Broken Pieces | Riley Hart

Can three broken pieces make a whole?

Josiah Evans is the orphan who lost both his parents. He’s sweet, shy, and all heart. He wants nothing more than to be loved.

Mateo Sanchez is the son of a gang leader. He’s seen it all, and never hesitates to do what needs to be done, no matter what it is.

Tristan Croft is the wealthy attorney who clawed his way up from the bottom to rule his own world. He’ll never depend on anyone but himself again.

Three men who couldn’t be more different…and yet, as their lives intersect they find an uncommon balance that calms the storms inside each of them, and ignites fires hotter than they ever thought imaginable.

 

Heart in Hand | Salifiable

Heart in Hand

Darryl had realized very early on that for better or worse, he would be linked to Aleksey Kuznetsov for the rest of his life. But he never expected anything like this.

Losing Ground | Sasha L. Miller

Carter Bellwood's family has Earth-claimed the Bellwood territory for generations and they've always had an excess of Earth energy to back it up. Until Carter, whose energy is barely a fraction of that his mother has. But he's the only Earth wizard in his generation and set to inherit the territory—if there's anything left of it. The territory is being ravaged by a disease that kills all plant life it comes into contact with. They can't cure it, can barely contain it, can only watch as their territory turns into a barren landscape.

Then a new Earth wizard shows up. Tai is everything Carter is not when it comes to the strength of his magic, and more importantly he knows how to cure the disease. But he's also terrified and clearly on the run from something, and Carter's not sure Tai's help is worth the risk of him trying to stake his own claim on the territory—or the risk that whatever he's running from finds him...

Balancing Karma | id_locke

Balancing Karma 
By: id_locke

Status: COMPLETE
Approx. Word Count: 193,825

LGBT, fantasy, sci-fi, unpublished

Karma has it in for Moswen. Trouble follows him around like a demented, faithful dog. Moswen never means for things to happen the way they do. It just does. And while things may seem bad at first, everything eventually works out for the best even if the road to getting there is a less than a smooth ride.

While fleeing his sister's wrath for an accident that was almost not his fault, Moswen stumbles upon the chance to crash what promises to be a fun party.

Kijika is hopeful that the birthday bash for his grandfather, the current king, won't be the deadly boring event he's sure it will be and he'd much rather be pouring over ancient texts in his quest for knowledge. Moswen's karma swings into action and Moswen and Kijika cross paths at the party setting in motion a relationship that will give both men what they most desire.

I can't help but praise this book. It was definitely a long one and I was completely immersed in it the entire time.  

Kijika is half Vylfian and half Naemo. Not only a prince, but also a necromancer. Moswen is from the planet Awh’an. He is a Shal-hazal spirit, an ambassador and a dream walker and thus can physically move from one place to another.

This story is purely about Kijika and Moswen and how Moswen's unpredictable karma seems to pull everyone around him in. This story is fun, light hearted, humorous, and there's drama to keep you entertained. The world building is beautifully done. The author intertwined the three unique species,
culture, and magic wonderfully.

I do have to say that Moswen's ability to dream walk was never really explained, as well as the other Awh'anise abilities. I didn't understand how he was able to dream walk to Kijika's world. It was all ambiguous.

There are also other side stories and other Awh'anise pairings that can be checked out on id_locke's livejournal. These stories do have to be read online, but it was definitely worth the read. Highly recommended. 

Rating: ★★★★★

Content Advisory: This book is intended for mature audiences and contains explicit sexual activity. 

The Substitute | Tionne Rogers

“I understand this is all new to an inexperienced youth like yourself. I was half expecting your denial, but I'm willing to wait, that you become my lover. I will provide, take care and see that no harm falls upon you, as long as you respect me and behave according to your status. As I said, you are the most adorable thing that had caught my attention in years. You have to be mine and I have every intention to win you over.” 

“I'm 44 and way past the age for playing. You are everything I've dreamed of for a lover and a companion in life. Your beauty and innocence makes you perfect for me."

With these words, Konrad von Lintorff, a Swiss German banker declared his intentions to a 19 years old penniless student. Guntram was young, kind hearted and exactly looking as Konrad's former lover. Can a young sweet boy survive the High Finance World and the love of a possessive and violent man? Follow Guntram's diary through a story of intrigue, love, sex, betrayal, secret societies, deceptions and murder.

Treasure | Megan Derr

The Lost Gods #1

Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Date Published: January 24, 2012
Pages: 272

LGBQT, fantasy, romance.

Nine gods ruled the world, until the ultimate betrayal resulted in their destruction. Now, the world is dying and only by restoring the Lost Gods can it be saved.

Nine hundred years ago, the Dragons of the Three Storms, gods of chaos, tried to destroy their land of Kundou. Only by rising up and slaying the Dragons and stealing their power was Kundou saved. Now, that power resides in the royal family and grants them the right to rule.

But that power comes at a terrible price, and Prince Nankyokukai is determined that he will be the last to pay it—even if it means surrendering his chance with the man he has waited for his entire life.


