2012-05-30

reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2012-05-30 11:57 am

GayRomLit Ebook Giveaway: Cat Grant - Priceless

I asked to all the authors joining the GayRomLit convention in Albuquerque in October (http://gayromlit.com/authors.php) a personal favor, a special Ebook Giveaway: every 2 days I will post 1 book from each author, and among those who will leave a comment, I will draw a winner. Very easy and very fast ;-) I will send a PM to the winner, so remember to not leave anonymous comments!

And the ebook giveaway goes to: [livejournal.com profile] tcastleb please contact me

Today author is Cat Grant (http://www.catgrant.com/)

Priceless by Cat Grant
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (May 12, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Priceless

Connor Morrison is a 3-D optics pioneer, the star of the UC Berkeley physics department, and a socially inept workaholic. And with his dear friend and business partner, Steve Campbell, handling their investors, he’s content to remain in the shadows. That is, until he meets the gorgeous and starry-eyed physics student Wes Martin.

Wes is brilliant but broke. Ever since his scholarship fell victim to the financial crisis, he's had no choice but to sell his body to stay in school. Already half in love with Connor, Wes initially resists Steve's offer to be Connor's thirty-fifth birthday present. But in the end, Wes is too broke—and too smitten—to say no.

Connor has no idea Steve bought Wes’s attentions, and he quickly falls under the young man’s spell. Yet after one night together, Wes disappears. He can't bear to hook with a man he could so easily grow to love, but he also can’t bear to tell him the truth. Besides, if he sleeps with Connor again, there'd be no way to hide the bruises one of his regular johns loves to inflict. Only one thing to do: let Connor go. Walking away is painful, but not nearly as much as building a relationship on lies.
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2012-05-30 11:57 am
Entry tags:

GayRomLit Ebook Giveaway: Cat Grant - Priceless

I asked to all the authors joining the GayRomLit convention in Albuquerque in October (http://gayromlit.com/authors.php) a personal favor, a special Ebook Giveaway: every 2 days I will post 1 book from each author, and among those who will leave a comment, I will draw a winner. Very easy and very fast ;-) I will send a PM to the winner, so remember to not leave anonymous comments!

And the ebook giveaway goes to: [livejournal.com profile] tcastleb please contact me

Today author is Cat Grant (http://www.catgrant.com/)

Priceless by Cat Grant
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (May 12, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Priceless

Connor Morrison is a 3-D optics pioneer, the star of the UC Berkeley physics department, and a socially inept workaholic. And with his dear friend and business partner, Steve Campbell, handling their investors, he’s content to remain in the shadows. That is, until he meets the gorgeous and starry-eyed physics student Wes Martin.

Wes is brilliant but broke. Ever since his scholarship fell victim to the financial crisis, he's had no choice but to sell his body to stay in school. Already half in love with Connor, Wes initially resists Steve's offer to be Connor's thirty-fifth birthday present. But in the end, Wes is too broke—and too smitten—to say no.

Connor has no idea Steve bought Wes’s attentions, and he quickly falls under the young man’s spell. Yet after one night together, Wes disappears. He can't bear to hook with a man he could so easily grow to love, but he also can’t bear to tell him the truth. Besides, if he sleeps with Connor again, there'd be no way to hide the bruises one of his regular johns loves to inflict. Only one thing to do: let Connor go. Walking away is painful, but not nearly as much as building a relationship on lies.
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2012-05-30 12:34 pm

Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions (61-70)

Amy Lane - Clear Water
Paperback: 230 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (September 16, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1613721919
ISBN-13: 978-1613721919
Amazon: Clear Water
Amazon Kindle: Clear Water

Meet Patrick Cleary: party boy, loser, and spaz. Patrick's been trying desperately to transform himself, and the results have been so spectacular, they've almost killed him. Meet Wes "Whiskey" Keenan: he's a field biologist wondering if it's time to settle down. When the worst day of Patrick's life ends with Whiskey saving it, Patrick and Whiskey find themselves sharing company and an impossibly small berth on the world's tackiest houseboat. Patrick needs to get his life together-and Whiskey wants to help-but Patrick is not entirely convinced it's doable. He's pretty sure he's a freak of nature. But Whiskey, who works with real freaks of nature, thinks all Patrick needs is a little help to see the absolute beauty inside his spastic self, and Whiskey is all about volunteering. Between anomalous frogs, a homicidal ex-boyfriend, and Patrick's own hangups, Whiskey's going to need all of his patience and Patrick's going to need to find the best of himself before these two men ever see clear water.

