Mmmmm

Gah! This needs to be a TV show. I would watch it forever. So much awesome.

So in this sequel to Art of Death we're plunged back into the world of the undead, and I must say, it is flippin' demented. Seriously, these undead guys (and girls) are nuts. I especially enjoyed that one scene where the MC gets attacked by a roomful of Victorian dolls. Creepy as hell. Close to being my worst nightmare (but not my absolute worst - that's Ebola). But also hilarious. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book, the glimpse into the paranormal community that Bosch has crafted in the first book; the undead are the most interesting aspect of the story. However, I found myself becoming quite frustrated with the plot in this book; it felt very scattered and cobbled-together, instead of the solid and coherent storyline we got in the first book. The problem is that there is more than one 'mystery' being dealt with and theses mysteries overlap and weave together but ultimately have nothing to do with each other and thus leaves the ending very unsatisfying. Our hero, Riley, continues to do dumbass things to get the plot rolling and his boyfriend is still an unapologetic asshole. The romance aspect is a little more developed here than in book one, but it's a bit disturbing. Westwood, the love interest, is an absolute brute both in bed and out of it and I kinda wondered why Riley put up with him, I was't sure he had enough redeeming qualities to warrant Riley's feelings for him. The whole thing often felt one-sided. But Riley seemed to like it rough, and he's a big boy. I was super excited about this book. I freaking adored the first, and was very interested to know where the storyline would go. I had fun with it, because I really like Bosch's writing style, it's very readable, but overall the first was better. Cover's still gorgeous, though.

Well, that was bloody fantastic. I have serious reservations about reading fan fiction of anything I really love because there's more chance of it pissing me off than me actually enjoying it. But that was so not the case here. This is a delicious glimpse into Sherlock's labyrinthine mind as he struggles with his attraction to Watson. There's no central plot other than the two of them trying to untangle the gordian knot that is their relationship; Sherlock's crime-solving happens in the background, so don't expect a mystery. A lot of the tension is lent by John's choices (and I'd rant about them, but I don't want to spoil it). Sure, there's a lot of angst, but it's Sherlock-flavoured angst, so it's awesome and self-aware. At first I was a little put off by the rapid-fire prose and gross overuse of parentheses, but then I started imagining it in Benedict Cumberbatch's voice and it was perfect. It would be just like BBC's Sherlock to think at the speed of light and have all these minutiae flit through his consciousness. I especially loved the anatomical detail and use of text messages. The secondary characters were represented brilliantly and the whole thing just felt so familiar and sincere. It'll have to tide me over until season 3.

As much as I enjoyed the previous four books set in this universe, this one was hard going for me. I just couldn't keep anyone's identity straight, I kept forgetting who was who and who belonged with whom. There were just too many couples and combinations. So confusing. And also, it creeped me out that the guys had sex with their dragons. The dragons are portrayed as very basically sentient pets, so you can see why that would be discomforting.

Well, that was flippin' awesome.

I enjoyed this book in a sort of fond, nostalgic way. But I can't say that I genuinely liked it. I really like Mac and Tony and it was nice to see them grow together. But see, I have a horror of all things domestic. Things like marriage and housework and *shudder* childrearing make me awfully uncomfortable. I can barely stand those things in real life, so I really, really don't want to read about them for fun. And that's kind of where this book fell short for me. It's objectively quite good; well written and sweet and the mystery is interesting, but I just couldn't get past the little domestic bubble they'd built for themselves. That said, I still like Kaje Harper and would happily read whatever she chose to write - sans little kids, though.

(Oh god, I just realized that I've already bought Mary Calmes's new Jory-as-a-housewife book. How the hell am I going to make it through that?)

