Book Review: Sky Full of Mysteries by Rick R. Reed

Title:  Sky Full of Mysteries

Series: N/A

Author: Rick R. Reed

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press

Release Date: August 14, 2018

Heat Level: 3/5

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 220 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Science Fiction

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38371890-sky-full-of-mysteries

Synopsis:

What if your first love was abducted and presumed dead—but returned twenty years later?

That’s the dilemma Cole Weston faces. Now happily married to Tommy D’Amico, he’s suddenly thrown into a surreal world when his first love, Rory Schneidmiller, unexpectedly reappears.

Where has Rory been all this time? What happened to him two decades ago, when a strange mass appeared in the night sky and lifted him into the heavens? Rory has no memory of those years. For him, it’s as though only a day or two has passed.

Rory still loves Cole with the passion unique to young first love. Cole has never forgotten Rory, yet Tommy has been his rock, by his side since Rory disappeared.

Cole is forced to choose between an idealized and passionate first love and the comfort of a long-term marriage. How can he decide? Who faces this kind of quandary, anyway? The answers might lie among the stars….

My Review:

Rick Reed has been on my To Be Read radar for a while now, and so when the opportunity came up to read and review his latest release, I eagerly jumped on it.

This story centers around Cole and Rory, a young couple moving in together, new in their relationship, and living life in the Midwestern city of Chicago. Reed's knowledge of the neighborhoods and attention to detail of the city is impressive, immediately immersing the reader into the gay 1990's in this well-known city.

Having lived as an out gay man during the 90's, I was impressed as I too recalled the history at the time. Bars and clubs were the preferred gathering place, smartphones didn't exist, nor did the hookup apps - and so how did young gay men find each other? Either by sitting in said bars or through the city's local hookup phone lines. I had forgotten all about those phone lines, and I found myself transported back to my youth while reading this story - well done Mr. Reed! It was an enjoyable walk down memory lane.

The mystery in this novel is what happens to Rory - a self-proclaimed Sci-Fi nut, who goes missing. The reader knows why, but the details about the event are never explored, keeping the entire incident a true conundrum. Even Rory himself doesn't remember the details of his abduction.

The book focuses on the development of the characters. What's going on in their heads, how Cole deals with his lover's sudden disappearance, and what happens to the people from Rory's life who are left wondering, "What happened?"

Twenty years later Rory returns.

We get to see how the characters from the beginning of the story have changed, how life has progressed, and how they react to Rory's sudden reappearance.

There are some scintillating and steamy scenes between Rory and Cole, but I'm not entirely sure I would have called this an M/M Romance, as I'm not convinced there was a Happily Ever After, or even a Happy For Now ending. There is a sudden disappearance involving aliens, but I'm not sure I would have called this book a Sci-Fi adventure, as the details of the abduction are left to the reader's imagination and the Sci-Fi aspect isn't truly explored.

But what you do get is a solid story, steeped in 90's gay culture, vivid descriptions and amazing character development.

If you're looking for a story that's just a touch different than your average book, I'd recommend this.

As I said above, Mr. Reed has been on my To Read list for a while. That hasn't changed, and with this book, I've now found another author whose talent for telling a story takes me out of reality for a while as I explore his worlds. Nicely done Mr. Reed! Nicely done.

I'll be sure to check out other novels by this author.

(Advanced Reading Copy supplied by the author for a fair and honest review.)

Rating:

Available At:

Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Kobo

Meet the Author:

Rick R. Reed draws inspiration from the lives of gay men to craft stories that quicken the heartbeat, engage emotions, and keep the pages turning. Although he dabbles in horror, dark suspense, and comedy, his attention always returns to the power of love. Rick is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 50 works of published fiction and has been recognized by Lambda Literary as "a writer that doesn't disappoint." Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA with his beloved husband and their Boston terrier.

Catch up with Rick Reed here...

