By Slanted Light

Sorry - catching up on posts... *g*


Mount TBR so far = 8/24
Lj Book Bingo Masterpost

"When he learns that he could be the heir to an unexpected fortune, Harry Vane rejects his past as a Radical fighting for government reform and sets about wooing his lovely cousin. But his heart is captured instead by the most beautiful, chic man he’s ever met: the dandy tasked with instructing him in the manners and style of the ton. Harry’s new station demands conformity - and yet the one thing he desires is a taste of the wrong pair of lips.

After witnessing firsthand the horrors of Waterloo, Julius Norreys sought refuge behind the luxurious facade of the upper crust. Now he concerns himself exclusively with the cut of his coat and the quality of his boots. And yet his protégé is so unblemished by cynicism that he inspires the first flare of genuine desire Julius has felt in years. He cannot protect Harry from the worst excesses of society. But together they can withstand the high price of passion."

This was a reread a few weeks ago, and I've belatedly realised that I can use it to fill in another lj-bingo square (and I don't buy enough e-books to make it worth waiting for the next one, so... *g*)

This is the first book in my second favourite K.J. Charles series - The Society of Gentlemen trilogy (and my favourite book in the series, too). As I expect from Charles, the characters are real, the world is real, and its all made more interesting than just forbidden-love-in-the-past, because she makes that past a real place too. If you haven't already, these are definitely worth reading! *g*

Oh and also - Bingo again! Hurrah!

My most recent book has been the last in this series - A Gentleman's Position, by K.J. Charles. Please please ignore the covers, especially the last two, which are clearly just generic hunks there to look sexy - they have very little indeed to do with the actual stories, which are thoughtful, readable and excellent.

( KJ Charles writes... )

I'm so sorry to have finished Mary Renault's Alexander trilogy - I loved them! My favourite was definitely the first one, even though most people seem to go for/the most renowned book of the trilogy is, I think, The Persian Boy. I liked The Persian Boy, but to be honest what I kept looking for was glimpses of Alexander/Hephaistion who'd been the focus of the first book.

In The Persian Boy, instead of continuing the story of Alexander/Hephaistion from their own perspective, we're instead given a story about Bagoas, a Persian boy from a noble family who is sold into slavery following treachery, and eventually becomes Alexander's lover. This is his story, told from his perspective, all the way through. I couldn't quite empathise with Bagoas as much as I had Alexander and Hephaistion, and I'm not entirely sure why - he seemed to be at a slightly greater distance somehow, and of course he kept the Alexander/Hephaistion story at a greater distance too, although it spanned their entire lives and Bagoas was effectively a side-event in Alexander's. It's also a less joyous book than Fire from Heaven - Alexander is in the middle of his life, his promise has come to be, and where do you go from there? - and I really felt that, too.

( Funeral Games is different again... )

Four stories in this Christmas-based book (sometimes I just feel like a bit of Christmas in May, okay...? *g*)
Rest and Be Thankful by Joanna Chambers
Out by Harper Fox
Waiting for Winter by LB Gregg
Baby, It's Cold by Josh Lanyon

I gave into buying this one because I wanted to read a good m/m romance story, and one of these four short stories was by Joanna Chambers, whose Enlightened trilogy is way up my list of books I adore. So despite them being short stories, which is not my favourite format, I leaped in...

( What happened when I leapt... )

I've been meaning to write a post like this for ages, because I wanted somewhere to try and work out what I'm looking for when I read m/m books, and why I like some and find others just meh, despite them having good reviews from many other people.

My caveat is that I'm pretty specific about what I'm looking for in a story, and I'm greedy - I want it all! Characterisation, plot and place all have to work in the right way for me to love a book, and it's not to say that they don't work in other ways that other people will love when they don't work that way for me. And vice-versa - it should be unnecessary to say, but I'll say it anyway - the books I adore might not work for anyone else in the same way. And all of that said... here's:

( My Big Table of M/M Books Read )