Review of Cut Run by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

One of my goals for this year is to read more M/M romance, and this series was recommended to me for that reason. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I honestly did not expect to enjoy it. The premise is that our two heroes are FBI agents forced into a partnership with the goal of catching a serial killer. Romantic suspense, specifically the kind with murder mysteries, is not my usual cup of tea, but reviewing would be no fun if I never stepped out of my comfort zone.

Ty Grady is a cocky, rough-around-the-edges agent recently pulled from an undercover case that ended in disaster. Zane Garret has been playing everything carefully by the books during his stint at a desk job, and this is his first out-on-the-streets case in a long time. Ty dislikes his buttoned up, serious visage on sight. This case, however, is something of a last chance for both agents. And given the fact that the killer has already taken out two FBI agents, this case is personal.

The chemistry between Ty and Zane is absolutely explosive. Their initial dislike for one another and all of their macho posturing just helps to build up the tension that culminates into a lot of very steamy sex. More impressive, perhaps, is that they have romantic chemistry--they have the beginnings of a real emotional connection, the kind that comes with protectiveness and affection and intimacy. Just the beginnings, but it's there and its so very sweet.

I loved the character development. These are two older guys who already have a lot of history and a lot of baggage. Zane had a wife, who's death still haunts him. He's a recovering alcoholic and his addictive personality is still, and will probably always be an issue. Ty spent time in the military and has already gone several rounds with PTSD. They spend this entire book getting physically and mentally beat to hell, and by the end they start to see each other more clearly, even to the point of almost swapping roles.

The action in this book is well placed and well paced. There are just enough tense moments to keep you invested without robbing the story of it's character driven core. I'll admit freely that I did get drawn into the mystery, drawn into the case, and I wanted resolution as much as Ty and Zane did.

I kind of liked the fact that it didn't end on an HEA sort of note, or even a happy for now note. It's more of a together for now, but we've got shit to work through kind of ending. It's hopeful, but it's not sappy. It fit both of their characters and the overall tone of the story, and left me wanting the next book immediately.

It's easy to recommend this book, to romantic suspense fans and to M/M fans in general. Its a sexy, action packed book with truly excellent characters. 4 stars.

Review of Family Man by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton

I've been sort of subconsciously intending to  read more M/M this year, so here we go--a nice contemporary that actually sort of surprised me with some of the directions it took.

Vinnie, a forty-something accountant turned plumber from a big Italian family, has a sudden epiphany that he might be gay. In an effort to figure this out, he goes to a gay club way outside of his usual haunts--and of course, runs into a guy from his family's neighborhood. Trey is twenty-six, but old for his age, and the attraction between them is intense.

I want to say right off that the age difference is a total non-issue. Trey is, as I said, very old for his age, having endured a pretty rough home life with an alcoholic mother. Vinnie is not remotely experienced in the art of dating men, so Trey's relative sexual innocence actually suites him well. Their attraction is deep, but they put off having sex, so it's a slow burn sort of thing. I actually really enjoyed the fact that they took their time jumping into bed together, because they both wanted it to mean something. I also liked that once they do end up together, it's not quite what you would expect.

The highlight of this book for me was the way that Vinnie treats Trey. He's extremely considerate and affectionate. He takes Trey out on really excellent dates and makes sure he's comfortable with everything. When Trey's situation with his mother comes to a crisis point, Vinnie drops every selfish hang-up that he has in order to make sure that Trey has the support he needs. This book is so much sweeter than I expected.

The major hang-up I had with this book was the fact that Vinnie's transformation from "No, not gay, no way." to "I would like to marry a man." is really, really quick. His family's acceptance of him is equally very abrupt. It's as though both Vinnie and a majority of his family exist in a rainbows-and-puppies ideal universe where any reservations about sexuality are worked out in the blink of an eye. From the set-up, I expected it to be more of a journey.

I also thought the ending was a bit saccharine. It through the tone off for me a bit, because for awhile it goes to a really dark place with Trey and his mother and all of that. I thought it might just end on a hopeful note. I didn't feel like the grand public gestures were necessary in this case.

So to sum up: this book is sweet and hot (like pie), and it's totally worth reading if you like contemporary M/M. I dare say it might even make a good introduction for readers who haven't tried contemporary M/M before. 3.5 stars.

On Baby Mama Drama: A Review of Lover At Last by J.R. Ward

Okay kids, strap on your shitkickers and bring out your bullshit shields, because today we're going to talk about the latest BDB volume--Lover At Last. I'm not going to lie about the fact that my relationship with this series has been rocky at best over the past couple of years. I jumped onto this series back when book three had just come out. I have years of my life invested in these goddamned vampires and their stupid names and their weird little frat house that they live in. And their gang wars and their social drama and all of the leather that they wear. Make fun of me if you want, go right ahead, but books two and three remain two of my favorite books of all time. All. Time. See Ward, I can do one word sentences with unnecessary emphasis too. But yes, I love this series and these characters, and it's because I love them and because the bar is set so high that I take any flaws or dud books so hard. For example, Lover Unleashed (Manny and Payne's book, in theory), was hugely disappointing for me, and had me considering a permanent boycott of the books. I didn't follow through on that because, as I said, I'm invested. This newest installment rewarded me in some ways and...screwed me sideways in others.

Team Quay

If you have read any of this series at all, you know that the Blay/Qhuinn relationship has been brewing for awhile. They were first introduced as young boys in book three, as part of John Matthew's training class. By that point, they are already best friends. Following their transitions to full of vampires, the sexual tension between the two begins to develop. Once Blay realizes that he's gay, he's pretty quick to come out to his friends about it, and even tries to explain how he feels to Qhuinn. Qhuinn, however, has major commitment issues and just issues in general, so he turns Blay down flat, and so on and on we go for like five more books. After all of that, a full novel to deal with their relationshit is not only justified, it was necessary. I was totally in line with other fans who just really wanted to see them work it out and get mated, in whatever form that might take, and I applauded Ward for going the full novel route with it.

