Language: The series is currently only available in Japanese, but I’ve heard rumors that suggest an English version is planned for the not-so-distant future.

Episodes: 12

Junjou Romantica is the story of three couples with ties to a local university.

1. Romantica: Misaki Takahashi and Akihiko “Usagi” Usami
2. Egotist: Nowaki Kusama and Hiroki Kamijou
3. Terrorist: You Miyagi and Shinobu Takatsuki

Romantica follows Misaki Takahashi and Akihiko “Usagi” Usami. Misaki is an 18 year-old student that begins to find his life turned upside down when he meets the best friend of his older brother. Akihiko “Usagi” Usami is a full-time author of popular hetero romance and erotic Yaoi. He’s also had a thing for Misaki’s brother for years. Of course, Takahiro is oblivious to Usagi’s affections, and is engaged to a woman that he has genuine feelings for. When Misaki notices the pain Usagi is going through, he feels compassion. Soon after, Takahiro announces that he will be moving to another city with his fiancee. Wanting to continue his studies at the university, Misaki is taken in as a boarder by the teddy bear obsessed Usagi. It doesn’t take long for their rather unconventional relationship to blossom.

Egotist follows the relationship of Nowaki Kusama and Hiroki Kamijou. Hiroki is the former friend of Usagi, a man that he was infatuated with. While he is moping around in the park one day, he meets the younger, taller student Nowaki. Nowaki is persistent and takes an immediate interest in the wounded soul. Unfortunately, Hiroki is a bit of an idiot, prone to over-dramatizing things to the point that he is oblivious. Nowaki leaves for a year, and Hiroki is wounded, not realizing that he’d given his younger boyfriend the go ahead to do study.

Terrorist follows You Miyagi and Shinobu Takatsuki. 35 year-old You Miyagi is a divorced professor working in the literary department with his assistant Hiroki, a man that he torments on an hourly basis. As the former son-in-law of college Dean, Miyagi is still on friendly terms with his father-in-law. His life is turned upside down when eighteen year-old Shinobu arrives after studying overseas. Shinobu is his former brother-in-law, a young man obsessed with him ever since You saved him from being beaten up by thugs just before the boy learned who he was. And now, the sixteen year-old has began a campaign to win You’s heart. The problem is, Miyagi is not looking to get involved with anyone so soon after the divorce. He’s never been involved with a guy before either, and this easy-going prankster has his own share of demons to combat.

Junjou Romantica is my first viewing of a Yaoi series, one that I found highly entertaining. It isn’t strictly Yaoi either, as many of the characters have been in loving relationships with women before. Though the series did have some serious elements in it, these were coupled by comedic elements that added to character development and storyline. The producers managed to deal with the physical aspects of the relationships in tasteful ways as well, making it accessible for those new to the genre. My only issue is with the diversity of character design, but the storyline more than makes up for this. In conclusion, Junjou Romantica is an addictive series that I highly recommend for anyone interested in giving a Yaoi drama a run.

