Category Archives: Reviewettes

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

La-la-la-la-la-linkity!

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Congrats to Jody, who won the Not Quite Wicked ebooks! Rumor has it there may be another contest starting tomorrow… 😉

Contests

Book and Reading News

Neato Cool

Stuff That Didn’t Fit Anywhere Else

Well, I Was Amused

Reading Update
Fatal Shadows, A Dangerous Thing, The Hell You Say, Death of a Pirate King, and The Dark Tide (The Adrien English Mysteries, Books 1-5) by Josh Lanyon. ebooks. I read books one through four last August and was amazed at how much emotional impact this m/m mystery series had on me. As I reread the first four books last week, preparing to read the fifth (and final) book, I was amazed again, because the books affected me just as much this time. When I wasn’t reading, I’d find myself thinking about Adrien, about Jake, about their complicated history. I was both looking forward to reading The Dark Tide and afraid to read it, knowing that it would most likely take me through the emotional wringer yet again. It did. I cried a few times. But at the end of the fifth book? I smiled.
Love Dot Come by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Absolutely adorable short about two geeky, klutzy guys who meet via an online personals site.
Aquamarine by Sara Bell. ebook. After a college football player is seriously injured during a game and learns that his publicity loving boyfriend won’t stick around, his life changes in unexpected ways in this sweet m/m romance.
The Manny by Sara Bell. ebook. Another sweet m/m romance from Sara Bell. This one’s about a male nanny/custom motorcycle designer and his evil landlord.
Crimson Regret, A Taste of Darkness, A Glimpse Inside, and Windows and Walls (Inches of Trust, Books 1-4) by A.R. Moler. ebook shorts. These m/m shorts are about an architect and a cop who meet as a devil and Zorro at a Halloween costume party. I enjoyed these, but found them frustrating at the same time – they read as sort of serial novel. I’d rather read the novel or collection.
Knowing Caleb (Hawkins Ranch, Book 4) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Pretty good m/m that I guess I’d categorize as a very steamy paranormal Western romance. (Hot demon cowboys!) I haven’t read the others in this series, but I’m sure I’ll read at least a few others.
You Were Always On My Mind by Deirdre O’Dare. ebook. Um. Yeah. I think I damaged my eyeballs from rolling them so much while reading this m/m romance. *shakes head at self for finishing this book*
A Promise Kept by Stormy Glenn. ebook. What is it about Stormy Glenn’s m/m romances? This one was about miscommunication and misunderstanding (with a stalker thrown in for good measure) – I was alternately sniffling, then rolling my eyes at the hokey bits. (My eyeball muscles are strong! Strong! after reading this story.) But I kept reading (er, skimming)… even though this book should have been about 1/3 the length it was, based on the amount of actual story.
Beautiful Viking by Steve Sampson. ebook. Well, the cover’s nice… Unfortunately, the writing in this m/m romance was clumsy and choppy and the characters unrealistic and gushing.
In the Rough (By Degrees, Book 2) by J. B. McDonald. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about two guys, longtime friends who are both survivors of childhood abuse and who slowly realize that even 20 years later, they’ve been allowing their pasts to control them.
Bastards and Pretty Boys by K. Z. Snow. ebook. Well done m/m romantic suspense about a guy who buys a cabin on a quiet Wisconsin lake, hoping to work through his hydrophobia. Alas, I’ve never stayed at a cabin that had such a scenic next door neighbor!
The Night Sky Man by Mallory Path. ebook. Nicely done dreamlike m/m romance about a model and a modeling agent.
As Serious as the Grave by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Well. Yes, I read an m/m zombie romance and liked it. (Anyone who knows how I feel about zombie stories probably just spit the beverage of their choice on their screens.) Both Jenre and Tam have said far more eloquent things about this short than I will ever manage, but don’t let the zombie aspect squick you out. As Tam kept reiterating, “He’s not a zombie, he’s reanimated.”

“If you really loved me, Mom, you’d buy me a super-fancy kitty house instead of making me live in this plastic tub.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

New and even more improved linkity post, now featuring bullets and subheadings!

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Look for Misadventures in Stock Photography (Part the Sixth) tomorrow! Although I already have enough new covers of Candy Cane Guy for another post (or two…), we’ll give him a break and meet someone new tomorrow.

Contests

  • Chappysmom is having a Chuck (tv show) trivia contest – check out the details and participate quickly, because the deadline to enter is January 15 at noon EST. Prizes include 12 skeins of Sublime yarn, Chuck Season One on Blu-Ray, and a dvd on knitting cables.

Bookity Stuff

  • TeleRead also has a good beginner’s guide to using Calibre, an open-source ebook management tool. I don’t actually use Calibre to transfer books to my Astak (because the Astak’s directory structure isn’t maintained when using Calibre), but I do use it to normalize file names and convert formats.
  • Fun – a book cover archive… not for ebooks, alas. (I was hoping it would be a good research tool for my Misadventures series.)

Randoms

  • Oh, look, you can make your own Twinkies (hmm, nice that this is right after the fitness item). Since the cake recipe only has 1/3 cup of flour, it should convert to gluten-free quite easily. Hmm.
  • This link is here for no other reason than that I thought the picture was cute.

Humorous Bits

Reading Update
True Colors by Clare London. ebook. This turned out to be a very good and intense m/m romance after a sort of shaky start – I almost put the book away because there were so many different people introduced in the first few pages and I couldn’t figure out who was important and who was peripheral. But in the end? Totally redeemed, because Clare London deftly tied in those seemingly extraneous introductory bits.
Broken by Dawn Kimberly Johnson. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about a guy who was seriously injured when his partner was killed during a gay bashing two years before the story starts.
Miss Me? and Coming Out for Christmas (Miss Me, Book 2) by Mel Spenser. ebook and ebook short. Miss Me? is a decent m/m romantic suspense about Andy, a librarian who gets involved with Nick when Nick is in the library looking for cookbooks. Both of them then have to deal with a dangerous stalker who’s been harassing Andy for the last year. In Coming Out for Christmas, Ryan, one of Andy’s relatives, is staying with Andy and Nick over his college’s Christmas break when he realizes he’s gay. Miss Me? is definitely the stronger of the two stories.
Giving Thanks by Maura Anderson. ebook short. Ok Thanksgiving m/m romance about a couple dealing with the after effects of one of them coming out to his family and getting punched by his dad.
Bittersweet by Maura Anderson. ebook short. Very good m/m romance about a chocolatier making chocolates for a bridal shower who becomes fascinated by the man of honor when he picks up the chocolates. Both Bittersweet and Giving Thanks are also part of the Hot Comfort collection (next). (I already had these shorts when I won Hot Comfort over at Reviews by Jessewave last month.)
Hot Comfort by Luisa Prieto, Kimberly Gardner, Jet Mykles, and Maura Anderson. Collection of food-related m/m romances, with a cover that might look a little familiar. 😉 Although I already had the Maura Anderson and Jet Mykles stories, I hadn’t read the delightful “Cooking with Ergot” by Luisa Prieto (who signed my copy of Hot Comfort!) nor the very enjoyable “The Shape of a Heart” by Kimberly Gardner.
One Way Street by Laney Cairo. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a closeted Aussie rules footballer who gets really sick and turns to the guy he left without a word the previous year.
No One But You (Shining Victory, Book 2) by K.C. Kendricks. ebook. Whoops. I haven’t read the first book. Oh well. I’m not sure that would have helped me be less annoyed by the guys in this May-December m/m romance.
Give Me One Night by K.C. Kendricks. ebook. This was another m/m romance that I was “meh” about – the insta-love didn’t work very well for me. Plus I still had some big questions left at the end, things that really felt as if they needed to be tied up before the story ended but weren’t.
Beautiful Disaster by J.M. Snyder. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about two guys who are in a pop duo.
Just Friends by Anne Thomas. ebook. Surprisingly good, slightly kinky m/m romance about a guy who’s had crush on his best friend for a while, then follows him to a leather club… I picked up both this and Beautiful Disaster when they were Amber Quill Press Daily Deals – I’m much more willing to try a book that I’m not sure I’ll like or that might be a bit outside my comfort zone when it’s 75% off.
Taming the Wolf and Unleashing the Jaguar (Animal Attraction, Books 1 & 3) by Michelle Houston. ebook shorts. Look! Do you recognize those abs and that towel on Unleashing the Jaguar?! Darn it. I missed this one before. Anyway. I read the second book (Embracing the Leopard) last summer, but it doesn’t matter, since these are all completely unrelated, other than all being short m/m romances about shapeshifters finding their mates and all inspiring the same “ho-hum” response from me.
The Wolfe Proxy by T.D. McKinney and Terry Wylis. ebook. While the storyline for this m/m romance had potential, the intermittently overdone writing kept pulling me out of the story as I flinched at particularly florid phrasing. Add insta-love, and… *sigh*
Weighted Measure by Chris Owen. ebook short. Nicely done m/m romance short about a computer geek who nearly lives online trying to find balance with a drummer who nearly lives out and about.

