Ready for the Defense by Mike Langan

TITLE: Ready for the Defense
AUTHOR: Mike Langan
PUBLISHER: Treble Heart Books
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 77k)
GENRE: Mystery suspense
COST: $5.50

Hank Fisher became a lawyer when he realized he needed more than teaching high school English, but he’s still getting his feet wet in white collar criminal defense when his mentor and business partner gets them involved defending a senator in an impending tax investigation. Suddenly, somebody’s dead, somebody else is in a coma, and Hank is scrambling to find out why, learn how a new biowarfare virus on the other side of the planet is connected, and most importantly, stay alive…

While I don’t review much for this blog, the genre I read most in print is suspense/mystery. I love following the minutiae of puzzles to solve, and even more, exploring milieus I might not normally. I haven’t found as many small e-presses that offer stories to satisfy this need as I’d like, but Ready for the Defense is a strong entry into the genre.

Told in 1^st person from Hank’s POV, the reader learns right away that Hank is very much an everyman kind of figure. He’s floating along in search of an identity, no long-term relationships, still a student in many ways though he’s graduated from law school and is now practicing in Washington D.C. His boss and mentor is a larger than life figure, one of the best examples of the author’s sharp characterizations. Though he’s only in the book in the beginning, Mac is so vivid, all of Hank’s motivations not only make complete and utter sense, I was right there with him, pushing him just as hard because I wanted the answers for Mac, too. Langan achieves this with a careful balance between realistic dialogue and tense action, never letting the energy flag while still keeping a forward momentum with the mystery.

The plot itself is straight out the headlines. Senator Victoria Serling has retained Mac to help her with what looks to be a tax code violation, but turns out to be something more. The cops think the case against the Senator has something to do with a terrorist attack in Asia, but there’s the whole angle of a mysterious campaign donation from what looks to be a terrorist group, malfeasance on the part of biopharm companies, and somebody determined to keep Hank from getting any closer to the truth. It clips along at a swift pace, with short chapters that inevitably end on cliffhangers, forcing the reader to turn page after page after page in a race to the end. There’s no skipping a paragraph here or a sentence there. Every detail is necessary, especially as it twists in a new direction practically with every chapter. Occasionally, it does get a little confusing, if only because some of the detail isn’t quite as clear as it could be, but it smoothes out soon enough and doesn’t detract too much from the overall enjoyment of the story.

Hank is a strong, empathetic protagonist. He’d rather investigate than practice law, something that more than one person comments on. He’s saved from being flaky by his sense of humor and dogged determination, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t experience moments of insecurity. He’s got more than one of those, but the situations demand it. They only added to his growth, and made it very easy for me to see him as the star of a series if the author wanted to go in that direction. I almost hope he does. The combination of topical suspense with skilled writing is a welcome addition to the genre.

Readability	9/10 – Fast-paced and intelligent
Characterization	8/10 – The leads are crisp, though a few of the important secondary characters don’t have the same benefit
Plot	9/10 – Enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, though it did get a tad convoluted at times
Entertainment value	8/10 – I got a little lost in some of the convolutions, but the end result was worth it
World building	9/10 – The author clearly knows his milieu, with a plot straight out of the headlines
TOTAL:	43/50

Tell Me Lies by Jessica Shin

TITLE: Tell Me Lies
AUTHOR: Jessica Shin
PUBLISHER: Cerridwen Press
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 64k)
GENRE: Suspense romance
COST: $5.95

As a mob assassin, Adrian Ennis is unparalleled. After all, she’s been trained for her current role in Ezra Drake’s organization since she was eight years old. But when she gets the command to kill her lover, the tight order of her world starts to unravel. Suddenly, the man she always viewed as more of a father than a boss is a stranger, and strangers – especially when they come in the form of Detective Damon Wyatt, Atlanta PD – are the only people she can trust…

For a long time, I didn’t even think this was a romance. I had to doublecheck more than once that it was published by Cerridwen, and even then I thought I’d managed to buy a book that fell into the suspense genre rather than the romance. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I read a lot of mystery/suspense as well as romance. But the tone of this was far darker than the vast majority of romances out there, and the hero not even introduced until almost halfway through the story. Between that and the neverending action, it kept me on my toes.

