Angel Martinez - Gravitational Attraction

A mysterious distress call draws the crew of the Hermes to what appears to be an empty, drifting ship. Empty that is, except for the blood and gore-spattered corridors and one lone survivor locked in a holding cell. Drawn to the handsome, traumatized man, the crew's comm officer, Isaac Ozawa, makes Turk his personal responsibility, offering him the kindness and warmth he needs after the horror he experienced. 

Turk longs for Isaac, a desperate, hopeless ache he knows he'll always carry with him. But Turk harbors dangerous secrets, his brain a military experiment gone wrong. 

When an amoral, power-hungry admiral kidnaps Isaac and uses him to convince Turk to become the cataclysmic weapon he's hungered for, it will take Turk's strength, the ingenuity of the Hermes crew, the help of the enigmatic Drak'tar, and Isaac's own stubborn will to save them.

Comment: I had this title in the pile for ten years. It's one of those things, time goes by, others things get in the way... but I've finally added it to my monthly lists. After all this time, I liked it but it wasn't as amazing as I imagined.

In this sci-fi story we meet Isaac Ozawa, a communications officer on a space ship, who had dreamed of flying in the military fleet but something went wrong with the implant all pilots needed. Now he is happy enough with his job and when his ship checks out the distress call from another ship, there is only one survivor, whom Isaac is drawn to, since he helped in the rescue.

Turk is the man rescued but he hides some secrets, including one related to his current abilities, after an experiment he volunteered for didn't go as everyone imagined. He also likes Isaac and he believes they could be soul mates, but would Isaac want to stay with him in his planet? And how will he cope after an admiral kidnaps and tortures Isaac, will he still want to be near Turk afterwards?

I decided to add this title to the pile after seeing some positive recommendations by readers with similar tastes. I was curious to see what the author would do with world building and, of course, how the romance would be developed. In terms of imagination, I think the author did a great job creating and developing things, but I cannot say I was completely immersed in this world.

The story is compelling enough because we basically have two people who bond after an impactful situation. After this, they are able to talk to one another and we can see how they slowly start to like each other. I thought the story would be focused on the romance, which happened to be set on a space ship, and that led me to believe the sci fi aspects would be concentrated to this. It turns out, it wasn't so and after the rescue, Turk needs to inform the people he had an agreement with about his rescue. This is why they went to meet the person who ends up being a villain.

I think that, deep down, the plot isn't too complicated and the events happen more quickly after this. I will say that I felt some detachment from what was happening, not because it was too out there, but because it seemed as if the tell, not show was an obvious tool just to move things forward but in a way that would allow the reader to understand why things were going from one situation to another. It's not that I think this is a bad tactic, but it made things rushed and I kept thinking that perhaps instead of having these scenes if we had skipped immediately to the important parts, only knowing about the facts would be enough. I know, I know, practically the opposite of what usually works, but that was my impression.

Once they escape from the bad guys happens, Isaac needs medical help and Turk believes his people can help. Then the plot moves to Turk's planet and this is where the author's imagination shined, for there is a lot to accept in how things work for Turk's people. I think this element was interesting and made me want to see what would be next for them and what would happen after they try to help Isaac. This was my favorite part of the novel, not only for the world building but because it helped the guys establish their relationship, as well as letting us see them interacting with others. I always like this because often the dynamics with others is a huge help to grasp characters' personalities.

The romance, I have to say, was not that great. I mean, I liked they found each other and all that, but the supposed chemistry they felt wasn't that obvious to me. I think they were too cutesy cute to one another, certainly understanding and after they decide to be a couple, everything is cozy between them, but I think I missed the "thrill" of the rush of emotions when two people meet and fall in love. I just don't think their relationship was as "predestined" as we are supposed to believe.

Obviously, there is more conflict to go through before the happy ending, we learn more about how Turk's people came to live there and how society works, and all this is fine, but by this point I was no longer as fascinated. Again, I didn't dislike the story, but I don't think it was always able to captivate my interest. I think the author could have found a way to explain a few things better too, so that when characters mentioned this or that or when they had to decide something, part of what happens wouldn't feel as dissociated as it was.

All in all, good elements, good ideas, but the execution wasn't as addictive to read as I hoped for. I liked reading it enough but I don't think this will be as memorable as I also wanted.

Grade: 6/10

Angel Martinez - Finn



 Sanity is relative and the world has room for more than one truth.

When Diego rescues a naked man from the rail of the Brooklyn Bridge, he just wants to get the poor man out of traffic and over to social services. He gets more than he bargained for when Finn turns out to be an ailing pooka, poisoned by the pollution of the city. To help him recover, Diego takes him north to New Brunswick where Finn inadvertently wakes an ancient, evil spirit, the wendigo.

While Diego and Finn struggle to find a way to destroy the wendigo before it can possess Diego or kill nearby innocents, Diego wrestles with his growing passion for Finn. Can they succeed in destroying the monster and in navigating a relationship between a modern man and a centuries-old fairy?

Comment: Another book for the m/m challenge. This is a fantasy story... I mean it has several fantasy elements, but the action isn't exclusive to the woods, so I'd say this is just a paranormal story.
Diego helps a strange man and stops him from jumping from a bridge and takes him home. He likes to help others even if the ones he rescues don't prove to be that thankful. This makes him vulnerable and always in need of help himself, which is why his boyfriend ends things with him.
Finn is a pooka, something out of a Fae legend and in Diego he sees a hero and someone who wants to be needed and who deserves to be loved.
In the end Diego is so much more than he looks like and Finn can't let go.
I enjoyed the story mainly because the writing. It's smooth and blends legend and fiction quite well. We can feel things for the characters, I was sad because of the way Diego was treated by others and I wanted to see Finn experience the good things about human life. I think the author did a great job with the characterization. During the book, we discover more and more things about both protagonists and what it means to be with the other, to fall in love with each other. It's a very unusual plot, usually when books focus on Fae legends it's always about how beautiful and aloof they are, but in this case Finn cares for Diego in a very special way and he's a pooka, not the average Fae. Only for this the is book worth it.
The end was rather rushed, I think. But I've seen there are sequels, I hope to read them one day, only next year, but one day.