REVIEW: Bar Back by J.J. Massa

Bar Back by J.J. Massa
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Spoilers

Bar Back is a short story of a bartender (possibly the bar's owner) wooing his fellow worker. The story is told from the bartender's perspective in 1st POV.

The story was weird in not naming the characters. Obviously, the story propose itself as erotica...but even erotica should have their characters named. So in my mind I set the bartender as Person A and his co-worker as Person B.

The reason I did not like Bar Back was because Person B was committing infidelity with Person A. I didn't hold bad feeling against Person A because he just wanted sex. I do hold it against Person B for not breaking up with his boyfriend because both preferred to be the bottom. Instead, Person B decide to satisfy his sexual predilection through infidelity. And infidelity to me is not sexy. Thus the sex scene of Person A topping Person B failed to excite me.

Moreover, I didn't get why Person B looked afraid of Person B after the sex. Whatever Person A got, i.e. understood, I did not.

Bar Back held no appeals to me. Despite the no naming thing, the writing seem solid.

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REVIEW: Firebug by Kate Roman

Firebug by Kate Roman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Long Review, Spoilers

In Firebug, Gareth investigates a string of arson fires that bedevils the city of New Eddington. As he dig deeper, he soon uncover a conspiracy that not only will destroy the entire city but start another colonial war. Sounds exciting but reading it wasn't.

We know straight-off that Firebug is a not mystery story because the first chapter shows Judge Barrington blackmailing scientist Theodore Molen to do something evil for him. In mystery novels, the villain is always revealed at the end, not at the beginning. From the second chapter to the end, the story is told in 3rd POV from Gareth's perspective as Gareth attempts to find who the villains are that the reader already knows. Not a huge problem if Gareth wasn't such an inept investigator which causes the first half of the story to be a dreary read.

The pacing of the story was slow because, except for the fire that introduces Cole to Gareth, the first half had nothing exciting happened. Instead of focusing on the crimes and saving more people from dying, the first half of the story had Gareth wooing Cole. Talk about the lack of priorities. I guess this was the author's way of setting up the romance before testing the couple's love with trials by fire, literally.

Even so, I thought the romance was weak. Homosexuality is a crime in the story so Gareth couldn't meet-greet potential lovers out in the open. Gareth met Cole only by chance in a gambling den (pun intended). With one look at Cole's eyes and a really good gaydar, he knew Cole would swing his way. I did not consider a closet gay happy finding another closet gay much of a romance. This makes me think Gareth and Cole only like each other because beside each other they don't know anyone else who is gay.

Fortunately, things to start heat up in the last half of the story but this only made the story slightly less irritating. Gareth's secret informant became his assailant when the guy realizes Gareth wasn't helpful in destroying the arsonists. *snort* Gareth only revealed the conspiracy behind the fires to Cole when Cole rescued him from a burning building. This made me smack my forehead that Gareth didn't recruit Cole, a FIREFIGHTER, earlier.

Now, Gareth not telling the police made sense because the author established the city-government to be similar to communist Soviet Union. The government preaches the common people being important while oppresses anyone who dare to speak out against them. Gareth, being a newspaper editor, knows this all too well. Nonetheless, I still thought Gareth was too stupid to not ask for help when Gareth obviously felt so incapable to do anything.

Beside Cole, Gareth had many people he could've ask for help. Had he ask his good friend Theodore, Theodore could've told Gareth the Judge Barrington was evil mastermind and was forcing Theodore to develop a bad-ass weapon. Had he ask the Countess (not a friend, but definitely not loyal to the bad "Reform" government, and being the owner of gambling den gives her connection the underworld), the Countess could've told Gareth the two guys who were setting the fires and that Judge Barrington was the evil mastermind. Kint was police but by the passion he pursue the criminals it was clear that Kint wasn't part of Judge Barrington's evil plan, so Gareth could have even ask Kint for help.

