I didn't love this. I just didn't ever feel the chemistry between the characters. It was like all tell, no show. And the secondar2 stars = it was okay
I didn't love this. I just didn't ever feel the chemistry between the characters. It was like all tell, no show. And the secondary characters were like a badly painted backdrop for a middle school play. They were there, but I know nothing about them except that one of them is ace. I read romance for passion, and connection and chemistry and desire, and I got none of that here.
Merged review:
2 stars = it was okay
I didn't love this. I just didn't ever feel the chemistry between the characters. It was like all tell, no show. And the secondary characters were like a badly painted backdrop for a middle school play. They were there, but I know nothing about them except that one of them is ace. I read romance for passion, and connection and chemistry and desire, and I got none of that here....more
This was a really nice, feel-good story. I LOVED CJ, I just want to snuggle him and his relationship with Pops was so perfect.
Tiny niggles: things worThis was a really nice, feel-good story. I LOVED CJ, I just want to snuggle him and his relationship with Pops was so perfect.
Tiny niggles: things worked out a little too perfectly, although I honestly don't know if my heart could have taken it if anything had really gone wrong after everything CJ had been through. And my true crime loving self was SCREAMING at the end. NEVER. TALK. TO. THE. POLICE. But whatever. It's fiction. Oh, and the smexy times didn't happen until literally almost 80%. What the hell is that?
Overall I really liked this one. NR Walker can be hit or miss for me and this was definitely a hit....more
I liked this a lot, although there were some mental gymnastics involved with trying to understand Bryan's no-sex thing. Overall a grea12/14: 3.5 stars
I liked this a lot, although there were some mental gymnastics involved with trying to understand Bryan's no-sex thing. Overall a great story. I just wish there'd been a little bit more to grab onto as far as the characters went. They were likable characters but not especially deep.
12/11: I guess we'll see how the book is, but this blurb is sooo up my alley....more
I'm a huge Keira Andrews fan girl so I was pretty much guaranteed to like this. And as I got started, I had that giddy feeling, li3.5 stars rounded up
I'm a huge Keira Andrews fan girl so I was pretty much guaranteed to like this. And as I got started, I had that giddy feeling, like "Yep, this is for me!!"
Sadly I felt like the second half wasn't quite as good. The first half is all awkward and flirty and setting things up and it was delicious, but it turned on a dime a bit. Once they got together it was just sex that I skimmed, and then I was disappointed that (view spoiler)[Melanie and her boyfriend never showed up again. I really would have liked to see that Daniel and Cole became friends with them. (hide spoiler)]
But ultimately it's a very nice Christmas story that I ate up in one sitting. Very cute!...more
It took me quite awhile to get into this because honestly, pirates aren't really my thing. But I couldn't find anything else to read so in moments of It took me quite awhile to get into this because honestly, pirates aren't really my thing. But I couldn't find anything else to read so in moments of greatest boredom I kept giving it one more shot and today I finally got hooked. I read the second half over the course of a few hours. I ended up really enjoying it, because duh. Keira Andrews....more
This series was a lot of fun, I can't believe I just now got to it! Tom and Cooper are so awesome together and I loved seeing their HEA.This series was a lot of fun, I can't believe I just now got to it! Tom and Cooper are so awesome together and I loved seeing their HEA....more
This was really cute. Short and sweet, it doesn't delve very deep into anything and there's zero angst. But the chemistry between the two is great andThis was really cute. Short and sweet, it doesn't delve very deep into anything and there's zero angst. But the chemistry between the two is great and I bought into their romance. Looking forward to the other two books to see how their relationship progresses....more
I don't remember the individual titles and am too lazy to look them up, so I shall review them as 1, 2 and 3.
1. Jace, Aiden and Chris: So, I love m/m/mI don't remember the individual titles and am too lazy to look them up, so I shall review them as 1, 2 and 3.
1. Jace, Aiden and Chris: So, I love m/m/m. LOVE it. And I was completely hooked by the Third Rail collection. But my reaction to the novella in Citywide is about what I expected - I'm glad they got their HEA but they were absolutely cheated by this format. They deserved a whole book. Maybe they'll get one in the future. Or follow up shorts or something. But this was just...not satisfying.
