Review: Ruby Red Booty Shorts & A Louisville Slugger by Lexi Ander

Can you say HOT? (and would you look at that cover?!) 4 stars

Ruby Red opens with a steamy sex scene, runs headlong into trouble, and leaves me craving more. Diego and Beck are vulnerable and utterly loyal to each other. It made them very easy to root for. I like the strong bond Diego has with his family, though I found some of the backstory clunky to read.

There's a flashback written entirely in past perfect which gives it the tone of an aside rather than putting the reader deeply into a traumatic situation. I also wanted to see more of why Diego decided to move farther away from family.

Lexi does a great job setting the scene and shifting from a standard contemporary story into one invaded by paranormal creatures. Beings that have always been there, hiding. But Denise, a friend of both Diego and Beck, seemed to be tacked on awkwardly. There's a brief conversation with her at the start, then she shows up mid-way through the story and doesn't interact with Diego at all. Not even a glance in his direction. Diego doesn't attempt to interact with her either despite multiple references to their friendship since kindergarden.

TL;DR: This story grabs by the collar and throws you along. It's fast and hard, just the way I like it. 4 Stars.

Review: A Matter Of Disagreement by E.E. Ottoman

Entertaining afternoon read, 4 Stars

I can always count on E. E. for an uplifting romance and this story had me grinning throughout the hour it took to read. Yet, the craft plays it safe. It's easy to read without changing sentence structure or taking character voice farther with adventurous verbs.

 The characters were solid, their romance (and disagreements!) believable, and the world engaging. I wanted to see more of the mechanical birds. They made a big appearance at the start then played no part in the story in the second half.

 But that's a minor concern when E. E. consistently provides characters finding their way in the middle of the male/female dichotomy. I love the blend of traits that make it clear these people do not identify fully to one side or the other- but somewhere between.

TL;DR: 4 stars. A quick jaunt for a lazy day.

Review: Song of the Spring Moon Waning by E. E. Ottoman

A lovely short story that left me wanting more. 4 stars.

First, I adore the cover of this book. It's so well matched to the contents and that leaves me so excited.  Second, this is a sweet love story between a eunuch and an intersex person that unfolded so beautifully, I want to know more!

Without giving away any spoilers, I wish there had been more exploration of intimacy between the two main characters. It came up briefly and I don't believe an intense scene like that would fit in the story's current format, but there was much emphasis put on Wen Yu's intersex nature and I wasn't satisfied with what little screen time that received.

However, the main reason I give 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the resolution of the story. The ending is not derived from the character's actions, but would have occurred regardless of the events that unfold from the main character's POV. There wouldn't be a love story, but the major conflict was rendered irrelevant when Mei Hua arrived.

But regardless, the craft of this story is so strong otherwise, and the characters so completely complex, that I would pick up a sequel without hesitation. Also, I just want to sit here and pet the cover.

TL;DR: 4stars. Deus Ex Machnia ending that's almost forgiven by such strong characters.

Review: The Way Home by Anastasia Vitsky

A piece of art as much as a story to enjoy, 4 stars.

The first thing that struck me about The Way Home was the format in which this story is told. There's a very non-traditional series of time jumps that, at the start, can be hard to follow. The blurb description does this story an injustice. It sets up a plot expectation that the format doesn't fill, and the novel is so much more than that.

At the heart of the narrative is a friendship-maybe-more that grows over the kind of timespan you simply do not encounter in most romance books. And this is a romance, make no mistake. There is a domestic BDSM aspect (power exchange, spanking) that hints at some sexual overtones near the end of the story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[trigger warning: major self-harm]

The major critique I had of this story surrounds the dominant conflict. Kat has depressive tendencies which culminate severely in two suicide attempts via sleeping pills. Either the format or the writing or both got in the way of my fully understanding this aspect of Kat. I didn't see a build-up to this kind of behavior so it caught me off guard. I'm not sure the first attempt was on-screen-- if it was then I didn't recognize it for what it was.

Anyone who enjoys the craft of writing, if you're into Tolstoy and Hemingway for their format as much as their content: read this book. If you're on vacation lounging for hours with nothing to interrupt you: read this book. There are beautiful scene pairs and excellent pacing throughout.

TL;DR: 4 stars. Beautifully written and as such, requires focus to enjoy.

Review: The Condor by Isa K

The Condor is a book that presents unglamorous life with its human complications. It does this with grace but without celebration. 4 stars

I like The Condor. This book takes its reader on an interesting, but not dramatic, cruise along the countryside of the sex industry. It doesn't try to cover the grimy corners with polish or hold aloft its sex scenes as if to say, 'Look! Who cares if lives are falling apart, the sex is great!' The Condor puts its reader in the roll of quiet onlooker, 'See here as the whore preens in his native habitat, surrounded by fellows.'

This book doesn't sensationalize its content nor its characters. Everything is considered evenly important, from a new hire's first trick to the manager's heartbreak. I'm used to a romance introducing the love interest from chapter one and anticipating the 'how do they get together' moment from the start, but The Condor doesn't have a traditionally romantic plot. I didn't have any notion of where this story could take me, but nor was I clawing for more at the edge of my seat.

Instead I soared, gently, like the book's namesake, through the lives of these characters wanting to know more about what made them who they are now. This will never be a story that grabs readers by the throat demanding attention and that's a risky move. It's so heavily character driven that I frequently forgot to wonder what all of this was leading up to.

TL;DR: 4 stars. The Condor is a cozy M/M sex-industry novel. Quite possibly alone in its genre.