"The Angel of Thirteenth Street"

Review - "The Angel of Thirteenth Street" by Eden Winters

Stunningly beautiful work

Very Highly Recommended

Noah owns a bar on Thirteenth Street.  Actually Twelfth Street, but who wants to tempt fate, right?  In a tough neighborhood filled with drugs, violence and prostitution, through sheer force of will and personality he turned the place into a spot people would want to visit again.   Rugged, scarred, alone, his real mission is to help get young men working the streets back home, or at least somewhere safe.  On the streets, they call him, sardonically, the Angel.

Jeremy is eighteen now, aged out of the foster care system, but not finished with high school yet.  Alone on the streets, he is trying to stay safe long enough to finish school, win a scholarship and go to college.  He just has to dodge the street gangs and pimps looking to recruit new talent.  Seems his old boyfriend Trent is a recruiter for Willie, the pimp who runs the area. 

A chance encounter brings Jeremy to Noah's attention.  Determined to keep the young man safe, he makes a deal with the devil to keep Jeremy safe.  Seems Willie is Billy, Noah's boyfriend from his days living on the street.  Can Noah save this young man's future without damning himself along the way?  And can he open himself back up to love?

This book was one of those amazing perfect storms that doesn't happen very often.  The characters are so sharply drawn, but disturbingly human and shaded and nuanced, the storyline engaging and relevant without pretense, the dialogue crisp, and the romance heartbreakingly painful and bittersweet.  I was drawn in and grabbed from the first page, and was unable to put this book down until I had devoured it whole.

All of the main characters are so strongly constructed - Noah, Jeremy and Willie.  Jeremy is the true innocent - eighteen, a streetsmart survivor, open and vulnerable without being a fool, but tough and resilient without hardening his heart.  Noah is a knight with a mission; paying his savior back by helping as many young men as he can leave the sex trade.  He is so wrapped up in others, he sacrifices himself and his happiness. 

And the most intriguing and complex character of all - Willie.  A streetwise hustler as a young man, now a ruthless and hardened pimp and procurer, he is an enigma.  He both uses young men, according to his own twisted code of ethics, but also funnels runaways back to Noah for rescue, under the guise of "thinning the herds".  I was both drawn to and repulsed by him, but totally, totally fascinated.

And this book is all about relationships. 

Jeremy, such a young man with an old soul, self sufficient, betrayed by his one boyfriend.  I would have expected him to be bitter and hardened, but Ms. Winters chooses to make him still a romantic at heart.  He falls for Noah, but is it a case of gratitude and hero worship or true romantic feeling? 

And Noah, so closed down to love, but so hopeful, just for others.  He has dedicated himself to rescuing these young men so they have a true chance at happiness, but at the cost of shutting himself off any chance of love and hope for himself.  What stirs in his gut for Jeremy cuts dangerously close to what he felt for Billy, so he clamps it down under the pretense of the age difference.

And Willie, or Billy.  So quick to deny Noah his love when they were younger, and so determined to remind him he doesn't believe in love.  This man appalls me, but there is just something about him that kept making me go...but...no.  Noah loved him.  Why?

And then we find out why, and our hearts break and we bleed along with these tragic young men and then we are put together again and made whole and get to hope for them again.

God, I loved this book.  I read it through twice just to savor what it tastes like and feels like and smells like when a master prepares a feast for me. 

Read this and wonder.

Tom

"Tipping the Balance"

Review - "Tipping the Balance" by Christopher Koehler

Great character study of two beautiful men

Very Highly Recommended

Drew is a driven man.  He is a successful real estate salesman, flips houses on the side, and has created a comfortable life for himself.  He is out and proud, and has fought to be respected as such.  His best friend Nick, coach of the CalPac rowing team, has found the love of his life in rower Morgan.  More and more, Drew is seeing the hole in his life that not having a partner causes, and it hurts.  He wants a man for himself.

Brad was on the rowing team with Morgan, but graduated.  He works for his father but is dissatisfied with the job.  Lives at home but hates it there.  Is known as a straight party guy who has a different woman every week.  But when he met Drew at one of the regattas when he was rowing, something shifted inside.

Drew has an immediate attraction to Brad, but knows he is straight.  He just hopes there is maybe something more there.  But he is willing to just be friends to have the big lug in his life.  And Brad finds himself thinking about the man everyone knows is gay.  Finds himself fascinated by him, and drawn in a way he doesn't understand.  Maybe they could be friends. 

