Six Sexy Second Quarter Reads

So in the end of March, I made a post highlighting my favorite books for the first quarter of the year. Jump HERE to see it. Since I love recommending books to people, I figured I'd try it again. So here's a list of the books I think you should one-click right now! Because good stuff!

There's not an exact order to this list, although you'll notice there are two #1s. And that's because I loved both of them so much! Putting For Real at the top of the post does sort of imply it's my favorite-favorite, although my other favorite, Jackdaw, is so different it's almost impossible to compare the two. In the interest of expediency, I'm calling it a tie. So, without any more blathering, here are my six favorite books for April, May, and June...

1. For Real

This is one of the few books I've read that deals with the topic of BDSM as if real people might be involved in it, and not some class of weird sexual superheroes. For me, For Real is just about the perfect book. There are big ideas and small moments of tenderness, and an absolutely fantastic use of language. The way Alexis Hall weaves in bits of brilliance while keeping the story moving is astonishing. This is a book you could spend hours discussing with your friends - trust me, I have. It's about real people, about challenging expectations, and it's one of the most unique love stories I've ever read.

1. Jackdaw

My other #1 favorite story this quarter was Jackdaw by KJ Charles. It's the fourth book in her Charm of Magpies series, and the only one not to feature Stephen & Crane. They're there, but they're kind of the bad guys, which was fun. While the first three books in the series told a BIG story, with huge stakes and a romance for the ages, Jackdaw had a much narrower focus. This one's about two of the guys who got caught up in the BIG DRAMA from the previous book, how it tore them apart and how they eventually found their way back together.

And oh, you guys, the FEELS in this one. Jackdaw has so much heart, and so much sweetness. Jonah was one of the bad guys in the last book, but he redeems himself - and then some - here. The role-reversal (good to bad/bad to good) won't mean quite as much if you haven't read the other books (so jump HERE to get started with The Magpie Lord) but even without that background, this is an entertaining read.

3. Baked Fresh So this is the second of three books in Annabeth Albert's Portland Heat series, and while they're all good, this one was my favorite. (The other two are Served Hot and Delivered Fast.) I think the reason I liked this one the best was the chemistry between the heroes Vic & Robin, and the sensitive way the author dealt with the subject of homelessness and drug addiction among kids on the street. It's really easy to make an "issues" book feel like a school assignment - something that's good for you, but not all that fun to read - but this story flowed naturally. Vic and Robin are a little bit of an odd couple, but they totally work together, and I was so happy with the way their story unfolded. 

4. On A Lee Shore

I have recommended this book to all kinds of different people. Like YOU. Read it! On a Lee Shore is hands down the best historical I've read this quarter, maybe even this year. It's like they took the movie Master and Commander and made the Russell Crow and Paul Bettany characters gay. The details are gritty and real, and the voice is perfect for the time period. My friend Nan, who has read all the Patrick O'Brien "Master and Commander" novels, seconds my assessment of the voice. Elin Gregory nailed it, and she tells an entertaining story of pirates (and love!) on the high seas.




5. Clear Water

This one came highly recommended from on of the private Facebook pages I hang out on, and I'm SO happy I read it. Last year I read a different book by Amy Lane, and while it was entertaining, it didn't grip me the way Clear Water did. Both Patrick and Whiskey are tremendously sympathetic characters, and their journey to happiness felt real to me. There's a mystery-suspense subplot that worked fairly well, and the resolution ticked all my boxes. I love books that take me out of my regular old world, and this one had me spending lots of time on a houseboat on a hot summer's day. Too fun!





6. Jinn and Juice

Look! A Girl!!

Heh.

Jinn and Juice isn't the only m/f book I read this quarter, but it was absolutely the best! Nicole Peeler is a wizard at creating memorable characters and her dialogue rocks. This is the first in a new series set in Pittsburgh (of all places). Because of the 'first book' thing, there was a fair amount of world building, but it didn't bog the plot down at all, and I loved the way she integrated the setting into elements of the story. You'll have to read it to see what I mean, but this book could ONLY have been set in Pittsburgh. This one's all about the urban fantasy fun, with lots of hot teasing but no actual naughty bits. She's holding out on us for book 2, I guess.

There you have it! Six books that are well worth your reading time. I hope you one-click on at least a couple. Meanwhile, I've already started on next quarter with last nights read of Payback and Vertigo by Jordan Castillo Price. They're the first two books in her Channeling Morpheus series, and so far my only complaint is that I bought Payback as a single book. I didn't realize how short it is, and if you're interested in queer vampires having blazing hot sex, look for the whole five-book set. I guarantee you'll want to keep reading, but spending $2.99 for each book is fairly pricey when you can get all of them for $6.99.

Cheers!
Liv

If you've got a favorite recent read, leave a note in the comments...

