Contemporary Romance

Review: Magic Mansion by Jordan Castillo Price

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Titlle: Magic Mansion
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Genre/Themes: MM romance / magicians / reality show
Release Date: 10 April 2012

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Add on Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 Stars



Synopsis

Professor Topaz is tired of fending off advice that he should retire in Vegas where magicians his age have an easier time finding work.

Ricardo Hart's career has sunk so low, he's resorted to shaking his moneymaker at bachelorette parties.

But there's a casting call for a new reality show called Magic Mansion that could change everything for these two gay stage magicians, one recovering from the loss of his partner, the other awe-struck by the presence of his idol. Each is poised for a critical second chance: at fame, and at love.

Who will win? Step into the Mansion, and find out....

Review


This was such an expected and pleasant read! I do love magic and though I'm not a fan of reality shows, I'm curious how they can be presented in fiction. I'm a big fan of Ms Price' writing - imaginative, great world building and attention to detail and powerful and unforgettable characters, so I decided to give it a try.

Now, romances with big age differences are not my thing usually and initially I had some worries about that aspect of the story but as it turns out I can trust Ms Price completely to build a believable and ultimately, very tender, very real and emotional love story. It was Professor Topaz and Richardo the Magnificent romance that I loved the most in this book.

The setting was also great - a reality show with magicians going through all sort of challenges to get the big prize. Ms Price created a whole cast of intriguing magicians and TV crew thus giving the reader a rich, realistic world where the passion and chemistry between the Professor and Richardo shone so brightly. 

At times I felt their romance was overshadowed by the reality show element in the story but it didn't prevent me from enjoying the slow build up of their romance. In a things happened rather quickly between them, the I-love-yous were said somewhat in a hurry, and at the same time it all felt excruciatingly slow because being in a reality show did not allow them to really come together as a couple till the end. 

I liked them both but the Professor definitely stole the show for me. His journey back to being able to give and receive love (at the age of 63) was phenomenal - so personal and intimate. There is a depth to his character and his emotions that I find irresistible. Richardo was his opposite, at least in appearance - easy going and fun and caring. He is the kind of person that is easy to love and be friends with but he had his fears and insecurities to overcome and so many dreams to follow through. Together they complemented each other in the best possible way and made a mesmerising couple. You can't help but want them to overcome all odds and find happiness together. 

This a contemporary romance with strong social elements, yet there is a touch of paranormal in it, we are talking about magicians after all, I loved how it was interwoven in the story. The reader is pretty much grounded in reality with the brutally honest presentation of the what happens behind the scene of a reality show and the small leaps into the True Magic scattered throughout the story were a pure pleasure to read. 

Magic Mansion is a sweet and tender a love story but also a story about life in general - about finding happiness, being successful, forming friendships and just interacting with people. It plays a lot with ideas of identity and projected image, making the reader look deeper into things to find their true significance and ultimately appreciate all the things that bring us joy and make us laugh and love and feel complete.

Purchase links: Amazon / Smashwords / iTunes


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Author Spotlight

Friday Favourites #17: Jordan Castillo Price

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Here is my first author spotlight for 2016 and I'm very excited to welcome a favourite author of mine, Ms Jordan Castillo Price. I've read only a handful of her stories so far and I'm compeltely blown away by her highly imaginative, yet so real writing. She creates this speculative romantic stories which I find completely mesmerizing in their extensive and complex world-building and compelling love stories and personal relationships. 

Read on the see what some of Ms Price favourite things are and don't miss her recommendations of 5 favourite magical books!




1. Favourite place
I adore Circus World and I try to go every year. It’s a Wisconsin Historical site in Baraboo, Wisconsin located in the winter home of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Every summer, they bring performers from around the world for a stunning big top show. My novel Magic Mansion was heavily influenced by this historic place.

2. Favourite food and drink
I have a weakness for comfort food. Anything milky or cheesy is an absolute delight. Yesterday I had a gorgeous slice of tres leches cake. Milk and cake in one, yum!