The book starts out with Adrian in the middle of a job in Boston that’s gotten messy. She does what needs to be done, hops on a plane back home, and returns to her rather sterile existence. She doesn’t do much more than work for Ezra, because once you’re a part of the organization, there’s no getting out of it. She finds release with a casual affair with Tony, who works in Miami, but on this latest visit, he tells her things aren’t looking good for him. It’s even worse when she gets the order from Ezra to kill Tony. She doesn’t want to do it, but really, she has no other options, and keeps the date they had arranged.

From there, the story continues on a brutal, no holds barred track. The author makes no easy choices in this, which means it’s violent and intense, both physically and emotionally. It’s told in 1^st person from Adrian’s POV, which means spending a lot of time in the head of a woman who has killed a lot of people and, until now, felt no remorse. Worse, she’s been in denial of everything that happened to her before she came to live with Ezra when she was eight, and now, it’s all starting to crack through her brittle, icy façade. Not everybody is going to like her. To be fair, she doesn’t really like herself for much of the book. But I found her fascinating, and as each new development happened in her life, and another layer of her was stripped away, I came to care about her more and more, until her ultimate survival was as important to me as it was to her.

The gradual deconstruction of this woman into someone more human really intrigued me. I was constantly surprised by the choices she made, but in a good way, not in a “Well, she wouldn’t do that” kind of way. The continuous action rarely gave me a chance to breathe, too, and even after she meets Wyatt, the cop who’s been trying to bring Ezra down for three years, it doesn’t slow. If I have any complaints about this at all, it’s that the romance feels rushed. Damon is never as fully explored as the rest of the story, and while I liked him, I never felt like I really knew him. In some ways, he was far too perfect for what Adrian needed at that moment in time. However, he does provide a good counterpoint to the chaos of the rest of her life, and I was fully invested in seeing things work out.

This book won’t be for everyone. It’s very violent (including near rape and violence toward women, so be warned), its heroine is more an anti-heroine than the norm, and the romantic arc is severely truncated in favor of the personal exploration and action happening around Adrian. All that being said, though, I loved it. I got thoroughly swept into the action. Plus, it’s a real treat to find something so unapologetically brutal in a genre known for its feel-good factor.

Readability	9/10 – Violent, intense, and brutal
Hero	5/10 – Not nearly as important or developed as the heroine
Heroine	9/10 – With each new layer exposed on her, I needed her success even more
Entertainment value	9/10 – Constant forward momentum kept the focus on the action and the heroine rather than the romance
World building	7/10 – The mob world and action crackled; everything else required a leap of faith to believe
TOTAL:	39/50

The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks by Josh Lanyon

TITLE: The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 61k)
GENRE: Gay mystery erotic romance
COST: $6.99

Perry Foster comes home early from vacation to discover a dead body in his bathtub, a body that disappears as soon as he alerts everybody in the old house in which he rents his apartment. The only person who seems to believe him is the ex-Navy SEAL who lives across the hall, but stalwart Nick Reno can barely tolerate Perry, let alone provide an ally amongst the denizens of the Alston Estate…

It’s been two years since I first discovered Josh Lanyon. He quickly became one of my autobuy authors, and it’s safe to say that with the exception of one novella where one of the heroes hit a personal sore spot, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read. Not every book can be a winner, but in this particular case, it’s difficult to admit to actively disliking a story, especially when I see such universal praise for it elsewhere. But that’s the result here, as much as I hate to admit it.

The mystery is a simple take on the mysterious house staples of the genre, with a wide cast of eccentric characters. The mystery of the missing body and the subsequent events that rise from it, as Perry and Nick attempt to figure out what exactly happened, rely on odd behavior, the usual red herrings, and a need not to consider any sort of larger picture. I predicted the means of disposing the body early on, so that left little suspense. Even more regretfully, there seemed to be only one logical suspect/solution, something else I guessed far too early in the story. So without the lure of a mystery unsolved, I had to rely on the characters and the romance (since this is published by LI) to carry the rest of the story.

