Uncle B

Cruella, Cruella DeVil

Revisado: 02-17-23

Fantastic story that gives you unexpected sympathy for the iconic villainess, without flinching away from her madness and malice.
The narrator gives an award winning performance, Highest possible recommendation.

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If you like Roger Rabbit this is for you

Revisado: 01-21-23

A very adult take on the Roger Rabbit toon/human world (with RR’s creator’s blessing), is a fun and thought provoking adventure in a similar world.
Although it says book 1, and there definitely feels like there’s more story to tell, there is no cliffhanger and the story still works as a stand alone story. I hope another book in the series does come out because this is a fun, fascinating world I want to spend more time in.
The narrator does a great job of bringing to life all the quirky toons and regular people that populate the story.
Highly recommended.

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Excellent vampire romance

Revisado: 11-21-17

I've read many of Jordan Castillo Price's novels and they've never failed to thrill and this is no exception.
I love that this doesn't follow the predictable conventions, with a middle aged and not gorgeous protagonist. He's very human and all the more appealing because of it.
The world building is fascinating with a unique take on vampirism as a blood born virus. It has a high mortality rate, but if you survive you look like a Michaelangelo sculpture for eternity as well as drinking blood. I love the vampire culture that's built up throughout the book. With vampire soap operas and mention of an influential vampire movie starring Demi Moore and John Travolta released years back, you can see how the vampire virus not only changed the world but created a subculture that is both foreign and familiar.
There is a strong subtext of vampire's treatment in society comparable to how HIV+ people are treated with fear and prejudice. Moments where our vampire hero Jonathon tries to pass as "V negative" resonated with me with how LGBT people also sometimes have to pass as straight for their own safety.
Our protagonist Mark has been Jonathon's personal assistant for years, crushing on the reclusive eccentric vampire artist seemingly without hope. When a murderous vampire ex lover from Jonathon's past goes on a destructive cross country rampage the two men go on the run. The truth of Jonathon's past and his feelings for Mark are revealed.

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The gay YA Alice in Wonderland sequel

Revisado: 10-23-17

This is a fun breezy listen. Taking place fifteen or so years after Alice's trip to Wonderland, it did throw me a bit when I realized it was taking place in modern day and not a hundred or so years later. It doesn't really make a lot of difference, but I would've preferred if they'd stuck to the original period.
The real selling point here is Wonderland and it is beautifully portrayed, mad, strange and wonderful. Hatter is a delightful character, zany, witty and untrustworthy.
I'd love to see a sequel.
Joel Froomkin as always does a great performance. He gives each character their own distinctive voice so that you get a full cast feel.

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Great gay urban fantasy

Revisado: 09-19-17

This was a really excellent urban fantasy story. Our hero Cooper Causey is a really likable curmudgeon, hiding away from the world in a series of meaningless sexual encounters, before he's dragged into a supernatural war and his own past.
Cooper is a refreshing protagonist, in that he feels very original and well rounded, largely free of well worn tropes. When his beloved grandmother goes missing he discovers his bloodline can be traced back to angels and the special properties of his blood has made his family a target for fallen angels that are basically vampires. The one weakness of the story was a rather large and lengthy exposition on the entangled histories of his family and the supernatural beings that left my head spinning a bit, but I was still able to follow along.
At his side is his first and only love, his dead older brother's best friend, Randy. Cooper made a clumsy pass at Randy years ago after his brother's funeral and they haven't spoken since then. Randy is now a cop and recently divorced, and of course Cooper's love isn't nearly as unrequited as he thought.
There's minimal sex in the book but it's more than made up for by the powerful chemistry between the two men, and the strong plot and characterization.
The last section of the book takes some unexpected twists and turns that were pretty exciting and things end very satisfactorily but left me really hoping for a sequel to see what happens next.

