Mini-Comments

The following two books were the last I read in 2020. Both were just OK reads and don't inspire me to write that much about them.

 

Bitter Creek is a town on the brink of war.
Lines are being drawn and sides taken as two powerful men gather armies of gunfighters. The
townspeople are helpless and the law worthless. One man has already died in the opening salvo of this land war and an air of fearful anticipation hangs over the town.
Eagle, the half-breed who works at the livery stable, manages to survive by not taking sides, until one day a stranger rides into town. Eagle’s life changes, and he realizes that he can no longer hide with his horses if he wishes to be the man he claims to be...

Comment: This was one of the books which was the longest in the pile. When I first started reading m/m I was quite fond of the author's work but with time, and other things, other styles, this one ended up being average, in comparison. It's not a problem, I still appreciate the author's work but it's true it no longer fascinates me as much as it did. This is a story about a opposites attract couple, during the wild west era and the relationship they develop had to be kept quiet and unassuming. I think the romance wasn't too bad, all things considered, but their personalities weren't as well developed as they could. The plot was confusing without having to be and had several clichés which felt like easy choices instead of natural parts of the story. It was an OK read but to be honest, I don't feel like revisiting the author's work I liked nor do I feel I want to try something else. I'll keep my fond memories of what I liked.

Grade: 5/10

-//-

The Otiosi? As far as Mathew Longstaff knows, they’re just a group of harmless scholars with an eccentric interest in the works of antiquity. When they ask him to travel east, to recover a lost text from Ivan the Terrible’s private library, he can’t think of anything but the reward – home. A return to England and an end to the long years of exile and warfare.
But the Otiosi are on the trail of a greater prize than Longstaff realises – the legendary ‘Devil’s
Library’. And they are not alone. Gregorio Spina, the Pope’s spymaster and Chief Censor, is obsessed with finding the Library. It’s not the accumulated wisdom of centuries he’s after – a swamp of lies and heresy in his opinion – but among the filth, like a diamond at the centre of the Devil’s black heart, Spina believes that God has placed a treasure, a weapon to defeat the Antichrist and pitch his hordes back into hell. Only Longstaff, together with the unpredictable physician, Gaetan Durant, can stop Spina using the Library to plunge Europe into a second Dark Ages. The two adventurers fight their way south, from the snowfields of Muscovy to the sun-baked plains of Italy, where an ageing scholar and his beautiful, young protégé hold the final piece of the puzzle. But is it already too late? Can the four of them take on the might of the Roman Church and hope to win?

Comment: I picked this book at the library because it mentioned the word "library" on the cover and, as probably any other book lover, I'm all for books where libraries are featured or play important roles. I had not heard anything about the author until now, so it would be a surprise all around. The story happens during the 16th century but I felt it was too focused on the social environment of that time in detriment of a mysterious or even quirky plot about the library or the books in it or why they mattered. Not even the main characters felt remarkable because their lives were so restrained by the way they had to behave. I think it would be better if the political and social atmosphere hadn't been such an important part of the story. When it comes to adventures/investigations about books or libraries, other (better to me) titles come to mind. I don't think I'll read more things by the author.

Grade: 5/10

Two short stories and a question

Tyler Newsome is heading home to the Lazy N, tired of the rodeo and tired of always being his charismatic twin's shadow. It's time he gets a life of his own and maybe the man he's always dreamed of, too. Ren Alston's always been attracted to Tyler, but never made a move because of his own mental and emotional baggage. But after years spent taming his demons and gaining control in every aspect of his life, Ren sees the younger man's return as a sign of good things to come. But first, they have to deal with Tyler's twin, past indiscretions and Ren's brothers. Will these cowboys manage to build a strong foundation of trust and love? Or will their problems be too much for them?

 Ian Dennison loves his job, but when he's invited to the Mardi Gras ball thrown by his law firm, it's not for company loyalty that he goes. It's for Stephen Caulfield, his boss and the man for whom he's been longing since his first day.
Amidst the costumed revelry and fine champagne, the sparks fly between the men. Ian begins to think perhaps there is hope for them, despite the rules against company fraternization. That is, until a drunken senior partner lets slip the secret Ian never knew Stephen was keeping...his wife.
Is there more to the story than Ian suspects, or is the mask Stephen wears really who he is? 

Comment: These two ebooks I had since I started becoming interested in m/m are short ones and I decided to read them now precisely so I can join the comment of both in one.

I don't have much to say, only that my current tastes nowadays are no longer reflected in the way these stories are presented. I now prefer things better structured, mostly focused in the r4elationships and character development than sex and the novelty of a relationship.

What the two ebooks had in common was how short they were and for me, the development the authors wrote didn't feel enough, it wasn't as captivating as it could, I guess, and at the end I feel I didn't really care about what happened.

Sutherland and Labbe's story is about Ian, a man whose boss finally seems to give indications he would be receptive to a relationship, something he feels wrong about because of their professional connection at the company. The biggest problem comes when Ian realizes his boss is actually married. Ian gets very disappointed but they eventually talk, the boss says he will get a divorce since his marriage is one of convenience and supposedly, they will be happy but I just didn't feel much empathy towards them both and the plights of their relationship didn't make me feel that interested. Then, at the end Ian has a sort of epiphany and I totally didn't buy that, so... interesting ideas but it's really hard to find short stories that deliver from beginning to end.

Grade: 5/10

TA Chase was an author I used to follow but with time her books started to feel very similar to me, even if the contexts changed. Perhaps it was also just my impression but I started to get the feeling they became more and more superficial, even when dealing with heavier subjects or situations so I lost interest. In this book we have a young cowboy returning home after working with his twin brother for a long time but their relationship wasn't good anymore. At his father's ranch he found his acceptance of his sexual orientation and even Ren, the guy he always had a crush on. The two guys can now make a go at it, there's a lot of conversation about horses and breeds and cowboy activities and a lot of sex and even personal tastes I don't find interesting in the slightest so I was quite happy to finish it.

Grade: 3/10

At the end of things, it's a bit sad these didn't work for me after being in the pile for so long...

But I feel glad I have two less out of the pile.

 

Sometimes, I wonder: is it just a matter of personal taste, meaning the books just no longer speak to us or can it also be the random possibility of a determined book just not being appealing to us at all and, for instance, I wouldn't have enjoyed them even if I had read them days after getting them?

What do you think works for you the most?

T. A. Chase - Shades of Dreams

Stephan Colby is on top of the world. He's the lead singer of one of the hottest new rock bands, and his best friend is in the band to share the success as well. In addition, Stephan's madly in love. Yet Fate has a cruel way of kicking a man in the teeth, and when Stephan's world crashes down around him, he turns to his Rock, his bandmate, the one man who has always been there for him.

Rocky Sanicily has always had Stephan's back, and they've been through a lot together. Rocky has also been in love with Stephan for many years, but has never found the courage to admit it. When Stephan suddenly loses the most important thing in his life, however, Rocky must do everything in his power to keep Stephan from giving up. If he succeeds, will he be able to finally tell Stephan how he feels? And if so, will it bring the friends closer together, or tear apart their relationship forever?

Comment: This isn't the first story I read by the author so I wasn't surprised by the writing style, fast and to the point. This author doesn't spend too much time analysing the characters reasons, decisions, atitudes, which makes things roll quick.
Stephan seemed a bit too fast in his turning point from mourning to love again, but, well, I was never in love, how can I judge?
Still, it was a nice story, interesting plot there although I usually dislike friends to lovers themes.
An author to keep reading :)