Man Love Monday - version 3.0

Hello again. Well, we're back with another edition of Man Love Monday. Yes, that's right. A whole day dedicated to blogging about the beauty of m/m. As always, please be sure to check out my uber-cool buddy lisabea's blog for an exclusive interview with author Josh Lanyon, and of course (her specialty) HOT photos.


As I talked about last time, I had a great experience reading JL Langley on my first venture into straight-up (teehee) m/m romance. So I figured that I would try another book by her. This time I read With Caution which is an entry in what appears to be a series based around a pack of gay werewolves. (Well, to be fair, I don't think it's a requirement that they be gay to be in their pack, but it seemed like 90% of them were. So I guess we can call it that.)

Our story starts off with a bang. Nothing like a wetdream about oral sex to pick up the pace. Yowza! Our young hero Remi is trying to come to terms with his new werewolfness and what seems to be an unlikely attraction to his friend Jake. He has these new tingly exciting feelings of arousal which confuses him because he can't possibly be gay. Or can he? Remi comes from an abusive background in which his homophobic father routinely beat the crap out of him. His younger brother still lives at home and Remi will do almost anything to protect Sterling. He doesn't want to do anything to piss off his father to the point that he'll hurt Sterling and this makes him afraid to explore the new feelings he has for Jake.

Jake knows that Remi is destined to be his mate. Why? Don't ask me, it's some sort of magic having to do with werewolves and karma and stuff. In any event, Jake knows that Remi is THE one even if it's going to take Remi a while to figure this out. Once he does though, LOOK OUT! Actually, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that the 'getting together' part didn't get dragged out too long. Once the idea of being Jake's mate has been introduced to Remi, he seems to get used to the concept with relatively little angst. Hooray, now let's get down to the good stuff! Jake and Remi are really good together. Their love scenes are tender and emotional yet passionate and forceful. Oh and down-right hot. Exhibit A: Leather chaps + red jock strap = oh hell yeah!

Of course, trouble brews with the mean old father, but in the end, Remi's pack has his back. What I liked about this story was that the guys were, well, guys. They played football and drove Harleys and shot pool. They razzed each other and tussled. The dynamic between Jake, Remi and the rest of their pack felt very natural. A bunch of guys who happen to be werewolves, and oh yeah, many of them are coupled up as mates. While this book didn't work as well for me as My Fair Captain (most likely because I'm a historical reader at heart and don't read many contemps), what I do like about Langley's writing is a sense of respect for her characters. I never feel like the m/m factor is there to shock or titillate. It's just a fact of life and you're sucked into the story and are rooting for the HEA just as you would for any other romance couple.

So three cheers for a happy ending for two hot and sexy men. I give this book a solid B.

And now I leave you with possibly one of the most romantic (and achingly sad) things I've seen in quite some time. Merci beaucoup to Carrie Lofty for the heads up on this. Just watch and be moved. Talk about Man Love! le sigh.



Oh, in case anyone wants to know, the clip is from the television series Torchwood and you can catch it on BBC America on Saturdays and Sundays.