They did, but only up to a point. But that point ground me to such a screeching halt, and left me feeling so utterly manipulated, that any good will I had regarding Nick and Perry was lost. Both men are familiar Lanyon archetypes. Perry is slighter, prettier, seemingly delicate but with inner strength, and suffering from a physical ailment that puts him at risk (asthma), while Nick is strong, gruff, a man of action with obvious disdain for his orientation. I was okay with the obvious shades of Adrien and Jake (even the names fall in the same pattern), because over time, they both gained more personality to help differentiate them. In fact, I really liked the reluctant friendship that forged between the two men. It felt like such a departure from a lot of the m/m that I read where it’s about the sex and little else.

My problems started with the fact that it never felt like a romance for the first two-thirds of the book. That’s certainly okay with me – I read a lot of stuff that isn’t romance, and gay literature that doesn’t fall into romance – and was actually mildly intrigued that Lanyon was attempting to do a gay-for-you story. Except he wasn’t. At a point after their first sexual encounter, Perry is trying to get a better feel on Nick when Nick bluntly says, “Yes. I’m gay.” And that was the point it all ground to a halt for me. I’d had it in my head for nearly all of the book that Nick was straight, not just because of his failed marriage, but because of his constant derogatory mental attitude toward “the queer kid from across the hall.” He chastises himself for even noticing Perry’s ass, for starting to notice the kid’s looks, and so on. Maybe I missed something, but his whole attitude shouted at me, “Repressed!” Which he was, but not for the obvious reason. In hindsight, it makes sense (though I’m not going to spoil as to why), but honestly, because I’d already spent so much time in Nick’s head by that point, and witnessed both his physical and mental reactions to Perry (dismissive, paternal, contemptuous, not passionate at all and certainly not romantic), I felt incredibly manipulated. The entire reveal seemed coy to me, and ultimately ruined the rest of the story.

I know I’m in the minority on this. I actually debated writing a review at all. But in the end, I have to stand up for what works for me and what doesn’t, whether it conforms to the popular opinion or not. This certainly wouldn’t be the first thing I haven’t enjoyed that the rest of the world seems to love. I know it won’t be the last. It doesn’t put me off Lanyon in the slightest, either, because he’s still one of the most competent and consistent m/m writers out there.

Readability	7/10 – Not the usual sharpness I expect from this author, with looser POV issues and a certain coyness that bothered me
Hero #1	7/10 – Reminiscent of Adrien English, but likeable in his own right
Hero #2	7/10 – I would have liked him more if his sexuality hadn’t been treated so coyly
Entertainment value	3/10 – I guessed the mystery very early on, leaving only the romance to keep me going, but that failed me, too.
World building	9/10 – Some great atmospheric detail
TOTAL:	33/50

Damned by Blood by Evie Byrne

TITLE: Damned by Blood
AUTHOR: Evie Byrne
PUBLISHER: Samhain
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 45k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $4.50

The eldest brother of the Faustin clan, Mikhail is the vampire prince of New York, with a reputation as icy and unyielding as his personality. When he discovers his fated bride is the first love who broke his heart, he has no choice but to find a way to claim her, even though she has become a formidable power in her own right. Alya Adad has fought most of her life for the position she now has, and the last thing she is willing to do is give any of it up. Even for destiny…

It’s been obvious from the first story that Mikhail’s story would be different than his brothers’. Each vampire has his own distinct personality, dictating a different style and tone for his romance. In Mikhail’s case, he is the coldest, sternest of the bunch, with responsibilities the others do not have. He’s the master of control, the purest vampire, the one unwilling to compromise who he is to pander to humans.

It comes as no surprise then that his fated bride is also a vampire. What is a surprise is that he’s already known, loved, and lost her. Alya Adad is as ruthless and dangerous as Mikhail, a perfect counterpoint to his strength. She craves power, and she’s had to suffer a lot of what goes against her nature in order to reach the height she has. The dynamics between them are fascinating, because they are so equally matched. They are driven to destroy the other, while at the same time, incapable of doing so. That fight provides the undercurrent of the entire story, giving it a dark edge that removes this from the feel-good vampire stories that tend to dominate the genre.

Mikhail is a terrific alpha hero, suffering because of Alya’s loss so many years ago even if he didn’t know it until now. His intensity seethes from the page, and I found myself holding my breath every time he appeared. I can’t necessarily say the same for Alya. While her characterization is certainly well developed, and her personality a great foil for Mikhail’s, I just didn’t engage with her to the same depths as I have previous heroines by this author. She was just a little too brittle for me to like as much, and it ended up putting a distance between me and her need for dominance.