The fact that we are seeing a full length, hard cover romance novel in a mainstream series dedicated to a gay couple likely has more social implications than I'm qualified to talk about. Ward is not the first mainstream romance author to write about openly gay characters, or even to award them a happily-ever-after, but she is one of the more popular and successful authors to do so (in 500+ pages, with sex scenes). As a comparison, Suzanne Brockmann had Robin and Jules in her Troubleshooters series, and they got a novella in which all nookie faded to black at the bedroom door, if memory serves. I want to take this as a sign that readers are becoming more open to reading about sex and sexuality in it's more diverse forms--but again, I'm probably not qualified to discuss this.

Sex, Sexual Orientation, and How Things Work in The BDB Universe

Now that I've brought up the fact that this book has sex, I of course have to go into my issues with how mating bonds, sex, and sexual orientation work in this universe. I'm going to start with the sex, because that's the easiest to complain about. I'm going to ignore the fact that vampires apparently don't need lube of any kind, because...I just don't need to go into that. No. My issue is the timing of the sex in this book. Blay and Qhuinn are hot together, but they have some seriously messed up timing. They don't talk things out, they don't deal with their issues, they just keep having sex. Revenge sex, angry sex, sad sex. Lots of sex. The one that stood out as the most inappropriate for me was when Layla is having issues with her pregnancy--Qhuinn is pretty sure he's going to lose the daughter he so desperately wants. And Blay and Qhuinn have sex. I can't actually think of a less sexy situation to be in, and I can't imagine getting turned on under those circumstances.

Ward's approach to how sexuality is handled in the BDB universe is at once interesting and terribly frustrating. Blay has the best case scenario when it comes to coming out of the closet--accepting friends and family, no hang ups, almost no self doubt. Qhuinn, on the other hand, is resistant to being labeled as gay or bisexual or anything else, never really "comes out", per se, and more or less implies that he only swings that way for Blay. He's had sex with other men, but only as a dominant party and usually in situations involving women as well. Blay is the only person that with whom he's acted as a receiver, and he thinks of it as losing his virginity, and insists that nothing he's done prior to that act marks him as gay. It's interesting to me that, at least in the mind of this one character, the only truly gay act is the most submissive one.

Now, Ward's couples have always been fated mates. The formula is that they bond at first sight, there is a psychological and biological need to get together, and when they're separated they both end up depressed--especially the male. With Blay and Qhuinn, the emotional and biological imperative seems much less pronounced. They certainly want one another, and they ultimately bond, but it's no where near the level of intensity we've seen with some of the male/female pairings. I'm not sure what this is supposed to imply, and I'm not complaining exactly, but it seems to me that Ward has mate Blay and Qhuinn's mating less fated and more voluntary. Make of that what you will.

Ward goes out of her way to let us know that all of the "good" characters are cool with the gay couple getting mated, and the only homophobes in this universe are the glymera--a group of people we already dislike. This black and white portrayal of the issue smacks of a certain naiveté. In the real world, reactions to sexuality still vary across a spectrum. Some people will be understanding and unbothered, some will be uncomfortable but choose not to show it, and some are going to be assholes. The fact that everyone from the old school males of the brotherhood to sheltered young Layla are totally happy for them with no persuading is pure sugarcoating, and it belies the struggle that real world gay  couples cope with.

Baby Mama Drama

I'm not a fan of Layla, and I never have been. There's something far too passive and dull about her. The fact that she's having Qhuinn's baby is annoying, because it meant that I had to care what happened to her in this book, instead of quietly praying for her to be hit by a bus. Anyway, she's pregnant and she really wants to stay that way, and it's a BIG FREAKING DEAL. To be clear, I want Qhuinn to have his child and be happy. I'm just bummed that it had to be with this vapid little bitch. What's worse is that, at a couple points, I actually felt sorry for her. Yeah. I know. The fact is, though, her pregnancy drama was not something I wanted to read about--not something I found entertaining or enjoyable.

One thing that really irritated me was how everyone behaves about the pregnancy. Beth hangs around Layla because she's hoping for a little contact fertility, despite the fact that her husband does not seem to want children. Havers, the only competent vampire doctor, tells her she's just an incubator, and he will only address her mate (which of course she doesn't have). Phury, who is primale and therefor morally responsible for Layla, treats her like a child who has been wronged and doesn't understand her situation. He automatically assumes that Qhuinn must be solely responsible for her condition, and that she was pressured into pregnancy, when in fact it's quite the opposite. Nobody makes an effort to just be her friend and treat her as an equal, because the only friend she's really made (Quinn) is tangled in the middle of the drama.

New Characters and Subplots

This universe is getting a bit full for my taste. I've never been in love with Ward's habit of switching POVs all of the time, but it's especially annoying when it's new and seemingly unnecessary characters. While I'll admit that Assail seemed somewhat interesting in some ways, he felt out of place in this book, and so did his little romance. Ward's narrative has never been cohesive, but it gets more sporadic with each passing book. That's not to say that any given part bored me or angered me, but just that it didn't all need to be there. Given a choice, I would have preferred more development for Blay and Qhuinn--particularly Blay.

In Conclusion

To sum up, this book was very flawed and yet entirely addictive. I think you have to be a fan in order to get immersed despite all of the many, many problems, but if you are that sort of fan you'll find it to be a page turner. So yeah, I guess I am still deeply invested in this series, and will continue to look forward to the books in the years to come. 4 stars.