Sunday 31 January 2016

Out now... Gift of the Blood God - Dark Day (Faelings Doom series #2) by Sydney Whyte






Twenty-two days ago the world changed for Lorrie and Melory Neilson – literally.  Snatched from reality, from the safety of all that was familiar, the twins were set adrift in a world of mystery; primitive and dangerous, a world conjured by insanity; a place, a situation they should not believe in.  A place called Abod le A’nor.

Pawns of intrigue and mysticism, the women had been separated from each other, for a purpose as yet unknown.  Who had drawn them?  Who in this world was there to put their faith in?

Could Lorrie trust her captors?  The enigmatic and lethally enticing Captain, Tavis Eagle’s son, or the stalwart, handsome Mavishan traitor, Simeon Souls-ease?  These men who had taken her against her will and yet had become all that was familiar; taken her on a journey that with this dawn’s light was now drawing to a fateful conclusion.  What awaited her in the Faeling Wood?  The fabled home of Tishan, and the fearsome ruler of their clans.

The fragile attachment Melory had developed for Kane, son of Dolan, Dreamer of Mavishan was that day sorely to be tested.  Reeling from a devastating attack, the people of his village struck out with violence and malice.  She had watched him struck down, felt hands imprison her.  Would either survive the wrath of Mavishan judgment?

Torn by loyalties, plagued by disbelief, drawn irrevocably to sensuality and desire, how would the twins survive the promise of this ominous and fatefully dark day?


Please note: - this series contains swearing, sexual content and adult themes – suitable for persons over the age of 18 years

Saturday 30 January 2016

Friday 29 January 2016

Wednesday 27 January 2016

New Year's resolution #1

So this year while celebrating the first day of 2016 by having a barbecue lunch at the 'naked' ski field (minds out of the gutter! Not naked people at a ski field - brrrr - but the ski field itself was naked. January being the height of summer in NZ means no snow, so yeah, a barbecue amongst the gravel slops with strangely fornlorn looking, purposeless chairlifts going to nowhere) at Mt Lyford with family, my sister said to me she had decided to buy a calendar showcasing a monthly cocktail.  Each year she buys a themed calendar that piques her interest.  Photos of Crete, contemporary NZ landscape art, Salvador Dali, to name but a few.  Last year it was rustic, tumbled down or slowly disintegrating, old outdoor dunnies... interesting, but I think I much prefer this years theme.
Anyway during our chat it was decided, as we are mostly 'cocktail' virgins, that we would follow the calendar and make the cocktail - a new experience every month.

Deciding that I'd like to get in the swing of things, a friend and I spent one evening at a local whiskey bar that also had a range of lovely cocktails to sample - The Last Word, on New Regent Street.  I confess I have been there once before with same friend but that had been many months prior and in that time the owners had changed so it was definitely time for a revisit.
Said sample was a Moonlight - their variation on an Aviation.  So tiny, but so delicious and far, far too easy to drink.  I had one!!!  Had to drive home after you know, so had to show at least a modicum of sense.

And now for our turn:-

With a definite lack of experience but an abundance of enthusiasm we dove into the making of our first Pina Colada (yes, that's right - we've never had one!!!) late on Tuesday evening...


Kitchen wizz and ingredients at the ready we followed the recipe to the letter.  Needless to say a kitchen wizz does not a blender make.  Turning it on, Pen got to wear the ingredients all down the front of her top. But here's the final result.


I know, I know, amateur much, but the pineapple chunk was an ingredient in her chicken curry for tea that night so we thought we'd better garnish our effort with something, otherwise it just looked like a glass of milk.

The first taste was nothing like I had anticipated, like a mouthwash of coconut cream and nothing else.  I hesitated to take another but it seems the longer you leave it the more the pineapple (and alcohol) infuses it and gives it the warm, sweet glow of setting sunshine, and it gets stronger with every sip.  The amount of white rum in it definitely loosens the tongue.
For a couple of wine drinkers it's not really the thing.  It needs the addition of scenery; the tropical paradise, a seat by the pool, floppy hat, funny little umbrella garnish/accessory/thingy, and a hot, hunky piece of eye-candy to ogle at to turn it from something a little mundane into something completely decadent and desirable.  It demands holiday laziness, relaxation, sunshine, palms rustling in summer breezes.  It's an event and not just a drink.  In that setting I'd definitely indulge in another...

Next month it's Mango daiquiri.  More my thing?  I don't know yet, but bring it on.  (I definitely will have to go buy a bullet before we try that one.  My turn to make it and I want to drink it, not wear it.)
Bottoms up!

Sydney Whyte

Thursday 14 January 2016

Home Again - 'Home' Series - Book One by Cardeno C.


As far as my infatuation goes with M/M romance, Cardeno C. is definitely one of my preferred authors from a potentially very small list – so far.  He always manages to do very sweet without being overly sickly.

This book is the first in his ‘Home’ series of novels, but as is quite often the way with me I didn’t happen to read them in that order.  Book three was the one that caught my eye, the book about Ben and his struggles to maintain the lie that he is straight and not gay, and not madly in lust with Micah Trains, a gay lawyer working at the same law firm as he is.  Woven through that story was a number of other - dare I say it - even more interesting characters, which as it turns out, each has their own tale out there, so I decided to give the series a try.

