parts I did like better than others. It's always difficult to rate an anthology, since the different stories are somewhat divers. These three stories do have a few things in common though. First of all they’re all taking place in the setting of the NASCAR races, in Daytona. And second they have the time of the year in common: Valentine’s Day and the opening week of racing season. But every story is a stand-alone read, they don’t share (sub)characters or anything else. Every author brings her own vibe to the story, and has her own writing style. Therefore I’ll talk about each story separately.

A Calculated Risk by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Roni is one of the guys because of her occupation as car chief of a racing team. She has the hots for her crew chief Judd for over a year now. But he doesn’t see her as a woman, she thinks. Only he does so, and thinks she’s attractive, but doesn’t want to date a team member because of the complications a fall out could cause. Besides, Judd is having a conflict with the race car driver of their team, who happens to be Roni’s friend. This conflict is causing a lot of trouble for the team because of the distrust that comes along with it. And Roni tries to mediate. At the same moment as she has decided to dress more feminine and wear make-up to get Judd’s attention. Of course, she was sweet to try to mediate in the conflict and Judd appreciates that a lot. And he starts to notice her kind personality where he first mainly saw her attractiveness and professional skills. What I don’t understand though is how he gets from not willing to date a team member to being okay with it. That's because ‘A Calculated Risk’ is overly well plotted but with little attention for inner conflicts or feelings between H/h. I would have liked to see a bit more of that and I don’t mean a sentence like “Liquid heat poured through her” (p. 100) - only because the guy cups her face in his hands... But the story did give a nice view behind the scenes of a NASCAR team.

An Outside Chance by Nancy Warren
Lucy and Sawyer are quite a cute couple. She’s a funny, happy, average looking girl and he’s a young and hot race car driver. They meet because Lucy sucker punches him by accident in the stomach while he’s jogging. She came to Daytona for a blind date that she met at a NASCAR fan website. And the blind date turned out to be a complete loser. Lucy and Sawyer’s unusual meeting leads to a cup of coffee and a tour on the racing tracks. Sawyer discovers that Lucy can make him forget about his nerves for the race because of her well-natured, light-hearted chitchat and personality. And he wants to keep her around. Luckily for them there’s also a physical heat between them – of which we don’t see much, mind you – plus Sawyer’s family really likes Lucy. I totally hoped that he would see that she was the one for him.
What almost threw me off was a thought Sawyer had about Lucy being on a blind date with someone she met on the internet: “Maybe she had an older brother. But if so what was the guy thinking letting her go on this crazy stunt?” (p 136-137). I couldn’t believe this old-fashioned way of thinking. Luckily, Sawyer turns out to be pretty okay and his eyes open quickly about Lucy. She had me laughing a few times with him, although one time my laugh wasn’t accompanied by his and had more of a mocking undertone. This was when she thinks their first kiss, a mere brushing of the lips, is exceptional: “she’d never experienced a kiss that left her quite so breathless” (p 171). Sorry, I think that’s ridiculous in 2010. But oddly enough it didn’t make me enjoy this story less.

This Time Around by Dorien Kelly
I didn’t know this author’s work like that from the others, but Ms. Kelly’s story turned out to be pretty enjoying. It’s the least old-fashioned of the three, the heroine is the race car driver here and the guy is travelling all over the world for her. Chris wants to see Megan again after they met on the island where he lives and runs a successful celebrity restaurant, and where they spent a few hot weeks together before she left him because of her career. In order to be with her again Chris has not only to hope that she wants to see him, but also has to face up to his stepbrothers and father who turned out to be Megan’s boss. The family complications were worked out very nicely, first they caused some troubles for the couple and in the end everything is peaches again. Imo the father is turning a little quickly from a really big jerk to a peace loving father, but alas he’s not that important. Chris and Megan are and the two of them have nice little conversations, cute loving moments and Chris has an adorable bonding thing going on with Megan’s twin brother.

Overall, this is a sweet collection and if you like to read about NASCAR drivers and mechanics this is certainly a nice anthology. If you like your romance a little spicier or emotional and your coupling more worked out and insightful, these stories might not do it for you.

