I've been finding so many fantastic writers via emails that I get from various ebook publishers; now that could develop into a problem... someday.... maybe....
Or not. LOL
Anyway one of my more recent *finds* is Josh Lanyon. The first story of his that I read was called Dangerous Ground and I was hooked, big time, from the get-go. I love romances; I love gay and mènage romances; straight romances and definitely the erotic romance. I've discovered that, while I'm actually a very white-bread type of person in *real life* I've got another persona in my reading life. Who knew?
Through a number of new-found authors I've discovered that, in the name of romance and true-love, I enjoy stories from just about every genre and sub-genre going... Erotic romance is one of my newest reading genres... actually since I joined the eHarlequin.com community last year!
So, as I was originally saying; Josh Lanyon has become another of my favourite and auto-buy authors. It's not just that he writes gay (or m/m fiction) romances, but that he writes amazing mysteries that get me right from the start.
Now, I'm not a new fan of mysteries: He!! no! I grew up reading Agatha Christie ~ and by now I have nearly every one of her many, many books. I also enjoyed reading Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason stories as well as the odd Ellery Queen.
But I guess my earliest foray into the mystery story would be the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Rick Brant's Science Adventures and the Ken Holt stories: the latter two had been my uncle's books and when I chanced upon them, they became MY books!
So being able to enjoy my beloved mysteries as well as gay erotic romances was a match made in heaven.
I've just read the first two of Mr. Lanyon's Adrien English Mysteries ~ Fatal Shadow and A Dangerous Thing ~ and immediately went back to Loose Id and bought up the next two Adrien English stories as well as two other of JL's books. (Um you may sense that I get a tad acquisitive upon finding a new F&AB [favourite and auto-buy] author... and you'd be RIGHT!)
So, without further ado (or rambling....) here are my reviews for Josh Lanyon's first two Adrien English Mysteries ~ Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing.
Relationships can be murder. Bookseller and mystery author Adrien English is looking for love in all the wrong places -- and, according to hot and handsome LAPD detective Jake Riordan, it's liable to get him killed.
Before reading these first two of Josh Lanyon's Adrien English mysteries I was already a fan of the man's work. The first of his books that I read was Dangerous Ground and it was gripping. The mystery in each of his stories is well crafted and I'm left wondering whodunnit 'til the end... but then even if I weren't I wouldn't be troubled by it as I'm not the type of person that *needs* to solve the mystery before the end ~ I'm just along for the thrill of the ride!
Add to the mystery element is a deep and intriguing character development ~ somewhere among the man-on-man love relationships is often one man who is unsure of his sexual identity ~ especially in relation to the other lead male character.
Suffice it to say that after reading Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing, I made a stop by the online bookstore and came away with four more of Mr. Lanyon's wonderful, and very tempting!, stories. Definitely a new favourite and auto-buy for me.
Excellence: 4.5 stars of 5
Steaminess: Yummy to Heat Wave
1st of the Adrien English Mysteries
FROM the Website:
A serial killer is stalking gay men, and a tawny-eyed LAPD detective wants bookseller Adrien English in handcuffs -- for all the wrong reasons!
MY NOTES:
Let me start by saying that the character of Adrien English was nothing as I had imagined him to be... I'm not sure why, but his name for me, conjured up a rather stuffy British detective who was also gay and a bookseller. Far off the mark? You bet! Did it bother me? Not a whit.
I really enjoyed Adrien's character... he wasn't a detective by any means, but when his best friend was murdered and he was the suspect, the whole business of discovering who the murderer was basically fell into his lap.
RATING:
Excellence: ~ 4.5 stars of 5
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
BOOK READ: Josh Lanyon; A Dangerous Thing; Loose Id, LLC; May 2007
2nd in the Adrien English Mysteries
FROM the Website: When his romance goes south, Adrien heads north to the California Motherlode country. Can murder -- and Adrien's favorite LAPD detective -- be far behind?
MY NOTES:
In this story, Adrien's a step removed from the murder that he stumbles upon... but it's on his property and from the very beginning if something can go wrong, it does! The plot was, I found, somewhat more serpentine, but I still found it difficult to book the book down.
The more that I get to know Adrien English, the more I become hooked on his stories... and sometimes I was roundly cursing out Jake... but the path to true love never runs smooth. Another excellent chapter in these fascinating mysteries!
RATING:
Excellence: ~ 4.5 stars of 5
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Or not. LOL
Anyway one of my more recent *finds* is Josh Lanyon. The first story of his that I read was called Dangerous Ground and I was hooked, big time, from the get-go. I love romances; I love gay and mènage romances; straight romances and definitely the erotic romance. I've discovered that, while I'm actually a very white-bread type of person in *real life* I've got another persona in my reading life. Who knew?
