Desire and Devour, Stories of Blood and Sweat by Jeff Mann

Desire and Devour, Stories of Blood and Sweat

By Jeff Mann

Review by A.B. Gayle

Boy this guy can write. When a poet writes prose the difference is marked. I'm not a fan of shifters, shedders and suckers. Too often the genre is just used to circumvent the need to conform to contemporary rules and standards.

I also hate the vast majority of books written in the present tense. In some cases it suits stories dealing with young self centred heroes living in a world which revolves around them, but more often it seems pretentious. It's prevalent in fan fiction which is why I don't read much fan fiction. Often, just knowing a book has been written in present tense is enough to stop me buying it.

I hadn't read the blurb before reading this collection of stories and I was well into the first one before I realised I'd strayed not only into vampire territory but also was reading something in the present tense. Once again I honestly hadn't noticed.

Not know it was paranormal? Maybe the cover should have alerted me, but I'd already read some of Jeff's stories and knew he was into kinky leather sex. I figured, a bit of cutting might have been involved or maybe it was meant to be metaphorical. Lol.

The stories vary in length and are really stand alones with a common hero. If you're a fan of vampires, I'd definitely recommend it.

But more than that. If you're a fan of good writing. Writing that flows effortlessly and brings in enough lyrical description to lift the story above its peers then I'd also recommend this book. The editor in me kept marvelling at the way he constructs his sentences, but that feeling never lasted long as the content swept me up again and stopped me dwelling on the nuts and bolts and ensured I relaxed and enjoyed the overall effect.

The best news is that Jeff has just finished the first draft of a full length novel featuring the hero, Derek Maclaine.

Catch Me When I Fall by John Wiltshire

Catch Me When I Fall by John Wiltshire
Review by AB Gayle

What a wonderful book, but the cover is all wrong. It should have angel wings and an Irish wolfhound! I had no idea what to expect when I bought and read this. I'd just finished reading the first book Love is a Stranger in the series about an ex SAS guy and a Spetznaz (which brought back many memories of Special Forces) so I was expecting a bit of the same.

This story is also about an ex-soldier but it is starts off as an amusing comedy, but morphs into something more serious which brought tears to my eyes. Once again there is an adorable wolfhound, but this time being owned by a park Ranger whose job it was to reintroduce wolves into a National Park.

It's a story about a man acknowledging the truth about himself and finding love along the way.

It all starts when his guardian angel falls to earth outside his back door and his life is never the same again.

I could explain the plot and the characters, but I think part of the charm of this book was that I didn't know what was going to happen next and I was kept guessing right to the end. Thoroughly recommended.

The Hiding Place by Wayne Mansfield

The Hiding Place by Wayne Mansfield
New Age Gay Fiction
Reviewed by AB Gayle

YA as far as I can gather covers 12-18 year olds with similarly aged protagonists, no sex and exploring some of life's issues. If so, this book wouldn't be suitable for them which is a pity as it is a fabulous, well written, very moving book that many young adults would unfortunately relate to.

But it's not a romance. It's pure gay fiction, the sort of book I wish more m/m romance writers would read every now and then to gain a real understanding of what growing up gay is all about.

The theme of bullying is so excellently depicted your heart just bleeds for the protagonist and the author himself as Wayne Mansfield admits that many of the scenes depicted happened to him.

I think what really resonated for me were the side characters. Those that could have/should have/would have helped.

In the Author's note, he writes:
"If you know or suspect that someone is being bullied, please take the time to talk to them. They may not bring it up themselves, or want to talk about it, but knowing someone is there, to support and talk to, is often empowering."
I for one am prepared to promote the book as much as I can as I believe that is a great way to show support.

The style of writing is good, with most done in third person, however at times the protagonist slips into fantasizing and those sections are written first person, present tense. This works brilliantly and adds just the right feel to the book as you're swept away in dreams of what the world should be like.

I've never read any of Wayne's books before as I don't tend to go for dark erotica, however if and when I do read them, I'm sure I will have a much better appreciation on where those ideas come from after reading what he felt growing up.

Unfortunately, you won't go away after reading "The Hiding Place" feeling that life is now a bed of roses. As Wayne also says in his Author's note:
And it is a struggle. I can also tell you, first-hand, that these scars last well into adulthood. These scars can take the form of depression and other mental disorders, inability to form lasting relationships, trust issues, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, anxiety or anger issues, and sometimes suicide.
Sometimes I wonder if by enduring suffering and hardship and surviving, we can learn lessons and gain the strength to help others. I hope that is the case in this respect and Wayne has found the strength to survive. If this is a good example of his writing, that alone shows he has something very valuable to add to the world.

Definitely worth reading.

Bite the Pillow: Six on Sex by Philip Mackenzie, Jr

Bite the Pillow: Six on Sex
Review by AB Gayle
A solid 5 stars for the first story.

After an overdose of mm romance, it was great reading more believable scenarios of young gay men as friends, lovers, enemies, frenemies who hang out together despite their faults and foibles. In their world, sex is an extension of themselves and can be good and bad at the same time.
I wondered if I would ever enjoy fucking, because it seemed like nothing but pain. But falling asleep made it worth every inch he forced into me.
Doesn't that tell you about how lonely he must have felt at night alone in bed before that encounter?