Happy Gay Friday & What I’m Reading and Awarded with

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Looking back at the past week it’s not been a great week reading wise. I only finished one book, an anthology with three NASCAR related stories - Racing Hearts. I’m working on a quick review of the three stories by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Nancy Warren and Dorien Kelly, because I downloaded it from NetGalley and because I read it for the Contemporary Romance Challenge.

Yesterday I started reading Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy of which I was talking on Monday in my Sexy Smutty Scene post. It’s *gasp* over 600 pfd-pages and I haven’t even read 50, so I can’t tell anything about it yet.

This week has been a bit worrisome for me and hubby because our kitten (of 18 and a half years old) has been sneezing blood since Monday. The vet sent us home with antibiotics and wants to see him again next Monday and carefully mentioned the possibility of a tumor *gulp*. The little fellow is keeping us awake every night with his sneezing and rattling… Luckily, hubby is having a little vacation before he’s starting his new job March 1st, so he’s doing a lot of the nursing. But still, we’re both pretty tired because of the lack of sleep and the worries. Binny, is a very strong and tough kitty though and even with his diabetes and kidney disease he’s doing really great for his age. And he’s probably going to live for another 10 years! :)

And then blog wise, I’ve been a little lazy… I have been tagged three times for making my very own book boyfriend, a few weeks ago by Pixie from Pixie’s Ponderings, then by Leontine from Leontine’s Book Realm and this week by Miranda from Sweet Vernal Zephyr. Thank you very much ladies, I’m working on the post about my very own ménage of book boyfriends ;)

And I’m late about mentioning the wonderful blog awards I got.

The first is from Book Addict Patti and is called the Prolific Blogger Award. There are no rules to this one. Thanks so much Patti for thinking of me!

I’m passing this award on to a few bloggers that have become very dear to me and have wonderful, prolific blogs that I have to visit every day because I want to know how they are doing and what they are reading.

They are *and I’m taking a risk here with my sleep deprived brain that I forget one of you*, in no particular order:
Chris, Lily, Tam, Cecile, K.C., Mandi, Fiction Vixen, Kris, Blodeuedd, Eyre and Leontine.

Of course there are also Patti herself and Erotic Horizon who doesn’t accept awards anymore but whose blogs I visit daily too.

And I wish I could also mention individually all of the other bloggers that I visit at least every week and who all have great blogs and read wonderful books too. They can be found in my blogrolls.

Second is the Sugar Doll Award, given to me by Smutty Hussy Cecile from All I Want and More. Thanks so much, hon!

I am supposed to list 10 things about myself, then pass the award on to some other bloggers!
Okay, here it goes:

1. I have been together with my very own fantasy man since I was twenty years old

2. I love cats, especially my own black-haired Binny (and white-haired Nosy, who passed away)

3. I have lived all over the place because my dad was with the Airforce

4. I always turn my face to the sun so that shadows will fall behind me (figuratively)

5. ‘Hallelujah’ is one of my favorite songs

6. I love to travel, and have been to countries like New Zealand, Cuba, Morocco, India, 7 different states of the US, France, Germany, UK, Spain, Italy, Gambia, and made city trips to New York, Dublin, Prague, Sidney, Barcelona, Paris, San Francisco, Marrakech and Berlin.

7. I love my family and friends endlessly

8. In the next year or so me and hubby are probably gonna move to one of the four largest cities of our country because he took a job there at one of our country’s academic hospitals. I’m really proud of him (a smart and sexy man, what more does a girl want, right?)!

9. One of my favorite things to do since almost all my life is cuddle in a corner of the couch with a good book (what a surprise, huh?)

10. I love to go out of bed early on a Saturday morning, take my photo camera and go to the river and walk over the dike and through the polder. And take pictures of our beautiful country :)

Because I would love to learn a little bit more about them, I am passing this award along to the following ‘new’ (to me) bloggers:
Sayuri
Tracy
Pattepoilue
Sagi
Silver and her friends
Belly
Twimom
Rexrobotreviews

But I hope anyone else who feels the urge to share 10 things about themselves will do so too, either in a post at your own blog or in the comments section below.