Hell, the only person who had real grasp of the entire situation was the Countess and she was only a supporting character. Only by her help did Gareth and Cole managed to escape. She's one of the few things I like about Firebug. Why did she dressed in men's clothes? Why is she spying for the King? What happened to her soldier-son that made her turned against the revolutionaries?

Beside Gareth being incompetent, Cole made no sense to me. I did not understand why he walked off from Gareth's house when he should've been recovering. Was he suffering PTSD from his time as a soldier? And as a firefighter, shouldn't he report back or something? All I got was that Cole was somewhat suicidal.

What made the story steampunk was the firebug— a big, spider-like, steam-powered machine in which the firefighters sit inside to fight fires. I got confused when Cole and Kint accused Gareth of being a firebug. It took me a while to realize that firebug also meant an arsonist. For such an important word, being the title of the story and all, I wish the author made "firebug" mean one thing only and not give it dual definitions.

The ending left me quite dissatisfied. New Eddington got burned. The villains got away with their newly-invented bad-ass weapon. And another colonial war might get started. The author ended Firebug on an optimistic note with Gareth and Cole alive, still in love, on a ship to alert the Crimean King of the bad-ass weapon. But eh. There were too many missed opportunities that the heroes could've stopped the villains. I would've like the story had the characters were more sensible and smarter. I rate Firebug 2 stars for it-was-okay.

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REVIEW: The Ascension by Max Griffin

The Ascension by Max Griffin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Spoilers

If you're looking for a mm-romance, this story isn't it. It may have a gay couple shagging each other, but it could as well have been a het-couple. No, this story is like one of those scary stories told around the campfire or a Halloween fright-party. Fans of the TV show "The Twilight Zone" or "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" or possibly even "The X-Files" may find The Ascension to be right up their alley.

Gabe and Luke are not likeable characters. I didn't like Luke because he was such a douchebag, always insulting people, especially Gabe when Gabe make mistakes or does something clumsy. Already from the start of the story, I'm questioning why Gabe is with Luke...hot sex seem to be the only reason. I didn't like Gabe for drug use, unbeknownst to Luke, because I just generally dislike people with drug addiction whether it's in fantasy or reality.

The story is simple: two couple plans to vacation in the mountain until shit happens and out of nowhere a stranger helps them. The stranger—Aristotle Mann provides them shelter that ever so conveniently contain medical facilities. Already it's suspicious that such a place exist on the mountain that no one knows about, it's even more suspicious for the place to have a "robust medical facilities". Already ideas like a secret military base or terrorist camp or a mad-scientist hideout run through my mind. Whatever is going on, it can't be good.

Weird things happen as Gabe attempts to uncover Aristotle's real purpose. The Ascension mirrors a similar suspense from The Island of Dr. Moreau. Despite the drug addiction, Gabe grew on me as he show enough smart to GTFO—Get The Fuck Out.

Near the end, we find out aliens are capturing humans to make drugs. Think Colombian cartels but from outer space. The captured humans serve a more nefarious purpose than just slave labor, they use humans as a container to mix the chemicals to make the crank. Thus the modified human blood becomes the drug that they sell to alien junkies. I felt a sense of irony that it was junkie Gabe who insisted to GFTO. I guess even the sixth sense of a junkie was good enough to alert Gabe the presence of drug-runners however alien.

With some help from a "sympathetic" human psychopath employed by the bad aliens, Gabe and Luke successfully made their dangerous escape. They ended up in a real hospital where it was discovered that Gabe was junkie...except Luke is denying that the alien drug-running ever happened and that it was just Gabe hallucinating. Was it all just a crank-fueled dream?

No...too bad Gabe failed to realizes that the aliens have turned Luke into one of their human psychopaths. They were doomed from the moment they came upon Aristotle...*cue evil theme music*

Memo to self: when your relative/lover/friend is forcibly isolated off in a mysterious medical facility on some hidden military-looking place, accept them as dead and GFTO quickly. I rate The Ascension 3 for I-like-it.

