Khalid’s Challenge (The Pridelands 5) by Jade Buchanan

Lately I was neglecting this furry lovers series by Jade Buchanan for a very silly reason: I don't like menages and even more when the menages is among two male and a female. This is the fifth book in the series, but I only read the first one and skipped the following three since they are all menages. Now finally Jade Buchanan returns to a male on male story, and so also I'm returning to read her.

Khalid and Pran's characters are actually spin offs from the previous series, The Felidae. Pran is the Tigris who challenged Rajiv in a tribal tournament in Usama's Journey's book. Khalid is the half breed Tigris and half breed Leo named in Navin's Master's book, the estranged brother of one of the Tigris, actually the only one who has some power on Pran.

I remember that I was intrigued by this possible story and wondered how it could be: till now, the books I read on these two series always paired a strong alpha male to an omega male; sometime the alpha males where two, but always they were balanced by an omega male between them. Here instead both Pran than Khalid are alpha males, but there is not a clear dominant between them. The author chose to balance them in the two most obvious way: Pran is older than Khalid, and so the age difference gives him points, and Khalid is bigger than Pran, and so the physical appearance gives him his points. Since this is a society where the physical strenght is a strong component of the political power, maybe Khalid has some more points than Pran, but not so much.

As always the story is not very long, 71 pages, and after the two main characters resolve their conflict, there is a lot of sex, very physical and with an heavy dose of brutal force, but always tempered by love. Jade Buchanan doesn't forget that, at the end, she is writing about half beast, and so her characters can't be shrinking violet, and they must be driven by instinct.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Amazon Kindle: The Pridelands 5: Khalid's Challenge
Publisher: Changeling Press, LLC (November 21, 2008)

Series: The Pridelands
1) Darren’s Surprise: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/156297.html 
2) Zula’s Stand
3) Sheer's Choice
4) Griffin's Joy
5) Khalid's Challenge

Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Khalid’s Challenge (The Pridelands 5) by Jade Buchanan

Lately I was neglecting this furry lovers series by Jade Buchanan for a very silly reason: I don't like menages and even more when the menages is among two male and a female. This is the fifth book in the series, but I only read the first one and skipped the following three since they are all menages. Now finally Jade Buchanan returns to a male on male story, and so also I'm returning to read her.

Khalid and Pran's characters are actually spin offs from the previous series, The Felidae. Pran is the Tigris who challenged Rajiv in a tribal tournament in Usama's Journey's book. Khalid is the half breed Tigris and half breed Leo named in Navin's Master's book, the estranged brother of one of the Tigris, actually the only one who has some power on Pran.

I remember that I was intrigued by this possible story and wondered how it could be: till now, the books I read on these two series always paired a strong alpha male to an omega male; sometime the alpha males where two, but always they were balanced by an omega male between them. Here instead both Pran than Khalid are alpha males, but there is not a clear dominant between them. The author chose to balance them in the two most obvious way: Pran is older than Khalid, and so the age difference gives him points, and Khalid is bigger than Pran, and so the physical appearance gives him his points. Since this is a society where the physical strenght is a strong component of the political power, maybe Khalid has some more points than Pran, but not so much.

As always the story is not very long, 71 pages, and after the two main characters resolve their conflict, there is a lot of sex, very physical and with an heavy dose of brutal force, but always tempered by love. Jade Buchanan doesn't forget that, at the end, she is writing about half beast, and so her characters can't be shrinking violet, and they must be driven by instinct.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Series: The Pridelands
1) Darren’s Surprise: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/156297.html 
2) Zula’s Stand
3) Sheer's Choice
4) Griffin's Joy
5) Khalid's Challenge

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Looking for Some Touch by K.Z. Snow

The title has a double meaning: Pablo is an hustler in a futuristic world. In this apocalyptic setting, the profession of whore is centrally controlled as every other profession, but obviously is not a revered one. There are different level of prostitution, and Pablo unfortunately is on a low level, he walks the street by night. When one of his clients expresses a bit too much of interest in him, bordering on violence, Pablo knows that it's time to change line of work.

He replies to an ad by a coven of three magicians in search of a Touch: here the first meaning of the title, a Touch is a human being able to arise and direct sexual powers; obviously this could imply physical contact and maybe also sex, but Pablo is not worried of that. Better being an independent worker with the possibility of choice, than depending on the will of strangers night after night. And here is the second meaning of the title, since Pablo is looking for some touch, but not a physical ones, he wants a connection with someone, something that goes beyond the merely sex act.

The three of the coven are quite different: Zee is gentle and caring, always with a tender touch for Pablo; Tole is brisk and rude, not violent, but he almost seems to despise Pablo; and finally Win, the man from which Pablo wants more touch of everyone else. He can't resist to the beautiful man, but it's not only a physical reaction: Win is among the few who, seeing Pablo, are not only seeing a whore. He is actually interested in what Pablo likes and wants, and put Pablo's needs and desires in front of his own.

The story has a paranormal turn almost at the end, and maybe all the question is not so well explained. In the story there is far less sex than expected and this maybe is not even a bad thing, but above all it's not the multiple menages it was hinted in the blurb. There are only three sex scene, and one you can forget since it's Pablo's work before meeting the coven, the second is the only full and for me interesting one, and the third is more or less a making out with multiple partners but with not full sex included. So, strange to say, the book is more my cup of tea than expected.

http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=839

Amazon Kindle: Utopia X: Looking for Some Touch

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Christine M. Griffin