“Whoa. That must’ve been some of the spiked ‘nip the big kitty was talking about.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Whole lotta linkity goin’ on

46 Comments

I’m going to experiment with this post and I’d like your opinions – is it easier to read linkity posts with or without bullets? Discuss. (And thank you for your input!)

  • J, Kaye’s giving away a $25 US Amazon gift certificate or up to $25 at the Book Depository in three separate contests: Canada, US, and outside the US/Canada. Read the rules carefully! Winners will be announced January 30 and are responsible for checking the blog to see if they’ve won.
  • If you sign up for the 2010 M/M Romance Challenge by January 31, you’ll be entered for a chance to win $15 ebook bucks from All Romance eBooks!
  • Author Marta Acosta has all sorts of fun blog sidebar badges, such as for the Naked David Boreanz Club, the Association for the Admiration of Edward Cullen, the Gerard Butler Is Hawt Society, and the Jacob Black Society for Werewolf Acceptance.
  • Do not click this link if you are easily offended by graphic ice sculpture. Please. I implore you. Yes, I took the featured photo, but you’ll notice I haven’t featured it on my blog. Consider the various book covers I have featured before you click, ok? (It is not a cat picture, if that helps.)
  • Although the experience of reading a physical book is different than that of reading an ebook, does it really matter to readers? (I gotta say that I’m liking reading ebooks more than physical books these days.)
  • TeleRead reports on the most pirated books of 2009 – The Kamasutra and Adobe Photoshop Secrets held the top spots. The only best-selling authors to make it into the top 25 were Dan Brown, Stephen King, Stephenie Meyer, and J. K. Rowling. None of Rowling’s books have even been released as ebooks, which instead of protecting them seems to be a lost revenue opportunity.
  • Even though I told Trek that I suck at guessing contests, I won not only her guessing contest of some months ago (dollar value of an unknown number of quarters that fit into a particular tea tin), but also Nicole’s recent contest (how many books she’d read by the end of the year). Hmm. Perhaps I don’t suck at guessing contests after all? (Thanks to Nicole and Trek!)
  • This DIY magnetized coffee cozy is very cool and very clever! Heck, I can see the potential for sticking my coffee to my car when I’m rummaging for my keys. (And, wait, I already have a coffee cozy from Caribou Coffee with a mysterious zipper pocket on it – this might actually make the pocket useful!)

Reading Update
Chicken Soup for the Soul, and All That Crap: A Tigers & Devils Short by Sean Kennedy. free ebook short. Very sweet short that takes place while Declan’s recuperating from his surgery.
Warrior’s Cross by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about about a waiter and the mysterious guy who sits in his section every Tuesday evening. I cried more than once while reading this. My only complaint is that I wanted just a little more substance (or maybe detail or maybe time) at the ending.
The One That Got Away (Second Edition) by Rhianne Aile and Madeleine Urban. ebook. Excellent m/m romance – I’d read the original version, but who could resist the new version with added scenes? (Although, sad to say, the second edition still has inconsistencies about David’s age – he fusses about how awful his 45th birthday was, but then is referred to as 42 for the rest of the book.) One of the differences I noticed was that Trace’s cat was now named Mabel instead of Gail and and she had an entire enjoyable subplot devoted to her. (Plus she’s a black kitty. Really, what’s not to like?)
Rules of Engagement by L. A. Witt. ebook. Very good m/m romance (that I had a hard time putting down) about a recently divorced guy who finds himself powerfully drawn to a guy he meets playing pool in a bar. Yes, I got sniffly, so you know there was some angst. I think my only complaint was the abruptness of the ending. I really liked this quote from one of the other characters: “If I knew how a lot of my relationships would have turned out, I never would have gotten involved in them…. And I would have missed out on some of the best times in my life.” (Of course, for me, I would also have missed out on some of the worst times in my life – you?)
Uncorked by Andrew Grey. ebook. This m/m romance is set several years after Bottled Up; Sam and Sean of Bottled Up play more of a peripheral role in this one. I’ll confess that while the beginning of this story didn’t really grab me, the middle did, but then I just wanted to smack heads together at the end. Make of that what you will. 🙂
Just Like Scrooge by Clare London. ebook short. Imagine The Christmas Carol redone (and redone well) as an m/m romance set in modern times.
In the Closet by Clare London. ebook short. Cute m/m romance about two feuding guys whose coworkers lock them in the cleaning closet to work out their differences… although maybe the coworkers didn’t expect the form that process would take…
Special Delivery by Cassandra Gold. ebook short. Sweet m/m romance short about a secretary and a delivery guy.
Fantasies: Independence Day by Cassandra Gold. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who’s finally had enough of his father running every aspect of his life, so he escapes to work as a waiter at a Hawaiian resort. (Total points for style on that one.)
Reunion by Vic Winter. ebook short. In this enjoyable m/m romance, the ostracized high school nerd returns for his ten-year reunion as a fit, handsome millionaire ready to shove his success in his former classmates’ faces.
Christmas for Gary by Vic Winter. ebook short. Gary’s spending some time with his very active grandmother and her friends, who are determined to find a boyfriend for him, no matter how much they embarrass him in the process.
A-Viking by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Ok time travel m/m romance about a Viking who mysteriously washes up on a contemporary Florida beach after his longboat capsizes.
Re-Ignition by A.R. Moler. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a former FBI agent who’s not doing so well after a career-ending injury, until he wakes up hungover, in bed with someone he doesn’t recognize.
When Work Is a Pleasure by Alix Blevins. ebook. While this m/m romance was well done, I had a problem (my very own problem and not necessarily that of the book) with how relatively easily a reporter dealt with his new boyfriend’s career as a pr0n star.
InDescent by K.Z. Snow. ebook. Another very good m/m romance that I had trouble with – this time, it was because of one of the main character being emotionally and physically involved with two other people. Not a menage (which I hate), but still – I kept getting stuck there. However! This was still a very cool story about a wizard/woodworker living in Milwaukee who notices that there’s suddenly an awful lot of paranormal activity in the city… (And really, what’s not to like about a story that has Baba Yaga’s hut in a Milwaukee city park?)