Through a number of new-found authors I've discovered that, in the name of romance and true-love, I enjoy stories from just about every genre and sub-genre going... Erotic romance is one of my newest reading genres... actually since I joined the eHarlequin.com community last year!
So, as I was originally saying; Josh Lanyon has become another of my favourite and auto-buy authors. It's not just that he writes gay (or m/m fiction) romances, but that he writes amazing mysteries that get me right from the start.
Now, I'm not a new fan of mysteries: He!! no! I grew up reading Agatha Christie ~ and by now I have nearly every one of her many, many books. I also enjoyed reading Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason stories as well as the odd Ellery Queen.
But I guess my earliest foray into the mystery story would be the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Rick Brant's Science Adventures and the Ken Holt stories: the latter two had been my uncle's books and when I chanced upon them, they became MY books!
So being able to enjoy my beloved mysteries as well as gay erotic romances was a match made in heaven.
I've just read the first two of Mr. Lanyon's Adrien English Mysteries ~ Fatal Shadow and A Dangerous Thing ~ and immediately went back to Loose Id and bought up the next two Adrien English stories as well as two other of JL's books. (Um you may sense that I get a tad acquisitive upon finding a new F&AB [favourite and auto-buy] author... and you'd be RIGHT!)
So, without further ado (or rambling....) here are my reviews for Josh Lanyon's first two Adrien English Mysteries ~ Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing.
Relationships can be murder. Bookseller and mystery author Adrien English is looking for love in all the wrong places -- and, according to hot and handsome LAPD detective Jake Riordan, it's liable to get him killed.
Before reading these first two of Josh Lanyon's Adrien English mysteries I was already a fan of the man's work. The first of his books that I read was Dangerous Ground and it was gripping. The mystery in each of his stories is well crafted and I'm left wondering whodunnit 'til the end... but then even if I weren't I wouldn't be troubled by it as I'm not the type of person that *needs* to solve the mystery before the end ~ I'm just along for the thrill of the ride!
Add to the mystery element is a deep and intriguing character development ~ somewhere among the man-on-man love relationships is often one man who is unsure of his sexual identity ~ especially in relation to the other lead male character.
Suffice it to say that after reading Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing, I made a stop by the online bookstore and came away with four more of Mr. Lanyon's wonderful, and very tempting!, stories. Definitely a new favourite and auto-buy for me.
Excellence: 4.5 stars of 5
Steaminess: Yummy to Heat Wave
1st of the Adrien English Mysteries
FROM the Website:
A serial killer is stalking gay men, and a tawny-eyed LAPD detective wants bookseller Adrien English in handcuffs -- for all the wrong reasons!
MY NOTES:
Let me start by saying that the character of Adrien English was nothing as I had imagined him to be... I'm not sure why, but his name for me, conjured up a rather stuffy British detective who was also gay and a bookseller. Far off the mark? You bet! Did it bother me? Not a whit.
I really enjoyed Adrien's character... he wasn't a detective by any means, but when his best friend was murdered and he was the suspect, the whole business of discovering who the murderer was basically fell into his lap.
RATING:
Excellence: ~ 4.5 stars of 5
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
BOOK READ: Josh Lanyon; A Dangerous Thing; Loose Id, LLC; May 2007
2nd in the Adrien English Mysteries
FROM the Website: When his romance goes south, Adrien heads north to the California Motherlode country. Can murder -- and Adrien's favorite LAPD detective -- be far behind?
MY NOTES:
In this story, Adrien's a step removed from the murder that he stumbles upon... but it's on his property and from the very beginning if something can go wrong, it does! The plot was, I found, somewhat more serpentine, but I still found it difficult to book the book down.
The more that I get to know Adrien English, the more I become hooked on his stories... and sometimes I was roundly cursing out Jake... but the path to true love never runs smooth. Another excellent chapter in these fascinating mysteries!
RATING:
Excellence: ~ 4.5 stars of 5
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh, I've had Fatal Shadow and A Dangerous Thing on my eBookwise for a couple of months. I know they're gonna be good so they've ended up being part of my "blueberry muffin in the freezer" problem.
ReplyDeleteThat's the fact that I keep a blueberry muffin in the freezer in case I'm frantically searching for something sweet, that I know I will love, but need to save in case of a sugar craving emergency.
So, I've been passing him over for other sweet thangs that I think I will like, but am not really sure, causing more curiosity.
OMG, I'm such a freak. LOL
I'll have to try and get him out of the freezer and put someone else in there cause I know I'm going to love him.
Oh and, nice review!
ReplyDeleteLeah,
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you! Either I'm liking the way that I do reviews better, or I'm channeling someone.
I love the blueberry-muffin-in-the-freezer analogy.... I'm not that disciplined so I tend to devour the stories... although, yeah, a large TBR ~ and life ~ tend to keep the waiting-to-be-read list pretty long.
But great description... I could just see you rifling the freezer looking for a balm for a sweet tooth attack! LOL