Siren in Bloom, Sophie Oak

I love Sophie Oak's books. I love Texas Sirens. One of the best writers in the game.

- Review by Kazza K

What can I say to do this book justice? Well, this is Texas Sirens 6, and it’s the best yet and that’s a big call because this series is already fabulous. Texas Sirens is one of the best series out there, irrespective of genre. I love ‘Nights in Bliss, Colorado’ but I adore Texas Sirens.

This time the Meyer brothers, Leo and Wolf, get the 'girl', Shelley McNamara, Trev's sister, and it's been a while coming, especially for Leo.

Shelley is still being dogged by her deceased husband’s criminal legacy. She is also missing contact with Leo, who she grew close to when Trev was working through substance abuse problems. Leo couldn’t stand Shelley’s scumlord husband, Bryce, and offered to take her away, Shelley declined. This book lets us in on exactly what went down, why Leo picked up his bat and ball and went home hurt and has remained distant. In the meantime, Wolf has been getting to know Shelley, at Julian Lodge’s evil, meddling behest, through emails, and is raring to meet her and be her Dom, unaware that his brother has a ‘history’ with Shelley.

Leo and Wolf have not been close for a while and getting them together and sharing the woman they both love, who is in danger, is the main premise. Of course, because the two brothers are not on the best of terms, there are misunderstandings, there is a bad guy, there’s appropriate drama and obligatory SO shootings. Plus there is a butthead politician, sexy guys in the background, aka Ben and Chase, and Logan with his problems from his time as Deputy Sheriff in Bliss. Not to mention the fabulously kooky, pain slut, Kitten, who speaks in third person, loved her.

Siren in Bloom has a more ambitious style, in that there are quite a few storylines/characters being addressed or brought more to the fore, and it's done beautifully. The MC's are never overrun by the other characters, they're perfectly complimented.

Julian Lodge is a stand out in this book, for mine, his lines are clever, witty and impeccably written. After Leo/Wolf/Shelley's 'punishment scene' didn't quite work out in The Club, and Julian was none too happy, particularly when Leo told him not to pitch a fit, Julian replied -

"Fit? Fit, Leo? You were supposed to publicly punish your submissive who created complete chaos with her disobedience. You were not supposed to allow her to turn into the BDSM version of Spartacus".

I’m not a quote junkie but between Julian, Leo and Logan, alone, I could have littered this review with lots of them, but I refrained.

I am, however, a character and characterization fanatic/obsessive. I want characters to be well written and psychologically appropriate. I laud any writer who can write a book let alone a series and keep their characters en pointe. I would implore aspiring writers to read Sophie Oak for her brilliant characterizations, not to mention her character-appropriate comedic writing. Her characters never devolve, they either stay true or slowly develop into what you know at heart is who they should be. Take Leo and Wolf, they are pitch perfect here, Leo as his Dom, psychotherapist self, Wolf as his crazy big hearted alpha but flexible, softy persona. Also, Ben and Chase, they have popped up previously, but in SiB more is revealed and it is just right. Their in-sync, twin bond is still there, Chase’s snarky, paranoid, stay off the grid mentality is ramped up just enough, and a little more is revealed of Ben’s past that makes his always potentially sensitive-self peak out. Then there’s Logan, he is perfect as the young guy who doesn’t want therapy but he’s appropriate to character - not rude about it - but is always trying to say it’s not necessary and does everything he can to ‘prove’ he’s a guy and he’s OK. That’s what happens in real life more often than not.

I must not leave without mentioning the love of my life, Jack Barnes. He makes a few appearances here and the speech he made to Leo about not giving up on someone you love had me so happy *sighs*.

If you love Sophie Oak you truly need to add this to your must read list, if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading one of her books, give it a go. You can read the books out of order, and there is certainly enough information in the book to catch you up but, seriously, read the whole series it’s a joy.

Rough, Raw, and Ready, Lorelei James

I just had to include this one by Lorelei James. I like her cowboys and this was a 5 star read for me.

- Review by Kazza K

So many books, so little time. Slowly getting through the Rough Riders series. My favourite, up until now, had been Cowgirl Up and Ride. I loved A J and Cord but Rough, Raw, and Ready surpassed that book for me. Just some thoughts.