Radclyffe - Sheltering Dunes
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825734
ISBN-13: 978-1602825734
Amazon: Sheltering Dunes (The Provincetown Tales)
Amazon Kindle: Sheltering Dunes (The Provincetown Tales)

The lives of two women and the community that shelters them shatter in a single night of violence. Ex-gang member Mica Butler is running from a past that just may kill her if she’s ever caught. Paramedic and ordained priest Flynn Edwards struggles to recover her faith in herself and find absolution for her greatest failure. Sheriff Reese Conlon fights to embrace the joy of new life while a dark threat bears down on her partner, Doctor Tory King. In one explosive night, the destines of all involved change forever as a man with nothing to lose threatens to take anyone in his path with him to the grave. Seventh in the award-winning Provincetown Tales.

Sam Cameron - Mystery of the Tempest
Reading level: Ages 13 and up
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825793
ISBN-13: 978-1602825796
Amazon: Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure
Amazon Kindle: Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure

Twin brothers Denny and Steven Anderson love helping people and fighting crime alongside their sheriff dad on sun-drenched Fisher Key, Florida. Steven likes chasing girls. Denny longs to lose his virginity, but doesn’t dare tell anyone he’s gay. Steven has a secret of his own. He lied to everyone, including his own brother, about being accepted into SEAL training for the U.S. Navy. On the day they graduate high school, the twins meet the handsome new guy in town, a military veteran with a chiseled body and mysterious past. Meanwhile Brian Vandermark, a gay transfer student from Boston, finds himself falling for closeted Denny but hampered by his shyness. When an antique yacht explodes in Fisher Key harbor, all three boys are caught up in a summer of betrayal, romance, and danger. It’s the Mystery of the Tempest¬—and it just might kill them all.

Yolanda Wallace - Lucky Looser
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825750
ISBN-13: 978-1602825758
Amazon: Lucky Loser
Amazon Kindle: Lucky Loser

In the high stakes world of women’s tennis, love means nothing. Or at least that’s how Sinjin Smythe sees it. Then she begins to fall for her friend and former doubles partner Laure Fortescue. Having had her heart broken by one player, Sinjin isn’t willing to have it happen again. The talented but oft-injured Brit enters Wimbledon fighting her feelings—and struggling to resurrect her career. Laure Fortescue has fame, fortune, and a ranking inside the top ten. She has everything she ever wanted. Everything except Sinjin Smythe. As a rule, Laure doesn’t date other players. A rule she would gladly break if it means winning Sinjin’s heart. Both women reach Wimbledon desperate to claim tennis’s crown jewel—Sinjin because it would be her greatest victory, Laure because it could be her last. Where does love fit in a game that only one can win?

Rob Byrnes - Holy Rollers
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825785
ISBN-13: 978-1602825789
Amazon: Holy Rollers
Amazon Kindle: Holy Rollers

When Grant Lambert and Chase LaMarca—partners in life and crime—learn that $7 million in not-so-petty cash is hidden in the safe of a rightwing mega-church, they assemble a team of gay and lesbian criminals to infiltrate the church and steal the money. But this Gang That Can’t Do Anything Straight quickly finds its plans complicated by corrupt congressmen (and their gay aides); an “ex-gay” conference; an FBI investigation; the unexpected appearance of a long-lost relative; and—most jarring for these born-and-bred New Yorkers—life in the northern Virginia suburbs. And then there is Dr. Oscar Hurley—founder of the church—and his right-hand man, the Rev. Dennis Merribaugh, who prove themselves every bit as adept as the professionals when it comes to larceny…

Richard Labonte - History's Passions
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825769
ISBN-13: 978-1602825765
Amazon: History's Passions: Stories of Sex Before Stonewall
Amazon Kindle: History's Passions: Stories of Sex Before Stonewall

Four acclaimed erotic authors re-imagine the past... welcome to the hidden queer history of men loving men not so very long—and centuries—ago.

