IN THE FIRE

IN THE FIRE by Eileen Griffin & Nikka Michaels

Seize: 93K words / 433KB

Date: 23/10/2014

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 2 In the Kitchen

            Received from Carina Press

            Through NetGalley

Kindle

The blurb:

Because the way to a man's heart…

Eight years ago, the world was their oyster. Until, that is, competing chefs Ethan Martin and James Lassiter's hot and heavy relationship fizzled after Jamie left for an internship in Paris. Even though Jamie's career has taken off since his return to the States, with his own television show and a lot of fame, his feelings for Ethan have never quite gone away.

Ethan's culinary career has developed more slowly, but he's almost saved enough to buy the restaurant where he works and re-open it as his dream spot, Bistro 30. If only he could get the sexy chef who loved him and left him out of his mind.

But when someone starts sabotaging the restaurant and a fire threatens to take away everything Ethan holds dear, his only option is to rely on Jamie for help. Back in close quarters, the two men will have to find a way to work through their past if they hope to save the restaurant and their future.

My thoughts:

What a difference eight years make. When ‘In the Raw’ the first book in the ‘In the Kitchen’ trilogy ended we left our two boys deeply in love. Sure, Jamie was on his way to Paris to further his cooking career, but they would only be separated for six months. Surely the deep connection and love between them would survive the relatively short separation?

Apparently not. When ‘In the Fire’ starts Ethan and Jamie have been living separate lives for eight years. Over the course of Jamie’s six months in Paris they drifted apart for reasons neither is completely sure about. When Jamie returned to America he moved to New York rather than back to Seattle and the rest, as they say is history. Jamie has become a famous television chef over the years while Ethan is tantalizingly close to buying the restaurant he’s been dreaming about for so long. When circumstances force Ethan and Jamie to meet again it soon becomes clear that eight years were not enough to kill the feelings they have for each other. They may not trust each other completely and may be filled with doubts about the wisdom of their actions, the heat and love burning between them won’t be denied.

Still, it takes the thread of Ethan almost losing his dream for the two of them to turn back into the solid and immovable unit they once were.

I have fallen more than a little bit in love with Ethan and Jamie over the course of ‘In the Raw’ and ‘In the Fire’. They both have their own distinct voice in these books and are fully fleshed out characters, easy to recognise and even easier to fall for. When I first saw there was an eight year gap in the story-line between books one and two I had my doubts about how well that might work. I should have known better. I think giving Ethan and Jamie those years to grow from boys into grown men was nothing less than a stroke of genius. ‘In the Fire’ tells us enough about what happened during those eight years to make the reader understand how they turned into the men they are now, without us having to be present for every single minute. When we reconnect with our two heroes one of them is on the brink of realizing his dream while the other has discovered that what appeared to be a dream has turned into a chore; a wonderful time for both of them to re-evaluate their lives.

Griffin and Michaels have a wonderful writing style. They create characters with real personalities and make them shine. Their descriptions are vivid (don’t read these books while hungry) and their dialogue sparkle and occasionally leads to laugh out loud moments. The easy flow of the narrative combined with two characters who are extremely hot together, ensures a wonderful and captivating reading experience.

If I have an issue with this book it is that it took almost 70% of the story before Jamie and Ethan spend some real time together. What I love most about these books is the interaction between them and with them being apart I did miss those sparks. But, I understand why the separation was necessary in the story and I’m convinced my impatience with prolonged angst had a lot to do with my reaction. Since I’m well aware my issues with angst are a-typical for readers of this genre, I’m convinced others may love those parts I wished had been a bit shorter.

Where ‘In the Raw’ ended a bit ambiguously, ‘In the Fire’ has no such issues. In fact the ending in this book is such that I have absolutely no idea where Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels might be taking us with book three. If I didn’t know for a fact they were already writing it I might doubt it was to come at all. To say I’m curious and looking forward to that third book would be a serious understatement. These two authors have once again confirmed their status among my must read writers.

Buy link Amazon US: http://smile.amazon.com/Fire-Kitchen-Nikka-Michaels-ebook/dp/B00M6G8MVK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414064790&sr=8-1&keywords=IN+THE+FIRE

COUNTERPUNCH

COUNTERPUNCH by Aleksandr Voinov

Pages: 200

Date: 28/09/2014

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 2 Belonging

           Received from Riptide Publishing

           Through NetGalley

Kindle

The blurb:

“Brooklyn Marshall used to be a policeman in London, with a wife and a promising future ahead of him. Then he accidentally killed a rioter whose father was a Member of Parliament and had him convicted of murder. To ease the burden on the overcrowded prison system, Brooklyn was sold into slavery rather than incarcerated. Now, he's the "Mean Machine", a boxer on the slave prizefighting circuit, pummelling other slaves for the entertainment of freemen and being rented out for the sexual service of his wealthier fans.

