Andrea - Rulin Doolin

... since I've been over here. Will try to update books n such once back home. 

Oh, and didn't want to forget, loving the BIOB reviews over there. Fabbbb job, everyone. :D

Managed to add the profile tab link thang on my page without breakin nuttin!

Not too shabby. back to reading. wana finish this one so I can move into the next.

not that it's too bad but just not what I'm totally in the mood fer at the moment. It's good, just not best for me right now lol.

omg blabberinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg. may need some dinner.

Let's see if this woiks...

 

Name: Andrea - sorta obv, no?

 

Abode: in the state of Ohio.

 

Sex: of course! (lame, I know). Female.

 

Enjoyments: music, travel, castles, tennis players, reading, sticky toffee pudding, sunshine, need I go on?

 

Book type thangs: deep down entrenched in M/M, but also like poetry, suspense, historical fiction, dark romance and more.

 

*crossing fingers I do this right for zee profile*

...well, the servers have, anyway lol. more than 2/3's done with import.

next step will be using some of the tips helpfully posted by elspeth for customizing this here joint. thank you, elspeth. *salutes*

123 Books 'n counting. I want to do some customizing. time, where for art thou???

I must be somewhere back in the queue cuz only 111 books imported so far, tho maybe that's not accurate as some others have said. I haven't been back here much, it doesn't feel nearly as interactive as GR, but it's early on, as well. I know we may not be able to do too much but I feel like we need to keep trying in our demands on GR. We're all worth it, big time.

Hoursandhoursandhoursandhours from now, when books and reviews and such have finally loaded... will we still be here? LOL

 

Here's another pic while I head off to watch some LFC hopefully wupp some s'hampton arse and let the books a-roll on in: Giant's Causeway, NI, UK - it technically is book related in that NI is the major setting in the book I am attempting to drag out of myself.

 

... and counting have been imported, along with sundry other bits.

Gona be here while.

Well, not here cuz here isn't my bed and that's where I be going.

BE.

.... while import is going on. I do like the looks of this place. Will have to check it out more when not bleary eyed.

 

I haven't used one in years, but I think I'm going to have to find a new free pix hosting site.

 

Meanwhile, let's see if this works: one of my fave place on earth... Doolin, County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland -

 

 

 

Axton, Axton, Axton… what are we going to do with you? Ah, maybe Leander knows, yes… it appears that he does. Axton ‘s voice is snarky, intelligent, fun, a bit anti-social and distant. Of course, this is understandable as he’s been living in near isolation in his cabin in the woods, away from people and other werewolves. Ah, yes, he’s a were, who was banished from his pack. I’ll let him tell you that story when you read it, just like he did with Leander. Back to the distant thing for a moment, it seems to be a fragile thing that he’s ready to break free of if given a chance – not necessarily by someone else but by his own self.And then there is Leander. He’s kind, capable, in tune, caring, teasing and his level of smartassery is quite healthy. Man, gotta love when two smartasses get together! I know I have more fun. ;) Anyway, these two challenge each other, physically and otherwise. They are two strong men with solid beliefs but wavering ideas. They seem at once both very compatible and yet at odds. It’s not that they aren’t trying because they are. It has that familiar ring of when you’re getting to know someone and there are fits and starts, successes and failures when reading and reacting to each other’s actions and emotions. Things are always more difficult when there are secrets and unknowns.I had no idea what was coming about ¾’s of the way through this book. My heart was strangled, racing, the desperation and despair were dripping from the pages. The clashing elation and fear, what was going to happen??? My heart could barely take it, especially when I would insist on holding my breath. For those first three quarters, we experience the two steps forward, three steps back Axton and Leander take through several of their seasons. Sometimes together, sometimes not. The tub scene. I shall only say that is one of the most tenderly, sensuously written passages I have read in a long ass time. It’s a turning point, it’s palpable the significance in this quiet act. When you know, when you want… mercifully, Axton has no clue at this moment, he’s simply in it. I could see some readers tossing this into the pile with others who conclude that the ending was too fast, things were resolved too quickly. I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree. What we have here is how life measures itself often: in millennia and milliseconds. It can be months or years before you hear the crackle and see the flash and smell the change. Suddenly, your plans, assumptions, fears and resignations get tossed right out of the swinging porch door, our heart taking command. We get to see, hear, taste, smell and feel their starts and stutters until their life together may finally be beginning. They have many seasons, and more, yet to share. There is immense promise for so much more.So if you’re looking for a fun, creative story with character voices that can’t help but give you no choice to keep reading and find out what they’ll next say and do, this book is for you. *Grins*