When Brad's father pushes him to find someway to market the disaster of a housing development, Brad sees the perfect opportunity to make friends with Drew and find out what this strange attraction is all about.  He doesn't know that Drew has been on Nick and Morgan to get Brad's contact information for weeks.

When the two finally get together for lunch and become fast friends, will be enough for either man, or prove to be too much?  And will the business partnership they found grow into something more personal? 

This is, hands down, one of the best character studies I have read of a straight guy who slowly acknowledges an attraction to a gay man.  It was fascinating, touching, heartbreaking, empowering and so very very tough and tender all at the same time.  I was drawn in immediately, thrown into this slow seduction of a book, and was never let go.  The evolution and slow unveiling of what proves to be a revelation of not only Brad's awakening as a gay man, but Drew's journey towards discovering of his own heart was powerful.

First - Brad.  This man touched my heart.  His pain and awkwardness and fear and bravery and big heart got me, just slayed me.  He was so scared, and made so so many mistakes but always, always kept his compass north facing Drew.  Mr. Koehler just slammed the ball out of the park with this characterization.  Told all his life that he amounts to nothing, that every action he makes isn't good enough, he learned to hide his heart and his mind and put his spirit to sleep.  When being a part of Nick's squad woke his heart up, meeting Drew awakened his soul.  And we got to see him blossom. 

And Drew.  He first saw Brad as a hunk of a man, someone to seduce and have his way with.  As he put it to Nick - "You have your rower, why can't I have one?"  His plan to turn the straight boy, or at least get laid out of the deal, evolved into something so much more than he ever anticipated.  Because what he thought he saw in Brad initially - an intelligent, fun and sexy man -  woke up his heart from its slumber also.  He was forced to look inside and acknowledge that he wanted more in his life than work and the occasional bed mate also.  He wanted, no, he deserved, love.

What really worked so well in this flat out winner of a tale was the wonderful growth of both men.  They each were faced with challenges that sometimes broke them.  Brad, with his hateful and belittling and dangerous father, was crushed emotionally and spiritually.  His fear rode him until he shattered.  And Drew - his unwillingness to draw back from "full out gay man" to allow Brad to some out at his own pace almost cost him everything.  And the brutal assault on him almost killed him physically and spiritually.

And yet.  And yet both men, survivors, scarred and hurt and broken and aching and bleeding, stood and took what was offered.  They rose above, and learned to lean on each other as well as stand on their own feet as whole, strong and proud men.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the lesson we all can learn.  So simply, strength and love come from sharing the pain.

Beautiful.  Just...beautiful.  These two men, just got me.

Tom

"Rocking the Boat"

Review - "Rocking the Boat" by Christopher Koehler

Great story about doing the right thing and love

Highly Recommended

Nick Bedford is one busy man.  He is the coach of the California Pacific College rowing team, is in grad school, teaches and works off season in construction just to get by.  Approaching 30, he is still a very fit man, and could still row on one of the teams he coaches.  And he is gay and in the closet.  And more and more, he finds himself thinking about one of the members of his team.

Morgan Estrada is on scholarship at CalPac, majoring in Comp Lit and rows for Coach Bedford on the men's 8's.  Part of the reason he keeps rowing?  He has a bit of a crush on his coach.  While he is not out of the closet completely, he isn't in completely either.  But when he sees a man he likes, he goes after him.

There are two months before the biggest competition of the year for the CalPac team, and Nick isn't going to allow any distractions to get in the way of pushing his team to their limits, and winning.  And while there is one huge distraction is his way - tall, handsome Morgan - his professional ethics will not allow him to act on his attraction.  And Morgan might not even be gay.  And he doesn't have time for this.

When Morgan sets his sights on Nick, will he set them both up for heartbreak?  Or is love possible?

This well written, beautifully detailed and very satisfying tale of love between two men who, by all rights, should not be together is handled with a gentle hand by Christopher Koehler.  He has taken a subject that has been covered by many different writers in many different ways - the relationship between a coach and an athlete that turns romantic - and brings a new insight into the struggle between what the heart wants and what the right thing to do may be.  In many ways, it reminds me of "The Front Runner", but Patricia Nell Warren; the thoughtful slow build of a relationship between two men who find themselves in love but have to ask themselves, is it the right thing to do.

