Lynn Lorenz (1)

Locke and Blade is a creative and unusual blend of fantasy and police procedural genres with an irresistible hint of comedy. At 27,000 words, it is the perfect length to polish off within a day-long enough to involve the reader emotionally, and short enough to fit into anyone’s busy reading schedule. The action takes place in a fantasy world reminiscent of Victorian England, which has perhaps developed within an alternate dimension from our own. Order is maintained by an overly civilized show more police force of magic users who are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the grittier criminal element. Clearly, they need a badass individual to teach them how to meld hand-to-hand combat with wizardry to fight crime, and Locke is their man. However, this sets him at odds with his new by-the-book partner Blade. The two cops’ initial animosity and sexual chemistry should please readers who crave the enemies-to-lovers theme.

The story opens with Locke, whose reputation is undeservedly in tatters, reporting to his next precinct after being dismissed from his last post. His new commanding officer is sympathetic, but Locke can’t stand his new partner Blade. However, the two must get started, solving a shocking new crime. Meanwhile, their mutual attraction threatens to destroy their working relationship.

~ Val from AReCafe show less

Awww - I loved this book. I was a bit worried it could follow a more standard pattern with a bit of gay bashing causing the 'light-bulb' moment but LL pulled us beyond that trope and it was just a lovely story. LOVED Winston and his backstory - that dog is just flat out gorgeous! (He solidified the 5 star rating.) And Edward was such a sweetie, but with backbone. *sigh* Jack is one lucky man.

Reread: 14 December - more 3.5 stars now but mostly because Jack was a bit of a douche...
Took me a show more while but I finally finished this. Easy to read - pick up and put down. show less

Emotional involvement, be it for a personal decision or a professional one, can be very risky. Chad found out about the personal consequences - loneliness - when he decided not to call Jeff, the boy he first kissed at summer camp. When Jeff turns up in Chad’s ER years later, Chad faces a professional dilemma that, were it not for his past with Jeff, would be nonexistent. Given Chad’s reaction to seeing Jeff again, a man he never forgot and clearly still has feelings for, I can see why he show more does what looks like total insanity. The fact that Chad’s action is shortsighted, has all kinds of consequences, and hurts Jeff yet again is the basis for renewed contact between two men who should have been together in the first place – except Chad wasn’t ready to face the truth back then.

Jeff is shocked to see Chad again, as the doctor who saved his life and is in charge of his recovery, no less. Chad broke his heart, and now he has decided to waltz right back into Jeff’s life and take over. Jeff is justifiably angry about that, but the anger and pain from years ago make everything so much worse. But he is also all alone, since his parents died, and he may vehemently deny his emotional attraction to Chad, but it is very, very strong.

Chad is in trouble for more than one reason. First, getting emotionally involved with a patient is highly unethical. Second, lying about his relationship to Jeff is borderline criminal. And third, how the heck is that supposed to lessen Chad’s guilt over leaving Jeff in the first place? Quite clearly, Chad is not rational about any of this, and that makes him very human. What he does is wrong, but why he does it? I can certainly see where he is coming from.

With two characters this emotionally torn up about their past, the deep feelings they still have for each other, and the difficult current situation they find themselves in, this novella is explosive. It is also very intense, and even though it is short in the number of pages it contains, I found it to be very engaging, carefully plotted, and about as nerve-wrecking as it is sweet.

If you like to see men getting a second chance at love, if you want flawed characters with real issues who make real-world mistakes, and if you’re looking for a read that might just pull you in and not let you go until the end, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do.


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

This is a werewolf story with a slightly different plot, but having werewolves as professional fighters, somewhere in the future, actually makes a weird kind of sense. With the way sports are going, and professional wrestling is already fairly big in certain circles, I can see how ‘discovering’ werewolves might lead to them being used for ‘entertainment’. It is also a brutal story, right from the very start. This vision of the future is a very harsh world, reminding me of what Roman show more gladiators must have gone through, only worse. It is definitely not for the fainthearted.

Tor may be a champion and adored by his fans, but he is only a slave. Not only exposed to his owner’s whims, but to the cruel reality of the fight ring, his life is not his to live. Within the first few pages he suffers more than enough for a lifetime, and I have no idea how he found the courage and energy to go on. I guess he didn’t have a choice, but still. Amazingly enough he does recover physically, and his ‘new mate’, as presented to him by Marrack, his owner, is now supposed to get him to fight again. You can imagine how Tor feels about that.

Sky is in an extremely difficult situation. He was raised to be a pleasure slave and doesn’t expect much from life, but when Marrack promises him his freedom if he gets Tor to fight again, he decides to do his best. And he is good! But when his heart gets involved, he is in trouble. He cannot imagine losing Tor, but can he continue to live as a slave?

This story is brutal. Not just because of the violence in the ring, but because of the emotional pain and anguish both characters go through. The author does not shirk back from making this awful situation very realistic. Unfortunately, I can see humans being cruel enough it might come to something like this. Whenever money is involved, you just cannot tel. If you are looking for a sweet romance or an entertaining read, this is not it. But if you want a gritty vision of a somewhat nightmarish future that feels all too real, combined with a very touching love story, you might like this novel. It is not an easy read, but well worth it if you’re looking for emotional depth and an unusual storyline.



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