reviews_and_ramblings | Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions 51 to 60

51. Kyell Gold - Shadow Of The Father (The Sofawolf Press)
Gay, Fantasy

Yilon is a young fox noble who's just come of age, in the city of Divalia, capital of Tephos. But apart from his best friend and sometime lover Sinch, he doesn't like much about living there. He only met his father, Volle, two years ago, when he left his mother and the city where he grew up. He would give anything to be allowed to leave Divalia. Or so he thinks. When a stranger arrives with a message that the Lord of Dewanne has died and appointed Yilon his heir, the young fox realizes that there are worse places than Divalia. Dewanne is one of the most remote cities in Tephos, where foxes rule, and mice are relegated to menial jobs and a slum outside the main city. Which makes it difficult for Yilon to explain why his companion is a mouse. Ever the schemer, Yilon hatches a plan to get sent home, but soon finds that even in a backwards town, there are complicated politics, ancient blood feuds, and family betrayals, old wounds that his clumsy steps have reopened. There are at least two different groups trying to kill him, and the foxes who might help him are the very ones he's done his best to alienate. Without Sinch, who's run afoul of a band of thieves in the slums and has his own death threats to deal with, Yilon will need all the stubbornness and cleverness he's inherited from his father just to survive to the next sunrise, let alone save his inheritance, his friend, and his own hide. Written by Kyell Gold. Cover and interior illustrations by Sara Palmer.

52. P.A. Brown - L.A. Bytes (MLR Press)
Gay, Mystery / Thriller

Malicious hackers break into Ste. Anne's hospital and alter records, resulting in a patient's death. Chris Bellamere is hired to track them down. It soon becomes obvious this cracker is only starting. Can Chris stop him before he brings a cyber Armageddon down on the city of Angels?

53. Kyell Gold - Bridges (FurPlanet Books)
Gay, Fantasy

Amir wants to meet a guy outside of a bar. Kinzi wants someone who won't cheat on him. Vico just wants a quick lay. In Gateway, when you need to meet someone, there's no-one better than sexy, flirty Hayward to get you just what you want-or at least have a good time trying. But when Hayward himself needs someone, who will be there to help?

54. Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks - Alive On The Inside (Amber Quill Press)
Bisexual / Transgender, Paranormal / Horror

Nick Harper has a nice life, a nice job, and a nice girl. Until Labor Day Weekend, when the Phantasmagoria Traveling Wonder Show comes to town. Seduced by the dark and wickedly erotic charms of both the Phantasmagoria and Torturo, a man known in the freak sideshow as The Pain King, Nick embarks on a journey of self-discovery, love, and pain. But the show is not what it seems. It changes those who come with it in ways they can never imagine, not even in their worst nightmares. And Nick's changes are just beginning...

55. Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks - Shell Shocked (Pink Petal Books)
Gay, Contemporary

Sean Dempsey came home from Iraq with artificial knees, scorched retinas and a lot of baggage. He supplements his disability checks with money made writing romance novels under a female pseudonym, ironic as he has grown very nervous around women since a certain suicide bomber. When he meets Gabriel Herne, legless phone psychic, the sparks startle him. It's everything he's written about and never believed. Swept into a whirlwind romance, Sean has to learn about his newfound bisexuality and his lover's pagan faith at the same time. And when he has a religious experience of his own, he discovers everything changes in its time, just like the Wheel of the Year.

56. J. Blackmore (editor) - Like a Corset Undone (Circlet Press)
Bisexual / Transgender, Fantasy

“Revolution is a knife. The same knife is used to cut the corset’s strings as is used to slit the despot’s throat. When people decide that what is should not be, and that their vision is what’s to come, they plan to change things. When lovers are told that they cannot moan with the lights on, that they cannot seduce whom they wish, that they cannot fuck with joy and abandon, it’s only a matter of time until they have their way. Desire, and surrender to it, is the most revolutionary act of all.”
Includes the stories:
- The Pretty Horsebreaker by Peter Tupper
- Adventures Underground by Carlanime Bligh
- The Skydancer by R.E. Bond
- Skyway Robbery by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks
- The Tinker’s Lady by Jasmine Dale
- The Zeppelin Raider by Roxy Katt
- Submission by R. Blackett
- The Coming Age by Angela Caperton

57. John Simpson - Jack and Dave (Dreamspinner Press)
Gay, Erotica Contemporary

Just out of the service, Dave Henderson is home and ready to enjoy the sexual freedom he didn’t have in the Marine Corps. When he meets Jack Stonner at a party thrown by a neighbor, Dave is immediately attracted to him and launches a seduction, one that starts with sex but soon grows into love. Then Dave draws the fierce attentions of a local mobster, and Dave’s new employers at a local law firm insist that Dave continue to conduct business with him. Jack and Dave's new relationship may be derailed, because Franklin Venchenzo is used to taking what he wants by force—and Jack is standing in his way.

58. Mary Calmes - Change of Heart (Dreamspinner Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror

As a young gay man—and a werepanther—all Jin Rayne yearns for is a normal life. Having fled his past, he wants nothing more than to start over, but Jin’s old life doesn’t want to let him go. When his travels bring him to a new city, he crosses paths with the leader of the local were-tribe. Logan Church is a shock and an enigma, and Jin fears that Logan is both the mate he fears and the love of his life. Jin doesn't want to go back to the old ways, and mating would irrevocably tie him to them. But Jin is the mate Logan needs at his side to help him lead his tribe, and he won't give Jin up so easily. It will take time and trust for Jin to discover the joy in belonging to Logan and how to love without restraint.

59. Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks - Showdown at Yellowstone River (Pink Petal Books)
Bisexual / Transgender, Historical

Gunslinger Matt Court has hung it up for good after a disastrous encounter in El Paso. He moved to Dakota Territory, took out a homestead and started courting Annie, the banker's daughter. But when Annie comes up pregnant and runs away with her lover, her father calls in the notorious killer, Paz, to eliminate Matt. But the mysterious Paz holds many secrets and Matt discovers not only the gunfighter's personal code of honor, but a truth that is worth both their lives.

60. Marguerite Labbe - Our Sacred Balance (Dreamspinner Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror

Book Three of the Triquetra Trilogy - Sequel to Haunted by Your Soul. Lovers Kristair and Jacob believe they're done with the supernatural and on the road to a new life. But the supernatural isn't done with them. A stalker is targeting vampires, tearing them from their sanctuaries and leaving them to burn in the sun, and when the vampires of Pittsburgh call upon the ancient Kristair, he cannot refuse them aid despite Jacob's objections. While their quest becomes more dangerous, tempers flare when Jacob tries to make Kristair understand the limitations of being human again. As they struggle to reach a balance between them, the other vampires become restless, eager to find the person responsible for the deaths of their own so they can vent their rage. But the enemy is closer than they ever imagined and carries a personal grudge against them. Their mental link gone and spiritual strength halved, Jacob and Kristair must conquer Kristair's newfound helplessness and learn to communicate with each other before their enemy destroys everything they've fought so hard to win.