Jenre's Books (Day 2)

Now that I've sorted out all the squabbles between my heroes and left strict instructions that on no account are the daylight heroes allowed to unzip the protective vampire hammocks I've strung up in my cabana, I'm able to share with you which books I've brought with me to the island.

Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price

I really wanted the whole of the Psycop series because the books have to be read in order to understand what is happening. However, I was outvoted on that one so I selected Camp Hell which is the fifth and so far the recent Psycop book. The whole series deals with the relationship between Victor Bayne, a medium who can see dead people and speak to them, and his lover, Jacob, who works in the same psycop unit as a 'stiff' or a person with no psychic abilities. Stiffs are paired up with psychics to solve cases. In Vic's case he goes to crime scenes, talks to the deceased murdered person to find out who killed them - at least that's the theory, in truth this never seems to work out for poor Vic. By the time we get to Camp Hell, Jacob and Vic have moved in together and are comfortable in their relationship. During the book Victor divides his time between solving a case of a number of odd deaths at a local hospital and finding out about his time in 'Camp Hell', a training camp for psychics, the memory of which Vic has suppressed. What I love most about this book, and all the psycop books, is the blend of horror with humour. Vic blunders his way through the book trying to solve the case, keep Jacob happy and discover his past, often slipping up. He's such a marvellous character that you can't help warming to him and in this book, he begins to discover things about his powers which adds to his attraction. The whole psycop set-up is just so fresh and unusual that they are by far some of my favourite m/m books.

Collision Course by KA Mitchell

This is another m/m book firmly on my keeper shelf. This may be surprising to those of you who know me as I've often stated that I'm not too keen on books which are mostly made up of sex scenes. However, the difference with this book is that the sex is so integral to the plot that it has to be there to show how the characters develop in their relationship with one another. The story follows Joey, who is a very manipulative man. He uses his puppy dog eyes and cute arse to get what he wants and then, when he gets bored, he makes the other man feel guilty for breaking up with him. At heart though, Joey is a romantic man and when he meets Aaron there's an instant attraction. Aaron can see straight through Joey's manipulative ways and doesn't allow Joey to take advantage of him, which is just what Joey needs. The two work well together and, although this story does contain some serious themes, it's basically a story about finding the one. I often read this when I'm in the mood for a romantic read because, despite the hot sex, this is basically just a book about two men who fall in love.

I Spy Something Bloody by Josh Lanyon

I can't possibly come to the island and not bring a Josh Lanyon. He is, by far, my favourite m/m author. My absolute favourite of his books Death of a Pirate King has already been taken, so I've chosen my favourite of his mystery novellas. This may be a surprise to some because this novella often gets a mixed reaction, mainly due to the hero, Mark Hardwicke, being somewhat of an anti-hero. The book begins when Mark calls his ex-lover Stephen from England and asks if he can come over to Virginia to visit him. Mark works for MI5 and has just returned from a disastrous mission in the Middle East. He is suffering from a form of PTSD and turns to Stephen for help. The trouble is, Stephen doesn't want anything to do with him because over two years ago he fell in love with Mark and then Mark abandoned him to a broken heart. Stephen is only just starting to pull his life back together and doesn't want Mark to muck it up for him again. One great thing about this book is that it's a May to December Romance. Stephen is over 20 years older than Mark and yet the pair work really well together. Mark radiates a heartbreaking mix of bravado and despair over the situation with Stephen and the way the pair work through their difficulties is quite absorbing for the reader. I highly recommend it.

AStrong and Sudden Thaw by RW Day

This was a fairly recent read for me but was so engrossing and delightful, I've brought it to re-read. The story is told in the first person by 16 year old David who lives in post-apocalyptic America. A sudden ice-age swept through the world engulfing most of the Northern hemisphere in ice. David was born to this cold world and knows nothing of the warm weather than his native Virginia would once have experienced. The ice-age was blamed on a vengeful God who punished all the liberal heathens for their permissive ways. This means that many of the modern laws on homosexuality have been overthrown and everyone lives in a highly religious society. David meets Callan who has come to David's town to assist the healer. Thus begins a gentle, tender but forbidden love between them which could lead to Callan being hanged if found out. To complicate matters dragons have started snatching children and it seems that David and Callan are the one's to find out where these once-mythical beasts have come from and stop them. The whole book is achingly beautiful, especially in the relationship between the two men and the descriptions of the cold, barren world they live in and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes spec-fiction.

To Sir Phillip With Love by Julia Quinn

I love all Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books but this is by far my favourite. It centres on Eloise, who is rather disgruntled that her best friend, Penelope, has finally married (her brother, Colin) and left her on the shelf by herself. She's a great letter writer and starts exchanging letters with the husband of a deceased distant cousin, Phillip. Phillip is on the look-out for a new wife and a mother for his twins and Eloise seems a good choice so he writes to ask her whether they could meet and perhaps see whether they would be compatible for marriage. Eloise bites the bullet, leaves home and arrives unannounced on Phillip's doorstep. Thus follows a series of hilarious, tragic and tender series of events as the two mismatched characters feel their way towards love. The main reason I like this books so much is that Eloise is such a great heroine. She may be slightly impetuous, but her heart is in the right place and she deserves her chance at love. There's also a scene in the book where the Bridgerton men turn up en-mass to 'rescue' Eloise which has me snorting with laughter every time.

The Secret Pearl by Mary Balogh

Mary Balogh is my favourite historical author. Out of her books Slightly Dangerous is my favourite, but that was taken so I've settled for number two. This book begins with a harrowing scene where Fleur, a gentlewomen so down on her luck that she has to resort to prostitution, is taken for the first (and thankfully only) time by a scarred gentleman. It's not a pleasant experience for either of them. Fortunately soon afterwards Fleur find employment as a governess to Adam, the Duke of Ridgeway but is horrified to discover that her employer is the man who paid to have sex with her, and he's married. This may not sound like the most promising of books, but I was captivated by it from start to finish. The reader gets to be in both Adam's and Fleur's head and we discover that Adam is really an honourable man trapped in a loveless marriage. Fleur is running away from something dreadful that she has done and Adam offers to help her with that whilst also realising that she is the perfect woman for him. It's too late for Adam to have happiness though as he is married and determined not to stray again. The sexual tension between them is palpable and although this book has quite a sad, mournful feel to it, I found it almost impossible to stop reading. The scene where Adam kisses Fleur for the first time almost had me in tears, it was so beautiful.

So there you have it, my six books. I hope I have tempted you to add some of them to your TBR pile and I'll see you tomorrow when I'm hoping that my heroes will come out to play. Until then you can find me at my blog Well Read.