DIK Challenge - Death of a Pirate King by Josh Lanyon

So we come to my final review of the year - just squeezing in there. It's the fourth in the Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon - Death of a Pirate King. Two years have passed since the end of The Hell You Say. Adrien hasn't seen Jake, (though Jake has seen Adrien) and he is now involved in a relationship with Guy Snowden. Adrien's first book has been optioned for a movie and during a Hollywood party one of the guests is murdered. Adrien's life being what it is, of course Jake is one of the police officers called to the scene. And when producer Paul Kane asks Adrien to unofficially look into the case, Adrien finds he cannot refuse, even if it means being thrown back into proximity with Jake...

I now have to reorder my favourite Adrien English books. This still doesn't top A Dangerous Thing for me, which remains my favourite book of the series. But I think this comes in a close second. (Followed by Fatal Shadows and then The Hell You Say).

Adrien - his usual sarky, snippy self (I love how the opening paragraph gets you straight back into Adrien's head) - is a little more petulant in this one. Possibly because he's recovering from pneumonia and his heart is causing him more trouble than usual. I think on a re-read you'd definitely pick up on what's being said between the lines when Jake and Adrien are talking. In some cases it felt like Jake was saying one thing and Adrien was hearing what he wanted to hear. But considering how they left things two years ago, you can't really blame Adrien for the assumptions he's making.

Two years have passed and I think Jake has changed (I am kind of rooting for him, I know not everybody does). For instance he does say this (one of my favourite lines)

"Listen, I know you think I'm an asshole - I am an asshole..."

And I don't think he would have said that before.

Previously I think they had great chemistry but were not at the right places in their lives to meet up relationship-wise. Now although things have obviously changed in Jake's life, Adrien is not at the right place, I don't think he's forgiven Jake for what he did. He still thinks he's dealing with the 'old' Jake.

I wasn't in the mood for chitchat - and I didn't remember it being Jake's style either. At this rate he'd be asking about my mother and I'd bounce my juice glass off his head.

I think because of the way Paul Kane manipulates Adrien, he is more susceptible to making assumptions. Jake is in a way to blame as well because he chooses not to explain himself. Which is his right, he and Adrien aren't together, but I think if you hadn't read the previous three books it may leave you a little frustrated thinking - just talk to each other. Whereas being aware of their previous history you know where the attitudes are coming from.

I love how the Adrien's relationships with his now extended family are developing, and especially like the newest member of the group - the Book Store cat. (And Adrien's impromptu Dr. Seuss impression).

I thought towards the end, we slipped a little towards melodrama. But hey, a little melodrama never hurt anyone. And I think at the end the stakes needed to be raised really high. One of my favourite endings to a story this year. Kind of cliffhangery but also perfect.

DIK Challenge Review, M/M Challenge Review, The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon

This is the third book in the Adrien English series and is my DIK pick for November (chosen by JesseWave and Lisabea). In this installment Adrien must contend with a mysterious Satanic cult who have their hooks into his bookstore assistant Angus. And his relationship with cop Jake Riordan is once more on the rocks. On a more positive note, Christmas is coming (so it's kind of an appropriate book for the time of year), his mother is getting married again and he's gaining three stepsisters. Life is never boring for Adrien.

I really like the Adrien English mysteries but this is not my favourite of the series so far - that's number two. Maybe it's the lack of Jake (please don't gang up on me, any Jake haters out there).

Whilst I found the mystery interesting, what I liked most about the story is how Adrien is thrust into his new family dynamic. He's now got three stepsisters who are something of a (telepathic) force of nature. Adrien is quietly overwhelmed. He's suffering through family get-together's and Christmas day with them, having to make the awkward transition from only child to sibling. They just won't take no for an answer.

Meanwhile his relationship with Jake slowly disintegrates, which is quite painful to read about. It has an almost unstoppable quality. There are little signs, little niggles leading up to the inevitable conclusion. The strain of being out whilst Jake is firmly in the closet.

...he asked, "What did you tell them?
"I told them we were friends. I lied. That's what you want, right?"

It's a book where things fall apart, whilst other things come together. Very good subjects for a middle book to tackle.

The main thing that keeps me reading this series is Adrien, possibly one of my favourite characters. He's sarcastic, speaks when he shouldn't, is vulnerable yet stands up for himself.

..."I'm not involved in a serious monogamous relationship."
I was, but it was apparently a solo effort.