I enjoyed Trevor and Edgard, somewhat, in Long Hard Ride, I didn't like Trevor letting Edgard go but it seemed inevitable at the time. I wasn't sure whether Lorelei James would revisit them, glad she did because their story needed closure. Just for the record, this book comes with a clear statement that there is menage as well as man on man sex. There is M/F, M/M, M/M/F and M/F/M. If anything apart from M/F bothers you, then either think about whether you should skip this one or be open to something different and, hopefully, pleasantly surprised.

WHAT I LIKED

Liked the 3 MC's - Chassie, Trevor and Edgard, with particular love for/of Chassie. The sex was hot as, and all aspects were well written, including the M/M and M/M/F scenes, they were smokin'. I enjoyed, yet again, the family dynamic (McKay, West, Glanzer), it's pretty real - there's flaws and infighting, expectations, moments of sorrow and disappointments, plus dysfuction. I loved the fact that Trevor grew up, and that Chassie was a conduit for love and their different relationship. Chassie loved being adored by two strong, virile men. To her it was a vindication of all her difficulties growing up, feeling looked down upon and never good enough. Trevor and then Edgard made her feel special and loved. It helped her realise just how important they all were to each other, she didn't care what others thought anymore.

Don't let anyone else sway you if you want to try this style of romance (M/M, M/M/F) it was beautifully done. Not everyone fits into a twosome or vanilla relationship; and Ms James did the series justice in portraying that here. Nobody cheated on anyone else and no-one was blackmailed into anything, sure, there may have been a big revelation at the beginning for Chassie; but it shook everyone up in a positive way. Chassie's lack of full-blown jealousy, being open to another in her life, after careful consideration, dealing with her husband's past was not a sign of weakness. Three souls that had had a rough trot in life and had been dealt blows by their respective families found their own family. Who can sneeze at getting that chance, and for some a second chance at that.

Looking forward to Colt now, I thought his actions so poignant in the latter part of this book.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Nothing much, perhpas the GFY component withTrevor, but it was a darn good book so...

Fabulous read from the 'pen' of Lorelei James, I am glad she told this story it gave the series a real shot of reality and broadened its scope beautifully for mine.

Trudy The Terrible

- By Kazza K

This is my 12 year old Jack Russell, Trudy. I also have a Whippet, Ted, who really isn't mine he's my daughter's; but you know how it goes, you end up with their pets when they move out, which is what happened with Ted. Ted is a bastard. Let me explain just a little. Ted doesn't listen to you, he looks at you with an expression that says"no, I don't like what you're saying, I'd much rather do what I want." He virtually decimated our furniture when he was a puppy and he used to love to steal things and hide them from us, thank goodness he got past that stage. He will still pinch BBQ chickens off the kitchen counter and suck them down like a Hoover if you turn your back for 2 seconds. If you leave any food near the edge of a counter, table or whatever, he considers it fair game; hang the consequences. Trudy, on the other hand, is the good one. She never takes what isn't hers, gets angry with Ted if he comes near her human's plate of food, and has been known to maul him for daring to defy her beloved family members. Ted barks like a girly screamer (think Ned Flanders and purple drapes), it's sooooo embarassing, he weighs around 18 kilos, he's a big whippet, and he sounds smaller than a Chihuahua. Trudy, on the other hand, weighs around 10 kilos and sounds like a German Shephard. I call her my braveheart, as she protects her family with a ferocity that has to be seen to be believed. She has literally chased Rottweilers down the street. Having said this, Trudy has a fetish that every now and then creeps up from the dark recesses of her terrier soul - she loves to rip pillows apart. She tries to repress this urge, but every so often out it pops, like in this photo. My son was away for a weekend, obviously she was none too happy about this, and she pilfered one of his pillows, his favourite I might add, and tore the tripe out of it. The evidence is above, Trudy was busted red handed but went for the "this is not what it looks like" attitude about it all. We tried to reprimand her for her 'naughty behaviour' but everyone kept breaking out into fits of laughter at our good girl gone bad. I have to say I love my dogs, girly screamer barks, dark, repressed urges and all. They make my life so interesting. Next time I must talk about our birds. One has a bell fetish and one believes the microwave is his leader.

Breathe, Sloan Parker

A book I read a while ago. By one of favourite writers, Sloan Parker. For me, this is her best work. An emotionally deep and beautiful piece of writing. Wonderfully psychological

- Review by Kazza K



Breathe is a beautiful, aptly named book. None of the characters in this book can breathe, not the MC's Jay and Linc, not Jay's family (the Millers), not Katie's family (the Shaws), not Linc's family (Nancy and her 3 children).