It also distanced me slightly from the erotic scenes, which, in all honesty, I find unusual for this author. I’ve always loved the sensuality of her sex scenes, and while these are written just as competently, my failure to completely commit to Alya’s needs made it harder to immerse in some of their later BDSM games. It’s still done well, make no mistakes there. The motivations all ring true, and the reasoning for how Mikhail can make this one change totally valid. In fact, I genuinely loved the lines, …she believed power resided in control. To him, it meant getting what he wanted. It encapsulates everything and explains it all. But without really investing in Alya, I found it difficult to invest in the resolution. I was glad for Mikhail, though. His happiness is what mattered to me. And in a world as rich as the one in which he lives, the solution seemed utterly perfect.

Readability	8/10 – Uncompromising and intense
Hero	8/10 – Unyielding and icy, terrific alpha
Heroine	7/10 – A strong match for the hero, if not quite as engaging
Entertainment value	8/10 – For the power of the dynamics and the author’s voice
World building	9/10 – The vampire world she’s created has never been richer
TOTAL:	40/50

A Cotillion Country Christmas by assorted authors

TITLE: A Cotillion Country Christmas
AUTHORS: Carolynn Carey, Amy Corwin, Barbara Miller, Cynthia Moore
PUBLISHER: Cerridwen Press
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 70k)
GENRE: Historical romance
COST: $7.99

A collection of four romance novellas within the holiday period, set in the Regency English countryside…

NOTE: This is a review originally written for The Electric Elephant.

I have to admit upfront, historicals are not my genre of choice. I’m not a history buff, and the periods that do intrigue me are very specific. The period of English history as specified in this anthology isn’t of any particular interest to me, but I was a fan of one of the authors and bought this specifically to read her work. It’s hard to admit, then, that the anthology as a whole, including the novella I was highly anticipating, is a rather disappointing presentation.

The anthology starts out with “A Christmas Surprise” by Cynthia Moore. When her father had a viscount indebted to him, Clara found herself married to the man she’d been in love with. Yet, two days after their wedding, Julian left for India, leaving her alone for nearly a year. When he returns just before Christmas, Clara finds herself wondering what kind of marriage she has entered into, and whether the coldness of their parting is going to typify the rest of her life. Of all the stories to start with, this was the worst possible choice to try and engage a reader. I almost put the whole thing down halfway through this story, even as much as I wanted to read a later novella. The author is all tell, no showing, explaining all the backstory in paragraph after excruciating paragraph. Her style does nothing to help flesh out the flat characterizations, and the plodding pace where nothing ever really happens is absolute drudgery to read.

Next comes “A Tradition of Love” by Carolynn Carey. Robert Maulton has married Thea, in an arrangement made when both were children. Robert is the sole head of his estate, and takes his role very seriously. That means he has little time for frivolity, especially Christmas. When Thea asks to go to the country for the holiday, he agrees, mostly because she’s never asked for anything in the three weeks they’ve been married. He fully intends to work, but his intentions are derailed once he’s swept up in her large, over-friendly family. This story, while not anything I’ll remember much past writing this review, still manages to be my second favorite of the bunch, partly because it improves on the style of the first one by not being nearly as tedious, and partly because of the really sparkling cast of characters. I found Robert to be a tad too dour, and Thea a bit predictable, but the supporting cast shines, bringing out the best of the two leads. This also has the benefit of having the best romantic arc of the four stories, smooth and relatively seamless from start to finish.

The third story in the collection is “Christmas Mishaps” by Amy Corwin. Caroline has spent the last two years being pitied by her family and society when her fiancé ran away with her younger sister on the day of her wedding. Determined to prove to everyone she has moved on, that she wants the good relationship she had with her sister back and she will support their union no matter what, she opts to go visit them on Christmas, ignoring the superstition that if a female is the first person to cross a threshold on the holiday, bad luck will follow. The man who does love her, Edward Masters, realizes what she is about to do and dashes off to pre-empt the confrontation. Of the four authors in the anthology, this is the only one I’d read before. I’ve read two of her other works, one of which was most definitely a keeper and bought in print as soon as it was available. I’ve always found her voice to be charming and her characters fun, and while there’s evidence of that here in this short novella, it suffers from a jerky rhythm of back and forth, of characters that never seem to have the same emotion from one moment to the next, that ended up leaving me feeling vaguely unsettled when I was done. I enjoyed the original set-up and the writing itself is the best of the book, but the awkward pace tempers whatever satisfaction I might have gained from it, leaving it a mediocre read rather than the sprightly tale I’d hoped for.