He has a way of putting things, that cuts straight to the heart of them.

This is one series that I'm not waiting until next year to finish. DIK Challenge book for December will be another Adrien English mystery. :)

DIK Challenge Review, M/M Challenge Review - Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

My DIK book for October is Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. It's one of Jenre's picks and I enjoyed it very much. Set in the world of Australian Rules football, Tigers and Devils tells the story of how Simon Murray football fan and film festival organiser finds himself in a relationship with star forward Declan Tyler. It's not the most straightforward relationship, Simon is out whilst Declan is not. And trying to build a relationship whilst avoiding the speculation of the media is not the easiest thing to do. Will the increasing pressure make or break them?

First off don't worry if you know very little about Australian Rules Football - to be honest I'm not that interested in sport in general - but an extensive knowledge of the game isn't necessary to enjoy the book. And Sean Kennedy makes it so that doesn't matter anyway, he's able to sum up an entire family's feelings about the game on page 1. He lets you know everything you need to know right at the beginning and to be honest it's much more about individual character's feelings towards the game. I'm sure most of us are fanatical about something, so it's easy to understand the attitudes of the various characters.

The whole thing is told in first person from Simon's point of view, in chapter one we find out everything we need to know about him up to the point just before he meets Declan. I like his voice, he's snarky, sarcastic and self-depracating (three of my favourite s-words). He's not the most perfect hero you'll read, but again I like that, it makes him seem more real. He has a tendency to assume he knows what people mean and does behave like a brat on more than one occasion. (Something which Declan calls him out on).

We're also introduced to Simon's friends and family, especially the close relationship he has with his best friend Roger. And the more problematical realtionship he has with his mother and father. In some ways I think Simon is a little too hard on his parents, it's easy to see why he feels the way he does but I was also left thinking just give them a little bit of a break, they are trying. You see that although Simon is very intellectual, he is also judgmental, but I think (maybe assume) that this is a product of his experiences. When Declan says to him (paraphrasing) 'you have to learn to read around what your dad/mum mean'. It does make Simon think.

I thought that was a nice way of putting it and remembered how my mum had claimed my father worried about me. Maybe Declan was a lot wiser than I was.

I enjoyed the way the relationship developed between them. Declan doesn't let Simon get away with stuff.

"...I don't like looking like a dickhead in front of you."
"Really? Then you should stop being one."

The story also illustrates very well the pressure of being in a relationship which has to be hidden, and then dealing with the different pressures once that relationship has been revealed by the media.

I wish that all the m/m I read was this well written. The characters were engaging and people that I wanted to get to know. I cared about what happened to them.

This is a first novel so I don't want to be overly picky but I'm going to be honest, there were a couple of things I had issues with. There was a little bit of phrase repetition and in some ways I felt it could have ended about 80 pages before it did. I felt like we came to a conclusion and then started again, maybe this could have been solved by some rejigging of events? Maybe this was also because the last section started several weeks after the conclusion of the previous section.

Apart from those two points, if you like m/m and haven't read this one yet I do recommend you check it out. It will be getting a place on my keeper shelf and I will be looking forward to reading more books by Sean Kennedy in the future.

DIK Reading Challenge - The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

My DIK reading challenge pick for September is The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. This was one of Sula's books at DIK. I'd already read the previous two books in the trilogy - The Raven Prince and The Leopard Prince - with the second being my favourite. And I now know that the third book is my least favourite of the three.

The Serpent Prince tells the tale of Viscount Simon Iddesleigh, discovered by Lucy Craddock Hayes after he has been nearly beaten to death, robbed, stripped naked and left to die in a ditch. Whilst he recuperates from his ordeal the two of them become close and eventually marry. But Simon has a dark side and is on a quest for vengeance that will put Lucy in danger.

The main problem I had with the story is the character of Lucy. She was just too perfect. She didn't seem to have any flaws and everybody loved her. I thought the angel (Lucy) and devil (Simon) imagery was slightly overdone. It was really hammered home that she is this angelic paragon.

I think perhaps my favourite scene featuring Lucy is one where she's visiting her friend Patricia. And unfortunately it's her friend that has the best lines.

"Why don't you do what I do and think about hats or shoes while he talks?"

I found myself wishing that we could slip into Patricia's head for part of the story instead of Lucy's, which is perhaps not what you should be thinking about the heroine. I don't really have too much else to say about Lucy.

