More by Sloan Parker

More by Sloan Parker

PDF file (details below)

series: Gay/Lesbian Erotica

Loose ID Pub

March 2010

**I won this book in a contest put on by Janna at E-Romance Reader. Book was provided by Sloan :D AAND it was the first contest I've ever won :D**

Blurb from Sloan Parker's Website:

For fifteen years Luke Moore has lived by three rules: stay off his father's radar, never spend more than a single night with any man, and never fall in love again. But one night of explosive sex and two men whom he can’t get out of his head have Luke breaking them all. Richard and Matthew push him past all his boundaries—both sexually and personally—and now he’s no longer hiding from his senator father; he’s taking him on. And he isn’t just falling for one man; he’s falling for two. If you're going to break the rules, might as well break them big.

But Luke’s father has his reasons for hating how his son lives, and he’ll do whatever he can and use all his power to keep Luke away from Richard and Matthew.

Can this threesome find a way to make their unconventional relationship last with the world around them trying to pull them apart? And will Luke be able to keep breaking his rules for Richard and Matthew, or will he head back to his familiar way of life just when his new lovers want to bind him tighter?

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So.. I don't know about everyone else who reads the gay/lesbian romances.... but I LOVE the warnings they put at the beginning of the books. They all sort of differ a bit but on my "cheat sheet" note-card I use for all my books, I wrote that this one made me smile :D (oh.. and something about making me want to call my practitioner... though I'm not a dude, and all these things would probably be moot anyway).

Alright, the first sentence caught my attention fast. What a way to start too. I immediately thought "why?" "who?" and got scared for and protective of the main character, Luke. He's troubled in only the way that a bad past and hard living could create, and you realize that it's so much worse than you thought as the story progresses.

*sidenote* Sloan's female. Which already predisposes her for harsher judgment (from me... sorry) on her interpretation of the male mind. It's just as complicated as a female, but in a simpler way (exactly what I meant by complicated). But she TOTALLY pulled it off. She built Luke up so well that I really thought he was writing the story, not Sloan. Which seems harder and harder to find the more books I read.**okay, end sidenote**

This book really helped me see into that other world. Being a straight female with the same boyfriend (sorry.. fiance) from high school, I have NO idea what happens in the dating world, let alone in that one. For example.. are there really clubs where you can go and have anonymous sex at?! How ingenious if it's true! Especially for men. (Read the book before you say "Umm. that's every bar Amber", then you'll know what I mean ;)-). 

ANYWAY! It's explosive from the start (the sort-of-pun was intended :P). Luke can be very vocal about his specific sexual wants and needs, but closes down when it gets to be more than that. When he meets Matthew and Richard and they give him what he wants and more until you are speaking aloud to the book and an empty room for him to just let go and enjoy, everything! 

Matthew's such a sweetheart and only from reading about him I really wish I could pinch his cheeks (upstairs cheeks for you dirty minds) because he was so freaking cute. Or shrink him and put him in my pocket so I can keep him close to me at all times. Matthew's fear he had to overcome was minor compared to Luke's. I was so happy with how he came about that fear (ummm... not in the "yay, I'm glad you suffered kind of way". But the "I'm so glad it wasn't because of the typical 'drunken parent'" way...)

Richard is more of the protector, but sort of the gentle giant too. He loves emotionally and physically but he'll use both to pound you to a pulp if you look at him or the other two funny. He had a hard time not being in control (outside of the bedroom of course) and though he seemed like the strongest of them all, he was vulnerable to certain things you wouldn't expect from a big guy.

I don't want to give away too much about the book since I want you to read it! Like now... Okay.. wait until the end of this post before you go just yet! So what I will give away about it is that it is fantastic. I tried reading it on my break at work until I realized an hour went by (45 minutes longer than I should have taken). Woops! So that put an end to that. 

Like with all great books... I had a hard time finishing it. What happens is that I want to know sooo badly how it ends... except for the part when it actually ends. So, while I won this in a contest back in April... I didn't finish it until mid-May. Part of it was because I was afraid of how Sloan would end it. Endings, for me, tend to make or break the entire book. Where every experience so far, no matter how great, has the chance to fail miserably. And the other part was because I didn't want to stop reading about these characters. But, just like the way Luke thought/felt/acted, she pulled it off beautifully.

