The Starving Years by Jordan Castillo Price

As always Jordan Castillo Price just carves out her own place in this genre, and makes you come to her.

JCP is like a one woman awesome show. She writes, promotes, creates on her own terms, no compromises and for this reader, it works like a friggin charm...This story was like nothing I have read in this genre as of yet, smart, edgy, kind of horrific at times, blunt and with a substantial dose of OPEN YOUR EYES BAD SHIT HAPPENS A LOT!!!

Nelson Oliver is sitting at an atrocious job fair snooze fest for Canaan Products in NYC. Canaan are the main producers of Manna. The synthetically made food introduced to the world in the 1960s that has effectively staved off famine, and has kept the world fed for 50 years.

But Manna is not some philanthropic 'save the world' miracle food anymore. It's Big Fucking Business. Nelson is an expert in Manna, and even though he knows he'll never get a job, he's still at the fair. He has a tendency to tell those who follow the party line to go fuck themselves, which might have gotten him a bit of a reputation. He stays anyways, he needs the money, just the medication he needs for his migraine is enough to leave him permanently broke. Oh also and the dude sitting next him...Javierrrrrrrrr has an EYE PATCH and is so damn hot...Like a "Sexy Pirate" (his words not mine). While Nelson is desperately trying to flirt with Javier WHO IS NOT BITING, all hell brakes loose. There is a shooting, and when they manage to step out of the conference New York City is in the midst of violent rioting.

With Javier leading the way Nelson plus two more newly made friends, are rescued just in time by Tim, Javier's mysterious friend. Tim takes Nelson, Javier, Marianne and Randy to his place while things cool down and tries to figure out just what exactly prompted such violence at the door of Canaan Products. Tim aka The Voice of Reason (a subversive blogger) knows Canaan must be up to no fucking good, and he plans to finally figure out why, and SAY IT. With Javier and Nelson working with him he might just do it...If they can only take a brake from the lust triangle from hell they all have going. What with Nelson panting after Javier, Tim pining over Nelson, and Javier practically wanting to pounce on Tim, things could get dicey in a one bedroom in Chinatown...Oh and there's also the thing with the two others that have no clue what the hell is happening.

This book was just awesome story making goodness. The Manna... The miracle food. No famine in the world because of it, but the greed of the corporations has let it descend into a corrupt thing. They've gone to the dark side and all kinds of bad shit is going down in these corporations. There are some crazy ass conspiracy theories weaved into this story. In addition to that we had the stories of the characters, there was very little frustration to be had here. Things were revealed precisely and as they were need. The pace FOR ME, was perfect, things kept uncoiling, and I swear I wanted to actually absorb this book by osmosis because the more I knew the better it got.

The action was really great, the setting of NYC was fab, the characters...WOW. Palpable. Nelson was so brilliant that self-deprecating/self-destructive charm that JCP can do so well with her characters. Tim was so open and vulnerable, and Javier was a big mystery. Those three men dancing around each other, finding how they went together was delicious. Randy and Marianne were also so great, and added so much to the story.

But you know what the best thing about this book was for me? It cut me no slack. There was a story for me to figure out, there was bad stuff for me to see, there were harsh realities that were not going to be glossed over for me to get a perfect ending. Nope, not here. This was edgy, brutal at times, so different, and simply good writing. I was totally taken in by this story to the very end.

Alternate fiction at it's best Ladies and Gents. No Fooling.

Jordan Castillo Price man...She brings it, like every time.

The Starving Years is for sale at jcp books and Amazon.com

The Rebuilding Year by Kaje Harper

Kaje Harper might be the new Queen of the M/M Family Drama

John Barret meets Ryan Ward for the first time when he spots Ryan struggling to get up after taking a bad fall at Bonaventure University. Ryan is a first year Medical student at the school where John is Heads Groundskeeper.