I enjoyed getting to know both Clark and Noah, especially the latter because he could appear to be so much more abrasive than any character I have previously come across and then subsequently developed a sort of protective empathy for.  I liked his self-acceptance, the fact that he knew who he was right from a young age and never fought it.  I liked Clark’s patience, his caring nature, his common sense and his responsible maturity.

What I didn’t like was the one lapse that precipitated everything that basically went on in this story.  While I know people do foolish things (me included) and Ben is enough to drive any sane person a little nutty by the way - but, hell, this was just downright arrogant and extremely stupid and more to the point, completely out of character for Noah.  It wasn’t like at this stage in his life he was still a kid and trying to outrun the impending disapproval of his close-minded parents by rebelling and causing his family pain.  He was a sensible, if sometimes still a little volatile man and deeply dedicated to Clark, his partner.  I just really didn’t see this event as realistic.  But then who am I to judge, people are fellable.

As always with Cardeno C. the story had a happy ending and that’s not a spoiler – this is romance after all, and in this case, I was extremely grateful for it because they seemed eminently deserving.  Through the trials that were the consequence of another person’s interference, the couple managed to only grow closer and more caring of each other.


««««

... and here's a few thoughts on the book that started the series for me:- 

Just What the Truth is by Cardeno C


This is book three of the ‘Home’ Series by Cardeno C and was the one that caught my eye, the book about Ben and his struggles to maintain the lie that he is straight and not gay, and not madly in lust with Micah Trains, a gay lawyer working at the same law firm as he is.

Ben’s story was amusing, troubling, annoying and lovely – Micah Trains (and I say Micah Trains because more often than not that is how Ben thinks of him.  He’s not just Micah but ‘Micah-Trains’ all sort of rolled together like one long first name.  Perhaps Ben was channelling his love for Boston Legal – Denny; Denny-Crane???) - Anyway, Micah Trains proved to be the epitome of patience.  Honestly, Ben is lucky I’m not a dude and the object of his affections; sometimes I really wanted to do a Noah all over him and hit him upside the head for the fool he was making of himself and the consequent trampling he was doing all over someone else’s feelings with his immature, self-absorbed behaviour – that was until he sorted himself out and then it was a hell of a sweet story with the inevitably happy ending…

«««1/2

Sydney Whyte

Rating Chart
«……………….A no goer
««……………Alright, but not a re-read
«««………..Liked it
««««…….Loved it
«««««Amaze-balls – ticks all the boxes!!!



Saturday 9 January 2016

Summer Splash!

Though it's not such a lovely day today, it is summer on this side of the world

Might as well enjoy it!



Happy Holidays

Sydney Whyte

Sunday 3 January 2016

Holiday Read - Number One - Accidental Abduction (and all that comes after) Alien Abduction Series by Eve Langlais - Review



Purple Pirates and Mouthy Maidens

I purchased the first book in this series a while back with every intention of reading it straight away.  Didn’t happen.  I’ve only just had the chance to sit down and take a breath and seriously read anything.  Serious, however was not the word for it.  Honestly, liking this book at all says more about me and the mood I’m in than the books literary merits.  It was fluff, pure and simple; little about it could be taken seriously.  

So I bought the whole damn lot!

Yes that means all six of them, and read them all in one big glut of a reading frenzy.

Unlike others who found them to be highly amusing, I didn’t find them to be a ‘Precious pup’ roll-around-on-the-floor-holding-your-belly, wet-your-pants inducing laugh, but they were humorous and corny in a Marvel Comic sort of way.

While I think purple must be the author’s favourite colour, personally I just couldn’t imagine it – a man being hot while he was mauve?  And honestly, no (evident) nuts, no belly button, no nipples – how on earth were humans and Aressotlians supposed to be at all compatible?  It reminded me a lot of Avatar.  The hovering Island’s with cascading waterfalls flowing into space were very pretty, but yeah, no science.  How did they stay there?  What ever happened to gravity?

I don’t really know why I liked these books.  Men with all brawn and no brains have never been particularly appealing (unless you’re just looking, of course).  But intelligence is sexy and if you want more than eye candy, it’s pretty necessary.  However, Eve’s aliens while being thick as a couple of bricks, have a naïve, almost innocent, if violent quality that obviously held some appeal on a subliminal level.

So suspend belief because this isn’t science fiction, its fantasy with spaceships and impossible genetic couplings.

If you like your men purple, to be pirates, and to lack the basics of humility because they’re totally cranking hot, and the terror of the universe; and your women to be cranky, tongue-lashing, full of spunk, buxom babes unafraid of purple aliens then these books are for you.

They’re fast paced, sizzling, sexy, humorous and ‘comical’.  A fun, entertaining read when you have a few minutes of time to waste while sipping cider, in the sun... on holiday.

«««1/2

Sydney Whyte

Rating Chart
«……………….A no goer
««……………Alright, but not a re-read
«««………..Liked it
««««…….Loved it

«««««Amaze-balls – ticks all the boxes!!!