MishyJo
After finishing my lit degree, I completely stopped reading. I had lost the ability to read for pleasure. But in early 2013 I discovered reading could be social. And in the autumn of 2013 I discovered MM romances and that reading could be downright HOT. I haven't stopped reading since!
I live on Goodreads but I promise to figure out Booklikes eventually.
Pilgrimage
I love Kim Fielding but I struggled with this one. 2.5 stars?I'm glad that Pher and Dani loved it more. Their happiness is what really matters.
The Last Concubine
Lan is raised by his mother as a girl. She hopes that with this deception, Lan's power hungry older half-brother won't feel threatened and kill him before he is old enough to be sent away. 
Her brother eventually discovers the truth, however, and gives Princess Lan as a gift to a powerful general, Hui, in a move of masterful political manipulation. When Hui discovers his beautiful 7th concubine is a man, he wants to give into his lust for Lan, but the situation is complicated. When his beautiful young concubine doesn't become pregnant, what will people say? Although Lan prefers to dress as a woman, what if those around him discover the truth? What rumors will Lan's brother circulate about Hui taking a cross-dressing concubine? So, despite the powerful feelings between the two, Lan's lantern is rarely lit.
The seeming lack of attention from Hui makes Lan and outcast among the other sister wives. She (he) is clearly beautiful so why does Hui never visit her house?
The politics of it all were fascinating. The tension and emotions were palpable.
The first 70% was so good. The last 30%, not as great. But still I loved it.
Bonus points for the fact that this was like nothing else I have read before.
BR with Adam. Thanks for reading this with me!
Think Of England
5 I can't believe I loved a book with so much plot stars.BR with the recently forgiven Nick.
To me, Daniel totally stole the show.
I loved the way he used everyone's preconceived notions of who he was to fly under the radar and manipulate expectations in carrying out his objectives. There were glimpses of the pain that these prejudices cause him as well, and if there are later installations in this story I wonder if those will be explored in greater detail. For now it was just nice to be reminded not to let the bastards get the best of you.
Although Curtis (Archie) was the primary MC, to me he was nothing special. But his moments of self-realization and his help in developing Daniel's character added nicely to the story.
The mystery itself was good. It moved the story along without so many details that I felt weighed down. But then, again, mysteries are not my thing. That being said, I enjoyed this one quite a lot. It brought us to several poignant moments between Curtis and Daniel.
Although I hate when authors write a sequel just because they can, I think a sequel to this story would work really well. This relationship is still in its infancy. It would be interesting to see how Curtis comes to terms with his new found sexuality and to learn more about the enigma that is Daniel.
End of the Beginning
3.5 stars. Incredibly written but a bit too much internal dialogue and too little activity for my personal taste.
BAMF
A few years ago I was at Disney World and lined up for a ride called Expedition Everest. It looked just like the Matterhorn at Disneyland which I have been riding like a pro since I was 6. Well Expedition Everest was a WHOLE DIFFERENT RIDE. Where the Matterhorn goes kinda fast and has a few sharp turns and dips, Expedition Everest also goes backwards in the dark. What a surprise that was.Just like that, BAMF was not the ride I was expecting. I was in the dark. Everything was backwards. It twisted in ways I didn't expect. I loved it.
Dirty Pirate
So, he wasn't really a pirate. But apparently he was sexy.
He pretended to be a pirate with his nephew. And he said he was in his Craigslist add because he really didn't want a roommate.
This was funny. I liked the dynamic between the two MCs MOST of the time. The bit between when Eric moves in and him and Quinton finally hook up didn't really work for me but that was just a short bit in a short book.
I had to read a book with a red cover for the Zodiac Challenge this month. Does reading a 20 page book count? I say it does.
Cruel to be Kind
My first vampire book ever.And what a way to pop that cherry.
I am still thinking about this story hours later. Wondering what will happen next, how the relationship will develop. Frustrated from the need for MORE.
I NEED MORE. MORE I SAY.
Damaged Package
3.75 bike delivery guys have hot asses stars
I really like SA McAuley's stories. Her writing is diverse and you never know what you are going to get. I enjoy the slightly paranormal elements she throws into some of her stories such as [b:Someday It Will Be|17402464|Someday It Will Be|S.A. McAuley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368979686s/17402464.jpg|24237341] (which made me cry) and the very very short, very very moving [b:This is What a Cold Lake Looks Like|16174798|This is What a Cold Lake Looks Like|S.A. McAuley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354035322s/16174798.jpg|22024235]. I loved the fluffy sweet [b:Tread Marks & Trademarks|19096770|Tread Marks & Trademarks|S.A. McAuley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385982553s/19096770.jpg|27125912]. And now this book, a romance with a bit of plot.