When Nathaniel Bishop purchases Brooklyn's services for a night, it seems like any other assignation. But the pair form an unexpected bond that grows into something more. Brooklyn hesitates to call it "love"—such things do not exist between freemen and slaves—but when Nathaniel reveals that he wants to help get Brooklyn's conviction overturned, he dares to hope. Then, an accident in the ring sends Brooklyn on the run, jeopardizing everything he has worked so hard to achieve and sending him into the most important fight of all—the fight for freedom.”

My thoughts:

Anybody keeping an eye on my reviews may have noticed that I’m a fan of Aleksandr Voinov. He’s on that list of authors whose books I buy without second thought, even without reading the blurb in too much detail, secure in the knowledge that I’m going to love what I’ll find between the covers.

Counterpunch was no exception to that rule. And, up to a point, that’s surprising. I’m not a fan of boxing, to put it mildly. I actively avoid having to watch it and would, under most circumstances, stay away from it in my reading as well. But, just as Aleksandr could make me read about World War II when I’d sworn I’d leave that subject alone, he could make me read about boxing and enjoy the story.

Counterpoint contains a very nice mix between alternate universe circumstances and celebrities and situations we recognise from our own reality. Being able to recognise so much of the world Brooklyn and Nathaniel live in, made this story real and therefore more heart wrenching than it would have been in a outright fantastical setting. It didn’t take a huge imaginary leap to believe the slavery premise of the story. In fact, slavery is only taking community service combined with a security bracelet one step further, isn’t it? I mean we’ve all seen the protests where police forces are attacked by those marching. Accidents happen. A policeman killing one of the protesters has happened and is bound to happen again. In our world the guilty cop might not end up in slavery, boxing to stay alive, but he might well be ostracised and end up living a life he’d never imagined in his worst nightmares.

Because it was all too easy to read this story as if it were taking place in the world I live in, because it stayed close enough to reality to make me forget it was fiction on one or two occasions, Brooklyn’s story took a hold of my heart. I completely got the constant battle between anger and frustration. I understood how dangerous it was for him to hope or to trust his emotions when the merest slip could bring him face to face with torturous punishment.

The story is told from Brooklyn’s perspective which means that the reader is as much in the dark about Nathaniel’s motives and feelings as Brooklyn is. As readers we might be a bit more inclined to be optimistic about the eventual outcome than Brooklyn is, but Nathaniel’s actions were mysterious enough to keep me on my toes and racing through the words towards what I hoped would be a happy ending.

Aleksandr Voinov’s writing voice is one that appeals to me. I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is that works so well for me but every single book I’ve read by this author has drawn me in and captured me, regardless of the setting or subject matter. The books almost read themselves. All I have to do is show up and the stories take over, the characters come alive and I can hear their dialogue in my head. Aleksandr is one of a few authors I’ll be forever grateful I’ve found as well as one I’ll continue reading as long as there are new (to me) stories to be found.

PRECOG IN PERIL

PRECOG IN PERIL by Theo Fenraven

Pages: 342

Date: 28/07/2014

Grade: 5+

Details: Previously published as three books

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

Gray Vecello meets Cooper Key, and the adventure of a lifetime begins as they explore the river on the houseboat Gray’s grandfather left him in his will. Along the way, they will meet new friends and dangerous enemies. 

Three of Swords: An old houseboat, a hot young guy, a couple of murders, and more mysterious keys than you can shake a stick at: it's an adventure Gray Vecello and Cooper Key will never forget. Gray has the sight, just as Graham had, but will it be enough to save them both? 

Knight of Wands: Gray Vecello and Cooper Key are back in the exciting sequel to Three of Swords. Graham's treasure is only the tip of the iceberg as a thief helps himself to a hidden stash of cash, Jolly Roger makes another appearance, and the guys finally meet others with special abilities when an emergency meeting of the group is called. 

Accompanying them on this new adventure is Gray's cousin, Harper, who's having problems of her own. Peace and quiet will have to wait as they take another trip downriver on their houseboat, The Constant Companion, before flying to New York City to beard a lion in his den and unexpectedly meet the SOS. 

The Lightning Struck Tower: Gray Vecello and Cooper Key are back in the last book in the Precog in Peril series. Snatched by PsiOps, a covert arm of the government, they’re offered training in exchange for their psionic help. Will they take the deal, and if they don't, what will PsiOps do to them? 