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REVIEW: Again by Mary Calmes

Again by Mary Calmes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Spoilers

A Harlequin-like story. Instead of a baby-mommmy story, it's a baby-daddy story. The alpha-guy isn't a millionaire, billionaire, sheik, king, prince, CEO, etc... he's CIA...

Dislike 1: The plot device of having the current boyfriend to be a total douchebag so that the protagonist can move on to love their supposed-soulmate guilt-free. Often used in Harlequin and Harlequin-esque romances.

But was Keith really a douchebag? I mean, both Keith and Noah knew the relationship was not exclusive. I would goes as far to say Keith wasn't even a boyfriend but a sex buddies to Noah. (They may not had anal sex, but oral sex is still sex.) The only "wrong" I can see was Keith using their hotel room when Grace (Noah's kid) is present to shag someone else.

And why did Noah bother to apologize to Keith once Keith realizes Noah basically did the same thing — "cheating" on Keith with Dante? Seriously. I think author was forcing the story to make Keith the bad guy. I rather had the author give Noah and Keith an amicable breakup...Hell, it wasn't even a breakup since there wasn't a commitment from the start. I don't understand why it was so hard for Noah to admit that they were doing the friends-with-benefit deal.

Like 1: Dante.

Some people thought he was too pushy, but I like his alpha-tude. And it made sense to me because after five years discovering that it was all just a Big Misunderstanding (another overused plot device), he did not want to lose the opportunity to reunite with Noah, especially when it also meant losing Grace, his own daughter. He wanted no chance for failure.

Dislike 2: The Big Misunderstanding plot device. When breaking up with someone, do it face to face, literally listing the reasons for the breakup. Otherwise, this would lead to the Big Misunderstanding where each assume something wrong about the other.

In this story, it was Noah assuming Dante loves Cassandra because he did not know their kiss was an act as part of their CIA job. And Dante assuming Noah didn't love him anymore because of some false letters. Had they brokeup face to face, they would have realize Beck, Dante's boss, was screwing them both.

Like 2: Family.

I like how family was the backdrop for the entire story with Noah's sister getting married and Dante's family vacationing for their reunion.

Overall, this was a sweet and short story. 4 stars for a I-really-like-it.

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REVIEW: Empath by Axel J. Moeller

Empath by Axel J. Moeller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Long Review, Spoilers

Empath is a simple story of two mages falling in love and fighting bigotry.

Orphaned and deeply religious, Zonal is a Wanderer (the story's term for mage) with a strong empath talent who get craps thrown at him most of the entire plot. The story even starts off with Zonal trudging through rain, wearing a useless magical cloak, being burdened with a lame horse. Fast forward, Zonal gets tortured, magically mutilated, kidnapped, brainwashed, and magical mutilated again. Fortunately, the scenes were not graphically depicted. The author written it so the readers would feel tear-jerkingly bad for Zonal but not to the point of macabre.

Todd is a levelheaded Wanderer with a talent for teleportation. He irritates Zonal the first time they met, but they quickly fall in love. Their first time together in bed created a soulbond, which surprisingly made the story a soulmates-themed romance. I was dumbfounded that almost everyone except the couple knew they have a soulbond. It wasn't until late in the story that a high-lord Wanderer told Zonal of the divine connection.

Zonal and Todd are apart in much of the plot, with Zonal facing his inner demons and Todd on an assassination mission. Two wars are going on, a sword-and-shield one against a rogue Baron (who we later found out is a self-hating gay) and a political one against a group of religious fanatics. In a kingdom that relies heavily on magical might, the anti-magic relic the rogue Baron possessed makes the perfect defense. The Church (nonmagical believers) and the Legion (magical believers, the order of the Wanderers) have always been at odd. So when a Wanderer—Zonal is seen praying at a Church, some religious fanatics saw an opportunity to convert the Wanderer to their side...by whatever means.

If you're looking for a cute and sweet romance, look elsewhere. The story focused on homophobia and religious intolerance. The story was black and white because it was apparent who the enemies and friends were—the bad guys were totally bad, and the good guys really good. Though the story was political in nature, it didn't felt forced because there weren't any sermon or lecture. The politic were in the actions with friends accepting the couple and the enemies killing them.