Mr. Koehler has created a wealth of interesting and vital characters here.  Nick and Morgan are wonderfully complex, and as they struggle with their attraction to each other and the not knowing - if each other is gay, if it's the right thing to do - they show more and more shades of their personalities.  And show very human flaws.  The secondary characters, such as Drew, bring bright colors to the canvas and make these two more and more human and believable.

There is great tension is this story.  The rules governing student athletes and their coaches are in place for a reason, as is shown with so much relevance in the situations currently with Penn State and Syracuse occupying so much of the news.  As Nick and Morgan are forced to ask themselves, should they enter into a relationship that is consensual and between two adults, the reader is forced to examine those questions also.  If it is driven by the athlete, should the rules apply so strictly.  Or is, in fact, the power imbalance so black and white that the student, and indeed the coach, should be protected at all costs?  It can be argued both ways, and there is no easy answer. 

And the tension between being "out" and being closeted.  Athletes perhaps find it the hardest to be out without consequences, rightly or wrongly.  Nick's struggle with to be out to his crew causes him great pain, but also puts great strain on his relationship with Morgan.  Morgan has had an easier path being out with his family, but Nick has different and more complex issues to take into consideration.  Again, the reader is forced to look inside and ask hard questions for himself.

And that is one of the great strengths of this book.  There are no easy answers.  Nick and Morgan struggle and accept and fight and look around for answers and make huge mistakes and cause pain to each other.  But that is how life works.  It is messy and a struggle and there are great highs and terrible lows and we just ride the wonderful roller coaster and take a deep breath and make our way through.  We hope we make the right choices and don't cause too much damage along the way.  Just like in real life.

Because at the end of the day, the wonderful thing about this book is its believability.  Nick and Morgan are two guys I have met in my life.  They struggle, work, play, want, love, make mistakes, cry, laugh, and make me want to know them and, most of all, care about them.

I liked these guys.  And I like what Mr. Koehler has crafted here - a fine story of two men who find each other and create something good together.

Well done.

Tom

"Simple Gifts (Cornwall Novella #2)"

Review - "Simple Gifts (Cornwall Novellas #2)" by L.B. Gregg

Just a Christmas miracle

Very Highly Recommended

I will tell you a secret.  Most people I know think that "Silent Night" is my favorite thing about Christmas.  It is emotional, quiet, all the meanings of Christmas in one song. 

But my real favorite thing, and you have to keep this just between us, is "The Little Drummer Boy".  I remember as a kid seeing the stop action special on tv, and the little drummer boy all alone, playing his little heart out for the Boy King.  And I thought, even then, that's me - alone, a little different, with nothing much to offer.  You see, even then, before I knew what "gay" was, I knew something was different about me and it was something only God would understand.  And Christmas was an especially hard time, since I never really thought I fit in with my large family.

And when I read this stunning, haunting and hopeful story, I was right back there as a kid, watching a thing of beauty and instinctively understanding that it was speaking to me, right to my heart.

Jason is an orphan, abandoned by his mother at six years old and raised in the foster care system.  He learned the ancient art of origami from his mother, and now uses it to calm his soul.  He has never really fit in, but he craves a family, just doesn't know how to do it.  He is friends with the Sharpe family, and shared one night with Robb, the older son, before he left ten years ago.

Robb is back from his posting in the Army, home for Christmas, damaged both in body and spirit.  He doesn't really want to be there,  but the need to see Jason one more time rides him.

When an accident at the Sharpe Christmas party requires that someone watch over Jason overnight, Robb steps in and helps.  But will their reunion bring them closer, or will the ten year absence prove too much to overcome?

To say I fell in love with these two damaged, vulnerable and solitary men would be an understatement.  Ms. Gregg has done what so few can do - created fully realized, believable, sympathetic and wonderful characters in a very short novella.  Robb is broken, home from the Army and in obvious physical and mental distress.  And Jason, such a lovely young man, his heart hurting at every turn but capable of creating such beauty (read the description of his apartment and try not to be amazed and shattered) but so very very alone.

And after these two men come together one more time, at Christmas, Jason understands that he has to open his heart and let Robb go, to heal, and to hopefully come back to him.  Someday.  And Robb leaves.  And then the small cranes start to fly back home, a promise.