One thing I noticed with her writing that I usually only see with "seasoned" authors is that she wrote with that cocky arrogance. But she also maintained the vulnerability of a new author. So she told you all you really needed to know and actually spent time to make it flow. Most of the time, even with my favorite authors of both "seasoned" and new, they go too far on either side of the spectrum. For example.. Nora Roberts... she's an arrogant writer. She focuses on the fluff and spares the details (IMO). On the other side is an author like Rachel Vincent. Her first book (Stray) contained sooo much detail that it ended up (though I enjoyed it immensely) breaking that flow a bit... does that make sense? Probably not since my flow and detail suck ;). All you need to know is that it was written really well, and she's been added to my favorite authors!!

Rating:

1. Cover +1

2. Hooked: +1

3. Finished the book: +1

4. Overall Feeling: :D +2

5. Re-readability: +1

6. Suggest to others: +2

7. Lost time: nope! +1

8. Readability: +1

10 out of 10!!! :D. One person on the cover looks like someone I used to know, so of course I have to love it... Oh, and the fact that there's two other hunks on there too :P. Annnd I know I don't usually suggest or recommends gay/lesbian or even erotica books to those that don't read them, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest you read this one (with the disclaimer that you are fully aware that this is a m/m/m erotica... okay?!)

So thanks again Janna and Sloan Parker for doing this contest and letting me read/review MORE!! :D

Here's Janna's review

Sloan Parker's Website

Sloan Parker's Blog

**pst... After you read this!! *cough*hopefullysoon*cough* you can read another book in this series about Walter Simon :D (It's "in progress".. which means that you need to buy her book so if she has one, she can quite her day job to finish it quicker ;p)**

A Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach

A Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach

Genre: Gay/Lesbian Erotica

e-book

MLR Press, LLC 2008

9-781934-531365

Barnes and Noble Synopsis:

Architect James Justin impulsively lets himself be picked up in a biker bar by seductive hunk Bram Lord for a one nightstand that turns into something bigger. The physically impressive, forceful stranger meets, matches and exceeds James' sexual fantasies, but can shy, uncertain James be everything the strongly committed Bram wants? 

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First scene took place at a bar. Like a biker bar... (obviously right... it says it above). But the craziness I'm trying to relay here is that the first scene of the book, is pretty hot. And that's before they get outside to do the dirty stuff. I was tense through the whole thing, just waiting for someone there to yell out some kind of profanity and for there to be a fight. No matter the size of the 2nd character (Bram).

Speaking of, Bram was a gentle giant. BUT! He wasn't afraid to pull out the guns. He enjoyed the small things (i.e. James) and then doing baaad things to those little things (i.e. tie him up and "ee-ee" [bf & my lingo for sex/f**k/make love/horizontal tango/etc] aaalll freaking day and night). Seriously?! Almost TMI for a moment... I don't know of any male over the age of 30 that can do it multiple times a day. Plus, I heard it hurts. Maybe these too were really lucky though?! Probably, since the eroticism was off the charts. I don't think the Energizer Bunny could keep it going for that long!!!  And it was not strictly secluded to the bed. There was the bath, kitchen, alley, office, you name it, they "christened" it. Or marked it. 

There was a little bit of a story that went along with this book, which I think pulled it all together. James' past is what a lot of gays I think used to have to go through (I say "used to" because now it's now the kids that grew up thinking it was okay to be gay that are having kids). Bram's was the opposite. Both pasts helped shape the two men. I actually related more to James' than Bram's though.

Ratings:

1. Cover +1

2. Hooked: +1

3. Finished the book: +1

4. Overall Feeling: :D +2

5. Re-readability: +.5

6. Suggest to others: +1

7. Lost time: nope! +1

8. Readability: +1

8.5 out of 10!!! :D Here's why:

If I were to re-read this book, I'd probably just skim through it to get to all the awesome dirty stuff. I also can only recommend this book to those that enjoy gay/lesbian books. So if you love that genre, I suggest giving this one a try! Bram, I think, steals the show from James, but you'll enjoy their relationship (between the sheets & out) as it progresses. 

Author's website

Author's Blog

[btw, I love her blog header: "The thoughts and challenges I come across in being a heterosexual woman, wife and mother who loves to write m/m erotic romances. I'm not gay or male, but the thoughts of two gorgeous, confident men together is my idea of a hot time! I write for others, both men and women, who feel the same." Totally understand that!!]

