Book Review: Country Mouse by Amy Lane and Aleksandr Voinov

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: April 23, 2012
Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Owen may be a bit of a country mouse, but he's loving his vacation in London. After a long day playing tourist, he's on the hunt for some cheap beer and a good burger. Instead he finds a man hunting him, an arrogant prick with only one thing on the brain: the kind of meat that doesn't come on a bun.

Eighty-hour weeks at a trading desk don't leave Malcolm Kavanagh much time for meaningful relationships. Besides, in his world, everything's a competition-even sex. When his newest one-night-sub fails to show, Malcolm sets his sights on the pretty young Yank on the bar stool beside him.

Owen's all for an adventure with a native, but he's not the pushover Malcolm thinks he is, and Malcolm's not as shallow as he tries to be. They both soon learn that nothing's too intimate to share with a stranger, and the strangest things happen when two people share the most important pieces of their hearts.

WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS MATERIAL UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18. 

VISIT AMY LANE:

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VISIT ALEKSANDR VOINOV:

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FIND THE BOOK:

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Review:

I'm not sure that I fully understood Country Mouse. While the idea behind the romance is interesting, the way it played out was subpar. The story itself was too focused on sex and the budding relationship seemed too quixotic.

As previously stated, Amy Lane's writing and I just don't seem to get along. Maybe it's because many of her story lines are too unrealistic for contemporary fiction. Maybe it's because I have weird taste in books. Who knows. My point in saying this is that I requested Country Mouse from Netgalley because of co-author, Aleksandr Voinov. I really enjoyed the other novel I read by him, Gold Digger - see my review HERE - and I wanted to see how he handled what sounded like a less intense story (from what I've read, his books all deal with controversial and dark issues). I also wanted to see if he could help pull me out of this Amy Lane funk. Sadly, that second thing didn't work out. 

These two authors have very different writing styles that had some serious clashing points within the story. Aleksandr's prose is mature, his characters well developed and… broody. On the other side of this, Amy Lane's writing has always felt very amateur to me. Her stories are jam-packed in a way that annoys me rather than intrigues me. She always piles issues one on top of another for the main characters to resolve, and half of them actually take away from the story instead of helping it. They are pointlessly added to draw in more conflict. As I write this I am think of the last Amy Lane novel I read, Chase in Shadow. I don't mean that I'm basing my opinion of this novel off of Chase in Shadow or any of Ms. Lane's other stories, I am stating my issues with Amy Lane's writing traits and pointing out the distinctions between these two authors. Luckily enough, Country Mouse was not overcrowded with struggles, which made it a better, but not great, read.

The pace of the novel and relationship between the characters progressed way, way too quickly. I can understand why they pushed the romance as hard as they did, seeing how the book was so short. I could've read it in less than an hour, if I'd read it in one sitting. If the novel had been longer and the budding relationship given a genuine time frame, I think I would've enjoyed this a lot more. There were also some passages in the novel that I that I had to reread several times because they didn't make sense to me, more towards the beginning of the novel, and even after rereading them, I still didn't really understand. I don't think I'll ever understand British comedy - besides Monty Python... does that count?

I did enjoy the characters in this one. As I said previously, I think they could've had a real relationship had the plot line been drawn out. Owen and Malcolm are very different, but I loved that they were both able to bring out the real personalities and emotions of the other. Owen, the American traveling through Europe with his ex-girlfriend and good friend, sees himself as a "country mouse" and is more set on seeing the sites than seeing someone's bedroom. Malcolm, the dominant Brit, has a dirty itch to scratch and thinks that this little country mouse would be perfect for a night of play. But after one night, they realize they want more. I found myself annoyed by the pretty powerful insta-love. The sex scenes were very well done. That being said, the way the authors tried to write this as a lite BDSM novel seemed so weird to me. It didn't fit. So while the scenes were hot, they just confused me more.

I'm definitely going to read more Voinov, but I am officially breaking up with Amy Lane books. (I feel like I've said that before, but I mean it this time!) This story was overall enjoyable, but nothing mind-blowing. It's more likely to please fans of the M/M romance genre that are looking for a story with more sex and less love. Personally, I'm all about the love.

I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley for my honest opinion and review.

Blog Tour: Guest Post: Fiona Glass

Riptide Publishing is now a year old! The company has great LGBTQ titles that you can find through their website! As part of their celebration, they have asked several blogs to participate in several blog tours. We previously had a visit from author, GB Gordon, today we are happy to have Fiona Glass join us and Riptide is sponsoring a giveaway here for $10 towards Riptide titles.