Website | Twitter | Amazon Page | Goodreads

Book Review: Seven-Sided Spy by Hannah Carmack

Title:  Seven-Sided Spy

Author: Hannah Carmack

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: January 15, 2018

Heat Level: 1 - No Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 75800

Genre: Suspense Thriller, abduction, historical, spies, revenge, gay, lesbian, secret agents

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37562881-seven-sided-spy

Synopsis:

In the midst of the cold war, the CIA’s finest and most fatal female agent, Diana Riley, vanishes. Kidnapped by the KGB and taken to the backcountry of North Carolina, she and her team of unsavory partners are forced to undergo illegal experimentation.

But, when the experiments leave them horribly deformed and unable to reenter society without someone crying monster, the previously glamorous and high-maintenance spies must escape KGB captivity, and avoid recapture at the hands of Nikola, a ruthless KGB agent with an intense and well-justified grudge against her former flame.

  

My Review:

I’ll be the first to admit history is not something I excelled at, so the time frame of Carmack’s Seven-Sided Spy – the Cold War – isn’t something I have any familiarity with. Having said that, Carmack’s use of slang and descriptions of fashion plunged me into the early 1960’s.

I’m also not a huge espionage-thriller type of guy, that’s more my husband’s shtick. But living with someone who loves that genre means I have had the opportunity to watch every single one of the James Bond movies, and let’s face it, when we’re talking Spy stories, everyone immediately thinks of 007.

What drew me into reading this story was a description I had seen, promising spies with X-men like abilities. Being a huge fan of the X-men, I had to give this a go.

Seven-Sided Spy is laid out quite different in that it follows Diana Riley, Codename: Hera, also known as “the goddess” through a rather tumultuous and dangerous job, fighting off Russian KGB agents, using all her feminine charms and deadly hand-to-hand combat skills. But Diana isn’t the only character that’s given page time. In fact, there are seven different spies, each with their own backstory. Carmack’s ability to create detail-oriented scenes is spectacular, which is surprisingly adept considering this is her debut novel. I got lost in the richness of the stories as they unfolded, and I was completely immersed in each of them. These sections of the book were by far, my favorite. Of note, I totally enjoyed Rigan Hevel, Codename: Marco and Sergei Durova, Codename: Kal’s histories. Not exactly sure why perhaps they felt more relatable to me? Regardless, definitely spots in the book I savored.

There’s a constant struggle back and forth between all of the various characters. Small victories and then followed with earth-shattering losses. Our heroine and her colleagues are captured by the enemy and then experimented on, which ultimately ends in our heroine and her associates developing super-human abilities. Unfortunately, it also means that their physical appearance is altered into inhuman forms making them unable to return to life amongst the regular population.

From there, I’m not saying much more, otherwise, I’ll ruin the twists and turns that this book takes.

There’s a decidedly steep learning curve while reading this book. Each of the characters goes by not only their given name, but also their codename, and some even have nicknames. I found myself flipping to the front of the book where the author has laid out each character and their codenames. At times, it was difficult to keep them all straight.

I also had some mental backflips to do as the timeline of the story not only occurs in the early 1960’s but also jumps further back into history as snippets of the characters former lives are revealed. If you like flashbacks, this is the book for you.

All in, the story is steeped in characters and lively with action, but sometimes a bit of a brain twister to keep everything organized.

Rating:

Available at:

NineStar Press: https://ninestarpress.com/product/seven-sided-spy/

Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/nwcqdf

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/772934

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seven-sided-spy-hannah-carmack/1127744317

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seven-sided-spy

Meet the Author:

Hannah Carmack is a writer and spends most of her time connecting reluctant readers and bookworms alike to the world of literature and science. Although living with an auto-immune disease is difficult, she finds power in using her writing as a way to convey the world that people with disabilities live in to people who may not fully comprehend it. Her debut novel, Seven-Sided Spy, will be hitting shelves this January with NineStar Press.

Author Links:

Website: http://hannahcarmack.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HannahCarmackAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/manlyhamm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manlyhamm/