m/m

All Time Favorite Read: Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

*Note: We’re on vacation this weekend, so I’m re-sharing one of my all time favorite books.  If you’ve been thinking of trying m/m romance, this is a great story to start with.

Tigers and Devils
Grade-A+
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Genre: m/m, Contemporary
Series: Tigers and Devils #1
Reviewed by Anne

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book! It was incredible! I didn’t want to put it down.  I was severely book cranky inbetween reading sessions. I see there is a sequel that catches up with Simon and Declan a few years later. I will definitely read it, but for now I just want them to be perfectly happy in my head for a while!
Tigers and Devils is a contemporary male/male romance set in Australia.  And when I say it’s set in Australia, it’s really in Australia, with Australian slang and references I had to figure out.  Declan is a pro footballer and a mega celebrity.  He just happens to overhear Simon both insulting and defending him at a party.  Simon is a huge football fan, but a bit of an “arty wanker”.  After overhearing a comment that lets him know Simon is gay, Declan comes on to Simon when they are alone.  The only hitch is that Declan is far, far in the closet.  And this starts a funny and touching journey for the two of them together.

There were several things I loved about this book.  I smiled constantly while reading it.  The whole story is told from Simon’s point of view, and he’s a funny, self-depreciating guy.  The story also feels very realistic.  I believed in Simon and Declan’s affection for each other.  That made their situation all the more gut wrenching.

Simon and Declan were great characters, too.  Neither was perfect, and both made frustrating decisions.  The way they worked through things was realistic, too.  It’s incredible writing!

There were a few little things that might bother some readers.  As I mentioned, the story is told exclusively from Simon’s point of view.  This worked fine for me.  Also, the sex in this book is behind closed doors and not detailed. There’s no doubt it takes place, and there’s lots of it, but it’s not written explicitly.

I highly recommend this story!

Technically Dating by Jena Wade

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
22361960
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: m/m, Contemporary, Nerd-mance, novella
Published: 6/25/14
Reviewed by Anne
59 pages
 
Bruce is a pretty shy geek running a training for the company he works for at an out of town hotel.  Westley is the good looking concierge at that hotel and is assigned to assist Bruce for the training.  When they meet at the hotel they realize that they nearly hooked up the night before at a club.  Westley is surprised at how different Bruce is out of the club, but still interested in him.  Bruce is surprised that someone as good looking as Westley would be interested in plain old him, but he’s sure not going to turn down the attention!
 
This was such a cute story!  Bruce was such a nerd with his Wolverine ties and buying Legos for his nephew AND himself.  He’s pretty insecure in general, but especially about having a relationship.  Westley isn’t a terribly deeply developed character, but that’s something I can accept in a short story.  Watching the two of them get to know each other and fall for each other was fun!
 
My only issue with the novella is that it opens with a scene where Bruce comes across as very confident in the club.  We never see that side of Bruce for the rest of the story, so I guess it’s just a persona he uses when he goes out to pick up guys?  I’m not really sure, so that was a little confusing.  Once I settled into the story and got a better feel for who Bruce was, though,  things really worked for me.
 
I highly recommend this book for readers who like m/m and nerds.  It’s a great read!  I look forward to reading more by Jena Wade!

Ink and Flowers by J.K. Pendragon

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Ink and Flowers

Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m, Coming Out, novella
Published: 6/4/14
Reviewed by Anne
89 pages

Luke, a shy anxiety ridden college student, needs a place to live. He’s practically broke and determined not to have to move in with his overbearing family. There’s a guy that comes into the flower shop every week who scares the heck out of Luke, just due to his rough looks and many tattoos, and the fact that he hit on Luke once. His name is Cooper. Cooper makes Luke a hideous bargain – have sex with me and you can sleep on my couch. Luke has spent a lot of time telling himself he’s not gay, but he agrees to the bargain anyway.

This is a fairly straight forward set up for a novella, and you certainly get the story promised, but there’s a LOT packed into this novella! You’ve got a controlling and repressing family, severe depression, anxiety that’s not really addressed, the question of paying for art school, Cooper’s career and mysterious trauma, Cooper’s habit of handling problems by running away, and erectile dysfunction! It’s a bit too much for this short of a story.

It was refreshing to read about a couple who didn’t have immortal hardons for each other, but I was disappointed that it seemed like their sex life depended on the ability to have an erection. I expected to see a discussion or practice of non-ejaculatory ways to be intimate. But, then again, I’m already complaining that there’s too much packed into this book! It was also interesting to read about a character with anxiety and see how it affected his life. But, again, it was disappointing that no treatment was pursued. Luke’s anxiety had a big impact on his life. So much so, that it’s difficult to believe that it will go away just because he’s come out.

This story is told solely from Luke’s POV, but that worked for me. The mystery around Cooper’s motivation and his transformation from jerk to sympathetic character was well done! Luke’s character growth made me want to stand up and cheer! Despite having so much packed into it, I enjoyed the story and would read more by this author.