I love this book. The dialogue, the story, the atmosphere, the setting, it’s all there, laid out for us to indulge and relish. The opening!! It’s early post-WW II, 1947, so many of the details and attitudes, knowledge and culture are all apropos for the time. Mike and Logan, all of the characters are fully formed and dressed, each breathing their own rhythms. Jay and Curtis crack me up, and they are accepting of themselves and their friends, their brothers in arms, Mike and Logan. They are all there for each other, whether rustling sheep, carving a notch out of a log or offering reassuring solace when their memories get too demanding of their time. I love this book. The mystery that is referenced in the title is well played. We get a few snippets of the personality of the victim before events start to unfold. There is a company wanting to mine uranium on the reservation and feelings and ideas about that are expressed strongly all around. I didn’t see everything coming until close to the end. And, along the way, we learn more and more about these men and their lives, before and after war. The entire thing is like dining on the most tender of meats, so light and unassuming but oh so satisfyingly filling. I love this BOOK. The attraction, unwavering support and deep understanding between Mike and Logan are spread out before us, a wonderfully prepared picnic of emotion, enticing our hearts at will. Their connection is double such: a true love partnered with the most unbreakable of bonds, having survived their service in the Pacific, some of the worst of the war. They saw the A-bombs and their effects, all of them. No longer is patience the name of the game in, not just knowing what and who they want, but doing something about it without letting anything get in their way. An intimate gesture, one of my favorite bits: This is Logan towards Mike while Mike is still lying down, wrapped in a blanket, Logan standing: I gave him another nudge in the thigh with my toe, and he wrapped his hand around my ankle, gave me a little squeeze. That’s what you do with someone who… they’re yours. Ilovethisbook. They aren’t living in some paradise, there are those who do not accept them as they are, for many reasons, and they both worry about what they can do, where they can go. More than once Logan thinks about whether their mountain is the place for them to share their lives in peace. One of the best things about this story is that they don’t give up, they demand from the world what they want, and thankfully have those who want it for them, too. This is Logan to Mike, perfect: You’ve been mine since the first time. You gave yourself to me, and I took you, and I haven’t given you back yet.” Normally, this is too sweet for my tastes but it just freaking works with these characters and this story. I love this book. There is an intangible quality to this writing and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s not ethereal or otherworldly or surreal. It’s like there’s a gently unrealistic thread running through the story and all of the characters and it works. It just does. It gives a slightly faded, sepia tone to the whole thing. It’s not nostalgia or rose-colored, but whatever it is (say it with me now)… I.Love.This.Book. Whitman, windows and weaving… that’s love. ILOVETHISBOOK. The ending!! Mike stuck his head outside the hogan door. “You hear a truck?” Logan: “I can’t hear anything.” Mike: “Where’s your hearing aid?” Logan: “It ran away with your glasses.” I love this book!!! This is the second of this author’s books that I’ve read and I will continue to do so.I recommend you do, as well. This book is love.

