The Tipsybibliophile

Another story by Sarah Black that left me feeling a little more knowledgable about the things that have happened in the world and so so very impressed by the ways she can tell a story and write about falling in love.

It's 1966 and Deacon Davis a reporter at the Washington Post is sent to do a story on Rafael Hurt a white blues player from Mississippi who has come to Washington to DC with his mentors and teachers the legendary blues men Jimmy Watkins, Blind Pete and Blue Otis...Deke is doubtful that this white boy can play as they say, but when he sees Rafe playing in the club and looking like an angel, he falls in love right then and there...Then things get complicated, because Leona Washington, Blind Pete's nurse turns up dead and all the Blues Angels are suspects.

It is a troubled time in the United States hate and intolerance arr like poison in the water. Rafe is a man caught in a complicated world, a white man from the Deep South that has a soul enriched by the black men and women he grew up around. He feels responsible for the hateful things that they endure and the pressure, it's daunting. Rafe is a wild thing and he wants to do what is right and he wants to hole up in a room with Deke and make love until the world just stops taking them in different directions and drowning them with all that hate.

Things are complicated all around Deke and Rafe and obligations and honor and family all get in the way, but they push through.

A very enriching reading experience and I loved the way that Sarah told the tale not just of Rafe and Deke, but of the Blues and of the war zone that was the Deep South back then.

Absolutely recommend it.

What can I even say about this book?

Like every single one of Sarah Black's stories this book had the kind of men who are the reason why some love stories are timeless, the reason why people like me wish we could live in the books we read sometimes.

Logan and Mike fought in WWII and there the fell in love. Logan was Navajo and Mike was the son of the man that was exploiting the Navajo people and their land to mine uranium.

What Mike's familiy does is making him sick, he goes to see his friend Logan. The one he needs. Logan is looking to build a hogan in his lando on the banks of Black Dog Springs, but he's been waiting to build, he's been waiting for someone to build it with. Mike came just in time. Logan was waiting and he was not not letting Mike get away, they had a life to live.

As always the most lovely writing, men that love with epic force, a beautiful and sobering look at Native American life.

Sublimeness thy name is Sarah Black.

Another REALLY awesome book from a first time author (for me).

This is a gay for you story with probably one of the best and most believably developed relationship I've read in a long while or mayb ever.

Bo is a straight guy who works for his dad's construction company, one night at a party he sees a girl who he is immediately attracted to, turns out the girl is actually a guy. A really pretty and delicate looking guy, but still a man.

He meets man,Erick, and they get to talking. They really hit it off and have lots in common, and in the end Bo decides that he has no clue what is up with his feelings, but he's not ready to call it quits, so Erick and Bo become friends. Slowly they get to know each other, and things evolve. Bo is in a crucial moment in his life, he is looking to the future, and what part of that is deciding to go for what makes him happy. Erick is a big part of that, not just giving him advice but showing Bo what it feels like to care for someone...Still they take it slow, so by the time Bo knows what he wants to do, his relationship with Erick is front and center in his future plans...That is despite the obstacles that come in the form of Bo's bully of a dad, Erick's self-doubt and past relationships among other things.

I LOVED that these men TALKED. I mean they TALKED! all the time, they worked things out, they said what they felt,they pushed for answers when none were forthcoming, and they TOOK THEIR TIME. To evolve from frienship to a physical relationship, and even in that thet didn't rush things. It was all paced and grown up even with the problems that came up.

There were a lot of heavy issues to domestic violence, suicide, abusive/manipulative family situations and yet these guys pulled through and were excited to build a life together.

I so enjoyed this book. Totally recommend it.

4.5 Stars

I LOOOOOOOOVED this story! LA Gilbert is now officially and auto-buy author for me. Each book I've read from her has been better than the last. This one is my favorite so far.

Angsty young love in a small town with messed up family situations, and all kinds of hurt in two young men that find refuge (literally) in each other. It was like she hit a checklist for my paradigm comfort read.

