What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed* Showing 2,051-2,100 of 13,523

[Lora]

Currently reading Rick R Reed's I don't know how much I will like it, since I just started, but I have enjoyed the other books he has written starting with that I picked up as a freebie a few weeks back.

[Cheryl]

LOL! Slurping kisses and a succulent hole! All in one man? Wow! That's a lotta man! LOL


Or a man with a sucking chest wound. Get that man an ambulance! STAT!

[Anne]

Cheryl wrote: "LOL! Slurping kisses and a succulent hole! All in one man? Wow! That's a lotta man! LOL


Or a man with a sucking chest wound. Get that man an ambulance! STAT!"

ROFL! XD

[Merith]

Lora wrote: "Currently reading Rick R Reed's I don't know how much I will like it, since I just started, but I have enjoyed the other books he has written starting with [bookc..."


I finished reading A Demon Inside last night and wasn't sure just how I felt about it. I mean, it has a great feel to it, but I think it could have been more. If it had been just a little longer, maybe delved deeper in the psychosis, and maybe why Jaime loved him so much in spite of it.

[Candice]

Yeah, I couldn't like A Demon Inside anywhere near as much as I wanted to. To be honest, I think I can say the same for most of Reed's work. It just doesn't connect with me the way I'm hoping it will.

[Yvonne]

I'm currently struggling to read The Long Way Home, Z.A. Maxfield's story about psychic Kevin & cop Connor & tracking missing children. It might be just me but the dialogue is very strange & I can't keep track of who's talking half the time. Then in the midst of the story about the missing kids, there was an out of nowhere intervention/reunion with Kevin's family & father who he hasn't spoken to in years. Yet they're all reconciled in one evening. Plus I'm getting sick of hearing about Andrew (Connor's dead lover) I guess I'll take another break from this story.

[[deleted user]]

Yvonne wrote: "I'm currently struggling to read The Long Way Home, Z.A. Maxfield's story about psychic Kevin & cop Connor & tracking missing children.

F, unny I was just chatting with a friend about how much I like that book...I really loved Kevin, he reminded me of Vic of the Psycop series...there were some frustrating parts though, especially with the Mystery...I LOVED the ending :O)

[Cleon Lee]

I was burnt out with BDSM books. Most of what I read these days arre abusive relationship written as BDSM relationship. Well, my friend urged me to try . I read this book with skepticism, but was very glad to read that this book is nothing like the books I hate.

The book is actually 4 stars, there are some problems in the book, like the strange paranormal subplot. But since this is the first BDSM book in a long time that doesn't make me wanna hurl my laptop against the wall, I gave it 5 stars. If you're curious, you can read my review here http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... .

[ns]

Candice wrote: "I just finished The Only Gold by Tamara Allen. Get it. Read it. It is too good. Her first two made me a fan. This one might be even better.

The love story is top notch. The initial hostil..."

Hey, thanks very much for that rec! It rescued my Tuesday night, fwiw.

What a refreshing change of pace. What a classy, tasteful, thoroughly enjoyable book! Loved the slow development of the relationship, thought it was all well-drawn and it felt genuine. I wasn't too sure of the exact decade the story was set in, but nothing felt too anachronistically out of place (except perhaps the use of the word "innovate" for his improvement of business practices. That was personally too much RL :)). And clean, clean writing that didn't make me cringe around every punctuation corner. Very soothing.

The last few books I had read (more correctly, started) had been a string of turkeys. Not much plot, not much character development. I usually skip the sex at best of times, unless I'm really emotionally invested in the characters, and am particularly turned off by the crass, so I've been unable to exercise any patience at all.

One might argue pornographic intent is a bedrock underpinning of this genre. Sure. It's not that sex isn't a serious enough subject for literature. And not every author in this genre has giant literary ambitions. Most just want to write a good story and entertain their readers. I can't help pleading, however, to echo a Mary Calmes character, "why you gotta be so crass?" Sure, sex sells. And it's important in this genre. In the hands of lesser authors, however, it can descend into sophomoric sordidness, and, as ably demonstrated by this author, in the hands of a talented one, it can certainly find itself at the sweet sublime end, instead.

[Yvonne]

Lauraadriana wrote: "Yvonne wrote: "I'm currently struggling to read The Long Way Home, Z.A. Maxfield's story about psychic Kevin & cop Connor & tracking missing children.

F, unny I was just chatting with a friend about how much I like that book...I really loved Kevin, he reminded me of Vic of the Psycop series...there were some frustrating parts though, especially with the Mystery...I LOVED the ending :O) "

I'm just putting it aside for now. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it. I love Vic in the psycop series but I'm not really seeing the resemblance other than the seeing dead people thing. I'll try this again another time.

