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MANGA: Shishi no Odoriko
Shishi no Odoriko – Yanase Seno
Yoru works as a male prostitute after being betrayed by the owner of the circus.One day, a man appears who wants to buy Yoru for one night.That was Amran, a high race “hybrid” who is said to have two forms of human and beast. That night, Yoru is hugged violently without even having time to make up for him…
The Lion Dances With a Loved One has stunning artwork, massive dubcon issues, beast sex, captivating dancing, and beautiful long-haired men. Quite a brew!
The plot is Yoru, the sex slave, purchased for some mysterious reason by rich company owner and lion shifter, Amran. He’s forced to have sex but is also treated kindly by his new owner, which left poor Yoru conflicted.
The setting is vaguely historical Arabia, where full-bred shifters, a.k.a. hybrids, are considered superior, and half-breeds are considered weak. Yoru was a circus dancer advertised as a hybrid against his will. He’s actually human, so when he was discovered, he was forced to work as a sex worker.
The story also has some omegaverse elements where the shifters are in heat for certain periods of time. This is where content warnings come in place because there are scenes where Amran fucks Yoru in lion form. This I could ignore because, heck, I read monster romance, and those come with even weirder appendages.
What bothered me are a couple of things. First, Amran is the kind of petty bastard who repeatedly forced his crush because Yoru didn’t recognized him after all these years. Second, Yoru digging a hole for himself later on when he declared he liked it rough and not to stop even if he said no. Clearly, these two needed a safe word. Yoru has no sense of self-preservation whatsoever, so this on Amran, who is a sadistic motherfucker.
There were attempts at heartwarming moments, childhood connection trope, and cutesy side characters, but I didn’t like the MCs, so it was wasted on me. Still, this might charm other people, and the drawings are really pretty.
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REVIEW: Peacemaker by Morgan Brice
Sharps and Springfield: Peacemaker – Morgan Brice
Secret agents, forbidden love, danger, and magic!
Supernatural Secret Service agents Owen Sharps and Calvin Springfield meet on the train to their new assignment in St. Louis, and sparks fly between them. But it’s 1897, and they need to be very careful—falling in love can be dangerous for men like them.
It’s their first case together, investigating mysterious disappearances—including the two agents who preceded them. Grim evidence leads them to look for a darker purpose. Old ghosts haunt the railroad line, zombie rise, signs point to ritual sacrifice, and they suspect someone is trying to open the gates of hell.
Can Calvin and Owen stop the mayhem, thwart the vampires, and find true love, or will everything go up in smoke?
Peacemaker is a high-stakes steampunk MM romance thrill ride filled with found family, paranormal Pinkertons, intrepid reporters, mysterious disappearances, nefarious land brokers, hellhounds, zombies, vengeful spirits, dark spells, absinthe magic, a ruthless vampire railroad baron and a love that won’t be denied.
Before Colt and Winchester, there was Sharps & Springfield!
Peacemaker is the first book in the new Sharps & Springfield series
Finally, gay Pinkertons!
I learned about Pinkertons from Whyborne & Griffin, the latter being a former Pinkerton detective. I haven’t encountered many MM stories about these detectives, so I was super excited for Morgan Brice‘s latest steampunk series, Sharps and Springfield.
Peacemaker is Book 1, and while there are no cosmic apocalyptic threats here, there are plenty of things that go bump in the night. The story opens with SSS Agent Owen Sharps’s anonymous meeting with his soon-to-be partner, Agent Calvin Springfield. The two somewhat hit it off, parted ways, met again, and were surprised to learn about each other’s identities.
The new partners were tasked to take over a case from two missing agents. It involved a massive railroad construction by sketchy billionaires headed by an even sketchier vampire. Later, there were encounters with hellhounds, zombies, witches and gates of hell.
As a means to lay the groundwork for future books, this opener built a fascinating world of magical secret agents, supernatural allies, badass non-magical humans, and enigmatic villains. As for the steampunk, it was sadly missing.
A highlight was the Pullman, a historical equivalent of the trailers rockstars use on tour. This one, though, was incredulous. The way it was described, it has three bedrooms with full-sized beds for people over six feet. There’s a kitchen, a shower, and an honest-to-goodness fully stocked library, armament room, AND research laboratory.
The exact size wasn’t mention, but the damned thing sounds like it’s bigger than my house. And it’s pulled by horses. HOW?!
I’m on the fence with the storytelling. On one hand, it was consistently engaging, and I had fun. On the other, the investigation involved many interviews with contacts and witnesses. This is realistic, but then most of the key events were told rather than shown.
Owen and Calvin danced around each other, trying to suss out each other’s gay vibes, but held back from openly pursuing their mutual interest. They practically just met, and with some homophobic folks publicly stirring trouble, they can never be too careful.
Majority of the time, they spent it apart, individually pursuing certain leads. So it was a stretch when the two suddenly declared they were in love. I would have preferred that they took at least the second book to actually get to know each other before throwing around ILYs.
Owen is a medium. It amuses me that he’s fan of Dracula the book. He has a Southern drawl and the charm, too. Calvin is a psychometric. He’s a bit more serious, but he loves comics. He used to run with a gang before being a Pinkerton.
I like Owen, Calvin, AND Winston, the witch butler and the most important character, because the boys are lost without him. I would also love more appearances by the rest of the cast. There’s a wonderful found family forming here, and I’m all for it.
Overall, Peacemaker has a great premise, the writing worked well for me, the characters are intriguing, and I loved this paranormal world the author created. I’m still wondering where this series fit in her multi-series universe.
It might be a mix bag, but if there’s one thing I love about Morgan Brice, it’s that her series gets better and better with each new installment. Witchbane is an excellent example. I can’t wait when Sharps and Springfield finally hit its stride.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Peacemaker
Artist: Animal Collective
Album: The Painters
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PEACEMAKER: Kindle | Audiobook
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SOUNDTRACK: Peacemaker by Animal Collective
Soundtrack to Sharps and Springfield: Peacemaker by Morgan Brice
Peacemaker by Animal Collective for a book about good men racing to stop the power hungry rich from spreading darkness across the land.
Got sold steam it’s landed right right
Right rose stop comes up to choke us
Knee jerk to the real jerk
Shades in shadows of a too great land
It’s hereIn the chaos of some billionaires
Some stink among the weeds
It’s good to slather on the mantis
It’s good to rest upon the clean
With a timber built from ages
Something stirs within the leaves and it can rest upon the paper
Not to keep the seat the same so get up in -
Got sold steam it’s landed right right
Right rose stop comes up to choke us
Knee jerk to the real jerk
Shades in shadows of a too great land
It’s hereIn the chaos of some billionaires
Some stink among the weeds
It’s good to slather on the mantis
It’s good to rest upon the clean
With a timber built from ages
Something stirs within the leaves and it can rest upon the paper
Not to keep the seat the same so get up inLost love cools
In fact it’s only
Chambray that is gradually used to win
Lighten my love
Heat-up anger softens too
A whimper just gives inIs this impulse grown from feelings
Or a cord within the spine?
A finger pauses on the fader
When it’s clear the mix is fine
Upshot pot is good for steaming
Not for airing out the gear
A shielded garden gets no liquid
Just a window to the light so let it in -
MOVIE FEATURE: Concerned Citizen
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RELEASE TOUR: Brighter Than Fear by Becca Seymour
