Clear Water by Amy Lane

Meet Patrick Cleary party boy, loser, and spaz. Patrick's been trying desperately to transform himself, and the results have been so spectacular, they've almost killed him. Meet Wes "Whiskey" Keenan he's a field biologist wondering if it's time to settle down. When the worst day of Patrick's life ends with Whiskey saving it, Patrick and Whiskey find themselves sharing company and an impossibly small berth on the world's tackiest houseboat.

Patrick needs to get his life together-and Whiskey wants to help-but Patrick is not entirely convinced it's doable. He's pretty sure he's a freak of nature. But Whiskey, who works with real freaks of nature, thinks all Patrick needs is a little help to see the absolute beauty inside his spastic self, and Whiskey is all about volunteering. Between anomalous frogs, a homicidal ex-boyfriend, and Patrick's own hangups, Whiskey's going to need all of his patience and Patrick's going to need to find the best of himself before these two men ever see clear water.

This was such a good story.  Patrick is a 23 year old who is still struggling with ADHD as an adult.  It's affected his self esteem, his career path, and indirectly, his relationships.   As with so many "invisible" conditions, people in his life seem to think that if he'd just get himself together, he wouldn't have a problem.  (And yet, the majority of the world doesn't seem to expect cancer patients to think themselves cured or amputees to will a new limb to grow.  This is a bit of a sore subject with me, can you tell?)  And Patrick has bought into this way of thinking, calling himself a fuckup and constantly apologizing and talking about how he needs to get his shit together.  But the Patrick that we see, and that Whiskey sees, is a kind, smart, curious, big-hearted, vulnerable man desperately in need of people who will believe in him.

Whiskey is a biologist in his mid-thirties.  He's spent the majority of his adult life working in the field, wandering from place to place and project to project as the grant money leads.  He's standing under the stars one night, thinking about settling down and making a home for himself, when Patrick literally crashed into his life.

The relationship between Whiskey and Patrick is the heart of this book, which is as it should be in a romance novel.  Whiskey has experience working with odd people, and his patience and understanding are exactly what Patrick needs.  And Patrick's desire to please, his need to accomplish something and prove his value, lay the foundation for both Whiskey's literal and metaphorical home.  They're both tender with each other, and want to take care of each other, which makes for a really heart-tugging romance.

That's not to say that it was the perfect book.  There's a bad guy sub-plot featuring Patrick's ex that I certainly could have done without.  Cal is only present at the beginning and end of the book, and he's never really anything more than a cardboard cut out with the words "Generic Drug Dealing Bad Guy" written on it.  He adds some shoot-em up interest toward the end of the book, but his actions don't make a heck of a lot of sense if you think about them too closely.

Also, the last chapter was sweet, but it was pretty anti-climactic and could have been cut down a lot.

So, not perfect in all respects, but Clear Water was an entertaining book with a wonderful romance at it's heart.  Definitely worth reading.  B+

m/m romcom

I had a thought today.  (I know.  Don't fall over in shock or anything.)  I've been thinking a lot lately about romantic comedy in m/m (male/male).  Basically, there is none.  Well, that's not true.  There are books that people call romantic comedy.  But it's a pretty small percentage of the total sub-genre.  And what I've read hasn't left me with the same satisfaction that m/f (male/female) romcom does.

Why is this?  Is it not terribly popular, and therefore not published often?  Or is there something specific about romantic comedy that doesn't work when you're dealing with two men vs a man and a woman?  Is it not great because it's rare, or is it rare because it's not great?

That's the part I've been thinking about for a while.  Here's the part that just dawned on me today.  If I want to analyse the problem, I should host a book club on a blog.  It takes me a while, but I get there eventually.

So here's what I'm thinking.  Pick a couple of romcoms that are considered some of the best in both m/f and m/m and compare them.  What works in each book?  What doesn't?  Is there something about a woman being part of the equation that allows the comedy magic to happen?  M/M is largely written by and for women, so in theory it shouldn't be a gender difference in the creators/audience causing the problem.

A problem with this plan may be finding enough people willing to read both m/m and m/f stories to get a good conversation going.  There seem to be a fair number of people on both sides who don't want girls/two dudes cluttering up their romance novels.

So.  Is this something you'd be interested in?

You Must Read This Book

Y'all.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing (okay, the geese are honking, which isn't quite as pleasant, but whatever), and I read a really, really good book today.  One of my Goodreads friends recommended it to me, and I'm so happy they did.  This story should not be missed.

Here's the blurb (it doesn't do the story justice by any means, but it's what we've got to work with):

Straight jockboy Kevin thinks he has gay, cross-dressing 
Danny under his thumb. Kevin only likes girls. 

So... why does he keep thinking about her? 

Or him. 

Whatever.


Kevin is a star football player on the verge of losing his spot on the team because of his grades.  But that all changes when he spots a pretty girl across the room at a party and realizes that it's actually Daniel, the new kid in school and the second string quarterback.  Kevin makes a deal with Dani-- she helps him pass his classes and he won't tell the whole school about Dani's little hobby.


