5 STARS ✮ XEN ✮ THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES

THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES

A Collection of Queer Horror

by

Xen

✮ ✮ ✮ 5 STARS ✮ ✮ ✮

 

There are no happy endings here.

In the town of Inverse, Silvino and Scott Orellano discover the darkness in their deepest hearts. At the cusp of a new life, Kane Orwell learns terrible truths whispered by a black and eldritch mouth. Torn between one identity and another, Shania Logan struggles to hold on to the fragments of her self.

And standing on the threshold of the afterlife, a grieving wife balances between life and death on the flicker of a candle's flame.

Inverse.

Insurrection.

Mouth.

Flicker.

Four tales of horror, written from a queer perspective. In this collection of short stories and novellas, our heroes and heroines will explore the depths of terror both macabre and mundane--and live their darkest fears, reflected in the whites of their eyes.

Every now and again I’ll wander off the romantic path, and on this occasion I’ll happily admit to being rather proud of myself because The Whites of Their Eyes is horror. And me plus anything horror related equals:

Oh the things you’ll put yourself through when it’s a favourite author.

Xen is an author who writes diverse stories which, irrespective of genre, focuses on the real struggles marginalised people face. And his foray into the world of horror gave me chills: his writing voice has a hypnotic pull, creating an eerie atmosphere and situations where I broke out in goose-bumps. One story resulted in me literally shouting RUN, yet another had me reaching for the tissues, and that’s why I love his writing—he has a supreme capability of bringing out the feelings you’re least expecting.

Why sometimes to survive, it was necessary to lie.”

The four stories told in The Whites of Their Eyes make for an all round gripping read representing several demographics and, thankfully, the horror didn’t leave me a quivering wreck, more unnerved and spooked, and at times hurting just the right amount. To quote the author ”These are stories I almost didn’t write”.

I for one am so glad he did.

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5 STARS ✮ ROBIN BIELMAN ✮ LIPS CLOSE TO MINE

LIPS CLOSE TO MINE

Wherever You Go #2

by

Robin Bielman

✮✮✮ 5 STARS ✮✮✮

I wasn’t supposed to see Levi Pierce ever again. A few months ago, he charmed the pants off me and we spent one incredible night together.

End of story.

Only it wasn’t. Pretty soon everywhere I turn, I see him. Our best friends are dating. My mother mistakenly—and happily—thinks he’s my plus-one to my cousin’s wedding. And he’s the guy I have to work with on the most important job opportunity of my life.

Here’s my problem: I like Levi. I like his killer smile and his dreamboat eyes and definitely the way he makes me feel in bed. But I’ve sworn off relationships. So when the sexual tension reaches epic proportions and we fall back into bed together, I tell myself it’s temporary. When I start to feel more, I tell myself it’s over.

Only Levi isn’t a forget-it kind of guy. When his lips are close to mine and he swears he’s always wanted me, my defenses disappear. But some things in life just aren’t meant to be.

Or are they?

There aren’t many authors who I’ll literally drop everything for, but Robin Bielman is one of them. I always look forward to her releases hugely and Lips Close to Mine is her at her best, capturing all I love in a romance: strong chemistry, emotion, the perfect blend of humour, angst and sexy-time, unforgettable characters and a man who will steal your heart.

Levi Pierce is impossible to forget. He’s also maddening, infuriating, irritating, and the reason my body hums even when he’s not near.”

If you haven’t read Talk British to Me, fear not as Lips Close to Mine can easily be read as a stand-alone. Harper and Levi were fairly prominent though as secondary characters and I had an inkling their story wouldn’t be a bed of roses. I went into this already having a bit of a soft spot for Levi and when he and Harper find themselves working together, he really shows us what he’s made of: he wears his heart on his sleeve and is all for a repeat performance of their one night together...all he has to do is convince her that they could be more.

Love is a sickness, and I have no intention of catching it.”

Within a couple of chapters, Levi and Harper owned me. Robin has taken all I love from the childhood friends, friends-with-benefits and fauxmance tropes, and bundled them up together to create a sexy, engaging, heartfelt and emotional journey for two characters whose hearts have been left bruised, battered and guarded over recent years although not by each other. And that’s what made them so special, because their pain is real and relatable, as are their fears, and whilst it’s shaped them, they haven’t let it beat them.

This could have so easily been a heavier read but, with the angst aspect pitched perfectly and counter balanced with fun and humour, along with no shortage of hot and sexy shenanigans, it was instead an effortless read and one I stayed up into the wee hours to finish. I adored Levi and Harper—the dual POV really gives you the opportunity to get to know them both intimately—it was lovely to catch up with Teague and Mateo and is without a shadow of a doubt one of my favourites Robin has written. And, being 99.9% certain I know who the next book in the series will belong to, I can’t wait to see what treats their story will hold.

