Alexa Land

A gay San Francisco cop in a Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer sweater and an art student who pays his tuition from his earnings as a prostitute meet at a Christmas party and fall in lust. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, right? Fortunately, the two protagonists are strong enough characters that Land's romance doesn't turn into a parody of itself.

At age 15, after he came out Christopher Robin left his home in Georgia and came to San Francisco, where he planned to work and become an art show more student. After being mugged and robbed almost immediately, he became a hooker and then a high-price rent boy to support himself. Now he's working to pay for art school and is about to graduate.

At a friend's Christmas party, he hooks up with Kieran Nolan, not knowing that Kieran is a cop just as Kieran doesn't know Christopher is a hooker. Since Kieran has just admitted to being gay, Christopher is his first lover, and both men become much more embroiled before they learn what the other one does for a living. By that time, they are so smitten that they decide to make their relationship work.

Keeping their angst a little lighter are peripheral characters, an 80-year-old organized crime grandma and a 20-something computer porn star. Grandma wants to find a boyfriend via computer dating, and the porn star wants to find someone who sees him as a person. Both are totally delightful.

At one point in the story the porn star is amazed at how accepting the friend's family is at the Christmas party and says that if his family had ever seen him dance with a guy, they would have held a gay exorcism. When Christopher asks what a gay exorcism would be, the porn star says, “Oh, you know: the whole lot of them donning mullet wigs, which for a large percentage of them would be redundant, and then playing sport fishing videos while reading from the Sears catalog. That’d drive the gay right out of ya.” That and many other sections made me laugh out loud.

Read the rest of my review at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=9674 show less

I love, love, LOVE this book!

Warning bits:

- The ZOMBIE tag is not a mistake. There is actually a zombie dog, who is not a zombie, but pretty damn close, the way it acts.

- BDSM is very demure, mostly it's just the talk, but there is some spanking, some bondage and some ass whipping present in a couple of (short) scenes. Mostly tho, it's the talk.

Meh bits:

- It's imperfect, it drags at times, it's unrealistic, it's saccharine and dorky...

Good bits:

...BUT it's also very tender-sweet and funny show more and adorable and impossible to put down.

~'~'~'~

The break-in in the beginning is epic. The break out in the middle is very close to epic. The handcuffs! OMG, the handcuffs! And Peaches? Be afraid, be very very afraid, it's a zombie affenpinscher ape dog with an under bite!




And, of course, Dante!!! Dear man, you're so much fun! Even when you break hearts.



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I am planning on starting Christopher's story soon. I hope he finds himself a big mean mafia machine. I hope they find the Sandwich Man and they feed him Peaches's gluten-infused poop (have to read the book, peeps!) ;)

*

Krissy, thank you so much for picking it for me in a challenge and then lending it to me to read! ♥ show less

Russian mobsters, Italian mafiosi, good American cops, a wagon and a half of strong and funny and likable female characters, kids and pups... Everlasting love between a bad Russian and a good American. Sounds familiar?

Avril Ashton, meet Mary Calmes.

The first 40% is a great read. A (hot) undercover cop Jamie meets a (hot) Russian mobster Dmitri. They fall in love the same day. The rest is history sex, food, family and friends. Did I mention sex? At least for the next 30%.

The story picks up show more in the last 20% or so, where both MCs surface from under the sheets, blankets and layers of cum to figure out how to get rid of The Big Bad Russian Uncle, who is, in fact, in charge and true control of the whole Russian operation.

The book is very sweet and fun and humours and actually a great read, except for I was seriously contemplating adding an AU tag to it.

A couple of pet peeves:

Where is Dima's money? He is a son of a great Russian Mobster family. I am asking you again, Why was the boy left dirt poor after his parents died? Where was the rest of the boy's family? Why did he have to bring his 5(!) sisters on his own at the age of 19?

Why does Jamie keep calling Dima Dmitri? Can you imagine someone calling their partner their full name in the throws of passion? Honestly, most people can't put two syllables together while at it, and here we have a full-blown formal version of a name "Benjamin!" "Alexander!" "Christopher!" "Montgomery!", you get the picture, I hope. Obvisly (and I mean - OBVISLY) someone didn't do their homework, and I suspect I know who that is :D

"Оборот" means Revolution or, simply, a Turn-around. Pronounced as o-bo-rot.

All in all, a cute fun quick read. Too much sex, tho. 3 stars.
Moving onto book two. show less

Absolutely unrealistic, but incredibly comforting read, just like all the other books in the series.

Previous and present abuse, previous statutory rape, all kinds of pain and suffering wrapped in sappy mush, the bliss of insta-love and generosity of an incredibly generous and sweet man, concluded with rainbows and lollipops that Nana brings with her wherever she goes, God bless her heart ♥ :D

Chance, a prostitute with no prospects, no future, no friends and no money hooks up with a police show more officer. After seeing him for a couple of months, Chance leaves SF to visit his mother and brother and possibly find his father. The trip turns into a disaster with a very nasty surprise, misadventures of Chance's Honda Civic for whipped cream and An Asshole father for a very rotten cherry.

But wait! It all turns out to be a big fat Happy End in the last chapters of the book. And thank God for that :D Very satisfying read.

*Still thinking of adding "Alternate Universe" to all nine books :)

3.5 shiny stars. Can't wait for a new installment. show less