“My life sucks.” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

“Once in a very blue moon…”

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Tonight – a very rare and special, once in 20 years blue moon! Looks like we’ll have cloudy skies here in Minneapolis, but maybe you will be luckier… Happy New Year!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post by 7 pm CST, January 6 for your chance to win a copy of Wren Boudreau’s new m/m romantic suspense, Ice Cream on the Side!

Janna’s giving away an ebook copy of Bronwyn Green’s steamy romance, Cuffed and Dangerous – leave a comment by midnight, January 7, for your chance to win.

Don’t forget to stop by Sweet Vernal Zephyr for her near daily updates on new book contests.

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) shows us that it’s a big week for urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases. And SciFiGuy covers both in his weekend update, along with all sorts of other fun things. Don’t miss his overview of the January paranormal, urban fantasy, and scifi releases, either.

This is a great time of year to get reading ideas as people post their favorite books of 2009 lists. I’m sure we’ll see many more of these over the next few weeks. I might even put one together.

Keira’s got some great book links over at Love Romance Passion. So does Dear Author, including a link to free ebooks at All Romance eBooks.

Certain ebook readers make it very easy to track your reading habits – how much does your reading privacy matter to you?

Shrink Pic looks like a really useful Windows program to resize pictures on the fly.

HP ink costs more than blood?! This graph makes oil look like quite the bargain, doesn’t it?

How did I not know that the magnetic north pole now is shifting nearly 37 miles a year?!

Gizmodo has another handy flowchart of inappropriate times to use your smartphone. Plus a little Snuggie humour…

Unsurprisingly, one of these calendars is on its way to me right now.

Evidence continues to mount that Chaos isn’t simply a minion, but is actually Basement Cat.

Those wacky engineers are at it again – this time they’re playing laser tag with cats.

I think we all need an antivirus kitten, don’t you?

Cute burn warning! (I know you’ll all click anyway…)

Reading Update
Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter. Kresley Cole’s story is part of her Immortals After Dark series, featuring vampire Murdoch Wroth and Ice Queen (literally) Danii. Since this story ties up all sorts of open storylines, it’s a must read if you follow IAD. This was also my favorite of the two stories. Gena Showalter’s story is part of her Alien Huntress story, and it too ties up some open storylines. While it was pretty good, I didn’t feel as invested in this one.
Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. ebook. Excellent and highly recommended m/m romance about an Aussie Rules football player, a film festival director, and the complexities of getting involved with someone famous and closeted. If you’ve put off reading m/m romance because you’ve heard it’s all sex, sex, sex, Tigers and Devils would be a very good introduction to the genre – it’s touching and heartfelt: at times I was laughing out loud; at times I was sniffling. I did have some trouble with the Aussie phrases – famed Aussie m/m blogger Kris (and nearly neighbor of Sean Kennedy) directed me to several sites that helped with the lingo barrier.
Thaw and The Stroke of Midnight by Jordan Castillo Price. free ebook shorts. Two sweet holiday PsyCop shorts – one from Vic’s perspective, the other from Jacob’s.
Patient Eyes by Andy Eisenberg. ebook. Good m/m romance about a college freshman who is nearly starving until one of his housemates gets him involved in gay-for-pay pr0n. While I really liked the first 2/3 of this book (I figured I’d be gushing about it without reserve here), I found the last 1/3 disappointing – several critical scenes were skipped, then glossed over in brief flashbacks. There also was a sort of extraneous plot element (hello, stray stalker) that just didn’t feel fully integrated into the story.
Unrequited by Abigail Roux. ebook. Ok m/m romance about multiple unrequited love situations.
Caught Running by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux. ebook. Very good m/m romance about the star high school jock and the nerd, now back and teaching at that same high school ten years later.
Cut and Run by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux. ebook. This m/m romantic suspense about two wildly different FBI agents had a lot of potential, but it just didn’t quite work because it dragged on. Since I know that Urban and Roux can write some great stuff together, it was particularly disappointing.
Pyromancer by Amanda Young. ebook. After mentioning that Young’s m/m books haven’t seemed to really grab me, Tam convinced me to try Pyromancer, which is about a man who can control fire, but only to a certain extent. He can also be incredibly dangerous to the people around him. While I did like this more than the non-paranormals, I ultimately didn’t get completely drawn into this one either.
Burn Card by Laura Baumbach. ebook. So so m/m romance about a crime scene investigator and a guy who owns a security company. I did wonder whether this was part of a series… but not enough to go figure it out.
Seducing Light by K. C. Kendricks. ebook. Ok m/m romance – the title touches on one character being a photographer and the other a famous actor whose last name is Light. The next two books are also by Kendricks – I’ve concluded that while I may find the storylines intriguing, the excessively gushing language always ends up putting me off.
Tango in the Night by K. C. Kendricks. ebook. Another ok m/m romance, this time about two law enforcement agents, one of whom was seriously injured a year ago when his life partner was killed taking a bullet meant for him.
Taming Triton (Southern Cross Resort, Book 1) by K. C. Kendricks. ebook. Again, an ok m/m romance about a guy who’s always suspected that he’s bisexual, but has never acted on his attraction to men until he takes a vacation at the Southern Cross Resort.
Grey’s Awakening by Cameron Dane. ebook. Steamy m/m romance about a high-powered businessman who’s always kept his emotions in tight check. Will that change when he meets a sexy truck driver/artist while taking a vacation?
Time After Time, Liar, and Date Night by Jane Seville. free ebook shorts. These all take place after Zero at the Bone and provide some insight into life after the epilogue.
Tom or an Improbably Tail by Ruth Sims. free ebook short. This was a very cute m/m paranormal romance about a stray cat who isn’t always a cat…

“Ok, deep thoughts are boring. I wonder how this bag will taste?” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas and all through the blog, not a creature was stirring, not even a… cat

27 Comments

Congrats to Keziah, who won the copy of Faery Surprising! Many thanks to Mia Watts for donating the ebook. Apparently, Mia had such fun running amok in the comments that she will be back! 😉

Remember that book cover with the guy in mistletoe underwear? Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is having a caption that cover contest for it! Winner receives a $50 gift certificate to the bookstore of their choice. Contest closes midnight EST, December 24.

Anna’s running a holiday contest and giving away ten different books. Leave a comment before December 25 for your chance to win.

Jill Myles is giving away signed copies of her forthcoming paranormal, Gentlemen Prefer Succubi. Comment by noon on December 29.

Marta Acosta’s giving away two Keri Arthur gift packs. Each includes Australian chocolates, Tim Tams, and a signed copy of one of the Riley Jensen novels. Contest runs through December 30.

Literary Escapism is now two years old and Jackie’s celebrating with a contest. First prize is Maria Snyder’s Glass series (signed) and second prize is T. A. Pratt’s Marla Mason series. Contest runs until December 31.

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) is giving away three books of up to $20 each, winners’ choice. Contest closes midnight CST, December 31.

The weekend urban fantasy report from SciFiGuy has links to all sorts of fun and contesty goodness.

Not enough book links in this post for you? Anastasia has more!

Ever wonder what would happen if you lost all your gmail, blogger, flickr, or other online data? Backupify can back up that data, and if you sign up before January 31, you get unlimited storage free for life.