• Gaming: Yep, I’ve been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic since it went live. Its been a difficult switch over from the fantasy and free-to-play MMORPGs I’ve played over the past few years. Why? I haven’t played an MMORPG seriously since earlier this year. Though the game is excellent, I still have to learn map, get more of a feel for the storylines (including possible tangents), and class abilities.
• Reading: I’ve read quite a bit of romance and erotica of late. Some of it has been good, some of it has been god-awful, but has been a great learning experience. I’ve reviewed After the Greek Affair by Chantelle Shaw, From Dirt to Diamonds by Julia James and Animal Attraction (Animal #2) by Jill Shalvis. The best of the three books was the last. I did read some other fiction, but was bitterly disappointed. There was a western I started. It had lots of promise, but began to lose me after the fourth chapter with sex scenes that made little to no sense and almost a complete rewrite of the characters introduced in the previous chapters. I also started an urban fantasy that also seemed to have promise, but I didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters. I finished both novels midway through, hence I didn’t bother to review either book. There was a scattering of short fiction (neither romance or erotica) that I caught up with via email subscription. If you guys haven’t done so, then I highly recommend you subscribe to Daily Science Fiction.
• World-building: I’ve gone back to working on Lio, the world setting for Elven Gunslinger. I found that there were huge questions that needed to be answered, and as a result of my recent work, I’ve managed to make some progress in plotting the “planned” novels and novellas. I spent quite a bit of time on the Corallia setting, but it has quite a way to go before it is a living, breathing world. One of my current goals is to finish work on each of the nations for the current era. It is a bit intimidating, but as soon as I get over my anxiety…
• Writing: I did some more work on the first novella for Elven Gunslinger earlier this week. It tells the story of one the more tragic characters, Ellesandra. Of course, I have big plans for the lass during the series. I plotted out quite a bit more of the two series set in the Corallia setting, but some things will likely change during future world-building. Sure glad I didn’t just throw myself into the drafting because it would have required major rewrites. And lastly, I returned to work on White Noise, a superhero action/drama with some sci-fi elements. There isn’t a lot of world-building required, thankfully, but I will be sure to add more to the world setting as time passes.
• Exercise: I have done absolutely no exercise in months. I admit that I am a bit of a slacker, but I intend on changing this with lots more walking, running, weights and inverted situps in 2012. The walking and running will be for weight loss, the weight for muscle gain, and inverted situps for buffing up my flabby abs.

So, that’s what I have and have not been doing since my last update. I probably won’t bother posting an entry on my goals for the new year goals as they are likely very similar to the ones I posted for this year: Read more, write more, eat healthier, exercise more, make more time for my friends.

To start with, I didn’t realize this novel was the second installment in a series based around the characters at Sunshine, a small (perhaps imaginary) town in Idaho. It didn’t matter though, because it was a fantastic read that left me giggling from ear to ear like some sort of crazy person. Yep, that’s the way I roll.
Jade left her job at the Medical Center owned by her family 18 months ago after being held at gunpoint during a burgling. She ran to Sunshine in the hopes of regaining some semblance of self. The problem is, she didn’t count on being attracted to her boss, vet Dell Connelly, and vice versa, a man that has become a close friend since she walked through the door of the surgery with the “Position Vacant” flyer in her hand.
Dell has a knack for charming both animals and females of the human species. He is the younger brother of two boys, both abandoned by their mother when she was a teenager, leaving them at the mercy of the child welfare system. Both brothers are heavily scarred, but have a strong bond with foster brother Brady. Brady is engaged to Lilah, the woman from the animal refuge. [N.B. Brady and Lilah were the focus of the first novel.]
In spite of the happiness Jade has found in Sunshine, she promised to return to her life in Chicago by the first of the following month, one that she believes she must keep out of a sense of duty to her family. However, after she hears that there has been a bunch of burglaries in the region, she begins to get nervous, then freaks out in the carpark after a deaf child in a Halloween mask brings back memories of her traumatic experience. Seeing it from a window, Dell goes into guardian mode and begins to help her regain some confidence by teaching her some self-defense training. They become closer and closer as the deadline draws ever closer. However, it is the unwillingness of each to face their own demons and emotions head-on, from both past and present, that will be the greatest hurdle for the pair.
Even though Animal Attraction is technically a romance novel, it had more depth than most books in the genre. The characters were inviting from page one, and I wanted to know who they were and what made them tick. Sure, it started with a goofy little scene where Jade is checking out Dell’s ass as he’s trying to coax an abandoned kitten from under a bench, but even that made the story endearing. The language and the descriptive made me chuckle. I found that I really liked the various members of the cast, as the dialogue and inner monologue made them feel like living, breathing entities. Heck, even the animals had their own unique habits and personalities. (Score!)
There is an underlying humor to Shalvis’ that adds a natural quality to the novel, which made scenes that would otherwise be dull, highly entertaining. A lot of the humor came from scenes featuring Adam Connelly, a fellow that takes special pleasure in pissing with his younger brother. Lilah also added to the silliness, asking leading questions of Jade and Dell periodically through the novel. Hilarious! (Score!)
Jill Shalvis does a great job in the pacing department, giving consideration for how much can happen within the span of a month. Having pre-existing relationships also helps make the interactions between the various characters make logical sense. This meant there was no catch-up. There was no need for info-dumps either. (Score!)
Jill Shalvis also knows how to make the sex scenes meaningful. Sure, they tend to be steamy, but the author adds an emotional quality often absent in other books in the romance genre. There is variation in these scenes as well, not the same shit regurgitated time and time again. I even laughed during some of the scenes. Why? Because sex doesn’t have to be serious.(Score!)
And lastly, we come to attention to detail. Jill Shalvis must have made an extensive list of patients and medical histories based on how many times Jade and Dell interacted with their owners. It was a curious thing, but gave me the feeling that the Belle Haven vet center was a business with a real customer base rather than some cheap knock together. Score!)
In conclusion, if you enjoy a romance novel with living, breathing characters, then you should give Animal Attraction a read. Sure, you’ll find some silly moments, but these do well to cut through the drama. There is sex and regular coarse language, so not for the kiddies. Based on this title, I will certainly look into reading other books by Jill Shalvis in the not-so-distant future.

Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis (paperback edition) @Amazon 

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I didn’t read the synopsis before I started reading this novel, which is just as well given how misleading it was. I wasn’t expecting the the male protagonist, Angelos, to be such an arrogant and presumptuous ass, or the heroine, Kat/Thea, to be so raw. It reminded me of “My Fair Lady”, for about five seconds… You need conflict for there to be resolution, to which this story had an abundance.
The story began as a sort of revenge tale, but it became apparent that the division between these two characters stemmed from a misunderstanding that quickly ballooned into a natural disaster spurred on by Angelos’ over-reaction and unwillingness to uncover the truth in the first place. This led to Angelos destroying Kat’s life because he thinks she was using him to advance her career.
This background paved the way for character development on account of the revelations Angelos and Kat/Thea discover upon going to the Swiss Alps. The discovery that mistakes were made and that they wasted five years of their lives hating each other for no good reason.It gives room for these two difficult protagonists to forgive each other, room for Angelos to attempt to make amends after the great misunderstanding led to him destroying Kat’s life. The two will need to forgive each other before they are able to move on and find the happiness they so desperately desire.
This is not a typical romance novel, which is what made “From Dirt to Diamonds” so refreshing a read. It doesn’t tone down the darker elements to pander to the more delicate reader. Bad things sometimes happen, but it is what we do next that determines who we are as individuals. Are we strong enough to let go of the pain and anger or will we wallow in the mire?
Just in case anyone is interested, there was a single love scene in this novel. It was pretty intense and IMHO well worth the lead-up because of the emotional elements.

[N.B. This title was also released under the Mills & Boon Modern Romance line.]

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Although this book had a certain amount of character development, the dialogue felt unnatural at times (“white-hot”?), some lines of description repeated (sexy shoulders, brooding eyes), and the pacing slightly off. However, this seems more an editorial issue rather than error on the part of the author.
As a reader, I would have liked there to be a chapter worth of setup explaining the meeting of Belle and Larissa in London before Belle went to Aura, with a short scene where Belle learns a bit about Loukas on the internet as setup for when she meets him in Kea. This would have added something extra and still fit into the parameters of the Modern Romance line.