Simon on the other hand was a fascinating character. It would have been easy for Elizabeth Hoyt to have him give up his quest for vengeance once he was married. But she doesn't do that. It said so much about the character. He wants to be the man that Lucy wants him to be, but he cannot let go of the need to duel the men who brought about his brothers death. Even as he knows it is destroying him, he carries on the path he has set for himself.

He also has one of my favourite qualities in a protagonist.

"I see." Simon knew he sounded irritated. It was becoming a habit with Christian to show up unexpectedly, rather like a case of the clap.

Yes he is incredibly sarcastic.

I must mention briefly one of my favourite scenes which takes place in a coffee shop where Simon has met up with Edward (Raven) and Harry (Leopard) from the previous books in the series. It has an almost farcical quality about it, just a nice change of pace.

I do like how in each of the stories the fairytale informs the reader on a different level about what the story is telling us. Simon is telling the tale of The Serpent Prince to Lucy, she suspects that he is making it up as he goes along and in a way it's like he's trying to tell her about the man he is inside. It was also nice how a variation of the scorpion and the fox tale was incorporated into the story - this time with a frog and a snake. It gives the story added depth.

I think if I had read this story first instead of The Raven Prince it wouldn't have made me want to read the rest of the trilogy. So I'm glad that this is the third book and not the first. I would recommend the trilogy as a whole, though the books are more loosely connected by theme rather than by an over-riding story arc. And I would recommend reading this book to read Simon's story.

DIK Challenge/ M/M Challenge - Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price (Psycop 5)

My DIK pick for August is Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price, one of Jenre's picks. I think I just made it under the wire.

Camp Hell picks up immediately where Psycop 4 ends. Victor has decided to take the plunge and investigate exactly why Heliotrope Station (Camp Hell) and all mention of its residents has been erased. But when someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to bury the past, is it really safe for him to be poking around?

LOVED THIS!

My favourite of the series. I think perhaps because the characters are so settled in. Both mysteries (Victor's investigation into the La Salle hospital and his investigation into Camp Hell) are completely interwoven into the story.

I very much appreciated Vic's sarcastic humor here, as it balanced out some of the tragic and sad history of Heliotrope Station which we experience firsthand as Vic undergoes hypnotic regression.

If possible the paranoia quotient gets even higher, mainly because it permeates the whole book this time rather than just being a part of it.

"I have to tell you something. But I think they're listening." Which sounded incredibly paranoid, I realized, but only after I'd said it.

And there's also the sense of a conspiracy of silence. It's not 100% clear who the bad guys and good guys are. I'm very, very interested to see where the story goes from here. I don't think we've heard the last of Heliotrope station and the FPMP (Federal Psychic Monitoring Program) it feels like there's more to come.

Victor and Jacob's relationship gets stronger here, but they're still working on it. :) JCP manages to get across in a couple of sentences what takes other authors pages and it makes the story so much stronger.

"...We're both on the same side, right?"
Jacob's gaze had moved from the wall to my eyes. I wanted to squirm. "You've got to start acting like it," he said.

They're still not quite as honest with each other as they could be. As Crash puts it:-

"...You guys think you're so virtuous because you both fall into the same bed every night, but I'll bet you haven't had a single conversation that was a hundred percent honest..."

I think Crash knows exactly how to hit a nerve, but Jacob's and Victor's lies seem mainly to be each of them trying to protect the other. But it's still lying.

Crash makes another welcome appearance. I like how he rubs Victor up the wrong way. (Loved his comment about the fight with a lamprey). In a way it's like they're - Jacob, Victor, Carolyn, Lisa, Crash - this very dysfunctional family.

There's a nice balance of humor and suspense. The pacing of the story is excellent, Jordan Castillo Price knows exactly when to ramp it up and when to tone it down. And the story doesn't exist in a vacuum, their day to day lives and jobs carry on. Even though Vic is trying to find out about Heliotrope Station, he still has a day job and also a life outside that job that he has to deal with.

In Camp Hell a lot of questions have been answered. But I think there are some things that have only just had the surface scratched. (I hope the alcohol being/not being a psyactive is cleared up at some point). I am now in the unfortunate position of having to wait for book 6. :(

Edited to Add, Afterthought - One of the reasons I think I like this one the most is that in a way for me it feels that Jacob and Victor's relationship is the only normality in an increasingly hostile world. Thinking of the other m/m books I've really enoyed - A Strong and Sudden Thaw, Wicked Gentlemen, The Administration series - it's how these relationships develop, survive and grow stronger, even though it seems that the odds are stacked against them. Camp Hell (especially the scenes between Stefan and Victor) had that dystopian feel. I will definitely be re-reading this series again.

