This Tumblr right here collects stories of all of the terrible Dominants out there that give Dom/mes everywhere a bad name.

On the surface it’s a hilarious collection of convos gone wrong with faux Doms, but beneath the surface it’s a pretty miserable affair. People are such assholes.

So this kind of stuff is exactly why the MC in The Subs Club, David, sets up a website where subs can rate the Doms they played with, and call out those who  didn’t play safe. Ever since one of David’s close friends died during a breath play scene in a club, he and his other friends are trying to find a balance between making BDSM into a safety school special and playing as wild and vicariously as they'd like. Complicating factor is that David’s ability to trust Doms died along with his friend. His favorite club deciding to give the Dom that he holds accountable for that death a second chance, doesn’t help either. So yeah, He’s pretty much through with all of it. Except he can’t help but notice...

PORNSTACHE.

Yep!

Just came across this on twitter.

You know how with some books it’s hard to pinpoint why it worked so well for you or didn’t work at all? Dark Economy is not one of those books. It has strong pros and equally strong cons.

It starts off as a wonderful debut, and I found myself taking a curious peek at the author’s page to confirm that this is indeed her first work. The writing is witty and effortless, but above all: so enthusiastic! The fun the author had writing an early 19th century mystery about British medical student and part-time grave robber Cadell Meredith, is palpable.

What’s great too, is that you can tell that she did her research: Latin names are thrown around smartly during the MC’s pathological adventures, and the lightly touched upon debate about the ethics of medical professionals practicing their surgical skills on the deceased (and sometimes turning to stealing dead bodies out of necessity), adds a nice touch. 

Fans of her Enlightenment series will be delighted: Unnatural is a typical Chambers. It’s a mellow, inoffensive romance that thrives on gay taboo fueled UST and guilt, and is set in the Regency era. What’s more, our old friends Balfour and Lauriston make an appearance in this book. They may even be important for the plot!

I feel like prefacing this review by mentioning that I was probably one of the very few people that had a somewhat lukewarm reaction to the Enlightenment series. Although I did enjoy it as the Harlequinesque experience that it was, my perks were the same as with that popular M/F genre: the lack of originality in the story-lines and the bland, inconspicuous characters.

In that regard, Unnatural wasn’t a spectacular read either. But it has angst and longing, sweep-you-off-your-feet love declarations and all that other sweet vanilla fudge with caramel swirls stuff that will warm your heart, and make you root for the haunted heroes.

...after only one year in school.

I'd really love to read this book and, overestimating my German, bought it. But although I can follow the bigger picture, the nuances are lost on me. *sad panda face*

I suppose I can always stare.

PERSEVERANCE. Hah! So I managed to read this after all by buddy reading it from my computer with my friend Google Translate.

Was it worth it? Well..

Balian is the type of guy that goes through life with a swagger. He likes sports, fast cars, women, some more women, and I'm sure he's got himself a pretty big dick.

Good for him!

What you take away from this book depends on what your motive is for picking it up. It’s a goldmine of information if you want to learn more about what it means to be F to M trans. It must be a feast of recognition if you are trans. For me, it was dropped in my lap at a perfect moment in my life. This is currently  a ‘hot topic’ in my immediate environment, resulting in endless discussions that are a peculiar mixture of excitement, concerns, humor, anxiety, crude jokes and desperation.

This book saw the light because the authors realized that there were many pieces of information lacking in available narratives about how others experience transition in different aspects of their daily life, beyond the most-often discussed medical transition. Finding Masculinity attempts to find the answers to questions like ‘how does transitioning to a masculine-identified person affect how we approach the world?, ‘how does this process impact our relationships’, ‘and what about our careers and our families’?

I’m amazed by and thankful for the willingness of transgender people to put themselves out there on the internet via YouTube, FB groups, and in this book. They share their struggles and successes with a mostly ignorant world. But above else with others that have not/only just yet embarked on their personal journey after having walked around with a sense of unease, a feeling of not belonging in the body that’s assigned to them. This book makes crystal clear that for many trans folks the road to becoming the gender they were all along is not without fear and concerns about how coming out as trans will affect their family, friends, health and career.

India made it a crime to be gay.

