TACO EL GATO #1 - Candy Briones

Those old enough to remember films like Fritz the Cat or the animation of Ralph Bakshi might find issue one of the comic Taco El Gato almost nostalgic.  Set in the tough, rundown Ditz City, where animals rule but cats and dogs are practically warring gang factions, Taco Fluffy - adopted as a youth - is an equally run-down, streetwise, sharp-tongued cat with the soul of a dog and the slickness of a Siamese.  Issue one sets up the characters and Taco's backstory, including a biological father who sets out to look for him, as well as Taco's run-in with a tough dog gang determined to take him out.  Not much of a story to start, but there are hints of much more, the artwork is 1970's crazy and I liked Taco's niece and the bad dog posse.  Worth seeking out future issues, and worth a read.  ***

Note: I received a free ARC of this title via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

TO LOVE A TRAITOR - JL Merrow

It's winter in England, WWI barely over, and a young law clerk named George has just taken a room in a private boarding house as he starts his new job.  Only George's real name isn't George, and he's not living there by chance; he's there to gain the trust and confidence of the other lodger of the home, war veteran Matthew Connaught.  George, a conscientious observer who - after a stint in prison for refusing to fight - went to work at a desk job for his government, is there to learn what really happened on the day his older brother died ... and whether Matthew Connaught, who served in his brother's company, was the traitor responsible.  But as George grows closer to Matthew in his search for the truth, he also finds himself physically and romantically drawn to the exuberant, life-loving man he is growing to call a friend ... who may also be his brother's (and England's) betrayer.  I've never read what could be deemed a full "romance" novel - much less a male/male one - but was really impressed with author JL Merrow's use of words to create a genuine sense of place and time; am no expert, but while reading To Love a Traitor I really felt transported back to post-WWI England; everything from George's complex emotions to the characters' dialogue and actions and manner of living feeling very, very genuine.  Also pleasing was to find what felt like a genuine romance growing in the novel, as opposed to coarsely-described sex scenes filled with passion over emotion, the book relying more on shock value than characters and story.  A couple surprises along the way, otherwise a straightforward and well-told love story that happens to be between two men - one of whom deeply conflicted between what his mind wants to believe, over what his heart is telling him must be true.  ****

Note: I received a free ARC of this title via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.