J to tha M: What We’re Reading

Cover Reveal: Ash Rising EVER AFTER by Kate SeRine Release Day!

J to tha M: What We’re Reading

J: I stayed up too late reading

in hindsight, the book was not worth it

and now I have a headache

M: that seriously sucks

what book was it?

J: um

At Any Price by Brenna Aubrey

it was okay

not worth the hours of sleep I didn’t get

eh, it came up in my search for a geek hero

just checked the reviews for it

I don’t know why, but I always like to see if others had the same objections I had

M: I do that, too

I just looked it up – heh

virginity auction

billionaire winner

almost as bad as DARK SEKRITS

J: yeah, but I was convinced by some of the comments in forums that this would be different

and honestly, those took a backseat to the things that really irritated me

M: oh no

J: oh, and there were dark sekrits

M: double oh no

J: I think my first real objection (outside of plot, which, really, we read the same books over and over anyway. If she could do something different and better, I could be a fan) was a technique issue

or maybe just laziness

in that something would be mentioned and then, to explain it away, the narrator would say something like “We had previously discussed his dislike for onions, so this new revelation didn’t surprise me.”

instead of going back to an earlier part of the MS and just writing in a conversation about hating onions

not that they discussed onions in the book

that really would have sent me over the edge

M: hahaha

yeah, gotta be better ways to drop in backstory, even little details like that

J: so flipping annoying

next, I think, was the controlling bastard wearing a sweet geek mask

when he was sweet geek, I adored him

I wanted one of my own

but then he’d go all alpha

and it was distracting

M: a sweet alpha geek bastard

that’s kind of messed up

or sweet geek alpha bastard

J: and it’s one of those wtf is wrong with you moments

regarding the author

because it’s obvious the controlling bastardy move was meant to be sweet, too

M: funny how different people can see or think such opposite things in a behavior

I’m sure sometimes it’s meant to seem sweet – I’ve read a lot of that in books with a hero trying to be a “sweet” alpha

some work. some really don’t

J: like, um

not trying to spoil it – but **beware, spoilers ahead**

though you’re probably not going to read it

so, he already knew her before bidding, but she didn’t know him

that whole anonymous gamer thing

so he found out about the auction and wanted to know what would make her do something like that

and discovered her mom had cancer and was in danger of losing the house

STALKER MUCH

then secretly contacts the mom through his corporation and starts the process for saving the ranch

all before he even bid on her

M: of course

J: now

a real man

would have faced down the girl with his questions and offered to help face to face

instead of stalking and invading privacy and sneaking around

and yes, I can handle forcing help upon someone who needs it

so much more than sneaky creepy help

M: and giving her the opportunity to avoid putting herself on the auction block

yeah, creepy

So, instead of letting her know she doesn’t need to auction her virginity, he lets her go ahead and do it?

J: well, the explanation in the book is that, as the anonymous gamer guy, he tried to talk her out of it

and she still was determined

so he won with the intention of never forcing her to go through with it

M: but still. he could have saved her that humiliation

this is my problem with the alpha male thing – a personal prejudice, probably – but a true alpha male who cared about his woman (whether she knew she was his woman or not) would just take care of her, not let her get into a position where other men would have even a glimmer of a shot at her or she would be hurt or humiliated, take care and protect her, even if she argued with him about it. There’s a whole other side of issues to discuss there, but in my mind, that what a true romance novel alpha male would/should do

but that’s my suspension of reality moment. Make me believe. Of course, what I believe is totally different than other people, so to each their own

J: but that’s the thing

a true alpha is usually guileless

secrets maybe

sneakiness, no

M: yeah. an alpha does what he thinks is best for the person he feels he needs to take care of, even if he doesn’t really ask first

J: annoying how disappointed I’ve been lately with my reads, actually

M: I’ve actually read quite a few really good ones

Read a couple by Laura Florand. You must try

Well written – she has such a flowing style. Not lyrical, really, but just smooth and engaging

urges you along with the character and story, brings on the feels, sucked me right in

She writes about chefs – top-of-their-game chefs

and really brings the profession in without being instructional or dry fact, you know? You learn as you become part of the characters’ lives

J: I’m very interested in chefs

M: The stories are so believable and she still mixes in all the emotion and reaction. I really enjoyed. The two I read were Turning Up the Heat and The Chocolate Rose (which is still free on Amazon for Kindle right now). Definitely plan on reading more

I think you’d like

J: I’m on board

oh!

I ran across one of hers on the lists I looked at last night

I should have gotten that one instead

M: From what you’ve mentioned, I’m pretty positive you’d like much better

J: I’ll buy after I finish work

or I won’t actually finish work

heh

M: I burned through a bunch of Kristen Ashley’s that went on sale (The ‘Burg series is still on sale for 99 cents each) so I bought, but that’s a whole discussion in and of itself

my love/hate (but mostly crackalicious love) of her stuff

and, of course, Kate SeRine’s ARC of Ever After, but we’ll talk about that closer to release date

Also went on a tear of Heidi Cullinan’s m/m backlist

always well-written with lots of feels

and she can do that learn a lot about the character’s profession without being boring or dry

In her Special Delivery series, the one guy was a long-haul trucker, one worked in a casino (Double Blind)

very different but both really interesting and totally brought me into their world

oh, and one of hers, Dirty Laundry, where one guy was a bouncer and the other an entomology grad student

interesting, and she totally makes it work

J: you mentioned that one before, I thought…

hmmm

maybe I found it in one of my geek hero searches

it sounds familiar

yeah, I have seen this one before

I’m even more curious now

M: I just finished her A Private Gentleman – historical with a highborn lord second son who has a bad stutter and a “professional sodomite” or male prostitute

don’t know why, but I love those kind of setups, as improbable as they are

J: ohhhhhh a stutter

why this makes my heart thump, I have no idea

Speaking of heart thumps, I’m still avoiding The Fault in Our Stars

because crying my eyes out until I have a gross headache is never my favorite

M: oh, man, Fault in Our Stars

I want to read that, too, but scared for the same reasons

ugly cry

J: we keep saying it, but we should get drunk together and just do it

gulp copious amounts of wine

and then cry it all out through our tears

M: It’ll be interesting to see if that can make me cry. Those are few and far between, as you know