3. Favourite music/genre/artist/song
I’m a big fan of punk rock and goth. The Damned has been my favorite band since 1982.

4. Favourite movie/TV series
The Walking Dead is phenomenal. Sure, zombies are cool, but the meat of that series is the relationship of the characters, how they handle the zombies and how they cope with their new normal.

5. Favourite hobby besides writing, if you consider writing a hobby
Writing used to be a hobby, but I’ve been doing it professionally since 2002 and full time since 2010, so now it’s a business. Even watching TV or reading books is no longer a hobby, because I’m always thinking about characterization and plot structure when I consume media. Lately I’ve been doing jigsaw puzzles for fun. I think it uses a different part of my brain, one that doesn’t need to choose words, one that needs to choose shapes instead.

Five favorite magical books in no particular order:

Astounding! by Kim Fielding

Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale

Turnskin by Nicole Kimberling

White Cat by Holly Black

The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles

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Author Bio and Links 

Author and artist Jordan Castillo Price writes paranormal sci-fi thrillers colored by her time in the midwest, from inner city Chicago, to rural small town Wisconsin, to liberal Madison. Her influences include Ouija boards, Return of the Living Dead, "light as a feather, stiff as a board," girls with tattoos and boys in eyeliner.

Jordan is best known as the author of the PsyCop series, an unfolding tale of paranormal mystery and suspense starring Victor Bayne, a gay medium who's plagued by ghostly visitations. Also check out her new series, Mnevermind, where memories are made...one client at a time.

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Jordan Castillo Price's latest release is a short story in the Psycop series, Memento, which was released on 13 Nov 2015. You can stop by the author's site to lear more about the Psycop series and read a short teaser and an excerpt from Memento.

Blurb

Seasons change, and so do fashion trends. But in this heartstring-tugging PsyCop short, what’s beneath the clothes matters most.

Do clothes make the man? Jacob Marks cuts an impressive figure in his tailored suits, but Victor Bayne is another story. Nowadays, Vic does his ghosthunting in off-the-rack blazers, polyester blend slacks and cop shoes with nonskid soles. But back before he was a PsyCop—or even officially psychic—he rocked combat boots and a beat up biker jacket…and lots and lots of punk T-shirts. When he finds a faded tee in the back of a drawer, he’s eager to lob it in the trash. Jacob, however, finds himself waxing sentimental about Vic’s younger, more carefree days.

This steamy 5000-word PsyCop short in Jacob’s voice takes place after PsyCop #6, GhosTV.

Purchase links: Amazon / Kobo / iBooks

Jordan Castillo Price

Review: Mnevermind series by Jordan Castillo Price

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Titlle: The Persistance of Memory (Mnevermind #1)
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Genre/Themes: Dystopia / MM romance
Release Date: 4 May 2012

Author's links:
My rating: 4 Stars

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 Synopsis

Every day, Daniel Schroeder breaks his father’s heart.

While forgetting your problems won’t solve them, it does seem like it would make life a heck of a lot easier. Daniel thought so once. Now he knows better. He and Big Dan have always been close, which makes it all the more difficult to break the daily news: the last five years were nothing like his father remembers.

They’re both professionals in the memory field—they even run their own memory palace. So shouldn’t they be able to figure out a way to overwrite the persistent false memory that’s wreaking havoc on both of their lives? Daniel thought he was holding it together, but the situation seems to be sliding out of control. Now even his own equipment has turned against him, reminding him he hasn’t had a date in ages by taunting him with flashes of an elusive man in black that only he can see.

Is it some quirk of the circuitry, or is Daniel headed down the same path to fantasy-land as his old man.
Purchase links: Amazon - Smashwords - iTunes

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Titlle: Forget Me Not (Mnevermind #2)
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Genre/Themes: Dystopia / MM romance
Release Date: 19 Feb 2014

Author's links:
My rating: 5 Stars

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Synopsis

No two people are exactly alike, but Elijah Crowe is very, very different. 

