LOGAN'S NEED by Sloane Kennedy

2 STARS

DNF 67%

M/M Danielle Steele with drama llamas.

I tried, but I can't suspend reality enough to go with this. The characters' emotional states require pharmaceutical assistance, which isn't happening, tongue in cheek, but there are characters that require medical attention and they're not getting it. All over the map like yo-yos.

STATUS UPDATE by Annabeth Albert

2 STARS

Oh boy. I suspect that my job today is to kick puppies. I wanted to love this story, but I had grave misgivings with the characters and their actions. 

Problem 1: The Setup

This essentially makes Adrian into a TSTL hero. Like find the body ten years later as hikers stumble across it stupid. If a female did this everyone would be screaming bloody murder about how idiotic she was. So, Adrian... no pass on that. 

Problem 2: Adrian's mouth

That boy has some serious foot in mouth disease. I know three years old who have more tact than Adrian, and he knows it--it's not a neurodiversity issue. Invasive and pushy are the nicest terms I can use here.

Problem 3: Noah's actions

I'm all for nice, but Noah's decision to help further after Adrian's been on his case and in his business without invitation--well, dude you come across as a doormat. I'm all for non-confrontational and helping, but this was beyond the call of good Christian. Then there was the incident that he knew would end that way it did and still went ahead, but I can't feel bad about it when we all know ahead of time the outcome to this self destructive choice. Heck, I would have gone into the university with my statement, but I sure as hell would know what was going to happen. 

So basically, this story had a whole bunch of head shaking in between the overly sweet intimacies. I didn't believe the characters and things they did rubbed me the wrong way. The mechanics were good and the guys end up being cute in their highly improbable and conveniently resolved world. 

KNIT TIGHT by Annabeth Albert

3 STARS

Cozy read with some fluffy goodness.

Brady, barista extraordinaire is raising his siblings after their parents are killed in an accident. Life is busy and filled with more responsibilities than the average young twenty-something. Free time--Ha. Extra money-Ha, ha. Though he never regrets his decisions, Brady's got more wishes than fishes.

Evren, the alluring nephew of a local shop owner, visits and during Knit Night Brady and he meet. While there's zings and interest, they're both busy guys and neither is looking for a quick fix. Both are dealing with their sense of being an outsider in different ways, learning that accepting help isn't a negation of their abilities or actions, and finding common ground and interests. 

I have to say there were some interesting social issues addressed, albeit in a gentle manner. I also really liked the multicultural aspect to the story. How Evren's heritage and beliefs were introduced without being spectacle, as well as the cultural biases. There was more tension over the bisexuality and it hit the issue head on in addition to anal sex which is not the be all and end all of male-male sexual relations. I enjoyed the approach and execution.

That said, the guys have exterior issues that are dominant in their lives which overshadow them individually or as a pair. If you like the 'busy and making it work' couples' stories or family based stories then this is good. For me personally, I found the circumstances overpowering to the characters. Though I enjoyed it; it wasn't a homerun.

Overall, a romance that takes backseat to family. 
3.5 stars

HIS HOLY BONES (Rifter #10) by Ginn Hale

5 STARS

Ten books and a few days later I emerge...
Victorious? Exhausted, a bit. But, most of all, at peace.

Jahn's journey is a heroic one.



Each step is fraught with both advances and pitfalls. The weaving was clever, insanely addictive as it dragged one to the next installment, the reader falling over a series of cataracts and swept away. Never getting the chance to rest as the next obstacle arises to challenge. 

Again, not going to discuss the specifics but recommend that if you enjoy fantasy novels then this might very well be a story you'll love. I DO highly suggest one prepares and sets aside time to make the full journey because interruptions and delays are probably going to be unacceptable. At least, many of my friends seemed to have the same reaction with the Rifter series--non-stop indulging until glutted with the fallen books around you. 

Series as a whole: 4 Stars
Satisfaction rating: 5 Stars, this was a great experience which fortunately, unfolded perfectly for me. 

CONVERGENCE by Michael Patrick Hicks

2 STARS

Sci-fi, assassins, and Los Angeles, this should have been right up my alley. Alas, I had some issues with the execution. The world building and characterization being top most. The action scenes were great, a bit repetitive, but solid, high velocity, and engaging. The introspection and background filling were far less successful. The sense of place, nailed it. This was Los Angeles destroyed and detailed enough that those familiar could follow Jonah's paths.

First person and descriptions are a little clunky, superficial. Makes sense in a scanning the scene manner, but combined with the first person point of view I expect more embellishment to reflect Jonah's personality. At the beginning, he sounds like he buys into stereotypes which for a man in his profession seems dangerous. Combined with the pattern of lose consciousness then flashback or change location feels plastic.

I know I'm breaking the rules of reading here by not accepting the premise set out in the blurb, but the naivete required to believe that Russia, China, and Iran could actually work together in a concerted effort is mind boggling. The internal elements in two of those countries are unstable that keeping them together is hard enough let alone mounting a coordinated offensive overseas. That said, it's managed to portray the U.N. as impotent as it is. 

Some bold, but improbable technology made me do a double take. All for heat seeking bullets, but ones that can navigate around to find gaps in plating and armor? Yeah not so much. Some things are just illogical, like the wire and pipes stripped out of a house. That makes sense in a society that is recycling and a profit can be made, but there's no infrastructure to support that so it wouldn't happen. The incentive is missing. Where is Jonah getting money to pay for things as a refuge under foreign rule? The currency is going to be different, yes black market goods can get cash, but barter is more likely.

