Racing the Moon and Steam and Sunshine

By: B.A. Tortuga

Publisher: Torquere Press

Genre: m/m, contemporary, action/adventure, erotic romance

ISBN: 1933389699 & 193416674X

Here's another recommendation for Kerrita -- it's possible she's read these books as many times as I have. Maybe.

B.A. Tortuga is one of my favorite m/m erotic romance writers, and before I read Steam and Sunshine I would have been hard pressed to pick a favorite. Now it’s a no brainer -- Tortuga's characters are always well-written but, for me, Sonny and MJ are head and shoulders above the rest.

Premise: In Racing the Moon, MJ is an explosives expert/eco-terrorist for hire, and Sonny is a ridge-runner. These two bad boys collide on a foggy hillside in North Carolina, and the story is a wild ride from there. In Steam & Sunshine, the guys are semi-retired, but decide to take one last job because the money is just too good to resist. The deal goes bad and, in the process, throws another couple into the mix.

What I Liked as A Reader: What's better than one bad boy? Two, of course. Sonny and MJ together are explosive. I'm a real fan of modern day pirate/outlaw stories and, because the "damsel in distress" model never worked for me, I loved that these two outlaws found happiness in each other's strength. Sonny and MJ are fun and flawed, and their relationship is intense and rough and beautiful -- it's impossible not to love them. As I mentioned above, Steam & Sunshine also introduces a new couple: Paddy and Neil. I really liked these two, especially the mind reader angle, but they couldn't compete with Sonny and MJ.

What I Liked as A Writer: These characters, especially MJ, are so rough as to border scary. Tortuga didn't pull her punches in writing them, didn't soften either of them to create the "opposites" that everyone is so comfortable with, and didn't try to "tame" them. They are unapologetic outlaws with, as Sonny says "a tiny bit of moral fiber" -- and that's a risk for a writer. It's possible that some readers won't like Sonny and MJ for all of those reasons, but I found them completely refreshing.

Steam & Sunshine ended with some unfinished business, so I'm pretty sure there will be at least one more installment . I'm waiting with baited breath.