Gray and Cooper meet new friends and enemies in this final chapter in the trilogy. The story takes the reader from New York City to Ely, Minnesota, and back to Gray and Cooper's marina in Red Wing, where they will face the ultimate test of their powers. Someone will live... and someone will die.

------------------------------------------------

My thoughts:

“The cards had shown me my future. Time to grab it around the throat and strangle it into submission.”

People following my reviews will know that I’m in love with Theo Fenraven’s words. I fell hard and fast when I read Blue River, the love grew when I devoured Transgression and solidified while I enjoyed Wolf Bound and Lavender Rose.

I love an author who can lift me out of my daily life and drop me in another world. It is even better when that other world becomes my reality while I’m reading, even when the subject matter is otherworldly. This author manages that trick every single time.

Each book by Mr. Fenraven I’ve read so far has been unique. He doesn’t write according to a formula. Every story is a completely new adventure of discovery for the reader, as I imagine it must have been for the author too.

Each and every book by this author has also left me impressed with and envious of his ability to use words to their best advantage. Where others need a paragraph he can convey the message in a sentence or two. Not a single word is superfluous, and most of them are exquisitely beautiful. The dialogue sounds true and sparkles and descriptions leave the reader with a clear picture of what they are looking at.

“Watching him, I felt longing bloom in my belly... or maybe it was flowering lower down.”

There is a lot going on in this book. This is one of the sweetest love stories I’ve ever read. Cooper and Gray are beyond beautiful together. Their love for each other, the way the worry about the others health and happiness and the interaction between them kept an almost constant smile on my face.

But there is so much more. The paranormal angle is thrilling yet plausible. Gray initial reluctance to accept his abilities and his slow journey towards learning more about and eventually embracing them, made it feel like something that could happen to any of us.

And finally there are the mysteries. Who killed Graham and the Crystal Lady? Who is after Gray and Cooper and why? And most vitally, how far do Gray’s powers really reach and will he be able to fully embrace and utilise them when it is literally a matter of life and death?

There isn’t a boring moment in this book. The sweet, tender and on several occasions scorching hot love between the two main characters will have you smiling.

“That night I found out how ticklish he was.”

The tension, resulting from the mysteries and dangers the characters face as much as Gray’s fear of and reluctance to use his ability keeps you on the edge of your seat.

“My nerves were stretched so tight, Cooper could have played an adagio in D flat on me with his violin bow.”

Cooper has to be one of the sweetest characters I’ve ever read. And before you think that makes him sound boring, let me reassure you. Cooper was also one of the most fascinating characters ever. Because we see him through Gray’s eyes we get a real opportunity to appreciate his kindness. While his role is to protect Gray from psychic attacks, the younger man is protective of his older lover in every possible way. For personal reasons I loved how we changed their diet in the hope of helping Gray’s IBS.

The cliffhangers at the end of the first two parts of this story would have killed me if it hadn’t been for the fact I had the sequels ready and waiting. If I’d had to wait months for the revelations I would have uttered one or two obscenities.

From my description so far you may have gotten the impression that this is a sweet romance come paranormal tale of suspense. And you’d be right. However it is so much more. Theo Fenraven manages to open our eyes to things we know but prefer not to think about in the most gentle of ways regardless of the shocking nature of the revelations. These tales aren’t told for their shock value – although they do shock – they are here to make the reader aware of what’s happening in this world to kids who are different from ‘the norm’. It is a wake-up call delivered in the most beautiful of words.

Your heart gets broken early on in the book when you learn about Cooper’s past and the way his parents treated him when he came out. You think it can’t possibly get any worse and then you meet Wade, and hear the ordeal this character had to go through at the hands of their father and find yourself in the middle of a battle between despair and pure hate. Knowing this is fiction doesn’t make it any easier. The author may have invented this character, he didn’t invent the situation. It happens. Kids are living those nightmares and the world looks away, not wanting to know.

I started this review by confessing to my love affair with Theo Fenraven’s words. This book deepened that love. I know this author has found a fan for life in me. It’s about time the rest of the world woke up to the beauty they’re missing out on.

While something tells me it’s unlikely, I can’t help hoping these characters will start talking to their creator again one day soon. I would love to spend more time with Cooper and Gray.

I’ll end this review with a quote that states what has been my motto for the past 15 years or so. Cooper and my reasons for adopting the attitude may have been different; the result is the same; a better and less stressful life.

“I decided I would be as positive about life as possible. It made things easier for me.”