Breathe is a love story but it is also a study in abject sorrow, guilt and blinding bitterness. What those emotions can do to people, particularly if there are other cracks underneath in the first place. Cracks like trying to hide your true sexuality, a happy, middle class marriage facade, the loss of an only child, believing you're inadequate, feeling overly responsible 24/7. Death and its aftermath cannot be handled (properly) when there are other things to deal with that are important yet being neglected through denial or dysfunction.

Twelve months after his wife, Katie's, death Jay is trying to handle her loss with an emphasis on what she was - happy, kind, caring, understanding and decent. Everyone else around seems to want to drag him under the ground where she lies now. You can understand their grief, but they are not allowing Jay to deal with it in his own way. Even Jay's own mother is morbidly obsessed with her daughter-in-law's death. Jay wants to move on while still loving her and honouring her memory, no-one in the melded families can allow him to do it. It's hard to fight negativity on your own. Then Jay meets Linc at Sonny's, a local pub, and sexual sparks fly. For the first time in a year he feels like there is something other than despair. Unfortunately, because of who Linc is, their interlude quickly becomes a shock (of epic proportions) and things become immensely complicated.

Linc is incredibly guilt ridden over the death of Jay's wife Katie. It is so sad yet it is something that could happen to any person in the blink of an eye on any given day. Katies's death is nothing premeditated or callous, yet Linc feels the weight of the world over the event, as any feeling human would be inclined to do. He also feels the pressure of his sister Nancy's lousy partners and her struggle to live day to day in spite of her working two jobs and trying to raise 3 children. Linc has been to jail but still does not feel he has paid his debt. It's hard to fight guilt when you feel so lost. He, too, feels a strong connection to Jay but, upon learning who he is, finds their relationship equally complicated.

On top of two men with an intertwined, difficult past trying to work their relationship out, there is the mystery of cruel notes being sent to Linc with even crueller actions being threatened against his sister's children. Linc and Jay feel that the notes are a travesty and decide to find out who is behind them. It is never telegraphed who it is and I, for one, was left wondering who it was until the reveal.

I truly loved this book. Little things like emphasising the word breathe in relation to a feeling or a situation. How things are slowed down or noticed more, which is what happens when a significant life event occurs, things can seem more intense, there can be painful clarity. I loved the main character's, Jay and Linc, they were good, decent men, thoughtful of those around them. Both men needed/deserved to have a second chance at life, at love. Nancy and her children were such a delight, they lit up the pages for me. I loved Katie, even though she was dead, she was very much alive thanks to Jay and Linc's interactions (and some wonderful writing).

Breathe is many things. It is a hard read at times, definitely emotional, a love story brimming with life and passion in spite of the subject matter being covered. Jay and Linc have such chemistry together - sometimes angst, sometimes sexual - no matter what, passion is always there. If you like angst thrown in amongst your romance and sexual heat, then Breathe won't disappoint. Worth more than 5 stars but that's all I can give.

Quick to the Hunt, Cameron Dane

Read this ages ago but had to put this on here as Cameron Dane's books are a great love of mine. This one's so good.

- Review by Kazza K

This is the best book of the Quentin Montana/Hawkins Ranch series and that's saying something as, for me, they have all been a good read. It deserves every bit of the 5 star rating, it's terrific. I always knew there was a dark writer inside of Cameron Dane and Quick to the Hunt is proof positive of that.

First of all, in order to get the most out of this book, you need to like/be comfortable reading M/M, dark psychological content and some fierce/angry sex scenes. Over 80% of this book is not spent in a comfortable or happy place.

Hunter Tennison is Sarah's brother (she's an MC in Becoming Three), he has come back after several tours of Iraq/Afghanistan. He has been stateside for approximately a year but has hidden this fact from his sister. Hunter is a very disturbed man who is self harming to deal with the pain of loss and enduring what humans aren't meant to - the atrocities that go hand in hand with being in a war - killing, friends being killed and bodies permanently maimed. Hunter is a good man who has been through the emotional wringer. He is now trying to adjust to being in his home town, working, endeavouring to fit back into everday, civillian life, but he is not coping. You can't help but feel for him and his plight.