The unexplained shift in relationship between Jonah and Alice. Fuck and roll, or friends with benefits I get, but Alice laying down her cards for no good reason--doubtful. The Alice's shift from BAMF organized crime boss to little woman--No. Then again, Jonah isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Bouts of preaching, being overly invested in projecting present day issues into the landscape of the story from terrorism to Patriot Act to entitlement made me go 



Bogeyman, xenophobic, dystopic world building which resembles flashes from news media outlets rants rather than a cohesive sociological construct. 

And please, don't get me started on the representation of women. The frighteningly telling resolution with his daughter and Jonah's response is disturbing. And how did Jonah get from coward to hitman? The vacillation in his character from sweaty nervous to cold-blood killer was head spinning, the multiple times it happened.

Honestly, with more editing for the characters, consistency and minor grammar issues this could be strong. The concept of memory harvesting and convergences, similar to the research in social media tracking, but first person is really interesting. But here, it feels superficial and disjointed with character choices that are illogical. Like Kaften buying into Jonah's problem after his mission was complete--Nope.

So this was not my cup of tea, but it worked for many other readers. I suspect that my preference for science fiction over dystopia put this story at a disadvantage. 

Overall, uneven pacing with characterization flaws in a blockbuster format. 

CLINCH by Martin Holmén

5 STARS

1932 Stockholm, Sweden



Wheel of Fortune, for every one going up there's one going down. 

Framed for murder Kvisten searches for the witness who can clear him. A cat and mouse game across the seedy side of interwar Stockholm ensues with Harry seemingly one step behind, all the time, until his luck turns. It's a probing look at the bottom half of the city's totem from the schemers to the scrapers to the desperate, and every so often there's a glimmer of hope.

Not pretty and not cozy, there's a visceral quality to the descriptions and tone that root this squarely in the noir genre. Noir is very much a fall from grace motif; doll comes into his life and suddenly everything goes to hell in a handbasket. All it takes is one meeting and everything changed for Harry Kvisten.

Brutish and self-centered, he's a great character. In real life I'd lock horns, but he really does have that larger than life attitude that gives him a charisma that his broken face doesn't. He also has moments of unvarnished restraint or charity that you wouldn't expect which makes him unequivocally flawed, but human, and not a sociopath. His code is different, honed by scarcity and need, but it is there.

It is a textural and palpable experience reading about Kvisten's life, a series of physical events and while they are often violent that concentration lends a sensuous quality. It's this ephemera, seductive, yet blunt instances that are here then gone again. Don't misunderstand, there's nothing romantic about it; it's coarse, earthy and visceral. That "ultra-gritty" tag in the blurb is not unwarranted. If one is uncomfortable with human bodily functions than the intrinsic crudity will be off-putting.

That said, this story is rooted in 1930s Stockholm. You have a real sense of the economic inequality, the struggle, and the disturbing rise of Nazi rhetoric whispering in. There is a definite sense of place and references that a local or one with great familiarity will get that others will not. Contextually, they're understandable, but the sub context for all the regional references are right over my head, which is hard to admit and has me feeling like this:



The ending is a splashy double-cross, emotionally fraught, yet in that noir aspect untouchable. Everything has changed and nothing has. Overall, I enjoyed the chase, the betrayals, and that cynicism. It was a win, and I'll probably reread it and I already have the perfect person to buy this book for.

TITANBORN by Rhett C. Bruno

3 STARS

The measure of man is by his actions. 

Malcolm Graves is a collector. Think bounty hunter and problem solver. Been at it for decades, working for the Pervenio Corporation. Some things go down less than ideally and next thing he knows he's got a shadow. Veteran mentoring his rookie partner setup, I'll admit is a trope I love. Zhaff is the eager, emotionally unconnected understudy, textbook perfect, and naive.

They're working the case, a terrorist plot spanning Earth to Titan. Chasing into the hinterlands and the underworld areas, they court danger. If the environment doesn't get them, their opponents may. The conflict between Ringers and mud stompers is a replay of colonial power grabs, but here corporations hold the reins. Corporations fund passage off Earth for cheap and captive labor. There's also a great deal of expansionist rhetoric playing in the post meteor impact human psyche. 

Three hundred years after a meteor strike Earthlings have colonized various places include the moon Titan and Mars. Ringer, is an outsider derogatory term for Titanborn persons. Environmental conditions have affected their development. The issues of subjugation and oppression regarding Titanborn rights are center stage as they're denied or undercut for their own good. 

The world building and technology were good. Developed, believable, and solid background for the action. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of flashbacks, and used multiple times is a clumsy device for relaying backstory. Honestly, the information given while critical was unsuccessful and slowed the story down. The pace wasn't that fast that I wanted a breather. It felt like an interruption every time. The character development that needed to happen with them was unsuccessful.

Frankly, the ending sucked. It was very dramatic, borderline emo, and convenient. Overly so, and while I understand the decision I didn't buy into it because I was unconvinced by the characters. The characterizations that worked and were developed, which I had bought into ended up ignored, and I was disappointed. Man, I love that cover though. Even better in the context of the story.

Overall, fun partner chase story that implodes at the end.