Kieran Apleby is a loner, he doesn't have any friends and he's a litle angry at the world, partly it's because whenever he's not getting ignored by it he's either getting bullied or made to feel like he's a freak. Which is why he is biding his time to get out of his small Florida hometown and go to college somewhere FAR FAR away.

Drew Anderson is an athlete, he is popular and he is also a boy with a huge burden to bear on his own. His mom has debilitating agoraphobia, his dad left them and got himself a new life, and his uncle the only person that can lighten his load is in active duty in the Marines. It's so hard for Drew some days he can barely make himself walk into his home, knowing that what he'll find will be too much to deal with...And he has no one to talk to about it, not really.

On top of all this angst and loneliness, both Drew and Kieran are gay, but they keep it to themselves. No need to complicate their lives that much more. That's until the day that Drew catches a glimpse of Kieran's notebook in art class and realizes that Kieran might have feelings for Drew..."Gay" feelings and that incites him to get to know the boy more.

Drew and Kieran begin to explore intimacy with each other, the chemistry is combustible and since they are teenage boys, the hormones are all over the place ( I actually felt a bit skeevy at times reading the more graphic scenes, they were so YOUNG) but the closeness is so wonderful they are such solace for each other. They start feeling things and then things get complicated. The trouble these two boys have is so devastating for them, and I felt soooo bad for them. Wanted to hug them and tell them the world would get better in just a couple of months.

Neither Drew nor Kieran are ready to be open about sexuality, the end of high school is only a few months off, and despite how they feel there is the impeding departure of Keiran to school. Drew's obligations to his family are there, Kieran's feeling that his dad is neglecting him and all the other stuff that makes these two boys an enormous ball of angst.

This is pretty common plot line, but I just LOVED the characters. Drew was such a good soul, so kind and so giving. He struggled with the social hierarchy that high school is and he tried (even if he sometimes failed) to be good to Kieran. Kieran was such a teenage self-centered mess some times, he was so hurt and felt so alone that he had such a hard time looking outside of his own sense of abandonment.

I loved them together. Loved them so much I wanted their life to work out and for them to be happy and whole. I wish the families would have been a more solid presence though.

Really enjoyed this story and totally recommend it. There are a few niggles here and there with the plot line, but overall I can't say anything other than I loved it.

3.75 Stars Review to come...

*2.75 Stars*

I have been anxiously waiting for some delicious Josh Lanyon fare for the past year. His sabbatical was a looooooong wait for us the hard core fans. This Yaoi inspired novella is the first story from him this year, and despite the fact that I love the premise and that a lot of the lovely elements of Josh's writing were there, this story did not work for me. It felt disjointed, and almost like I never broke the surface of it. I never really got to know the main characters, the mystery, the STORY.

Ryo Miller is a third generation Japanese LAPD Detective working on a murder case, he's got his suspect, and he KNOWS the guy did it, except for his alibi. The alibi is none else than the guy that has been rebuffing Ryo for months at one of his fave cruising venues, yep, the Ice Princess himself has come in to vouch for Mike Torres and says that the night he was supposed to have killed an old lady from his neighborhood, he was actually having hot sex with Kai Hashiro.

So Ryo is an obsessive guy, he's obsessed with this murder case and proving that Mike Torres did it, he's kind of obsessed with Kai, he might be obsessed with how he looks...He has a lot of fixations. So he pursues Kai, ends up in bed with him, despite the fact that it will totally blow this case his obsessed with and then *BAM* he's dropping the L-word ALL OVER Kai, who's an heir to a very old school Japanese old man (and of course there's drama there) and also kind of a really huge Manga artist with a huge cult following. Kai is a strange man, sad and kind of manic, but he seems to have a good heart...and Ryo is kind of obsessed...And then before you know it all hell breaks loose and we're on the epilogue.

