Slash Update!

Artist's impression of me writing reviews seperatly! 

As I stressed myself half silly with a job application and spent most of Easter being on my hols, I have got a little behind on my reviews especially as I have binge read Alessandra Hazard to the point of four books not reviewed. As I am trying to write more reviews, and for the sake of my sanity, I am going to do a multi review to split on Goodreads.  

Yes, I am aware that these books are a little problematic at times, by their very nature, but I don't consider them reality or a blueprint for relationships, so I can't really see the harm. Anyway, on to the reviews.

Just a Bit Unhealthy
Number 3 in the series, this moves to the UK for the tale of Gabe, a straight football star obsessed with Jared, his gay physiotherapist. Although Gabe had a girlfriend, he can't be separated from Jared and treats him like an extension of himself, which inevitably messes with Jared's head. Gabe is a bit of a spoilt brat who must have his own way, to the point that he strings Jared along promising a physical relationship without the sex, just kissing and cuddling. I thought this was a slightly weaker story in terms of the erotic content because Gabe spends a long time convincing himself of a physical relationship. And whilst the intense co-dependency is explored, Gabe ultimately doesn't seem to grow as a person, just admits he's gay. I suppose I wanted him to become a little more independent.

Just a Bit Wrong
Number 4 in the series. Gabe's brother, Tristan is also a top football player at the same club, but he's gay (although hiding it because of his career). Jared's friend Zach is the straight physio assigned to help him, but Tristan is having none of it. He's the enfant terrible of the football club who treats Gabe and his poor assistant like dirt. Zach on the other hand has an open relationship with his fiancé and no intention of putting up with Tristan's nonsense. In the course of the physio they discover that Tristan enjoys being spanked and Zach enjoys spanking him, which was very hot. I probably would have liked more spanking! Zach develops a kind of obsession which he is advised to 'get out of system' by actually having sex with Tristan which is a rather bad idea. Unethical physio and poor advice aside, I enjoyed it, particularly the introduction of Zach's family. And Tristan does grow as a person.

Just a Bit Confusing
Number 5 is another slow burner. Gay, closed James has been friends with Zach's brother Ryan forever. Born into a privileged family, he fears to tell his parents about his sexuality and has to watch his best friend and obsession Ryan kissing his girlfriend in front of him. They have a weird relationship where Ryan has a thing about cuddling James like a Teddy bear, but thinks of James as his brother. Poor old James spends much of the book moping, and Ryan's poor girlfriend gets dumped so that James won't stop being Ryan's friend. I have to say, Ryan was right be freaked out by some of James's antics, although at the same time he probably should have let James go or at least stop with the physical stuff if they were going to have a platonic friendship. All that anger and freaking out about the sexual stuff didn't do either of them any good.

Just a Bit Ruthless
Book 6. James's friend Like, who is gay, gets kidnapped after trying to impress his father in Russia. James is so busy mopping about Ryan he doesn't actually notice Like going missing. The kidnapper is a straight Russian mafioso with a grudge against Luke's father, a wealthy scumbag. At first, Like is subjected to beatings and starvation, but Roman realises that he can use Luke to get to his father so moves him to his room. This is not a book I'd put in the angst category, not after reading Sloane's stuff. Roman is surpringly open minded for a homophobic Russian mafioso and encourages Luke to stop thinking about who he should be to please his father. I loved the way Roman and Luke blossom in this book, Roman allows Luke to express his flamboyant side and Luke makes Roman care. However, if dub con is not your thing, or you object to Like looking like a teenager (although he's 23) then this won't be for you.

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh

A new trilogy set in the mysterious Marquess House in Pembrokeshire, this is part narrated from the point of view of Perdita Rivers, a jewelry expert who inherits the house from her estranged grandmother, and partly from the point of view of Catherine Howard. Whilst I didn't always agree with the portrayal of the historical figures, for example Henry portrayed as a brutal wife beater, I appreciated that whenever the author could she used historical fact, which she explains in the footnote, and she has obviously done her research.   Walsh believes that Catherine was misrepresented by history and was not the airheaded flirt that she has been portrayed as, and I could see her reasoning and wanted to learn more. Of particular note was the idea that she had a cordial relationship with Anne of Cleaves whom she taught to dance. Some of the conspiracy elements seemed a little far-fetched at times, but it did add to the excitement of the novel and I both enjoyed reading it and wanted to read the next in the series. Perdita is an interesting character and I'm looking forward to finding out what is happening with Kit. The Catherine Howard parts were well written from a historical perspective and from the character perspective. You really feel for her as she is forced to marry the repugnant Henry to assist her power grabbing family and it's evident that whether or not he was a wife beater, he did suffer from memory issues. This is available on Kindle Unlimited and I would recommend it for readers who enjoy conspiracy theories, alternative history and historical fiction/contemporary fiction.