Elven Journals

Elven Journals: Unseen Paths

by Scarlet Hyacinth


***


Gay elven erotica--if you're looking for a fantasy slash story, it's not bad. The quality of the writing is ok for erotica, but still a bit thin in places, and I wished it were just a bit better. The fake medieval setting was very hastily sketched, and the magic barely explained. I also found it really jarring that the characters all spoke in modern American slang. I guess it's moderately better for the characters to call each other "baby" than "thee" and "thou" but it still took me out of the fantasy.


The story is set in the elven palace at the end of a war against the demons that brought the elves and the dark elves together (again, only hastily explained). Jan'ke (how do you pronounce that?) is the tough, manly dark elf hero of the wars, who is closed off from his emotions after the war. Alix is the sensitive elf singer who is socially outcast because he is blind. But he's not that girly, despite his blindness, he is also a veteran of the demon wars, and is nearly as tall and strong as Jan'ke. The romance between them is nice but I wish there was more build-up showing them connecting emotionally. Then some secrets of Alix's past are revealed that changes his character a lot, and the story kind of went off the rails.





Each chapter alternates between Jan'ke and Alix's points of view, but it means that we get every scene narrated twice, and in the first half it's a huge drag. It takes the story forever to get moving.

Alix's blindness is caused by magic, so you know where this is going, hello, magic cure. If you're looking for a realistic treatment of a blind hero, this isn't it. Also there are a LOT of torture scenes in the second half which some readers might find disturbing.  Dev factor was pretty good in the beginning but low by the second half.

Shot in the Dark

Shot in the Dark

by Spiral Razor

****

Supernatural Western with a blind hero. This is the first in a planned series, self-published by a dev author. For those of you who love a blind hero, this is for you. Killian McBride is a supernaturally enhanced vigilante, dispensing justice in the Old West with his two swords, and oh so sexy. He's also fleeing a tortured past, but no spoilers. Jesse is great as his mechanically inclined, sarcastic sidekick. The dynamic between the two of them drives the best scenes.

So much of Killian's past, and his abilities, are surprises as the story goes along, it feels wrong to get into too much detail. His blindness and his fighting skills have a supernatural element, but it's all handled believably, and there is no miracle cure, thank goodness. Even better, his abilities don't give him magical sight--when he's not fighting, he's just a regular blind guy. There are lots of great devvy moments.

Be warned, though, it's not a love story, and it is the beginning of a series, so the ending is not that conclusive.  But it's great fun, especially if you're a Daredevil fan.

ETA: Ruth Madison reviewed this on her blog, and she loves it too! 

Cowboy Down

Cowboy Down
by Vanessa Gray Bartal

Dev Rating: **

A somewhat silly premise typical of a rom-com style romance novel, but it really does work.

The characters are very endearing and likable. Especially the girl. The boy has some annoying woe-is-me moments, but is overall charming.

For me the dev moments were few, but the ones that were there were great. There's the time Cade falls from his chair into the mud. There's when Cade is taking care of an ill Layla. 

There are some not great things such as the brothers in the story all having ridiculously similar names. Also, I found it really hard to believe that Layla was a foster kid. She told us a lot about how untrusting she was, but what was shown was the opposite.

The cover is also terrible. A gray tone cover definitely does not catch the eye and the text is difficult to read on it. It looks really unprofessional. Instead of buying the book outright (even though it was a cheap ebook) I downloaded the sample. I was pretty sure from the cover that I wasn't going to like it.

But then, as a sample should, I fell in love with Layla's character and wanted to keep reading.


For a more detailed review, visit: http://www.ruthmadison.com/monday-book-review-cowboy-down/

Mission Canyon

Dev Rating: ****

The main character, Evan, is a plucky, sarcastic jill-of-all-trades who is engaged to a handsome lawyer in a wheelchair, Jesse. The plot of this particular book has the man who ran over Jesse back in town after trying to run from manslaughter charges (Jesse's friend was killed in the crash). Confusing motives and big corporations with shady dealings soon get involved and Evan plays detective with her many skills and interests.

One thing I really appreciate is that Jesse's disability isn't there in order to raise the stakes in the plot. I've complained about that before in some horror books and movies. Here it doesn't feel as though the disability is around purely for a plot point or to make an extra challenge. It's just part of their lives, part of the lives of the characters.

The sexual side of spinal cord injury is not delved into deeply in this book, but it isn't glossed over either. It's realistic, believable, and nicely done.

Jesse is definitely a heart throb: gorgeous, young, smart, and witty. His wheelchair is given, I think, just the right amount of attention. It is not harped on, but not ignored either. He is a very strong man, definitely an alpha type, and Evan makes a point of saying that he does not allow anyone to push him. Ever. There's a moment where a bad guy grabs hold of him by the wheelchair and pulls him and it's a powerful moment because it really drives home Jesse's inherent vulnerability despite his tremendous strength.

And how sexy is this? He defends Evan against a bad guy coming into her home and threatening her by using the end of a forearm crutch.