Rounding out the anthology is “Country House Christmas” by Barbara Miller. Richard Trent has returned from military service in Spain scarred and half-blind, but forced to face the fact that his younger brother has married the woman he was betrothed to, and to take his place as the upcoming head of the household. He doesn’t particularly want to be there, but the arrival of his sister-in-law’s younger sister, the precocious Diana, convinces him at least the holiday will be entertaining. While this story is better written than the first, it suffers from a lack of cohesion that does its vibrant characters no good. The romance is all over the place, and then gets resolved in a whirlwind fashion that seems rushed even for novella standards. It does present the best world-building and best characterizations of the entire anthology, but the hodgepodge way it feels like the story is cobbled together detracts from it too much to make it very memorable.

For a feel good Christmas anthology with a historical flair, it fails to make the grade as anything more than a passing fancy. I can’t say I would bother looking up any of these authors on their own, based on these offerings.

Readability	7/10 – The tedious first story slows down the entire collection
Romance	6/10 – Unfortunately, fairly mediocre across the scale
Characterization	7/10 – More attention paid to characters and setting than any believability in romance or pace
Entertainment value	6/10 – Disappointing even from the author I really enjoy
World building	8/10 – By far, the focus of all the stories is on setting at the detriment of other elements
TOTAL:	34/50

Warrior's Cross by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

TITLE: Warrior’s Cross
AUTHOR: Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 102k)
GENRE: Gay suspense erotic romance
COST: $6.99

Tuesday nights are Cameron Jacobs’ favorites. That’s the night the tall, dark, mysterious stranger comes in, sits at one of his tables, and always orders the same thing. His crush seems a little silly until his customer expresses a little more interest. Then, on Christmas Eve, Cameron’s whole world gets turned upside down when said customer – one Julian Cross – asks him for a walk…

I wanted to like this book. I really did. Though I’d passed on other offerings by this author duo in the past (the excerpts were clearly headhopping, and I deliberately avoid buying those if I can help it), my recent exposure to Roux’s solo work, combined with both a premise that sounded intriguing and an excerpt that seemed to stay contained in one POV, convinced me to give this one a go. It was actually fairly engrossing for a while. But only for a while. Because ultimately, two things really let me down.

Cameron is a beta hero. No doubts about it. He’s average looking, in an average job, with self-admittedly nothing more exciting to do than work most of the time. When Julian first expresses an interest in him, Cameron is stunned. He seizes the opportunity, though, convinced Julian will get bored and move on eventually. When Julian doesn’t, Cameron is just as surprised as anybody else. Nearly everyone close to Julian questions him what he sees in Cameron. The same happens to Cameron. And honestly? So did I. Other than the fact that Cameron treated Julian like a normal person, I just couldn’t understand the appeal. Because I liked Julian for nearly all of the book. I thought he was incredibly hot. But I never bought them as a long-term couple because I just couldn’t see why Julian kept bothering. Cameron was flat, and boring, and maybe that’s what Julian wanted, but spending so much time in Cameron’s POV, listening to him go on and on and on about his insecurity…it got old. Very old. And painful to read.

The other aspect that really pulled me out of the story is, I think, a quirk of the authors’ style. They overuse dialogue tags. I don’t mean just going back and forth between two characters with a tag on each character’s line. I mean, multiple tags in the same speech by the same character within the same paragraph. Like this one:

"Do I look like I'm feeling better?" Julian demanded. "Do I seem to be in a better mood?" he asked sarcastically. "Preston!" he shouted suddenly. "Give me my fucking nuggets," he demanded as he turned, only to find Preston standing behind him with a box of chicken in his hand. "Goddammit," Julian offered before snatching the box and stalking out of the room with his food.

There are five different dialogue tags within the same paragraph. Two of them are even the same word. The adverbs are all over the place with the tags, as well. It’s not unique to this paragraph; it happens straight from the beginning of the book. It’s not quite as noticeable then, however, since Julian is very taciturn for the first third of the story. Less dialogue means it doesn’t stand out more. But as soon as the communication starts to open up…there you go.