[Cheryl]

*adding All the Gold and Commanding Acquisitions to my to-read list.

I just started Bent by Sean Micheals, and it's one of those glorified abuse masquerading and BDSM books that makes you want to throw your laptop. I was surprised because the book was pretty highly rated on Goodreads. About 12% into the book there had been several spankings, the first of which involved one character physically removing another from a public place, into his car and then driving him to a house in the suburbs which just felt a lot like kidnapping, talk of moving the sub into the dom's house so the dom could control every aspect of his life and then, after one night together, there were matching tattoos, to which the sub protested vociferously. After a few spankings there was talk of assigning a safe word, but there were more smacks and the matching tattoos and still no safeword assigned. Very poorly done. I'm so glad you all told me this was a free read, because I'd wanted to read it for a while and would have been quite mad if I had payed for it.

[Yvonne]

I'd heard that there was some scenes that were almost non con in Bent & that the dom was one of those arrogant all knowing types so I didn't bother getting the free read.

BDSM is usually not for me, but I just finished reading The Elegant Corpse by A.M Riley which is a very good book that I think even those not into it would love. It's told mainly from the point of view of the detective Roger ( who is a dom who plays at a BDSM club on a weekly basis) who discovers a dead body in his home. It's really a good mystery story told sometimes in narration style by Roger, which gives it a little of that hardboiled detective story feel. Roger is also an old school style( from the days of AIDs) dom, so the book has a wonderful nostalgic atmosphere. Sean, the dead man's brother, is also a really good character. He's fidgety, feisty & funny. There's nothing abusive about the relationship between Roger & Sam either. I'd recommend this for those looking for a good m/m mystery with some BDSM elements. I think I'm becoming a fan of AM Riley.

[Cleon Lee]

Cheryl wrote: "*adding All the Gold and Commanding Acquisitions to my to-read list.

I just started Bent by Sean Micheals, and it's one of those glorified abuse masquerading and BDSM books that makes you want to ..."

Yup, I've heard about it, that is why even though I have downloaded, I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

[Cleon Lee]

I wonder why readers are so permissive of abuse in an M/M relationship. Imagine if the other partner (I can't label him as a sub because he hasn't given consent to be a sub) is a woman. Readers will flay the author alive.

If you read The Harem Boy, you'd be as enraged as in reading Bent, perhaps even more. The Dom took a homeless college kid who had nothing at all and who hadn't understood about BDSM relationship to be his harem in an extreme 24/7 Master/slave relationship.

No talk of safe word, and the other slaves can discipline him as they saw fit, including beating, caging, etc. No one cried foul in the review yet. In fact, it got several 5 stars. *shakes head in disbelief*

[JPerceval]

I think even in straight BDSM, there's a lot of crap being written, stuff that would never fly in a real dom/sub relationship.

[Becky]

Cleon wrote: "I wonder why readers are so permissive of abuse in an M/M relationship. Imagine if the other partner (I can't label him as a sub because he hasn't given consent to be a sub) is a woman. Readers wil..."

I think it's mainly because there's a lot of misunderstanding about BDSM by people who don't practice it. And based on the link, it sounds like BDSM has more than it's fair share of assholes, too. It would surprise me more if BDSM stories weren't filled with abuse and rapetastic doms.

http://kinkylittlegirl.wordpress.com/...

I haven't made any great study of BDSM literature, so I could be talking out my ass here. But I wonder if the egregious, but very popular, examples are working on the same psychology as the rape filled romances of the 70s and 80s. That the man (dom) knows the secret desires of the woman (sub) and acts on those desires, not what they're actually saying, and that the fantasy of rape takes the responsibility off the woman (sub), allowing them to enjoy sex (submission) without being a bad person for it.

[Tracy]

I also tried Bent since it was free and as has been mentioned many others had given it such good reviews. It just didn't do it for me. I also felt the relationship (?) was abusive and much of what happened noncom. I had a real problem with the writing style as well, it just felt very amateurish.(IMHO)While I had wanted to read this and am glad I did, I won't be reading anymore of this series.

Oh the other hand I really like the Elegant Corpse, which Yvonne mentioned. It was generally well written and the romance was caring, not abusive.

Another really good book with BDSM in it is Rough Canvas (Joey Hill), probably one of the best books I've ever read with BDSM.

[Anne]

Yvonne wrote: "I'm currently struggling to read The Long Way Home, Z.A. Maxfield's story about psychic Kevin & cop Connor & tracking missing children. It might be just me but the dialogue is very strange & I can'..."