The relationship between these two characters is absolutely magic.  Real and easy and loving and painful and everything that a true relationship is, no matter the genders or sexualities of the people involved.  It's a beautiful thing to watch unfold, and the author does an incredible job sharing it with us.


Kevin may be presented as a typical jock, but he's so much more than that.  There is real kindness there, under the rough, teenage boy exterior.  And Daniel, Danny, Dani, is a real person, struggling with issues of identity and acceptance.  More acceptance of self than acceptance by others.


It's not perfect.  There are places where difficult dynamics seem to be more in the characters' heads than on the page.  Well, many of our problems are more in our heads than in reality.  But in the relationship between Kevin and his father, Kevin seems to be pushing hard against an obstacle that just isn't there.  At the same time, the author doesn't shy away from some difficult, painful truths in Kevin and Dani's relationship.  Both have their issues, and something kind of horrible happens between them that must be overcome.  I'm not sure how I feel about that incident, but it's a lot like looking at other relationships that have hit a hard speed bump.  Could I get past it?  I don't know.  But do I believe that these two have managed to move on?  Absolutely.


That's what's so wonderful about these characters.  They're real and believable.  They grow and change individually and as a couple, and it's a wonderful journey.  The end of the book is a little after school special, but Kevin and Dani are so terrific that I'm willing to forgive that.


So where can you buy this amazing book?  You can't.  Because for some reason it's not been picked up and published by anyone.  (Silly, silly publishers.)  It is available for free, though, published online by the author.  (And that is the final proof of how good this story is-- I hate reading on a computer screen for any length of time, but I happily spent the entire afternoon reading this.)  So here it is: The Girl For Me by Failte.  If you enjoy it half as much as I did, I hope you'll pass the link on to everyone you know.  This story deserves to be read.

I Love Rock 'n Roll!

I'm going through a phase right now.  A rockstar phase.  I can't get enough of reading about bad boys living the high life.  Fortunately, it seems to be a reasonably popular theme in m/m romance, although it doesn't seem to be as common in mainstream romance.

I haven't read the book to the left yet.  It's book three in a series (the first two aren't about rockstars, they're about other people who need bodyguards), so I'll need to read those first.  (Must read/watch all series in order!)  (OCD?  I have no idea what you're talking about.)  But I'm definitely looking forward to reading about the sexy rockstar and his big, strong bodyguard.  Rawr!

Another author I've been really enjoying is Jet Mykles, who writes about the oh so delicious boys of Heaven Sent.  I've read the first three books of this series (which I'll probably be discussing in more depth in another post), and there are three more books in the series, just waiting for me to eat them up, plus the first book in an off-shoot series.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the covers of these books are at least some of the attraction!  How can anyone look at that cover to the right and not want to read it?  The story itself was a little disappointing, but I could sit and look at the cover all day.

Lest you think this has been a strictly boys' club obsession, I have found one or two m/f rockstar romances.  Coming Undone by Susan Andersen was pretty entertaining.  PJ is a country star with problems.  (OK, so she's country, not rock, but I let it skate by because a lot of the trappings are the same.)  Her momma is trashing her in the tabloids, she's developed a crazed stalker, and the bodyguard her record label hires just happens to be an old flame.  They all go on tour, and hijinx ensue.  A good time is had by all, including the reader.

Then I've got one that I haven't read yet,  Backstage Pass by Olivia Cunning.  This is another m/f rock romance that I picked up when they 

had it for free on Kindle for about 5 minutes.  They're marketing it as an erotic romance, so fingers crossed that it will be good!

I've got a bunch of other m/m rockstar romances in my future, too.  American Love Songs by Ashlyn Kane looks excellent, as does The Replacement Guitarist by Lori Toland.  With the Band by L.A. Witt is on my list.  And as I was poking around on Goodreads, double checking author names and such for this post, I came across A Change of Tune by JM Cartwright, which is now on the list, too.  (Goodreads is really a mixed blessing.  I've discovered some great stuff there, but I'm constantly discovering another book that I want.  I'll never read it all!)

So, do you like to read about rockstars?  Have you read any of the books I mentioned here?  Did you like them?  And most importantly, are there any other rockstar romances I absolutely must read?  I just can't get enough of bad boys with attitude and guitars!

Rock the Vote!

Dabwaha is getting down to the nitty gritty.  Voting is going on for the second half of the Elite 8.  If you haven't already, I'm going to ask everyBetty to go vote for Fair Game by Josh Lanyon.  It was a good book, better IMO than it's competitor, and Lanyon is an excellent author in general.  Plus, I'd really like to see a m/m title make a good showing again this year.  (Last year a m/m title, Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville, made it to the final two.)

So if you would, head on over to http://dabwaha.com/ and cast a vote.  Lanyon's behind right now, but he can catch up with our help!