Elijah is on the autism spectrum, so the tasks of day-to-day life most people breeze through are a challenge for him. His career suffered because he never got the hang of schmoozing, and now his talents are being wasted teaching classes at the mall. His social circle is limited to his ex, his therapist, and a structured inclusion group at the Rec Center. The one bright spot in his life is the memory science of Mnemography.

Although he loves nothing better than devouring the latest research and tinkering with all the specialized equipment, he never clicked with any other experts in the field until he met Daniel Schroeder. Daniel runs a memory palace—he even writes his own mnems—and that shared interest alone would make him fascinating. But Daniel and Elijah met under unusual circumstances, where the statement, “I like you, and I think you like me,” held some surprising nuances.

Now Elijah suspects he’s gay, but the few prominent people in his life are less than supportive. Some are downright hostile. Elijah might not be neurotypical, but he’s plenty smart. Surely there’s some way to get people to accept him for who he is. If only he could figure out how.
Purchase Links: Amazon - B&N - Kobo - iTunes - Smashwords

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Titlle: Life Is Awesome (Mnevermind #3)
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Genre/Themes: Dystopia / MM romance
Release Date: 24 Feb 2015

Author's links:
My rating: 4.5 Stars

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 Synopsis

Daniel Schroeder wants nothing more than to repair his father’s broken memories, but it’s been a long time since he’s thought of himself as a memorysmith. Even though convincing Big Dan of their current reality is the most painful task Daniel faces every morning, somehow life manages to prevent him from finding a cure. He needs to keep their family business running. And he needs to moonlight at a competitor’s shop to keep all his employees paid. Or maybe he’s just trying to keep himself from exacerbating the situation. 

A year ago, Daniel would have presumed he was clever enough to memorysmith his way out of their predicament, but nowadays he’s not so cavalier. Playing with people’s memories shouldn’t be taken lightly, and things can always get worse. Even with the help of some of the best minds in the business, Daniel still isn’t sure how to navigate his way out of the persistent false memory that’s crippled his life. Is new programming the answer? Better gear? More money? Or is time the only thing that can heal Big Dan’s memories…if they can even be fixed at all. 

What Daniel needs most is some breathing room, and Elijah Crowe is eager to provide it. Since he’s smitten with Daniel, Elijah is determined to prove himself—and he’s more than qualified to clear Daniel’s schedule by taking over some duties at Adventuretech. With the support of his new boyfriend, possibilities begin to open up for Daniel, hints of things he hasn’t even realized he’d stopped hoping for: the contentment of a harmonious family, the fulfillment of his creative expression, and a chance for a relationship with a man he loves.

Purchase links: Amazon - iTunes - Kobo - B&N - Smashwords 

Review 


I read this series a while ago and was very much impressed by it. I meant to review the complete series of three books together but somehow it was never the right time.

I have so many thoughts about these books and will at least try to express some of them in a coherent manner. Simply put - this MM dystopian/speculative (romantic) fiction, and I'm not using these terms as strictly defined categories but rather as a reflection of what the story felt like to me while reading it - is breath-taking, raw, emotional and real and oh, so clever.

I'm amazed at the imaginative genius of Ms Price. The other work of hers I've read (review), Meatworks was also very rich, imaginative romance, though I definitely liked this one better.

The story is set in the not so distant, somewhat bleak future where people experience mnemes (as a mix of dreams and memories) as a form of entertainment.

This is the story of Daniel and Elijah, a story of being adult - serious and responsible, but also hopeful and forgiving and never really giving up on your dreams.

Book 1 was slightly slower, more descriptive, in a way setting the stage for the things to come in the next two books. It created this richly imaginative world populated by characters who felt so real, human, very much like the people we meet in our life - some were smarter, others less so, some were compassionate and loyal, others - less so. They were all multi-faceted, multi-layered, with thier own strengths and weaknesses, searching in one way or another for that forever elusive piece of happiness and sense of achievement and satisfaction. 

