A HUNDRED LONELY HALLOWEENS by Ari McKay

Publisher: Torquere
Date published: 11/12/14
ISBN: NA
MM Paranormal Halloween
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=4311
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 3



Micah Harrison has worked hard and made plenty of money in Silicon Valley. Now he’s following his dream of living in the Great Smoky Mountains. Of course, the house he’s bought needs a lot of work done on it. It’s most definitely a fixer-upper. It also came with a ghost, but Micah just finds the man from the past intriguing.


This is a good little story with a very nice twist at the end. For a while, it seems as though the end is going to be predictable, but Ms. McKay pulls a neat rabbit out of her hat in the nick of time.
Micah is an interesting character and while we aren’t shown a lot about him, the way he handles the ghost and his house renovations is revealing enough for the reader to like him. The ghost is a fascinating character as well, and readers will relate to his story.

The publisher’s blurb includes a spoiler, which really annoyed me. I hope Ms. McKay gets it taken down and rewrites it very soon. The publisher/editor/marketing guru should never have let the book hit point of sale with the blurb as it stands. There were also a handful of grammatical errors which should have been caught on the way through as well, but they aren’t as critical as fixing the blurb.
Overall this is an intriguing little MM story, which includes one very mild sex scene. The characters and setting make it worth giving the book a read. I always enjoy finding something that’s just a tad different.


This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

CALL OF THE NIGHT SINGERS by Ari McKay

Publisher: Torquere Press
Date published: 03/19/14
ISBN: 978-1-61040-667-3
MM Paranormal Historical
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=4150
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 4

Garland Heatherford and Geoffrey Wainwright have managed to develop a close relationship as live-in lovers despite the mores of the time when they live. But Garland becomes his elderly uncle’s heir and has to spend time with him. Garland is worried about this because the last five heirs, all young and healthy, have died. Geoffrey goes with him.


This is an excellent story told in an olde worlde style fitting for the period in which it takes place, the very end of the nineteenth century. Homosexuality is still frowned on, and even illegal in some places, yet the men have managed to build a special relationship. There is no sex on stage, but they kiss and hold hands and their emotional connection is very clear and heartwarming.

The story is told at a slightly slower pace that suits the era, and adds to the spookiness of the decrepit old house and strange old man inhabiting it. It’s written in Geoffrey’s POV, and that also suits the era, in that we’re left wondering about some of the family history that Garland would know. The story unfolds steadily with some nice little gasp-making moments and a very cleverly unpredictable yet believable reason behind it. Kudos to the author for that.

An excellent spooky story, a little sinister in places but not really ghoulish, with nicely written suspense throughout. Very cleanly produced as well and with a delightfully creepy cover.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

CARIBBEAN BLUES by Ari McKay

Publisher: Torquere Press

Date published: 01/30/13

ISBN: 978-1-61040-427-3

MM Erotic

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

Weblink: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=3801

Obtained via publisher

 

Jon Lawson knows it was his fault his romance fell apart, but he’d been wanting to go on this Caribbean vacation for so long he decides to go anyway. Alone. On arrival he cancels all the reservations and bookings he’d made except for the dolphin tour. He’s loved dolphins since he was a small boy. His guide is Derrick Mason, and not only does Jon fall in love with the dolphins, but he also falls for Derrick as well.

The entire book is in Jon POV and although I usually much prefer the other main character to have at least one scene in their POV in even a short story, in this case it works because we become totally enthralled with Jon and his doubts and uncertainties, his hopes and fears, and his view of the vacation. Jon has been derided, under-appreciated and stomped on all through his life by everyone who matters to him except his brother. He never lived up to his parents’ ambitions for him, he has bad luck (or bad taste) in partners, and he’s a rather ordinary sort of person. Just like everyone else really.

And that’s the strength of the story. The reader can relate to an ordinary person falling in love with someone very special but feeling not worthy of them, and scared and inhibited by what everyone else has told them for their entire life. That makes the book extremely powerful and the ending even more realistic and effective than the reader may have expected.

Great characters including the minor characters and the dolphins too, cleanly presented, excellent twist to the story, and hints for a sequel. I’m sure I’ll be among the majority of readers in urging Ms. McKay to get busy writing the sequel.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.