I'm infatuated with this cover, ya'll...

What Makes A Good Romance?

For those of you who live in a box, fair warning. We're heading straight into Valentine's Day. The rest of you already knew that, and you're either quaking with anticipation or ready to find a box of your own.

I'm sort of in the middle. Twenty years of marriage'll do that to a person.

But enough about me. The preponderance of pink and red, heart-shaped tchotkies taking up space in every grocery store and all the adverts filling my email in-box with ideas for the perfect gift got me thinking. What IS romance, anyway? I write the stuff. You'd think I'd be able to come up with  good definition.

'Eh, that's what Dictionary.com is for.

Romance

1.

a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds,pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginarysetting.

2.

the colorful world, life, or conditions depicted in such tales.

3.

a medieval narrative, originally one in verse and in some Romance dialect, treating of heroic, fantastic, or supernatural events, often in the form of allegory.

4.

a baseless, made-up story, usually full of exaggeration or fancifulinvention.

5.

a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion, or desire.

6.

romantic character or quality.

7.

a romantic affair or experience; a love affair.

Really? 

I mean, really? The best you can do is natter on about literary forms until you get to #5? And we have to wait until #7 to get to the really important one: A Love Affair.

Because imho, all good romance is essentially a love affair. Whether it's you and your beloved (or be-liked-a-lot) connecting in a crowd, or that moment when you finish a book and immediately turn back to page one because you can't bare to be separated from the characters, it's all about the love.

So romance is a love affair, but what else is it? What are the other elements that make up a good love story, whether in real life or on the page?

Infatuation.

Infatuation is the smoky lens, the amber glow, the filter between you and your beloved that turns every molecule of their being into perfection. You know how to test this theory? Go get your high school year book and open it to the picture of the person you were crushin' on back then. Now look at them.

Really look.

Utter perfection? Or are you asking yourself how you ever fell for a guy with a mullet? Because if you're got a crush on a guy with a mullet, you are seriously GONE, and more power to you.

Anticipation

Ahh...anticipation. Tom Petty spoke the truth when he said the waiting is the hardest part. Over the weekend I read Changing Plans by LA Witt. It's  series of novellas about a gay couple who meet in an airport when their flight is delayed. Even though contemporary society is way more open than it used to be, they couldn't just, like, throw down a smooch the first time the subject came up. They had to wait for a private moment, a private place, and OMG they took one of the longest elevator rides in my life.  Every detail - shoulders bumping, fingers brushing, an almost-growl when someone else got on - heightened the wanting, so when they finally got there...

Wow.

Obstacles

And I'm not talking obstacles like some clueless soul who gets on the elevator and keeps you from making out. I mean real, God-we-gotta-deal-with-this-shit obstacles, like, he's your best friend's younger brother, or she lives a solid six-hour drive south of you. Or one of you has an ex- who doesn't quite realize it's over. Or one of you thinks monogamy is for other people.

Or one of you doesn't know which forks go in which slot in the drawer.

Ahem.

When your infatuation filter is securely in place, it makes those obstacles look like tiny little pebbles, but even pebbles can hurt if they get stuck in your shoe. 

Heat

Yeah baby. This is where the fun begins. You and your beloved, or the characters in that book you can't bear to put down, need physical contact more than food or water or oxygen. And when bodies collide, the friction could light up Manhattan.

To illustrate the heat thing, I want to share the first real kiss between two of my favorite characters. In the novella "Shackles", from the collection Liberty & Other Stories by Alexis Hall, Milord is a prisoner sentenced to die, and Ruben is a defrocked priest. The way they drive each other crazy drives me crazy, and I absolutely love it.

Ruben cradled Milord's face between his hands and brought their mouths together. And they kissed and it was awkward, the sort of fumbling collision Ruben thought he had left behind with adolescence. But it was sweet, too, this fresh-born kiss, full of things unspoken and undreamed, and Ruben simply closed his eyes and let it bloom between them. Milord's lips softened under his and welcomed him, and together they gently learned the ways to move and give and take and dance, sharing breath and warmth and a slow, deep pleasure.


So there you have my thoughts on what makes a good romance. You need infatuation, anticipation, obstacles, and heat, and when you mix them all together, you may well end up with the real deal.

So what did I miss? Are there any pieces of the romance puzzle that should be included here? Do tell in the comments...

Happy Valentine's Day!
Liv

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My Favorite Books in 2014

This year I did something new. I started a Pinterest board to keep track of all the books I've read. Last January, I didn't truly expect to be pinning to the board in December, but here I am, still at it. (Jump HERE to take a look at my board.) There are 117 pins, and while last summer I didn't think I'd ever be able to come up with a list of ten favorites, it seems that having a little time and distance from the stories made it possible.