DIK Challenge Review - The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn

My DIK reading challenge book for July is The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn. This was a pick of Lea's. Now I guess it had to happen sooner or later but I really didn't get on with this book. Sorry Lea. I feel bad because I know you must like it else you wouldn't have it as one of your picks. But my thoughts are below.

The Vampire Shrink tells the tale of Denver pyschologist Kismet Knight. Kismet doesn't believe in the paranormal, preferring to believe that everything has a rational explanation but when a new client introduces her to the vampire subculture pretty soon she's in over her head. In the midst of a murder investigation Kismet realizes she has feelings not only for vampire Deveraux, but also for an FBI profiler. However, she's also the target of a killer, so her schedule is pretty full up.

What I liked:-

Beautiful cover. Would definitely make me want to pick it up in a bookstore and read the blurb.

I also think the premise was a good one.

However, the major problem I had with the book was that I didn't like Kismet. Always a stumbling point for a first person novel if you can't get on with the protagonist.

Why didn't I like her. The character is constantly telling us what's happening, she's overly aware. Every time I started to sink into the story she'd say or think something that would knock me out of it. She's also pretty up herself.

"Having such fair skin was a blessing most of the time, because I always appeared younger than I was..."

Hmmm. Who looks in a mirror and thinks that about themselves? So unfortunately she comes across as fake - more like an actress playing the character of Kismet rather than Kismet herself.

Also and this isn't a fault of the book as such. But Kismet is always noticing when her nipples get hard. Now I challenge anyone to read The Unfeasibly Tall Greek Billionaire - by Tumperkin, Carrie Lofty, Carolyn Jean, Ann Aguirre, Kate Rothwell and Lisabea. And then take any character who is constantly noticing when her nipples get hard, seriously. I don't think it's possible.

Then once I'd got TUTGB in my head I couldn't get it out. So lines like

"His lap was filled with a large erection."

Struck me as funny when I'm not sure they were meant to. Or if they were meant to I didn't get that they were meant to. And within the first 50 pages she's already got three guys after her. Basically she got on my wick.

Kismet also contradicts herself, says things she couldn't possibly know - commenting on a woman she's only just met she says - she always seemed on the verge of laughing out loud. You've only just met her, how can you possibly know that she 'always' seems on the verge of laughing out loud.

So this one isn't for me. But if everyone liked the same books the world would be a very boring place. The Amazon reviews seem pretty divided as well, so I think this is one you'll either love or hate and I fall into the latter category.

DIK Challenge - Persuasion by Jane Austen

My June DIK Challenge book is Persuasion by Jane Austen. This is the first time in the challenge I have chosen a second book from the same DIK lady. Persuasion was a choice of Renee. I think what decided me on this book was a post Renee wrote on her blog about her favourite book moment.

Anyhow - on with the review. I read my first Jane Austen book last year, and I guess like a lot of people my first book was Pride and Prejudice (which I loved). I think in the back of my mind I always thought the next Austen book I'd read would be Emma - as I'm reasonably familiar with the story. Methinks along with P&P it's the most adapted for film and television (Sense & Sensibility is probabaly right up there too). I was unfamiliar with the story of Persuasion so approached the story with some apprehension - was my love of P&P just a fluke.

No. :)

However, I did find Pride and Prejudice easier to get into. But I think a large part of this is the abovementioned familiarity with the story. I think once I've read Persuasion a couple more times it's grade will probably also be A.

Persuasion tells the story of Anne Elliot. Eight years ago she rejected the man she loved - Captain Wentworth - because her friends and family persuaded her that he wasn't rich or important enough. Now, he's back and it's his turn to reject her. Is all hope lost, or will Anne be able to regain the affection of her Captain?

I don't think readers should be put off by the fact that Jane Austen wrote these stories nearly two hundred years ago. Once you sink into the language, you quickly come to appreciate that her themes are timeless, she also has a way of condensing the traits of a character into a single sentence or phrase.

Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.

So you're immediately able to understand the character's place in the story.

The prose is elegant and beautiful to read, with the feeling that every single word has been chosen with care.