4 years after its anti-gay law was suspended, the Supreme Court has turned back the clock. Every gay person in India is now in danger of jail, blackmail or worse.

This is sickening and heartbreaking. Please SIGN THE PETITION and consider donating.

All Out is actually one of my favorite organizations to support. They work so hard to mobilize millions of people to build a world where no person will have to sacrifice their family or freedom, safety or dignity, because of who they are or who they love.

It's maddening. It feels like with every step we take forward in this world, we take two steps back. :'(

The cold December month begs for hot chocolate, slightly yellowed paperbacks and the Red Ship Raiders to brutalize the Six Duchies, while a young bastard rescues a wolf pup...

With the exciting news of a brand new series about Fitz & the Fool, The Fool's Assassin, in mind, we are buddy reading The Farseer, Tawny Man and -- my personal favorite -- The Liveship Traders trilogy the upcoming months over at Goodreads. Give a yell if you'd like to join. ^^

Yup, I'm all set! (for some funky reason, I'd feel weird about reading Robin Hobb on my Kindle, so I got the entire series in English paperbacks too :p (shame I couldn't find the ones with John Howe's art!). 'Real' books, yes. Which means that I have to hunt for clues with sticky notes close by (pink ones for homo-erotic hints, hehe)

Sigh. I missed Fitz.

Not long after I had discovered my new favorite freefic wiriter, Orbiting Jupiter, I discovered that she had disappeared. Vanished. Her last story was published in 2009 and after that no one heard from her again...

But now she's back! And she talks to us about why she disappeared off the face of the earth, why she’d be embarrassed if the people in her life read her stories, the appeal of forbidden love, a sequel to ‘It’s Like This’ and moving into darker and dirtier territory…

Please drop by to check out our interview with this awesome freefic writer!

Warning: this book contains puppies.

From repulsion to attraction: Earth’s magnetic pole reversal has got nothing on my reaction to BDSM! No wonder, the few times I was confronted with people in the lifestyle, it was through sensational TV programs, that displayed it as something from a cabinet of curiosities. I can still recall watching this particularly cringe-worthy documentary as a teen, in which an elderly couple displayed an impressive collection of crops, while their leather, piercings and wrinkled skin contrasted oddly with a porcelain kittens and crocheted doilies filled working-class house. And let’s not forget the voice-over: “During the day Marcel and Dolly work on the assembly line in a toothpaste factory. But at night they wear their kinky harnesses with pride and Marcel gets spanked when he’s been naughty boy”. Didn’t doubt for a second that I would never understand BDSM.

A few years of more nuanced information and tons of excellent BDSM themed books later, I’m happy to say that I not only understand it – more or less – I’m hooked on it. And what a week this has been at Boys in our Books! How awesome that popular authors took their time to explain why BDSM works for them. Lisa Henry was one of those authors and in her post she referred to ‘The Good Boy’.

Oi! I’m sure my UK based friends will snort at this confession, but the scones and English Breakfast tea that I had bought especially for a dreary November afternoon on the sofa with The Student Prince, made reading this truly and thoroughly British book an even more dorktastic experience. Repeat after me, my pillocks: fanfic is free, fabulous and few published fics are more fantastic!

An ode to fanfic!

...an ode to this free stuff that you have to hunt for in obscure corners of the internet. Diamonds, both polished and in the rough, that are hidden away on websites that looked fine in the late 90’s. That thrill of adrenalin when you’ve finally found a website that lets you either download your preferred format or export to Flagfic (does the L in Flagfic really serve a purpose?). The excitement when the link to a blurb you fancy is not broken and not for a WIP…and suddenly you find yourself bouncing up and down screaming: OMG JARETH THE GOBLIN KING DITCHES THE BABY FOR A TWINK?! and DEREK AND STILES AS PORN STARS?!, ARTHUR WANTS TO SEE WHAT MERLIN'S MAGIC WARD CAN DO??

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Today's FREEFIC WEEK work of choice is my favorite series, "In the Company of Shadows". 

Stop by the blog and check out:

My review of the series  

An interview with the coauthors Ais & Santino 

An exclusive cover reveal of the soon-to-be rereleased volumes of book 1, Evenfall