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Firecracker

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Title: Firecracker
Author: Jaye Valentine
Publisher: Noble Romance
Genre: Contemporary M/M
Length: Naughty Nibble (39 PDF pages)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
 
Summary Review: This book is not for the faint of heart. It’s not just edgy but over the edge and sizzling!
 
THE BLURB
 
Isaac Lang is deeply in love with his live-in life-partner, Baltimore City police officer Jeff Clark, and has a serious kink for risky role-play sex with strangers. Jeff finds Isaac’s wild ways incredibly hot, and he’s more than willing to help facilitate Isaac’s lustful cravings. 
 
 
Jeff trusts Isaac to be emotionally faithful despite the sexual experimentation, and Isaac trusts Jeff to watch his back and keep him safe from harm. Not a lifestyle everyone might aspire to or could successfully manage, but Isaac and Jeff make their quest for kink work to keep the sparks flying in their relationship.
 
THE REVIEW
 
The blurb for Firecracker hit all of my hot buttons and the ride was even more exciting than I expected. However, I must warn you that if you like traditional gay romances this is not the book for you.
 
Isaac and Jeff have an open relationship, which simply means that they have sex with other people with their partner’s approval. The book opens with Isaac taking a walk on the wild side as he checks out the action in the alley behind a well known gay club. After looking over all the prospects on display who were patiently waiting for some action he found one who was just perfect for him, and he did his thing, on his knees, with his lover looking on.
 
Isaac and Jeff have a unique relationship that it would be difficult to find elsewhere. They truly love  each other but Isaac loves lots and lots of sex, especially of the risky variety, the riskier the better for him to get off. Jeff takes care of him and gives him what he needs, by helping him to have sex in public with other men. 
 
Firecracker is a hot, intense read. If you like public sex you will love this book. Not only is the sex risky, but the story really pushes the definition of love. Clearly Jeff and Isaac love, and more important, trust each other and Isaac depends on Jeff to keep him safe. For such a short book there is a lot of content and a few surprises – it was also very funny and the dialogue sparkled. I thought that Isaac, the little adrenalin addict, 🙂  was well drawn, vibrant and likable. He was flamboyant, and knew how to show off his assets to make men notice what he was offering. His partner Jeff’s personality was a little muted but just as three dimensional, and he had a few hidden depths. When I thought that the show was entirely Isaac’s he managed to surprise him a few times and give him a lot more than he ever imagined in his quest for the ultimate high. This pair was definitely well matched in and out of bed. The other character that I liked was Leo, an old friend of Jeff’s, who showed that a third can enhance an otherwise perfect twosome.
 
Jaye Valentine is a terrific writer who gives readers a thrill a minute and is known for his unusual stories featuring couples who are looking for the extreme turn on. He pushes every kink to its exciting conclusion and then some, and takes readers along for a mind blowing ride.
 
Firecracker is recommended for those readers who have strong hearts, are looking for something different, and are open to non traditional relationships.

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50 comments

  • rdafan7

    I usually only want to read trraditional m/m but this one sounds good so I think I’ll give it a try. Sometimes different can be very good!

    • Wave

      rdafan7
      Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 🙂 The characters love each other and when they are together there’s no doubt they are in love, but traditional they’re not. Gird your loins. 😉

  • luci

    Ever since the Double Helix review I got on a Jaye Valentine kick. I will say I think the stories are fab. I haven’t read this one yet, I am sooo gonna check it out.

  • simsala

    I love different. 🙂
    You say it`s sizzling hot. – Is it like Geoffrey Knight-sizzling or more like Jez Morrow-sizzling? 😉
    Thanks for the review.

  • lisa s c

    So far I’m in the minority…not for me. I can’t seem to wrap my brain around these types of stories despite the sizzle factor. Thanks Wave.

    • Wave

      That’s okay Lisa. The reason for the warning in the review was to ensure that readers like yourself didn’t buy this book without knowing what you were getting. We are all squicked by different things and I hope I can recommend another book that you’re sure to like.

      • lisa s c

        Generally I agree with you ….Almost Like Being In Love I found because of you and it is one of my favorites! On the other side the Heaven Scent series I tried and wasn’t in love with. I stopped after the first book. : )

        • Wave

          Hi Lisa
          Heaven Sent takes a state of mind to enjoy. The guys were all “out there” and it’s the music biz and everyone is over the top so it’s one of those series you either love or can’t stand.

          One of the things I advise readers is that if it’s a series only buy one book at a time to be sure you would love them. I still have books on my TBR that I bought 3 years ago which I will never read. Live and learn.

          I’m really glad you enjoyed Almost Like Being in Love which remains one of my favourite romances and I still read it when I’m down. 🙂

  • GR

    Sounds like a story I may need to own. I like it when fiction gives me a chance to try on something different, whether or not I’d do it IRL.

    • Wave

      Well GR go for it. There’s a lot more to the story that I didn’t talk about in the review because I think you need to experience this book yourself. Please come back and tell me if you liked it.

  • Karen K

    I love Jaye’s writing. His books are usually short but they say so much in so few pages. Can’t wait to read this one.

  • Cole

    Geoff Knight sizzling huh?

    This sounds so good, thanks for the review Wave! Even though the subject is different, the sex sounds kindof gritty and wild like the sex in the Soul Bonds books by Jourdan Lane (which were my first m/m books and which I loved).