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• Short Story Writing: I posted the first draft of a little sci-fi short on my blog entitled The Order on the 24th of December. Not much, but it has been months since I posted last. So far, I have received some feedback that will be used in subsequent rewrites.
• World-building: I have put some projects on hiatus for a bit (more specifically “Stray”) to focus on some other stuff. I have gained some momentum while working on the fantasy world of Corallia, but have been going back to Aarde (fantasy multiverse) periodically and White Noise (sci-fi / superhero) infrequently. I will post details when these worlds are more complete.
• Writing: I had originally planned to start drafting after plotting out some projects during November.  However, due to some issues with gaps in the world-building department, I have decided to put drafting until after the New Year. Why? Because I want to test the theory that a complete world can make the drafting process significantly easier. It makes sense, especially given that you aren’t playing catch up. However, only time will tell how well this goes.
• Reading: I have read a number of romance and erotica titles in recent times, mostly for research. The stuff I haven’t reviewed is because I am a bit too shy to let folks in on that part. (Girl’s gotta have her secrets, ya know?!!) I reviewed two Mills & Boon Modern Romance titles: Fiancee for One Night by Trish Morey (explicit sex scenes) and Under the Brazilian Sun by Catherine George (character-driven). I haven’t really felt like listening to any podcast novels or audiobooks in ages, so it might be a while before I finish the backlog. Sorry to those looking for reviews promised some time back. I doubt I would be able to give constructive feedback on your work given the crazy moods I’ve been in of late.
• Anime: I finished Ouran High School Host Club last week and reviewed it about an hour ago. Next stop: Fruits Basket!
• Health: My sleeping patterns have been all over the place for the past few months. My body chemistry is a mess. Not sure if it is due to recent weight loss or not. Losing a few kilos would go a long way to getting my health back on track. Mild pun? Why yes it is.

So, nothing world-changing. The world keeps moving, and I have to move with it. No standing still for this woman. No, Siree!

I was pleasantly surprised with this title. While a lot of romance authors spend lots of time describing the ins and out of sex between the protagonists, Catherine George focused on the emotional elements of their developing relationship. They didn’t immediately jump into the sack either, which is also a plus. My only issue was with the potential plot tangents that were brushed over. That being said, Catherine George was writing within the pagecount constraints of the Modern Romance line, so I won’t hold that against her. All in all, an enjoyable read.

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. The series is one of the funniest anime series I have seen. It is a bit bizarre at times, but I found the characters lovable and interesting enough to watch the entire series in only a few days. I would add though, that the show probably won’t appeal to folks sensitive about cross-dressing and/or homosexuality.

Ouran High School Host Club is the story of Haruhi Fujioka, a middle class girl that has managed to get into the prestigious Ouran Academy on a scholarship. In the first few weeks of the school year, Haruhi wanders into what she believes to be an abandoned music room for peace and quiet for study, and is immediately greeted by the Host Club. She is mistaken for a boy because of her clothes and accidentally breaks an expensive vase during her attempt to escape the rather touchy-feel (and in her opinion, annoying) Tamaki Suoh, the president of the club. As compensation, she is roped into doing chores for the club. It doesn’t take long before she is playing host as “The Natural” to lots of stupid rich girls. And did I mention that it takes the lads an entire episode to work out Haruhi is a chick?

Host Club: A club where each host plays a role (they are essentially impromptu actors) that is used to draw the customer in. In the case of Ouran High School Host Club, these hosts are a band of teenage boys that entertain the girls at lunch times.

Haruhi is kind to others, but knows bullsh*t when she sees it. Incidentally, Haruhi is oblivious to the interest of the males around her but not females. (I would add that although it isn’t directly stated in the series, I believe that she is heterosexual. However, she does give a speech in the first episode about her views on gender soon after Tamaki discovers that Haruhi is a girl.) She enjoys playing a boy at the host club as it meets social and psychological needs. She cares about the rest of the members, which she considers her friends.

Haruhi is a raised by her drag queen father, Ranka, a man that still misses her mother deeply and is overprotective of his daughter. Tamaki and Ranka have very similar personalities, which results in Ranka physically assaulting and demeaning the young man at every opportunity. The other host members joke about how well Haruhi deals with Tamaki’s peculiar behavior, pointing out that it is because he is so similar to her father. Throughout the series, we learn quite a bit about Tamaki, discovering some reasons why he acts that way that he does, and as talented as he is in charming females, he is absolutely clueless when it comes to his feelings for Haruhi. This is an important element of the anime, and makes for some rather funny scenes.

The show will appeal to folks with a twisted sense of humor and some experience watching those silly high school dramas. It turns gender on its head whilst at the same time poking fun at anime, manga and dating sims. And just when you think the show might be getting serious, they throw something disturbing or silly into the mix, making for an entertaining watch. There is an exception for the last few episodes, but this is made up for in the last few scenes of the final episode. The show has a nice plot progression, character development, reasonable action sequences (when they did pop up),

Rating 9/10

Warning: May include some science fiction cliches. It is also a first draft written on the fly.