They hit it off from there and become friends. Ryan is a bit older than the average first year Med student, and does not know many people. After a crippling injury working as a firefighter for the SDFD he decided to give Medical School a try. He's a little bit lonely, and very glad to meet John, a guy who seems easy to talk to and a better fit for him than his classmates. John is divorced, his wife has moved with his kids to California and is living a pretty lonely life, for him Ryan is a Godsend.

John and Ryan begin an easy friendship, they get along so well. Both are single straight men, but not really interested in a relationship. They seem to fulfill a lot of each others needs with the time they spend together. There is a strong connection between them that just grows.

Ryan eventually rents a room in John's house, and what is between them deepens all the more; John is having a very hard time in getting his wife to give him access to his kids, and Ryan is still struggling with all the changes that this injury had forced into his life. They help each other a lot with the rough spots in their lives.

As they share more and more with each other, they realize that they might be feeling things for each other that surpass a friendship and a romance begins. As two men who have never contemplated this kind of relationship they struggle to find a balance. When John's children become a big part of the equation, they have to decide what they are to each other...And as if all that is not enough, there is also the thing with students dying on campus and John and Ryan always kind of being around when it happens.

This book was quite good. I really enjoyed reading about Ryan and John. They were both very likable men, and they had brilliant, sweet moments. Men who were strong and intrinsically good with their priorities VERY straight. Kaje Harper is CLEARLY in her Sweet Spot when she goes for the family drama. This book for me went from good to great the moment the kids came on the scene.

I LOVED the sense of loyalty and steadiness that Ryan showed for John and his children. John was also so loving and just SURE of what he wanted. They were a united front, and so certain that even if they had no clue what they were doing, they were on the right track.

My one issue with Ryan and John was the "Gay for You" thing, it was a stretch for me. Two SUPER straight guys who have never even been bi-curious, one in his late thirties one thirty, are all of a sudden gay and in love with another man and for the most part okay with it...I don't know I was reluctant to take that in stride.

It was just hard for me to believe that two men who were so quick to accept such an enormous change in their sexuality, would not have clued into that part of who they were earlier in life...I mean just the thought of anal sex should have been daunting, but it didn't seem to be that big of a problem.

It would have worked better for me if they had at least had doubts earlier in their lives. It just seemed WAY TOO EASY. Having said that my issues with that eased a lot once they began working on becoming a family. Especially once we met the ex-wife and the new husband, those two were a nightmare.

All in all very good book. Like I said this author can work the Family Drama, it's not easy to write teenagers and she did it exceedingly well.

I hope she comes back to this type of book.

The Rebuilding Year is for sale at Amazon.com and Samhain Publishing

Where There's Smoke by LA Witt

Where There's Smoke is just the kind of romance I like to read. Creative, smart, sexy, and funny. This for sure is one of my favorites books by LA Witt, she did a fantastic job with her characters, and as for taking a chance on writing a novel with a political theme, she did VERY WELL. I always cringe when I read premises that seem to amibitious, mostly because too often they only end up as background. Books with politicians, cowboys, firemen, they are useful and appealing when reading the blurb, but when you get to the actual story the characters are so generic they could be ANYBODY. That was not the case in this story, these characters were well very done and believable not just in their love story, but also in who they were supposed to be.

Anthony Hunter manages campaigns for political candidates. He is the man to go to if you want to get elected in the State of California. Senator Roger Cameron and ex-client of Anthony's hires him to manage his nephew Jesse's bid for Governor of California.

Jesse is an unknown in the political world, but as one of the heir's to one of the most iconic families in Hollywood he is not exactly low profile. Jesse has a wild child past, but these days is known more for having a solid marriage with one of the most loved actresses in Hollywood.

Jesse is gourgeous and as soon as Anthony meets him, he knows that he might just be at risk of once again falling for a man that is completely unavailable. He soon finds out that there a few things that don't quite fit between Jesse and his wife Simone. He learns that everything about the marriage is just a facade. Jesse and Simone love each other sure, but Jesse in not in love with his wife. Jesse is gay, and planning to divorce Simone once the campaing is over.