Here's the thing, when I go for a Josh Lanyon story I expect to literally swim into the heart of a relationship, a chemistry, a THING between two people that is palpable and luscious that I CAN FEEL. I expect beautiful writing, some shout outs to lovely music, I expect a few twists that will surprise me. I expect to learn a bit. I expect a little pain, and lot of goodness and a sweet sore feeling in my chest when I reach the end. There was SOME of that, but just some.

This story moved so fast that I couldn't settle into it. There was potential for an interesting twisty mystery the kind that involves heirs, scorned ex-wives, and disgrutles lovers, mercurial artists, hardened detectives with a soft heart and unwavering honor...And I guess it was, but something just didn't work for me.


All in all I man very glad that Josh has picked up his pen again and is flexing his writing muscles, as for his upcoming work his body of work is too exceptional for me to be anything but extremely excited for what he has in store next.

A for sure recommended read for the Fanyons...For first timers I'd go with something else.

Excelente excelente.

Aguilar regresa de un viaje de trabajo y encuentra que su mujer Agustina a perdido la razon...Ha medida que Aguilar empieza a pensar en que ha pasado el descubre la historia de su mujer, de su ninez y de la locura que ha afligido a su familia pr generaciones.

La narracion es muy interesante y los puntos de vista pintan una Colombia pintoresca, manchada, distorsionada pero siempre viva. No se puede haber crecido en un pais Latino y no sentirse identificado con la absurdez de nuestros estatutos sociales y la triste realidad de nuestros paises.


Buen buen libro, recuerda a Garcia Marques pero no tanto que deja de ser original/

2.5 Stars Three stars for the sex and two for some of the dialogue...All in all a nice little snack with A WHOLE LOT of smut.

LOVED LOVED LOVED

This story is my first favorite of the year. I so loved this book. These men charmed me completely.

Quinn O'Malley lost his parter of 10 years to cancer. I had been two years and he was still debilitated by his grief. He couldn't move on, it was like his heart had gone into the ground with Aaron. But enough was enough, he had to do something. His friends pushed him to get out there, meet new people...So there he was at a bar waiting for a blind date his best friend Tracy had set him up on. He was unsure, he just didn't feel ready, but he knew he had to start somewhere.

When Brady Banner shows up looking completely gorgeous and groomed to perfection, Quinn didn't know what to think, this was not exactly his type, but Brady was nice and they moved on to dinner. It was hard for Quinn but Brady was funny and charming and NICE.

Quinn was such a raw and honest character. His grief was so so touching, I could feel his ache, his loss. He was lost in it. But when Brady started warming his heart little by little it was so wonderful to see him wake up to that. Grief is tricky and it's greedy, and Quinn struggled with the new things he was feeling. Every happy moment tore him up because he couldn't bear being happy when Aaron wasn't in this world anymore. His pain was dark and all encompassing.

Brady was taken with Quinn from the first moment, he was smitten. He was patient with Quinn but he was also strong enough to stand up to Quinn when he let his grieving and his sadness turn him into someone cruel.

I loved loved loved reading about these two men falling in love and starting something together. Seeing Brady through Quinn's eyes was so touching, it was like Brady showed him a new place to start. Made him understand that there was new path to take where he didn't need to forget about his love for Aaron. A beautiful story. I laughed, cried and just enjoyed the writing so so much.

Wonderful romance for people that like second chances and characters who are a bit broken.


This one goes to the re-read folder for SURE.

LOVED!

3.75 Stars

I really liked this story.

So far the Tucker Springs series has been completely FORGETTABLE for me (so much so, I can't remember a damn thing about the first two books except the MCs professions and that I never finished the second one. So, THIS book was totally off my radar. Thankfully my smut loving buddies clued me in that this hot little number was worth the read.