Just let me know when your 10 things are posted, okay?


I’m sorry for the long post, I had to make up for some laziness and that’s never a good thing, lol!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Todays Man Candy - Olympic Hottie Sven Kramer

Today's post has nothing to do with books, only with my proud and smutty Dutch heart that's throbbing for our very own Olympic gold medalist in speed skating, Sven Kramer.



I thought why not dedicate my Man Candy post to this Dutch hottie and introduce you all to some of our country's background (you know bookbloggies Leontine, Marissa and Pearl are from the Netherlands too).

See, skating is a very big thing in our country, not so much the figure skating but especially the speed skating. Every Dutch child learns how to skate and the ultimate goal for a lot of Dutchies is to skate once in their life the "Elfstedentocht" ('tour of 11 cities' - the 'elf/11 steden/cities are connected with each other by river and ditches which are only once every few decades all frozen). It's quite some tour that takes a whole day to skate from beginning to end.

Anyway, we have a lot of famous skaters that are fast, but one of the best of the last decades is definitely Sven Kramer. He's in his early twenties and has won a lot of the important championships and now he's skating for some Olympic medals and the first one (gold) he won last weekend while he was riding an Olympic Record at the 5000 meter race. He has this mighty strong legs and long powerful strides that make me drool...


Well, nuff words said! Let's look at him a little bit closer! Here are another two pics and a video, especially the last one shows his muscled and well trained bod in all it's glory *sigh*. I'm sorry the video is in Dutch, but it's not important what's said anyway. I watch it myself when it's on mute and with some Michael Bublé music in the background (btw at 2.08m you see his cute smile). Hope you enjoy :)

Btw I dedicate this episode of Man Candy to Tam! She'll know why :)

Mondays Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene

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This week’s sexy smutty scene is from Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. I think I’ll read this for this month’s DIK Challenge review, but I still haven’t decided. I might still pick Caught Running by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux or True of Heart by M.L.Rhodes or I Spy Something Bloody by Josh Lanyon. All are M/M reads that are on DIK’s reading list.

At the moment I’m reading a cute, sweet anthology about Nascar racing which is not erotic at all, so I hope to pick the hottest of the above titles! Any advice is welcome ;)

The next (not too) smuttalicious M/M scene is from page 140:

“
But then I saw him staring back at me. And saw that he wanted me. There was an unmistakable hunger in his eyes, and he was eyeing me appreciatively. I didn't really understand it, and it didn't settle my insecurities completely but I managed to get over that bump in the road.
Without speaking we rose as one and stumbled out of the dining room, through the lounge, and paused as Declan realised he didn't know where the bedroom was. I took the initiative and pulled him with me, still clutching him.
We sagged against the bookcase in my room; Declan's hands were starting to pull my shirt up my body, but I pressed against him, inhibiting his actions. This time it had nothing to do with the insecurity of being naked before him. I was now desperate, close to the edge, and unable to hold on much longer. He gasped as I ground against him, searching for friction. I found it, and his gasp turned into a guttural moan as I locked into him and began getting us off.
"Simon..." he moaned, and I liked hearing my name said that way.
I pulled his lower lip between my own and then released it to lick along the side of his neck. I let my mouth rest against the hollow of his throat; Declan threw his head back. His hands came to rest on my arse as he helped me continue to thrust against him.
Declan swore to himself, his breathing becoming more hoarse. I raised my head again, I wanted to see his face when he came. He bit his lip, and closed his eyes; I kissed him, and they flew back open. His breath erupted from him in a hot rush into my mouth, and he sagged against me. I bucked against him slowly, letting him ride out his release. As he sighed contentedly and his breathing steadied, I kept eye contact with him and started thrusting again. He held me tighter, his eyes never off me until I cried out and fell against him. He continued to hold me, and his hands travelled up my back, rubbing softly. I buried my head in the crook of his neck as post-orgasmic bliss gave way quickly to Oh fuck, what have I done?
We didn't speak. The only sound in the room was both of us breathing heavily; we leaned against each other, sweating and dishevelled, unwilling to let go. Waiting for a second round.
”