Book 2 stood out the most for me. It's told from Elijah's POV and I can't describe how much a loved it. He is on the autistic spectrum and Ms Price made him an absolutely unforgettable character. There was no melodrama and excessive sentimentality in his portrayal. He felt real, his voice was a mixture of strength and confidence on the one hand and vulnerability and confusion on the other. His sudden attraction to Daniel after being married to woman was confusing for him but he took it for what it was and explored it without prejudice or judgement.

The romantic relationship was mostly the focus in the final book. It was difficult, there was no magical 'We belong together, so everything happens naturally/effortlessly'. It took some work both for Daniel and Elijah to be able to be together. The way it is most often in life - love is there but being with someone also takes time, takes getting used to one's quirks and oddities, accepting some limits.

The whole mneming business was complicated to comprehend though in my mind I had this weird association between mneming and a children's animation I watch with my kid (Zack and Quack). The depths of the desrciption of the this future world was fascinating and what was even more fascinating how personal, human Ms Price made the story.

If you are looking for a brilliantly writtne, imaginative, yet as real as it gets, romantic story, you need to try this series! 

Dystopia

Review: Meatworks by Jordan Castillo Price

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Title: Meatworks 
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Genre/Themes: Dystopia / MM romance
Release Date: 3 July 2014

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
My rating: 4 Stars

Add on Goodreads


Synopsis

 Desmond Poole is damaged in more ways than one. If he was an underachiever before, he’s entirely useless now that he’s lost his right hand. He spends his time drowning his sorrows in vodka while he deliberately blows off the training that would help him master his new prosthetic. Social Services seems determined to try and stop him from wallowing in his own filth, so he’s forced to attend an amputee support group. He expects nothing more than stale cookies, tepid decaf and a bunch of self-pitying sob stories, so he’s blindsided when a fellow amputee catches his eye.

Corey Steiner is a hot young rudeboy who works his robotic limb like an extension of his own body, and he’s smitten by Desmond’s crusty punk rock charm from the get-go. Unfortunately, Desmond hasn’t quite severed ties with his ex-boyfriend, and Corey isn’t known for his maturity or patience.

Meatworks is set in a bleak near-future where cell phone and personal computer technologies never developed. In their place, robotics flourished. Now robots run everything from cars to coffee pots. Taking the guesswork out of menial tasks was intended to create leisure time, but instead robots have made society dependent and passive.

Desmond loathes robots and goes out of his way to avoid them. But can he survive without the robotic arm strapped to the end of his stump?

Review

Most of my GR friends and people whose opinion on books I value highly raved about this book so I decided to try it. Furthermore, I was intrigued by the dyspotian setting and the character(s) with disabilities.

It's an engaging, thought-provoking read, skillfully written, leaving a very memorable impression. Told from the first-person POV of Desmond is his tale of finding his place in a cruel/emotionless dyspotian world where robots serve the people as much as control them. 

It started rather bleak and gloomy, too depressing for me. The world building was great and the future world portrayed was really distrubing. it's a story about Desmond's life with all his ups and downs, mistakes and the very, very few good things that happened to him. There is romance in the story but it's not the fantasy, all-chamging, saving tupe of love, rather this was raw and real, love-is-messy kind of story. None of the characters has it easy, even Jim, and consequently their feelings for each other were all over the place - love, lust, hatred, distrust, honesty, hope and desperation. 

Desmond is not a nice person, yet the author did manage to make me care deeplty for him, to want him to find his happiness. His journey, his growth didn't erase his past mistakes but they did make him a better person.

Corey and Jim are sort of Desmond's past and his future. I liked the intricacies of the relationships between the three of them, they felt real. There is no magic way to deal with disabilitity, with disillusionment, with life (the good, the bad and all in between).

The story reminded me in a way of Alexis Hall's Glitterland, though the setting couldn't be more different. It's a story of love/life gone compeltely and irreversibly wrong, before finally going right. A trial by error journey for Desmond (and Corey, to some extend).

It's capativating story, not for the faint of heart. It's about the ugly and raw in life, the people who have lost themselves, yet they still have feelings and hopes and dreams and they deserve to be happy as much as anyone else. 

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Smashwords / iTunes

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