I know it won’t bother a lot of people. I’ve seen this book come highly recommended all over the place, so clearly, a lot of people didn’t notice it or didn’t care. But I did, and I do, and I just can’t get past this stylistic thing enough to enjoy the work. It feels sloppy to me, and the repetition gets boring. Boring is the kiss of death for a story, especially a suspense-oriented one. No matter how mysterious the alpha hero might be.

Readability	6/10 – Though the action scenes were engrossing, any time dialogue got involved, my immersion disappeared
Hero #1	5/10 – Honestly? I was questioning why Julian liked him so much just like all the characters were
Hero #2	6/10 – This would have been higher if it weren’t for the last chapter
Entertainment value	6/10 – I wanted to like this so much more than I did
World building	6/10 – Except for the restaurants and the pets, there were more questions left unanswered than not
TOTAL:	29/50

'Til Death Do We Part by Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton

TITLE: ‘Til Death Do We Part
AUTHOR: Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton
PUBLISHER: Cobblestone
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 42k)
GENRE: Contemporary menage erotic romance
COST: $5.99

Justin Blackwood survived twelve years as a POW in Iraq by focusing on the woman he left behind. Erica is the only family he has, next to the best friend he always considered a brother. What he doesn’t expect to discover, however, is that they married in his absence. Clint loved Erica his whole life, but when she chose Justin, he stepped back, unwilling to hurt the two people who meant the most to him. He’s glad to have Justin back, but there’s nothing easy about his return. Especially since Clint’s not even sure he’s going to live long enough to get to know his friend all over again…

I have no idea why this story worked at all for me. It should have failed. It certainly had enough elements that normally drive me insane. The authors headhopped through the whole story, sometimes paragraph to paragraph between all three characters. The melodrama screams soap opera, including Justin running out of the house when he finds out Clint and Erica are married, shouting “No!” as he runs, then staring up into the sky and asking “Why?” as tears run down his face. It’s incredibly emotionally manipulative. And yet, and yet…

I didn’t hate this. In fact, there were points where I got swept into the story. The detail about Justin’s military life and Clint’s ranching life are crisp and thorough, and the trio felt richly realized. Their reactions rang true. That goes a long way in helping to compensate for the other weaknesses. Erica feels genuinely torn between Clint and Justin. She loves them both. It’s not like she hopped into bed with Clint as soon as Justin was declared dead. They remained platonic friends for years until they finally took another step. As much as Justin wants her back, he feels morally obligated to get out of the way because of their wedding vows. It’s Clint, and his driving need to make both Justin and Erica as happy as possible, that brings the three together. It’s his secret, the truth about his headaches, that compels the action forward, and underlies every emotion. He’s the one who resonated for me the most.

While I recognize all of this intellectually, and I really did like the characters, I was never as emotionally involved as I’m sure the authors intended. The ending is written specifically for an emotional wallop, and it didn’t hit me like that. Probably because even while I liked the three, I felt manipulated into liking them the entire way. It was like, what else can they possibly throw into this emotional soup to make it even angstier? And then they did. Then they did it again. To give them credit, they never backed off on making hard choices. And like I said, I did like the story. Just maybe not as much as I was told I should.

Readability	7/10 – Headhopping proved to be a big barrier for me
Menage	7/10 – Regardless of how manipulative I found it, the trio still managed to strike a chord
Characterization	8/10 – Surprisingly rich
Entertainment value	7/10 – I had difficulties with the headhopping and melodrama, so didn’t really immerse into the tough emotional ending
World building	8/10 – Believable detail abounds, from ranching to the war details
TOTAL:	37/50

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?!?

Favorite Authors of 2009

My second to last list for 2009, though it's the last list of favorites. These are my five author finds of the year, the ones that excited me the most. I've excluded my favorite authors from previous years, as well as anybody who made the list more than once. I think it goes without saying how much I adore them.

4th Runner Up
Rick R. Reed

I read three of Mr. Reed's stories this past year, and have more on my TBR pile. What I like about him is his fearless approach and the fact that he does so with visceral style.

3rd Runner Up
MK Mancos

While I had read some of this author's work under a different pseudonym, this year I discovered the humor in her work through this one. Always a solid writer, with enough hits out of the ball park to keep me on the hook.