As a fan of Megan Derr, I was surprised I had not read this one.

I liked the world building although it seemed incomplete, I'm assuming because the other countries will be detailed in the following books. The unique culture and rituals were impressive. Quite a few plot twists that kept me rooted to the book. About two thirds in, the story was monotonous. Nothing really happened, other than sex that is. Towards the end it picked up once more, and the ending completely caught me off guard. It came out of nowhere to be honest, there was no foreshadowing or impression that it was possible.

I didn't like the multiple POVs. It started off with the story revolving around Kyo and Kin, but somehow Taka and Raiden had larger segments as the book went on and we saw less of Kyo and Kin. Two POVs are more than enough, otherwise it's hard to know who to focus on.

The characters were great. Both Kyo and Kin had strong personalities. Kyo had many self-pity moment and other times he portrayed the spoiled, cold prince. Kin on the other hand was the angry, half merman character who was nonetheless charming. Taka, Kyo's secretary, was cantankerous and rather annoying at times. He was my least favourite character. Finally Raiden was not very memorable. He was cheeky, flippant and liked to get under Taka's skin. His character was truly not important until the end.

Overall I enjoyed this book and will continue to the next.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Amazon  |  The Book Depository  |  Chapters.Indigo

Drastically Redefining Protocol | rageprufrock

Unpublished
Words: 46,059
Fanfiction, LGBT, fantasy. 


In which Prince Arthur meets Merlin and all hell promptly breaks lose.


This is a great Merlin/Arthur fan fiction. Yes, this unpublished novel needs some polishing, but it was still a great and might I add FREE read!

Merlin Emrys is a junior doctor, doing his rotation at a children's hospital. The same hospital Prince Arthur William Henry Philip Pendragon is visiting. Hiding out in a supply closet and chain smoking to wait out the chaos of the hospital with Arthur's visit, Merlin unknowingly meets Arthur. Cue madness of a celebrity and the lovely paparazzi.

Honestly, I wish it was a bit longer so some issues were resolved fast and should have been dragged out more, especially the conflict at the end. I felt like it was brushed under the rug and dismissed quickly. I liked the relationship between Merlin and Arthur. I felt like their relationship progressed well. I did have a hard time understanding Arthur's characters and his decisions in the book. Otherwise, the dialogue was laugh out loud funny and you couldn't help but ask yourself, where does Merlin come up with this s***? There are also media inserts within the story, that make it unique. Only one way to find out if you will enjoy it!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Burn | T.J. Klune

Elementally Evolved #1

By: T.J. Klune

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Date Published: Feb 5, 2012

Pages 370
ISBN 10: 1613723555

Fantasy, science fiction, LGBT

Book One of the Elementally Evolved series Set in a world that closely resembles our own, Burn is a story of redemption and betrayal, of family and sacrifice, which leads to the greatest question of all: how far would you go to save the ones you love? Fifteen years ago, Felix Paracel killed his mother with fire that shot from his hands. Since then, he has hidden from forces bent on exploiting him and his fire and wind Elemental abilities. But Felix's world is about to change, because he is Findo Unum-the Split One-and his coming has been foretold for generations. Though Felix's arrival brings great joy to the Elemental world, it also heralds a coming darkness. No one knows this better than Seven.-Seven, the mysterious man who rescued Felix from that horrible fire years ago and then disappeared; Seven, who has returned to claim what's rightfully his: Felix's heart. But even as Felix begins to trust Seven and his feelings about his place in the world, the darkness reveals itself, bringing consequences no one could have predicted.

I've had this book on my kindle since last year and I finally got around to it. This was one long book. The first 40% of the book went by pretty quick. I was quite absorbed and stayed up reading as much as I could. The remainder was harder to get through. It was just too long. There was one part where we saw Seven's past. I'm all for getting to know characters better, but in this case it outstretched my patience. I ended up scanning quite a bit of it to get it over with as quick and painlessly as possible.

Felix, the average main character annoyed me with some of the decisions he made, he was petulant, and somewhat selfish. At the same time you couldn't hate him. He tries to make the right decisions, to be the savior everyone was waiting for, but lack of knowledge put him at a disadvantage. Seven, was a definite alpha male and unconditionally devoted to Felix. Seven's role was to be the Findo Unum's protector. He was raised to fulfill this role and was trained since young. The minor character's were great. Each had their own distinct personality and roles within the universe.

There's quite the dilemma of the United States trying to pass a bill, which requires the Elementals to register themselves, since they are a danger and uncontrollable. Essentially this is their scheme to experiment and eventually control the Elementals. This sets the scene nicely for the Normals vs. Elementals. There's also the coming darkness that Felix must overcome.

Overall, there were parts I enjoyed and others that just tried my patience. The concept of it was fascinating, but the narration could use some editing. There was no conclusion as it was only the first book. I would most likely read the rest of the series to satisfy my curiosity of the conclusion. Although book one did seem a little predictable.

Rating: ★★★☆☆