Your heart is your friend, not your enemy.”

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5 STARS ✮ RACHEL HIGGINSON ✮ CONSTANT

CONSTANT

The Confidence Game #1

by

Rachel Higginson

✮ ✮ ✮ 5 STARS ✮ ✮ ✮

Fifteen years ago I met Sayer Wesley. I fell in love with him. I promised I would never leave him. I swore nothing could break us apart. 

Five years ago I broke my promise. I ran away. I took the one secret that could destroy us both and disappeared. 

Five days ago I thought I saw him. 

I knew it was impossible. Sayer was locked away, serving a deserved sentence in federal prison. He couldn’t find me. 

He wouldn’t find me. I was too good at hiding. Too good at surviving. 

Because if Sayer ever found me, there would be hell to pay for a plethora of sins. The worst of which, he didn’t even know about. 

Five hours ago, I told myself I was crazy. 

Five minutes ago, I saw him again. 

Five seconds ago, I was too late. 

Confession: This is my first book by Rachel Higginson. Put those tomatoes and eggs away, I'll fix it, I swear.

The love for your child is all consuming. A good mother is like a bear, there is nothing she wouldn't do to protect her children. She also makes enormous sacrifices to give her kids the best life they can have at the expense of her own happiness. This, in a nutshell, is Caro, the heroine of Constant.

Caro ran away from her old life that was full of deceit, lies, danger and a beautiful man who had been the love of her life for 15 years. The courage it must take to cut ties with everything your life used to be has to be breathtaking but there is a very valid reason for her to break her promise to the man she swore she would stand with through it all. Caro is as resilient as they come, tough as steel, cunning, and can lie and manipulate like the best of them. Now she's living always with one eye over her shoulder, and although paranoid she's trying to live a normal and inconspicuous life, always expecting for her old life to catch up. And it does.

Past meet present. Life meet death.

This story is cleverly written with flashbacks into Sayer and Caro's past so that we understand that Caro really didn't have a choice than to up and leave. It also shows us that their love is the once-in-a-lifetime-kind so to cut the ties, on both accounts, must have been harrowing.
When Sayer is back in her life he is understandably angry. And who wouldn't be? He doesn't have the whole picture.

He was at once utterly beautiful and every nightmare I had ever had come to life.

Although the book is told only from Caro's point of view I could still see how Sayer has become the man he is now, the changes between the Sayer of then and now are notable. Where the boy was reverent and enraptured in his love for Caro, the man is hardened, often cruel with his words and they didn't only hurt Caro, they hurt me too. So bad that the knots in my stomach had knots.
Sayer is Caro's Archilles heel so he figures out fast where the chinks in her armor are. But despite the (really huge) chip on his shoulder there is a sense of longing. The feeling of Sayer's hurt is just as visceral as Caro's guilt. Neither of them has gotten over the other.

I had never had a choice in loving Sayer. I just had. Always. Since the day I met him, he had been it for me. 

The book ends on a brutal cliffhanger and I wanted to throw things. Yes, it wasn't pretty. While the author did a fantastic job letting us see Sayer through Caro's eyes I would have loved his point of view, only because I didn't want his words to hurt so bad. But that's entirely selfish. I also enjoyed getting to know the secondary characters. Juliet was cute as a button and Francesca and Gus not just accessories, their voices were complex for the side-cast.

If there is one thing that I would like to point out it's that the first 25-30% are a little slower than the rest of the book. However, this is a complex plot and there is no way around taking the time to establish the background and setup for the events that follow. And she really digs deep into it. Once that's out of the way the story notably picks up and then it's angst galore. As for the author's writing style, she made an amazing first impression. I love how it flows so easily.

So now I start waiting for book 2. I hate Rachel Higginson a little for making me wait but I also love her because she asked me to read and review Constant. This epic love story goes right on my favorite-shelf - it's brilliantly told and will have you biting your finger nails. I loved every suspenseful second of it!

Tonight had been a fiery culmination of everything between us. Fireworks and explosions and the melding of two hearts that formerly belonged in two different bodies. Now I held his within me. And he owned every inch of mine.

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5 STARS ✮ EMMA SCOTT ✮ FOREVER RIGHT NOW

FOREVER RIGHT NOW

by

Emma Scott

✮✮✮ 5 STARS ✮✮✮

Darlene Montgomery has been to hell and back…more than once. After a stint in jail for drug possession, she is finally clean and ready to start over. Yet another failed relationship is just the motivation she needs to move from New York to San Francisco with the hopes of resurrecting her dance career and discovering that she is more than the sum of her rap sheet. As Darlene struggles in her new city, the last thing she wants is to become entangled with her handsome—but cranky—neighbor and his adorable little girl...