*

I don’t know when it happened exactly, but I do remember the day. It was the fifth of July, a cool winter day and I’d been sitting inside the house for the better part of the afternoon trying to make sense of one of several reference books that I’d gathered for an Agricultural assignment due in a week. I heard mum’s voice just outside my closed door and I growled in irritation at yet another interruption. It wasn’t her fault, but over the past few days I’d been in a foul mood.

I opened the door and stared at a pale-faced woman with wavy brown hair that seemed to have a life of its own. One or two of the boys at school had made remarks about how much I looked like her, but I didn’t really care.

“What is it this time, ma?” I replied trying to not to be grouchy at her.

“There’s a news report… just switch to channel four, kay?”

“It better be good…”

“Please, just switch it on!”

I conceded defeat with a, “Whatever, ma?” before she walked back down the stairs.

I walked back to my desk, picked up the remote and switched on the television. Moments later I was on channel four watching the bizarre news feed that would change history. My jaw dropped as a strange creature that was unmistakeably an extraterrestrial addressed the United Nations.

It had a grey, bulbous head that seemed too heavy for its tiny neck. Two extra pairs of large purple eyes were visible above the first, reminding me of some spiders I’d seen in a documentary I’d seen several weeks before. I couldn’t see the rest of its body behind the podium, but I supposed it must have been around the same height as the Homo Sapiens it now declared dominion over.

“For those unwilling to concede, know that we will bring all of our military options to bear. Know that our military strength far surpasses your own and we will not hesitate to use it against that that would not comply to our demands!”

My mouth went dry as I realised the implications of those words. After humanity had spent so much time fighting amongst itself, our species were now being subjugated by the alien race that I would later learn referred to itself as the Order. I had no idea what would happen next, but I was deeply afraid for myself, as well as my friends and family.

“As a demonstration of our capabilities, we will blow up a notable landmark – one that has been a symbol for many generations. We apologise to the friends and family of the casualties that are a result of our next act, but we hope this will avoid many more in future.”

He was terribly polite.

Several minutes later, there were reports of a large blue beam from space atomising the Statue of Liberty. The images of the crater were reminiscent of the Twin Towers after the September Eleventh attacks. I didn’t know what to think, so I just turned off the television and went for a walk.

Most of the neighbours were beginning to arrive home from their workplaces and schools in response to the new threat, but it would make no difference other than to delay the inevitable. The human race now had to deal with the consequences of their years of conflict, one faction of small-minded individuals fighting against another. Instead of looking towards the stars, we were closing ourselves off to the dangers that lurked beyond out own solar system.

The first nuke was fired several hours later by a USA president that had been lagging in the poles for several months. The White House was destroyed not long after that, along with the Pentagon. Other countries around the world would soon follow suit, but the Order was sure to avoid destroying more than they needed to in their attempts to pacify what remained of the human population.

My mother never got over dad’s passing in the terrible week that followed. They’d been trying to reconcile after a trial separation, but he’d been trying to escape from Sydney when it was hit by a pulse attack. I barely knew my dad, a man that had spent most of his time away from his family. I wasn’t sure if he’d been a good man, but I knew that he didn’t deserve to die like that.

I found mum’s lifeless body hanging from the fan in her room three weeks later.

Nobody was spared the loss of someone or something precious to them. For the first time, I felt a part of something greater than myself. Where once upon a time I felt like an outsider, I was no longer alone in the world. I would grieve alongside everybody else – for my dad, for my mother, for the one or two friends I’d made over the years, and for my terrier that was hit by a crazed driver that following week.

On the twelfth of August, I discovered the unsettling truth that I was not alone in the world.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recently, I’ve been reading a bit more romance. While some of it has been quite disappointing, the likes of Fiancee for One Night was quite entertaining. There are distinct lines of conflict the author laid out for the story and paced these various elements well. I genuinely cared about the characters which led me to read more. My only complaint lies in some of the goofy dialogue towards the end, but this is more a trait of the Billionaire Romance subgenre rather than a reflection of Morey’s talent as a writer.

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