Your enjoyment of this book will ultimately depend on your life circumstances, your tolerance for having your intelligence insulted and your reason for reading it. If, for example, your are a purveyor of homosexual adult films with a penchant for wacky science fiction, a dislike of large, multisyllabic words as well as a yearning to deliver an important social message about equality (who is looking for an idea for a film), then this book is for you. It has many elements which I imagine would make an adult film very successful, i.e. lots and lots of cock. Set in a futuristic, off-world, all-male society; it pits slaves (Nakeds) bred for their ability to work (read: be physically unable to disobey commands) against Freemen (who are seriously rapey). Somewhere in the background there are also Junglemen (who have a fantastically laissez-faire attitude towards sex and body hair). 75% of the book is spent either describing various sex acts, various penises (and other gems of male anatomy) or the creative use of exotic vegetation as sex-toys - all in very simple and easy-for-a-six-year-old-to-understand language (God, I even feel bad about mentioning six-year-olds in connection with this book). Hell, there's even a penis montage (I'm not joking) and a massive climatic orgy (pun absolutely intended). As a porn film, it makes so much sense, but as work of literary fiction, er, no. So if your reason for reading it is to enjoy a racy book with an interesting plot and a bit of social commentary (which was my reason), then I'd suggest giving this one a miss. But like I said, if you make porn, then this is freaking golden (I can just see the DVD cover - well-hung hunks obscured by the strategically placed leaves of alien plants. Maybe with some galaxies in the background? A phallic spaceship or two? The dual globes of the twin moons? No?).

I can't be objective about this book because it was so fucking dirty. Good dirty. I really enjoyed it, hence the 4 stars, but holy crap, that was a lot of sex. I'm gonna go stick my head out the window to cool down now.

I agree with everything everyone has said about this book. It's a very cool, often hilarious mystery with super-loveable characters and a satisfying romance. Seriously, read it!

As a standalone novel, this was a solid read; interesting and fairly sexy, but as a minor accompaniment to Special Forces it fell a little short for me. I think I'd have rated it higher if there wasn't so much history here. As a die-hard SF fan (and a particular fascination with Vadim), I enjoyed seeing him again, getting a glimpse into his life now. But with Dan MIA, it felt a bit like those movie sequels where the original actor from the first movie is not in the picture anymore and is only vaguely mentioned in the film and always off-screen. Frustrating as hell.
As for the book itself, I enjoyed it, but had some issues with what I now think of as 'Rapidly Progressing Romance Syndrome' (RPRS), I feel there was a lot more room for a good tension-build. They meet, fall into bed and are confessing undying love within a few short scenes. Nikolai's calm acceptance of his shift in sexuality was also a bit weird, but his upbringing goes a little way in explaining that. The technical business/mining stuff was also a bit over my head, but props to Voinov for mentioning the very recent mining debacle in South Africa. Way to keep things current!

I don't know whether it's because I'm from a Commonwealth country, but I really like Merrow's Britishness. Even if the story's not spectacular, I always enjoy the setting and style of writing. Other than that I really don't have too much to say about this book, it's a solid novella-length romance about two fairly clueless guys. Predictable as anything, but enjoyable enough.

How can something be creepy and sappy at the same time? Is there a word to describe that? Because this book definitely needs one.

That title! That cover! That deliciously vague blurb! How could I resist this book? I'm so, so glad that I didn't even try.

This story is about (and narrated by) Matthew, the eponymous "M". An amoral, unrepentant spy gallivanting around sixteenth century Venice. There, in the midst of being dishonest, he meets Vito Alessandro, an agnostic priest and the youngest son of a rich merchant. From their first meeting, their relationship is established as antagonistic and contrary and utterly delicious. Through a series of strange bargains, the two realize their attraction to one another and start a clandestine affair. At the start, neither of them are particularly likable, but they grow on you. This is not your typical romance, it's mostly unsentimental and almost hostile, but so fun to read about. And the two of them are each bloody insane. Matthew is a fairly typical rakish character; an opportunist who would do whatever (and whomever) he needed to survive, while Vito is a feisty little firebrand (and I love him for it). I really enjoyed the two of them. Like, REALLY REALLY enjoyed. I've been thinking about this, and they are probably in my personal top 5 favourite MM pairings (which is saying a lot with the amount of MM I read). I've been resisting the comparison, but in some ways I was strongly reminded of Stockholm Syndrome's Pip and Lindsay. They had the same push-pull dynamic that I adored in SS. And the sex! Oh god, the sex. I don't usually go on and on about sex scenes in books, but seriously, it was ridiculously, obscenely, unbelievably hot. I don't think a word has yet been invented to adequately describe it. "Hot" just seems tepid compared to the actual thing. But more than that though, seeing the two of them butt heads and fight and bicker was just as great.

