From Afar by Ava March

TITLE: From Afar
AUTHOR: Ava March
PUBLISHER: Samhain
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 73k)
GENRE: Gay historical paranormal erotic romance
COST: $3.50

For three years, Raphael has admired Aleric from afar, but one night, when Aleric gets attacked by thieves, Raphael finds himself at Aleric’s side. A bad injury has Aleric hovering on the brink of death. Incapable of imagining a world without Aleric in it, Raphael does the unthinkable. He turns him. Now he just has to hope Aleric doesn’t hate him for it, or that London’s vampire clan leader will allow either of them to survive his transgression…

I like good erotic scenes as much as the next gal, but if it’s trying to be sold as a romance, too, I need a little bit more than that. This novella is a perfect example of just not enough.

The eroticism begins almost immediately, with vampire Raphael perched in his favorite tree, watching the object of his lust and affection with a prostitute. He jerks off, then proceeds to follow Aleric home. When Aleric is jumped by thieves, Raphael intervenes to help. His aid comes too late, however, and Aleric is mortally wounded. Raphael reacts to the moment and proceeds to turn him.

To be honest, not a whole lot happens after that, except sex, a little bit of tension regarding the head of the London vampire clan, and then some more sex. So while the author’s prose affords satisfying tension within the erotic scenes, when it comes to anything else, well…there’s just not much there. Both male leads suffer from stunted characterization. They’re not unlikeable. They’re just very one-note. Raphael is consumed with his crush on Aleric, while Aleric spends too much time floundering from his vampire adolescence to have any real understanding of what he might be like. Without being able to connect to them emotionally, I can’t connect to the romance, no matter how sizzling their sex scenes might get.

As impressed as I was with the facility of slipping into the author’s human historical world, I was equally disappointed by the paranormal aspect. We get some answers about how the vampires work in her vision, but not many, and in a market where every author tends to pick and choose which mythos to use, that’s a detriment. It’s understandable why more aren’t forthcoming. Raphael is an outsider to the vampire world, and his one real source of information is a potentially deadly one to him. But choosing to gloss over real answers because of a protagonist’s lack of insight felt like a copout. It’s too easy, and left me ultimately dissatisfied.

Overall, this was an easy, hot read, but if you’re looking for any type of depth of real romance, you’re not likely to find it here.

Readability	8/10 – Smooth and easy, with just a hint of being too terse
Hero #1	6/10 – His loneliness is appealing, but so much of his characterization is zeroed in on his feelings for Aleric that he doesn’t really get to escape that for more
Hero #2	5/10 – Nice enough for the erotic sections, but not interesting enough to anchor the romance
Entertainment value	6/10 – Reading purely for the eroticism, it works, but the romance and the paranormal world-building are too shallow to rate this higher
World building	7/10 – The human world is painted well enough, but Raphael’s outsider status seems like an easy excuse to not bother answering valid questions about the vampire world
TOTAL:	32/50

5 Releases I'm Looking Forward to in 2010

To finish out 2009, I'm looking forward, to 2010, to the stories that will make me laugh, make me cry, inspire or arouse me. It's highly likely that the stories that leave the strongest marks will not be ones I anticipate. Did I know last year at this time how moved I'd be by a JM Snyder short story about two elderly men? I'd never even read Kate Willoughby, and look at how much I loved her books.

But that doesn't mean there aren't titles that don't leave a small thrill of anticipation, every time I see them. So I've picked out five of those to share today, to look forward to in the dawn of a new year and a fresh decade. In no particular order:

1. Boot Hill Bride by Lauri Robinson: I don't find many series in e-books that inspire me to follow along, but the first Quinter Brides book was delightful, and the second sits in my TBR pile, waiting for me to get to it. I have no doubts I'll be picking up this third book, too.

2. Nothing to Commend Her by Jo Barrett: Wild Rose Press actually published this one a couple days early. When I last checked, it was supposed to come out on the 1st, but there you go. Anyway, I've had some hit or miss with this author since first falling in love with her Highlander's Challenge, but this is a novel-length historical, rather than her shorter contemporary work I had problems with, with a damaged hero and heroine. It looks so intriguing and will go straight in my TBR pile.

3. Board Resolution by Joey W. Hill: It's Joey Hill, do I really need to say more? I have no idea what it's about, other than I can assume it's het from the cover, but I don't need anything more. With the exception of Rough Canvas, I've really enjoyed everything I've read by her. I tend to buy her in print, but since this will likely be out in e-format first and it's EC, I'll likely have it on my reader very quickly after its release. Whenever that is.

4. From Afar by Ava March: I wasn't blown away by the second of her stories about Oliver and Vincent, but this is a gay regency with vampires. How am I not supposed to get excited about that, especially since I know this author can pour on the erotic?

5. The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon: Okay, this one is cheating because it came out on the 22nd. But I've done very little reading for pleasure in the past ten days, and I've been waiting for this last Adrien English book for what feels like forever. So it completely counts as a book I'm anxious to read in 2010. Do you have any idea how hard it's been to stay unspoiled for this?!?

