READING: Quis Custodiet (The Administration #5) by Manna Francis

Publication date: October 1 2009
Published by: Casperian Books
Genre: MM, Adult, Dark, BDSM, Dystopian, Mystery, Sci Fi
Rating: 

No protests, no bombings, no subversion. Is it possible that in one part of the European Administration at least, almost all the citizens are happy with their lot in life? It seems unlikely. When the numbers don't add up at the Athens branch of the Investigation and Interrogation Division, Para-investigator Toreth is sent there from New London to review their procedures. With sunshine, a less-than-urgent assignment, and hosts who seem anxious to ensure that he has a good time, it seems like the perfect chance for a holiday on Administration time.

Or it would if he didn't have to leave Sara and the rest of his regular team behind. Working alone for once, as the investigation becomes more complex Toreth finds himself surrounded by people he can't trust. Worse than that, he has to leave Warrick on his own in New London, a situation further complicated by the reappearance of an old adversary.

Maybe I'm a bit biased because this story takes place in my home country and birthplace, but I loved it! Francis's depiction of Greek mentality and behaviour was spot on, and even though everyone speaks English in the Administration, the cultural identity was very distinct. 

The mystery part of the story was very well thought out, with a lot of suspense and intrigue, leaving room for a follow up book later. 

Toreth does something way out of line (must be a day of the week ending in "y") which he keeps secret from Warrick. When Warrick finds out, I expected all hell to break loose. Instead, Warrick does his best angry face for five minutes, Toreth apologises and he promises never to do such thing again (like he hasn't promised that in every book!) and he gets away with a slap on the wrist and probably a great fuck by the end of the day. 
I got so angry with Warrick who is so blinded by his love for Toreth, he doesn't realise how badly he is treated. Although sometimes, I have a feeling he, very obediently and patiently, puts up with it all because in his way he manipulates Toreth as well, he sculpts him into a better, more humane version of himself. Very, very slowly and painstakingly. 
Or he is just that submissive.
Either or. 

Loved the scene in the tub when Warrick dunked Toreth and he freaked out. Always gives me a thrill when Toreth is scared!

T:Can I use your shower?
P:I see no reason why not-since you already have my heart.

Paul, you're fab, I love you ❤️

READING: Control (The Administration #4) by Manna Francis

Publication date: May 1 2009
Published by: Casperian Books
Genre: MM, Adult, Dark, BDSM, Dystopian, Mystery, Sci Fi
Rating: 

Gaining it, keeping it, or losing it, control is more than just a game--it's a critical tool for survival. No more so than in the Administration, where the Investigation and Interrogation Division's Val Toreth faces professional and personal hazards every day. And when an attack on one of the most loyal and valued members of his investigative team makes the professional very personal indeed, Toreth finds himself entangled once more in the darker side of corporate life and crime. He'll need help, not just from his colleagues but from his "regular fuck" Keir Warrick, to make it out the other end safely.

Even away from their offices, Toreth and Warrick find that their jobs create challenges and tensions that threaten their relationship, because finding a balance is all about knowing when to keep control and when to let it go.

Love seeing Toreth scared, it's my new favourite thing! Although I have to admit, he wasn't nearly as terrified as he was in Mindfuck. In Control he was more pissed off and humiliated (They made me kneel) resigned to the idea that he was going to die because of something he did, as opposed to Mindfuck which totally took him by surprise and it was through no fault of his own. 

What surprised me though is that all this time he was kept prisoner, from the moment he was taken, to the moment he was certain they would kill him, to the moment he arrived at Warrick's, not once did he think of him. Not that he loved him and he regretted so many things he didn't say or do, no, none of that. But maybe a "I wish I could fuck Warrick one last time before I die" or something like that. Nope, not even that.
I was a bit disappointed, I'm not gonna lie but it's all my fault for expecting "romantic" like thoughts from Toreth. I should know better by now.

READING: Quid Pro Quo (The Administration #2) by Manna Francis

Publication date: May 27 2008
Published by: Casperian Books
Genre: MM, Adult, Dark, BDSM, Dystopian, Mystery, Sci Fi
Rating: 

When he agrees to do a favor for his old friend Liz Carey in Corporate Fraud, Para-investigator Val Toreth is hoping for a simple case. After all, kidnapping and dismemberment are all in a day's work for the Investigation and Interrogation Division. But in the European Administration, simplicity is often a dangerous illusion, and anyone who goes looking for trouble in the corporate world is certain to find more than they bargained for. Fraud, sabotage, espionage, blackmail, decades-long vendettas, and murder--the more powerful the corporations, the darker their secrets. Corporate insiders and innocent bystanders alike are all too easily caught up in the conflicts, but when suspects can hide behind money and power, what chance is there of any justice?

And on top of everything else, Toreth also has to deal with Keir Warrick. But that's easy. That's just sex.

