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AUDIO REVIEW: Promises Part 1 by A.E. Via
The Bounty Hunters: Promises Part 1 – A.E. Via
Duke Morgan owns and operates one of the largest bail bond companies in Atlanta. Not only does he bond criminals out of jail, he and his notorious group of bounty hunters will also track them down and ensure they show up for court.
Roman ‘Quick’ Webb is Duke’s business partner and best friend. Both men are in their forties and have given up on the happily ever after with the ranch-style home, and white picket fence. They’d both tried it and failed miserably. But they have their friendship and they have the business.
When Quick’s son, Vaughan Webb returns – after seven years – from studying abroad with his law degree in hand, he’s back to claim what he’s always wanted…his fathers’ best friend… Duke Morgan. Vaughan has always claimed to be a classic gentleman with an old soul. He didn’t party and screw up in school like his buddies. He was focused and dedicated to becoming the man worthy of Duke’s love.
It’s a complex and messy situation as Duke and Quick figure out how to still be best friends when one of them is sleeping with his friend’s one and only son. But when Duke is hurt on the job, all the unimportant trivialities fall to the wayside and Vaughan and Quick put their heads together to save Duke.
Part I of the Promises story is about Duke and Vaughan. Part II will be about Quick and his realization that it’s not too late for any of them to find love.
You got to hand it to Vaughan. He really knew how to woo a man.
The lawyer fell in love with his father’s bestfriend, Duke when he was 16 and since then, he embarked on a single-minded pursuit of the bounty hunter. But before he can make his move, he had to grow up and make Duke see him as a man.
I love Vaughan’s determination and devotion! He literally gave a piece of himself to the one he loves just so they could be together. He’s my favorite character here.
Duke was this big bad bounty hunting boss. Is really a big, needy softie. Nothing against him. He’s alright, I suppose.
Quick is Duke’s bestfriend and Vaughan’s father. He has long since accepted his son’s crush and is very supportive of his son and his bestfriend’s romance. He has some potential romance of his own with a handsome doctor if only he admits the attraction to himself before it’s too late.
I loved the first parts. It was more dramatic especially when Duke was injured and he only had weeks or months to live unless he undergoes an operation. This is where Vaughan went above and beyond the usual love declarations and made a sacrifice without telling Duke. He swore the doctor and his father to secrecy knowing Duke would refuse if he knew.
There is little conflict between the characters, apart from initial reactions. I wouldn’t mind it if the story revolved around Duke’s job and his recovery. However, as with most of A.E. Via‘s works, it is very romance-centric. Which means a lot of cheesy lines and couple downtime that I usually skip to make the story go faster. The plot is thin and the latter part where Duke and his friends went after the man who injured him seemed like rushed attempt to wrap up a loose thread.
Aiden Snow, who narrated Via‘s Nothing Special series, also did the reading for The Bounty Hunters. He is one of the reasons I stuck with the author’s works. He voices alpha males to perfection. Nothing Special has a big cast and I had no problems distinguishing the voices of the characters. Same with The Bounty Hunters. The voices were very apt for each character and emoted well. I recommend getting The Bounty Hunters in audio because Snow is eargasm!
All in all, this is a book you go for if you want steamy, entertaining stories about alpha males getting in touch with their emotions. Suspension of disbelief may be necessary but the author certainly knew how to hook her readers because I’m eagerly awaiting Quick and Doc’s story.
P.S.
A.E. Via books here.
Thank you to Signal Boost Promotions and Audible for providing the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: For Your Love
Artist: Josh Record
Album: Pillars -
MY YEAR IN BOOKS: 2019 Yearly Book Wrap-up
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15 LGBTQ READS I WANT TO SEE ON SCREEN
So far I’m happy that we get to see some LGBTQ books turned into movies like Love, Simon and Call Me By Your Name. I am still hoping that someday Netflix would pick up more of these books until such time LGBTQ movies and tv series would be a common everyday show for everybody.
Here are some of the titles I think should be adapted to the screen.
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My Top 10 Reads of 2018
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MY YEAR IN BOOKS: 2018 Yearly Book Wrap-up
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Sidekick Squad: Not Your Sidekick – C.B. Lee
Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.
Jessica Tran was born into a family of supers, Mom, Dad and big sis are superheroes, lil bro is a super genius. She, however, is average. It hasn’t stopped her from trying her best and doing her research to find out that maybe, just maybe, she does have some kind of power. Jess reminds me of Rock Lee from Naruto who couldn’t do any fancy chakra manipulation like the other shinobi but was instead dubbed as a genius of hard work.