Sean Kennedy’s website

Backblurb:
Football, friends, and film are the most important parts of Simon Murray's life, likely in that order. Despite being lonely, Simon is cautious about looking for more, and his best friends despair of him ever finding that special someone to share his life. Against his will, they drag him to a party, where Simon barges into a football conversation and ends up defending the honour of star forward Declan Tyler -- unaware that the athlete is present and listening. Like his entire family, Simon revels in living in Melbourne, Victoria, the home of Australian Rules football and mecca for serious fans. There, players are deemed gods and treated as such - until they do something to cause them to fall out of public favour. Declan is suffering a horrendous year of injuries, and the public is taking him to task for it, so Simon's support is a bright spot in his struggles. In that first awkward meeting, neither man has any idea they will change each other's lives forever. As Simon and Declan fumble toward building a relationship together, there is yet another obstacle in their way: keeping Declan's homosexuality a secret amidst the intrusion of well-meaning friends and an increasingly suspicious media. They realise that nothing remains hidden forever... and they know the situation will only become more complicated when Declan's private life is revealed. Declan will be forced to make some tough choices that may result in losing either the career he loves or the man he wants. And Simon has never been known to make things easy - for himself or for others.

Dean Day – 10 Things I Love about Dean

This post is part of the Dean Day blog tour. Look at the right sidebar for all the Dean Day participants. At least one of the bloggers is having a contest with some amazing prizes to win… and maybe more than one ;)

Who doesn’t know who Dean is *I bet most of you do know though* check out the TV show Supernatural! One of the demon hunting Winchester brothers is Dean, played by the cute and wonderful actor Jensen Ackles. His younger brother is Sam, who’s also cute in a different way. I just think he pouts a bit too much ;). Sorry Sammy-girls!

So, it’s pretty common knowledge that I have a fictional crush on Dean (one that my hubby doesn’t know about FYI and I like it to keep that way *g*. Because I’m not sure if he’ll understand the ‘fictional’ part of this sentence ;)).

What do I like about Dean you ask? Well, you asked for it so here it goes:

1
First of all, look at him! Isn’t it obvious what I like about him?! He has gorgeous green eyes, kissable full lips, a damn-cute hairdo and a perfect bod!

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2
He’s self-assured, walks with a confident stance, is fearless and bold and he has that brooding bad boy thing going on. Yum! (I must add that Jensen Ackles is really a fabulous actor to play Dean’s part so freakin’ awesome).

3
Despite his toughness, he has this tiny little heart, especially when it comes to his brother for whom he feels so responsible. Dean’s not afraid to show his emotions every now and then, even if it’s grief or sorrow. My female heart is throbbing for him in those moments and all I wanna do is wrap my arms around his broad shoulders. Like this moment in last week’s episode (5.14 My Bloody Valentine) in the final scene when he asked for help with his eyes lift up to the sky. Really heartbreaking! Jensen Ackles can make me cry when he’s doing a great acting job like that.



And this video shows some of his tears, suffering and other emotions *sigh*:

  4 He enjoys life with all its seductions, like fast food, beer, beautiful woman and sex. So, he’s getting to my secret inner hedonist.   5 He’s a sexy kisser!   Or watch the one in my right side bar, titled ‘Dean Winchester loves kissing’.   6 Dean appears to be the typical bad boy but secretly he’s all angelic goodness, where Sammy represents demonic evilness (watch season 3/4 and you know what I mean).   7 He likes to sing and I think that’s sexy. For a video with all clips of Dean singing in the show look here (embedding is disabled). This includes the funny Eye of the Tiger clip. :) And here’s Jensen Ackles (not Dean) singing with Jason Manns, which is kinda cute:     8 Did I mention he has a great body? ;)   [image]   9 I like a man with a good sense of humor and Dean makes me laugh all the time. Like in last week’s episode when they were discussing Cupid as a lower kind of angel and Dean asked: “Cupid? You mean the little flying fat kid in dypers?” A lot of the times it’s in his expressions and behavior too, like in this video about his funny faces:   Or the one in my right side bar, titled ‘La Dean attitude’.   10 I can’t say enough about his eyes *sigh*   [image] [image] And here’s a last treat, a video from the episode My Bloody Valentine (5.14) that’s about Valentine’s Day and shows us an atypical Dean!     I hoped you enjoyed my little homage to Dean :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Participants of the Dean Day Blog Tour: Pixiedust: ponderingpixiedust.blogspot.com Donna Grant: donnagrant.com Belly: hangingwithbells.blogspot.com Sagi: sagis-randomness.blogspot.com/ Stacy: trelainastarblazer.blogspot.com Leontine: leontine1976.blogspot.com Fallon Blake: fallonblake.blogspot.com/ Bronwyn Green: bronwyngreenblog.blogspot.com Eliza Gayle: elizagayle.blogspot.com JoJo: jojosbookcorner.blogspot.com Sayuri: www.damnheart.com ggs_closet: gigisconsignmentcloset.blogspot.com Savory Tv: www.savory.tv Veronica: fantasygirlreviews.blogspot.com

Happy Gay Friday & Josh Lanyon's Adrien English Mysteries

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TGIF! I'm ready for the weekend :) Although my work laptop still isn't reinstalled proparly after the virus hit it, I'm beginning to feel less stressed! I don't care anymore that the network guys are messing up with getting it operating again (okay, still a little bit), because I've rediscovered my home computer which is a desktop but runs way faster than my laptop did. It also is in the bedroom, so no more late nights surfing the internet and shopping for ebooks after hubby went to bed, which in a weird manner gives me more time to blog and hop and read. Limiting the time frame somehow helps to become more efficient ;) And the going to bed by 1 am (instead of 3 am) makes that I read in bed more.

And I'm also becoming less stressed because I started this very well written Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon and that's really making me relaxed and happy...
I've finished the first book, Fatal Shadows, and the second, A Dangerous Thing, almost. I hear everyone who has read all of the five books of this series say that they loved the first book, the second one not so much, but the third, fourth and last book were really, really great. So far I enjoyed the first book pretty much (4 stars), although I missed the romance in that one. But I must say that it didn't bother me at all while I was reading it because it's so freakin' well written. You just want to keep going and before you know it, you've come to the last page. This has a lot to do with Adrien's voice, his dry tone that's full of humor and self-mockery is very appealing and prompted quite a few laughs.

That hasn't changed in the second book and finally we get some bed room action and a hint of romance as well. I was starting to freak out a little after reading more than half of the book and Adrien and Jake still hadn't so much as kissed! But now they have kissed and even had their first rather awkward but great love scene. I'm prepared for the worst though, because I know some girlzz *cough*Kris*cough* call Jake the-asshole-that-shall-not-be-named because of the things he's going to do... I can imagine what those things are, him being the gay cop that's so deep in the closet he can't even find himself (quoted freely from Adrien).

Well, I'll see were this thing with Adrien and Jake is going and why some of you don't like book 2 so much... only another 30 pages to go...

Review of This Side of Heaven by Fallon Blake

Fallon Blake
This Side of Heaven
Loose Id, February 9, 2010

Genre & Keywords: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Angels, Demons, Telal

Rating: êêêê½
Heat level: ¹¹¹

The Back Blurb:
Samara Hale has learned to keep everyone at arm’s length, with good reason. Abandoned by a father she’s never known, she’ll do anything to not become her mother and waste her love on a man who will only end up leaving. A powerful empath, she’s grown comfortable hiding behind her self-imposed walls. On the heels of her uncle’s death, a stranger shows up claiming to be a Telal, a half-demon, half-angel. She’s sure he’s out of his mind—unbelievably hot, but still, out of his mind. When she’s attacked by demons, he’s the only one who can save her. Samara will have to trust him with her life. She’s just not sure she can trust him with her heart.