In "Heaven on Earth," Lambda Literary Award-winner editor and author Simon Sheppard evokes a noirish Depression-era setting for Wichita rich kid Eli who, with an innocent young gas station attendant as his sidekick, embarks on a bloody, lust-fueled crime spree: Bonnie and Clyde meet Leopold and Loeb.

In "Camp Allegheny," Lambda finalist Jeff Mann recounts a clandestine Civil War romance between two Rebel soldiers whose passionate lovemaking survives bitter winters, life-threatening sickness, and bloody fighting during the real-life Battle of Allegheny in 1861 and the Battle of McDowell in 1862.

In "Tender Mercies," Dale Chase imagines the world of young Luke Farrow, a failure at prospecting during the California Gold Rush who succeeds in the more lucrative role of camp boy, where physical violence is as much a part of a rough, raw world as is selling sex for nuggets of gold—until a surprisingly tender man comes into Luke's life.

In "The Valley of Salt," David Holly blends legend with lust in the beautiful city of Gomorrah more than 3,000 years ago, where the Priests of Ball summon a beautiful young man as a temple sacrifice— which means he's now the indoor sport of the legendary city's sexually potent warriors, until taken captive during the Battle of the Vale of Siddom.

Jeffery Ricker - Detours
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825777
ISBN-13: 978-1602825772
Amazon: Detours
Amazon Kindle: Detours

Joel Patterson should be happier than ever. He's just returned from a two-week vacation in London, where he met Philip, who might be the man of his dreams. Instead, Joel's heading to Maine for his mother's funeral. He quits his job to fulfill one last request for his mother: unload his parents' albatross of an RV by delivering it to an old family friend—in California. Somehow, Joel's high school "friend" Lincoln has invited himself along on the ride—and into Joel's bed. The other person who's invited herself along? The ghost of his mother, who still has plenty to say about her son's judgment (or lack thereof). Joel has to get the RV to San Francisco, get rid of Lincoln, and get back to Philip. It would also make him feel better if he learned what's keeping his mother tied to this earthly plane. However Joel manages it, the route is likely to be anything but straight.

Rebekah Weatherspoon - Better Off Red
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825742
ISBN-13: 978-1602825741
Amazon: Better Off Red: Vampire Sorority Sisters Book 1
Amazon Kindle: Better Off Red: Vampire Sorority Sisters Book 1

Every sorority has its secrets... And college freshman Ginger Carmichael couldn't care less. She has more important things on her mind, like maintaining her perfect GPA. No matter how much she can't stand the idea of the cliques and the matching colors, there's something about the girls of Alpha Beta Omega—their beauty, confidence, and unapologetic sexuality—that draws Ginger in. But once initiation begins, Ginger finds that her pledge is more than a bond of sisterhood, it’s a lifelong pact to serve six bloodthirsty demons with a lot more than nutritional needs. Despite her fears, Ginger falls hard for the immortal queen of this nest, and as the semester draws to a close, she sees that protecting her family from the secret of her forbidden love is much harder than studying for finals.

L.A. Witt - The Closer You Get
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (October 2, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1609287916
ISBN-13: 978-1609287917
Amazon: The Closer You Get
Amazon Kindle: The Closer You Get

The virgin isn’t the only one with something to lose... Self-described manwhore Kieran Frost is loving the single life. Two years after moving to Seattle, he still has his friends with benefits, Rhett and Ethan, plus a never-ending supply of gorgeous, available men wandering through the bar where he works. A relationship? Spare him the drama and heartbreak. He’s got no complaints about his unattached lifestyle. When Rhett’s daughter introduces him to newly-out-of-the-closet Alex Corbin, Kieran’s interest perks up. After all, the quiet ones are always the freaks in bed. But Alex isn’t just shy and reserved. He’s a virgin in every sense of the word, having never even kissed anyone else. Kieran is no one’s teacher, and his first instinct is to run like hell in the other direction. But his conscience won’t let him throw the naïve kid to the wolves for someone else to take advantage of. The plan is to introduce Alex to his own sexuality, pull him out of his shell, then go their separate ways. It’s the perfect, foolproof plan…assuming no one falls in love.