I'm not going to write full-on reviews here - just record a couple thoughts about why I liked the books. As you read through my choices, you'll likely notice a couple things. I'm not much into the literary fiction, and none of my favorites fell very far from the romance tree. Most of them are from the m/m (queer/lgbt) romance subgenre, and while the interwebs are full of opinions about middle aged straight women who read and write about gay men, it's what's working for me right now.

So here's my top ten list for 2014 - all books I loved, most of them I read at least a couple times, and all books I'd recommend in a heartbeat.



10. The Great Sex Olympics of 221B by Eli Easton.
This was a bit of a departure for me - first time reading Eli Easton and first time reading fanfic. It's about Sherlock & Watson, specifically the version of the characters created by the BBC, and lordy was it entertaining. This one was a free download, but I've got a couple other things by Ms. Easton on the kindle now.









9. This Rough Magic by Josh Lanyon
I love a good historical, and this one pretty much nailed it. It's a mystery with a sidecar of romance, and Mr. Lanyon totally sold me on the early 20th century San Francisco setting.












8. Glitterland by Alexis Hall
I think Alexis Hall is doing some of the most imaginative work of any writer, any genre, anywhere. He made me like Ash, who's really kind of a jerk. ;) Here's a link to my review from last February.










7. Love Hacked by Penny Reid
So...mea culpa...when I reviewed this book last April (HERE), I said I liked it, but it wouldn't make my top ten list.
Yeah.
Wrong about that.
Smart and funny and sexy, this one stayed with me. It's hard to do contemporary romance well - I mean, come on, how many reasons can you come up with that a couple of healthy heterosexuals WOULDN'T get together? - but the conflict felt real and the characters rang true.






6. The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles
I don't even know where to begin with this one. It's the first in a trilogy. It's romantic fantasy, the kind of re-imagined history I eat up with a spoon. It's a heckuva lot of fun, and I hope you skip on over to the ebook retailer of your choice and grab a copy!

5. Hold on Tight by Serena Bell
I'm not one for the angst, but a friend (ahem, Amanda) INSISTED I read this one, and I'm so glad she did. The raw honesty in this story of what happens when life tears a couple apart, then throws them back together made for a "stay up way late after a night shift because I can't put the book down" kind of read.










4. Hainted by Jordan L. Hawk
Ms. Hawk has a couple other very popular series, and while I've read parts of them (and liked them a lot), this is the book that grabbed me. I love the combination of mythology and setting and characters (Dan! and Leif!). I can't even tell you how many times I've re-read this one, and every time, I like it even more.









3. Enlightenment (trilogy) by Joanna Chambers
I'm counting these three (Provoked, Beguiled, and Enlightened) as a single entry because the endings of the first two are sort of cliffhangerish, or at least unresolved, so they really can be read as one. The sample of the first book absolutely gutted me, and I knew I had to read the rest. When I think of Ms. Chambers' writing, words like elegant and restrained come to mind (although her naughty bits are fun, too), and I'm absolutely in love with the way she handled the historical setting. Brilliant!






2. Prosperity by Alexis Hall
Yeah, Mr. Hall made my list twice, because he's really that good. HERE's my review of Prosperity, but just to recap, this is one of the boldest, most imaginative books I've read all year. It's a demanding book - all in dialect - but SO worth the effort. Even better, there are a bunch of stories set in the same world that'll be coming out soon!






1. Think of England by KJ Charles
The thing that set this book apart for me was the subtle, unapologetic understanding of it's period, as well as the connection to it's heritage. And yeah, since that heritage is Victorian pulp fiction, specifically King Solomon's Mines, you know you're in for a good time. In the interest of saving us both from embarrassment, I'm going to spare you the fangirl squeeing. Just read it. It's really, really good.
(Here's a link to my Goodreads review.)





Best Anthology - I read a number of anthologies this year - a couple of great holiday sets from Carina, another rather unfortunately called Butt Ninjas from Hell that was way better than it's title, but it was Another Place In Time that resonated most with me. The stories are consistently good, and confirmed my love of historical fiction, especially the m/m variety.









Apparently the only way I could come up with a top-ten list was to let myself go wild with the honorable mentions. Here they are (in no discernible order)...
Hot Head, The Quick, Special Delivery, Liesmith, Circus of the Damned, The Theory of Attraction, Dangerously Happy, Catch A Ghost/ Long Time Gone/ Daylight Again, Snowball in Hell, The Haunting of Maddie Clare, Bad Boys Do, A Companion to Wolves, Cold Copper

Thanks so much for hanging out with me this year, whether on Facebook or twitter, over here on blogspot or on my website blog. It's been an adventure, one I'm happy to have shared with you. Happy New Year!
Liv