Once it's clear that things between Anthony and Jesse, and how they feel about each other will complicate everything even further, it is only a matter of time before the whole charade is out in the open, and everyone's lives is changed. This book had a great balance of tension and sedateness. I was on the edge the whole time, but not overwhelmed by it at all, it just kept me interested and reading.

I LOVED the political bits in the book. The debates, the talks on strategy, discussions on important issues, the thoughtful banter between Jesse, Anthony and staffers, especially Jesse's assistant Ranya who was BRILLIANT. I enjoyed all of that thoroughly. Think West Wing, smart, funny dialogue that makes you to think will laughing your ass off.

The romance between Anthony and Jesse was also well done, believable, intense but not sappy. These men where aware all the things they were risking, sometimes they were careful and sometimes they were not. Some of their actions had terrible consequences, but in the end the atonement they had to do felt fair.

Some of the twists in the book might feel over the top it is true, and if it was anything other than American Politics I'd say maybe it was too much, but this might be one of the few cases were real life is actually worse. There were some loose ends, and specially one sub-plot that was given a lot of importance throughout the book felt like it was dropped in the end, but I still think it's a solid novel.

I completely enjoyed this book. It read very smoothly, the sex as always with LA Witt was BLAZING, and the ending was satisfying without stretching to fit conventional happy endings.

If you are a fan of LA Witt it's no-brainer and if you are not, this might be a GREAT book to try this author with.

RECOMMEND

Monday's Most Wanted March 05-12

Hey Hey!! We're back with our list for this Monday...Now that things have *ahem* settled down, and since we are all back to our semi-normal selves, we can start cheering for all the goodies we have this week. Ms. Kaje Harper who we LOVE, has a brand new book coming out, with firemen inside of it!!...Need I say more? I didn't think so.

Jordan Castillo Price who we can all agree is a WRITING GODDESS has a brand new story out, with a cover that is TO DIE FOR, seriously, I want to stroke it and call it 'baby' it is so friggin' pretty. So, I (LA) I'm reading that book as soon as it hits any of the reading able devices I carry on my person at all times.

There is also a sequel coming out in the Seattle Marauders Series by Riley Shane from Loose Id which has captured our interest...Finally, a compilation of TA Chase's Embrace My Reflection and Bring Him Gold will come out in print this week.

So, here is our most wanted for March 05-12:

1. The Rebuilding Year by Kaje Harper

Release Date: March 6th
Publisher: Samhain

Priority Rating: Pre-ordered, Can hardly wait!!!

Goodreads book page

2. The Starving Years by Jordan Castillo Price

Release Date: March 5th

Publisher: jcp books

Priority Rating: Ummmm it's JCP.

Book page in JCP's Website

3. In the Penalty Box (Seattle Marauders #2) by Riley Shane

Release Date: March 6th

Publisher: Loose Id

Priority Rating: Curious

Goodreads book page

Seattle Marauders #1 Goodreads page

3. Embraced by Gold by TA Chase

Release Date: March 11th??

Publisher: Amber Allure

That is all for us in books this week's list folks. There are a few things in Loose Id that looked interesting, but I can never tell what the hell is going on there, so I just put up the book that has an actual release date. MLR also is hopeless with their upcoming stuff....SIGHS Not sure what is happening there either.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my review for Where There's Smoke by LA Witt which I read over the weekend, and Friday Lad and I will have our Top Ten Guilty Pleasures list....I think Jan Irving has cooked up something to be released this week too. Judging from the last few reviews it's safe to say that at this point she is writing exclusively for Laddie, and if I know my little crackhead like I think I do, she'll be all over that book like she's got a new pipe and an twenty as SOON as it's out...So another Crackattack! should be along this week as well...