Hayden Thorne - Renfred's Masquerade
Paperback: 238 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1466483903
ISBN-13: 978-1466483903
Amazon: Renfred's Masquerade
Amazon Kindle: Renfred's Masquerade

Young Nicola Gregori has always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, a brilliant clock-maker who’s famous for his wild, fantastical designs. But his father instead sends him to school to learn more practical matters. Nicola, stricken with infantile paralysis that left him with a deformed right leg, becomes an object of mockery and cruel jokes in school. He learns that in order to survive his daily ordeals, he needs to vanish in the crowd, to stop aspiring, to stop dreaming, and above all, to believe himself unworthy of respect and love. Tragedy strikes when Nicola turns sixteen. Gustav Renfred, an old friend of his father, takes on Nicola as his charge and whisks him away to an isolated islet filled with empty mansions and bordered by a bluebell forest. There Nicola slowly learns about the tragic story that tightly weaves together the fates of Jacopo Gregori, Gustav Renfred, and Gustav’s twin sister, Constanza. Magic, impossible dreams, and unrequited love come together in Ambrosi, the Renfreds’ mansion, where Nicola is caught up in a world of haunting portraits, a ghostly housekeeper, and the mysterious disappearance of Davide, Constanza’s adopted son. When Nicola’s invited to one of Renfred’s magical masquerades, he discovers the answers to riddles as well as the mounting danger that the Renfred family faces with every passing hour. With the masquerades’ existence depending on the physical and mental strength of an ailing Renfred, the task of solving the mystery of Davide’s disappearance before time runs out falls on Nicola’s shoulders, and he has no choice but to depend on things that he’s long learned to suppress: courage, self-respect, and the desire to aim for impossible goals.
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2012-05-30 12:34 pm
Entry tags:

Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions (61-70)

61) Amy Lane - Clear Water
Paperback: 230 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (September 16, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1613721919
ISBN-13: 978-1613721919
Amazon: Clear Water
Amazon Kindle: Clear Water

Meet Patrick Cleary: party boy, loser, and spaz. Patrick's been trying desperately to transform himself, and the results have been so spectacular, they've almost killed him. Meet Wes "Whiskey" Keenan: he's a field biologist wondering if it's time to settle down. When the worst day of Patrick's life ends with Whiskey saving it, Patrick and Whiskey find themselves sharing company and an impossibly small berth on the world's tackiest houseboat. Patrick needs to get his life together-and Whiskey wants to help-but Patrick is not entirely convinced it's doable. He's pretty sure he's a freak of nature. But Whiskey, who works with real freaks of nature, thinks all Patrick needs is a little help to see the absolute beauty inside his spastic self, and Whiskey is all about volunteering. Between anomalous frogs, a homicidal ex-boyfriend, and Patrick's own hangups, Whiskey's going to need all of his patience and Patrick's going to need to find the best of himself before these two men ever see clear water.

62) Radclyffe - Sheltering Dunes
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825734
ISBN-13: 978-1602825734
Amazon: Sheltering Dunes (The Provincetown Tales)
Amazon Kindle: Sheltering Dunes (The Provincetown Tales)

The lives of two women and the community that shelters them shatter in a single night of violence. Ex-gang member Mica Butler is running from a past that just may kill her if she’s ever caught. Paramedic and ordained priest Flynn Edwards struggles to recover her faith in herself and find absolution for her greatest failure. Sheriff Reese Conlon fights to embrace the joy of new life while a dark threat bears down on her partner, Doctor Tory King. In one explosive night, the destines of all involved change forever as a man with nothing to lose threatens to take anyone in his path with him to the grave. Seventh in the award-winning Provincetown Tales.

63) Sam Cameron - Mystery of the Tempest
Reading level: Ages 13 and up
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825793
ISBN-13: 978-1602825796
Amazon: Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure
Amazon Kindle: Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure

Twin brothers Denny and Steven Anderson love helping people and fighting crime alongside their sheriff dad on sun-drenched Fisher Key, Florida. Steven likes chasing girls. Denny longs to lose his virginity, but doesn’t dare tell anyone he’s gay. Steven has a secret of his own. He lied to everyone, including his own brother, about being accepted into SEAL training for the U.S. Navy. On the day they graduate high school, the twins meet the handsome new guy in town, a military veteran with a chiseled body and mysterious past. Meanwhile Brian Vandermark, a gay transfer student from Boston, finds himself falling for closeted Denny but hampered by his shyness. When an antique yacht explodes in Fisher Key harbor, all three boys are caught up in a summer of betrayal, romance, and danger. It’s the Mystery of the Tempest¬—and it just might kill them all.