The rest of the book sees M grappling with his desire to run (as is his nature) and fighting whatever spell Vito has cast on him. It's quite a long book and lots of things happen that I won't talk about because it'll give away the game (I've put a spoiler at the end about some things I think you should you know before reading). The last 20% or so came a little out of left field, and my one complaint is that this important bit felt a little rushed and random, but suffice it to say that I felt sick just now as I was finishing. I already wanted to reread it at around 25%. It's that good. An honest-to-god all time favourite. If I could give it infinity stars, I would.

Fair warning though, it requires a lot of concentration. It's written in a sort of archaic style, both in the syntax and vocabulary, and I often had to stop and think about a phrase before I really understood it. That said, once I got used it, I loved the writing. It was wordy, sure, but it was also funny and lovely and sometimes poignant. Snowdon is not stingy with her imagery; and though some might find it tiring, I thought the prose rich and evocative. At the start, I highlighted phrases I liked, thinking that I would pepper my review with them, but I ended up with so many that I nixed that idea because then this review would be like a hundred times longer.

I have a feeling that this book is going to be really polarizing, people will either love it or hate it (and the middle-of-the-roaders just weren't paying close enough attention). I guess I haven't been subtle about which group I belong to. Okay, yes, I am prone to hyperbole, this is a thing I know about myself, but this book is honestly the best thing I've read all year (and it's been a good year for reading). I would recommend it to anyone who likes steamy historical (well-written) fiction and wants a change from sappy postmodern romances. But I would not recommend it to those looking for a quick, easy read or to people who get easily frustrated.

Be warned though, there is an important menage relationship that happens toward the end of the book, it doesn't take up much space, but it is kind of central to character development. It's also smoking hot, but I know some people hate MMM, and it does kinda come out of nowhere.

I wanted this book to be longer. I wanted this book to be endless. It's such a strange and lovely blending of Russian folklore and futuristic fiction. It's a story about the eponymous Vassily, a shy composer who is recovering from a terrible accident, who ends up being maltreated by his stepfather. Sent on some task, Vassily ends ups meeting a trio of strange brothers and their even stranger mother and sort of grows a backbone in the process. In any case, the plot is not important. It's a bit weak, to be honest and only serves as a vehicle for the fantastic characters and great world the author has built. I love the brothers, they each have distinct, interesting personalities and are obviously someone's dirty fantasy. Vassily develops a relationship with the aggressive and antisocial Sumerki and it is glorious. It's the centerpiece of the novel. Under other circumstances, I might have found this annoying. But I just enjoyed them so much. My main complaint is that things move too fast, and too many things were happening at once. There is so much scope for world-building and character expansion that this could be, like, ten more novels and I devour every one of them. Hint hint, Angel Martinez, hint hint.

After the debate that this book stimulated about intellectual discrepancy in relationships and what constitutes an intellectual disability, I really thought I wouldn't like it. I believed a large part of the reason why I thought I'd dislike it is that intelligence is such a huge part of attractiveness for me, that I almost can't imagine how someone could find a less intelligent person appealing. But I've decided to like it because Al was a sweetheart, and I'm with the slightly-maybe autistic camp on this one. I think his inability to understand social cues, coupled with his underprivileged background and simple way of expressing himself, makes him come off as 'slow'. At one point "savant" is used in the book, and I don't necessarily think it's a bad term to use to describe Al. That said, I still can't logic them together. Despite how nice Al is, I fail to understand his relationship with a Cambridge professor - fantastic sex or not. I would love to read the exact same story from Lawrence's perspective, just so I can get some insight into what is actually going on in his head. Overall, though, it's a touching story. A sort of love-against-the-odds tale that lots of people are sure to enjoy.

Okay, I'm just going to jump on the bandwagon here and second all the reviews that said this book was lovely. Because it was. Really, really lovely. Set in the Australian Outback and telling the story about an Englishman searching for an elusive creature and guided by an Australian through the bush, I inevitably compared it to Kennedy and Ford's Dash and Dingo, which I loved. But whereas that book was much more focused on the action/adventure aspect of the tale, this one is driven very much by the development of the relationship between the two men. There's a lovely tension in the beginning and the couple are great together, but it's the ending where things sat a little skew for me. It ends very happily, but there are some unresolved things kind of hanging in the air and I'm left with a slightly dissatisfied feeling and a little bit of dread. But that's just me, don't let it deter you. This is a beautiful story, and I'm very glad I read it.