The Tea Demon by Cornelia Grey

The Tea Demon was light and funny, something that caught me unaware but pleasantly surprised. The sci-fi/futuristic story of a dashing Captain of a pirate spaceshift/galleon hiring a intergalactic thief to retrieve a prized possession seemed somewhat old. I was of course expecting for the dashing captain, Jonathan, to be an imposing and dominant character, and of course for the thief, Eric, to be a somewhat submissive character, a level below the captain in the “romance” hierarchy.

I was completely wrong, from the first encounter, and the stolen kiss, a kiss that is “imposed” to a blushing Jonathan from a daring Eric, the relationship between Jonathan and Eric is on the same level, if not even unbalanced on Eric’s side, that seems more experience and streetwise of Jonathan. The wondrous adventure is almost a kid play, and the notorious Tea Demon is no one else that a buddy friend to Eric.

This is a short novella, and there should be a lot still to say about Jonathan, explaining for example his instability and his dependency from… tea! Again the author turned something that could have been dark and gothic, in funny and light.

I really enjoyed this pair, and I hope the author will decide to visit them again.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2635

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

Goodbye Scrooge by Jaime Samms

I know this author from previous stories, and I know that I have always liked, and appreciated, her effort to have unusual characters and complex relationship. So it’s no surprise at all that I liked a lot this one, about a college student who is in an almost abusive relationship with his liaison teacher.

When Marcus started the affair with Julian, he was barely legal; there should be a lot to say about a man who uses his power on a boy almost half his age to steer him toward a sexual relationship, but we see both side of the coin. Marcus is not exactly naïve, and we will learn that this was no an exclusive relationship. Marcus was plenty aware that his affair with the professor was on a time-clock and he has never deceived himself into believing there was a future for them. On the contrary, he had relationship with the professor and with other students in the full understanding this was a college fling and that real-life commitment could wait once he was out of college.

Now the time is almost up, but an unexpected chance comes unto his plate: Eric, the basketball team star, seems very interested in Marcus, but with him it’s all or nothing. Marcus knows he has to put an end to his affair with Julian before starting something with Eric, and Marcus knows also that with Eric it’s important, something that can last beyond his college years. What Marcus was not expecting is to fall in love with Julian.

I really liked how the author was unapologetic with her characters, letting the reader see all their faults, but at the same time like she managed to make them sympathetic. Despite the shitty behavior of Julian, I have always cheered for him, for Marcus to be able to see beyond the surface, to understand that Julian was hurting.

Despite the not so light matter, the novella was very sweet, perfectly in line with the seasonal romance theme.

http://pinkpetalbooks.com/Goodbye-Scrooge-Jaime-Samms.html

Amazon Kindle: Goodbye Scrooge
Publisher: Pink Petal Books (December 8, 2010)

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