Alicia NordwellCritiques

2,5 stars

I submitted a prompt to the 2013 Love Has No Boundaries event on the M/M Romance group and it was claimed by Alicia Nordwell. Thanks Alicia!

The prompt and story, which is titled Needing You, can be found here:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1398804-needing-you-by-alicia-nordwell-7-6-d...




Summary:

Cason is a man that is drawn to helping people, not only for his job, but even in his off hour recreation. He’s a counselor, a talented woodworker and a Dom. Cason has a special ability to sense what a person needs in order to fulfill their full potential in what they seek. It makes him a great counselor and a sought after Dom, only lately Cason has become restless. Helping the subs find their bliss is no longer satisfying. After Cason guides the subs to finding what they need, they inevitably leave Cason alone once again. However, there is one sub who visits the bar he frequents that Cason can’t take his eyes off of. A sub that he knows desperately needs help, but somehow Cason can’t ‘sense’ what Vince needs. Cason can’t read Vince and he feels helpless because he feels attracted to Vince yet frustrated because he doesn’t know how to help him and he fears that even if he helps Vince, Vince will leave him like all the others and Cason knows he won’t be able to handle that.

Vince is one messed up sub. His ex-boyfriend and subsequent self-labeled Doms, have done a number on him, making him fearful of his desires and afraid of physical pain. He also has a hard time trusting anyone.



Review:

What can I say except I loved this story! Alicia took my prompt and threw in some unexpected twists dealing with paranormal abilities and Mythology which I happen to love. I didn’t feel the mythology overwhelmed the story and merely enhanced and explained why Cason was the way he was. It also made me wonder about his family history and how the mythology affected them. It also made me think that somehow the Fates had stepped in so that Cason couldn’t see Vince’s needs and desires. Without giving too much away, Cason now had to deal with Vince like normal people who stumble and make mistakes along with misunderstandings as we get to know someone. Without the use of Cason’s ability around Vince, discovering all there was about Vince was new and surprising. Anyway, I would have loved to find out about Cason’s family history since it was a tempting tease to what little we were shown.

I not only loved Cason and Vince's characters but I also loved Brandon, Cason’s friend who was a Dom and Brandon’s bratty sub Page, who was Vince’s roommate. They would be a fun couple to learn more about if Alicia ever felt like writing more to this story *wink.* I also enjoyed Vince’s friends and how they were protective of Vince even after the way he had behaved toward them.

This wasn’t an instant love story but a love that grew over time and I really liked that. And while their love grew Cason and Vince were having some very hot sex, yum. Cason retaught Vince that BDSM didn’t necessarily mean pain without the ability to say no, and that Vince needn’t be ashamed of his kinks and desires. That being said, Alicia did a great job of showing the readers the BDSM scene and some scenarios between Cason and Vince.

There was one particular scene that Alicia wrote that gave me a great visual and it sticks out in my mind every time I think about the story.

“You don’t know shit!”

Cason froze, then turned around slowly. Vince was standing in the entry to the dining room. His hands were clenched into fists against his thighs, thumping against his legs as he glared at Cason.

Somehow the image of Vince standing in the entry thumping his legs with his fists stands out to me and really conveys Vince’s anger.

Finally, I rate a story based on a prompt by how well the author fulfilled the wishes of the requestor. Another factor is if the author added anything to the story that made it unique or unexpected. And finally, are the usual factors that I use when reviewing a story. Alicia accomplished all of that. And since it’s my prompt she fulfilled, it’s much easier for me to critique what I find enjoyable or not. I give this story 5 Stars.

Thanks, Alicia for selecting my prompt!

Disastertastic is a Christmas short story staring Sawyer, a law student, and Kable, a business student. The story is told from Sawyer pov.



This is a fluffy, fast Christmas read. It’s low-key with no angst. It centers on the idea of Sawyer and Kable and their dating mishaps. I wouldn’t call them disasters so much as something always happened so the dates didn’t go quite as planned.