Denver and Adam are a very odd couple. Denver is a big guy who works as a bouncer for a local gay club and Adam is an enthomology Phd candidate. Denver is not really a guy that does serious relationships he's got a bit of baggage and so he is content to play with the twinks that come to the club and want to get up close and personal with all those muscles. Adam he's got difficulties his OCD is debilitating and he has so much trouble navigating through day to day activities that he can't see how he can ever have a normal relationship.

After Denver rescues Adam from a perilous encounter with some hostile frat boys at the local laundromant, things heat up pretty fast between the two. From the get go Adam and Denver are hot as can be together. They are sexually compatible and like to play on the kinky side. The things that Denver and Adam do sexually are cathartic for both of them, it helps Adam surrender control and it eases his anxieties and it helps Denver feel like he is taking care of the man he is falling for. Things get hard because they both have lots of baggage and difficulties to overcome but they keep trying until they arrive at a good starting place to being a life together.

These guys were sweet and smoking hot. Adam is a hot mess but the author did a really great job of making him likeable and not annoying. Denver was great.

This is the best one in the series so far, hopefully the next ones will get better and better.

I really liked this book and I probably would have given it five stars IF it would have had a couple more chapters. I just wanted a LITTLE bit more of a solid conclusion to the story.

That being said...I thought the writing was solid and that the characters were pretty engaging, as far as the rock and roll aspect, it was a good rocker book.

There is HUGE flashback in this book, which usually is a problem for me, but in this book I thought it was done really well. Basically we see the couple 20 years ago and then we are there for their reunion in the present.

Scott and Ash were both members of a metal band called King Phoenix. Not long after meeting Ash and Scott became a couple. They were in love, and their band was getting stronger and stronger, nothing could be better. They were so young, only 20 years old, but they had it all, the had love, and the money and the fame were so close they could touch them. Nothing could go wrong...And then everything went to shit. Scott got hooked on coke, Ash was also drinking and getting high, the other guys in the band doing the same. So after a successful first album they were seroiously self-destructing.


The band split up, and they all went their separate ways. No band, no Scott and Ash. Nothing, they has destroyed everything. Until sixteen years later when the Ash received a call from Ash asking him if he would consider reuininting with the guys to do a benefit concert for one of their friends fromt he old days who was dying.


Scott couldn't say no even though he has terrified of seeing Ash again. Scott had been clean for 16 years and he had just tried to forget that Ash even existed, but once he saw him. He everything came back, the anger, the fear, the LOVE.

Scott and Ash were a mess. Ash wanted Scott so badly even after all those years he still felt the same way, but Scott was stubborn and scared and pushed him away at every opportunuty, until he realized that if he pushed too hard he would loose Ash forever.

So yeah, these guys are struggling pretty much to the last page, they end in a seemingly good place, but I wish I could have seen more of that. We get to know Ash and Scott pretty well as young men, and we did get strong sense of who they in their middle age, but I wish we could have seen more of them once they had decided to give it a try together.

All in all, it was a well written story and I enjoyed it a lot. Wonder if there is sequel coming later...

I wish I come MAKE people read this series. It is such a damn BEAUTIFUL story. So completely beatiful.

This is the fourth book in the Gives Light series and we find Rafael and Skylar fifteen years later. Still at the Nettleblush reservation, still in love. They are men now, Skylar is an attorney and Rafael is speech therapist. They have made a life together and have a home, but there is one thing they still yearn for, they want a child to make their family complete.

Their prayers are answrered when they are approved as foster parents for a little girl named Michaela. Michaela has a lot of problems and comes from a very abusive situation, so things are not so easy with her. Skylar's dad is finally getting out of prison as well, so there are many changes coming to their lives. As always Rafael and Skylar face them head on, with grace, as a united front and relying of the love and support of their family and friends in the reservation.

This book was a wonderful conclusion to this series, I could not stop smiling reading about these two men, who I loved reading so much as boys. All the characters were still wonderful and rich. Just great. Skylar and Raf's lives as always are far from perfect, but they deal with it. They keep going, after all they have what they need to face anything, EACH OTHER.

