Title: Eclipse the Moon (Starlight's Shadow #2)

Author: Jessie Mihalik

Publication Date: 12 July 2022

Genres: Sci-Fi Romance

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

My rating: 3 Stars

This second installment of the series gives us space adventures galore but I was underwhelmed by the romance.

The romance conflict hinges on the heroine lusting after hero but thinking he is avoiding her while he is avoiding her because her is attracted to her but feels he can't protect her the way he has too. It is messy and based on a very antiquated sense of chivalry and obligation which was difficult for me to reconcile with the hyper modern space world the story is set in.

I feel the Valovians with all there psychic powers and paranormal abilities are similar to Nalini Singh's psys which I don't mind in principle but the similarity did stand out to me.

I liked Varro for the most part though his sense of guilt and failure over impossible tasks he set to himself became too much. It made sense initially but then it became annoying as it happened over and over again.

Kee was nice enough, a bit your stereotypical hacker girl - a bit wild, a bit loner, smart but not as physically strong as her teammates which made her insecure. In her personal relationship she felt she was too much to her lover - too forward, too emotional (things she has been told by previous partners) and that made her guarded and worried that it would be the same for him.

They kept getting to try to be together only to be pulled apart either by cuircustmace (they are amid a wild chase with the bad guys in space) or by their own feelings of guilt / sense of obligation.

While I enjoyed and was fully invested in the suspense and adventure elements of the story, I felt the romantic arc was unevenly paced. It is not closed door romance but the sex scene (explicit) only happens after 90% mark. I would not describe it as slow burn but rather as a kind of delayed gratification and didn't work for me. Out of the blue we get some domination/submission dynamic thrown in - it honestly felt like Kee and Varro became different people, not the characters I have followed along in the story so far. The romance didn't flow smoothly for me, too many elements in it didn't fit with each other. Of course, this is all subjective interpretation but it's how I read it and why I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

I have come to realize that Jessie Mihalik's book are more about the space adventures than the romance but when I find the romance unevenly paced and not convincing, I don't know if I will continue with this series. Depends on the MCs, I still might give the next book a go.

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Title: The Affair of the Mysterious Letter

Author: Alexis Hall

Genre/Themes: Queer SFF take on Sherlock Holmes

Release Date: 18 June 2019

Author links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

My Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb 

Review 

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It's been a couple of weeks since I did my last Mini Reviews and Reading Recap post. Life has been busy but I did read some great books and here are my reviews of them.

A Treason of Truths by Ada Harper

This is the second book in the series but works well as standalone too. There is intriguing world-building, lots of description on nanotechnology and bio-engineering. I liked it but felt the focus was more on the action/adventure than the romance. Lyre and Sabine both are interesting characters and there was some angst in their relationship but not enough tension/conflict. 

This story is a curios mix of futuristic world and adherence to all royal/noble traditions. We get a f/f romance set in a world where queer relationships are a part of the world in the same way as heterosexual ones are. The love scenes were tender and low-heat compared to book one.

In short this story gives the readers a fast-paced, cleverly built dystopian world, interesting MCs, some pining, some tender loving and a most glorious declaration of love at the end. 3.5 stars

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Currently reading: A Notorious Vow by Joanna Shupe, m/f historical set in New York at the Gilded Age, deaf reclusive hero, virgin noble heroine. I'm enjoying it a lot so far. It comes out on Sept 25.

Two hundred years after the first spontaneous genetic mutation occurred, the world has accepted the idea of superpowers. Damon Kelly, bright, hard-working, kind-hearted, and yet lacking any mutation, is deeply involved in the powered community, writing his dissertation on superpower genetics. He’s got his work, he’s got his friends, and he’s got a new love interest, the handsome and sexy Eli Emmert. Just when everything seems like it’s falling into place, however, a new supervillain emerges in the city, and Damon finds himself swept into his orbit. Will he figure out how he attracted the villain’s attention before it’s too late, or will he succumb to the peril? 

I'd been in a bit of a book slump when I came across Peril semi-randomly on a new releases list. The blurb sounded intriguing, the cover art is kind of cool, it was well priced, so I decided to take a chance on it. I'm really glad I did so, because while I had a few reservations about it, I really enjoyed the book.

Starting out with the technical aspects, which really are the reason this is knocked down below 4 stars. Lorin is a new author - this is only her second book - and it does show. The plotting is a little all over the place, most notably in terms of the sheer number of crises suffered by the main character, Damon. He's a scientist, not an action hero, and the fact that he gets into life or death situations no less than four times in the book is a little too damsel in distress, and a little too over the top. Similarly, the pacing is slightly clumsy, with the middle half of the book dragging and the final parts arriving in something of a rush. On the plus side, Lorin's technical command of writing is good. Well put together sentences, free-flowing dialogue, and the occasional nice turn of phrase. Also well proofread for a self-published title. All of these are a pleasant change from some of the poorly written stuff I've read from established names in the m/m field recently, so kudos to Lorin for that.