Sawyer Haas is weeks away from finishing law school, but exhaustion, dwindling finances, and the pressure to provide for himself and his daughter, Olivia, are wearing him down. A federal clerkship--a job he desperately needs--awaits him after graduation, but only if he passes the Bar Exam. Sawyer doesn’t have the time or patience for the capricious—if beautiful—dancer who moves into the apartment above his. But Darlene’s easy laugh and cheerful spirit seep into the cracks of his hardened heart, and slowly break down the walls he’s resurrected to keep from being betrayed ever again.

When the parents of Olivia’s absentee mother come to fight for custody, Sawyer could lose everything. To have any chance at happiness, he must trust Darlene, the woman who has somehow found her way past his brittle barbs, and Darlene must decide how much of her own bruised heart she is willing to give to Sawyer and Olivia, especially when the ghosts of her troubled past refuse to stay buried.

When one of your favorite authors writes a new book, as a blogger and fan you drop everything and free up time to read and review. I almost didn't read this one, bad blogger and fan, bad. True story. But I came to my senses and I'm not above begging for an ARC, so that's what I did.

We met Darlene in The Butterfly Project when she was at her lowest - an overdose that almost killed her forced her to take a hard look at her life, get clean and take charge of herself again. Two years without drugs, a boyfriend who doesn't even have the cojones to dump her face to face and Darlene is ready for a fresh start in a city where nobody knows about her past.

"You’ll always be an addict. You’ll always fight that battle. But fight it with your best, most honest self, if you want a chance to win.” - Max

Darlene is a warm, sweet heroine with a super-soft heart. She is always friendly and tries to stay upbeat. Her new neighbor, Sawyer, is a jerk but she senses his exhaustion, the daily stress of providing for his daughter, studying for his finals and bar exam leave him on edge. So she does something that's so inherently Darlene: she kills him with kindness, gentleness and care. She's an absolutely endearing heroine who is constantly facing her demons but never lets them pull her under. It was incredibly sweet to watch her fall in love not only with the hero but also with his sweet, bright daughter Livvie.

Sawyer is a grump - that's what stress does to him and it's pretty understandable seeing how he cares for his daughter, who was just dumped in his lap by the mother, and trying to finish law school to give his girl a better life. But when Sawyer has to face his worst fears he becomes stoic and builds a wall of ice around him. Only those who know him well enough see it for what it is. He may act like a jerk and idiot sometimes but when all that falls off of him he is a beautiful man with a heart the size of Texas. The love for his daughter, how he handles her with utmost care and reverence, is so incredibly touching. And it wouldn't be Emma Scott if Sawyer didn't have a heart-breaking past.

"Law doesn’t have feelings. It has direction. It tells you where to go and what comes next.” - Sawyer

The first half of the story was not as angsty as I expected from Emma Scott but that's not necessarily a bad thing because once you're past that she cranks up the anxiety-slider and I got the familiar delicious squeeze in my chest, the one that has your heart beating in your throat. She builds up the chemistry between the characters at a steady pace but doesn't give us the release we crave, no, she keeps on going, letting the sexual tension crackle until we are just about to blow. But that was fine with me - these characters really had to sort through a lot of baggage before they could focus on their relationship.

"God, Sawyer, the way you’re looking at me… If I could have just one moment, one feeling, and live in it forever, I would choose this one.” - Darlene

Emma is a masterful emotion conjurer. She has this way of tying you to her characters and making you care deeply about them. Those are big personalities with depth and layers. And that doesn't just go for the main cast, the side characters all have a story to tell as well, so you wonder if they'll be happy in the future, what life has in store for them. Max and Jax shine almost as bright as Darlene and Sawyer. And don't get me started on the adorable Livvie, who took off with my heart and didn't let go. Also, if you loved Zelda and Beck from TBP a much as I did you'll be happy to hear that we get to catch up with them!
And then...then there is the twist that will make you fall in love with Sawyer even harder.

Again, Ms. Scott weaves a gorgeous story that shows her own heart beautifully. It is charged with emotion, kindness and sweetness. It's true that we always measure authors against their best work and the Full Tilt Duet and The Butterfly Project still remain my favorite by Emma Scott - they play in a league of their own - but do not underestimate the power of this story and the punch it packs. This author isn't one of my favorites for nothing and she made me fall in love with one of her stories yet again.

“A tornado, Darlene,” he whispered. “I’m swept up.”

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