With a forbidden love, an ancient prophecy, and demons on the hunt, Nathaniel knows this would be the worst time to act on his feelings for his mortal charge. But with Samara’s life in danger, he must not only come face-to-face with temptation, but with an old rival whose ambitions include claiming Samara for Lucifer himself. Nathaniel will risk it all to save the woman he loves and he can only hope Samara will take a risk of her own.

I received this book from the author to review it.

As you can tell from the back blurb This Side of Heaven is an action packed story. The heroine, Samara, has only recently learned about demons, angels and Telal (part human, part angel, part demon) and immediately has to fight for her life, since demons want to posses her. Yet, despite of all the action there’s plenty of time for romance. Oh, and what romance! Her protector, Nathaniel, is one hot and delicious Telal! I instantly fell in love with him. Although Samara does not, she feels very attracted to him from the first moment:

“The room grew warm, and her skin felt as if she’d spent all day in the sun: heated, tingly, and slightly damp with perspiration. Mindless of her actions, she gripped the neckline of her white sundress, fanning herself. She fought to hold his gaze, willing her eyes not to drink in some of his more interesting attributes. Like the curves of his muscular arms folded across his wide chest. And the toned, washboard stomach she suspected was hidden under his fitted black T-shirt.”

This attraction has only partially something to do with her ability to feel his feelings. As an empath she has learned to suppress her ability as a child because it scared her. Now this skill is the reason why demons are after her. Samara has to process a lot of information about all sorts of paranormal/fantasy stuff. Together with her we learn about them too. For me, as a reader who is not used to much paranormal reads, the world building was done in precisely the right manner. With little bits of information explained to Sam, well dosed not to overwhelm her. Although this book only contained about 100 pages, I liked the world Ms. Blake built here in this relatively small amount of pages! And I’m curious where she will take us in the next books of this series.

What appealed to me most about This Side of Heaven was the chemistry between the hero and heroine! This was very good, almost perfect. And I think I can safely say that Sam and Nathaniel are one of my favorite M/F couples I have ever encountered in my romances. They are not only steamy together, but also very sweet. With both their abilities to know what the other feels or thinks their relationship finds a very solid basis quickly. At the most important moments they can find each other on other levels than the physical one. And apart from all that, they have good and sweet conversations that are lifelike even if they talk supernatural things ;)
I think the fast growing level of trust between Sam and Nathaniel elevated their physical attraction and love scenes to something scorching hot. Ms. Blake sure knows how to write a sex scene that is making you gasp and reach for a fan and cool drink.

So, if you are looking for a super sexy story about a well-build angel/demon world that has a good dose of suspense and sweet loving, you should definitely pick up This Side of Heaven! And the good thing is that there are more books in this series to look forward to. Maybe one of them will feature the cute twins Zack and Matthias or the very intriguing Seth, Nathaniel’s old friend who let his demon side dictate his life for the past era’s. I for sure can’t wait to see were Ms. Blake will take us in the sequels and I'm glad she asked me to read This Side of Heaven!

Mondays Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene

I don’t know about you but I can use something to make me forget about the horrible weekend I had. I had to deal with a virus on my laptop, it hijacked one of my ftp passwords (according to my provider) but it was untraceable. It presented itself twice on the website of Goodreads as an antivirus window (I didn’t click on it though). Just to be sure my laptop had to be reinstalled and you all know what a hassle that can be… So here’s to some smuttiness to make this a brighter day!

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This week’s sexy smutty scene is from a M/M novella I finished last weekend, Upwardly Mobile by Clare London. It was a pretty good read with great character insight for such a short story. I won’t write a review for this one, but I rated it with 3.5 stars. It's about a couple having phone sex (while on public transportation!).
It contained lots of sexiness, like the next smuttalicious scene from page 27:

“
Caleb marveled at how his lover could tell how close he was, just from a gasp. He supposed he’d given too many gasps, too many times, for it to be a mystery any more. Surprising, delicious thought. He smiled, then grimaced as the excitement tugged again at his groin. “Not going to last long. You know? It’s too, too good…”
“You will,” Owen snapped.
“Are you joining me?”
Owen grunted with frustration. “How can I?”
Caleb grinned in the darkness of the car interior. He could imagine the flickering lights inside the train and his lover sitting with legs spread, his hand down inside his smart pants. The vision made his desire spike painfully in his balls. Owen with his head thrown back, lips dry, panting as he stroked himself. The whimpers he’d probably make, the sobs underlying the rattling of the train. The initial disinterest of fellow travelers that might suddenly switch to curiosity…and shock. Exposure! “Use your newspaper.”
“Huh?” Owen sounded startled, then cautious. “Maybe I didn’t buy one tonight.”
Caleb grunted this time, also with frustration. He hadn’t been joking when he said talking wasn’t uppermost in his mind any longer. His fingers paused at the base of his cock, squeezing as hard as he could bear. He could feel his skin prickle, begging for the stroking to continue. “And maybe the sky has finally fallen in, Chicken Little. You always buy one. Open it up and cover your lap.”
Owen laughed loudly, then smothered it with a snort of outrage. “No way that’ll work.”
“Yes way. Make it.” Caleb squeezed more gently at his arousal. “I told you I’m not a patient kinda guy. How many more times?” He reached his other hand down between his legs, pushing aside the crinkled sac holding his rock-hard balls. His index finger snagged in the curls around the base of his dick. Impatiently, he stretched farther back with it, stroking the smooth skin behind. His ass clenched, the muscles teasing him with their need, and he gritted his teeth with the effort of holding back. “How many stations left?”
Owen’s voice drifted away and back, as if he’d turned to look out of the train window. “Four.”
Caleb sighed. “Thank God.” Maybe. “You know I’m not normally the type to eke out the torture. But I’d like to think I could last for four.” He started the lazy stroke again and a moan slid unprompted from his mouth. “Fuck, no, maybe not tonight. I am particularly horny.”
“And you sound particularly lost,” came Owen’s admonition. There was a firmness to his voice that lifted the hairs on the back of Caleb’s neck.
“Lost?”
“That’s how it sounds to me. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes.” Whatever makes it work for you. He really wanted Owen to be with him. To share this. To enjoy it. It was the best of all feelings with Owen, the sweetest, the sharpest, the deepest, darkest, dirtiest…oh, yes, oh fuck…
“But not yet!” Owen repeated, even more sharply than before. “Caleb! Do you hear me?”
Caleb imagined Owen’s eyes, and that dark whirlpool illusion. Imagined the taste of his guy’s moist lips and salty skin. The grip of Owen’s fist on his cock, the fingers of his other hand running down Caleb’s spine, easing between his buttocks. Caleb moaned again. His legs were cramping slightly from the tension and one of his feet was awkwardly twisted under the gas pedal. With what he considered a superhuman effort, he dragged his attention back from the brink again, the very delicious, well-deserved brink. “Sounds like you want control of this. Of my fun. How the hell do you think you’re going to do that?”
Owen sucked in his breath. “You want to know?”
The tone of his lover’s voice was fierce and as demanding as Caleb could ever wish for. His heart started beating even more quickly. He looked out of the car window and imagined he could see the lights from the distant railway line, refracted through the drizzling rain. The sound of an emergency vehicle siren wailed in and out of his hearing as it darted across the other side of town.
“Yes,” he said. “I do.”
Owen’s chuckle was quieter but infinitely more devilish—a sound that trailed more goose bumps down Caleb’s spine.
“I’ll direct you.”
”

Clare London’s website


Backblurb:
Since the day they met, Owen's restraint has been an exciting foil to Caleb's unruly lack of discipline. Now established lovers, they can't deny how welcome that balance is in their lives. Two very different men, both strong-willed - it shouldn't work between them, but it does! Owen's steady world is rocked by Caleb's boldness, and Caleb finds a haven in return. Now they share their lives, a strong need for each other and a highly developed love of play.
On this weary night at the end of a working week, they're caught in traffic on opposite sides of town. They'll have to wait to meet up until the journey's over, to enjoy the evening together.
Or will they?
Caleb decides he won't wait to play, and he'll play as dirty as he dares, or as much as they can handle over the phone...