2nd Runner Up
Evie Byrne

Getting teased by her talent in the first offering I read was enough to drive me to her other work, where I discovered her effervescent voice and erotic imagery wasn't just a fluke. I trust her in ways I don't trust many authors, and have long put her on my autobuy list.

1st Runner Up
Tamara Allen

This woman has too much talent not to be included on this list. Though I only read one book of hers this year, one was all it took to prove to me how good she really is.

And my favorite author of 2009 is...
Kate Willoughby

I don't think this will come as a surprise to anybody who follows my blog. I was blown away by the first novella I read by this author, and while later works might not have matched the sheer joy I got from that one, they have still proven her comedic and romantic talent. I adore her, and can only hope she finds the large audience she deserves.

Striking Covers, otherwise known as The Ones That Got Away

One thing I've finally learned doing these end of year lists - it's pointless to pick out my favorite erotic and non-erotic stories. Those two lists end up being repeats of entries from my favorites broken down by length, and who wants to hear me extol the virtues of a favorite book yet again? Well, maybe the author if they read the blog, lol. But rather than bore people with rehashes of commentary on books they've already heard about, I decided to do something different today.

I buy a lot of books every year. It's my biggest luxury item. But for every book I buy, there's dozens more that I don't. So I've decided to pick and post covers of books I didn't buy this year, but the cover art is just too striking not to share. At least, they're striking to me. I've chosen ten of the twenty-six e-publishers I visit every week, and selected one title from their 2009 releases that really spoke to me visually. Each one of these ten make me stop and stare, for one reason or another. Who knows? Maybe others will follow the links, read the blurbs, and discover a story they might have otherwise missed.

Don't Look Back by Michelle Cary & Amanda Young,

published by Amber Quill Press

I like the simplicity of this, the starkness of the white with the sole color coming from the green. It's quite elegant, while still remaining within the expectations of this being romantic suspense.

Flight by Nicki Bennett,

published by Dreamspinner Press

I think this is just beautiful - the coloring, the softness, the pose. The juxtaposition of the chains with the wings is subtle, and its etherealness absolutely exquisite.

Maiden, Mother, Crone by assorted authors,

published by Drollerie Press

When Drollerie Press started, their covers looked like none others out there in e-publishing. This one is no different. Its multiple layers feel seamless, and while it's a tad busy for me, the coloring and symbols used always catch my eye, which is what a cover is supposed to do.

Catch the Wind by Charlotte Boyett-Compo,

published by Ellora's Cave

Yes, this is a purely superficial favorite. Gorgeous dark guy + heavy black chains + dungeon cell background = pure win. I don't read this series, and I don't really trust Ellora's Cave covers to have anything to do with the actual story, but sometimes I stare at this and wish I dared to buy it and try.

Southern Gothic by Veronica Wilde,

published by Liquid Silver Books

The play of light and dark in this is captivating. Truly. I love this cover so much, I've actually been tempted on three different occasions to go and buy the book.

Ghosts of Alcatraz by Carol Lynne,

published by Loose Id

I love April Martinez' work. I think she and Anne Cain are the two most consistently superior cover artists out there right now (though Kanaxa at Samhain is quickly becoming a favorite of mine). I find the texturing on this riveting, especially since it makes me want to buy a Carol Lynne book when I've never had any good luck reading her.

Best Left Buried by Cindy Hutchins,

published by Lyrical Press

I obviously have a thing for moody, huh? This appeals the same way Southern Gothic appeals, creepy and evocative.

Love's Alchemy by Ciar Cullen,

published by Samhain

This is the cover that inspired this whole post. I saw this around the blogosphere as well as at the e-publisher when it was released, and always stopped to look at it. It's so gorgeous, from the delicate calligraphy, to the coloring, to a hero I wouldn't throw out of bed.

Pure Folly by Madelynne Ellis,

published by Total-e-bound

Another really superficial choice, but come on. Two gorgeous guys, in such a sensual, romantic pose? How am I supposed to not stare?

Something About Her by Jeannie Ruesch,

published by Wild Rose Press

I find this incredibly elegant, and honestly, looks like something I might pick up in B&N. It's so professionally done, not too cluttered, easy to read, a great contrast of colors without spinning out of control. Just a classy, classy cover.