Still, however, she had enough to feel! It was agitation, pain, pleasure, a something between delight and misery.

It's particularly interesting to see when the word persuasion/persuade is used. One of the things I love most is that Austen lets the reader see things for themselves. Some characters behave in a hypocritical manner but you are never told this, you see how they behave and discover the characters for yourself. You need to pay attention to what characters are saying, who they are saying it to and compare it to the conversations they have with other characters. I think this is why the more times you read Austen the deeper your appreciation becomes. (Lol - well this is my opinion after having read two books.)

For the majority of the story Anne and Captain Wentworth are apart. Even though they've been apart for eight years, each still needs to grow that little bit more. Austen brings her hero and heroine's together at exactly the right moment - whether it's the putting aside of pride and prejudice, or seeing what had been there all along. And I completely agree with Renee about her favourite book moment. I encourage you to go and read her post as she speaks about it far more eloquently than I. When Anne reads the letter that Captain Wentworth has written to her, it brings a smile of joy to your face and a warm glow to your heart.

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half in agony, half in hope. Tell me not that I am too late. That such precious feelings are gone forever.

This is definitely a book that I will come back and read again, and makes me more determined than ever to read the remaining Austen books on my shelf.

Spookily the 2007 version of Persuasion starring Rupert Penry-Jones and Sally Hawkins was on tv this week and I recorded it, now I've read the book I'm going to treat myself to watching the adaptation.

DIK Challenge Review - The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

My pick for May is The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie one of KristieJ's choices, and a book that has proven very popular in the challenge. I've read quite a few reviews of it, and I guess that's one of the reasons I chose it. Regular readers of the blog will know that I'm not really a fan of historicals BUT my DIK pick success rate continues this is another book that I enjoyed and I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books in the Mackenzie series (even though I'm going to have to wait 'til 2012 'til they're all released).

TMoLIM tells the story of Lord Ian Mackenzie who was placed in an asylum as a youth and only released on the death of his father. The tragedy is that today he would probably have been diagnosed with a form of autism, but instead he was subjected to ice baths and electric shock treatments in an effort to cure him. Released from the asylum by his brother, he has used his talents to increase his family's fortunes. Lord Ian has an intrinsic appreciation for the true value of things, whether it's a priceless Ming bowl or Beth, the fiance of another man.

The thing I loved most about the story is how completely Jennifer Ashley is able to put the reader into Ian's point of view. She really makes you appreciate how he perceives things and how his inability to interact with people causes them to misunderstand him. Also how difficult it makes it for Beth to find her place in the relationship she has with Ian - he is quite clear that he doesn't understand what love is. Too often in romances I feel that the 'I love you's' come too soon and the emotions come after. That wasn't the case here.

Although one of the main plots of TMoLIM deals with the fact that Ian is suspected of carrying out a murder by an obsessed Scotland Yard detective, what made the story for me was the developing relationship between Ian and Beth.

Beth has been in love before, she's had a good if somewhat comfortable marriage. Ian, on the other hand can understand desire and want, the almost logical emotions if you will, but love is a concept that eludes him.

"I wouldn't expect love from you. I can't love you back."

However, it is almost like he understands that in her, he can somehow 'touch' what is absent in himself. He is drawn to her and is painfully honest about his intentions.

This was also a good introduction to the Mackenzie series and family. There are four brothers - Ian, Mac, Cameron and Hart - and obviously they are each getting their own story. TMoLIM serves not only as Ian's story but it also sketches out the family background, we get intriguing hints about Mac's relationship with his estranged wife, Hart's sexual predilections, and the tragedy of Cameron's marriage. None of these overshadow the main story, just leave you wanting to know more.

The relationship between Ian and Beth develops over the course of the book and is one of the most rewarding m/f romances I have read recently. And even though it's a historical :), this is definitely a series I will be following

DIK Challenge Review - Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh

Vampire hunter Elena is hired by Raphael, the archangel of New York to track another archangel who has been consumed by bloodlust. Left with little choice but to accept the offer she soon finds herself in more danger than she can handle, drawn to Raphael with a passion she can't deny and finding out secrets that the archangels can't afford to let her know.

Angel's Blood was a DIK pick of Little Alys - so far I'm keeping up the trend of picking a book from a different DIK lady every month. I don't know why this book has been on my TBR pile for so long. I love Nalini Singh's writing but for some reason after I bought it I never seemed to be in the mood to pick it up. But boy am I glad I finally did. I loved it.

