Power Players by Scudder James Jr.
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short story (64 pages)
Other: M/M, Anal Play
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Jeffrey knows the underbelly of Washington, DC, well. Once homeless, he’s now the director of a massive coalition of shelters. The last person he’s interested in meeting is wealth consultant Derek T. Hinsdale III, another slick-talking, privileged jerk. Jeffrey has had enough of those.

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Jeffrey usually avoided people like Derek at all costs. Slick, wealthy and totally out of Jeffrey’s usual orbit, people like Derek have no place in Jeffrey’s world. The two men collide when Derek’s foundation gives a huge money grant to Jeffrey’s coalition of homeless shelters and despite neither man being on the market for a relationship the chemistry zings between them. Can these two DC men handle the power brewing between them?

I found this to be an interesting and well-paced short story. Both Derek and Jeffrey are layered, complicated characters and even though they are from completely different worlds many of their characteristics are similar. I admit I got a little tired of hearing about just how similar they both were (they were frequently both referred to as “driven” and instigators of good and how young they were to be the best in their field and so forth). A part of me wonders if maybe instead of having mutual friends repeat these similarities many times and various newspaper articles quoted again and again this drive and ambition of both men could have been showcased in a different and less repetitive manner throughout the book.

I also wasn’t particularly keen on the mis-communication that caused some serious conflict between the two men towards the end of the story. It made me genuinely doubt whether it was realistic for Jeffrey and Derek to work together longer-term if such a simple misunderstanding could get blown so far out of proportion and (initially at least) neither party was willing to talk their concerns through. When both Jeffrey and Derek’s immediate response was to sever ties and not communicate (or trust, or try to understand what was really happening) particularly when they were really moving forward with their relationship together it cast some serious doubts about their future potential to me, personally.

I did, however, really like how neither man was perfect and they were each recovering in their own way from bad relationship choices in their recent past. Both men were susceptible to being taken advantage of romantically and each has been burned before. I feel this, more than their professional power and career activities, put the two men in each other’s romantic orbit. These men were both hard-wired to give and love and support. While I can easily see that it would be easy for some romantic partners to abuse those parts of Derek and Jeffrey’s characters, by supporting and raising each other higher, I felt it meant Derek and Jeffrey could amplify their outreach and good works. I found this aspect to the story very hopeful and uplifting and a great read.

With a lot of good works, helping their community and a strong feeling of warmth, this is overall a very good story. I enjoyed the strong cast of secondary characters and found both Derek and Jeffrey to be interesting and realistic people to read about. With a few bumps along the way this overall was a fun and light story to read.

The Evolution Of Love by Philip William Stover
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short story (109 pages)
Other: M/M, Anal Play
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When a charming but misguided account manager gets stuck on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands with his hunky zoologist ex, he might rediscover his true passion—in and out of the bedroom.

After art school, Mike Davis gave up on his dream in favor of a stable job. But when he gets an opportunity to teach wealthy travelers how to paint stunning sunsets, it seems like the perfect break. Until he finds out he’ll be sharing a suite with his ex, charismatic Benton Aldridge—a British scientist cuter than the baby animals he studies. Mike makes it clear he has no intention of getting back together with Benton, but sharing a suite makes it almost impossible keep his distance.
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As they climb over volcanic peaks and swim with manatees through sparkling jade-colored water, can they also heal past wounds and take the next step in the evolution of love?

Mike has always dreamed of going to the Galapagos Islands, particularly to see a specific bird found there that as a child he was enchanted by. Still recovering from a painful break-up, Mike is determined to try and move on with his life. But Benton, Mike’s ex-boyfriend, is also on the cruise and neither man has really got over the other.

I really enjoyed this light-hearted story. Told from Mike’s perspective in the first person I got a good feel for his character quite early on and found Mike to be relatable and interesting. He has a few quirks and overall I found it easy to like him and get invested in his story. The only real problem I have with the first person perspective is it often then takes me longer to get attached to other characters – in this example, Benton. Seeing Benton only through Mike’s eyes and Mike’s baggage still remaining from their split made it difficult for me to get a good feel for Benton’s character and work out for myself whether I felt sympathy for his character or whether Mike’s bias coloured my perspective. I have to give the author kudos because even while Benton and Mike weren’t getting along at the beginning of the story there was enough lightness between their interactions and distance from the actual break-up itself I could see this conflict would likely be resolved happily between the two men, but at the same time it felt like a lot of additional drama and potential sources of problems later on should things not work out well.

I did like how the author managed to balance between light-heartedness – like Benton and Mike being forced to share a room on the cruise ship – and the more serious issues and unresolved problems from their ill-fated relationship. This helped give some conflict and tension to the story and while I felt the tension between the men carried on a little longer into the story than I’d have ideally liked, it really did add some good depth to the overall plot, I felt.

Readers who enjoy complicated and multi-layered romances should find this suits many of their needs. I liked the setting of the cruise ship and found much of the story relatable and realistic. I found the chemistry between Benton and Mike grew at a good pace and really sizzled between them. While I wasn’t initially positive they really were a well-matched couple, learning Benton’s character better and, eventually, really understanding the chemistry between the two men helped sell me on the feasibility and longevity of their relationship.

A fun and entertaining cruise-ship romance story, this was a great read I really enjoyed.