2. Tonya and Meredith: Maybe f/f isn't for me? I guess technically this isn't f/f because Tonya is non-binary, but she doesn't seem to care too much about pronouns so if she's not offended by it, I'm mentally calling it f/f because two vaginas. I haven't read a lot of f/f but I never seem to really feel a connection between the characters. Don't know if that's because the stories I've read aren't so great, or if I just don't connect with it. I identify as bisexual, I definitely like lesbian romance on TV and in movies, but maybe it's just not my thing in books. Anyhoo - I liked Tonya. Meredith is not well-developed. I have no idea who she is or why I should like her.
3. Stephanie and Angel: Ugh, so frustrating. Stephanie is annoying AF. Angel, you deserve better. Call me....more
So like... I have a complicated relationship with Santino Hassell. (Well...I have a complicated relationship with his writing. I have no relationship So like... I have a complicated relationship with Santino Hassell. (Well...I have a complicated relationship with his writing. I have no relationship with him as a person at all. Just want you to know that I understand that and am not crazy.)
A lot of times I just think his writing isn't for me, which is fine. Not everything is for everybody. But then sometimes I fracking LOVE his stuff. It makes it hard for me to know what to try and what not to. I can't swear off him entirely, but I also can't auto-buy everything like a squeeing fangirl. It's complicated see?
So anyway, I had read the description for Citywide and decided that one probably wasn't for me. Great. No harm, no foul.
But then this came along, dammit. And it was all the things. ALL THE THINGS!
So now I have to read Citywide, just to finish out Jace/Aiden/Chris's story because I can't not know how that ends. Even though I'm not really interested in the other two stories. I really wish he'd gone full length novel for these three 'cause I think they deserve it, but whatevs.
This was actually better than I was expecting it to be. It was a new-to-me author so I went in not sure what I'd be getting, and I ended up e3.5 stars
This was actually better than I was expecting it to be. It was a new-to-me author so I went in not sure what I'd be getting, and I ended up enjoying it.
The Good: - I enjoyed the humor and banter between Blue and Tristan. It felt natural and funny, rather than stilted and forced. - Blue and Tristan's chemistry was awesome. I fully bought into their relationship and how how they were together, and that they were able to fall in love so quickly.
The Not So Good: - Up until the point where (view spoiler)[Tristan finally admit's he's not bi, he's gay (hide spoiler)] there was a lot of biphobia in the way Blue approached the whole situation. Like, he kept referring to Tristan as straight. Or "sort of straight". Uh no, Blue, he's obviously not straight. I think it was meant to be funny but it was really just very frustrating. I mean, he admitted to having experience with men before. That's not straight! That's at least bisexual. I wanted to smack Blue. - I did not enjoy Blue's aunt or Tristan's grandmother and her wife. This has been addressed in other reviews and I'll just say I agree with those sentiments. Meant to be funny, but was not.
The story itself had a lot of soap opera melodrama involving Blue's sister and Tristan's brother. I don't really care one way or the other about that since it was a backdrop to the romance, but I know it didn't go over well with some reviewers. I didn't especially love it myself but I was kind of "whatever" about it.
Overall I liked it enough to give the next book a try.
9/20: So the good thing about this is that it's on Kindle Unlimited, so you can borrow it for free and once you do that, you can then get the Audible version for $1.99! So that's what I did. Narrator's pretty decent too, he doesn't make me want shove scissors in my ears. So we'll see how it goes....more
I loved this. Maybe 5 stars - I think I'm giving it 4 because of the length. I didn't have enough time to really sink my teeth in.
But this book made mI loved this. Maybe 5 stars - I think I'm giving it 4 because of the length. I didn't have enough time to really sink my teeth in.
But this book made me want a boyfriend sooooo bad. There's this wonderful scene where Zane and Eric are having a sort-of argument while they're brushing their teeth????? Best thing ever. This story gave me all the feelz. Zane and Eric are so in love and so adorable together. Awesome follow-up!...more
9/14: I have really struggled to write this review because I have SO much I want to say but I know I can't. I actually sat down and wrote a 5,000 word 9/14: I have really struggled to write this review because I have SO much I want to say but I know I can't. I actually sat down and wrote a 5,000 word review addressing all the things that had come to my mind while reading. I won't subject you to that. But it helped me to get all those thoughts out. Now that I've had time to let it settle, I can write a review.
So if I'm going to JUST review the book, and not its portrayal of the Mormon religion, I'd probably say 4 stars, actually. If you're not Mormon then all the doctrinal stuff might get heavy and boring. For me, it was all stuff I'm very familiar with, stuff I've known my whole life so it actually made the story more interesting to me. In the same way that it's fun to read books set in the area where you live, or books that are about something you know a lot about.