Every one of these books felt like an enriching experience. I loved every word and I finished reading feeling entirely satisfied. How are these books not published?

LOVE LOVE LOVE. These four books are in my all time favorites list without a doubt.


Skylar and Rafael are a wonderful wonderful thing.

This one ran out of steam for me at around 40%...Just felt repetitive and not really like I was reading anything new. Reason might be that I've read pretty outstanding YA lately and this one just fell short.

Maybe I'll pick it up some time, for now, goes back to the maybe shelf.

I don't even know why I waited like three years to read this book, but I just re-read Collision Course, so I felt it was a good time.

This is more like a 3.5 star but I'm rounding down because I felt it was a little bit repetitive and the characters were so emotionally constipated I wanted to start bitch slapping every single character in the book.

We know that KA can bring it with the smut so no issues there, but it was kind of frustrating at times. Other than that it was quality erotica and an entertaining romance.

This was a really good mystery and it was HOT!!!!

This book reminded me a lot of Breathe another book by this author with characters that were a broken and very reticent to risk their hearts.

Walter Simon is an ex-cop who had to leave the force after a shooting were he lost two hostages, he also lost his partner of seven years to brain cancer around that time, needless to say he was still nursing his heart from those losses and was not looking for love. He runs a successful security buniness and although he is quite lonely, he is comfortable with this life.

Kevin Price is a klutzy young reporter who is still on the fence about his sexuality a tragic event earlier in his life made him shut down about his sexual orientation and just decided to live in the closet. Kevin hates gay clubs nothing good happens in those seedy places...Places like The Haven a well knows exclusive sex club whose patrons are all gay men...Some of who have disappeared in the past few months. Kevin is going to uncover what they are up to at The Haven and he will discover who is taking these young men, which is why he gets a membership and goes to the club undecover.

That's were Walter's and Kevin's worlds collide. Vargas the owner of The Haven has askes Walter for his help in finding out what happened to Seth Fisher a young member who has disappeared without a trace...Once Walter catches a glimpse of the klutzy young guy "who is clearly up to something" and confronts him Kevin and Walter join forces to find the guy that's taking these men.


Well once Kevin starts hanging around Walter it becomes pretty clear he cannot deny who he is any longer, he is GAY and he is WAYYYY into Walter's hotness. He wants to kiss him, touch, and more. Walter likes Kevin, he's funny and makes him laugh and is so damn adorable, the problem is that he's so much younger...Walter can't be with someone that young.


Kevin and Walter and their shy (but still super hot) falling in love was awesome. I loved Kevin's discovery of his sexuality and how fully he embraced it in Walter's arms. Walter was stubborn and so scared of risking his heart again, but he could not resist Kevin.

The mystery was pretty good, the bad guy was CRAZAYZY like 'make a purse out of someone's skin crazy' and I thought his character was pretty well done. We never really find out much about him other than his crazy, but then again crazy like that doesn't need reasons.

All in all I enjoyed it a lot, and CANNOT WAIT, I shall repeat CANNOT WAIT!!! For Vargas's and Seth's book!

Recommend!

This book was certainly eye opening. In 1988 Joe's mom is the victim of an attack at the Native American Reservation where they live. Joe is 13. He understands and has pride in his people's culture and history. His parents have always been a solid part of their community and he has been taught to cherish his heritage. But the attack on his mother tilts their world her sadness never goes away and that ignites a fire in Joe to know more about the injustices that happen in his world.

It's deifinitely a compelling book, very well written and very sad but also with a LOT of humor, I laughed a lot despite myself and learned a lot too...I had recently read the [b:Gives Light|15810499|Gives Light (Gives Light, #1)|Rose Christo|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344491925s/15810499.jpg|21535494] books by Rose Christo (which are also wonderful, but sadly not in the mainstream readership) so this felt really familiar.


Good good book.