64) Yolanda Wallace - Lucky Looser
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825750
ISBN-13: 978-1602825758
Amazon: Lucky Loser
Amazon Kindle: Lucky Loser

In the high stakes world of women’s tennis, love means nothing. Or at least that’s how Sinjin Smythe sees it. Then she begins to fall for her friend and former doubles partner Laure Fortescue. Having had her heart broken by one player, Sinjin isn’t willing to have it happen again. The talented but oft-injured Brit enters Wimbledon fighting her feelings—and struggling to resurrect her career. Laure Fortescue has fame, fortune, and a ranking inside the top ten. She has everything she ever wanted. Everything except Sinjin Smythe. As a rule, Laure doesn’t date other players. A rule she would gladly break if it means winning Sinjin’s heart. Both women reach Wimbledon desperate to claim tennis’s crown jewel—Sinjin because it would be her greatest victory, Laure because it could be her last. Where does love fit in a game that only one can win?

65) Rob Byrnes - Holy Rollers
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825785
ISBN-13: 978-1602825789
Amazon: Holy Rollers
Amazon Kindle: Holy Rollers

When Grant Lambert and Chase LaMarca—partners in life and crime—learn that $7 million in not-so-petty cash is hidden in the safe of a rightwing mega-church, they assemble a team of gay and lesbian criminals to infiltrate the church and steal the money. But this Gang That Can’t Do Anything Straight quickly finds its plans complicated by corrupt congressmen (and their gay aides); an “ex-gay” conference; an FBI investigation; the unexpected appearance of a long-lost relative; and—most jarring for these born-and-bred New Yorkers—life in the northern Virginia suburbs. And then there is Dr. Oscar Hurley—founder of the church—and his right-hand man, the Rev. Dennis Merribaugh, who prove themselves every bit as adept as the professionals when it comes to larceny…

66) Richard Labonte - History's Passions
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825769
ISBN-13: 978-1602825765
Amazon: History's Passions: Stories of Sex Before Stonewall
Amazon Kindle: History's Passions: Stories of Sex Before Stonewall

Four acclaimed erotic authors re-imagine the past... welcome to the hidden queer history of men loving men not so very long—and centuries—ago.

In "Heaven on Earth," Lambda Literary Award-winner editor and author Simon Sheppard evokes a noirish Depression-era setting for Wichita rich kid Eli who, with an innocent young gas station attendant as his sidekick, embarks on a bloody, lust-fueled crime spree: Bonnie and Clyde meet Leopold and Loeb.

In "Camp Allegheny," Lambda finalist Jeff Mann recounts a clandestine Civil War romance between two Rebel soldiers whose passionate lovemaking survives bitter winters, life-threatening sickness, and bloody fighting during the real-life Battle of Allegheny in 1861 and the Battle of McDowell in 1862.

In "Tender Mercies," Dale Chase imagines the world of young Luke Farrow, a failure at prospecting during the California Gold Rush who succeeds in the more lucrative role of camp boy, where physical violence is as much a part of a rough, raw world as is selling sex for nuggets of gold—until a surprisingly tender man comes into Luke's life.

In "The Valley of Salt," David Holly blends legend with lust in the beautiful city of Gomorrah more than 3,000 years ago, where the Priests of Ball summon a beautiful young man as a temple sacrifice— which means he's now the indoor sport of the legendary city's sexually potent warriors, until taken captive during the Battle of the Vale of Siddom.

67) Jeffery Ricker - Detours
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825777
ISBN-13: 978-1602825772
Amazon: Detours
Amazon Kindle: Detours

Joel Patterson should be happier than ever. He's just returned from a two-week vacation in London, where he met Philip, who might be the man of his dreams. Instead, Joel's heading to Maine for his mother's funeral. He quits his job to fulfill one last request for his mother: unload his parents' albatross of an RV by delivering it to an old family friend—in California. Somehow, Joel's high school "friend" Lincoln has invited himself along on the ride—and into Joel's bed. The other person who's invited herself along? The ghost of his mother, who still has plenty to say about her son's judgment (or lack thereof). Joel has to get the RV to San Francisco, get rid of Lincoln, and get back to Philip. It would also make him feel better if he learned what's keeping his mother tied to this earthly plane. However Joel manages it, the route is likely to be anything but straight.