I absolutely loved the first 80% or so about this book. There was a lot of character development, a lot of relationship development. And a hint of something else going on. I liked the way the age difference was handled. Trevor's wanderlust fascinated me. And the way McAuley combined insta-love with a slow burn really worked.
But, somewhere around the 80% mark, the story it shifted from a relationship driven story to a plot driven story and I got lost in the transition. I was so concerned about Trevor and Deacon's relationship at that point that I didn't really care about the mystery/investigation thing also going on. I just couldn't make the shift. Which was probably my problem and not the story's.
So my question remains: Where the hell is book 2 of Trademarks and Tread Marks, Ms. McCauley? Maybe it will come out after Border Wars books 4?
 - Lee Brazil)
Taking Chances: Pulp Friction 2014 (Elemental Connections)
Chance and Rory were my least favorite PF 2013 couple. I like them more now. I'm glad they got this extra bit.Thanks for the read Jen.
A Change of Tune
I give the rock star starting over and the small town sheriff 3 stars. Maybe a bit more. Had Grissom been a better written character from the beginning, this would have easily have been a 4 star read from me.
I will start by saying that by 20% I was ready to DNF. And I would have but for the fact that I didn't want to DNF on two BRs in a row with Marco. So I stuck it out. And it got better as it went.
Grissom (a terrible name, isn't it? Yes it's his last name, but his first name, Virgil, named for the astronaut, is just as bad) was aggressive and demanding and not in an attractive way. He wasn't unlikable in an interesting sort of way, he was just flat out unlikable. And the insta-lust between nasty Grissom and the otherwise wonderful Johnny was hard to believe. What could Johnny possibly have seen in him?
Fortunately as the story progressed, Grissom's rough edges smoothed out and he became more and more likable.
And Johnny? He was awesome. His character was well written. He had a big heart. He wasn't perfect but he was trying to live a good life while being true to himself. Accepting himself as a gay man, putting himself out there despite being in the public eye, starting a family and a new life -- all so well done.
I also liked the fact that this was an OFY story rather GFY. True OFY stories seem to be harder to come by. Needless to say, I was pretty interested in seeing how this story played out.
So, a mixed bag this one was.
 - Lane Hayes)
Better Than Friends (Better Than Stories)
Better than Friends is book 3 in Lane Hayes's Better Than series. Although I liked it well enough, it wasn't quite a good as books 1 and 2 in my opinion. I loved Jack. Although the story was told from Curtis's first person point of view, I felt that we got to know Jack really well. There was a strong sense of who he was and how he had gotten there without a huge information dump. His character here was nicely different than what I expected from the little bit we knew of him from book 2. The real Jack and his prior relationship with Peter was far more complex and Jack was far more likable than the glimpse of him we got from Jay's perspective in Better than Chance.
But I also felt a little misled about Jack through much of the book. He owned a leather bar. Was he a leather daddy? I kinda hoped so. He was a biker and owned a bike repair shop as well. Was there gonna be an MC in the background? That would have been fun too. There were hints that he had a bit of a Dom thing going on. Was a D/s type of relationship going to develop between the MCs? That would have been awesome. I suppose we were figuring Jack out as Curtis was, but in the end I was a bit let down about how these various assumptions played out.
Curtis I liked less. I understood his insecurities. To the extent there was a love triangle, it didn't bother me although the fallout was predictable. But there were moments that he was downright whiny. Those moments were not only annoying but didn't seem consistent with who Curtis was and I couldn't see why Jack tolerated him at those times.
The romance itself was pretty good. I liked the chemistry between the two and the way that Jack and Curtis played off of each other. At times the relationship development felt somewhat similar to that in Better than Chance, however, and the two story lines are now a bit confused in my mind.
I think that writing books in a series can be a double edged sword for an author. Although there is already a built-in audience by the time book 3 rolls around, there are also expectations that have to be met, including the dueling expectations that the story be as strong as the prior entries and consistent in their feel while not so similar as to become predictable formulaic.
I am both hopeful for a book 4 in this series and optimistic that it will carry it's own weight in this series and not ride on the coattails of the first 3.
This book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of providing an honest review for Because Two Men Are Better Than One!
Better Than Chance
This was really good but I wonder if it might have been even better if I had read it before book 1. Review later.