You think a war story with homophobia and religious intolerance would be violent and vicious, but the fantasy was very tamed. Even as our heroes were facing dangers, both physical and psychologically, I never felt any dread. Somehow, someway, I always felt that Zonal and Todd were going to make it.

A small gripe I have was the magical system the author set up. The author was not clear on the classification of paranormal abilities. Apparently telekinesis and empathy are mental powers, but pyrokinesis and teleportation are magic. What was the difference between magic and mental?

And there is the soul-bond which is neither magical nor mental because it is divine, a gift from the Goddess that everyone believes in. Since it's divine, this makes soul-bond potentially the greatest weapon anyone can have. The soul-bond is the crux of the story because it is what allows the good guys to win against the anti-magic relic, the brainwashing, and ultimately the wars.

Empath contains a simple message: bigotry is bad, love conquers all. I give this story 3 stars for an I-like-it.

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REVIEW: A Weapon of Opportunity by Kiernan Kelly

A Weapon of Opportunity by Kiernan Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Spoilers

I like this but I didn't really like the ending even though it was HEA. Sure, David came back and reunited with Hunter...but he's still a ghost! What happened to the issue of David being dead and Hunter aging as time goes by while dead David still look the same? Is it possible to have a future with a ghost as a lover? At the same time, I'm conflicted because I despise bittersweet stories and I didn't want David to be gone. I do want David back with Hunter, but I wanted David back as a living, breathing person. I wanted David to find some comatose person whose soul is gone and take over the body and then have that be the new David.

The story mainly focused on David as he help Hunter find the murderer. This was not a detective story but rather a paranormal suspense novel because we find out who the murderer is halfway through the story. True detective novels reveal the perp at the climax near the end of the story, like the second to last chapter, as the perp attempts to escape or commit whatever foul deed. Moreover, it's usually the detective who does the most detecting, not the their ghost sidekick. In this story, it was the reverse and Hunter was David's human sidekick. As someone who reads alot of paranormal mystery, it was refreshing to read from the ghost's perspective.

Despite the dissatisfaction I have with the ending, having Hunter adopting Cooper and creating a family with David was a sweet touch.

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REVIEW: Signed and Sealed by B.A. Stretke

Signed and Sealed by B.A. Stretke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Slight Spoilers

Holy Hell! A mm-romance that's your standard Harlequin romance! Aaaaaaa!
.
.
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/crazyfanmoment

If you don't like Harlequin or you don't like western romance, move on. If you like at least either one of them, this book may be your cup of tea. I don't care for western romance but I do occasionally read Harlequin and the sort. What can I say? I'm a sucker for those baby mama stories. =P

Instead of a chick, it's two guys with dicks, one being all alpha-you-better-listen-to-me and the other I'm-a-good-guy-with-a-lonely-heart. This is a romance and not erotica, because there are only three mundane sex scenes to tug the heart.

Disregarding my the 5-stars rating I gave the book, Signed and Sealed does have its flaws. IMO, flaws are inherent in Harlequin or Harlequin-esque stories.

Gripes

I have a few gripes with the plot. I wished Will would have phoned his lawyer the moment Katrina pulled him into another of her gold-digging scheme. That should have been his first warning if not the phone-call from Eli at the start of the story. I wished he would have done so especially when Eli demanded Will to stay in exchange for Katrina's freedom. Two words: illegal imprisonment. Well, almost. Will only agreed to stay because Eli threatened to sue and take away Will's home. Wake up! Your sister accused you of being an accomplice to her gold-digging scheme, there's a guy threatening to sue you because of her, and you're not calling your lawyer?!? I get Will was hesistant to call his lawyer because then Will will have to deal with the loss of his parents again, but come on! I thought the imminent threat of homelessness would have beatdown the grief of family death of two years ago.

