Affairs of M/Men

I eat these books up like candy. When I am done with one I am eager to read the next one right away. I try to hold myself back because there are only six books, most of them novellas, and a couple of shorts. Not enough!! (You can only buy the bundle from Price's own website.) it's a struggle though, like eating only one potato chip, to mix my metaphor.

This one was no exception. The protagonist, Vic, has low-self esteem even though he's very powerful which is actually partially why. The quantity and physicality of the ghosts he sees as one of the most powerful mediums around drive him almost crazy so he has to take a cocktail of drugs just to stay sane.

The problem here is that he now has to quit these drugs cold turkey and the ghosts are getting worse than ever before. His fear and disgust feel very real as Price relates the action. I could feel Vic breaking apart under the onslaught.

Which made for a good level of drama and a little action to add to the best part of these books: Vic's humor. He isn't necessarily trying to be funny, well sometimes, but his bleak vision of his immediate future and how he's going to mess up and his dry humor, mixed with the times he really does fail and in a spectacular way, is truly laugh out loud funny to me. I think the character is adorable and I want to hang out with him or at times knock some sense into him then take him in my arms and remind him what a great person he is. 

He wouldn't be interested though, and for good reason, not just because he's gay. (His neuroses about acting too gay or trying too hard not to act too gay and failing are hilarious.) He has a perfect, amazing boyfriend who finds Vic's insecurities adorable, too. Jacob's the perfect amount of protective mixed with the perfect amount of standing back and letting Vic take care of himself.

Although Vic does't understand what Jacob sees in him, their love is beautiful. It's gentle and caring and supportive and they have amazing sex. The latter isn't the most original that I've seen but it shouldn't be, it wouldn't fit the story. The scenes are different enough to make them each hot and enjoyable, which is really what matters, at least to me. :)

The only problem I have with these books is the resolution of the plot. The final action just isn't long enough. The problem is solved too soon and too easily. I want the drama to last long enough so that I am actually worried, that there is suspense. As it is, the conflict is being resolved just as we're finding out about it. In this case, there could easily have been a long chase that would have fit with the plot, the characters, and the series that would have fit in right where the final "battle" was. As it was, the danger was so short it didn't even really register as danger. I think if those kinds of scenes lasted longer, this could easily have been a novel rather than a novella. I need my heroes to be in peril for a little longer. 

This book also introduces a new character, Crash, who is apparently a regular in the series. (Well there is a very brief mention of him in the short that is .5 in the series but that really doesn't count.) I don't really like him and I hate that he's always coming on to Vic, so I hope he improves as the series progresses and knocks that behavior off.

Despite the weak ending, I still loved this book and had to read a short right after to get another fix. I highly recommend this and the whole series.

If you are interested in reading this series with the silly name, read the free short Thaw available from Smashwords. It's not very funny, not like the series, but it's very sweet.