**please email me if you've read and reviewed this book so I can add a link to your site!**

Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon

Somebody Killed His Editor

by Josh Lanyon

Samhain Publishing [e-book]

Why I read: I've been getting into the M/M books and was looking for another one to abate my desire for it :D

Barnes and Noble synopsis:

Christopher Holmes has enjoyed a celebrated career as a bestselling mystery writer. Until now. He heads for a Northern California writers conference to try and resurrect his career. A career nearly as dead as the body he stumbles over in the woods. Christopher finds himself stranded in an isolated lodge full of frightened women-and not a lawman in sight. Except for J.X. Moriarity, former cop and bestselling novelist. The man with whom he shared a one-night stand-okay, maybe three-long ago. A ruthless, stalking killer, or a hot, handsome ex-lover. Which poses the greater danger?

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My Review: 

It wasn't what I was expecting. But with the synopsis that tells me there's a murder/mystery investigation going on, I don't know what I was expecting instead. So, I don't think it's okay for me to review it intelligently since this isn't my type of book to begin with. So anything said is from an outside-the-norm-of-mystery-reading thoughts. If you like murder-mystery [which I used to, just not anymore] and you enjoy M/M books, I recommend you read this one! In other words!!!: Forgive me if I sound like an idiot.

Alright! Now that we have that squared away, I do think that Josh Lanyon writes very well. He's easy to follow, I don't remember getting lost in any of his sentences or paragraphs. Very smooth. I was kept guessing the entire time of "who done it". I really felt bad for the main character. He was being forced to go out of his comfort zone with his writing to please his editor. I did have to hold back and bite my tongue so I didn't yell, "At least you have an editor [and agent]! arrrgh!" [hehehe] but if you're not comfortable with what you're writing, it's going to suffer and show through. Then you're pretty much toast!

Josh Lanyon did a fabulous job of feeding the seed of doubt about just about everyone. There's the fidgety agent, the bitch of a resort manager, the ex-con, silent cop, old lady with the young hunk... And it didn't seem forced. It just felt like they all had their past.

Christopher [main character] was such a comical character to read through. He had no sense of self-preservation until it came to the brink of death. He got stuck in weird situations, and somehow, escaped unscathed.

Though I love M/M romances because the love scenes are, knee shaking, I had a hard time seeing it in my mind from this book. I think it's because I kept imagining a scrawny dude with another guy that had a mustache and looked suspiciously like my ex-neighbor while I was growing up. Though I don't believe he's gay, it was just hard for me to "see" him and another man together. BUT! I did believe in it. There was a connection, a past, a passion, a yearning.

Luckily for Mr. Lanyon [and my review purposes], his ending was more of what I like [I wonder if it's because the two main characters were both male and didn't have the female craziness that is hormones], but he didn't make it too cheesy. In fact, I thought the last 3-4 sentences were *perfect* :D

Ratings:

1. Cover +1

2. Hooked: +1

3. Finished the book: +1

4. Overall Feeling: meh: +1

5. Re-readability: +.5 - skim through the mmhhhm parts :D

6. Suggest to others: +1 [m/m-mystery lovers]

7. Lost time: +1

8. Readability: +1

Though this isn't my type of book I usually like to enjoy, I'm happy that I can give it a 7.5 out of 10 :D


Author Website
Author Blog 

Str8te Boys by Evangeline Anderson

Str8te Boys by Evangeline Anderson

June 2009

Gay, Romance, Erotica

Samhain Publishing

Why I read it: Loved the first book I read of hers, and I wanted to taste another. [go here for the review I did on The Assignment]

Synopsis from Barnesandnoble[dot]com.

How far would you dare to go…to win it all?

Maverick Holms and Duke Warren share almost everything—a college soccer team, an apartment and the same extremely competitive nature. Thanks to that never-back-down spirit, they’re about to share more than they bargained for.

The game is “gay chicken”. The rule: get as close as possible without kissing, and the one that pulls away first is the loser. The problem: neither of them likes to lose. It isn’t long before the game becomes an excuse to touch and kiss in every possible forbidden way. And after they pose for a gay website to earn extra money, things really heat up.