Turning to the substance of the book, one think that I think is important to highlight is something Lorin states outright in their blog bio: "In the J.E. Lorin universe, there are no “coming out” stories, as homosexuality and bisexuality are not considered unusual. The intent is to create fun, action-filled, dramatic romance stories for those readers who’ve been longing to see such stories with two male leads." Peril delivers on this approach, and it's something I really appreciate. While coming out and dealing with homophobia are obviously (still) major issues in the LGBT community, I feel like they are sometimes focused on as the defining experience of being queer, and they're just not. So much of being queer is just living your life, part of which is having a different orientation or gender identity than the norm. And what we see here is a superhero story and a romance with two male leads. That's it. And it really is quite refreshing.

The basic plot here is quite simple: boy meets boy, boy gets repeatedly attacked by supervillian, boy tries to keep relationship with hot boyfriend going in the midst of all this drama, boy tries to work out who supervillain is and why it keeps attacking him. Around this, though, we have really nicely drawn characters. Damon has a tragic past involving his sister, which has ongoing implications for his relationship with his parents. Eli, the hot boyfriend, has shared caregiving responsibilities for his nieces and nephew (his brother's wife has died). There are a few well drawn friends in there too, who are more than two dimensional support players. They "who's the supervillain" mystery is not a total headscratcher, but neither is it super obvious. As noted above, it's not completely flawless, but it largely does the job in terms of keeping the plot moving. It really is the adorable romance between Damon and Eli, and their interactions with their families, that keep my attention here, though. Without this good characterisation the book would just be a mediocre superhero story. With it, it's a promising early effort from an author whose next book I'll be looking forward to. Recommended for superhero nerds and those into urban fantasy or light SF.

1. Favourite place

Kelly: Tasmania, Australia. Tasmania is beautiful. A lot of it is protected, so the population is quite small and mostly scattered around the coast, leaving the interior largely untouched. Mount Wellington (known locally as The Mountain) in Hobart was the first mountain I conquered on foot. I spent so much of my childhood holidays roaming those slopes. 

Jenn: Oh, tough one. I have two: Drumheller, Alberta, and the North Shore of Prince Edward Island. Drumheller was my favourite destination as a kid—I found the hoodoos (rock formations) and promise of dinosaur fossils fascinating! Now that I live on the other site of the country, “the Island” is my getaway of choice, though. It is absolutely idyllic, with its red sand beaches and gentle rolling hills and dunes. A perfect place to soak up some peace (and maybe write a bit!).

2. Favourite food and drink

Kelly: Pizza. It’s all the food groups in one tasty package. I like the crust not too thin, but definitely not thick. It should have crunch when you bite into it and a good amount of chew. Not too much sauce and go easy on the cheese. Kalamata olives and anchovies, please. As for drink, I’m an Aussie. Give me all the beer. I have probably toured more breweries than I have museums. There’s actually a really awesome brewery (Cascade) nestled into the foothills of Mt. Wellington and I have fond memories of that hoppy, yeasty smell. When I’m not drinking beer, I drink tea. 

Jenn: I’ve got to go with the homemade perogies my family makes every winter before Christmas. No, we’re not Ukrainian or Polish, but we picked up the tradition when we lived in Edmonton, Alberta. It’s a family endeavor to make them, and then we serve them, fried, with bacon, onion and sour cream on Christmas morning. SO. GOOD.

As for favourite drink… give me a cold Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale with a shot of lime cordial. Perfect complement to a hot summer day.

3. Favourite music/genre/artist/song

Kelly: A perennial favourite is Underworld. Anything Underworld. I particularly love their collaborations with John Murphy for movie soundtracks (Sunshine and 24 Days Later). 

Jenn: Alternative rock is my favourite musical genre. Right now I’m loving Twenty One Pilots and Death From Above 1979, but you can’t go wrong with classics like the Foo Fighters or Our Lady Peace. 

4. Favourite movie/TV series

Kelly: Just one?? Okay, how about a tie between The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and 2001: A Space Odyssey. My favourite TV shows get replaced from year to year by the new shiny but I can always watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Always.

Jenn: Knight Rider. I was all about KITT as a kid and I desperately wanted the attempt at remaking the series in 2008 to succeed (spoiler alert: it didn’t). But I own the original series on DVD and I’ve watched (and re-watched) every episode with my kids.

5. Favourite hobby besides writing, if you consider writing a hobby

Kelly: Reading, gaming (PC/Xbox/board games/RPGs), drawing, hiking, gardening, eating, sleeping.

Jenn: Reading and gaming. Shining up and driving my Camaro when I take it out of the garage for the summer. 

Favourite books 

One of the few books I’ve actually re-read. It’s just such an amazing story. It’s about faith—one of my personal favourite journeys—civilization, love, family, obligation. It’s a wonderful, wonderful book.

