M/M Monday: In His Command Review by Rie Warren

In His Command (Don't Tell, #1)
Grade: D-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Futuristic

Series: Don’t Tell #1
Reviewed by Kate
368 pages 


The year is 2070 and the world has barely survived a plague that has wiped out a huge portion of the population.  Leadership has been handed to the rich (collectively referred to as the Company) and procreation is the order of the day.  To that end, any homosexual or deviant behavior is punishable by death.  Following a rebellion, Commander Casper Cannon (in the Company’s military called the Corps) is put in charge of transporting Nathaniel Rice (a big wig in the Company) to a safe place.  And so we have 7 weeks of Casper and Nathaniel alone together in the wilderness.  And there is plenty of attraction between the two-enough to keep them warm on a cold night, if you catch my drift.

 

I have been on quite a m/m reading kick lately, and I really like the idea of a m/m with a dystopian spin to it.  Unfortunately, I felt like the idea was the only good thing about it.  It seemed to me that whenever Casper and Nathaniel appeared on the same page, it was an excuse for sex.  Casper didn’t trust Nathaniel for most of he story and as a reader only hearing from Casper’s side of things, we didn’t trust Nathaniel either.  However, Nathaniel’s sexual prowess must have been the stuff legends were made of or maybe he had one of those mythical swords of mightiness, because Casper kept going back to him.  It was kind of like “I don’t trust you at all, but do you want come back to the caravan with me?”   I just didn’t fall for it.  And while the sex scenes were plentiful and descriptive (and were they), most of the time they just felt really out of place.

 

I also felt like the world building and the story were disjointed.  It seemed like there were pages upon pages of the author building the world (history and politics all rolled into one), and then pages of the character/plot building.  I would have liked to see them interwoven a bit more smoothly.

 

I think this pretty much sums up the plot for you: sex, politics, politics, sex, sex, sex, sex, politics, politics, stunning reveal, sex, sex, politics, sex, sex, jaw dropping betrayal, suspenseful rescue, sex, sex, sex, happily ever after.  Yep, there you have it.


I really felt like the best part of the book was Casper’s friend Liz.  Who disappears in the very beginning of the book and we don’t see again until the very end.
 

Unfortunately this one came no where close to joining my “best of 2013” list.  I don’t think I could honestly recommend this book to anyone.

Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha

We generally only put up one review each day, but I loved this book so much (and I don’t want to shuffle the rest of our reviews!) so I’m putting it up as a second review today!  One of my favorite reads of the year so far!  ~Anne
Beyond Pain (Beyond, #3)

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno+
Kink Level: Moderate Kink (menage, flogger)
Genre: Dystopian, Futuristic
Series: Beyond #3
Reviewed by Anne
247 pages

Six was abused and discarded by the former leader of Sector 3. Bren has been looking after her since she first arrived. He’s gets her like no one else in the O’Kane gang does. And because he gets her, he knows he can’t make a move until *she* is ready. She’s got to heal some and find the parts of herself she lost in Sector 3. This book is the story of what happens when Six is ready, and it’s awesome!

For all the action that happens and the continuing story arc of the politics in Eden and the sectors, this is a low conflict story (my favorite!) about the developing relationship between Six and Bren. And, oh, is that relationship sweet and hot!

I’ll get this out of the way right away… sex between Bren and Six is scorching. There’s one particular scene that involves the two of them watching Lex, Dallas, and Rachel… I have no words. There are also a lot of scenes between just Bren and Six and I love that you can see their relationship grow with each encounter.

As much as I liked the sex, I think my favorite part of the book was the strength shown by all the O’Kane women, but especially Six and Lex.

“There was a secret in these women that went deeper than the ink around their wrists, and sometimes she thought if she watched for long enough, she could unlock it for herself.” (p.8)

Lex has been strong throughout the series. We get to watch Six come into her own. We get to see how the O’Kanes truly value each member for the assets they bring to the gang. So when Six figures out what she wants to do, even though it’s not something an O’Kane woman has done before… well, they stand behind her because they recognize it’s something she would excel at. And this happens more than once! Very cool.

When you take this gang and it’s leadership that value women on an equal level with their men, and then you add in the sexual freedom and openness… well it’s just awesome! Seriously , this is a world where it’s ok for a woman to want sex, and to want as much of it as she’d like. No slut shaming. It’s incredible! And the writing is so strong, it’s easy to believe in it.

Another thing I loved in this story is that when one of them goofs up and things go bad between them, they both are hurt but strong, and it’s not easy for them to get back together. Because the characters feel so real, their hurts feel real and it takes some work for them to repair their relationship.

This is book 3 in the series, and it would be best if the books were read in order. (Start with #1, Beyond Shame.) Each book is the story of the main couple, but there are several story arcs going on, and the book will be appreciated so much more if you’ve read the others.

If I have any disappointments in this book it’s that there were a couple scenes I’d hoped to see in this book that weren’t there. [ we didn’t get to see Six’s induction ceremony (drinking in) and we didn’t get closure with Miller yet (hide spoiler)] I hold out hope that we’ll see both these things in another book, though! I’m also excited to learn more about other characters. Emma and Noah, of course, along with the whole tangle of Rachel/Cruz/Ace. There’s also a stripper in Sector 3 who Six pointed out as being really intelligent. I want more of her!

I highly recommend this series!!
 

Mercy Bound by Kele Moon

Mercy Bound
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level- Mild Kink
Genre-Sci-Fi/Futuristic
44 pages
Reviewed by Kate

In a futuristic world a doctor accidentally sends Dray into a mating heat and Mercy is the only female around. It’s a good thing that Mercy has been in love with Dray for years, because it’s literally a life and death situation.

I really enjoyed this quick, steamy read. Dray has been avoiding his feelings for Mercy for years, trying to be honorable. Mercy is determined to save Dray from his mating heat, not really understanding what she’s getting herself into. I loved the strong characters that Kele Moon has created. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.