The vampire and angel mythology is quickly explained at the beginning of the story, Angels are the masters of the vampires and create them from a chosen few. In exchange for the 'gift' of immortality a vampire agrees to serve the angels for a hundred years. Some vampires however, choose to run rather than keep their end of the bargain and that's where the vampire hunters come in. However, this isn't the whole truth, we discover the more complete story as Elena does.

Elena is perhaps an almost typical UF heroine - kickass...

"You ask a lot of questions for a dead woman."
"What can I say? I prefer to die well informed."

...independent, she cares for her friends but is estranged from her family.

Raphael on the other hand is a refreshingly different 'hero'. He's arrogant, ruthless, logical and calculating - he has to be, he cannot afford for his rule or his judgement to be questioned.

"I don't like to play games."
"Learn."

The chemistry between him and Elena is apparent almost from their first meeting. She refuses to allow him to ride roughshod over her, even though she knows how dangerous it is to deny his request. I thought The Quiet was an interesting concept - a state that Raphael enters into where he becomes ruled by reason and ruthless logic.

I love stories where the protagonists change something in each other. In the case of Angel's Blood the changes are both physical as well as the way they perceive the other. This is a relationship that has only just begun, it's not going to be smooth or easy, but it wouldn't be as compelling if it were.

I thought Nalini Singh's angels were unique, something I hadn't read before. However, they did remind me slightly of the Vorlons from Babylon 5 - imposing their own order on the Universe. Part of me did wonder if the last line of the book

"So it begins."

was intentional. I'm sure this line was said by Kosh (my favourite Vorlon, lol,) in Babylon 5.

This book works very well as an introduction to the world of angels and vampires. We get an immediate sense of how the world works but are left with lots to find out. There are plenty of interesting secondary characters I want to know more about:- Raphael's bodyguards - the Seven, Ilium (I want to know more about the flaw that caused his fall), Ransom and Dmitri (a very sexy vampire), and also how the relationship and dynamic between the angels and vampires works. It's an incredibly rich world and I'm looking forward to going back there.

If I had any quibbles it would be that I didn't always picture the angels with wings. I found it a little difficult to get a picture in my head of how their clothes worked round the wings, how Raphael fit in the bath and why his wings dried so quickly and didn't get waterlogged. Just the little things that niggle at you while you're reading.

Considering this book took me quite a while to get round to. I am desperately looking forward to reading Book 2 as soon as it arrives.

DIK Challenge/ MM Challenge Review - Islands by Samantha Kane

I'm reviewing this as part of both the DIK Challenge and the M/M challenge.

Blurb -

Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Conlan, United States Navy Seabees, knows he’s not in Kansas anymore when he steps off the launch at the small island of Ile Dorée and sees gorgeous Frenchman René Dubois waiting for him on the dock. The year is 1943, the place is the Pacific and the world is at war. Free from the censure of the military, Gabe has an explosive affair with René. But when the world intrudes, Gabe denies René and tries to forget the best sex of his life.

The only westerner on his small Pacific island, René is desperately lonely. When the tall, lanky American steps onto his dock, René knows his life will never be the same. He teaches Gabe how to make love to a man and, unexpectedly, falls in love. René will brave prejudice, Japanese Zeros and Gabe’s reluctance to find love at last.

In keeping with January and February I've chosen a book from another DIK lady, Islands was one of Renee's picks.

I usually steer clear of historicals mainly because I read them until I was sick of the genre in my twenties. However, I am quite interested in stories set during World War 2, maybe because the history is more recent.

There were things I loved about this story but I also had a couple of niggles.

Things I loved first.

The prose is lush and there's a real sense of being on an island in the South Pacific. I can completely picture Ile Dorée, and René in particular is very clear in my head.

The love scenes between the two men are hot and beautifully written, especially the first seduction scene between the two men. There was a clear sense of almost a mating dance, that both men had to be cautious until they were each certain of the other. Being in Gabe's point of view for this moment we are aware that he knows he's being seduced.

"Christ, they were done with dinner. On to dessert, apparently."

Gabe is drawn to René but he's also wary. Gabe is in the military, whilst René is a civilian; Gabe has so much more to lose if things go wrong.

