Riley Long

Lost in the Florist is a novella by Riley Long and Marie Cole. It’s an enjoyable read, a bit angsty with a peppering of humour between friends. The plot is revealed in dual POVs and this certainly makes these two men more frustrating!

Emmett has been in love with his best friend Jax for a long time, but he hasn’t said anything. Emmett lives in a small town and isn’t even sure it would be safe for him to come outlet alone what effect it would have on his friendships it’s Jax. Part of show more the reason he’s questioning that is because Jax hasn’t actually seen him in person for 8 years.

I think that this friends to lovers type of format is well-loved and this one is well-written. The characters are well developed for such a short novella. And they’re pretty complex characters too. I’m almost sad that this wasn’t fleshed out into a longer novel.

The authors take on some pretty intense issues. One of the characters is dealing with alcoholism and I appreciated the way that the author captured the “moment to moment” nature of trying to stay sober. It’s not an on/off things… and emotional circumstances, old playgrounds and old friends can certainly make sobriety a challenge.

The authors also address the idea of family in a few ways. It can be difficult when someone has an aging parent or grandparent because of the necessity to be around to provide them with support. If you’re young, what does that mean for your own life? Do you put everything you were doing on hold? Maybe. I’m sure there’s re multiple answers to that question… and the one depicted in this book is just one of them.

The chemistry between the two characters is great … even when they’re arguing. They get so caught up in their emotions at times that they’re leaping to conclusions all over the place and making things a lot harder for themselves. Of course, in the context of the book. that’s pretty entertaining. There’s a bit of angst… but it’s still believable.

What the book lacks in length, it makes up for in characterization. I enjoyed it. show less

“Shot in the Dark” is a novella by Riley Long. I first read “Lost in the Florist” by Long and was enamoured with it. “Shot in the Dark” is a much shorter and abbreviated work though so I found it a little more difficult to stay connected to the characters.

Eli Steele is the lead of the band, Blood Money. He’s over the long nights, the fans… the whole lifestyle. All of that is complicated by the fact that Eli and all the band members are vampires. It’s the perfect life for a show more vampire, adoring public, late nights, tour busses.

Eli is desperate to change things up … so desperate that he makes a bet with his band mates. He must get the next person who walks through the door to fall in love with him and marry him.

Charlie is the person who walks through the door. Charlie is a fan of the band and a budding documentarian. He was looking for the members of Blood Money to see if he could convince them to let him film documentary footage.

When Charlie meets Eli, he finds himself attracted to a man for the first time in his life. I did appreciate that Charlie didn’t have a huge self-identity crisis over being attracted to a man. He puzzled about it at first and then just moved on. If only there were more people like that in the world! (and wouldn’t it be better for all of our mental health if we were able to react like that!)

One of the most interesting things about Eli is that he is mourning the loss of a human lover. Long reveals over the course of the novella that it is dangerous being the lovers of a vampire. The plot eludes to there being a lot of aggression between clans of vampires. For each action there is a swift and violent reaction… often involving the death of a vampire. Sadly, this idea isn’t expanded upon due to the length of the novella. I would have loved to have read more about the descension between the clans and why that even happened.

Because of the brevity of this novella, the relationship between Charlie and Eli progresses quickly. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I feel as though it would have been so much more enjoyable if this was a novel. Long has a great writing style but there’s only so much that a write can do with only a little over 100 pages.

I found that Drew – the vampire who created Eli – was potentially one of the most interesting characters in the book. I felt an immediate curiosity about him!

If you’re in the mood for a short vampire love story, then this one will hit the spot! show less

It’s adventure time for Lucas! He’s taken a chance on life! He quit his dead-end job then picked up and moved to Los Angeles for a new opportunity. He has reconnected with his high school friend, Ari who takes him out to meet up with a semi-famous band.

Lucas meets a hot guy at the bar… and they hook up. Why not? Lucas is celebrating his new life and moving on. The encounter is fast and hot… and “Nick” is just Lucas’ type… but then just as quickly as they find one another, show more Nick is gone.

When Lucas has a meeting with his first account at the new job. he realizes that he’s doing PR for Boyfriend of the Loveless. And Nicky, yes, the Nick from the night of wild sex, is the drummer in the band.

There’s not much in terms of a theme in this book. It’s basically a casual to wanting more type of relationship. Both Nick and Lucas are physically attracted to one another… they have no problem in that department. The issue is that Lucas realizes he wants to date. Nick doesn’t date. He doesn’t have enough space in his life for a relationship. What with the band and the way he is at his friend Ryan’s beck and call 24 hours a day.

Nicky definitely has an unhealthy relationship with his friend. They go way back, and Nicky has had some events in his past that make it really difficult for him to let people stand on their own. Nicky has some real history that explains his character’s behavior, but he’s pretty wrapped up in his own life. Perhaps too much so to have a boyfriend.

I liked the way the author kept the plot moving and the relationship progression seemed pretty authentic. I can see how someone can think that they can only commit to a friends-with-benefits relationship only to find that the feelings deepen as time passes. There’s an awful lot tangled up between Nick and Ryan.

This is a fast read, a cute plot and some really steamy pages! show less

I struggled to get into this one. The characters themselves aren't necessarily uninteresting, but I felt like there was a missing level of depth. The overall story and relationship seemed a bit shallow to me, with shifts and dynamics not really dealt with in a way that felt realistic. I do plan to pick up more from this author, though, as I think it may have just been this story--I enjoyed the writing overall.