I'll add to this review later as some of these stories need thinking about. Since reading it, I discovered that the first one is autobiographical and that alone makes it worth a reread. I loved this bit:
I was scared of what I wanted.
Because wanting to have sex with another man is what makes men gay. But this admission was immediately followed by a desire for everyone around him to disappear, even to the extent of killing them off mentally to allow the freedom to explore this longing which:
I didn’t want to know that that was what I wanted.
On the surface, these are six stories about gay sex, so the sex is important, not just for how wonderful it makes the character feel (or not as the case may be) but because it just “is.”
Sex was penance for lying and payment for safety, and when I got caught I did it again, and again. Until it stopped working, and I found myself again chasing the blue flame acorss the horizon.
Underneath the description of this physicality, the writer subtly explores the relationships and reasons behind the couplings, giving readers an insight into what gay men faced on a day to day basis. But in the first one, it is up to the reader to interpret what is not said as much as what is said. Each encounter is a story in itself.

He builds on these real encounters in the stories that follow. Using the characters and probably giving the essence of the individuals or relationships, if not the facts.

The first, though, is pure poetry.
Along the silent paths of years I returned to the fires, and to the men who light them. We are older, and our passion is more complex and less easily tossed aside. We have worked and earned the right to ask for what we want.
Era is everything when reading gay fiction. Until recently, society's attitude to homosexuality forged fear, frustration and confusion in the minds of men who "discovered" they were gay. They hung out together even if they had nothing else in common because like-minded men were the only people they trusted.

Although no time frame is given, I suspect many of these stories were set twenty or thirty years ago. There is none of the current acceptance by either society or gay men themselves at discovering they are gay.
Desire is a mirror and I am nothing or no one without its reflection.
This line conjures up images of someone still coming to terms with who he is. Seeing this love for men as being vital to his being, but a part of him wistfully rejecting that notion. The current "gay man" refuses to let himself be defined by his gayness and fights against that classification. He is more than who he chooses to have sex with. In those days a "gay man" often had little choice and questioned why he made that particular choice and why some encounters that shouldn't have worked did and others which should have worked didn't.

This confusion was touching and possibly due as much to age and a lack of positive role models. Not really knowing what or who you want because you're not yet sure who you are.

The book is worth reading just for the first section alone. I loved the images the segments conjured up in my mind.

Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo

Bad Case of Loving You

By Laney Cairo

The abridged review…

OhMyGod, OhMyGod, OHMYGOD … How frickin' hot is this book?! … ungh … this was kinky fuckery without the bells and whistles … no dark, brooding clubs or leather daddies here … just raw, vibrant, smut … awesome stuff … by the way … if you have a glove fetish, this is your kind of porn … just sayin' … these boys like their dirty-sex, clean!

Thorough review…

There is a lot of things that make me love this book … I love the Britishisms and quirky language … I adore the realism of the medical back story … and the pièce de résistance is the relationship between Matthew and Andrew.

BDSM is often written with overt protocol and behaviour that I can’t empathise with … in this story, Laney has shown a couple who satisfy their partners’ sexual needs without the elaborate drama of most books with kink … she makes the innocuous latex glove into an exotic sex toy and her descriptions of the sex are subtle enough that one can use one’s imagination to fill in the gaps … I like to be able to use my own inner eye to complete the picture painted in words by an author and Laney managed this masterfully.

In addition to the kinky fuckery and wonderful characters, there is a back story of the gritty reality of a public hospital system … I learned my trade in a hospital just like this … I left home and moved into a world of blood, gore, bodily fluids and medical practices that skirt the legal line at the tender age of seventeen … rarely do I read a book that captures the atmosphere of that life so eloquently … people who work in that environment tend to work hard a party harder and Laney portrayed this expertly … the stories I could tell about those years would make your hair curl and I love the way reading this book transports me back to those times.

In conclusion, although not a new book; although not appealingly packaged; although needing a bit of polishing with an editor; this book is a wonderful, smexy read, and highly recommended.

Jessica Wabbit (the Aussie)

Objects in the Rearview Mirror by F. E. Feeley Jr

Objects in the Rearview Mirror by FE Feeley Jr

Really enjoyed this, and normally I'm not a fan of paranormal or ghost stories. The author really made me care for both the ghosts and for the people who encounter them. Mark and Alan's story is all kind of sad.

But what I really liked was the theme of the story, ie dealing with fear.
Finding a way to cope with a bad past.

It's one of those books that doesn't fit the mm romance tag and should be seen as what it is, a cracking good story that just by chance deals with gay characters in a loving relationship.

Just Don't Mess with Us: Family Matters by Andrew Ashling

Just Don't Mess With Us: Family Matters by Andrew Ashling
Review by AB Gayle 

I laughed a lot in this one. But warning, at times it's not very politically correct. But any book that's got this in it is worth reading:
When I finally came in him, we were both relaxed. Under the shower he sighed: “You're better than Risperdal or Zoloft, you know.”
“And you, my heart, can get me without a doctor's prescription,” I replied, just a tad self-satisfied, “though I must warn you that I've been told that I am quite addictive.”

And I liked this bit too about the youngest of the four, a twink who doesn't know the meaning of gentle when it comes to fucking:
“Beat that ass, Alan, for real this time,” he said. “I deserve it. You can do it, I know you can do it. Just imagine that this ass is the root of all evil.”
As far as I and my still smarting hole were concerned, the root of all evil was on the other side of his anatomy.
“Just imagine that this ass instigated all problems in the world, Alan, and whip it. Whip it good. This ass is the primal (sic) reason for world famine. This ass is part of the axis of evil. This ass is the cause of global warming.”

But one star off for the typos and the non-con humiliation. Mind you I don't think you're meant to take them seriously....