Christian and Jonah spent a few short months, as teenagers, living in the same house with a foster mother they both cared for deeply. They had a connection back then and it looks to have carried over fifteen years later when they meet back at that same house for the funeral for Marisol. Looks to have is admittedly an understatement. When they first meet at the house on the day of the funeral, the zingers are already shooting back and forth, verbal and otherwise. It’s awkward and intense and electric and, given the circumstances, neither of them does a great job in dealing with any of it. Who really would? It’s something we’ve all probably experienced: you see someone, with whom you had a palpable connection, for the first time after so long. The last time you did see each other, it was an intense situ, you were teenagers. And now, you’re both dealing with the death of the one adult who seems to have truly cared for you and did something about it, as well. No matter how much time has passed, you go right back to that place emotionally, mentally, physically – your adult bodies and minds commanded by thoughts, memories and emotions from the turbulent teen years. Even though you know that fifteen years of experience have shaped you, that all burns away in the ashes of your wants and fears and scars and hopes. The impression I get from the writing style is almost one of an attempt to be on a more refined plane than the subject matter, too big for its britches. It’s not necessary as this is an earthy, real story and can be treated and presented as such. Thankfully this only took me out of the story a couple of times. The offender for the most part is the variety of descriptors used for parts of the body and what they do – I just started chuckling, just now. I’m more than fine with the vast majority of them, but when pucker, anus and hole are all used in one elongated sentence, it removes me from the mood of the scene – that’s just me. The word “chute” is the killer. Laundry chute? Chimney chute? Which then leads me to chimney sweep and Dick Van Dyke and Mary Poppins and just … no.I digress… That really is the only issue I had with this story. The author does a more than fine job in allowing us to feel the sadness, heat, connection, longing, fear, doubts and so much more between Christian and Jonah. There’s the tasting, and the tenderness, and the self-preservation in the form of putting up those walls. There’s Jonah not realizing how in tune he really is, not giving himself credit, and there’s Christian and his fear of not getting through to Jonah, that he doesn’t have enough. The interesting contrast to that is they are both rather self-aware when it comes to their flaws and their feelings, how real they are, what they want. It’s the hurdle of actually arriving at the point of allowing yourself to live it. It’s rather amazing when you finally find someone who unlocks life for you, gives you shelter and peace and merely asks you to accept that gift, nothing in return. They, of course, will get it because you feel the same and will do anything to give it to them. This book didn’t hook me from word one but I am so very glad I stayed with it Oh, and the scene in the grass... tis all I'm saying. ;)

An enjoyable short with humor, misunderstanding, slight overreaction thanks to the "newness" of the "relationship" between Elliott and Jackson, and heat.The cool thing about this little story is that the potential for expansion is pretty obvious, at least to me. You can tell there are back stories for Tyler and Ashley, let alone Elliot and Jackson. How was it really between all of them the last two years? What experiences did Jackson have? And Elliott? Being a short story, it's.... short LOL, so necessary gaps are there, even between certain sentences.I choose to believe there are many yummy bits we've yet to be told. ;)And, of course, gay chicken. :)I'll be reading more of this author's work.

This author is a good communicator. And to be a good communicator, you must be a good listener. I have these visions of her stopping, sitting in silence, waiting to allow things in, from others or her own self, for life's truths, fuck ups, 'duh' moments and smiles to wash over her and flow out from her fingertips to the page. From the opening sentence of this book, she had me in a verbal headlock and I knew I wasn't getting released until I read every word. I want mid-afternoon pick-me-ups like those! Oh, you know the ones I mean. Ok, now you've got "Afernoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band jogging through your mind and it won't leave. Earworm! Earworm! One of my early favorite lines from Harry, imagining what someone else is assuming he's thinking as if "... I need to feel like a special fucking snowflake" tells us a lot a out him, about how he thinks, his multifaceted nature. It does all come into play. I was not easily able to determine where things were going or would end up and I love that. One of the few things that I was able to predict was the truth surrounding the first encounter with Logan - I did see that coming before Harry realized it. This was pretty much the only time in regards to the major events and reveals. I almost think this was maybe done on purpose given the role Logan would play in Harry's life. One small thing to give us as readers to tether Logan in Harry's story and make us curious about him, to remain interested. Believe me, there is interest. Now Harry, talk about a fully painted picture of a character. Not a portrait but a full blown landscape. He's confident about work and people, how he can read them. But then, he has real doubts about the same and their feelings towards him. I think this explains his inability to have seen Danny's true feelings about him specifically much earlier on. I was like Harry and I didn't think it was that... deep. The clues were there but I, as the reader, and Harry as the man brushed them aside as something else. That or it was just denial. Perfect example: Danny to Harry when Harry picks up him from Danny's first long appointment with someone, "I'm all fucked out," and he and Harry sort of cuddle up together. In all honesty, very sweet and yes, honest. First fave mention: Irish whiskey!!! I pretend in my mind that it's Bushmills. ;) I won't talk much of Liam. Yes, he's definitely important, but given the state of their relationship, he and Harry, as the story opens, it's used as a catalyst for many things. It's not necessarily a front burner part of the story, in a sense. The one thing I'll say is that the dominoes of deception kept lining up and I could feel the cascade of lies as being a word away from starting the noisy, if orderly, clickity click of destruction. Luckily, all will get out alive, for the most part. The dom/sub scenes between Harry and Logan are hot, like the metronome scene, holy shiznoly but they are spiced with uncertainty, hesitation and, dare I say, fledgeling connection, dangerously bordering on cautious acceptance. We do get insights and forward momentum in all of them, the few that there are. Must. Use. Phrase. "blah, blah, blahity, blah" And you know you'll use it, too!! ;) Second fave mention: a way Harry uses to describe his own reaction to something is "When Luke and Laura finally drifted apart on General Hospital, I cried for a week." HA! I won't spoiler tag this line so that I can show the quality of writing, and it's intriguing, to boot: this is from Harry - Danny's not my sunshine on my rainy day, but his storm cloud crackling provides much better ambiance.Do I need to sigh to really tell you? Just as life keeps us guessing, so too did this story. I really didn't know, couldn't foretell, what would happen (or not) between Harry and all of Danny, Logan and Liam. Well, Liam somewhat. That was pretty serious secrecy, what he did. And getting back to Harry and Danny for a moment, there must be something there between them. Why else the strong reactions? Cut-to-the-quick relief, hurt, hope, fear, desire and doubt. All so strong. You never know who you may find, or who finds you, who you may end up spending your days and nights with. It feels like the author reached inside a part of me and laid out my story in the sense of emotions, connections and experiences that we've probably all encountered at some point. And it was all done within a story about a rentboy service. It feels like you're not reading but rather hearing Harry's complex inner voice first hand - complex like most of ours. That may seem obvious given the first person POV, but it's more than that. The knowledge level of the character the author has created here is off the charts. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone. Anyone. ANYONE. Bonus: after you're done licking your chops clean on this one, go and read the little freebie [b:Tinsel Is Like Bondage For Trees|16111312|Tinsel Is Like Bondage For Trees (Condor #1.5)|Isa K.|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1351314845s/16111312.jpg|21926782] , you will salivate all over again. MWAH!