Suddenly Duke is talking lifetime commitment, and Mav is backpedaling as hard as he can, not sure if he’s ready to accept all his best friend is offering him. Or the truth about what he is.

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Str8te boys followed the same format as her other I read, The Assignment. So I already liked the way things happened, but it did leave me a bit disappointed that she couldn't have changed it just a bit more. There were obvious differences that are revealed in the end, so I won't spoil those, but it followed too closely to the other for me to get the full benefit I could have.

I did love how it was fast paced, and exciting. Daring even. The way it developed was a bit differently because of certain aspects, but there's still that uncomfortable feeling. I mean, not all scary relationships start out the same way right? 

I say scary because it's going outside of your comfort zone. It's not like they go out there knowing without a doubt that they like one way or another. They develop it and find out that it's true with each other. I still recommend The Assignment first, but I will add a "but" clause in there. If you're not ready for overly flamboyant-ness, then you should read Str8te Boys first. Because it does explore it from a different, less showy way than The Assignment.

1.Cover: +1

2. Hooked: +1

3. Finished the book: +1

4. Overall Feeling: Pos +2

5. Re-Readability: +1

6. Suggest to others: +2

7. Lost time: Nope +1

8. Grammar: .5

Same 9.5 out of 10 as her The Assignment.  Well deserved.

This is book 3 out of my 30 book challenge! check!! :D

The Assignment by Evangeline Anderson

How do I start this... I guess the picture does an awesome job of hinting at it. But for the obvious challenged, I'll elaborate:

I read a gay book. Not just any gay book either. It was my very first gay book, and boy was it HOT! And by "gay" I don't mean it in the sense that it sucked [pun half way intended]. I'm talking about a for realz man-LOVES-man gay book. And I lOvEd it! I've been curious to read one for a while now, I've just been nervous to purchase it at stores. But with this awesome technological time, I didn't even have to talk to anyone to buy it and read it that same day. I was partially prepared since I love reading the raunchiest of raunchy romance novels sometimes, so it wasn't too much of a stretch for my brain.

The best part about the whole book?? I think there was only one woman throughout the whole thing. And she said maybe two sentences in her brief appearance. Even in books, women can be so obnoxious, it's annoying. Especially the "extras".

What's a gay book like, you ask? Well, this one was just like a romance novel, but with less baggage.... [wow, everything I say can have a double meaning. I feel like every sentence should be followed up with "that's what she said" or in this case, "that's what he said"]. I guess a better way to say that is that there was no emotional baggage. Yeah, the characters had their pasts and they overcame it, but it didn't haunt them the way it usually does for women.

The difference? When confronted with a problem in their childhood, women [typically--please, I understand all women are different and there are exceptions] tend to become jaded because of it. Men however, use that to grow character. Be stronger, and better than what they had.

I think that's enough of the furious rant I'll do on women, back to the book!

The Assignment Synopsis provided by BarnesandNoble[dot]com.

Detective Nicholas Valenti, tall, dark and stoic, has been best friends with his partner, Sean O'Brian for six years. The two men have seen each other through divorce, disaster, and danger, and saved each other's asses more times than Valenti can count. Exactly when he started seeing his blond, intense partner in another light, Valenti isn't really sure. He only knows that he wants O'Brian in a way that had nothing to do with friendship and everything to do with possession. It is a desire he will have to hide forever because O'Brian is undeniably straight.

Just as Valenti is coming to grips with his new, unacceptable feelings for his partner their police captain puts them on a new case that could blow Valenti's cover once and for all. He and O'Brian are going undercover at the country's largest and most infamous gay resort to bust a notorious drug lord and stop the shipments of poison cocaine that are flooding the gay bars all over the city.

Now Valenti will have to make a choice between friendship and desire. He and O'Brian will play the roles of gay men that will push the limits of their relationship to the breaking point. Will their time at the RamJack forge a new bond between them or destroy their partnership forever?

That synopsis [and the cover of two really ripped guys] had me intrigued initially [naturally of course]. Then the price of $1.87 on BarnesandNoble[dot]com for the e-book made me forget objections.

Now, in case you didn't know, I hardly ever go after the "meaning of" or the "message" that books/movies have. I could care less. My criteria of an awesome book is much more platonic than figuring out whether the message helped along the meaning of the book/film. For example? I buy books based on cover [i.e. the two really hot bod's on the cover of this book ;)>]. But this book blew my mind [haha, so many puns, so little time].