The relationship between the two men develops very quickly. I can (somewhat) accept this because of the time the story is set. People take more risks and chances with their lives during a war, they have to grasp what happiness they can and take it while it is there. However, there were a couple of times when I felt the characters had thoughts that they weren't in a position to make after only knowing each other a few hours.

In a way my main niggle relates to this. I wish the story had been longer, that Samantha Kane had been able to take more time in exploring the relationship. This is a complaint I find I often make about m/m stories. Just the feeling that there is so much more story there to be told. The main parts of the story are there - boy meets boy etc. But I think if the story could have been longer I would have loved it even more. Maybe we would have also had the opportunity to find out more about Watson (a secondary character) and have a greater insight into what he thought about René and Gabe. The focus of the story (rightly so, given its length) remains tightly on the main characters, and whilst the story and epilogue satisfies, I wish there had been an opportunity to develop the story further.

DIK Challenge Review - Soulless by Gail Carriger

I'm on something of a role with my DIK picks. My February choice is Soulless by Gail Carriger one of Katiebabs picks (and I think also recommended by Renee). Soulless is the first in the Parasol Protectorate series and begins the story of Alexia Tarrabotti. Alexia lives in an almost Steampunkian version of Victorian England, where vampires and werewolves are an accepted part of society. Alexia, herself, is a preternatural, her touch renders both vampires and werewolves human, but only while she maintains contact with them. However, not everyone is happy with the integration of human and supernatural in society and when vampires and werewolves start to disappear, Alexia finds herself in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

(Just a little aside. If I have a problem with the book it's that Alexia is described as soulless. This is how the Victorians have explained the existence of supernatural and preternatural. An excess of soul allows an individual to survive the transformation into vampire or werewolf, whilst an absence of soul allows the individual to nullify the supernatural aspects of other characters. I guess it's the idea that a good person doesn't have a soul - it's one of my bugbears. I didn't like it when Freds soul was destroyed when Illyria took over her body on Angel. So for my own purposes I think of Alexia as being a null, and that her soullessness is simply a 'Victorian' explanation, kind of like them saying an excess of bile causes flatulence.*)

Anyway, on with the review. I kind of imagine that if Jane Austen were alive today and writing Urban Fantasy that what she would come up with wouldn't be a million miles away from Soulless. The point of view is omniscient mainly focalized through Alexia - I think, grammar isn't my strong point, but I can tell you that it isn't a traditional third person point of view. I think for some people this may take a little getting used to, but you just have to go with it. For one thing, the slight distance it initially gives you as a reader really helps with the Victorian setting. You get to know the characters through observation rather than immediately being plunged into their heads.

This is a book peopled with delightful characters, Alexia, Lord Maccon (werewolf), Lord Akeldama (vampire), Ivy (Alexia's friend), Professor Lyall (Lord Maccon's beta) and Alexia's less than perfect family.

What I perhaps most enjoyed about the story was the developing romance between Alexia and Lord Maccon, their history together involves a nasty incident with a hedgehog. You don't expect 'Bollocks!' to be the first word the hero utters on seeing the heroine. That's one of the things that makes this story so refreshingly different. Alexia and Lord Maccon do not have what could be considered a traditional courtship, that would be impossible given what they are, but it's clear from the outset that there is a chemistry between them and that even though they may not realize it at first, they each care for the other. (Though it is somewhat up to the brilliant Professor Lyall to explain to Alexia that Lord Maccon is a werewolf, and to explain to Lord Maccon that Alexia is not (a werewolf), and that he should refine his courtship techniques accordingly).

Lord Maccon can be blunt.

"You are about as covert as a sledgehammer."

and may not always know exactly the right thing to say or the right way in which to say it.

"I have spent a good deal of time and energy during the course of our association trying not to like you," he admitted finally...
"And yet I find not liking you comparitively easy, especially when you say things such as that!"

But in the end he gets it completely right.

...he touched the side of her face..."I understand that you have been taught for far too long that you are unworthy."

The relationship is just one part of this story. And I think the reason it works so well is because it is set against the backdrop of an incredibly well-realized world. There is a depth and believability to the story. Alexia doesn't exist in a vacuum, she has friends, family, there's a whole social minefield that she has to walk through. As well as humans, she also has to deal with vampires and werewolves, who each have their own etiquette and sensibilities that can be offended.