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The drag queen love story you've been waiting for

Revisado: 07-05-17

This is a fun, well paced story.
That one of our leads is a glamorous drag queen is a pretty unusual slant, and it makes for a better story because of it.
Adrian is bullied, but finds strength in the things other saw as a weakness. He's a pretty inspirational character.
Marty was in the gang of bullies that tormented Adrian in high school, although he mostly just hung out in the background, trying to go unnoticed with his own problems.
Adrian, years later, has reinvented himself as Adrienne, a glamorous and successful drag performer.
Marty is living a life of quiet desperation, whose only release is quickies with Adrienne's fellow drag queens. Marty becomes infatuated with Adrienne without recognizing their shared past, but Adrienne does recognize Marty, and sets out to give him a taste of the humiliation Adrienne felt.
But being a kind and sensitive person, Adrian quickly feels bad for what he does to Marty and out of that a new bond begins forming between them.
I felt like there were a few issues that didn't gel with me emotionally. Adrian was crazy in love with Marty in high school without them ever really spending time together, and their only interactions centered around Marty being part of the crowd that bullied Adrian. I know teenagers's hormones can get a little crazy, but I found it hard to swallow that those feelings lingered for so many years.
My second issue was that the heart of Marty's fear of coming out was his blowhard father, who he spoke to on the phone once a week and saw once a month. His presence in Marty's life was just pretty distant to be such a dominant force in how he lived. The consequences of Marty coming out were a little too easy breezy, but maybe I just like angst too much.
This is a lighthearted feel good romance. The sex is hot and it's a nice subversion that Adrian seems to be more sexually dominant. Marty is turned on by Adrianne including drag in their sex play, which isn't something you see everyday in romance novels.
Joel Leslie's excellent narration enhances the story. I particularly loved the colorful voices he gave to Adrienne's drag friends.

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Giving Love a Second Chance

Revisado: 07-05-17

This review will contain spoilers for the first book, Something Like Summer, which I strongly recommend you read first.

Ok. So many readers of SLS will come into this book with mixed or negative feelings towards Tim. I totally get that. As someone who threw away his first love because he wouldn't come out, then years later nearly wrecked Ben's new relationship, hurt a lot of people and still came out a winner in the end, Tim has a lot of baggage. SLW explores much of the events of the previous novel from Tim's point of view, and seeing how much he suffered for his bad choices does help make him more likable. While exploring some familiar scenes again may sound repetitious, I love this aspect of the series, as each new perspective adds a deeper understanding to the larger story.
Tim in many ways is a victim of our homophobic society, and he paid for his mistakes. I think most people who read SLW, even if they start out hating Tim, come out of this book understanding him a lot better. (I still like Jace better though)
The story explores Tim's years without Ben, and his close friendship with a much older gay man, Eric. Eric is Tim's partner in many ways, although they are not lovers. Tim's devotion to Eric, and although it may sound funny, his whole hearted devotion to his very lovable dog show a lot of emotional growth from a once very self centered boy.
Tim's attempts to steal Ben from Jace, how he dealt with the fallout of that and his second chance with Ben are all explored from this new perspective, adding layers and depth to a familiar story, and their story is taken further along.
It's interesting to note the very appealing cover art tells it's own story. While SLS shows Ben watching Tim, SLW show Tim watching Ben. It all seems symbolic of perceptions, which is a key theme in the series.
If you love this series, I recommend continuing from here to the third book, Something Like Autumn where Jace's story is told, of his relationship with Ben and the untold story of his own first love.

Kevin R. Free's narration is youthful and animated, if a bit exaggerated at times.

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Can you truly love two people?

Revisado: 07-05-17

Something Like Summer, while an excellent stand alone novel, kicks off a large interconnected series. While many series spin off minor supporting characters into new books with little cameos from earlier characters, Something Like takes a more unique approach as events in the books overlap with each other, but when those events are revisited, we get them from a different point of view. Each book allows us to get to know it's central character better, while the same cast continues to be front and center. It's a format I really love.
Our protagonist for SLS is Ben. We meet Ben as a sensitive love lorn teen. Not quite out, but obviously gay enough that everybody knows. He's infatuated with Tim, the hot new boy in his neighborhood, which leads to some humorous stalking. The story begins feeling pretty familiar. Situations throw them together and they grow closer. The series avoids and subverts expectations pretty deftly though.
Tim is a frustrating character, but the qualities that make him frustrating also make him a well rounded believable character. As a gay teen in Texas he's not comfortable coming out, and he may well throw away his first, true love because of that. I'm striving not to give too many spoilers, but the second half of the book deal with the consequences of first love handled badly. Ben grows up and finds a new love, Jace, a handsome, dashing airline attendant, only for Ben's happy new life to be threatened when Tim returns, older and wiser and still in love with him.
Something Like fans will debate hotly over Tim and Jace as the better choice for Ben, and the story's all the more compelling because both men are very sexy and appealing characters
I can't close this review without mentioning that Bell writes the best pets. Jace's cat and Tim's dog are really funny likable characters.
I strongly recommend this book and the series. The series continues in Something Like Winter, Tim's story. Even if you come away from this book hating Tim (I know people who loved this book but wouldn't read SLW because they hated Tim so much!), give it a chance too!