Bound to Him by Ava March

TITLE: Bound to Him
AUTHOR: Ava March
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 30k)
GENRE: Gay BDSM historical erotic romance
COST: $4.99

For six months, Lords Oliver Marsden and Vincent Prescot have been lovers, their longstanding friendship now even more intimate after their true desires were revealed. Through it all, Oliver has hoped that his feelings will be reciprocated, that the deep love he’s always felt for Vincent will be returned, but even now, Vincent refuses to acknowledge the depths of their relationship. When familial responsibilities force Vincent to make a drastic choice, both men are thrust into deciding what paths their lives will take…

Because of the HFN nature of the first novella featuring these two characters, I was eager to see if they would be able to manage some sort of HEA in the long-term. While their relationship is more richly delved into in this sequel to Bound by Deception, I found some of the character’s weaknesses more grating this time around, making it harder to fully appreciate the romance.

Oliver has been in love with Vincent for years and years, and in the first book, his yearning was so heartfelt and passionate, it catapulted me through the story. Six months later, his yearning has taken on a slightly different tenor. He is, justifiably so, a little frustrated that Vincent seems to be standing in one place regarding their relationship. Their sex life remains great, but nothing deeper ever happens, a status quo Vincent is perfectly fine with. But the empathy I felt for Oliver in the first story didn’t materialize. Instead, his clinginess and whining reminded me all too much of a nagging housewife. I suspect it’s because I didn’t read the stories back to back. It’s been almost a year since I read the first story, and while I had impressions of it with enough remembered details to certainly not feel lost, that was it. I think if I’d read them consecutively, Oliver might have seemed more sympathetic, but based on his actions just on this story, he’s not for me.

Vincent doesn’t fare much better, I’m afraid. The walls he had erected in the first story are still there, and now, with the advantage of time elapsed, they paint him as a user rather than a man afraid of consequences. He’s fully aware of Oliver’s feelings for him, and yet, he gives little more in return. It’s not until he gets caught between a rock and a hard place when his father makes the demand he marry, and the repercussions of that, that he starts to become more human for me, but by that point, Oliver, too, is starting to grow up a little and return to the same person I loved in the first story. They are both far stronger by the end, with a clearly defined character arc, but my initial impressions lingered too long to make this a real winner of a romance. The erotic scenes are still the highlight, with sensual BDSM elements thrown in, but they are overshadowed by the negative emotions.

I’m glad to see them work through their relationship, though. For readers seeking closure, this will provide it.

Readability	8/10 – Clean and rich with historical detail
Hero #1	6/10 – Oliver’s initial neediness and weakness gave him room to grow but made it very difficult to empathize with him this time around
Hero #2	6/10 – Until he had his turnaround, felt too much of a user to genuinely like
Entertainment value	6/10 – The eroticism is well-done, but it’s harder to root for the romance when neither man provided enough of an anchor for me to love
World building	9/10 – Incredibly well done and rich
TOTAL:	35/50

Bound by Deception by Ava March

TITLE: Bound by Deception
AUTHOR: Ava March
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 24k)
GENRE: Gay historical bdsm erotic romance
COST: $4.99

When Oliver Marsden discovers his best friend has a monthly appointment at a prestigious brothel with a man instead of a woman, he’s thrilled. After all, he’s been in love – and lust – with Lord Vincent Prescot since they were boys. He scrapes together enough money to pay the brothel for the privilege of replacing Vincent’s usual partner, doing everything in his power to hide his identity from his friend. He doesn’t expect the restraints and bullwhip, but the night they spend together surpasses any and every expectation he ever had. Too bad that’s all he can ever have…

I have to be honest and say that I had low expectations going into this book. I bought it for the sheer erotic factor; the thought of two staid Englishmen having a BDSM relationship hit a kink in me I hadn’t realized was as strong as it was. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised, not only by the level of heat this short novella managed to produce but also by the genuine emotion on the part of the primary hero. Oliver has been in love with Vincent for years. His earnestness while he was preparing his deception practically reaches through the page and grabs the reader by the shirtfront, demanding to be heard. I was completely immersed in his emotions by the time Vincent even enters the picture. That only served to intensify the already erotic encounter that followed.

Vincent, while solid, seems very much a fantasy figure until we finally get to see him outside of the brothel. There, the true depths of his friendship with Oliver get revealed, and he becomes far more human than the masterful god Oliver worships in the beginning. Unfortunately, we don’t get to truly plumb their relationship before everything hits the fan, but there’s enough characterization allowed in their encounters to invest me in both men as the story progresses.

But the story’s length works against it to make the romance truly successful. While there is definite chemistry between the two men, the entire last quarter of the story seems rushed in order to get to an HFN. Vincent’s feelings aren’t allowed to run a full course, and the ensuing resolution is only vaguely satisfactory. For such serious matters and emotions, I wanted – needed, really – more to be explored. It leaves this falling short of a fulfilling romance, and instead offers a seductive piece of erotica instead. But very seductive, mind you. I finished this story in what felt like record time, and was hungry for more. It’s definitely worth it to see what else this author might have to offer this voracious reader.

Readability	9/10 – When all I can think after I’ve finished is, Wow, that went fast, that’s definitely a good sign
Hero #1	8/10 – His earnestness makes up for some ridiculous assumptions.
Hero #2	7/10 – Enough there to understand why he’s adored so much
Entertainment value	8/10 – The erotic part works far better than the romance, and does so tremendously well.
World building	7/10 – There’s quite a bit of believable detail within the confines of the bedroom; outside was scantier.
TOTAL:	39/50