Another impossible thing was how Eli was able to get his hand on Will's safety deposit box that his parents left for him in their will. A safety deposite box filled jewel heirlooms and the deed to ancestral land. Apparently, Will's lawyer trusted Eli enough to for Eli to give it to Will...uh, what? Seriously? Maybe the reason why Will didn't call his lawyer is because his lawyer is a crappy one. WTF happened to lawyer-client privilege?

Moreover, I thought the three tests Eli gave to Will for proof of duplicity were too apparent. A credit card with a thousands of dollar limit, a dubious marriage proposal, and access to Eli's bank account. A big reason why gold-diggers are so dangerous is because they're sneaky. It's not until AFTER the marriage AND several stack of bills later that you'll find out she/he is a gold-digger. The other kind of gold-diggers, the ones who are so obvious you have to be blind and deaf and retarded, are not dangerous because their rich lovers know what they're getting into. Hugh Hefner, the face of Playboy, is one such example. Yeah, those young, hot girls really love Hugh for his look and personality. /sarcasm. So I thought those tests Eli gave didn't really prove or disprove anything other than Will's intelligence.

Nonetheless, these plotholes didn't break the story for me. It was pretty much the standard it-is-this-way-for-convenience-to-make-good-drama Harlequin always throw around. Like I said, if you don't like Harlequin and similar romances, then you will not like this story at all. A possible gripe people might have is how the setting of the story—rural Montana was so liberal, i.e. pretty much everyone were all into gay-acceptance. Realism, thy name is not Signed and Sealed, especially not in Harlequin. I tend to avoid the contemporary subgenere of mm-romance because of this, so I was all for having a setting where romance is main issue, not sexuality or social acceptance or civil rights blah blah blah. Not My Thing, I like reading Harlequin remember? Of course, there's only so much suspension of belief a reader can handle, but this story didn't irritate me with its plotholes of convenience.

Characters

I love Will and his vulnerability. I usually loathe goody-two-shoes characters, but Will's personality of being levelheaded (the lawyers thing aside) was refreshing. Eli was always testing Will and provoking him that I was delightfully suprised Will didn't throw a temper tantrum the entire time—I sure as hell would have. I'm suprised Will even managed to stay the entire time that Eli forced upon him. I also like how there were no slut-shaming that is often prevalent in Harlequin romance. But that's most likely because Will was male not female. No double-standard here.

I like Eli, he's your typical aplha male. Beneath that rough-and-tough exterior lies a heart of gold that cares deeply for family and friends. Hot sexy cowboy. The man all the ladies and gay laddies want. Eli may have been stereotypical but he wasn't dull. It was compelling to see him so conflicted between testing Will because he's the brother of a gold-digger and wanting Will because he's may be The One.

Overall

If I can change one thing about the story, I wish the ending would have extend after the wedding and in the honeymoon. Signed and Sealed gets a five from me (because it's the first Harlequin-esque mm-romance book I ever read, so there =P).

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REVIEW: Myths and Magic: Legends of Love edited by Anne Regan

Myths and Magic: Legends of Love edited by Anne Regan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Spoilers

The 1002nd Arabian Nights Tale
2/5. Fantasy. So Princess Sceherazade was a guy...and Sultan Shariyar realized his homosexuality after executing wife after wife until he married a wife—the "Princess"— who was a really a guy after "she" told a homoerotic story. What? O.o

A Fairy in His Bed
2/5. Urban Fantasy. I didn't get it, what's with Daniel thinking Quinn's a slave? Did it ever occur Daniel to just ask Quinn point-blank if Quinn wanted to stay with Daniel out Quinn's own free-will?

Kissing the Dragon
1/5. Urban Fantasy. Didn't care for Bao at all. You would think I would relate to him considering somewhat similar childhood experience, but unlike him I don't hate my own heritage...I'm just indifferent to it. =P It's a big difference. LOL. Beside that, I detest protag who have low self-esteem. Only thing I like about this story was Abner.

