Shawn Lane

I enjoyed this story a lot. Following Christian, an Elf in almost constant trouble, to see him find his destiny in an unexpected way was great fun. Pairing him up with the somewhat stern Head Elf, Gabriel, provided a few good laughs as well as some very hot action between the sheets – and elsewhere.

Christian is a bit of a klutz, and constantly gets into trouble; dressing and behaving as behooves a Christmas Elf all the time just isn’t his thing. He also has a heart of gold though, and show more half the problems happen because he's trying to be nice. With a hopeless crush on his best friend smashed when the man announces he is serious about a girl, Christian really has nothing left to hope for and is about to resign.

Gabriel may seem all harsh and stern, but he's hiding his own little infatuation with Christian. Probably overcompensating, to ensure his preferences don’t show. As the Head Elf, he is all about keeping things orderly, well organized, and everyone following procedure. And when he sets out to achieve a goal, say, seduce a certain little elf, he doesn't do anything by halves!

This is an angst-free story with lots of slightly different Christmas spirit. I can recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered what those Elves are up to on long, cold winter evenings at the North Pole. show less

I had a lump in my throat through this bittersweet story. I'm a sucker for 'true loves finding each other again' stories and this was brilliant. It was hard to feel sorry for Jake at first, to be honest. He dumped Damian with just a note eleven years ago then, after a nosy maid bursts in on them, does it a second time. But when he's forced out of his job and home by a homophobic community (and family), I did feel for him.

There's a happy ending which I think came about a little quickly. I show more would have liked to see Jake have to earn Damien back rather than play the "I've lost everything" card but both men were happy and contented in the end.

As was I. :) show less

A very cute reinterpretation of "Sleeping Beauty", this version of the fairy tale involves two hot men, an evil sorcerer, a tough quest with several pesky obstacles, and some tender loving. All the "ingredients" of the original story are there, but the author subtly reshaped them into a slightly different story. The biggest difference was the crucial role Roland, the prince, himself plays in achieving victory, with Magnus, the warrior who is supposed to protect him, become an equal partner. show more And the sense of humor adds a nice touch to make it an even more fun read.

Roland may be a prince by birth, but he was sent away to a remote village when he was a boy and grows up not knowing who he is. When his destiny is revealed by Magnus, he doesn’t like it, and struggles with the fact he suddenly has to be the one to defeat the evil sorcerer. On the whole, he takes it rather well, and I suspect his growing feelings for Magnus have something to do with the fact of how well he adapts to his new life.

Magnus is a tough warrior, yet he remembers Roland as a baby, when Magnus's father carried the prince to safety. Magnus was only ten at the time, but it gives him a connection to Roland later on. As a warrior, he believes it is his duty to protect Roland, and he, too, battles with his sense of "what should be" as he gets to know Roland. The longer their quest takes the more obvious it becomes their roles may be very non-traditional. Interestingly, in the face of "true love" all of those considerations are suddenly far less important. A very nice message indeed!

If you like fairy tales that have all their original charm, yet add a refreshing note of fun and humor to the tale, if you enjoy reading about two men trying to figure out how to relate to each other while on an epic quest, and if you're looking for an entertaining read that will make you laugh, you should give this one a try.




NOTE: This book was provided by Amber Allure for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. show less

Loving the Boss is a sweet and sexy, M/M romance novelette. The characters are likable and the story was quite enjoyable. Alan is a very conscientious employee, always arriving for work early to have his boss's favorite coffee prepared and his office arranged just so. I got the sense that he was a hard worker regardless, but part of the reason he does these things is because he's been in love with his boss from afar for nearly the entire three years he's worked for him. He just doesn't show more really expect anything to come of it. The entire story is told from Alan's third-person perspective, so we only get to know Kincaid through his eyes. Kincaid is an attorney who lost his partner, Ben, to cancer not long before Alan came to work for him. I thought it was sweet that even though Ben was really the animal person, Kincaid kept all of the animals after he died, and it's quite the menagerie. When Kincaid finally admits to himself that he's fallen for Alan, it led to a nice steamy scene. There aren't any unrealistic declarations of love, which is oftentimes a deal-breaker in a romance, but sometimes actions speak louder than words. I could still feel an emotional connection between these two, and this along with them having known and been attracted to one another so long, made me believe that they definitely had a future together.

This was my first read by Shawn Lane, but certainly won't be my last. Loving the Boss is the first story in her Loving series. It introduces Alan's best friend, Lorrie, who becomes one of the heroes in the next novelette, Loving the Assistant. I'll definitely be checking that one out, as well as Shawn Lane's other work. It appears that Ms. Lane has only written short stories and novellas so far, but she definitely has a talent for it. Her writing in general is quite solid, telling a satisfying story within a short space with few technical errors. All in all, Loving the Boss was a very pleasant way to spend an hour of my reading time.

Note: This book contains a scene of explicit sensuality between two men which may offend some readers. show less