The main story of the second book is Quid Pro Quo and that's what I'm going to review here, since I rated the short stories individually

QPQ is about a corporate daughter's kidnapping and how Toreth and his team are trying to solve the case . The very careful and precise structure of the story and the amount of detail that went in it, is astonishing. Every character has a reason for being there contributing to the story, as very evidence and fact of the case is important. With no romantic reprieve (Toreth's has almost no interaction with Warrick in this one) you are constantly learning new facts about the kidnapping that usually come from Toreth's team brainstorming scenes. 

For me personally it got a tad tiring in the middle, with no break from the case and most importantly no break from Toreth! The book is entirely told from his POV and let's just say it is not the easiest thing reading such a convoluted book through a sociopath's eyes. His constant false sense of superiority and the way he regards and measures other people up, is sometimes very hard to overlook. Sometimes he is such an asshole that I found it unpleasant (to say the least) being in his head all the time. 

Other than that, mystery and suspense were all there, albeit a bit clinical, but then again that's how The Administration and the corporate world is, which the more I learn about, the more disgusting I found.
I missed Warrick, I'm not going to lie, mostly because through him, Toreth looks a bit saner. Knowing that someone actually likes him and have feelings for him, makes him slightly more human. Only slightly!

READING: Mind Fuck (The Administration #1) by Manna Francis

Publication date: October 29 2007
Published by: Casperian Books
Genre: MM, Adult, Dark, BDSM, Dystopian, Mystery, Sci Fi
Rating: 

There are no bad guys or good guys. There are only better guys and worse guys.

One of the worse guys is Val Toreth. In a world in which torture is a legitimate part of the investigative process, he works for the Investigation and Interrogation Division, where his colleagues can be more dangerous than the criminals he investigates.

One of the better guys is Keir Warrick. His small corporation, SimTech, is developing a "sim" system that places users in a fully immersive virtual reality. A minnow in a murky and dangerous pond, he is only beginning to discover how many compromises may be required for success.

Their home is the dark future dystopia of New London. A totalitarian bureaucracy controls the European Administration, sharing political power with the corporations. The government uses violence and the many divisions of the feared Department of Internal Security to maintain control and crush resistance. The corporations fight among themselves, using lethal force under the euphemism of "corporate sabotage," uniting only to resist attempts by the Administration to extend its influence over them.

Toreth and Warrick are more natural enemies than allies. But mutual attraction and the fight for survival can create unlikely bonds. 

It took me a while to hop on the Administration train, but I'm glad I did!

Mindfuck is so unlike any other mm I've read; it's basically a sci fi/dystopian whodunnit with a splash of romance, if you can call whatever Toreth and Warrick have "romance". Even though it is very high techy and futuristic, it reads more like a crime noir book, or rather a regency crime.

Mindfuck is written almost to perfection. The story is so dense and detailed but never ever boring. It has a lot of scientific terms (neuroscience, psychology) and you have to pay very close attention because they are all pertinent to the case, you need them to understand the kind of world these people live in, and they are also very interesting and fascinating. Simulated reality makes for a very compelling and terrifying notion that adds to the whole murder/mystery vibe.
I hope we see more of it in the future. 

Toreth is a senior investigator and interrogator which in the world of Administration means he is a sociopath.
He leaves by a strict and specific set of moral rules mostly because their application would serve and benefit him. He's driven by self interest only, hates incompetence and has a total disregard for human life if it means ending it will help him in any way. He interrogates and tortures people for a living. "I fuck minds" he very proudly declares to Warrick when they first meet. 
The only real and close relationship he has is with his personal assistant Sara, who, it's evident, he cares for deeply. Why is that and how it all works with his twisted and evil personality? I guess we'll find out in later books. We only have tiny flashes of the characters' back stories but I've bee assured we'll get more later, there are 9 books after all.

Warrick is a tough one to figure out. He is not as straightforwardly monstrous as Toreth but there is a dormant darkness inside him and the only reason it doesn't come out is that his morality is stronger than Toreth's and he more easily distinguishes good from bad. And even if he doesn't sometimes, he at least exhibits some kind of remorse, as opposed to Toreth. Still, his arrogance can only match Toreth's and they always try to one up each other, right until Toreth realises what Warrick truely is after in their "relationship". Then the games start. 

Absolutely fascinating read, can't wait to see how it all plays out!

READING: Tick Tock by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Publication date: November 1 2018
Published by: Harvey Berrick Publishing
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Military
Rating: 

James Spears is part of an elite group who lives and breathes danger. Where others run from it, he walks towards it, calm, focussed ice-cold. James is a top EOD operative.
Explosive…
Ordnance…
Disposal…

You’d call him a bomb disposal expert. Or crazy. A guy with a death wish. He’s heard it all before and he doesn’t give a shit. He’s the best. 
They say he doesn’t have blood in his veins, he has ice. They say he has no nerves.
All that’s about to be tested.

Amira is recruited by the CIA to infiltrate a terrorist cell living in rural Pennsylvania. She’s the perfect plant, no one would ever suspect her. Because her brother was killed when a bomb was dropped on the Syrian hospital where he was working as a doctor. And now hate burns deeply inside her. She’s perfect.