That was a hard book for me, too, but I think it was worth it to persevere. I re-read it recently and liked it a lot more the second time.

Although I'm still annoyed with Connor over the 'kitchen scene'....

[Cleon Lee]

Becky wrote: "Cleon wrote: "I wonder why readers are so permissive of abuse in an M/M relationship. Imagine if the other partner (I can't label him as a sub because he hasn't given consent to be a sub) is a woma..."

Thank you for the link, Becky. From your link, I stumbled on this link: Is it S/M or abuse? http://thenetworklared.org/smvsabuse.htm When you read the checklist, you will know that most of the books these days are not S/M at all, but abuse. I know perhaps it is taking this too far, but part of the reasons why I am mad at these glorified abuse stories is that these stories might desentize the readers or give wrong ideas to the readers, as if these behavior are OK in the context of BDSM relationship.

I think there are some truth in your analysis of this genre, about the parallel of 70's and 80's rape popularity in fiction and the popularity of BDSM these days. And perhaps these stories are part of the reasons why some people blamed the rape victims or thought that the rape victims actually enjoyed it.

[Cheryl]

Sometimes I wonder why people don't just write a slavefic instead of a bad BDSM story. But even well done slave fics are better at keeping in line with BDSM accepted practices than a lot of the crap BDSM books out there. In the entirety of the Slavebreakers series the main character never drags anyone kicking and screaming to their punishment.

I also get tired of the notion that sub = painslut. Sometimes subs are into pain, sometimes they're into humiliation, sometimes it's the loss of control, or sometimes it's having someone take care of them. Different strokes.

I looked at the blurb for Harem Boy a while ago and it was enough to let me know that it wasn't the book for me. I really liked Heidi Cullinan's Special Delivery and Double Blind. She explained the D/s aspect of the relationship, she had a strong sub with a healthy, mutually supportive relationship with his Dom, and two of the characters were switches, which doesn't seem to happen too often in fiction. Everyone wants to write the super know-it-all Dom and the supersub who doesn't know what they need until Superdom comes along and gives it to them. I think there must be a lot of fictional Doms out there eternally whipping their cookie cutter subs and wondering just when their sex lives got so cliche.

[Anne]

JPerceval wrote: "I think even in straight BDSM, there's a lot of crap being written, stuff that would never fly in a real dom/sub relationship."

Yes. I've read a couple that made me want to cage the Dom. I'm not really into BDSM, anyway. Please, no one quote that back at me when my short comes out in June....

[Anne]

Here's something I was wondering along the same lines.... What's with the occasional fight that gets physical in M/M?

*Spoiler Alert* In "Long Way Home" by ZAM and in "Cut & Run" there are scenes where one partner gets pissed off and decks another. That doesn't seem real to me. I initially wanted to chalk it up to the difference in m/m and m/f relationships, but it's abuse, either way. And it's not sex play, by any means.

I have asked friends of mine, and they say they'd walk if their partner hit them in anger (well, most people would say this but until you're actually in an abusive relationship...).

[Cheryl]

It's also very unprofessional when it's between two people who are supposed to be working together. Could you imagine what would happen if you decked one of your coworkers? Try explaining to the HR department that there was just too much sexual tension in the air so you had to beat them up.

[Anne]

Cheryl wrote: "It's also very unprofessional when it's between two people who are supposed to be working together. Could you imagine what would happen if you decked one of your coworkers? Try explaining to the HR..."

Or, you know, the cops.

ETA: Which brings me back to Cut & Run -- they are the cops (well, law enforcement, anyway).

[Lora]

Anne wrote: "Here's something I was wondering along the same lines.... What's with the occasional fight that gets physical in M/M?

*Spoiler Alert* In "Long Way Home" by ZAM and in "Cut & Run" there are scen..."

I agree with Anne above. The main characters in Cut & Run are testosterone laden FBI agents. You see the same type of behavior in cop/buddy/action movies all the time. I'm not saying it would be appropriate in reality, but this is fiction after all.

[Yvonne]

Anne wrote: "Here's something I was wondering along the same lines.... What's with the occasional fight that gets physical in M/M?

*Spoiler Alert* In "Long Way Home" by ZAM and in "Cut & Run" there are scenes where one partner gets pissed off and decks another. That doesn't seem real to me. I initially wanted to chalk it up to the difference in m/m and m/f relationships, but it's abuse, either way. And it's not sex play, by any means.."