Blame it on my elementary days spent hoarding Marvel collectible cards but I have always fantasized about having superpowers. Telekinesis because I’m a lazy-ass shit. Teleportation or flight because I want to travel but I’m broke. Supercomputer brain because I suck big time at physics and I was, unfortunately, a physics major. Etc, etc. So, at first glance, C.B. Lee’s Sidekick Squad world is the kind of world I want to get stuck in. It seemed an exciting, ordered world where superheroes fight super villains and everybody cheers them on. All things in their right place until Jess becomes friends with M and Abby and she starts noticing and asking questions about the villains.
For me, villains are almost always more interesting than a goody-goody hero. For one, they are usually more intelligent, complex and nuanced. And as a lifetime of anime has taught me, villains are not always bad. They usually have a compelling reason to do what they do. Jess started to realize that there’s more to this heroes vs villain thing than their government has let on. And I started thinking I might be better off as an average citizen in Andover.
Jess has a crush on Abby, an elite student and varsity player in her school. I admit, I am neutral on the FF front, it doesn’t affect me the way MM couples do but C.B Lee did a great job creating the tension and describing the awe Jess felt towards Abby. There was mutual attraction between the two and it was cute how Abby, in the shadows, tries to encourage Jess to ask her out and how Jess is just a bundle of nerves when it comes to asking Abby out
Bells and Emma are Jess’ bestfriends. Bells is crushing on Emma but Emma is oblivious. Bells has some secrets of his own and I can’t wait to read his book. Would Emma finally notice?
Not Your Sidekick is a good stab at the heroes vs villains trope. C.B. Lee has created a world where, at first glance,
things seem to be clearly divided between good and evil. How Jess and her friends uncover some of the secrets and how the lines become blurred were pretty interesting but overall this book falls between like and love. This means I couldn’t really pinpoint what was wrong, maybe nothing really. It’s more like, it didn’t really wow me. I’d still recommend this books for the interesting premise, great characters and cute FF couple.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love
Soundtrack: Heroes & Martyrs
Artist: Bad Religion
Album: New Maps of Hell(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29904219-not-your-sidekick)
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SPECTR: Hunter of Demons – Jordan L. Hawk
Unregistered paranormal Caleb Jansen only wants a normal life. But when a demon murders his brother, Caleb knows he has to avenge Ben’s death, no matter what the cost. Unfortunately, his only allies belong to an extremist group who would kill Caleb if they found out about his talent.
Gray is a wandering spirit, summoned to hunt and destroy demons by drinking their blood. This hunt goes horribly wrong, and for the first time in his existence Gray is trapped in a living, human body. Caleb’s body…and Caleb is still in it.
Hotshot federal agent John Starkweather thinks he’s seen it all. But when he’s called to exorcise Caleb, he finds a creature which isn’t supposed to exist outside of stories. For Gray is a drakul: a vampire.
Having spent his life avoiding the government as an unregistered ‘mal, Caleb can’t let himself trust a federal exorcist, no matter how sexy. And he certainly isn’t going to give into the heat growing between them and sleep with Starkweather.
Can Starkweather win Caleb’s trust and convince him he isn’t the enemy? Can Caleb keep Gray under control, as the drakul experiences the temptation of a living body for the first time?
Because if he fails and Gray gives in to bloodlust, Starkweather will have no choice but to kill them both.
I have been curious about the SPECTR series for a long time, being a Jordan L. Hawk creation but I admit to putting it off because I don’t like the cover. Well, I’m sorry for not reading it sooner. This is one very engaging novella.
SPECTR features one of the more unusual menage a trois I have come across with. Love geometries are my pet peeves but the Caleb, Gray and John combo is something I can get behind with because it works very well and to everybody’s mutual benefit. Gray is a drakul who possessed Caleb. He/she/it has always seen the world as grey, no color or smell except for the demon prey. Inside Caleb, Gray discovers a whole new spectrum of colors and sensations. The snarky twink Caleb, on the other hand, gets accelerated healing, better eyesight and faster reflexes. And John, shameless flirt and best exorcist in town, gets two beautiful creatures for the price of one. Very win-win-win.
Hunter of Demons’ plot sounded kind of out there but it was delivered convincingly. The world-building was nicely done. It’s a very interesting world full of demons, creatures hunting demons and humans with paranormal abilities. The dialogue was a snappy banter but part of the thrill is lost because the narrator’s voices for Caleb and John sounded the same so it was confusing. The pacing was just right, it speed up on the right places and the story felt complete even though it ended with a cliffhanger.