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Gritty, sexy thriller

Revisado: 06-05-17

This is a really dark read, so brace yourself for that. Daniel is the town pariah, despised by virtually everyone in his small town after he killed the man who brutally gay bashed him by burning his house down. The twist is that Daniel is a sleepwalker, so he wasn't responsible for his action. He received a light sentence in jail and struggles to live a life of quiet desperation, hiding in a remote cabin, working as a janitor while serving his probation and coming up with a system with frozen locks to restrain himself when he sleeps - which isn't often.

He was raised by his small minded parents to feel like a freak because of his sleepwalking. His self loathing, his guilt over the murder and his persecution by the townspeople, all of it is pretty oppressive. Daniel self harms, including through sex, as a way of coping.

Local cop Joe Belman has had a crush on Daniel since they were teenagers, but he's still living a closeted life, and has learned to look down on Daniel, following the attitudes of everyone around him. There's an unfairnes there that did bother me, not only is Daniel not responsible for what he does when sleepwalking, the man he killed had gay bashed him, and the system had made justice for that difficult to impossible to achive, but this is an issue that Bel has to grow on. He's strong and compelling, but he has a lot of growing to do. When the persecution against Daniel begins to escalate, Bel agrees to stay with him overnight to protect him. He becomes drawn into Daniel's problems, guarding him so he could sleep as well as protecting him from another potential gay basher.

Bel is a tough, no nonsense man of few words and made a really compelling romantic lead. Even as he's taking the role of hero he learns to let go of his own internal homophobia.

There's a really gritty tone to the series that I found a welcome change from more wholesome romance. There's a gritty sexual underbelly in their two bit Mayberry, and Bel and Daniel's sexual connection is hot and kinky, but the romance is still heartfelt.

I found the issue of sleepwalking really interesting, it's something everyone knows about, but something that's not well understood.

I really loved this one and look forward to reading more books by Henry and Rock in the future. Tremblay's rich voice enhanced the story and his voice for Bel was especially sexy.

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Love and Sex at a fetish club

Revisado: 05-06-17

Lock and Key is a little more kinky than you average mm romance, but possibly not as kinky as you might expect. As someone who spent years hanging out in a fetish club in Atlanta in the 90s I may be a little more jaded than the next reader (or not) but the kink doesn't go much beyond light bondage, sex toys and a little bit of the old riding crop along with dominance and submission play, but the guys make the most of it, and their connection was steamy.
Zach is an inexperienced 18 when he meets slightly older Andrew, a glamorous hairdresser. For both guys it's love at first sight, and Zach is eager to go after what he wants, while Drew finds reasons not to give him a chance; Zach's youth and inexperience, and the family complication as their brothers are in a relationship. Crushed by rejection Zach throws himself into a disasterous one night stand that leads him to repress his true desires as a submissive. Instead he reinvents himself as the hottest, most sought after dominant in the scene and a few years later Andrew is having second thoughts on the potential of a relationships with Zach. A charity fundraising auction with Zach joining other doms to be auctioned off for a weekend as a submissive slave opens up possibilities.
Zach was really likable and his heartbreak at being denied the man he loved and his closing off of his true desires was sad. I found Andrew a little frustrating, as it's usually frustrating to see someone throw away love for whatever reasons, but his reasons were still realistic and understandable. I was really rooting for the guys to get together and it was a satisfying read.
One small critique: the fetish scene is pretty theatrical and I would've loved to have gotten more atmosphere. I wanted to hear about the clothes and music and those details were just too sparse for my tastes. I suspect that's not going to bother most readers, and not all writers spend a lot of time describing clothes and such.
I loved the relationships between the brothers - I would read a whole book just on the family dynamic with older brother Dusty, an aspiring rock star who raised his younger brothers after they were kicked out by a bigoted mother. The background cast of the club scene was well fleshed out for minor characters. It was well done to show the humanity and normality of people who on the surface might seem bizarre and exotic. I know there is already one sequel to the series and I look forward to listening to it if it gets an audio release. It's a nice world to visit.
Narrator Jonathon Waters brings the story to life, his voice traveling from smooth sophistication to sexy growl that enhanced the experience.

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