I don't know about the Long Way Home since that's currently on pause for me, but I don't think it was abuse in Cut & Run since it was more about them blowing off steam & being angry with each other & they were fairly evenly matched but they did behave ridiculously. I didn't think it was particularly loving & didn't seem to be how potential lovers would act. I think a couple of ribs were broken and maybe broken noses--that's not love. I think the writers wanted to get so far away from writing about a stereotypical effeminate gay man that they went the opposite direction to macho meatheads. They toned it down in the later books (with I think only one boxing match)

[Cheryl]

That fight scene was one of the many, many problems I had with that book. The guys were definitely macho meatheads and quite immature. I guess I just don't expect two people to be slugging it out in a romance. At least not the two leads. A good author could make it work, but it definitely didn't work for me in that book.

[Charming]

Becky wrote: "I haven't made any great study of BDSM literature, so I could be talking out my ass here. But I wonder if the egregious, but very popular, examples are working on the same psychology as the rape filled romances of the 70s and 80s. That the man (dom) knows the secret desires of the woman (sub) and acts on those desires, not what they're actually saying, and that the fantasy of rape takes the responsibility off the woman (sub), allowing them to enjoy sex (submission) without being a bad person for it."

I think this is exactly right. "Bent" had one of those magical doms who "just knows" what the sub needs and gives it to him. The popularity of these books (and the old MF rape fics) tells me that a lot of people want this fantasy. And I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, what is wrong with enjoying whatever fantasy you want? And on the other, when this stuff gets too pervasive, it starts to affect the culture instead of only being a product of it.

Like most things in fiction, a lot depends on the writing skill and the care taken by the writer. I would have been much happier with "Bent" if the dom had just described the safe word dynamic right away. After the safe word comes into the story, the icky non-con feeling is mostly dissipated. The sub uses it when he feels the need and sticks up for himself in other ways as well.

[Josh]

JPerceval wrote: ""The older man" and "the smaller man" are the ones that always get me. Then I find myself obsessing over possible age/size differences rather than thinking about the story, LOL!"

I'm sure I've occasionally used some variation on that, but it's more about how much it was being used. I mean, it seemed like it was every paragraph. It became so noticable I started watching for it and then counting. :-D NOT what you want from the reader!

[Josh]

Liade wrote: "Of course, sometimes I read "the blue-eyed man" and instead of making it clear who's being talked about, it's wait, which of the two guys is the one with blue eyes, because I frequently forget what exactly the characters look like.
..."

I do that as the author. :-D

[Josh]

Anne wrote: "(For anyone that noticed and is wondering, I changed my Goodreads name to my my pen name. I am the writer formerly known as Megan).

You guys have my head spinning. :-D

So Anna is Jordan
Anita is Blaine
And Megan is Anne

Is that right? Has anyone changed to or from a variation on "Ann" in the last week or so?

[Charming]

Anne wrote: "Here's something I was wondering along the same lines.... What's with the occasional fight that gets physical in M/M?

*Spoiler Alert* In "Long Way Home" by ZAM and in "Cut & Run" there are scen..."

Finding Zach had one as well. This is another thing I have mixed feelings about. Part of the reason I started reading paranormal romance and then M/M was to get away from all the cultural freight that MF relationships carry. If both parties are werewolves (or men) it doesn't have the same connotations if they have sex right away, or physically fight with each other, or sleep with other people, or fight for control in the relationship or whatever. Those things aren't necessarily OK, but they mean something different - the context is different.

[Emanuela ~plastic duck~]

Charming wrote: "The popularity of these books (and the old MF rape fics) tells me that a lot of people want this fantasy. And I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, what is wrong with enjoying whatever fantasy you want? And on the other, when this stuff gets too pervasive, it starts to affect the culture instead of only being a product of it."

I read a lot of books with this theme, but I assure you, if someone just thinks of touching me with one finger, I'll kick his sorry ass! ;-)

[Josh]

Yvonne wrote: "I'm surprised an editor didn't suggest changing that, because even the people who wrote glowing reviews complained about this. I think I'd prefer the use of pronouns to that.
..."

I wonder where it came from. Someone mentioned fan fiction and I have seen it used a lot there. I guess you get these little stylistic tropes and everyone unconsciously picks them up? Anyway, that's a clumsy technique, wherever it originated.

[Josh]

Susan wrote: "Josh wrote: "I just don't know how any of you could have read EVERYTHING. That's what panics me."

Believe me, Josh, it's so possible. But there's no reason to panic as long as you NEVER stop wr..."

I fear my fantasy of taking a year off is not going to be popular here. :-D

[Josh]

Barb wrote: "...leave the panicking to us ;)
I am finally getting back to Lover Unleashed it has sat at 80% on my kindle for way too long!"