Hunter of Demons is the the kind of fast, enjoyable novella that makes you binge-read the entire series.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Waking the Demon
Artist: Bullet for My Valentine
Album: Scream Aim Fire(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16281053-hunter-of-demons)
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REVIEW: Rag and Bone by K.J. Charles
A Charm of Magpies: Rag and Bone – K.J. Charles
It’s amazing what people throw away…
Crispin Tredarloe never meant to become a warlock. Freed from his treacherous master, he’s learning how to use his magical powers the right way. But it’s brutally hard work. Not everyone believes he’s a reformed character, and the strain is putting unbearable pressure on his secret relationship with waste-man Ned Hall.
Ned’s sick of magic. Sick of the trouble it brings, sick of its dangerous grip on Crispin and the miserable look it puts in his eyes, and sick of being afraid that a gentleman magician won’t want a street paper-seller forever—or even for much longer.
But something is stirring among London’s forgotten discards. An ancient evil is waking up and seeking its freedom. And when wild magic hits the rag-and-bottle shop where Ned lives, a panicking Crispin falls back onto bad habits. The embattled lovers must find a way to work together—or London could go up in flames.
Fluffiest KJC book so far!
Awesome magic system based on frequencies and resonance.
“Freckles” !!!
(๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
Crispin + Ned = adorbs!!!
✺(^▽^✺) ✺(^O^)✺ (✺^▽^)✺
Appearances by Stephen Day (please don’t leave the Justiciary, please), Mrs. Gold, Janossi, and Ben Spencer.
Jonah Pastern pops out of nowhere:
Ned looked round, startled. He hadn’t noticed anyone joining him, but there
he was, a young chap with a jagged streak of white running through his black
hair, like a lightning strike. He was good-looking, blue-eyed, smartly dressed
with a flash blue waistcoat, and if ever Ned had seen untrustworthy, it was
sitting on the bench next to him.Oh Jonah!
(－‸ლ)
The villain was kind of obvious but it didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the story.
Cornell Collins’ voice for the ghost thing is creeeepy. Do not listen to it in the dark at 3 a.m.
Fighting resurrected witches with music hall sensations is a thing now?
Magic police are cool!
P.S.
I recommend reading the fantastic A Charm of Magpies series before reading Rag and Bone.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away
Soundtrack: Butterfly Caught
Artist: Massive Attack
Album: 100th Window(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34870160-rag-and-bone)
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On Davis Row – N.R. Walker
Nearing the end of a suspended jail sentence should unlock a brighter future for CJ Davis, only the chip on his shoulder is as hard to shift as his bad reputation. Born into a family of career criminals who live down Davis Road, an address the cops have dubbed Davis Row, his name alone is like a rap sheet that makes optimism impossible.
Brand-new parole officer Noah Huxley is determined to see the good in men like CJ. After all, he knows firsthand that bad things can happen to good people. His colleagues mock his doe-eyed optimism, but Noah soon sees CJ’s bad attitude and bravado are weapons he uses to keep people at a distance.
Both men know one simple mistake can change a life forever. At first glance, they might seem to be polar opposites. Yet underneath, they’re not that different at all.
My god, that was beautiful!
Right after I finished this book, I had to stand up and pace around the house because I was sooo high. I am not an emotional person and it takes a lot to make me feel things but this book!
I just had to root really hard for CJ. He was dealt a really shitty hand. Born into a family of criminals, didn’t graduate from school, had to put up with abuse, had to cope with illiteracy and deal with the stigma that comes with his name. Through out all this, he tries really hard to get by along with Pops, his grandfather who raise him. Pops has emphysema. His dad is in and out of jail. The asshole has also been abusing CJ since he was a child. Everybody assumes CJ is as bad as all the Davis before him, but CJ’s boss, Mr. Barese would be the first one to tell you, “he’s a good boy.”
Noah is a rookie parole officer. Still enthusiastic and optimistic about making a difference. The great thing about Noah is that he never lost the spark. He really believed not only in CJ but in all his parolees. AND *stage whisper* he smells really good!
Bloody hell. I wanted to hug him again. “You’ll nail this. You watch. You’ll pass everything and the only thing you’ll be left wondering about is why you didn’t do it sooner.”
When he looked up, his dark eyes were vulnerable, like the true CJ Davis was exposed within them. “Because ain’t no one believed in me before now.
There were ethically murky lines between them and though they dip their toes across once in a while, I love them for sticking to the rule. The rule being they become officially boyfriends the minute CJ’s parole ends, unofficially is another matter. Thus begins the delicious anticipation, a whole lot of USTs and the goddamn countdown that made me a messy bundle of paranoia because Pops might wheeze his last breath, CJ might descend into a downward spiral, Noah might fail CJ, the dad might beat the living crap out of CJ just because, things might blow up their faces, the system might screw them and so on because something will jinx this, I just know…!!!