Like Jason's origami, this simple little tale folds itself into a crane.  A promise.  The promise of love and reunion and family and Christmas.

If I don't get anything else for Christmas this year, my heart is happy and my soul nourished by this sweet sweet lullaby.

Tom

"Ty Hard"

Review - "Ty Hard" by Laura Harner

Tough and troubled cowboys - I am in!

Highly Recommended

Ty is fresh out of the Navy.  Out of the hospital, rehabbing his body, mind and spirit.  He is on his way to visit his good friend. mentor and replacement father from the service, who is now the cook on a ranch.  He arrives right in the middle of an emergency, and when he discovers his surrogate dad just died, it's too much for him and his mind shuts down.

Cass is the owner of the ranch, and is taken with the handsome young Ty.  When Ty passes out, he immediately takes charge and takes Ty under his wing.  Watching the young man grieve his friend, he finds himself caring more and more.  Not knowing all of Ty's past, he tries to protect the man, give him a safe place to heal and find himself.  But he WON'T fall in love, damn it.

Ty decided to stay for a while, get his bearings and see what's next.  He's never been with a man before, and isn't sure what he wants.  When Ty turns down one suitor and Cass kicks the guy off the ranch, things start going wrong.  At first, small acts of sabotage.  then the danger grows and it all points to the guy Cass got rid of.  When the danger turns personal, will Ty's past catch up to him?  Will he be able to recover?

This book was SUCH a pleasant surprise.  When I initially bought it, I thought, cowboys - you can't go wrong with cowboys.  But what I got was oh, so much more. 

I got two sensitively drawn men who don't know how to give their hearts. 

I got two broken, damaged, strong guys without a clue what they are doing, only that they feel something that should be pursued.

I got a lovingly visioned portrait of a guy damaged by war, not comfortable in his skin anymore, thrown away by family, convinced he can't have what he wants.

I got sweet romance, hot sex and a growing love.

I got action, suspense, and a who-dun-it.

And I got hope.  Hope that Ty can leave all his hard past behind, that Cass can relax into the caring, loving man he can be, and most of all, that even the most broken of us can find our place in this world.

Ms. Harner has done herself proud with this loving tribute to tough yet vulnerable men.

As Oliver would say, Please, may I have another?  Pleeeease, Ms. Harner?

Tom

"Boots"

Review - "Boots" by Angel Martinez

Fun and sexy, touching adult fairy tale

Highly Recommended

Willem is at a crossroads.  He has lost his job, his cheating lover, his home, and his father.  He was left $300 and the family cat, Puss.  Refusing to stay with his older brother, he is unsure what to do next.

Puss is really Yorukaze, a kasha, a cat demon.  Banished by one of the gods, he is sent from master to master to guide and assist.  Unable to return home, he is at the mercy of those who choose to take his service.  And he has been led to Willem and his family.

Pasha's job, it seems, it to find Willem a home a job and a man to love.  After that, Pasha will have to move on to his next assignment.  But what happens if he doesn't want to go?  Because Pasha, it seems, can assume a human form, and is the embodiment of what Willem is searching for.  When Kasha decides to set Willem up with a nice guy, get him a sponsor for his work, and a home, will he be able to put his feelings for Willem aside?

What follows is a fun, touching and fulfilling fantasy.  Willem is a sweet and strong young man, looking for love but getting used and discouraged instead.  And Pasha is a smart mouthed, sarcastic bad boy of a demon.  But underneath, he is like so many other hard guys - a vulnerable guy who wants someone for his own.

This is a very adult fairy tale.  The characters are drawn so well.  We feel how lost and sad Willem is, how much losing everything in his life has hurt him.  Especially his father; even though they had fought about his being gay, they were reconciling when Horst died.  And Pasha - how much loss and pain there has been in his existence.  And how much he has sacrificed over the years, and how much he is still willing to give up once he finds the man he has been searching for.

Ms. Martinez has crafted something special here.  This tale could be just a sex romp, or a farce.  Instead, she has made this a tale of love, sacrifice, tenderness and car.  I was enchanted.  And isn't that what a fairy tale is supposed to do?

Just wonderful.

Tom

Five Short and Sweet Tales

I am doing something a little different here.  I have picked five shorter works I have read that I really enjoyed and devoted a post to them.  If you haven't read them, give them a chance!!!