One of the first things to stick with me when reading this story came towards the end: make sure you start something when you know you have time to finish. Not always easy, but something to more than ponder but put into use, especially in this mega- connected, high speed world we find ourselves. This leads to the next thing: the tone, the atmosphere of this little adventure felt like and old fashioned movie: real car crashes instead of SFX. The magic had a “gut” quality to it, something grounded, not fanciful or totally other worldly. It was almost like a good drama from the ‘70’s: gritty, a bit refined, layered in yellows and browns and ochre, used and a bit dated but purposely, which fits. I like it when a writer can create a reality and the characters fully living within it. It’s not that they just accept that the magic is there but that it is an every-day part of life in every way : evil, good and just simply exists. A favorite exchange: Crane: “Does that mean, if you’d just come to bed last night –“Day: “Probably.” Stephen pushed through the roses. “Shut up.” Crane: “I didn’t say a word,” said Crane, grinning. I just like it :) There is definitely much more mystery, magic and characters to keep track of than there is heat or actual sex in this story but each encounter, each moment, melds into the story. They’re meant to be there. More on that later. There is a “fuck.yes.” moment for me and it’s this: Crane ran his tongue up Stephen’s neck, nipped his ear. “Tell me what you want. Exactly what you want. Let me give you the fucking you deserve.” Stephen took a shallow breath and looked into Crane’s eyes, direct and naked. Day says: “Take me, Right now. Make me beg.” Uh, huh. They more than deserve it all, they’ve survived many an odd and dangerous thing by this point. To me, this is the nectarine (I like them better than cherries) on top. Lucien and Stephen are, dare I say, meant for each other. About half way through, I felt that. Crane’s bucking some (not all) of the expectations of someone of his station, fully fed by his experiences. He accepts Stephen. And then we have Stephen and his honesty, his refusal to give up or leave someone unprotected, including Crane. A person from a family that deeply hurt Stephen’s own in life changing ways. He sees Crane for who he is and vice versa. Isn’t that what we all want? The ending is sigh-worthy, for more than the obvious reasons, once you arrive there. We made it! It’s funny, when I started out I didn’t think that I would have much to give in this review, but I guess I was wrong. I let this story in, even though it’s not something I would usually pick up ;) The sequel is now on my wish list. This one should be on your read now list. :)