Alex Quick was also made familiar as a secondary character in Becoming Three. He is the head of a multi-million dollar empire of real estate and other business ventures, he's in Quentin to develop land into housing. Alex had a rough childhood, however, a steady constant in his life has been Mack. Mack is ill during Alex's time in Quentin but he is a tough guy and slogs through his illnesswith his usual 'I'll be fine' manner. Alex goes back and forth between Mack and Quentin but eventually Mack dies, leaving Alex to deal with losing an important part of his life. I just want to say that I truly love Alex Quick, he is a wonderful character, he may not be your stereotypical alpha male, but he is all man. Someone who will stand by a partner in their darkest hour and love them unconditionally encapsulates a real man to me.

Alex and Hunter develop an attraction towards one another despite their best efforts not to act on it. Hunter, because he is not of sound mind, and Alex because he's not sure he wants the desolate man that he sees in Hunter. Basically, while they do get together sexually, it is not pretty. Hunter cannot handle love or being loved, it triggers all sorts of self-loathing and panicked reactions, whether that be about Alex and himself or his sister and his best friend. Sarah and her partners, especially Jace, who has been Hunters' best friend, are worried about this 'new' Hunter. Alex develops feelings of love for Hunter which are reciprocated with angry, violent sexual and physical encounters. Hunter will not go and see therapists that Sarah and Jace have organised for him and now believes self harm is the best way to keep him from feeling, but all he is doing is pushing himself further into a dark mire.

I have to say, even though it is violent in nature, one of the hottest sex scenes I've ever read is in this book, in the farmhouse being renovated, bloody hell! is all I can say. Cameron Dane surpasses herself in the writing of the erotic content in this book, it is desperate, but it is scorching. I love Cameron Dane as a writer, she creates and develops her characters with such love and layers, and this shines bright in Quick to the Hunt. Lord she must have had some bleak times writing this, but she shirks nothing and does the topic and characters justice. I love the fact that the book takes place over a year, that the chapters through to the epilogue are headed up by a month. It gives readers a timeline of how Hunter's mental health issues take time to be worked on, they just don't just suddenly, magically go away.

One of the reasons I love M/M books is the writers have the ability to be sexier, grittier and more aggressive than standard romantica (if they so choose) and I for one do gravitate to that type of book. So, if you are like me and enjoy M/M erotica with a sting, then do yourself a favour and pick up Quick to the Hunt for a great, emotional read. I hope that this is not the last in this series because that would just be a travesty.

The Cool Part of His Pillow, Rodney Ross

A realistic, poignant story about lost love, hope and family.

- Review by Kazza K

I went into Dreamspinner, saw the title, and the trailer (which I never usually look at), and I bought this book. I thought it sounded interesting, intense. I wasn’t wrong on both counts. I don’t know how to categorise it, it’s not my usual read. I also don’t quite know its demographic, other than people who love a good piece of writing, and, by the same token, aren’t afraid of (this is code for offended by) LGBT books. Yes, I suppose it does come under LGBT literature, but first and foremost, it’s a story about a person (like you, like me) dealing with life, particularly the aftermath of the death of a partner; it just happens to have a gay male at the centre of the storytelling. Don’t shy away from this book because of that, give it a go, as this book is written by a talented writer - it is clever, gut wrenchingly sad, laugh out loud funny, real and deserves as big a market as it can get.

How does one review this book? Not very well I suspect, so I’ll just ramble.

Basically, this is Barry Grooms’ story. The POV is Barry’s. He is a businessman who owns and runs an upmarket, yet accessible marketplace style business called Great Rooms! He and his partner, Andy, a bank executive are 23 years happily in love. They’re faithful, successful, have good friends and family that either love them, Barry’s side, or tolerate them, Andy’s side. Barry has just turned 45, it is literally his birthday when disaster strikes – losing his partner, Andy, and their beloved dogs, Gertie and Noel, in one fell swoop. From here the book focuses on Barry’s journey through grief and the idea of beyond from this birthday to his next.