Have a great week everyone. Hope you finds some good stuff on the list. Now go forth and READ!

Books To Look For: Chulito by Charles Rice-Gonzalez

Chulito is a hoodrat. Born and raised in the South Bronx. A beautiful 16 year old boy who grew up in the streets of his neighborhood and lives by the rules of that small world.

Carlos, was Chulito's best friend while they were boys, and later when they got a little older Chulito realized that he maybe felt more than just friendly towards Carlos.

But Carlos is an outsider now. He has left the Hood, and gone to Long Island for college. He is also openly gay. Those two things put Chulito and Carlos in two worlds so distant they might as well be in different planets.

Chulito's life revolves around hanging out on the corner with the Fellas, running drugs for his best friend Kamikaze, the local TOP DOG, and being the hardest thug he can be. He dropped out of high school, and all his ambitions pretty much lie within whatever is confined to his block and the people in it.

The only thing that Chulito can't do is not be friends with Carlos, he misses him. Wants to reconnect with his boy, so he makes a move to get in touch with Carlos, and ends up being surprised by his friend coming back to the Hood for the whole summer.

This book was SET SO PERFECTLY. The author captured the sub-culture so well, and not just of the ghetto in NYC, but of the Latin communities, especially Neuyoricans and Dominican Yorks. It's such an insular world. Comes from immigrant generations that preferred staying up there in Washington Heights, Harlem or The Bronx where everyone spoke their language, ate their foods, listened to their music, knew their history, their culture, and most importantly UNDERSTOOD why it was preferable to come to the United States to the ghetto than remain in a homeland that had nothing to offer. Even if the memory of that homeland is something so large and painful that it's present in everything the do.

He captured, The Hood and its cycles of poverty, and outdated views on gender roles, who men and women should be or act like. These attitudes can entrap many kids, wanting MORE or wanting DIFFERENT, whether it is ambition to move elsewhere, being open about your sexuality, daring to demand respect as a woman, or show vulnerabilities as a man, cannot only make you an outcast it can make you a target. But he also showed the love and support that exists in those neighborhoods, strong loyalty and such a deep understanding of each other.

We understood all the contradictions of that world. Who Chulito was, and his yearning for something more that the Hood, but also his loyalty to the neighborhood that has been his whole world. Carlos' need to leave it, but also feeling pulled back by those he loves that are still there. The women in the neighborhood and how they cope with hard lives, the lack of aspirations and ambitions and posturing of the men. The trials that those who dare to be different have to endure. All SPOT ON.

I know that for some readers Chulito and Carlos will be strange characters, they seem so much more mature than their age. It is strange it's true, but kids like Chulito and Carlos grow up fast and hard. It is rough living with no daddies, hustling to make a living, mothers that care but have to work hard to provide for their kids. There are too many harsh realities at every corner in places like Chulito's world.

THE VERY BEST thing about this book are Chulito and Carlos. What a JOY is was to watch them fall in love. To see Chulito discover a whole world outside of the Bronx. I just loved them. They were so open, so hopeful and brave to be who they were, despite a more than hostile environment.

There were too many things I loved about this book, it's worth reading if only to get a glimpse at a slice of American life that people rarely get to read about, especially from the perspective of young gay men.

Chulito and Carlos were TRAILBLAZERS, I wish that every boy like them could find a way to love and be loved openly like they did.

RECOMMEND. RECOMMEND. RECOMMEND. RECOMMEND. RECOMMEND. RECOMMEND. RECOMMEND. RECOMMEND.

Chulito can be purchased at Amazon.com

Crack Attack: Why I'm Going To Have Jan Irving's Book Babies

Yesterday I saw that Jan Irving has answered my prayers and rewarded me for the way I sacrifice of my sanity while I'm reading one of her books.

What was so special about yesterday? Oh, I found out that she's coming out with the first book in a new series. The Viking In My Bed (Lightning Strikes #1).

