Burning For You by K.T. Grant

Maybe since I’m used to more paranormal / alternative reality stories by this publisher, Phaze Books, and with a more accent of sex, I was a little surprised, pleasantly surprised, that this novel was basically an old fashioned romance, with a cinderfella theme.

Patrick is an handyman for a poshy hotel in Manhattan; having renounced to many of his dreams, like going to college or having a career less manly but more satisfying, Patrick saved only one dream, to own his own home, a dream for which he is saving all his money and is doing a double job as janitor at the local college.

Christian comes from a wealthy and eccentric family; he doesn’t really have to work for a living, and he is now the very young Dean of the Economics Department. When he sees Patrick, Christian doesn’t question that Patrick is not of his same social status, he recognizes a man he could fall in love with. Christian pursues Patrick like an old fashioned admirer, with dinner and kindness.

There is a touch of drama, a lot of romanticism and mostly a nice and good love story. I like both characters, but especially Patrick, with his complex relationship with his family that lead all his life, until now, they didn’t disown him but simply since Patrick is not acting “gay”, but in doing so Patrick is also preventing himself to be happy.

http://www.phaze.com/book.php?title=Burning+for+You

Amazon Kindle: Burning For You (Gay Erotic Romance)
Publisher: Phaze Books (June 29, 2011)

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

Epiphany of Life by Aaron J. Clarke

Adam Carlson is probably the alter ego of the same author, Aaron Clarke, and like him, Adam did some odd choices with his career, but choices that probably saved his life.

Epiphany of Life is a gay novel only since Adam, the main character is gay, and he is researching the life of another author, Noelene, who was probably lesbian. Adam being gay is not what is causing issues to him, or maybe it’s if you considering that Adam has troubles to reconnect with his day-to-day life so much that rebuilding the one by Noelene becomes is safety net: if he manages to understand Noelene and her reasons, Adam will be probably able to understand himself and his reasons.

Adam becomes so fixated with Noelene and her novel, the task to rewrite it, incomplete and with gaps in between, that he almost loses the grasp with reality. But the gaps in Noelene’s life are a metaphor of the same gaps in Adam’s one, and so, when Adam will be hospitalized, filling those gaps will be Adam’s therapy to become “normal” again. But Adam’s normality is not that of the majority of people, and that is what makes Adam the only one able to understand Noelene.

The novel is not easy to read, a mix of Adam’s contemporary life, and Noelene’s fictional historical novel; often there is no way to see when one stops and the other begins, if not for the name of the characters and the changing in setting, but in a way, that is what is happening in Adam’s mind, he is losing himself in the novel, like the reader sometime loses their track of event.

I have the feeling that Epiphany of Life was a therapy in the therapy, and like Adam, also the author needed to put down in paper the chaos that was in his mind, and in doing that, he was filling the gaps of his soul and mind. So maybe this novel is not easy, but it’s for sure real, and moving.

Amazon: Epiphany of Life
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Wordclay (January 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1604818433
ISBN-13: 978-1604818437

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

Le Jazz Hot by Clancy Nacht & Thursday Euclid

I have to admit that I was fascinated both by the cover and the plot, a cross-dressing story about a pretty wanna-be Broadway artist falling in love with an hunky firefighter. The not so subtle inspiration is the Victor/Victoria play, where a struggling singer finds her fortune dressed as a man impersonating a woman. Here instead Julian decides to “wear” the dress of Julia to be the woman Trent felt in love with.

While the authors play a lot with all the prettiness and sexiness, and naughtiness, of Julian while he is wearing woman clothes, they decided to not transfer it also on his sexual preferences, sure, Julian is gay, but he is an all over top in bed, and that is not exactly something Trent, a completely newby to gay sex can ignore. That is at the same time the point I liked the most but that sometime felt a little too pushed: when Trent finds out Julian is a man, and gay, and in love with him, he is most of all worried that he will not be able to “perform” anal sex. That said, I find Trent a sweet and nice man, a real good guy, and in a way, his worries were natural and right, for someone who has never ever considered to be in a same-sex relationship, to decide to step into one while at the same time accepting that he will be the bottom, is not simple, I think.

I also liked how the authors explained how Trent was willing to accept to be in love with another man even if he has never had previous similar experiences; basically from the first scene we are introduced to Trent, he is already proving some queer tendencies, something that is latent and that he has never once really acknowledge, but in any case it’s there and ready to be unveiled by Julian.

Julian is a mix of naughtiness and fragility; I think he comes from a not easy past, when he was asked to explain and justify his liking all frilly female things while at the same time having the urge to be the dominant in the relationship. Julian achieved a balance, but it’s not a steady one, and he can be easily hurt even by simply words. Falling in love with Trent is not easy for him, since at the beginning it seems like he had to renounce to all his maleness to be the one Trent would love back. And even if it’s difficult for him, Julian is ready to do that for the small chance to be Trent’s boyfriend. But Trent will prove to be the good boy he seems to be, and also the one who is able to understand what it really important in life, more than appearances and other people opinions.

http://www.loose-id.com/Le-Jazz-Hot.aspx

Amazon: Le Jazz Hot
Amazon Kindle: Le Jazz Hot
Paperback: 230 pages
Publisher: Loose Id, LLC (March 26, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 161118391X
ISBN-13: 978-1611183917

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


Cover Art by P.L. Nunn