Customer Reviews

Hostage

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

LouisaClark has given an excellent review on this one. For my part, I love all 4 stories.

Josh's Dangerous Ground is one intense, exciting, riveting and emotional story. The plot is excellent as 2 FBI agents race against time to escape the clutches of a group of ruthless thieves bend on killing them. At the same time they have to struggle with their anguished and conflicting emotions. Josh's characters are so easy to love and Will and Taylor are no exception. Both government agents, Will and Taylor have been partners for 3 years, a formidable partnership in perfect synchronization. They are acknowledged gays, with casual relationships with other men on the sideline, never allowing deeper relationship to intrude into their job. They last thing they want is feelings for each other. But Taylor wakes up to that need, the need for a long and lasting relationship with Will. By contrast Will is afraid to acknowledge his feelings for Taylor and rejects his partner's love. Just when he wants to accept that love, they are overwhelmed by forces beyond their control and Will may not have that second chance again. Never a dull page, this one keeps me glued to the very last word, all too soon. And that sex scene in the pool is just so hot and passionate. Thanks Josh for another wonderful read.

I love Laura's alpha hunks partnering endearing but independent betas. In Burn Card, we have Cody, an intelligent CSI geek, in a committed and devoted relationship with the imposing and 100% alpha Gil, a rich celebrity who owes a security firm. Theirs is a loving, caring and sensual relationship, as each man will do anything for the other. And when Cody is kidnapped it is up to his "dark" knight in shining armor to the rescue. Cody waking up to find himself blindfolded, mouth stuffed, hand and legs bound is one heart stopping read, as Laura depicts his predicament so amazingly well. The plot is tightly paced and layered with suspense and the bitter revelation towards the ending almost sad.


And now for Sarah's "The Classic Story of Good and Evil" which is just excellent and so compelling and emotionally stirring. Sarah has her own very unique style. Her M/M stories are romantic, but most of the times, they have a sad undertone to it. Fortunately, they do end well. But the journey to get to the "happy" ending is at times almost heart wrenching to read for a sap like me. But you can't stop reading because you care too deeply for the characters and wish to make sure Sarah give the heroes a good ending. Such is the case in "The Classic Story of Good and Evil which have me at the edge of my seat till the very last word. The tumultuous setting during the Vietnam war gives a very dark and poignant atmosphere to the story. It is so well written that I feel as if I am immersed in that very hell itself. And the usage of military terms adds to the realism of the story. As for her two characters, Hutch and Daniel, they are amazingly vibrant and so easy to fall in love with. Their feelings for each other could not be more "wrong" in a military world which does not allow such "sickness". Both men know that. More so for Daniel who loves flying and aspires to be an astronaut and Hutch is not about to deny the man he loves that wish. But when death is at every corner and today maybe your very last day on earth, it is not easy to just ignore these deep feelings for the sake of one's career and ambition. These feelings are brought to the surface when an injured Daniel felt he could so easily have lost Hutch. And when Daniel was snatched away by the Vietcong, it is one taut, nail biting and stirring read as an injured Hutch raced through the hellish jungle to rescue Daniel before that first streak of dawn. A satisfying and most touching ending. Bravo, Sarah.

Sarah's "The Second Indian War" may be short but it is well crafted with its profound and sad message. It may not be truly romance but the interaction between the lonely thirty over years old Sam and the eighteen year old TJ who is so passionate about his people and land makes this one enjoyable read.

This anthology is top quality writing, which is so much more than a M/M romance. It is not just for us into M/M or gay romance. It deserves a much wider reader base.

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Disclaimer(s):
* Many of the "cons" in this review are the result of my personal preference for (a) longer stories that have time and space to develop the characters more fully and (b) stories that are just different--in setting, in development, in subject matter, etc.--than these are.
* I prefer to read romances that are more about feelings than sex. If a book has lots of lust-filled, dispassionate sex, I'm not impressed. If the sex is a manifestation of love, bring it on.


"Dangerous Ground" by Josh Lanyon - 7/10
Pros:
- Good depiction of the despair of losing someone you love.
- A few funny moments.
- Exciting plot.
Cons:
- Sex scenes that for some reason just didn't quite do it for me; one of the guys is in love, and the other is rather standoffish emotionally. (This is fixed by the end, of course.)
- Too open an ending for me.

"Burn Card" by Laura Baumbach - 6/10
Pros:
- Good (if abbreviated) descriptions of what it must feel like to be kidnapped and tied up.
- Brief development of the characters' background, but still managed to convince me how deeply they cared for each other; when one of them was kidnapped, I felt the anger/depression/hopelessness of his partner immediately.
Cons:
- Not an open ending per se, but not terribly satisfying either. The conclusion was more in line with a slice-of-life short story than a short novella, which is what this is.
- Simplistic plot (but again, with a good depiction of the emotional impact of the kidnapping itself) with next to no mystery regarding the kidnapper's identity.