Something Pipeth Like a Bird
2/5. Fantasy. Humorous story. Would have liked it if there was a graphic sex scene... because I'm a perv? =d

Greenleaf's Blessing
1/5. Fantasy. Though this story ended up on a HFN note, somehow it felt more like a set up to a really tragic story, i.e. like this was the prologue of a really long and convulated story.

On Wild Wings
2/5. Fantasy. A simple Disney-esue story.

The Sower and the Reaper
1/5. Sci-Fi. Kinky. Not a romance. Did the scientists who made Ozzie a god knew Ozzie would need to shag one of his worshippers so that Ozzie can use his godly power to its full extent? Anyway, this was a bittersweet story.

The One
2/5. A nice story but the ending was somewhat unsatisfying because it left a small possibility that the couple might not escape the hunters. I would have like it to end when Rylan and Thorin found their sanctuary, build a home, and cuddled in bed together.

Of Genies and Monsters
3/5. A very funny story. I can actually imagine a novel of a sequel to this story.

The Wild Hunt
2/5. A sweet story but it ended on a bittersweet note even though it was HEA. I dislike the riding into the sunset ending, and in this story it was riding into the midnight ending.

The Light of Foreign Places
1/5. Fantasy. Where did the couple ended up? I didn't get this story, and didn't like either character really.. =/

Night and Day
2/5. Urban Fantasy. I would have like this story except it was written in the 2nd POV which was irritating. I like the world-building in the story, reminded me of mainstream UF novels. I like how the author set up the Greek pantheon to be forgotten gods and now rendered as only supernatural beings, though still powerful, living among humankind.

The Flower Boy
3/5. Urban Fantasy. Not a romance. So frigging rare to see Urban Fantasy utilizing eastern mythology. Ugg. Point to this story for having something fresh. Kissing the Dragon doesn't count 'cause I didn't like it. I rarely like bittersweet stories but this one is done right. The sex scene was written so beautifully that it took me a while to realize that Lan didn't have to shag Philip for Philip to reunite with his father. Maybe it was payment for granting Philip's wish? Eh, whatever, it's a nice story. Gentle sex with a hot-looking god is not such a bad way to pay.

Overall...
2/5 for the anthology. Read it once, and don't care to read it again.

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REVIEW: Shadowflame by Dianne Sylvan

Shadowflame by Dianne Sylvan
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Spoilers

I have mixed feelings for this book. I liked that the book wasn't predictable, that a mainstream UF have LGBT characters that actually play a big role instead of being a gal-pal's BFF, that the author had no qualm killing off characters. Yet I was totally pissed off about David's infidelity.

You think Miranda would dump his ass but it's too bad she can't—she would die. Seriously. Because of the stupid soulmate bond, if she even spend three days without close physical contact with David, both of them will suffer anguish. And three days is stretching it. I guess the moral of the story is: just because you're soulmates doesn't mean he can't still cheat on you. Poor Miranda.

However unlike other reviewers, I do not believe the author plotted this hugely distasteful subplot to piss off the readers. In short life is unfair, even if you're undead. The author beat down the message that the vampire world is a harsh world. Being a vamp may makes you immortal, but it doesn't stop your ass from being staked...or poverty in one paragraph where it was stressed any sensible vampire should learn the stock-trade. And when you got an eternity to live, it's not within the realm of impossibility to find other people you might love, regardless of the "soulmate" bond. Vampires are not humans, not anymore. This isn't happy-vampy Twilight.

The only redeeming thing about David's infidelity is that it was very realistic for him to still have feelings for Devin. It always seem so hugely convenient in some soulmates-themed romance for the lovers to forget about their past partners as if they never happened. No way am I excusing him for his infidelity, let's call it for what he is: he's an asswipe. Nonetheless, I'm still pissed off. Even as I understand what the author is plotting and why she's plotting it, it doesn't necessarily mean I have to like it—I don't. =( It's always a huge gamble for an author to deal with a touchy subject such as infidelity.

Even with all the crap Miranda has been dealt with, it's amazing she's still not a Debbie-downer. I'm loving how Miranda has little problem using her power to deal what needs to be done, unlike LKH's Anita Blake who bitches and moans every time she uses her succubus power (even in self-defense!).