TeddyPig addresses some of the issues that he found with the recent LA Weekly article about the writers of gay romance, and some well-known m/m writers left great comments on his post.

Desert Island Keepers (DIK) will hold the DIK Reading Challenge next year – head over to the island for the details, but the grand prize will be a $50 gift certificate to the online bookstore of your choice.

Love Romance Passion has an interesting post about the emotional payoff of angst in books.

Gizmodo posted about the history of Christmas lights.

Need to make some last-minute Christmas gifts? Don’t make anything out of this book.

Make sure you check out CJ’s gift guides before shopping for the vampire or werewolf on your Christmas list. It could save your life… literally.

If you’re looking for some more serious (and inexpensive) last minute gift ideas, check out Lynn Viehl’s list over at Paperback Writer or the list of Lifehacker DIY gifts.

Best New Moon review evah, because it has kittehs! Thanks, Nicole. 🙂

SciFiGuy discovered that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Undead will be coming out next August…

Book pr0n as you’ve never seen it before… guaranteed. Not as NSFW as you might think. 😉

Den of the Ogress speculates what the covers and titles might look like if Harlequin were to start an m/m romance line.

Remember the news item about some book publishers planning to delay ebook releases in the hope of reviving their hardcover and trade pb sales? Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has some Suessian commentary on that.

During her literary scavenger hunt, Amy took some pictures of Wild Rumpus, the wonderful Twin Cities bookstore for kids. What’s not to love about the purple door with a kid-sized door inset in it?

TeleRead has an intriguing post by an apartment dweller who’s switched from paper to ebooks for very practical reasons.

Here’s another good TeleRead post about tracking down fan fiction (free) for your ebook reader.

iPhone people – there’s now a Simon’s Cat application. Sadly, it isn’t free, but I’m sure it’s cute.

Do you agree with the ten netbook positions of exquisite pain? How do you sit or lounge to comfortably use your netbook or laptop?

Beware the Christmas Ninja!

Could be Chaos, if the nose was a bit longer.

Oh my.

No. No wigs for Mayhem or Chaos.

Reading Update
Untamed Heart by Ally Blue. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about an assassin who’s in Alaska to get his head together. After an attack, he’s rescued by a mysterious stranger… but will their individual mysteries be too much to surmount?
Easy by Ally Blue. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a closeted construction worker who rescues a rent boy and helps him turn his life around. I was left with one unanswered question at the end of the book, which I really felt needed to be answered.
Forbidden Desire by Carolina Valdez. ebook. M/m romance about a cop who was tortured while undercover and falls for the doctor who treats him. Eh. It was ok.
Wranglers: The Defense Rests (Book 3) by Vivien Dean. ebook. Ok m/m romance that’s the ongoing story of two lawyers. I found the ending a bit abrupt – I thought there’d be more information about the case that was introduced. I had the impression that this was the last of the Wranglers books – if so, that ending’s particularly unsatisfying.
Dead Man’s Curve by Vivien Dean. ebook. Another ok m/m romance that I might have liked better if it had a different title. It’s part of a collection of Amber Allure books named for song titles, so it’s intentionally using the title of the Jan & Dean song. Unfortunately, that titles evokes (for me, at least) the made-for-TV movie about Jan Berry’s car wreck, which kept interfering with my perception of the story.
Strangers in the Night by Christiane France. ebook. You guessed it – this m/m romance is part of another song-title named collection from Amber Allure. Because this title isn’t as evocative for me, I was able to enjoy the story more.
The Gallery on Main Street by Christiane France. ebook. Ok m/m romance about two guys who each inherit part of an antiques gallery, but can’t stand each other.
Ice Cream on the Side by Wren Boudreau. ebook. Very nicely done m/m romantic suspense about an architect who meets an artist and thinks this might be more than a casual thing… if they can avoid psycho exes and murder and stalkers, oh my! Make sure you stop back on Wednesday, December 30, when I’ll kick off a contest to give away an ebook copy of this book, donated by Wren!
TLC 101 by Janey Chapel. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a college football coach who breaks his ankle and reluctantly admits he needs assistance. This was definitely an HFN (Happy For Now), not an HEA (Happily Ever After) sort of story. The ending seemed a bit abrupt to me.
Heat, Flashover, Tinder, and Embers (Oceanside Fire, Books 1-3.5) by Tory Temple. ebooks. Very enjoyable m/m romance series about some of the firefighters of the Oceanside, California, Fire Department. I definitely got sniffly during the first two books.
The Best Gift by Shawn Lane. ebook. Ok, I got the giggles that one of the characters was named Jordan Castillo (Jordan Castillo Price, anyone?), but according to Shawn Lane, commenting over at Erotic Horizon’s blog, it wasn’t intentional. Sweet m/m romance about being in love with your best friend, but the timing just isn’t ever right to admit your feelings. Leave a comment over at Jessewave today (December 23) for your chance to win a copy of this ebook.
Calendar Boys January: Miami’s Perfect Weekend by Jamie Craig. ebook. I just can’t take this cover seriously… This was one of the Amber Allure Daily Deals (as in 75% off and a good way to take a chance on a book you aren’t sure about).
Half of the Other by Joanne Kells. ebook. This holiday-themed m/m romance was ok, but I never really got into the first person narrative.
If I Must by Amy Lane. Another holiday-themed m/m romance – I enjoyed this one, although I was a bit nervous of the editing at the beginning when the cat’s vet appointment was on Tuesday, then on Monday a page later…

“You people aren’t still lurking around out there, are you?! Sheesh. How’s a panther princess supposed to get any sleep?!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

O noes! I’m running out of ideas for overly exuberant bookity linkity post titles!

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Congrats to Limedragon, Jeanette Juan, Joder, Jason, and Bella F, who all won copies of Sins of the Flesh!

The Deadline Dames are giving away several recent urban fantasies. Contest closes December 19.

M/m romance author Ally Blue’s giving away an ebook of Adder if you answer a question in the comments. Contest closes December 20… and the answer is drums. 😉

Donna’s giving away two copies of Kelly Meding’s Three Days To Dead. Contest closes at midnight CST, December 20. Donna”s also participating in Teresa D’Amario’s blog tour (grand prize is a $50 gift card to an online bookstore), so stop by to get the details on that.

If your kitties need you to win them a postmodern kitty bed, head over to moderncat and leave a comment by December 20.

SciFiGuy’s giving away two copies of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s latest Saint-Germain paranormal romance, Burning Shadows (closes December 21). And you have until December 27 to leave a comment at Vampire Wire for your chance to win one of two copies of Burning Shadows.

Head over to Vampire Wire by December 21 for your chance to win an ARC of Sarah Jane Stratford’s The Midnight Guardian.

Patti’s giving away her copy of Colters’ Woman by Maya Banks. Contest closes December 22. (And she warns everyone that the placement of the apostrophe in the title is critical…)

Anna has a set of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s League novels to give away. Contest winner will be announced December 25.

Jackie of Literary Escapism is giving away several ebook copies of the forthcoming space opera Happy Snak by Nicole Kimberling. Contest closes by December 31. Jackie’s also giving away Judi Fennell’s Mer trilogy plus several other books – this closes December 31, too. You also have a chance to win an ebook of Ningaloo Nights by Tracy Cooper-Posey if you let Jackie and Tracy know what your favorite sort of book is to read at this time of year – this closes December 24.

Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) has her usual great post of free reads, news, and contests.

All Romance eBooks is giving away a different romance title every day during the Christmas season.

TeddyPig featured Cory Doctorow’s recent essay, “How To Destroy the Book”, about how ebooks are replacing copyright with licensing.

Dear Author posted about how delaying ebook releases isn’t going to save the trade publishing industry. BitsBlog also had a really good post about how book publishers are fighting the future. And now that there’s a DIY $300 book scanner, it might be smarter to get legit ebook versions out before pirated versions show up…

CJ posted her first holiday gift giving guide (what not to buy for werewolves this holiday season). She promises that the vampire gift guide will be available soon.

Check out the 11 different crazy bookcases featured at the Huffington Post (you’ve already seen a few featured here).

Is science fiction dying?

Oh dear. Poor Jane Austen. Will it never end?

Awful Library Books found an archaic tome about England this time… And hey! I even remember our reel-to-reel tape player.

It’s possibly wrong how much I love this poster. Do. Not. Sparkle!

I keep adding new holiday music discoveries to the holiday music post if you’re interested.

A new Simon’s Cat episode!

Cute burn alert!

Brainz…

Reading Update
A Note in the Margin by Isabelle Rowan. ebook. Really intense m/m romance about a high-powered businessman who’s been told to take it easy for a year because of his migraines. He’s not doing so well on that until he slowly gets to know a homeless man. (Um, I might’ve sniffled more than once while reading this one.) I liked it. The title’s in reference to reading used books and how sometimes the notes in the margin can provide as much or more insight than reading the “main” story.
Change of Heart by Mary Calmes. ebook. Wow! Excellent m/m paranormal romance about werepanthers. I usually get impatient when there’s some specific language to learn for a paranormal or a fantasy (hello! That’s why I like urban fantasy – our world, not some complicated Tolkeinesque realm/language), but although I was initially a little cranky about it (wait, what the heck does that word mean again? Why do I have to remember some special word?), I got totally sucked into the story and was quickly very fine with everything. Please note that this book (and the Matter of Time books by Mary Calmes) have a yaoi dynamic going, if that squicks you out.
Matter of Time (Books 1-4) by Mary Calmes. ebooks. Ok, Mary Calmes is totally on autobuy for me now. Dang, these were good. I’ve even (mostly) forgiven her for ending each book with a cliffhanger – possibly because I started reading them on the day the final book was released. 🙂 I think that Jory might even give Adrien English a run for his money in the angsty love life and general drama department. Scary, huh? Anyway, my major complaint with this series is that somewhere, somehow, there’s an ebook with an excess of commas… all the commas missing from here.
Death or Life by T.A. Chase. ebook. Ok m/m romantic suspense about a senator’s son whose father hires someone to kill him. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be another book about two of the characters introduced in this one, but I’m not sure I’ll read it.
On Fire, On Fire II: Still Burning, and Joys of the Season (An On Fire Christmas) by Drew Zachary. ebooks. Very, very steamy m/m romances about a college student who hooks up with a firefighter on Canada Day in Victoria. The second book picks up with their lives seven years after the first; unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first because several plot points felt unfinished to me by the end. And then Robert never got to open his present in the Christmas book! Hmph.
Heart Doctor by Drew Zachary. ebook. Sweet, steamy, low-key m/m romance about the head cardiac nurse and the new doctor of cardiology getting to know each other a bit better. A nice break from angst. 🙂
Razor Burn (Romentics) by Scott & Scott. ebook. Hmm. I’m not sure what to say about this m/m romance. I don’t want to tell you to much, because part of what I liked about it was not knowing what was going to happen and having the story unfold and surprise me, even when I was sure I had it all figured out. At points it was a little bit sappy, but I really enjoyed it anyway.
Reckless Passion by Amanda Young. ebook. Maybe it’s just me, but Young’s m/m romances never fully engage me – the writing style doesn’t click for me or something. But! If you’re feeling a sense of deja vu, it’s because this was one of the Slouching Guy covers I featured.
Sammy Dane by Stormy Glenn. ebook. M/m romance about a writer and a cop who hook up at a bar and then it turns out that their brothers (who are a couple) were planning to hook them up. Toss in a stalker just to make things a bit more complicated. This actually had a lot of potential and some serious editing might’ve helped pull it together.
If I Were a Lady… by Bryl R. Tyne. ebook. Ack! Editing! Editing! Editing! Please, by all that is holy, recognize that it’s not optional, especially for a story with potential. This is the first m/m romance I’ve read with a transgendered main character.
Your Cheatin’ Heart (Sylver & Steele) by Mimi Riser. ebook. Hmm. I think this book might be kicking off a new m/m paranormal/scifi series. (Cross dressing shapeshifters! Sentient crocodiles from another planet! Secret organization trying to keep the world safe from sentient crocodiles! Exotic space resort headquarters for secret organization! Shifter vs crocodile shootout, OK Corral style in west Texas!) Unfortunately, this book just didn’t feel quite long enough for the amount of backstory information crammed into it. Also, the “Sylver & Steele” thing seems a bit too reminiscent of Marjorie M. Liu’s Dirk & Steele series, in which shapeshifters, pyschics, and others have formed a secret organization to help keep the world safe…

“I had no idea it would be this exhausting to be the Supreme Softest Panther Princess Kitteh of the Worldâ„¢! Good thing I’m cute even when I’m tired.” -Mayhem

Contests, Gluten Free, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Neither snow nor bitter cold shall prevent bookity linkity!

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As promised yesterday, part two of this week’s bookity linkity. Can you imagine yesterday’s post and today’s post combined into a single post?! You’re welcome. 😉

Dear Author’s giving away 31 different different forthcoming titles from Berkeley/Jove. Leave a comment with your top three choices and your favorite Berkeley/Jove title.

Smexy Books is giving away two copies of Kelly Meding’s new urban fantasy, Three Days To Dead. Contest runs through December 11.

Leave a comment for author Tina Donahue by 12/2 over at Babbling About Books for your chance to win a copy of her steamy romance, Close To Perfect.

Literary Escapism’s giving away a copy of Kelly Gay’s new urban fantasy, The Better Part of Darkness. Leave a comment by midnight on December 15 for your chance to win. Sara at Urban Fantasy Reader is giving away her ARC of the same book and her contest closes at midnight EST, 12/19.

BooksOnBoard and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books are celebrating Hanukkah by giving away a Bookeen Cybook Opus ereader. Break out your creativity and follow the guidelines to write a 200-word pitch for a romance set during Hannukah (or any other Jewish holiday) for your chance to win. Contest closes at noon EST, December 18

Samhain’s having weekly contests throughout December. Prizes include four ebook readers (Kindle or Sony), free ebooks, and more. Head over to the Samhellion blog for details.

Voting’s open at All Things Urban Fantasy for the First Urban Fantasy Cover Art Awards. Participate by December 30 for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card, along with some of the winning books.

Check out the free reads and giveaways that Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) and Jackie at Literary Escapism found.

Another great urban fantasy weekend report from SciFiGuy. Plus he lists the new paranormal, urban fantasy, and scifi/fantasy releases for December.

Anastasia found some great book-related links and posted them at her Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog.

Feeling brave? You can read excerpts from all the contenders in the Bad S3x in Literary Fiction Contest. Jonathan Littell won for his description from The Kindly Ones.

Many thanks to Cecile and Kimber Chin for the copy of Kimber’s ebook, Released, that I won in their contest!