"The Second Indian War" by Sarah Black - 3/10
Pros:
- Pretty (and accurate) descriptions of a canyon/mesa setting at sunset.
- Well written flash ending.
Con:
- Not my kind of story - political, very short, no romance (but with an odd kiss that felt out of place).

"The Classic Story of Good and Evil" by Sarah Black - 6/10
Pros:
- Characters I cared about by the end of the story. For someone as critical as I am of character development, that's an achievement in as little space as Black had with this story.
- Sappy ending that I liked a lot.
Cons:
- Jumpy plot--short scenes with choppy description and little development. (I am, however, willing to admit the possibility that Black wrote the story like this on purpose to capture the fleeting, volatile atmosphere of the Vietnam War.)
- Flashback-type accounts of the characters' previous encounter(s) that I found hard to follow. Even after reading the story a second time, I wasn't sure what the exact state of their relationship was supposed to have been at the beginning of the story.

Overall comments: Probably not for you if you're looking either for heartwarming (or heart-pounding) romance or for graphic/erotic sex (with the exception of the Lanyon story).

All 4 stories were excellent! Sarah B. was a new author for me, and I will be buying more of her books...Josh Lanyon's story was really exciting and well written, and of course Laura Baumbach simply ROCKS!!! I love everything she's written! My only complaint? The stories were too short. I'd would have loved to have more, but I understand it's an anthology and all that. If you're a fan of any of these authors, you'll welcome HOSTAGE for your keeper shelf, and if you've never tried any, then this will be a good place to start. I'd recommend this one to all...

Dangerous Ground by Josh Lanyon

The book begins abruptly: Will and Taylor are hiking and arguing. They are FBI special agents and Taylor is recovering from a shooting and they have taken a vacation. Taylor resents Will for something, we at first don't understand and Will wants both to take care of Taylor but also hit him to instill some common sense in him.

Little by little we understand that other than partners they are also friends and maybe something more: both Will than Taylor are g ay, but between them there wasn't nothing more than teasing and glaring until the last fatal night, the night before Taylor's accident. And then there wasn't a right moment to face the argument, until now: in the open space of mountains all seem to be free from restrain, words and thoughts. And Will and Taylor seem to not be able to do other than yell to each other and offend each other.

When they only want to understand how they can go on or move on on their relationship, real world interposes between them, in the guise of a cold case: a robbery to a casino, ended with the lost of the spoil. And now the thieves want it back.

The book is not very long, little more than 100 pages, but I think it's more s exy than previous Josh Lanyon's books. There is actually only one real s ex scene, and it's hot, but since as I said the book is not very long, and the building tension that promises the real scene and the simmering ashes that follow are both long and detailed, the scene is the apex of the book. And it's also very good, very... erotic.

Taylor and Will are both strong characters. I think this is the real problem: they fear to give a chance to their relationship since both fear to lose independency and the alpha male role in the match. But they are not equal in their dominance: Taylor is an hot head, a man of action and someone who is pretty driven by instinct; instead Will is more caring and a thinker, he likes to analyze everything before taking a decision. So maybe, if they manage to balance their powers, they can find a common path.

Dangerous Ground is not a mystery, is more an action romance. And the romance is a big ingredient of this book. But even if they talk about feelings and love, not Will or Taylor lose their masculinity.

Burn Card Laura Baumbach

Cody is a CSI officer for the Las Vegas PD. What he lacks in body, being small and lithe, he makes up in cleverness. Cody is a very prim and proper East Coast guy, but inside he is a romantic guy, who likes to cuddle the teddy bear his lover Gil gave him as birthday present. Gil is a big and strong badass, former football player, former wrestler and now owner of a very exclusive security firm. His primary business is to provide skilled bodyguard to celebrity. Gil is also a high tech lover, and likes to surround him and his lover with all the latest tech gadget.

Cody and Gil are at the opposite in body, Cody small and pretty, Gil big and rough, and at the opposite in behavior, Cody always perfect and impeccable, Gil a bit of a slob and impulsive, but they are equal in feelings, they are deeply in love and love overcomes all their differences.

When Cody is kidnapped, Gil has only 12 hours to find his lover. And some of that tech gadgets he likes to give him could be of help.

The story is very short, less than 70 pages, and it felt almost like one of that 'what happens after' type of story. It almost like if Laura Baumbach just wrote the main story, when Cody and Gil met, and where she gave us all the details about them and their story, and this one is only a welcome back story... a bit strange.

Anyway as usual in a Laura Baumbach's book, there is the strong contraposition between the two main characters, even if in this case is more physical than anything else: Cody could be little in body, but he is not at all a dependent character; he has a strong and independent personality, and it's a good match for Gil. Actually this time, it's the apparently submissive character, Cody, who has the main role in the story, and we know very little about Gil.

I'd be glad to read a little more on these two, above all the beginning of their love story.