So I breathed a sigh of relief when, among other things, Pops kept breathing.
It was so uplifting to see CJ gain his confidence and a little bit of happiness day by day until the time he was finally free. Noah’s sincerity really impressed me. He kept assuring CJ that no matter what happens between them he would still help him with everything. And I know he really would.
I love the list of firsts. CJ has missed out on a lot of things, the kind of things people take for granted like being able to read, getting a hug or having a driver’s license. Noah was his first in a lot of things. My favorite were the hugs.
He was rigid, uneasy, but he didn’t recoil, and he didn’t tell me to fuck off.
“You can hug me back, you know.”
Then I realised that maybe no one had ever bloody hugged him before either. Pops was a great guy but none of the Davis clan seemed overly affectionate. Without pulling away, I said, “I’ve wanted to hug you for a while.”
Still, with his arms by his sides, he asked, “Why?”
“Because sometimes people hug as a way of saying things are gonna be okay.”
I’ll hug you too, CJ!
This book is full of emotions but it’s not sappy. It’s also one of the most emotionally satisfying books I have read this year. The slow-burn and the chemistry were amazing. That last chapter! I got goosebumps and a pleasant case of hangover.
A solid 5-star book, no doubt about it.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect
Soundtrack: Worth the Wait
Artist: We Are Scientists
Album: With Love and Squalor(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36668702-on-davis-row)
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Eidolon – E.S. Yu
When Cyrex Corp, one of the foremost bioaugmentation companies in the world, sends Vax to assassinate Zai Lumero, Vax thinks it’ll be a simple, straightforward job. Zai is only a journalist, after all, and with his bioaugments, Vax has never botched a job before. But then the hit unexpectedly goes south, and before Vax can correct his mistake and finish Zai off for good, he discovers that Cyrex has turned on him, putting him in their crosshairs as well.
With no one else to turn to, he strikes a grudging partnership with Zai to help him expose Cyrex’s connection to a missing persons case and take the company down. Getting along with a justice crusader who hates Vax’s profession with a burning passion isn’t easy—though Vax finds himself drawn to Zai in a way he never expected.
As they race against time to unearth Cyrex’s secrets, Vax can’t shake the feeling that Zai is hiding something from him. And the closer he gets to uncovering the answers—of how he’s related to Zai’s investigation, and how Zai is connected to a past that Vax can’t remember—the more he suspects that finding out the truth might destroy him.
The book caught my attention with two magic words: assassin and asexual.
Eidolon is a sci-fi book about an assassin who was hired to kill a journalist investigating the company the assassin is working for. When he tried do his job, he was in for nasty surprise.
Vax, the assassin doesn’t seem to be hard-core and deadly. He seemed more like a harassed salaryman trying to get the job done and get the boss off his back. His boss being Atali Norman, CEO of Cyrex and one hell of a manipulative bastard. When Vax was confronting Atali, I was like, just shoot him already! Don’t talk to him, he will mindfuck you! Vax then proceeded to prove himself human.
Zai, the crusading journalist, is out to uncover the nasty secrets of bioaugmentation companies.I liked that he is very dedicated to his job. Meeting Vax was like meeting a ghost but that doesn’t stop him from involving Vax in doing what he set out to do. There were a LOT of complications, personal and otherwise but Zai was, if anything, determined to do good so he made it work.
I think this should really be two stories. First is the sci-fi dystopian thread where humans were augmented with electronic parts for medical purposes or more insidiously to create super soldiers and spies.
This is a fast read and the writing was easy to go through.
I liked the world building here. It was not bogged down by info-dump but relevant bits and pieces were mentioned here and there that mesh naturally to create a good picture of the futuristic city of Orphis. There was a big mystery and some action scenes. This part by itself makes for an interesting read.
The second part was a hurt-comfort story about a man trying to deal with PTSD, depression and amnesia. This had a more contemporary feel, the futuristic elements were insignificant and barely mentioned. I liked how the mental issue and the asexuality were handled. I felt the friendship more than the romantic spark between Vax and Zai. I think Vax is in dire need of friends right now although their relationship had a good potential to be so much more exciting had the story been solely about second chances and dealing with mental illness.
Overall, I wasn’t blown away but I liked the story. The sci-fi elements were done nicely, the mystery was intriguing enough to hold my attention, the premise was interesting and the prose is uncomplicated. However, the first part and the second part seemed disconnected and I would have preferred two different stories if not a better transition/connection between the sci-fi mystery and the drama part.
P.S.
I received a copy of Eidolon from Ninestar Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
Soundtrack: Someone Great
Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Album: Sound of Silver(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41059670-eidolon)