I’m finding it difficult to arrive at a starting point for this review. Having just finished this book, it feels like I was dropped right into the middle of Tommy and Prophet’s chaos - quiet, violent, understanding, sexual chaos – and I can no longer even see where it all began. I’m diving right in, sinking like a wad of soaked shirts, being dragged out by the undertow, which is exactly how I felt, even when I could no longer breathe. I fucking love it. This story is filled with Jakes’ most fluid, honest, real, heart pounding and finger twining gentle writing to date. The humor is a constant fellow roller coaster rider from the beginning. This the conveyer belt scene at the airport tells a lot about these two men, especially when looking back on it now after having learned more about them so many pages later. What also says a lot about them is the first time they have sex. Yes, it’s early in the time line, but it would have felt incongruous, dishonest, if they hadn’t. A highly adrenalized situ, one wounded but not gravely, pain meds working like admitted truth serum. Add in some comingled sparks and there it is. No control, even if you wanted it. Questions, is this smart, you know it’s not but there it is. Ignore that precarious grip of that control. Fuck it, do it, you do, both. These two men, it’s not that they don’t have defenses up, that fences aren’t there, but they recognize each other through them, through the slats. It does make for easier, if not frustrating, communication, reactions, to feel each other. They just can’t help themselves. Not just with the attraction but the agitation, curiosity, respect, anger, everything. All of the supporting characters are very important, there is not a single throw away in the bunch. The part they each play is revealed at varying levels, names are revealed when appropriate, even if not until very late in the game. I found myself having many questions and I love that. A few are answered, some won’t be answered until later books to come. Some, even, are nearly imperceptible when presented. Questions and honesty and humor and action and sex. C’mon, what a freaking combination. Back to Tommy and Prophet for a bit. I’m not one to usually include a lot of spoilers (I know it’s tempting and maybe even a bit annoying if you’re reading a review before reading the book, at least that’s how I feel sometimes) but I feel I must here. There are four reasons, well four of, why Tommy and Prophet will never be done with each other, never, no matter what this universe throws at them, no matter the harrowing, sexy, blind, mystery filled journeys they take. Reason one: Prophet: “ Right. The Voodoo.”Tommy: “I knew it would happen before I fucked you like that, Proph. This is blowback from that. Don’t… not after…” they DO know each other. Remember the fence slats. Reason two: Tommy thinking: Prophet was just as much as a liability to Tom as Tom was to him. And that wasn’t an accusation but rather an inescapable fact. They both feel responsible, protective, even if they don’t admit it. At least not in ‘loving’ terms. Reason three: Proph cares too much, so much. He’s not so good at what he does because he doesn’t care, about others or his own safety, but because he does care. So much. And this bleeds into how he feels about Tommy. Reason four: Tom didn’t say anything for several more feet, trying to figure out what Prophet’s choice had cost him. He knew Prophet had made the wrong choice, but he also knew neither of them regretted it. Tom feels this, Prophet feels this, hence his decision, and they each know the other feels it, as well.Final spoiler, this in regards to the title: Proph feels responsible for so many lives, most of them dead now. Hence… the ghosts, and he’s fucking scared as shit that he’ll become one, too. But his guilt and sense of taking care of them keeps him from totally giving in. THIS. It's really all I can say. Just so I don’t leave you completely exasperated at this point. Here is one quote I feel I can safely share that won’t give any specifics away but says a lot:Tommy: “Are you going to leave me standing here or invite me in?”Prophet: “You were never not invited.” The fucking is hot, never repetitive and there are always reveals, always story that gets catapulted forward when it happens. These are two GUYS having a big time go at each other. With humor, anger, honesty, insults, caring and distance. I could not find fault with this story, the characters, the writing, the questions and demands. I hesitate to say that, as nothing is perfect. Everything fit, it worked, even when I felt the gaps in the corners of the square hole trying to accommodate a round peg. Something these two feel they both are, except for maybe when they’re with each other. Though, even then, it’s almost like they can’t quite believe or trust that it may be the case. Then again, they do trust each other – one realizing it about the other, even if they don’t see it themselves. And around and around they go, in the square hole. The subtlety of the discoveries between these two men, it’s a contradiction – no, a contrast – to the ‘in your face’ nature that is a part of both of them. Texture. I want that in a story, texture I can feel beneath my fingertips as I rub them across the words, the actions, the emotions. Tactile. Maybe that’s it. This is a very tactile story. I want more, and apparently, we’re going to get it. Given this mini tome I’ve blubbled (yes, new word alert: babbled, bubbled, blurted, take your pick), I have no choice but to give five stars, and I happily, languidly, do so. This one clearly hit all of the sweet spots for me and I can't avoid that.FREAKING. BRAVO. Thanks to anyone who actually read this entire thing. I hope I served the story well and made you bump into furniture and gain a bruise or two in your rush to get it and read this book. ;)