The Cool Part of His Pillow had me locked and loaded on two emotions sad/happy, seriously I had close to constant tears in my eyes, even when laughing. So, the book evoked two powerful emotions from me at the same time. Not easy to do, I’m not sappy, but I was this time. This book has a constant ‘blue’ undertone but it does not wallow in misery, because Barry does not wallow, he is definitely able to look ahead, after initial, understandable withdrawal. You can’t move ahead though without sometimes looking back, and he has his WWAD (what would Andy do) moments. It's so hard at 45 to lose someone you've loved for a long time. Andy is actually very much a part of this book, particularly when Barry goes to Key West. Here he looks at how Andy embraced the local culture, wildlife, characters and it was nice to hear about him. Barry goes there to get a breather from all the questions that come someone’s way when a loved one dies and people either don’t know they’ve died or just want to see how you’re doing. Barry doesn’t want to get bogged down describing Andy’s death over and over and over, it’s like constantly re-opening a wound. At Key West Barry discovers that their friends also ask, they don’t know what has happened, and expect Barry and Andy to be together; as they usually are when there. So, Barry decides he needs a fresh start and it's to be New York. There, he knows no-one.

This review could easily span 10 pages if I put everything down I felt was important, so I’ll skim. Barry is an interesting character, at times I see him as superficial and on other occasions he is just so caring –

“I would pile high every one of my material comforts for just one hour with Andy! I would surrender every cent I will ever have to bury my face into the neck of one of my dogs! I also know my wishes can’t come true.”

I fell in love with Andy at the caterpillar story (read the book). Their friends are quirky, funny, delightful, interesting and make this book so much better. The best parts are in the dialogue between Barry and his mother - “Your charm came from your mom, not your dad. Where your sister got her outlook, who knows? The collected works of Edgar Allan Poe, maybe”- his aunt, sister and (interestingly named) good friends – LezbyAnn, Potsy, Dee, Gregsquared (two Greg’s in a relationship). I want to give a shout out to au naturel, laid back, Captain Reg and his Wessie – think penis, named after the Loch Ness Monster/Key West combo.

Things to note

This is not your standard M/M book. It is romantic in a wistful, and, at times, almost Shakesperean way. There are some short glimpses of Barry and Andy at the very beginning, then through the eyes of a lover dealing with grief looking back at lost love. There is no actual sex in this book, it is implied, that is it. There is a loose relationship during the 12 month period after Andy’s death. There is no HEA or HFN in the traditional sense. If you are primarily looking for those things be warned.

I would also like to note that this book is very American – geopolitically - ‘Rod Blagojevich had nothing on the literal skulduggery of Key West politics’- notoriety, celebrity and product wise.' Obviously you don’t need to be an American to enjoy it, but if you live in America, particularly New York or Key West, it should resonate easier. It also helps if you have a love of books, theatre, movies, musicals and television, with an emphasis on retro. And, of course, some pop-culture is universally understood - Youtube and other people’s tragedies, internet dating disasters.

There is no doubt this book is a labour of love, Rodney Ross infuses his characters with plenty of chutzpah, depth and emotions. Each chapter had headings and they always reflected the words held within, even the books’ title was addressed, nothing was ambiguous. I have very little to say that would be negative, probably the movie references and analogies could have been toned down and more dialogue with others could have ramped up, maybe it was too American, the lack of decent therapy, but, who cares, the writing was beautiful.

So, bottom line? I loved it and look forward to more of Rodney Ross’s writing and recommend it to people who want an intelligent, witty and real feel to a book.

Uneven, Anah Crow

A rivetting, emotional, edgeplay book. A must for those that like it rougher.

- Review by Kazza K

An excellent read that pushes readers to, hopefully, expand and challenge some embedded social mores regarding (different) sexual behaviours and varied inter-personal relationships.

The two MC’s are incredibly interesting from many aspects – tastes, desires, psychology, behaviours - I was wholeheartedly along for the ride with them both. I thoroughly enjoyed being a voyeur, a fly on the wall of their relationship, so to speak.

On the surface Rase Illium is a big player in the business world, he’s a wealthy man, from a wealthy family, married to his second (socially suitable) wife at the behest of his father, prior to his death. However, underneath the business persona, Rase is incredibly insular, repressed, mired in sorrow, attempting to keep a lid firmly on his deep seated desires, feelings, sexual orientation and needs; until an unusual encounter with a stock-boy from his own company opens up his own Pandora’s Box of emotions. This ‘encounter’ sets Rase on a new and difficult course; one that he definitely needs to take to see whether it can bring him back to life and hopefully make him a more functional person. Even in his 40’s Rase has never been his own man, struggling to come out from the shadow of his father’s expectations and all-encompassing domination. Rase’s father had pathologized his son, his desires from a young age – being gay, with submissive, masochistic predilections - compounding Rases’ continued self-loathing, that he can never do enough, be good enough, try hard enough, be straight enough for his father. Whilst not liking his father and his ways, Rase has found himself somewhat channelling him now in the way he is behaving, with particular reference to his own son.