One thing at a time might be easier I think, especially with it being such a delicate topic for lots to handle.

The relationship: These guys have been partners for longer than I've been with my #1. They're detectives, which means they have to be able to work together for longer than the normal 40 hours. They need to be compatible and care deeply for the other and their well being. That in itself is always a hard thing for a guy to express openly [which is one reason why they get the opportunity for this assignment]. They trust each other, and love each other completely. They already have the tracks laid and linked together.

The assignment: They have to go to this flamboyantly gay resort to find out the murder of a young kid that overdosed on deadly laced drugs. Now, I don't know how real this is, but the resort seems like a stereotypical dominance (sponsor)/ submissive (twinkie) gay... country club... or something like that. They're open and are free to express themselves sexually, which I understand, since they don't really get the chance anywhere else. But the assignment changes everything for these partners. They have to do things they probably wouldn't have done outside the resort, and it's obviously a crucial component of the story.

Their love: Since this is in the mind and voice of Detective Nick Velenti, you don't get the prospective of Detective Sean O'Brien. You get caught up in the way that Nick feels, and the frustrating way Sean says stuff, then takes it back. Ugh! But, that makes it so great. The love they share is sooooooo genuine. And in at least Nick's point of view, he isn't attracted to any other guy. Just his partner. The same partner that's been there for him through everything, that he almost lost forever. And not in the cheesy "heroine runs away from hero because she feels sorry for the koala bears"... or whatever.

Tactful writing: It was written so tactfully that it expressed the fear of "coming out". I mean, they're straight guys. They double date... with girls. They're not attracted to other men. They're neither gay nor straight. In fact, that line doesn't exist here. At all. Sure, if you're one of those people that absolutely HAVE to place a label on them or your head my blow up with any other concept, you may think they're bisexual. But no! You couldn't be more wrong. If they just need a booty call, they'd just go find a girl. But they wanted the love they deserved. And for whatever's sake! They don't need to find a woman to get that.They found it from each other.

Character understanding: I was scared that it would be too wordy since it was written by a female [i.e.... look at how much I've written already] I mean, guys [whether gay or straight] don't talk much. They think more than they speak, but even then, it's not always this deep thought process women wish it was. So I was afraid that it wouldn't be believable because of the woman's nonstop talking quality it may have. But it was totally opposite!! It was great. short and sweet sentences, even those that were stuttered. The thoughts were direct, and there was no extreme speculation. So none of that "well, if he touches me this way and the stars are lined up with the sun on the 3rd Tuesday in November, then that means he likes cockroaches, and I'll be lighting candles to woo him. But that could also mean..."... etc. I wish i was joking. Even in the moments of uncertainty, there was no endless thoughts on "he loves me, he loves me not"

Message/Meaning: It's poetic how it develops their relationship. I think it's brilliant how they just love each other so much. They trust each other so much, that they do what they have to in order to get the job done.

Ratings: I give this book the well deserved 9.5 out of 10.

1.Cover: +1

2. Hooked: +1

3. Finished the book: +1

4. Overall Feeling: Pos +2

5. Re-Readability: +1

6. Suggest to others: +2

7. Lost time: Nope +1

8. Grammar: .5

Sure, on my e-file some of the grammar wasn't awesome, but I couldn't let that harm the score. It was such a great book.

Obviously!!!! If you're uncomfortable with homosexual.. well, sexuality, do not even dare pick up this book. It will offend you. It is a homosexual erotica!!! Buuut, if you're curious like I was, this is the best book to start with :D At least that I know of right now.. haha, since it is the only one I tried so far.

If you have a book you'd like me to read/review, please post it in the comments. Obviously you don't have to worry about offending me. All I ask is no cookbooks, health freak, history, memoirs/biographies, etc. I'm not all that in to boring books. Sorry. Most Non fiction is a no-go. Some just normal fiction is a no-go too. You can always ask though. I'll be honest.

Just in case you're keeping track. That's 1/30 on my 2010 book goal (started in April, that's why only 30) What a way to kick it off, eh? Nothing like a fantastic homosexual erotica/romance book to start the goal! haha.