Gluten-Free Living magazine has (unsurprisingly) gluten-free gift ideas on their blog.

Looking for gift ideas for your book lover? Head over to the Love Romance Passion blog for their list. Smart Bitches has a list, too.

Wired magazine has an ereader gift guide. Or you could just read the ereader holiday shopping comic instead.

I would highly recommend not buying your coworkers the new book Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction. Do you really want that annoying guy in the next cube to build his very own pencil crossbow?

Americans consume 34gb of data a day?! Hmm. Maybe not me, since I don’t watch tv or play computer games (anymore) or have a fancy phone. Of course, my music, book, and ebook consumption might help make that up.

After you absorb that statistic, head off to break your brain again over Gizmodo’s post “How Huge Is the Internet on an Average Day?”

Jenre wonders how people manage their TBR (to be read) piles and files.

Read a lot of ebooks on your iphone? This case/stand might be handy.

Do you have trouble determining when it’s inappropriate to use your iphone? This handy humorous flowchart might help!

This is a really cool (and cheap) laptop desk (although the directions are sparse, at best). In fact, I think I could use this even with cats on my lap…

Does your kitteh yearn for a Canadian cardboard cat chalet?

Black kittehs are looking out for what you read!

Poor little Tweety Bird…

Chaos?! 😉

Free cute burns over at Pitter Pats of Baby Cats…

Reading Update
The Renegade Hunter (Argeneau Vampires 12, Rogue Hunter 3) by Lynsay Sands. Finally! Nicholas’ story can be told! Oh yeah, totally not an m/m series. 😉
Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville. ebook. Holy crap. I kept hearing that this book was good, but I really wasn’t prepared for how good it was. This was very, very intense m/m romantic suspense about a hitman and a guy he’s supposed to kill. I laughed a little, cried a bit more, and am glad I started it early enough that I didn’t have to stay up into the wee hours to finish reading. Highly recommended.
Conventional Education by T. C. Blue. ebook. Well done m/m romance continuing the story of closeted actor Lucas and very out goth computer geek Trent that started in Conventional Wisdom. I was hoping things would be tied up a bit more at the end of this one, but now I’ll have to hope that for the next book.
Go Fish by H. T. Murray. ebook. This m/m romance was great fun! I laughed out loud more than a few times at some of the wonderfully clever bits, such as this: “He had no idea why he was thinking with dramatic pauses now. He just was.” Or this:

He was not pouting.

“Yes, you were.”

He was not doing a very good job of keeping his inner thoughts inner, either.

Teaching Him a Lesson by Brit M. ebook. Nicely done m/m romance about a professor and his teaching assistant, who has a psycho ex. Damn those psycho exes anyway! (And hey, contemplate the cover knowing that both guys had long hair…)
Horizons by Mickie B. Ashling. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about a deeply closeted college football player with a homophobic family who finds himself falling (despite himself) for the very out ER doctor who cares for his broken arm. (Hmm. Sort of a weird cover, isn’t it?)
Absolutely, Positively Not by David LaRochelle. Steven’s a sophomore in a small Minnesota town who’s trying to figure out his sexual orientation. He just knows that he absolutely, positively is not gay. Right?
Near Life Experience by Alix Bekins. ebook. Very well done m/m romance about two friends whose friendship changes in interesting ways after one of them finds out an ex is HIV positive and goes in to be tested.
Beautiful Boys by Anne Cain. ebook. This is a fairly good collection of four interrelated m/m romance stories. (Not sure if I’d call any of the characters in the stories boys, or match them to the cover art, but…)
From the Heavens by Vic Winter. ebook. Enjoyable m/m romance. When a stressed out paramedic needs to get away from it all in the mountains and is rescued by a handsome ranger, how will his life change?
Spare Parts (Romentics) by Scott & Scott. ebook. Ok m/m romance about that tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive…
Two In Two Out by G.A. Hauser. ebook. D’oh. I really, really need to remember not to get more books by this m/m author. The writing is awkward and simplistic and the characters… Well, if they were two preteen girls, their gushing internal monologues might be ok. Might be. Plus I think this book exceeded an allowable use threshold for forms of “adore”.

“I’m soooo sleepy… why are you bothering me? You must hate me.” -Mayhem

Contests, Covers, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Contest links, book links, knitting links – eeeeeek!

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I’m going to break my bookity linkity into two days, because otherwise your heads will explode. There are some goodies for the knitters in here, too!

Congrats to Cathy M, Sydney, Miranda, and GSM, who all won copies of Devyn Quinn’s Soul of the Wildcat in my recent contest!

I found another cover example of our old friend Slouching Guy! Sorry the picture is blurry, but that’s what happens when you expand a teeny tiny picture to make it a bit more visible…

Mary Lou’s celebrating her blogiversary and the anniversary of her Tiger Hat knitting pattern (sales of which have raised nearly $2000 for Heifer International). Leave a comment by December 13 for your chance to win enough Malabrigo to knit your own Tiger Hat!

Head over to CJ’s to read her interview with author Penny Watson and leave a comment by 6 pm CST, December 10, for your chance to win a Santa bag of regular and chocolate Rice Krispie treats.

Author Carolyn Jewel is giving away signed copies of Elizabeth Hoyt’s Prince Trilogy. Contest is open until December 10.

For your chance to win an advance, signed manuscript of Beth Kery’s forthcoming romance, Release, leave a comment at her blog by December 11. Beth’s also going to give away a Sony Reader on New Year’s Eve to someone who purchases a copy of her books Holiday Bound, Paradise Rules, or Release during the month of December.

Answer Nalini Singh’s question over at the Book Smugglers and you could win a copy of her books Angel’s Blood and Blaze of Memory. Contest closes 11:59 pm PST, December 12.

Can you figure out what the amorphous holiday cookies at Julie James’ blog are supposed to be? Guess by 8 pm CST, December 13, for your chance to win a $25 B&N gift certificate. Speaking of Julie James, she’s over at the Book Smugglers, too – comment by 11:59 pm PST, December 12, for your chance to win signed copies of her excellent romances, Practice Makes Perfect and Just the Sexiest Man Alive.

For your chance to win your very own Demon Sheep (and books), head over to Babbling About Books and leave a 100-word demon sheep story in the comments by December 13.

Dear Author is giving away copies of the forthcoming releases from Ace and Roc. Fifteen random commentors will win books.

Danger! 40-60% off all multiformat (non-DRM) ebooks at Fictionwise through December 31! More ebook deals and freebies at Dear Author and also at Suvudu.

Knitters – don’t you think everyone you know needs a pair of elf slippers for the holidays?

Curious about B&N’s Nook? Use the locator to find out where you can try one. Gizmodo’s detailed review of the Nook might help, too.

*blink blink* Some bizarre theories from the sworn enemies of ebooks…

Iz monster! Eeek! Dark secrets of black kittehs revealed! Or maybe just dark.

Weirdly (for me), I was feeling the holiday spirit on Saturday, so I listened to gwfgwf (generic winter festive gathering with food, coined by Superguppy Kat) music on my laptop and read an assortment of ebook holiday shorts.

