The Longest Night by Z. Allora - Release Day Review

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner

Blurb

The holiday season is lonely for construction worker Benjamin Morgan, a big muscular guy who just wants to submit, obey, and serve. But the men he’s attracted to usually don’t have a dominant bone in their bodies. He’s done seeking his BDSM dreams with someone who isn’t interested in putting him in his rightful place—on his knees at their feet.

When a friend sets up a meeting with Foster Ridgeway at the BDSM club, Entwined, Benjamin has his doubts. Of course he is attracted to bookish Foster, who works for the same construction company, but how will someone so small and delicate-looking master Benjamin? But when Foster—the tiny temple of dominance wielding a crop—heads toward Benjamin, he might get what he’s always wanted, just in time for Solstice.

Review

There are delightful stories and then there is The Longest Night. This is possibly the sweetest, cutest, and sexiest story I’ve read this year. If there is any ‘angst’ in this story it’s dealt with in the first few pages before we enter scene after scene describing how two men, who were obviously meant to be together, open up to each other and reach heights they’d previously only dreamed about.

When the story starts Benjamin fears he’ll never find a Dom able to accept that Benjamin doesn’t have a dominant bone in his body, despite being built like a house. Then a friend arranges a meeting between him and Foster, who may look delicate but is as Dominant as it is possible to be, as well as the personification of Benjamin’s every dream.

Benjamin’s subsequent journey into submission, going deeper with each encounter, is glorious, not to mention very enticing. And Foster is just about the perfect combination of Dominant verging on cruel and deeply caring. I loved every moment of their times together and read the story with a smile on my face from start to finish.

If I do have a reservation is that I would have loved to see Benjamin through Foster’s eyes. Benjamin’s submission, explored from his own perspective is glorious but I have no doubt it would have been even more magical if Foster’s emotional reactions had been described too. Since this whole story is told from Benjamin’s point of view we don’t get that and, given that this is a shortish story that’s entirely understandable, but I do feel it would have given their journey an extra edge.

There is no angst or conflict in this story and that delighted me. The connection between these two men, once they ‘recognize’ each other for who they are, is swift and the bond between them all but automatic. Given that Benjamin and Foster are perfect for each other, any form of conflict would have been contrived and I’m very happy it wasn’t shoe-horned in just for the sake of it.

Overall a wonderful story if you’re in the mood for a pagan holiday story featuring two adorable men and delicious sexiness.

Yaoified Love by Z. Allora

92 pages

Publisher: Rocky Ridge Books

This book is free (almost) everywhere; details on the author’s website: Z. Allora

Blurb

YaoiCon! like stepping into a manga. Why had Rory Lewis waited so long to join this friendly, fun-loving group, cosplaying their favorite ctional characters, or browsing tons of merchandise? He’d nally found his people! Folks who didn’t run away when he gushed about his favorite Japanese authors, or look at him oddly for mentioning “Seme” or “Uke.” And the scantily-clad bishōnen aching to serve made the convention as close to Heaven as Rory might ever get.

Running into a fantasy come to life, and watching con dent Kyle Austin lose his clothing piece by piece in Bishie Bingo, fries Rory’s brain. He runs. Even worse than not seeing how far Kyle would go, Rory’s lost his chance to make a once-in-a-lifetime connection.

A pushy best friend, Facebook, and Skype conspire to give Rory a second chance. Can life echo his favorite boy-love romance?

Review

I really can only think of one way to adequately describe this story: adorable. I mean, everything and every person in this book oozes sweetness. Of course, first place on the ‘cute list’ goes to Rory who is a charming combination of shy and needy. Setting eyes on Kyle turns our young virgin into a conflicting mess of feelings. His attraction to Kyle can’t be denied, but Rory’s insecurities won’t allow him to act on it. While every encounter with Kyle is more sexy and enticing than the last one, Rory can’t deal with the urgency of his desire and flees before he can find out whether the attraction is mutual or just something he’s conjured up in his own mind.

Rory charmed his way into my heart from the very first paragraph and Kyle wasn’t far behind. Because we experience the whole story through Rory’s eyes and mind we know from the start that Rory is smitten. While Rory may be blind to the fact — or unable to believe what he does see — it was instantly clear to this reader that Kyle fell just as hard. When a combination of Rory’s fear and a case of bad luck conspires to keep the two men apart I was almost as distraught as poor Rory.

Cue Amber, Rory’s best friend and staunchest supporter in all things love. Not only did she make sure Rory didn’t give up on Kyle when all seemed lost, she also brought the most wonderful humorous interludes to what might otherwise have turned into a very angsty story.

In fact, between Rory’s soul searching, Amber’s irreverence, and Kyle’s dominance this story had just about the perfect combination of deep yearning, delightful humour, and enticing sexy times. Yaoified Love was a delicious read from start to finish and left me with a huge grin on my face after I’d read the “over the top” (but very fitting) epilogue.

Now, before I finish this review, I have to admit that what I know about Yaoi would fit on the back of a postage stamp, so I couldn’t tell you how fitting to the genre this story might be. What I can say is that if this story sets a standard, I have obviously found yet another genre I need to investigate further.

“I love when real life is like Yaoi.”

With Wings by Z. Allora

With Wings by Z. Allora

Pages: 278

Date: June 6, 2016

Details: No. 1 The Dark Angels

E-book

The blurb:

The lights go down and stage lights up. The Dark Angels have arrived. With his come-hither voice and body made for sin, lead singer Angel Luv draws lovers like a magnet. And when he caresses and taunts shy guitarist Darius Stone on stage, well…it’s an act, right? But every touch lights a fire, and every flirtatious glance chips away at Dare’s certainty that he’s straight. No one else has so captured his imagination.

Temptation beckons. It’s hard not to notice the want in Dare’s eyes, the way he stares when he thinks Angel’s not watching. One wrong move might scare him away, but a work trip to exotic Bali might be the perfect place to let Dare explore his sexuality, with none to be the wiser. But their “friends with benefits” pact has an expiration date, that just might sour their friendship.

My thoughts:

If I had to label this book I would probably say: a favourite among titles containing my pet peeve. J

It is no big secret that one thing to always get my reader’s hackles up is characters not communicating with each other when just a few words at the right time would have dealt with the issue at hand. Sure, I get that the story needs drama, and that the fact that the characters aren’t talking means the drama is high and mighty, but it infuriates me as much in books as it does in real life.

Having said that… (I bet you saw this coming) I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even while I wanted to smash Angel and Dare’s heads together in order to make them see sense, I adored both of them and couldn’t help hurting with them as they ran into what they thought were obstacles.

In fact, apart from the lack of crucial communication, I loved everything in this book. Dare and Angel are sexy and charming main characters. The secondary characters surrounding them are as intriguing (and as potentially sexy), and I’m looking forward to reading their stories. Seriously though, what’s not to love: A rock band with sexy band members, a sweet yet torturous love story and a trip to Bali? If those ingredients don’t spell out wonderful read, I don’t know what else you might be looking for.

Sexy times play a huge role in this story. And when I say ‘sexy’ I mean ‘steaming hot’. Dare’s introduction to experiences and feelings he’d been denying himself for far too long was as beautiful as it was arousing. Angel sure knows how to turn on his seductive charms and over the course of this book he managed to hook both Dare and me. J

Overall this was a fast paced, fascinating and very hot read. I’ll have to read more books by Z. Allora in the not too distant future. Clearly I’ve been missing out.