Sawyer works at an Italian restaurant where Kable is the son of the owner of the restaurant. Kable has had his eye on Sawyer for a year before asking him on a date. Sawyer is what I consider uptight. Everything has to be in its place and he likes life planned, don’t surprise him. He doesn’t celebrate Christmas because he was raised by parents who didn’t agree with what they saw as the commercialization of Christmas. Kable takes it upon himself to show Sawyer that Christmas is more than what he believes so he arranges numerous dates with Sawyer. Kable is a sweet guy. I don’t know why he was attracted to Sawyer because Sawyer is like an old man in a young body, while Kable is vivacious, kind and willing to help others. They are an odd couple.

Disastertastic is a cute holiday read to get you in the mood for Christmas. I give this book, 3 Stars.

It's a free book and the author put her time and effort into fulfilling someone's fantasy. For that reason (and that reason alone) I am not going to pick it apart.
2 stars.


For those looking for hot BDSM scenes:
BDSM this is not! Or rather so mild I almost missed it.

4.5 Stars rounded up.

That was freaking amazing! I cut my (very old) teeth on SciFi and this surpassed all of my expectations! It started, much like some of my favourite SciFi books, in an almost mundane way - school kids on an outing - and turned a sudden corner to apocalyptic destruction before veering left again into high adventure on a distant planet!

This was written for my prompt in the Love's Landscapes event and, as in previous years, I am totally amazed at the imagination and talent of the writers. The stories may not always go in the direction I had imagined but each year I've been delighted with the authors' vision. This year is no exception!

What starts out as a deceptively “normal” futuristic story, set at the end of the 21st century, slowly develops into full-out and totally unexpected science fiction. The words “drastic turn” in the blurb are not to be taken lightly, I can tell you that much. With a main character who has a lot to learn, and events that kept me on the edge of my seat, I can fully recommend this to anyone who is looking for an unusual story heavy on fantastic world building and light on the romance.

Barron is a pretty average teenager and a month away from high school graduation. He tries to get away with things his parents don’t want him to do, he leads a group of friends who have been with him since they were small kids, and he is sarcastic. One additional characteristic did not endear him to me in the least: he is a bully. Anyone who doesn’t meet his approval (as defined by his father’s morals) gets taunted, or worse, and it becomes clear only a few pages into the book that he is a very mean guy, at least toward his peers.

The catastrophe hits, and everything changes. Barron is still condescending, but he pulls is weight, and the first cracks in his armor appear when he encounters a little girl who needs him to survive. Suddenly he begins to care, and when he ends up blind, his real learning curve begins. It is steep and long, but it was amazing to watch Barron begin to understand what is really important. Great character development!

I cannot say too much else without spoiling the story, but I think anyone who likes science fiction might want to give it a try. If you like the unexpected, if you enjoy catastrophes and apocalyptic events, and if you’re looking for a read that is as much driven by events as it is by characters, with just a touch of romance, then you will probably enjoy this free novella.

‘On Fire’ is set in Washington State, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about many of the places I have visited before, and a few that are now on my list of destinations not to miss next time I travel there. Like with previous installments of the ‘States of Love’ series, a collection of romantic stories that spans every corner of the United States, this newest volume gives a great taste of the geography, the people who live and work there, and some of the dangers one might come across. Like forest fires. The whole first part of this book was fascinating due to the outdoor scenes Scottie enjoys while on a hiking vacation, followed by the suspense when a forest fire hits and Jax and his team desperately try to save Scottie.

Scottie is a computer programmer, but he loves taking photographs in his spare time, and he is really good at it. He prefers nature to the city, but when he gets caught in a lightning-caused forest fire he is in deep trouble.

Jax is a dedicated fireman (I only wish I’d found out more about why he is so determined) and being laid up all summer while his knee is healing does not make him happy. In fact he is a real a** about it in the beginning, and Scotty’s determination to thank him is the only reason they begin to talk. There isn’t any significant angst or tension from then on, instead there are lots of trips as Scottie and Jax explore Washington and their mutual, growing attraction.

If you like romances that take a while to get to the physical side of things, if two men who meet purely by coincidence and don’t get off to the best of starts are your thing, and if you’re looking for a gentle friends-to-maybe-more story in a varied Washington setting, then you might like this novella.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

This story is little bit this and that. Very mild D/s. 2.75 stars.

3 stars. Sweet romance between friends with a baby thrown in.

3.5

3.5