That’s what they tell James when he’s told to train her to be the best damn bomb-maker there is. In a secret camp, deep in the woods, James teaches her everything he knows about building bombs. He’s not a praying man, but now he’s really hoping that he’s doing the right thing.

Can he trust her? Will she ever trust him? Who is playing who? And who will pay the ultimate price?

Cover fail 👎

I am a bit disappointed, to be honest. Berrick wrote the awesome, amazing The Education of Sebastian and I put a lot of faith in her when I decided to read Tick Tock. But not only it was not nearly as good as EoS, it was very rushed, the story not believable and the romance did not make any sense.

I knew that writing about suicide bombers and terrorism would be a bit dicey, especially from an American romance author, but surprisingly enough, religion and race were not my main problem with TT.

The problem was the underwhelming and undeveloped story and characters.
Amira and James, the MCs, were likable enough (James more than Amira) but nothing more. We learn next to nothing about their lives before the events in the book, and that made it really hard for me to care about them.
Amira’s “recruitment” process was almost laughable; she was supposed to be an American spy infiltrating a terrorism cell operating in US soil after, what? 8 days of training? And she kept passing out, crying and vomiting, but no! She could do it, because she was so strong and brave. Yeah, ridiculous. After that, it was very hard for the story to catch my interest, which got even more far-fetched as it went along.

The romance between James and Amira was even worse. I never felt any deep connection between them, other than the fact that they were a man and a woman at a remote place, scared out of their minds, who just sought comfort in each other. That would have been great, if it wasn’t for Amira’s very strict adherence to her faith (she didn’t even eat in the presence of men!) which made her having sex with a guy she barely knew almost off putting. She was prepared to risk her life for her faith and she just defies it that easily? What is that supposed to say about her? How is the reader supposed to connect with her character in any way and understand where she’s coming from? I wouldn’t mind them having sex IF we had more context, more insight into their lives, more time with the two of them actually talking and bonding. We had none of that. 
James was a more complete character than Amira (just slightly) but again, his obsession with Amira-after Amira made it perfectly clear that she could not and would not be with him-is not at all justified. Again, context and contact time.

What I did like in TT was the ending. I have to give it to Berrick, it takes an insane amount of guts to write a romance book with no HEA and I found it very refreshing and unique. Sad, sure, but also a relief that this dysfunctional story came to an end. It would have been dreadful if it went on. 
I won’t be reading the next book, Bombshell but I read the excerpt and I found it more interesting than the entire TT!

READING: Glitterland by Alexis Hall

Publication date: August 26 2013
Published by: Riptide
Genre: MM, Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 

Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on love, hope, happiness, and—most of all—himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people’s expectations.

Then a chance encounter at a stag party throws him into the arms of Essex boy Darian Taylor, an aspiring model who lives in a world of hair gel, fake tans, and fashion shows. By his own admission, Darian isn’t the crispest lettuce in the fridge, but he cooks a mean cottage pie and makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it’s like to step beyond the boundaries of anxiety.

But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can’t see past the glitter to the light. Can a man who doesn’t trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can a man who doesn’t believe in happiness ever fight for his own? 

One of the worst covers I've ever seen...😖

I inhaled Glitterland! It is a whirlwind of a book, with a first half that will leave you reeling.

This is my first book by Alexis Hall and I've got to say, initially, I was shocked . In a very good way, in the best way. His writing was like listening to classical music, looking out your window on a rainy day. So melancholic and solemn. It stroke me as a tad pretentious at first, but as I kept reading I thought "Yes, Ash would think like that using these exact words". That was Ash, trying to hide behind layers of sophistication and failing miserably. Only Darian could see through him, and Ash loved him for it.

Second half was still good, but not as impressive as the first. Sometimes in MM, and I have seen it happen a lot, the MC (or MCs) is being put in a situation so over the top, so far away from his character, that is not believable at all.
In this case ↓

Ash walking at the Essex Fashion Week (Day). Two chapters ago he 1. could not go to the super market without having a minor anxiety attack and 2. he was adamant he wouldn't go to the show at all. In my opinion, and from what we know of Ash up until that point, anxiety aside, Ash wouldn't never do something like that.

While it didn't spoil the mood for the rest of the book exactly, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I didn't like it.

Also, Ash did a very, very shitty thing to Darian in the end. I know some of it could be attributed to his mental illness, but not enough to be forgiven that easily. And after months of no communication. I love Ash, but come on.

I didn't really have a problem with Darian's accent, but I didn't really see the point in it, either. Just using a different vocabulary than Ash would have been enough.

A little bit disappointed by the second half, but the first half is pure MM gold. It is definitely worthy of the hype, for the fabulously angsty writing alone.

Picture this: A young Tom Hiddleston for Ash, and a very polished 20year old Tom Hughes for Darian.
Hm.
Maybe someone more innocent looking for Darian because Tom Hughes is definitely NOT innocent looking!
I don't know. This one was hard.