While I was going *SQUEEE* I realized that I hadn't written a Crack Attack post about Jan Irving's books. That's damn near sacrilege. Jan Irving is the Queen of Crack Attacklandia. Yes, there were some who came before her but there is no one who's better. No one.

I'd read some Crack Attack before Jan Irving came along. Authors like Joyee Flynn, Stormy Glenn and Amber Kell. Then one day when I was wandering through the virtual stacks of small press e-publishers I found Jan and the first book in her Uncommon Cowboys series.

My e-life was forever changed.

It's like the universe created Jan Irving's work just for me. Seriously crazy, crazy WTF moments happen in Irving's books.

One thing Jan loves is the whole Domination vibe. She does it in the most insane ways though. Dudes' faces getting pushed into the dirt, getting fucked with claws and boot tips and fire, sucking swollen tree branch sized cocks while being called a slut, and my favorite is the fantasy of being milked like a cow while chained up in a cellar.

Is this the way most D/s works? I have no idea but I doubt it. In Irving's world, though, it's exactly how it works.

The other thing that I love is the way the main characters meet or find out about each other's secrets. You get stuff like "Oops, I'm not a woman!", a dude shifting while getting a blow job, one man finding the other naked in the snowy woods. In another book, one guy seeing the other naked, scratched up and unconcious in the middle of a deserted road in the middle of the night.

With every book that Irving releases things get more insane. A 20 foot shifter with dinosaur teeth? Oh man, Jan Irving, your mind works in mysterious ways.

Whether or not I'm supposed to laugh at the absudilicious things that happen in these books, I find myself laughing so hard and loud that my neighbor probably wonders if I'm right in the head.

So, yeah, I want to have Irving's book babies because her stuff is just mind blowing in all of its deliciously bad glory. I'm already counting down to April 2nd when the new book comes out. When midnight hits on April 1st I will sitting at my computer hitting the refresh button every 30 seconds and bouncing with anticipatory glee.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T...Find out what it means to ME: Has Mutual Respect died in the M/M Romance Community?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word RESPECT in the last couple of weeks.

Am I being disrespectful to others by expressing my opinions?...Do I disrespect an author when I go on in detail about the things that I did not like from a book they wrote?...Is it respectful for a person to personally attack me for disagreeing with them?..Am I being disrespectful when I respond to someone that has not addressed me, but has hurt or offended my friend?

Am I entitled to feel disrespected as a reader when I purchase a book and find it poorly written, edited, and researched?...Are authors obligated to show us respect by being honest and open about their work, and their sources?...Is a publisher anything more than a business, and are they actually disrespecting me when they sell me a book at full price when they do not live up to their end of the deal by making sure that I get a product of the quality I expected to receive?...Are authors disrespecting readers when they encourage fans or friends to give them favorable reviews?

These are all questions that have been floating in my head these last few weeks. I’ve thought hard about this, and I’ve come to the conclusion that mutual respect in this community of readers is becoming a rare commodity.

The environment in this genre is an interesting one. Readers are pundits, pundits are writers, writers are readers, readers are fans, fans are writers, half of us are bloggers, and those who aren’t are making their thoughts know on Goodreads and elsewhere. That is A LOT of opinions for things not get out of hand occasionally. Opinions are good, they keep things vibrant and diverse, as long as we all understand that differences in taste or views are not personal attacks.

Tj Klune a new author to this genre wrote a great book last year. Bear Otter and the Kid, I loved it. I still do. I thought it was funny, charming and clever. I loved the characters, and it has just the right combination of angsty and romantic that really works for me. I wrote a review for it on Goodreads that a lot of people have read, talking about how much I enjoyed that book. Only a few weeks ago I included BOATK in my picks for favorite couples in our Valentine’s Day post.