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: October 22, 2012

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Paranormal journalists Chris Mullins and Jo Perry are sent to Ireland's remote west coast to investigate tales of hauntings at a ruined church. Chris, who has an inbuilt sensor for ghosts, is drawn to the old priest’s house next door, where he faces an otherworldly encounter so strong it leaves him reeling. Their research leads to a tangled web of forbidden love, family rows, and even, possibly, murder.

Chris jumps at the chance not only to solve the mystery, but also to aim for the coveted Moondust Award, a prize for the first journalist who proves that ghosts exist. Jo, though, is less enthusiastic, both about the award and her on-off relationship with Chris. Things become even more confused when Chris finds himself falling for Paulie, one half of a gay couple on holiday in the same village.

Only the wild, haunted landscape of Ireland can give Chris the answers he so craves, but to find them, he may have to choose between the Moondust Award and the matters of his heart.

VISIT THE AUTHOR:

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FIND THE BOOK:

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GUEST POST:

Hi There! Thanks for joining us on the virtual book tour for my newest release, Gleams of a Remoter World. All week long, I’ll be visiting some of our reader’s favourite blogs to talk about the book and how it came to be. Now for the good part—as a part of Riptide Publishing’s first anniversary celebration, one lucky reader who comments on this post will win $10 in store credit to Riptide! Simply leave a comment below, with your email address included, by Sunday Oct 28^th at 11:59pm to enter. What are you waiting for? Check out all the tour stops here to earn more entries!

Enjoy! And in the meantime, if you'd like to find out more about me or my writing, please just drop into my website or my blog.

Setting The Scene

I mentioned during my previous blog tour (for my novella 'Necessity's Door') that settings are very important to me, and the same is true of 'Gleams of a Remoter World'.

The novel first suggested itself to me during a holiday on a remote island just off the coast of County Galway, in a Gaelic-speaking area of Connemara.  The scenery out there is just stunning - a strange mix of mountain, sea, and rock, with vast fields of boulders strewn across the landscape and beaches of pure white sand.  The weather plays its part, with rapid shifts between rain and shine, storm clouds and glinting sun.  In addition, ruined buildings scatter across the land, reminders of the famous potato famine, or leftovers of a more recent rush to leave the countryside.  Most of these are cottages, but there's also the occasional larger building, and in one particular case, a church. 

By the time we'd spent a week out there the sheer magic of landscape, ruins and atmosphere had grabbed me and wasn't letting go.  I was so inspired I bought a notebook and started scribbling at the kitchen table of the cottage we'd rented on the coast.

As usual with my settings, many of the features are based on real places, although I usually change the details a little.  In this case, the ruined church at Kilveenan still exists, and right next door is the ruined priest's house, roofless and forlorn and quite possibly haunted by the odd ghost or two.  The village of Kilveenan itself is an amalgamation of two different villages - Gorumna where we stayed, and the larger settlement of Roundstone further round the coast.  The harbour is based on the quay at Gorumna, and the coral beach was on the other side of the local bay.  The mountains I describe are the Twelve Bens, or Twelve Pins, which form a looming backdrop to virtually ever view.

Although many of the locations exist in one form or another, the plot and characters are entirely my invention.  The atmosphere might be magical, but we never saw anything that wasn't actually there.  It's a wonderful spot for a holiday, though, and the perfect setting for a ghost story.

Thank you to Fiona Glass for joining us today! What a helpful post for authors struggling with their setting development! Leave a comment below to win a $10 credit for Riptide titles!

Giveaway Winners

We have a lot of giveaway winners to announce. 

Let's get started!

The winners from our Three Things to Celebrate Giveaway:

Winner of Prize Pack #1 was JULIE N.

Winner of Prize Pack #2 was MORGAN S.

Winner of Prize Pack #3 was NAEEMA N.

Winner of Prize Pack #4 was MARIO S.

The winner of from our Santaurio Blog Tour Giveaway:

Winner of a $10 credit to Riptide Publishing, courtesy of Riptide Publishing was JUSTINE.

The winner from our Fierce Reads Recap + Giveaway:

Winner of the signed copies of the Razorland series was RACHEL R.

Winner of the signed copy Monstrous Beauty was CHEYENNE T.

Winner of the signed copies of the Necromancer series was ERIC T.

Winner of the signed copy of Cinder was ATMIKA S.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Blog Tour: Guest Post: GB Gordon

Riptide Publishing is now a year old! The company has great LGBTQ titles that you can find through their website! As part of their celebration, they have asked several blogs to participate in a blog tour. They were nice enough to ask Ed and me if we wanted to be a part of it. As you can see, we readily agreed. Our first post is a guest post from author, GB Gordon and a giveaway for $10 towards Riptide titles.