    I have to get this one and read more of Jaye’s stories. So far he’s definitely 2 for 2!

    • Wave

      Hi Cole
      In the past week I have probably read six of Jaye’s stories. lol

      I’m not sure about whether Firecracker could be compared to Jourdan’s Soul Bonds series since all the characters were paranormals of every breed. The only similarity to SB was that everyone was sleeping with everyone else, but that series had a lot of history and complexity.

      If you like kink you’ll definitely love Firecracker. 🙂

        • Wave

          I can’t believe you like kink. You’re just like the rest of us. Bad Cole. lol.

          There was another scene that I liked just as much – when they were in the club (you know the one I mean). I really like Leo. 🙂

  • LadyM

    I’m kind of curious – is there any conflict at all in this story? Or it’s all fun and games? 😀

    I get their relationship, although it’s not my favorite thing (Soul Mates series excluded, for the reasons you kind of mentioned), but, while I like hot sex in my books – I also like to have something more.

    • Wave

      Hi Lady M
      So here’s what I can say. While there are no real conflicts between Isaac and Jeff because this is something they both want to do, there was sort of a dangerous situation for Isaac in the book. I don’t know if that answers your question but I can’t say much more without revealing spoilers.

      • LadyM

        You answered me perfectly. I’ll put this one aside for now. But, you know, there always comes a time when hot is needed. XD

  • Gaycrow

    Good review, but I’m one that can’t handle my OTP’s sharing. Can’t read threesomes, either. Sounds like I’m in a minority though, and you’ll get lots of interested buyers after your review, Wave.

    • Wave

      Gaycrow
      It’s quite understandable that this is not something you like to read about. Jaye’s writing won’t appeal to some readers and I even asked him which of his stories won’t be to my taste because he walks a very fine line. 🙂

  • Alina

    I ought to know by now that you and me have almost similar tastes in books.

    I had this story but it was in the TBR pile. So, last evening when I saw your review I read it.

    Like Cole said, the opening scene was… three times hot. And the rest was exciting, thrilling but… too short.

    I wish Jaye wrote another page in this story with the scene between the tree of them. I really like Leo.

    Do you think that Jaye Valentine will write another Isaac and Jeff story, developing their characters and their relationship, preferably with Leo?

    Thank you, Wave.

    • Wave

      Hi Alina
      I’m so glad you enjoyed Firecracker. lol. This book is in Noble’s line called a “Naughty Nibble” where stories have to conform to a certain length so I suppose Jaye had to stop at a predermined word count. However I’ll pose your question about whether he’ll bring back this couple and Leo.

  • Jaye Valentine

    Hi Wave,

    I’m so glad you enjoyed the story, and I’m happy to see it getting some attention. I know it’s not to everyone’s taste, but it happens to be one of my personal favorites.

    I’m quite fond of these guys, so there will be at least one more story with Isaac and Jeff (with a side order of Leo), tentatively scheduled for publication in April 2011. Again, it will revolve around a specific role-playing kink. It’s shaping up to be a pretty wild ride.

    –Jaye

    • Wave

      Hello Jaye
      Thanks for stopping by.

      I’m looking forward to the next instalment of Isaac and Jeff and the side order of Leo. I think Leo deserves his own story too at some point in the future since Jeff and Isaac are obviously a couple, but maybe I should wait to see how the new story shapes up. lol

      Please keep me posted about the progress of this new book. 🙂

  • simsala

    Hi Wave,I`m coming back as requested.*lol*
    The book was exactly as you told!
    As I said,I like “different” and I don`t mind open relationships in my m/m romance books. Most likely they are more real than most of the HEA`s.
    It was a quick,hot read with likeable characters – a solid 4 star read.

    sims

    • Wave

      Hi Sims
      I can’t believe it – you agree with my rating. lol.

      I know why you were giggling about Evangeline’s book you little wretch, but I think my rating was correct. 🙂

      I understood what you meant about the HEA.

      • simsala

        Not fair! *lol*
        I didn`t laugh about your rating for Evangeline`s book.
        (My personal rating was indeed a bit higher.)
        I laughed about the similarity of our thoughts! I thought that was clear.*hangs head in shame*

        sims 🙂

        • Wave

          Well you are a devil. 🙂 The next book I’m going to tackle is Til Kingdom Come but it won’t be for a few weeks.

          I have a few more of Jaye’s and Reno’s books I want to review – their advantage is their books are shorter, although I believe that the complete D.N.A. will be a novel but that won’t be for a while.

  • Cole

    I just wanted to come back and let you Wave and Jaye know that I’m still thinking about this story after reading it a few days ago. I loved it that much. Jaye and his partner Reno have made a lifelong reader out of me. I’ve loved everything of theirs so far.

    I also agree with simsala about open relationships sometimes being more real than a typical HEA. In fact, two of my best friends were in a menage relationship for 4 years. Although, it was a lot more trouble than it was worth (I think, anyway)! NOT something you’d want to read about!

  • Patricia

    Hi Wave,

    this sounds really intriguing. I get in moods where I want my romance to be less traditional. I haven’t read anything by Jaye Valentine yet. This one goes on the TBR pile for sure.

    Patricia

    • Wave

      Patricia
      It’s a fun story and you will like Isaac and Jeff as well as Leo. If you read Firecracker I hope that you will come back and let us know how you liked it, no matter how long it takes.

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