Holiday Reading Update
The Gift of Giving by Ann Somerville. holiday ebook short. This sweet and completely safe for work m/m romance (although the link to the pdf didn’t work last time I checked) was one of last year’s holiday freebies from Samhain.
Wand’ring Home by Maia Strong. holiday ebook short. Another of last year’s Samhain holiday freebies, but the download link works for this m/m romance!
Mistletoe on the Mountain (Fire on the Mountain, Book 3) by P.D. Singer. holiday ebook short. It’s Jake and Kurt’s first Christmas together… (Interesting that the only holiday shorts from Torquere Press that I picked up were from the “Nice” collection and not from the “Naughty” collection!)
Snowed In, Las Vegas Style by Aaron Michaels. holiday ebook short. Apparently it doesn’t take much snow to close the Las Vegas airport, so two guys decide to make the most of being stranded.
Just My Luck by Cassandra Gold. holiday ebook short. Greg’s having a string of really bad luck on Christmas Eve (car breaks down, apartment building starts on fire, the usual) – will the sexy guy who comes to his rescue turn his luck around?
Christmas Intervention, Phase 1 by Mara Ismine. holiday ebook short. When the guy who usually really loves Christmas is down on the dumps on the holiday, what’s his best friend to do but stage a Christmas intervention? (I never did figure out what Phase 2 might be.)
One Night Stand by Clare London. ebook. holiday ebook short. Whoops – Teddy has too much to drink at the office Christmas party and wakes up in bed with his boss…
Four Gold Rings by T.A. Chase. holiday ebook short. Ok (but very sweet) story about all the guys from Chase’s For the Love of Sports series.

And now back to our regularly scheduled feline programming…

“Wheeeeeeee!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

So many book links, so little time…

30 Comments

Stop by my contest post or The Thrillionth Page by 10 am CST, December 6, to vote for the Softest Kitteh Evah on Our Street! Oh, dear, the taunting has begun. Can escalation be far behind?

Um, that would be no. 😉

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is giving away a Sony Pocket Digital Reader if you leave an appropriately tagged quote over at the Sony Style Words Move Me page. Contest closes midnight EST, 12/3.

Smexy Books is giving away an ebook copy of Penny Watson’s new romance, Sweet Inspiration, which is about Santa’s sexy sons looking for love, plus a box of Williams-Sonoma hot chocolate mix. Contest runs through 12/3.

SciFiGuy’s giving away a copy of Lili(th) Saintcrow’s new young adult urban fantasy, Betrayals. Contest closes midnight EST, 12/4.

Literary Escapism is giving away a signed copy of Kelly Meding’s intriguing new urban fantasy, Three Days to Dead. Contest closes midnight, 12/8. SciFiGuy’s giving away three copies of the same book (not signed), plus a copy of Kelly Gay’s new urban fantasy, The Better Part of Darkness. This contest closes at midnight EST, 12/8.

Book Junkie’s celebrating her birthday month by giving away 35 books. Read the directions and fill out the form – she’ll choose a winner on 1/1.

Check out the list of December 1 paranormal and urban fantasy releases over at Fantasy Dreamer and her links to contests and free reads. SciFiGuy’s weekend urban fantasy report always has a staggering amount of information. Heh, looks like Jackie at Literary Escapism got sucked into the whole “how evil is my blog?” thing while doing her weekend update. (Don’t miss her December edition of the Escapist Newsletter.)

TeddyPig reports that AllRomanceEbooks is giving away three free first-in-series ebooks from Loose Id, including the first Dark Elves book by Jet Mykles.

Free holiday m/m romance by T.A. Chase featuring the guys from the Love of Sports – grab it over at the Samhellion blog.

This list of DRM-free ebook publishers is a good reference.

Oh, dear, looks like Barnes & Noble is having problems getting the Nook out there. It’s hurting their stock, too.

Speaking of which, TeleRead has a list of reasons why it might be better to wait on getting an ebook reader if you don’t already have one. Check out their ebook reader predictions for 2010, too.

Awful Library Books manages to amuse and horrify me nearly every day.

Package delivery company secrets revealed in this amusing “training manual”. *snort*

The Washington Post on the Twilight craze (via Mary Lou), which inspired me to look back at these posts from Smart Bitches and Lilith Saintcrow about some of the less obvious messages in Twilight.

Hmm. Maybe this is part of my problem with the whole dating thing…

And here I thought Chaos had patented that glare as a kitten.

O noes! Flee, flee, before the evil horde swarms across the land.

Poor Basement Cat!

What if Hewlett-Packard built R2-D2?

Reading Update
Blood Vice: Nightfall Syndicate, Book 1 by Keith Melton. ebook. Very good, very intense paranormal romance about a vampire who does mob hits because he doesn’t want to kill innocents. Things are complicated a bit by an ancient enemy and a mob leader’s daughter. This one just came out in print, too. Recommended.
The Ultimate Kink (Quinn Security, Book 2) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Brace yourselves – this was an m/f romance ebook! 😉 The first Quinn Security book was an m/m romance and I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I enjoyed this one, for what it’s worth. But this was ok. And I’m guessing that the next Quinn Security will be m/m.
Aussie Rules by Jill Shalvis. Ok contemporary romance. Mel’s barely holding her struggling aviation business together when Australian Bo shows up after ten years, raising all sorts of uncomfortable questions about Mel’s missing mentor and her possible role in Bo’s father’s death.
Snow on the Mountain by P.D. Singer. ebook. Very good m/m romance. After an exciting summer in Fire on the Mountain, Jake and Kurt are working at a ski resort for the winter and, of course, there are complications. Maybe it’s just me, but this cover sort of freaks me out. (Of course, after I finished reading this, I had to go back and reread Fire on the Mountain.)
Forgotten Song by Ally Blue. ebook. Ok m/m romance. Can a singer with a tortured past escape it to trust and love again? (Another sort of weird cover, although this is more in a 1970s sort of way.)
Diving in Deep by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Very good m/m romance about getting a second chance with that guy you had a crush on as a teenager, who’s grown into an emotionally unavailable adult. I definitely got sniffly on this one. (This is also the precursor to Mitchell’s book Collision Course.)
Regularly Scheduled Life by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Another really good m/m romance by Mitchell that had me crying pretty hard more than once. After becoming famous after being wounded during a school shooting, will Sean be able to return to his regular life with his partner of six years, Kyle? Recommended, but keep the tissues handy. (And does this cover have it going on or what?!)
Between Friends by Sean Michael. ebook. This m/m romance never really grabbed me, although it’s well rated and obviously enjoyed by others.
Win and Lose by T.C. Blue. ebook. The title of this pretty good m/m romance is a play on the nicknames of the two main characters: Winston and Lucien. Win’s a tattoo artist in the middle of nowhere and Luz’s the lead singer of a band who is lost in a snowstorm in the middle nowhere.
Spilled Ink by Rob Knight. ebook. Hmm. Musta been tattoo parlor week. Shortish but enjoyable m/m romance about a cop who goes to get a tattoo to commemorate his slain partner and ends up falling for the tattoo artist.
Take Me Out by Gabrina Garza. ebook. Meh m/m romance about two baseball players on a minor-league team.
Doggy Style by Ashely Ladd. ebook. Minds out of the gutter – it’s the name of a store that sells fashions for dogs. Of course, that’s not necessarily so clear when “Doggy Style” is emblazoned across the baseball team’s jerseys as the team sponsor. So, while the name was clever, that was the only clever bit about this m/m romance. I was laughing out loud about how hokey it was, plus I kept paging back to see if I’d skipped paragraphs or chapters. This wasn’t something that a few transitions could’ve fixed. Probably would’ve been a DNF, except I kept going to find out if the whole story was a disjointed dream sequence or something. (It wasn’t, more’s the pity.)
Love in an Elevator by Sean Michael. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a photographer and a high-powered businessman. Hmm. Not sure an elevator phobia was really enough to carry the story and balance all the steam. And oh, this book had a doozy of an editing miss – a completely random name switched in once for one of the characters at an inopportune moment. (“Samuel?! Who the *blip* is Samuel?!”)
Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo. ebook. Very good, very steamy m/m romance about a resident and the doctor supervising him at the hospital. They just can’t seem to keep their hands off each other…
Undercover Blues by Laney Cairo. ebook. Hmm. Whose bright idea was it to send the allegedly straight cop undercover to hook up with the crime lord’s brother? Nicely done, even if I had to guess what some of the Aussie slang meant. 😉
Another Fine Mess, edited by Syd McGynley. ebook. I picked up this m/m romance collection primarily to read the story by Laney Cairo, which was related to Undercover Blues. Some of the other stories were fine, although I definitely skipped two or three.
I Can’t Drive 55 by Jade Falconer. ebook. Pretty sure that this method of getting out of a ticket should not be attempted outside of a fictional setting!
This Time for Keeps by Christiane France. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a man whose partner dies… so why do the pillows still smell like his shower gel? And who keeps changing the tv channel?
Interlude by Vivien Dean. ebook. Ok m/m romance about piano players with a dueling pianos gig in Nevada.
Off the Beaten Path by Katrina Strauss. ebook. Good m/m romance about a jock and an environmentalist who are sure they have nothing in common until they end up sharing a tent while working on a trail project.

