Kiernan Kelly

Ozmosis by Dakota Chase
Mad About the Hatter series #2. Fantasy M-M romance. YA. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series. Closed door.
Henry and Hatter find a group of flying monkeys and they help them get back to Oz.
Henry knows all about Oz from the books he’s read multiple times. But not everything is the same. After the Dorothy, the Destroyer killed two of the Wicked Witches of Oz, there is an imbalance in the land between good and evil. Glinda sets Henry and Hatter to the task of finding a new evil for Oz.

Flying monkeys, the yellow brick road, emeralds so bright sunglasses are needed, the lion, tin man and scarecrow. Everything you’d expect in Oz except it’s all a little skewed. Things have changed. Hatter doesn’t necessarily like that Henry knows so much about the place but he’s willing to help. Especially since the problems could bleed over to Wonderland. But when he almost losses his magic hat, it’s time to leave!
A fun YA adventure with little twists, turning the familiar into a new experience.

🎧 I alternated between a paperback and audiobook narrated by Joel Froomkin. The performance was marvelous and added to the overall humor in the book. Having the paperback made me appreciate the poetry and imagination of the story. I listened at 1.5.

1st book in the series is Mad About the Hatter. Henry, Alice’s brother, visits Wonderland and falls for Hatter.… (lisätietoja)

*****do not read the epilogue to keep this happy*****

Riding Heartbreak Road by Kiernan Kelly
M-M romance. Trigger warnings: hate crimes.
Jack Goodall is a bull rider touring the local circuit. He’s also prefers men but that’s not something that is shown or discussed in his small town or the rodeo yards.
Brent Miller is a businessman from New York and after a small outdoor camping encounter, wants to get to know Jack better. He doesn’t understand the need to hide their interest of each other as they attend the local bull riding competition and then go to Jack’s home for dinner.
Continuing a relationship is going to be difficult. They come from very different backgrounds and melding their lives is going to mean adjustments on both sides.

From tentative conversations to steamy encounters, from big city to ranch living, this story covers the relationship, harsh outside conflicts and internal feelings. Why do haters have to make it personal? Figuring out loving is hard work. Read a romance with an hea and feel happy for a bit. Jack and Brent get their life together.

*****spoiler DO NOT read Chapter 13, the epilogue, to keep it happy. It is sad and ruined the happy for me. Yes, more than likely real life, unfortunately. But not how I want my romance stories to end. *****… (lisätietoja)

Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

Everyone deserves to be treated with respect regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. Mr. Kelly deftly tackles the subject of homophobia in the work place in this well written short. Jackson and Alex are a modern day gay married couple with a mortgage and car payments. Life for Jackson is good until he enters the office each day. His boss, Mr. Simpson is a homophobic tyrant who treats Jackson like trash. The stress of his hostile work place soon takes its toll on Jackson's health and with the support of his husband Alex, Jackson files a grievance with the State Labor Board. I enjoyed this well written short and think that we all need to be reminded of just how unequal office policies still are for many people. I liked Jackson and felt for his plight in these poor economic times where one is afraid to quit a miserable job for fear of not being able to find another position. What I found particularly appalling was the behavior of Jackson's co-workers and their lack of support for Jackson. Mr. Kelly used a unique style when writing this story in that each major infraction against Jackson's basic rights were counted down, hence the title, until Jackson was fired. It almost gave the story the feel of a documentary. There was not much to the other characters as the story revolved around Mr. Simpson and Jackson. The message the story sent is that every person taking a stand for equal rights is a move forward. I highly recommend this moving story to everyone as you may find yourself standing in Jackson's shoes one day.… (lisätietoja)