Today, Edwin and I are happy to have GB Gordon share a bit about his new M/M Romance, Santuario.

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: October 8, 2012

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

224 Pages

Police teniente Alex Rukow has spent his life trapped on Santuario, his people’s isolated home-slash-prison-island. They’ve been living in poverty under the tyrannical regime of their own elite familias for the last two-hundred years, ever since their generation ship landed on the planet and found it already populated by earlier Earth settlers, the Skanians, who banished them to the inhospitable south.

Increasingly shamed by the decisions of their ancestors, the Skanians seek to open their borders. But dissent exists on both sides, and in the midst of this explosive political situation, a dead body appears on the island.

Bengt, a Skanian investigator, is shipped to Santuario to lead the murder investigation—which, he quickly realizes, the local teniente wants nothing to do with. As far as Bengt is concerned, things can’t get worse than the brutal climate, his own memories, and a growing attraction to a partner who will barely say two words to him. But then he and Alex run afoul of the local familias, and the problems with their investigation and their budding relationship seem like nothing compared to just getting out of this whole mess alive.

Read an excerpt and purchase Santuario HERE.

VISIT THE AUTHOR:

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FIND THE BOOK:

Goodreads.Amazon.Barnes & Noble

GUEST POST:

Thanks everyone for joining me on my very first book tour, and a big thank you to Edwin and Emily for letting me hang out. Fantastic wallpaper, btw.This tour is about peeking behind the curtain on all things Santuario, which is now available for purchase via the Riptide Publishing website. If you followed me here from yesterdays tour stop, you know this already, but for those who just joined: Don't forget to comment for a chance to win a $10 credit to Riptide Publishing. All comments with email address included that are left by 11:59 pm on Sunday, Oct 14th will enter into the draw.

I wanted to share some of my process of world building. The muse and I were trying to create a (almost) perfect society (mine) and a scary, cruel society (hers). I wanted my guys to start their settlement in a place where they'd have to huddle and rely heavily on each other. So the planet they were trying to settle had its main landmass in one big continent around the north pole, much of it too cold for permanent settlements, but with a more temperate zone along its coastlines (think Finland, Canada, that sort of thing). I was also reasoning that whoever prepared the planet and selected the people for the trip would know that and round up volunteers from the northern countries, like Scandinavia and Iceland, mutual language roots being considered a plus and over time coalescing into the Skanian I use in the book.

The muse started to tap her fingers. An incessant nail on wood noise, designed to break my concentration and drive me bonkers.

"What?" I snarled.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She smiled sweetly at me. "Where do my people end up?"

"I don't care, some rock in the equatorial zone that’s too hot for my Vikings."

"A rock?" She has a pretty pout, but I mainly wanted to get on with my settlers.

"Fine, an island. Don't push it."

"How big?" she immediately shot back.

"Would have to be a decent size, allow for some agriculture and general development. Something the size of Britain."

"I want palm trees. And beaches."

"Whatever." I still had Vikings to get back to. "It's not going to be Paradise, though. Remember, these are the bad guys. Let's see, by the time they leave Earth, things have taken a turn for the worse, the terraforming technology has been lost or sabotaged, so they need to be sent to an already prepped planet."

She nodded. "And since everyone wants to get off Earth, it's a jumbled mess of nations on the ship."

"Predominant languages Chinese and English?"

She gave me her best don't-be-stupid look. "Been done. Gimme your Firefly card back. We’ll take Russian and Spanish, with maybe English as a lingua franca."

I forgave her. I was starting to get caught up in her fantasy. "They're used to 'everyone for themselves' kind of thinking."

"So when they land, the strongest hog the valuable resources (the ship) and set everyone else to work."

"Over time establishing a ruling class."

She smiled. A pretty scary smile, now that I come to think of it. "Who controls the rabble with access to firearms."

"A personal army. Like the Savaks."

"The Securitate."

"The Tonton Macoute."

"The Gestapo."

"Okay, enough. I still have some Vikings to get settled here. Your guys are not coming for hundreds of years."

She admired her nails. "They’ll be in the book. So anything before they arrive is background."

"It’s world building. It shapes the people that’ll be in the book."

"What people?"

But that would spill over from world building into character building. Want to meet the guys? Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at All I Want and More. Full tour schedule available HERE.

Big thank you to GB for that entertaining guest post and don't forget to comment to be entered to win a $10 credit for Riptide titles!