For a more detailed review, visit http://www.ruthmadison.com/monday-book-review-canyon-mission/

Me Before You

Dev Rating: ***

This is a difficult one to review. On the one hand, the descriptions of quadriplegic Will are fairly detailed and realistic. He is a very charming guy, particularly once Lou and he begin to like one another. On the other hand, it is another quad-wants-to-die plot written by someone who read a news article about a man who had an assisted suicide and wanted to understand it better.

The story is that Lou, a charming young woman with a quirky sense of style, gets hired to be the carer for a quadriplegic man even though she has no experience at all. It turns out that she was hired more because of her cheery nature in the hopes that she will help bring him out of depression.

Though the subject matter is heavy, it is a chick-lit style book. I was very surprised to see how many reviews the book has on Amazon. In the UK, where it is published and based, there are some 700 reviews. I've never seen that many! I have no idea how that happened, but there were several one star reviews from people who were not expecting a chick-lit book, so let me warn you about that ahead of time!

If you know me then you know that I find the quad-wants-to-die plot extremely tiresome. It reeks of ableism: "I, an able-bodied woman with no experience of disability shall write about a quadriplegic because I read about it in the news. What should I write? How about how miserable his life must be?"

I, also an able-bodied woman, have no authority to say that's not true. What I can say is that I've known quads, two of them being at the same injury level as Will and one higher. None of them have wanted to commit suicicde. They expressed to me how grateful they were to be alive and emphasized how they have grown from the experience. One told me that he had learned so much from it that his life was better than it had been.

If you're going to ever read any book where the plot is quad-wants-to-die, this is the one to read. It does present a fairly balanced view of the issue. I'm reluctant to recommend any book with this plot, but I did find myself moved by it. If you do read it, I urge you to remember that whatever it might seem like from an outside point of view, many people with quadriplegia are living happy and content lives.

I was reluctant to read the book knowing this was the plot, but I am actually glad that I read it.

For a more detailed review visit http://www.ruthmadison.com/monday-review-me-before-you//

The Old Mermaid's Tale

 The Old Mermaid's Tale

by Kathleen Valentine

Overall Rating: *****

Dev Rating: **

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. The writing is lush and rich and full, yet not at all boring. It's what I think romance novels should be.

The main character, Clair, is from a small town in the midwest and she yearns for the ocean and for adventure. She has a romantic soul. It's the 1960s and she goes off to college near the Great Lakes.

From the title I was not expecting such a modern story!

The atmosphere is so well drawn, I can really feel every moment of Clair's love of the fishermen and the water.

About half way through the book Clair meets the gorgeous, mysterious Baptiste, a single leg amputee.

He is undeniably sexy and Clair falls hard for him. It's a great depiction of disability because Baptiste hardly notices his missing leg and certainly never lets it stop him. He wears a prosthesis and it is not very noticeable. He is such a deep, rich character who is so beloved by those around him that no one tends to say much about his leg.

This makes it great from a disability issues standpoint, but not great from a dev standpoint! There is no lingering on his body for us to enjoy.

Don't let that stop you from reading the book, though. It is so beautiful and absolutely worth reading.

Of Such Small Differences

Of Such Small Differences
by Joanne Greenberg

****

This is an amazing book, but the author who wrote I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. It's a love story about a deafblind young man named John, and an able-bodied woman named Leda. John was born blind, and became deaf as a child. He can speak and use ASL but communicates primarily through fingerspelling. He lives on his own, and works in sheltered workshop, where he meets Leda, an aspiring actress who works as a van driver.

Greenberg had extensive contact with the Deaf and deafblind communities, through her husband, a social worker, and her experience lends authenticity and realism to the story. This is not a romance, but a realistic, deeply affecting, poetic novel. The entire novel is narrated entirely from John's point of view, a stunning accomplishment. He's also a poet, and the poetic descriptions of how he encounters the world are amazing. But it also means that we as readers get as bewildering and incomplete a view of the world as he does. The experience of reading an entire book narrated this way gives a tiny glimpse of how difficult it is for him, and as a result the reading experience is sometimes exhausting.

The book was originally published in 1989, and it is quite dated, actually it seemed like it was set in the 70s. Leda is a self-absorbed hippie, as are her flaky actor friends. John was educated in residential schools, and the book reveals the abuses possible in those schools, and the deep scars institutionalization leaves on his psyche. Greenberg makes many sharp observations about disability, the cultures among disabled people, and of the social workers, interpreters, and volunteers who help them.

John is a fascinating, resilient character, but so many bad things happen to him, it's a bit upsetting. His family is nightmarish. But what really bothered me the most was Leda. She's so selfish and thoughtless, I just wanted to smack her. Still, the dev factor was really high for me, and I highly recommend the book.

Sadly, it's been out of print for a long time, but there are used copies floating around. It's definitely worth searching out. Watch out though, for some reason all the reviews on Amazon spoil the entire plot.