Glasshouse by Charles Stross

The scope of Stross’ imagination never fails to astound me. His world (he tends to write most of his far future SF in just the one) is so well conceived. Also, it’s post singularity, which is one of my pet subjects. What sets Glasshouse apart from his other novels, though, is the faux-twenty-first century setting, which basically takes everything that is wrong or weird about our society and turns it inside out. Imagine looking back at how we live and love from about a thousand years in the future. Then there is the journey of Robin, the main character. The questions of personality, sexuality, love and what memories are required to make up a lifetime of experience.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book WRECKED me. I cried for a week after I finished reading it. Ishiguro’s books sneak up on you. You’re not sure if you’re enjoying them at first. They’re almost boring, but not quite. There’s something going on beneath the text that keeps you hooked. I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS. I wish I did. Before you know it, the book has you captured and you can’t put it down until you’re done, even though it’s emotional torture to keep reading. Never Let Me Go is another book about faith. It’s also about love, family and humanity—and all the horrible things we do to one another. 

March by Geraldine Brooks

March is the story of Peter March, as imagined from the content of the letters he sends home in Little Women. It’s assumed, of course, that his letters are much more optimistic than his actual experience. Much more. This was the first novel of the Civil War I’d ever read and I found it fascinating—not only as a way to learn the history that I was supposed to find interesting during my school years, but as a character study. What it was to be a father, husband, soldier, man—in that time. The relevancy to any time period won’t be lost on the reader, either. It’s also a glimpse at the absolute brutality of that war. It’s a really, really engrossing book.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

I had a really hard time picking a fifth book. There were so many I wanted to recommend. The final choice came down to two—this one and Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell. Seeing as I’d already included a war story (of an entirely different calibre) I went with Ripley. If you haven’t read this book, you must. It’s short! And oh so mesmerising. Also, like The Great Gatsby, always relevant. In fifty years, this book will have the same meaning, regardless of setting, you know? What’s it about? Yearning is the first word that comes to mind. It’s also about the search for identity. 

Jenn’s Favourite Books 

Mercedes Lackey’s Diana Tregarde series 

Is it too strong for me to say that these books changed my life? Maybe…but before I read these books, I didn’t know urban fantasy was a thing. The way Mercedes Lackey blended magic/fantasy with reality really stuck with me and I would say it definitely influenced my writing.

Abigail Roux’s Cut & Run series

Cut & Run was not the first male/male book I read (I think it was the second!), but this was the first m/m series I followed from start to finish. Ty and Zane will always have a special place in my heart.

Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane

This is one of those books I can read and re-read. Rusty…oh my god, Rusty. He’s just one of those characters that grabs your heart and doesn’t let go. 

Mary Calmes’s A Matter of Time series…or her Marshals series…or her Change of Heart series…or…

Yes, I’m a big Mary Calmes fangirl. Her books are like warm blankets and I love pulling them out when I need a good comfort read. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve re-read the A Matter of Time series (and I adore Jory, but I fall in love with Sam a little more every time). 

The Life Lessons series by Kaje Harper

The story of closeted cop Mac coming to terms with loving out-and-proud Tony in the open is just wonderful. There are fantastic emotions in these books, but also a great dose of police procedural, which I love reading.

Authors Bio and Links

The CHAOS STATION series aren’t the first books they’ve written together, and they’re pretty sure they won’t be the last. As long as their so-called smartphones keep making autocorrects that trigger brainstorming sessions, they’ll have enough character ideas and plots to keep them writing for years to come.

Connect with Jenn: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Connect with Kelly: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Inversion Point (Chaos Station #4) 

Available January 25! Pre-order links: Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Carina Press

Excerpt

“I think Zed’s jealous of Theo,” Felix said.

One of Elias’s brows quirked. “Well, that’s ridiculous. Who would be jealous of a guy who looks just like him and has a weird habit of touching you? All over, all the time.”

“They look nothing alike.”

“Seriously? You don’t see the resemblance?”

Dipping his chin, Felix sought to ignore the color creeping across his cheeks. “I didn’t go looking for Theo, you know. Back then. He found me. Chased me. Wouldn’t stop bugging me until I went hiking with him.”

“Was he always so touchy-feely?” Elias could be touchy-feely too, but never inflicted himself on people who didn’t deserve it.

Eyeing the nice spread of cushions between them, Felix thought about that difference and why Theo’s seemingly casual touches stood out. “Yeah. He touches people. He always did. I asked him about it once and he…” Unbidden, a smile caught his mouth.

“Uh-oh.”

“No, not that.” Felix flapped a hand between them. “Well…Shit. I’m not going to discuss an ex with you. It’s bad enough that Zed wants to know all about it. What everyone seems to be overlooking is the fact I left Theo twelve years ago. Broke it off. Decided we should be friends. And I did that so I could wait for Zed, and have been pretty much waiting for Zed ever since. You think I’d waste all that time if Theo was the one?”

“Waste?”

“Spend. Whatever. I love Zed. The whole galaxy knows that. Even the fucking Guardians know it.”

“Yeah, but men are dumb. Maybe you need to remind him.”

Felix stared hard at Elias. “You’ve been spending too much time with Nessa.”

Elias returned a grin. “Never a bad thing.”

No, it wasn’t.