68) Rebekah Weatherspoon - Better Off Red
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825742
ISBN-13: 978-1602825741
Amazon: Better Off Red: Vampire Sorority Sisters Book 1
Amazon Kindle: Better Off Red: Vampire Sorority Sisters Book 1

Every sorority has its secrets... And college freshman Ginger Carmichael couldn't care less. She has more important things on her mind, like maintaining her perfect GPA. No matter how much she can't stand the idea of the cliques and the matching colors, there's something about the girls of Alpha Beta Omega—their beauty, confidence, and unapologetic sexuality—that draws Ginger in. But once initiation begins, Ginger finds that her pledge is more than a bond of sisterhood, it’s a lifelong pact to serve six bloodthirsty demons with a lot more than nutritional needs. Despite her fears, Ginger falls hard for the immortal queen of this nest, and as the semester draws to a close, she sees that protecting her family from the secret of her forbidden love is much harder than studying for finals.

69) L.A. Witt - The Closer You Get
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (October 2, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1609287916
ISBN-13: 978-1609287917
Amazon: The Closer You Get
Amazon Kindle: The Closer You Get

The virgin isn’t the only one with something to lose... Self-described manwhore Kieran Frost is loving the single life. Two years after moving to Seattle, he still has his friends with benefits, Rhett and Ethan, plus a never-ending supply of gorgeous, available men wandering through the bar where he works. A relationship? Spare him the drama and heartbreak. He’s got no complaints about his unattached lifestyle. When Rhett’s daughter introduces him to newly-out-of-the-closet Alex Corbin, Kieran’s interest perks up. After all, the quiet ones are always the freaks in bed. But Alex isn’t just shy and reserved. He’s a virgin in every sense of the word, having never even kissed anyone else. Kieran is no one’s teacher, and his first instinct is to run like hell in the other direction. But his conscience won’t let him throw the naïve kid to the wolves for someone else to take advantage of. The plan is to introduce Alex to his own sexuality, pull him out of his shell, then go their separate ways. It’s the perfect, foolproof plan…assuming no one falls in love.

70) Hayden Thorne - Renfred's Masquerade
Paperback: 238 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1466483903
ISBN-13: 978-1466483903
Amazon: Renfred's Masquerade
Amazon Kindle: Renfred's Masquerade

Young Nicola Gregori has always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, a brilliant clock-maker who’s famous for his wild, fantastical designs. But his father instead sends him to school to learn more practical matters. Nicola, stricken with infantile paralysis that left him with a deformed right leg, becomes an object of mockery and cruel jokes in school. He learns that in order to survive his daily ordeals, he needs to vanish in the crowd, to stop aspiring, to stop dreaming, and above all, to believe himself unworthy of respect and love. Tragedy strikes when Nicola turns sixteen. Gustav Renfred, an old friend of his father, takes on Nicola as his charge and whisks him away to an isolated islet filled with empty mansions and bordered by a bluebell forest. There Nicola slowly learns about the tragic story that tightly weaves together the fates of Jacopo Gregori, Gustav Renfred, and Gustav’s twin sister, Constanza. Magic, impossible dreams, and unrequited love come together in Ambrosi, the Renfreds’ mansion, where Nicola is caught up in a world of haunting portraits, a ghostly housekeeper, and the mysterious disappearance of Davide, Constanza’s adopted son. When Nicola’s invited to one of Renfred’s magical masquerades, he discovers the answers to riddles as well as the mounting danger that the Renfred family faces with every passing hour. With the masquerades’ existence depending on the physical and mental strength of an ailing Renfred, the task of solving the mystery of Davide’s disappearance before time runs out falls on Nicola’s shoulders, and he has no choice but to depend on things that he’s long learned to suppress: courage, self-respect, and the desire to aim for impossible goals.
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2012-05-30 02:54 pm

The Gay Man’s Guide to Timeless Manners and Proper Etiquette by Corey Rosenberg

This was one of the funniest book I have read this past year. I’m pretty sure this was the intent of the author, since such light mood cannot be a coincidence. Do you want some example? Here are some of the advices the author gives to the Proper Gay Man of the future:

“A proper young man always buys the second round for the person who bought him the first one. The same idea is generally true when it comes to orgasms.”

