Review of: Tommy's Tale by Alan Cumming - 5 Stars

Available here: http://www.amazon.com/Tommys-Tale-Alan-Cumming/dp/0060394447/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377986849&sr=8-2&keywords=tommy%27s+tale

Let me get this out of the way: I freakin’ adore Alan Cumming.  He’s adorable and talented (Julie Taymor’s Titus, anyone?) and adorable and cheeky.  Oh yes, cheeky!  (Oopsie-daisy Homophobe?) I think it was on CBS Sunday Morning last year that he said something to the effect of, “I’m naughty, but there’s substance behind my naughtiness.”  Well, for a queer man blessed with that surname, how can there not be?

Ok, about the book.

Review of: The Cool Part of His Pillow by Rodney Ross - 4.5 Stars

Available here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2942

Read on for more:

Review of: The British Devil by Greg Hogben – 5 Stars

This month’s review is The British Devil by Greg Hogben, published from Dreamspinner Press in July 2012.  Available here:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3123

Read on for more:

Review of: Moving On by H.J. Holt – 4 Stars

And now to kick off another series on my blog, book and film reviews!  To start off, I’m reviewing Moving On by H.J. Holt, published from Dreamspinner Press in July 2012.  Available here:  

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_646

Moving On is the story of a young man, Luke, who’s been dealt some tough hands in life.  His home life back in the American Midwest was significantly less than ideal and involved not just the fostering system, but his own mother’s attempt to use him as a scapegoat for her drug running operation.  Even his boyfriend only adds to Luke’s troubles and self-esteem issues.  So Luke decided to beat town and immigrate to the UK where we meet him working at a burger joint in Bristol. 

When Luke meets Paul at a club, they hit it off straight away.  Paul is a teacher who has family money and is doing quite well for himself.  Paul has a few years on Luke, but that’s not much of an issue for them.  Paul’s social status (including the attitudes of some of his mates) and the fact that Paul is still grieving the loss of his partner several years ago, however, might complicate a growing but uncertain relationship.

Read on for more....

Review of Felicia Watson's "Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela"

When I first saw the title of this book, my eyebrows jumped in surprise. It's not every day I find a M/M romance story set in my town (the 'Burgh!) let alone one with the names of two of our beloved but unpronounceable rivers right in the title. After reading the blurb, I was definitely interested in more than just the title. This sounded like quite a difference from most romances and I was eager to see how all these unconventionalities worked together. 

Under Felicia Watson's authorship, they worked perfectly. 

As a lifelong, native Pittsburgher, I was really thrilled to see that Felicia understood the city well enough to know that when you set a story in Pittsburgh, you don't just have a setting, you have a whole character to bring to life. That's what Pittsburgh is, a character in and of itself. It was a great experience that made the story especially real for me, especially since some of the settings are in favorite local neighborhoods of mine, and one is actually half a mile from my home! 

The actual human characters are just as real and outstanding. They are all exactly the sort of people that make up a city like this - genuine people, faults and imperfections and insecurities all included. The romance between Logan and Nick starts out as a wary one and is quite unlikely, each man being on his guard around the other. They both have some real personal issues to contend with and Felicia doesn't sugar coat any of that. 

This story could be an allegory for Pittsburgh life in general. It is a gritty, sooty tale of two men who are immensely proud but not always comfortable with themselves, who have some bitterness about their past and doubt about their future. It's not at all your usual love story, it's far more real, but just like Pittsburghers, what we lack in "glitz and glam" we more than make up for in heart. 

"Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela" is excellently written and compelling on several levels. The characters are real and sympathetic, and the setting alive. I started reading on a Saturday afternoon and finished on Sunday morning (only stopping to sleep since that Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday!) Logan and Nick are a testament that love doesn't need a pristine place to flourish, it grows just as strongly in the cracked sidewalks and Belgian bricks of steep city streets as anywhere else!