Gabriel the other MC is more enigmatic, particularly given that this book is strictly from Rase’s viewpoint. You get a marginal picture drawn of a 24 year old man that appears to be from a blue collar background, has studied to better himself, but has seemingly found himself victimised and back at his roots. He appears outwardly aloof in his demeanor and is sexually dominant with a partner that is a professional dynamo, his boss, which, I perceive, scares him; on top of the fact that he is somewhat on an emotional knife-edge about his own proclivities for reasons that are alluded to but not fully fleshed out.

Things that really worked for me –
This book started out with a detached, bleak outlook from Rase’s perspective, the writing beautifully stark, his thoughts were those of someone who was skating precariously on emotionally thin ice, with clear fissures.

(Rase was) 'carrying on the family tradition of being someone who merited such things as assassination attempts. It had begun with his father, of course, and Rase hardly blamed anyone for that. Himself, he did his best to do better than his father, while keeping the shareholders happy, but the cruelties of the economy left no one happy some days, and he was an easy target. He should have minded, but he sometimes had trouble mustering up a great deal of concern over whether he lived or died.’

'Morning came every time with an inevitability that weighed Rase down and made him feel that a year had passed for each night he made it through.’

Through to a more realistic and positive outlook –

‘All he could do was wait; he had no control over anything anymore, it seemed. He could live with it, though, because he felt like he was slowly emerging into the real world from behind the façade he’d put on in order to survive all the years before.’

‘He might have been making life more complicated, but he thought he also might be happier than he’d been in years.’

All the secondary characters, bar the trophy wife, are really 3 dimensional and form an integral part of the story. I really liked Rase’s secretary, Allen, he is a great character in general; a good employee and someone who genuinely cares about Rase, more than just someone doing a job for an employer. Allen helps Rase in many ways, most importantly not judging him, just assisting. His relationship with his first wife, Maggie, and his son, Tarkis, were being re-explored by Rase in a positive and healthy way. He came out to his son first, then Maggie, both supported him and it fit their respective characters, they were decent and caring, they behaved like family should.

Edgeplay is to the fore in Uneven, as opposed to a lot of erotic books’ lighter, more romantically themed BDSM – there is blood play, the use of cuffs, for more than restraint, aggressive use of a belt, including on the genitals, the use of furniture to harm, erotic asphyxiation, plus degradation and humiliation. While the first time Rase and Gabriel interact is powerful, the first ‘scene’, at Gabriel’s, is painfully graphic and intense, particularly given their non-existent personal knowledge of one another, and therefore their lack of emotional attachment and what they do. Their play does inch back slightly after that, but it still pushes the boundaries throughout. It is dangerous, kinky, erotic, brutal and paradoxically touching and loving. These are two conflicted men - a younger dominant who is somewhat unsure of exactly what he is doing, fuelled by strong past emotions, and an older, more powerful, yet submissive man filled with self-loathing; making both men somewhat unstable. They do make it work and by book’s end they’re finding a place for themselves and their relationship.

My only complaints -

Uneven was not long enough, this book would have benefitted from extra pages with more backstory on both of the MC’s, particularly Gabriel. I felt Gabriel’s missing POV was unfortunate because his need to inflict pain, his first encounter with Rase and, in particular, his second were borne out of so much hurt and anger that missed essential exploration. Rase tells us Gabriel ‘loathes people’ like him, but we’re not shown the why of it; there was a very small picture painted near the end but not enough to qualify the intensity of his feelings or proclivities. Likewise, I get Rase had a detached, critical and clinical father, but not enough was given. For example, plenty of people/characters fit into his situation without the need for base humiliation, angry domination and the inability to control a submissive, masochistic nature to the point of dangerously not knowing when to say no; ending up in surgery (previously) for a scene gone too far.

I just wish the book had been edited more tightly in regard to typos. There were more than a few and I felt it did the strong writing a disservice.

Well, this was my first Anah Crow read and it was a beauty, a real page turner, one where I felt emotionally invested in both the MC’s. Given the subject, it's interesting how well others have embraced the characters, which speaks volumes for the writing. If you can be open, endure the harder edge of BDSM, with an emphasis on sado-masochistic tendencies, and you like a strong, emotional, character driven story, then Uneven is definitely well worth picking up and reading.