“A polite gay man would never break the heart of an innocent person as a way of boosting his own self esteem while also seeking out revenge on an ex-boyfriend who broke his heart. Instead, he shops, works out at the gym, eats ice cream, bitches to girlfriends, smokes, colors his hairs, reorganizes his closet, and cries in the shower, if necessary.”

“Before he makes the important decision to get his first puppy, a responsible gay man has kept an exotic plant or tree alive and healthy for at least six months. He is not impulsive because he knows that having a puppy in his life is a major responsibility.”

While reading this book I was imagining the author to be a sophisticated and “agè” gay man who was bestowing his experience among the youngest. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to the “About the Author” section at the end of the book and discovered Corey Rosenberg is, according to the little hints, in his thirties. Sure he is from a probably wealthy family, he went to boarding schools, and he spent time in Europe, so, well, he did everything we imagined wealthy gay boys did in the 20s and 30s, only that, he moved all of this in the contemporary ages. Even more this book is fascinating, since now, the advices Corey Rosenberg is giving, can really be put at work by his same age gay boys who want to better themselves and the society they are living in.

The advice are simple and good, nothing impossible to achieve if you have perseverance and predispotion. True, some of them were new to me, like the fact a guest has to wash and dry the dishes if the host cooked the meal… that is something I would have never allowed myself, a guest is a guest to my eyes, but well, I’m probably not a proper lady ;-)

In any case, this is a book I recommend to everyone, from who wants to learn to who wants simply to spend some hours with a smile on their face.

http://www.chelseastationeditions.com/rosenberg-guide.html

Amazon: The Gay Man's Guide to Timeless Manners and Proper Etiquette
Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: Chelsea Station Editions (September 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0983285144
ISBN-13: 978-0983285144

Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading_list&view=elisa.rolle
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2012-05-30 02:54 pm

The Gay Man’s Guide to Timeless Manners and Proper Etiquette by Corey Rosenberg

This was one of the funniest book I have read this past year. I’m pretty sure this was the intent of the author, since such light mood cannot be a coincidence. Do you want some example? Here are some of the advices the author gives to the Proper Gay Man of the future:

“A proper young man always buys the second round for the person who bought him the first one. The same idea is generally true when it comes to orgasms.”

“A polite gay man would never break the heart of an innocent person as a way of boosting his own self esteem while also seeking out revenge on an ex-boyfriend who broke his heart. Instead, he shops, works out at the gym, eats ice cream, bitches to girlfriends, smokes, colors his hairs, reorganizes his closet, and cries in the shower, if necessary.”

“Before he makes the important decision to get his first puppy, a responsible gay man has kept an exotic plant or tree alive and healthy for at least six months. He is not impulsive because he knows that having a puppy in his life is a major responsibility.”

While reading this book I was imagining the author to be a sophisticated and “agè” gay man who was bestowing his experience among the youngest. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to the “About the Author” section at the end of the book and discovered Corey Rosenberg is, according to the little hints, in his thirties. Sure he is from a probably wealthy family, he went to boarding schools, and he spent time in Europe, so, well, he did everything we imagined wealthy gay boys did in the 20s and 30s, only that, he moved all of this in the contemporary ages. Even more this book is fascinating, since now, the advices Corey Rosenberg is giving, can really be put at work by his same age gay boys who want to better themselves and the society they are living in.

The advice are simple and good, nothing impossible to achieve if you have perseverance and predispotion. True, some of them were new to me, like the fact a guest has to wash and dry the dishes if the host cooked the meal… that is something I would have never allowed myself, a guest is a guest to my eyes, but well, I’m probably not a proper lady ;-)

In any case, this is a book I recommend to everyone, from who wants to learn to who wants simply to spend some hours with a smile on their face.

http://www.chelseastationeditions.com/rosenberg-guide.html

Amazon: The Gay Man's Guide to Timeless Manners and Proper Etiquette
Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: Chelsea Station Editions (September 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0983285144
ISBN-13: 978-0983285144

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