Who wrote that one again?

[Emanuela ~plastic duck~]

Josh wrote: "I fear my fantasy of taking a year off is not going to be popular here. :-D"

Warn us three or four years before taking this decision, so that we can be prepared. OMG, what's this itching? Withdrawal symptoms already...

[Barb]

I don't know.... Can't remember ..... It is still sitting there, still on 80% - it appears I am "Josh-combobulated" ..... Still :-P (JRWard in case you are being serious!) vamps I don't think you like; but Qhuinn and Blay - I reckon you would!!

[Josh]

Anne wrote: "Thank you! I have a short and a novel coming out soon, but I won't plug here, I guess.
..."

I don't think any of us have a problem with regular members mentioning their new releases. I don't.

[Josh]

Norma wrote: "LOL! Slurping kisses and a succulent hole! All in one man? Wow! That's a lotta man! LOL ..."

I'm not exaggerating. Those love scenes made me queasy.

[Susan]

Josh wrote: "I fear my fantasy of taking a year off is not going to be popular here."

That fantasy is not even in the realm of being humorous and I just hope it never becomes a reality. :)

[Becky]

Josh wrote: "I fear my fantasy of taking a year off is not going to be popular here. :-D"

Well, maybe if you write really, really fast and build up a backlog of titles to be released while you're taking your year off. Although I don't think that idea would be terribly popular with you!

[Blaine]

Josh wrote: "You guys have my head spinning. :-D

So Anna is Jordan
Anita is Blaine
And Megan is Anne

Is that right? Has anyone changed to or from a variation on "Ann" in the last week or so? "

If you put it that way, it almost looks like Ann Epidemic :)

Sorry to make your head spin

[Barb]

I am still just Barb :-P

[Josh]

Cleon wrote: "I wonder why readers are so permissive of abuse in an M/M relationship. Imagine if the other partner (I can't label him as a sub because he hasn't given consent to be a sub) is a woman...."

I was thinking about this the other evening. This and remember those old bodice rippers? I remember my mom bought them for a time. The Rosemary Rogers stuff with all these rapes and degrading things happening to women, and yet women ate them up. They sold huge, huge quantities. Now of course everyone is ashamed for having enjoyed them so much, and I think they did pall rather quickly even with those who found them titillating, but...I don't think that kink is maybe as rare as our rational minds tell us it should be?

I don't know. Just thinking out loud here.

[Josh]

Becky wrote: "examples are working on the same psychology as the rape filled romances of the 70s and 80s. That the man (dom) knows the secret desires of the woman (sub) and acts on those desires, not what they're actually saying, and that the fantasy of rape takes the responsibility off the woman (sub), allowing them to enjoy sex (submission) without being a bad person for it.
..."

Ha! Great minds. :-D

[Josh]

Cheryl wrote: "It's also very unprofessional when it's between two people who are supposed to be working together. Could you imagine what would happen if you decked one of your coworkers? Try explaining to the HR..."

I know. Seriously. Grounds for instant dismissal and assault charges.

[[deleted user]]

Josh wrote: They sold huge, huge quantities. Now of course everyone is ashamed for having enjoyed them so much, and I think they did pall rather quickly even with those who found them titillating, but...I don't think that kink is maybe as rare as our rational minds tell us it should be?

ohhh my A whole year?...Digressing...Well for me that is the thing with reading fiction...lets you go places that you don't normally go in your life, and I'm always surprised about the things that affect me in a book, but more so with the things that DON'T...Reading is about escapism and some times that is going to the scarier and darker little corners in our heads...

@Cleon, That being said I'm not sure if readers are permissive so much as they are allowing stereotypes to persist...men and are aggressive, more physical, so of course when there's trouble...they hit each other...humm dunno, personally domestic violence bothers me no matter what...but some kinky BDSM not at all (most of the time :))...then again I don't expect men to resolve everything with fists...but I do expect a book on BDSM to be kinky :O)

[Blaine]

Thing is ... most of those all knowing Dom stories are often from the Dom's pov.

Often the scenes in the sub's pov are mostly in scene and not during the bordering on abuse scenes ...

So ... is it wrong of me to now want a well written book about a Dom who really does know exactly what his sub needs when even the sub isn't conscious of his needs ... from the sub's pov?

Actually ... I prefer to read them from the sub's pov anyway ... it's a kink, I know.


and I really need to get over this dot dot dot obsession

[Josh]

Funny coincidence or mystical truth revealed? YOU decide.