Five Short Books I Recommend

"My Lieutenant" – by Sharita Lira writing as BL Morticia

Nathan is an artist living in New York City.  His last asshole of a boyfriend couldn’t decide what to be, gay or bi.  When Nathan kicked him to the curb, he retaliates and trashed Nathan’s apartment.  Only he didn’t plan on getting caught by Bryant, Nathan’s new neighbor.  Newly divorced and out of the Navy, Bryant is immediately attracted to Nathan and pursues him as only a lieutenant in the service can.  Will Nathan give him a chance, or is Bryant too newly out of the closet for him to take a chance on?

This is a great story about a guy who has been burned one too many times by guys who won’t commit.  The ironic part comes when HE becomes the one afraid to commit when Mr. Right shows up.  There is a playfulness in this story that appeals to the romantic in me – this could have been played out into a heavy angsty piece, but Ms. Lira keeps it light and fun and short.  Nicely written and complete.

"A Lie I Can Live With" – by Eden Winters

Otis is the quintessential nerd – glasses, slightly overweight, a computer geek.  Gay, single and looking for his Mr. Right.  He doesn’t see the harm in lying a little on his profile on GetADate.com until he gets busted by a client who was interested in his false persona.  When he is talked into posting an honest profile complete with pictures, he is afraid he will be alone forever.  Then Garret answers his ad.  Garret, the handsome, built young banker who can have any man or woman he wants.  What could he see in Otis?

I am a huge fan of Ms. Winters, and especially appreciate the real emotions she brings to her works.  Otis could be me, and there are NOT that many writers out there who take on characters who are anything except physical perfection.  There are wonderful points made by Garret in this touching and beautiful song of love about attraction, acceptance and honesty.  I liked this work a lot, and would love to see more of these characters.  I think there is a book somewhere for Otis’ friend who makes him tell the truth and take a chance.  He deserves his HEA too.

"Forever Dusk" – by Lisa Worrall

Jonah lets his best friend Theo talk him into coming to a club catering to vampires and wannabe’s.  Getting over a break up, he thinks, why not?  When he is groped by a drunk customer, he is rescued by Sebastian, the owner of the club.  While the chemistry is immediate and intense, will they find any common ground?

This is a TERRIFIC short story, and has all the elements I look for in a well written work of any length.  Interesting characters, hot sex, chemistry, and fun and unexpected plot elements.  Ms. Worrall has a nice touch in everything she writes, and she delivers here in this surprising and effective short work for Halloween.

"A Picture Perfect Holiday" – by ZA Maxfield

Caleb in out and proud, the president of the photography club at his school and totally into the start quarterback of the football team.  The same quarterback who defended him from some bullies years before.  The straight quarterback who never speaks to him.  Christian plays football, struggles as a student, takes care of his younger twin brothers who play soccer with Caleb’s twin brothers, and works at his father’s restaurant.  When Caleb makes a CD of highlights from the brothers’ soccer games and tries to give it to Christian, will he make a bad situation worse, or open the door for a friendship between the two men?

There are very few writers who consistently deliver a satisfying, lovely and touching story with everything she touches.  This is no exception.  The characters are drawn so truly and perfectly, and we care immediately.  This being a Christmas tale, there HAS to be a HEA, and we are not disappointed.  I would love to see these two young men get a full book.  They are that interesting.  Please???

"Love Means…Healing" – by Andrew Grey

Len lost his partner of twenty years a few months ago. He works on the ranch they owned, watches out for the son of his heart and his new partner, and grieves quietly.  He loved his partner since they were in high school, and thinks that part of his life is over with.  But when he looks at Chris, something gets under his skin and bothers him.  Chris is retired from the Marine Corps after thirty years of service after a loss of his own.  He needs a quiet place to heal himself, and even though he has never worked a ranch before, something about the peace he finds at the ranch soothes his soul.

I fell in love with the characters in all of Mr. Grey’s Love is… series, and have been waiting for Len to get a story of his own for a while.  This is a sweetly sentimental tale, perfect for Thanksgiving and the holiday season.  There is healing and romance, and the maturity of the characters is respected throughout this tale.  These two men are so lovingly drawn, and the respect Mr. Grey has for them shines through.  This was a great Thanksgiving night read for me.  Thanks for giving such a sweet and honest effort.