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REVIEW: Into the Lion's Den by Tionne Rogers

Into the Lion's Den by Tionne Rogers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If anyone's buying this, don't forget to use Lulu's coupon code: http://www.retailmenot.com/view/lulu.com I managed to get 20% off. =d

CAUTION: Spoilers

The Substitute and Into the Lion's Den are two versions of the same love story. Into the Lion's Den (ItLD) is the what-if of Guntram meeting Repin first instead of Konrad. You can read either version first, but reading both will resolve a few loose-ends that weren't satisfied with one version of the story alone.

Though Guntram suffered worse events in ItLD, he got a better ending than the one in The Substitute (TS). Guntram was free to love Konrad as an equal partner while keeping his independence intact. Readers might argue that Guntram got the same thing in TS, but I remain unconvinced that Konrad will keep his promise of allowing Guntram his independence at the end. It was too convenient for Konrad to have the consort-ring in his pocket to give to Guntram after Konrad supposedly accepted to Guntram breaking up with him. I believe he falsely accepted the breakup to make Guntram realize his love for Konrad. Basically he manipulated Guntram all the way to the story's end for him to love Konrad again. In ItLD, Guntram is truly independent in the sense that Guntram had the option to leave Konrad and remain alive. Sure, he got the same option in TS near the end but in ItLD his chances of surviving the break-up with Konrad (in the literal sense) is alot higher because Guntram's father protects him. Yes, in this version, his father is well and alive.

I like that Guntram's father is alive because he was the only sensible one. By sensible I mean only he seem to think Guntram is wacko for continually loving two mob-bosses. Readers got to know the reason why his father gave Guntram up to Konrad after the de Lisle's attempted take-over of the Order. This is one example of the loose-ends that wasn't satisfactorily resolved in TS. Also in TS, Guntram suffered the loss of his family for most of the story, in more ways than one, almost to the point of leaving Konrad forever. In ItLD, he got one of them back, the one that actually cares for him.

However, what the story gains in this version and it lost in TS. ItLD didn't have the same emotional connection between Konrad and Guntram with readers, that is there were more romance in TS than ItLD. ItLD didn't have the twins as young boys doing all sort of mischief. They were good for comedy relief and gave the story its cuteness. It didn't have the French translation footnotes. There was a conversation between Guntram and Repin when they first met in chapter one that was in untranslated French. Fortunately, I took French in high school so I got the gist of what they were saying. Nonetheless, the footnotes were needed. ItLD also didn't have strong supporting characters. In TS, readers got to follow the subplots of Ferdinand & Monika, Jean Jacques & Alexei, and the others. We came to care for them as well along with Guntram and Konrad. But in ItLD, there was none of that.

However, readers do get to know what Frederich's relationship was to Konrad if they managed to catch the very subtle hint...Frederich acted as Konrad's mother in place of his actual but absent mother and it wasn't because he was the butler. It was hinted that Frederich had a more than professional relationship with Konrad's father. Seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Though there were some editing errors in ItLD, it was alot less than the edition of TS that I read (I think it was the 1st). There was nothing major that would distract readers, or at least me, and thus was largely tolerable. Errors included the sometime misuse of apostrophe, mistaking "sensible lad" for "sensitive lad", and mistaking an "on time" for an "in time" in the first paragraph.

Though TS was a more compelling story, I slightly prefer ItLD because it had a better ending for Guntram. Even though I dislike Guntram for his head-banging-on-wall naivety, I still wish the best for him. Here, there was less angst, although it might have what made TS so compelling.

On a sidenote, I wish Repin got killed for the way he treated people around Guntram. Don't know why Guntram still considered Repin as kind when Repin basically murdered everyone who flirted with Guntram. Hence the head-banging-on-wall naivety... Konrad is only better in that department, but not by much. This version only reinforces my belief that Konrad was the lesser evil of the two when it comes to loving Guntram.

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