Also a couple of weeks ago a friend mentioned she had seen the 2007 LGBT film Shelter and that she noticed there were many similarities to BOATK. I was curious, I watched it, and I agreed that there were too many things that were similar for it to be just coincidence. Since then a few readers on GR have come out with reviews focusing on the similarities between BOATK and Shelter, others have changed their original reviews and ratings, and the word "plagiarism" has been floating around non-stop. I chose to leave my review just as it was when I wrote it in August, I have no intention of changing it.

So what is Plagiarism? According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; to use (another's production) without crediting the source; to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Do I think some of these meanings apply to what happened with BOATK and Shelter? Yes, I do.

Do I think that Tj Klune should be burnt at the stake for it, and the book he wrote be completely discredited? NO, I DO NOT. I stand by my opinion that BOATK is a very good book. There were a lot of things that were obviously borrowed from Shelter, but the great comedic timing, the character of the Kid (who was outstanding), the fantastic and dynamic cast of characters in the story. Those are ALL Tj’s, he made them, and he should be proud of the work he did.

Now, that does not mean I was not disappointed when I realized he used ideas from another story, and did not credit the original creator. Why? Because “I” think that is the right thing to do. You use someone’s work to improve yours, to inspire yours, they deserve to be acknowledged. Especially when the person is also a writer in the LGBT genre, where there are no big budgets, where it is still more a labor of love than for profit, where there is little recognition. Acknowledging the works of colleagues in this genre is that more important to do.

This was not a story line borrowed from Titanic that made a gamillion dollars. No, this was from a tiny film that made very little money, an author who probably made less, and got little to no recognition for it. So, not giving that person his or her due credit, does not sit well with me. Period.

I know some will say…

But Shakespeare did it!! Yeah, well when Shakespeare was allegedly borrowing verbatim from Plutarch to write Julius Caesar or handing over Kit Marlowe’s homework as his own, there were NO COPYRIGHT LAWS. Copyright exists, so that people who create are protected from having what they made being appropriated by someone else and claiming it as their own. And even with no copyright, Shakespeare should have still cited his sources. So that argument does not count for me.

But West Side Story is the same as Romeo and Juliet!! Why are we not accusing them?! Well, Romeo and Juliet is public domain, ANYONE can use that story. They can copy it, publish it, sell it, make a movie with it, or change the name to Romeo and Julio and write a sweet little gay romance. Even then West Side Story is only INSPIRED on Romeo and Juliet. Again not the same thing.

Dreamspinner Press didn’t know! They thought it was an autobiography. NO. Just…NO! Not only is this not true, but it’s beyond condescending to expect the readers to believe that. I’m not even going to go into DSP’s bad behavior, because there are writers from that publisher that I dearly love, and will continue to purchase their books. I can only say that bush-league does not even begin to describe the way that they have been doing business lately.

But people are being SO MEAN!!! Yeah well, they are being mean on both sides. I have seen in the last few days things that have seriously made my skin crawl. Authors belittling other authors work, readers going on blogs and calling people harpies and lemmings for expressing their opinions, publishers deleting comments from readers because they were pointing out their worse than bad behavior, people promoting “peace” by calling others bitches and bullies, authors that I respect and love suggesting that those of us who express our unhappiness with the lack of quality in the books coming out of DSP have become a pitchfork wielding mob…All very nice, very very nice.

To be honest, the only restrain I’ve seen so far has come from Tj. I don’t know his reasons. He might just be waiting for all of this to blow over, he might be afraid to get in the fray, or he might just be biding his time. I wouldn’t know, but I do respect his self-control. It cannot be easy to see your name and your work exposed like it has been, and not say anything to defend yourself. Especially with a publisher that makes things worse instead of better every time they make a statement.

So…I’m not sure where any of this will end up. People probably need to walk away, cool their heels, and come back later. The books will be there, and so will the drama. I just hope we stop before we kill the enthusiasm that made us love this genre to begin with.

Note: A portion of the title for this post was borrowed from the song "Respect" written by Ottis Redding and made famous by Aretha Franklin.