Blackened by Christina Jade Loren

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Blackened
Author: Christina Jade Loren

Author Site

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Publisher: Breathless Press

Genre: Gay/Erotic/Paranormal

Length: 22 pgs.

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 4-I like the mood the cover creates with the dark, moon-filled sky. The cover model is not only cute but obviously a vampire, so the reader knows right away that it’s a vamp story.

Presentation: 4-Easy to read and understand. A page and a ½ blank at the beginning so you have to scroll to find the start of the story, which isn’t marked in any way.

Editing: 4-Easily read. A few grammatical errors only.

Story: 3-While I liked both romantic characters, the conflict was flimsy and easily resolved with a simple conversation at the end, which left me feeling let down. The resolution reminded me of an after-school special, preaching on the dangers of addiction and failure to communicate with your significant other. When the after-school special resolution ends, the characters jump right into a rough sex scene, and I felt disoriented by the mood/tone change.

Writing Ability: 3-The author does a good job expressing the characters’ thoughts and emotions when they are alone. However, when the characters are together, the action and dialogue reads choppy and emotionless in places. Weak plot and minimal setting.

Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

About The Book: Damien loves every aspect of his life as a vampire, except feeding time. That’s when his conscience decides to turn on, and he must face his dark cravings—alone. He had it all under control until Nathan disappeared one night. Damien’s control is slipping on the beast inside, and he needs Nathan now more than ever. If only he didn’t suspect his lover of betrayal.

Two battles must be fought. One of the heart, and one of the soul. Will Damien’s fear become a reality, and the urge to kill blacken his heart before Nathan can bring him home?

The Review: Blackened, third in a series, begins with a jolt of adrenalin as Damien, a newly made vampire, fights the urge to kill his human meal. Feeling the absence of his lover, Nathan, he struggles to do what’s right when everything feels wrong.

While Damien is likable, Nathan is a dark, conflicted character, emotionally and physically distant throughout much of the story. However, through Damien the reader can see and feel a past filled with love for Nathan and hope for the same in the future.

A fast and easy read with strong characters who live in an interesting world but lacking a strong plot with an exciting/fulfilling ending. Both of Damien’s problems—trouble controlling his urge to kill while drinking blood and the doubts about his relationship with Nathan—are easily resolved by simply having a short, quick conversation with his lover.

The erotic sex scene that follows the resolution between Damien and Nathan wasn’t the emotionally fulfilling make-up sex I was expecting but, instead, felt more like a rough-and-tumble quickie the couple might have any other day. Despite this, the strong likable characters make Blackened worth reading, and I look forward to more of Loren’s stories.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

A Perfect Game by Reno MacLeod & Jaye Valentine

The Pagan & The Pen Reviews

Title:  A Perfect Game

Author:  Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine 

Author Site

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Publisher: Noble Romance Publishing, LLC

Genre: Contemporary Erotic/M/M

Length: 150 pages 

Other: BDSM/Spanking/Gay Lifestyle/Relationships/Teacher/Student Relationships/ Parent/Child Conflict

Pagan & Pagan Elements: None

Reviewed by: Russ Allen

About The Book: Twenty-year-old Christopher "Kit" Pennington dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. He has the talent and the drive needed for the sport, but finds his lack of interest in formal education barring his way. Under threat from his wealthy father, an important alumnus and contributor at the private Christian college Kit attends, Kit has been barely muddling through. Not until the very handsome Liam Dalton replaces one of Kit’s regular professors at the exclusive school does higher learning take on any real meaning.

The Review:  This is an interesting and very readable story of how a relationship between a college professor and one of his students grows from reflecting the fringe elements of homosexual activity to love and marriage. There are a few flaws in its telling, as well as some unresolved problems or unanswered questions, but they do not distract from the overall narrative. The story sheds light on the more extreme aspects of the homosexual lifestyle [called “The Scene”], which might arouse some readers and turn others off.  However, even straight men, as well as gays and bi-sexuals, may find themselves reacting enjoyably to the erotic, and somewhat graphic nature of the descriptions it offers of homosexual activity.

Among the aspects that reduce the quality of the story, in part because of their limited believability or unresolved nature, is Kit’s use of his father’s credit card to fund his sexual exploits, seemingly without his father ever becoming aware of it; the coincidence of Kit running into Liam in an erotic store in Provincetown days after they first meet; the way the story seeks to resolve Kit’s shaky relationship with his father; Liam’s experience with an anal vibrator while teaching his class; the occasionally unfulfilled promised sexual activity, and the idea that a sexual relationship between teacher and student could actually end up in marriage. 

More positively, the way that the story shines light on that part of “The Scene” that includes domination, discipline, ownership of one person by the other, sexual slavery, exhibitionism, physical abuse, and purely physical sex is actually educational for anyone unfamiliar with those practices. This aspect is complex, for while both Liam and Kit are supposedly into these activities, Kit has carefully avoided being dominated, (he is an anal virgin when he meets Liam), while Liam, for all his talk, has very real limits when it comes to these activities. How emotional and physical intimacies interact in the context of this extreme form of homosexuality is not fully resolved, for Liam and Kit move back and forth toward the edge without ever fully engaging in what they say they want. 

More details as to how Liam and Kit came to be who they are when they first meet, especially in terms of their sexual interests, might have helped flesh out the story and enabled the reader to understand why in time their growing personal relationship established limits on their sexual activities.

Nevertheless, taken as a whole this is a revealing look into the dynamics of homosexuality, the difficulties and the risks facing those who engage in its more extreme practices, the prejudice that gays encounter, and the steps men take to achieve a loving and committed relationship.

I recommend this story especially to non-gays as a way of gaining an appreciation for the differences and commonalities that exist between straights and homosexuals.

Pagan Elements: None

Cover (Rated 1-10): 3.  The cover is attractive, but this book is not about baseball, which the cover might lead one to believe.  “A Perfect Game” is actually about the interplay of two people exploring a gay relationship, not the national pastime.  I would not be drawn to, much less purchase or read the book based on the cover.

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.