There are little touches throughout which may not add that much on their own but together they make the story so rich. For example Alexia wears two hairpins - one of silver and one of wood - it's these details which lift the story. Gail Carriger also keeps her fingers on the plot points - she doesn't forget about the octopuses (if you read the story that will make sense :))

To some extent the denouement does rely on the convenience of the bad guys being gullible. But that's something I can easily overlook when the rest of the story is so well told. I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment in The Parasol Protectorate series and I highly recommend Soulless.

* - completely made up Victorian saying there.

DIK Reading Challenge - What Next?

So my January pick - Almost Like Being in Love - was a great choice.

Already reading my February pick - Soulless by Gail Carriger - another great pick by me, as I'm loving it. Though bearing in mind that these are books that people would take to a desert island over all the other books in their collection I've got a pretty good cross-section to choose from.

DIK Book List

Having made such a good start with my first two picks I'm kind of stumped as to which book to pick next.

Obviously my own six books are out and I'm trying to avoid books I've already read. And I'm also trying to pick books from different DIK ladies.

For March I'm quite drawn to The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, even though it's a dreaded historical.

That still leaves me nine books to go. I have The Vampire Shrink on my TBR pile so that's definitely going to be one of them. And after reading Pride and Prejudice last year I also bought the rest of Jane Austen's novels so Persuasion will be one of my other choices (probably).

So that then leaves seven or eight books. Does anyone have any MUST reads from the list. I realize that some of you may be biased. :)

DIK Reading Challenge Review - Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger

Blurb.

"A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

Flash forward twenty years.

Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers and loves. But something is missing...Travis is the first to figure it out. He's still in love with Craig, and come what may, he's going after the boy who captured his heart, even if it means forsaking his job, making a fool of himself, and entering the great unknown."

This book was one of Tracy's seven DIK picks and I'm so glad I picked this as my first read. I feel this review should come with a warning that there may be gushing involved. I LOVED this book. I think the last time I felt so enthralled (for completely different reasons) was when I was reading The Time Traveller's Wife. And for everyone who's read the blog and knows how much I gushed about that book it should give you an idea of how I feel about this one.

Almost Like Being in Love is an epistolary novel - told in narrative, through letters, checklists, receipts and memos. I must admit until last year (when I read The Color Purple) I'd never read an epistolary novel before. I think the idea of a novel told through letters had always been offputting (the main reason why I've never read Dracula). Luckily reading TCP broadened my horizons and with more than one DIK lady trying to get this book on her list I was intrigued enough to make this my first choice.

The story starts in 1978 and follows Travis and Craig's first meeting and the development of their relationship.

"There's nobody else like him in the whole world. And he thinks that's a handicap!"

Because you get both Travis and Craig's point of view it gives you an insight ito what they think of each other and also lets you know as a reader when they're bullshitting the other. The story then fast forwards twenty years to 1998 where they haven't seen each other for all that intervening time. Whilst Craig is involved in a long term relationship, Travis realizes he only ever really loved one person.

For anyone who thinks that because the novel is not written in a standard format that they won't fall in love with the characters I'd ask them not to worry. At the beginning there is an almost voyeuristic feel as we read newspaper articles, diary entries and other notes and dialogues. Pretty soon you are sucked into the story and falling in love with the characters. I also think there is enough of standard narrative between the memos and articles, that gives you a deeper insight into the characters that might be missed if the novel relied on epistolary techniques alone.

The dialogue and thought processes of the characters are laugh out loud funny. And once again I have a book where I could quote loads of dialogue but will restrict myself to a couple of favourite lines. It was tough to get it down to these two.

"Paralysis comes in many forms. I'd just discovered nine of them."

and

"You once told me that the only thing I needed to know about being a man was that one less sock always comes out of the dryer. You were full of shit."

Okay I admit my favourite line is the one about the vacuum cleaner hose on p. 337 but I'm going to leave you to discover that one for yourself. :)

This is a book that made me laugh, and made me feel good and more optimistic. I know that if ever I'm feeling down in the future I can pull this book off my bookshelf and it will cheer me up. If you're doing the DIK challenge and you haven't yet read Almost Like Being in Love I highly recommend that you make this one of your twelve picks. And if anyone has read The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger I'd love to know if you'd recommend that book as well - though it is already on my wishlist.

DIK Reading Challenge for January

The link will take you through to the post where everyone is posting the links to their reviews.

DIK Challenge post for January

I shall hopefully have my review of Almost Like Being in Love up in the next couple of days. I shall give you a little teaser here - LOVED IT!!!