“Come to the black kitty side. We have cookies. Unless the big kitty ate them.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkin’ to books, bookin’ to links

27 Comments

Donna’s giving away two copies of John Brown’s new fantasy novel, Servant of a Dark God. Contest closes 8 pm CST, November 29. Plus, check out her post that’s chock full of giveaway and free read info. (Many thanks to Donna – I won a $10 Amazon gift certificate in a recent contest over at Fantasy Dreamer.)

Pat (of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist) is giving away a smorgasbord of fantasy (including some urban fantasy) books, such as The City and the City by China Mieville, Black and White by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge, and an ARC of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Galileo’s Dream.

Former Samhain editor and current Carina Press editor Angela James is having a contest to celebrate her four years at Samhain and new job at Carina. She’s giving away several goodie bags and will draw winners on December 7.

Amazon’s giving away $3 worth of mp3s (your choice, use by November 30) (via Lifehacker).

Don’t miss SciFiGuy’s weekly overview of contests, news, and more.

Dear Author suspects there are some unannounced Kindle book sales going on and provides tips on how to find them.

Some numbers on ebook piracy, again pointing out that ditching DRM and getting ebook buyers used to the idea of buying easy-to-use content is probably the best way to handle piracy.

Top 10 myths about ebooks, from literary agent Nathan Bransford.

Jackie at Literary Escapism (as part of Weekly Geeks) is interested in your lists of the top 10 books you’ve read in 2009. (She has info on how to submit your list.)

Harlequin manages to spectacularly damage their brand with an ill-considered venture into offering vanity publishing services. Whoops.

One reader charts her path from reading m/f romances to reading m/m romances.

Hee hee – a fine bit of book geekery at xkcd.

How good or evil is your blog? Discovered via the more-evil-than-me Kris’n’Good Books. 😉

Aw, look at the cute black kitty, all prepared for the possible pumpkin shortage.

All teh tiem!

Yay! Google Reader added favicon support!

If you’re thinking of shopping on Black Friday (are you crazy?!?), you might want to read Gizmodo’s tips on anti-deals.

Reading Update
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx. A bit more literary m/m than what I’ve been reading. No HEA (happily ever after) or even HFN (happy for now) with this one. But y’all know that already.
A Really Nice Prom Mess by Brian Sloan. I’m pretty sure this young adult novel plays homage to the shenanigans in all those teen movies like Sixteen Candles. The narrator, Cameron, is going to his senior prom with his boyfriend… sort of. Funny and heartfelt – it’s not often that a book has me alternately laughing and sniffling.
Shady Ridge and the Neon Sky by Chris Owen. ebook. Good m/m romance about two cops in a small-town in Texas. Bit of a rough start, but fortunately the menagey bit wasn’t ongoing. 😮
Carbon and Ash by Chris Owen. ebook. This was a short but sweet m/m romance about slowing sliding into something other than friendship without being fully aware.
Cheek to Cheek (911, Book 2) by Chris Owen. ebook. Another sweet m/m romance from Owen, this time about ballroom dancing firefighters. 🙂
Collision Course by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Wow! Really well done m/m romance about a social worker and a paramedic who has a lot of issues with social workers. Recommended. I’m definitely picking up more K.A. Mitchell titles. (And yes, I now know that I should’ve read Diving in Deep first, but darn it, Samhain sure doesn’t make that clear on their site…)
Inking Aaron by Cheryl Dragon. Ok, very weird that there was an Aaron Chase in Collision Course and now in this book… Sadly, while the premise of this m/m romance was intriguing (a seemingly uptight hotel manager gets involved with the guy who owns the tattoo shop in the lobby), the writing was extremely choppy (transitions aren’t a bad thing, really). Additionally, it seemed like the story needed to be fleshed out more. And then there were the unclear pronoun references, which I’ve mentioned is a very bad thing in m/m romance.
Lord and Master and Taking Work Home (Lord and Master 2) by Jules Jones. ebooks. Comfortable m/m romances about a PhD student working as a research and personal assistant for the owner of a London company. A nice break from the usual high angst of many m/m romances! (“Lord and master” refers simply to being the boss…)
Out of the Past by Sean Michael. ebook. Hmm. This one’s hard to summarize. Ten years ago, Andy was in a bad car accident and when he woke up in the hospital, a lawyer told him that his boyfriend Steven didn’t want to see him anymore because of his injuries and scars. However, Steven was told that Andy died – went to his funeral and everything. Quite the surprise when they run into each other again…
Making Your Own Luck by Sean Michael. ebook. Fun short m/m romance about Friday the Thirteenth and trying to break a string of very bad luck. (Here’s a good place to confess that I get squicked out by tooth injuries. Stephen King and The Tommyknockers, I’m looking at you!) But hey, there’s a gigantic black cat named Demon in the story, too. It’s all good, right?
Quarterback Sneak by Pepper Espinoza. ebook. Touching m/m romance about two pro quarterbacks in a decade-long relationship who are outed.
Kegs and Dorms by Stephanie Vaughan, Tory Temple, Jane Davitt, & Kiernan Kelly. ebook. The title of this m/m romance collection does it a disservice. It is about guys in college, but the stories are much better than one would guess from the title!
Hemovore by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. This paranormal m/m romance was definitely a cracktastic read (as in completely addictive and will keep you up too late). What if vampirism was caused by a virus? A really, really contagious virus? There’s a reason Price is on my must-read list!
Payback, Vertigo, Manikin, Tainted, & Rebirth (Channeling Morpheus, Books 1-5) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebooks. All five of these paranormal m/m ebooks probably equal one regular paperback, so don’t get too excited about my reading five books here! These are the first five books in the raunchy adventures of vampire Wild Bill and non-vampire Michael, which continue with the Sweet Oblivion series.

“Sheesh, now you want me to move so you can wear the socks? I grow weary of your unreasonable requests, Mom!” -Mayhem

For those in the US, have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! To all, this is the last post until Monday, November 30. 🙂