The romance was cute, but the book is about the relationship between homosexuality and organized religion so it's really not the main focus. I barely noticed that the sex wasn't on-page. I keep reading that in people's reviews and I'm like, it wasn't? It seemed like there was plenty of sex to me. (Then again, the Mormon part of me was so appalled by what they were doing ON THEIR MISSIONS, I think that what in any other book would have been a tame, mostly off-page love scene was totally scandalous for me.)
But I can't review the book without reviewing its portrayal of the Mormon religion. That's the whole point of the book, and the whole point of me reading it. So this is where I struggle, because truthfully, it's not inaccurate. But it's also not quite right.
The truth is, there are members like Adam, who have been raised with such a strict view of things, and who have been entrenched in the culture to the point that they can't differentiate between it and the doctrine. And the truth is there are members like Adam's dad, who see things in such strict black and white terms and totally miss the point of the gospel, which is to love each other and to just try to do a little better every day. So in using Adam and his dad as the window through which the reader sees the church.... it's not inaccurate because unfortunately, that is the way some people see and experience it.
But it is inaccurate as far as that's not actually what the church is about. I experienced a lot of frustration with Adam, and a lot of disgust with his father while reading this. They are not good representatives of the faith. Adam just absolutely does not "get it", which made me sad.
So what I really want to get across to non-Mormon people who read this book is that Adam’s dad, and Adam’s own understanding of the gospel are not representative of what the church is actually about. They are examples of people who have been raised in a culture but don’t actually understand what they believe. It’s an accurate portrayal of that kind of person, but not of the Church or its membership as a whole.
My 5,000 word frenzy got into a lot of detail about specific points I wanted to clarify. I'm going to skip that, and just say that if you have questions, if anything in this book in particular stuck out to you, please ask me! I'd be happy to go in depth on whatever you might be curious about. Consider the comments of this review an open space for discussion.
For now, there's just one specific thing that I do still want to address.
There was so much in this book that either implied or directly stated that Mormons are taught to never question anything. THAT IS NOT TRUE.
I’m sure there are members who don’t get it at all who tell their kids that asking questions means they don’t have faith, and that they shouldn’t question their leaders and they should just be blindly obedient. But that’s not what the Church teaches. Members are encouraged to gain a personal testimony of every single thing we’re ever taught. We’re to pray, and study the scriptures and find out for ourselves if we believe that something is from God. We are not taught to be blindly obedient. We are taught to have faith, and I suppose that can be confusing for some.
My understanding of faith is something that has really grown and evolved over the last few years as I continue to study and learn. There are things in the church that I don’t understand, that I struggle with and have to take on faith. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong for me to question them. It would be wrong for me to start teaching everyone in my ward that a certain piece of doctrine is wrong because I don’t like it and try to lead others away. But it’s not wrong for me myself to question things, or to ask those questions publicly.
So many times in this book, Brandon and Adam would have a conversation about a question one of them had and Adam would feel guilty. That is NOT of the Lord. I have conversations like that with my family all the time. Sometimes they have insights that are really helpful to me and I gain a better understanding of the thing I was questioning. Sometimes they say “Huh, I hadn’t thought of that” and we discuss but don’t ever come to a final conclusion. That’s a good thing. Questioning is NOT discouraged in this church. We are NOT taught to have blind faith. Any member who thinks we are is operating under a gross misunderstanding.
The final thing I want to say: There is another review of this book that says that Adam and Brandon actually "talk to Heavenly Father" during sex. This is not accurate - what they actually do is jokingly quote scripture to each other. I'm not saying that's not weird, it's just not quite the same thing. Not a big deal, but I commented on that person's review to clarify the misunderstanding and my comment was then deleted and that reviewer blocked me. I was not being argumentative at all. When I realized I had been blocked, I was completely shocked. And also amused. I mostly think it's funny, but I'll admit it bugs me a little bit because it seems so unfair. I wanted other readers to know so they can make an informed choice.
And one more final thing: The author makes a big point of establishing her "Mormon cred" in this book so that you'll trust that she knows what she's talking about. If you want to know mine, check out this blog post I wrote a few years ago: http://imamoliberal.blogspot.com/2013....
I haven't updated that blog in a long time, mostly because no one gave a crap and it didn't ever start the dialogue I was hoping for so I got bored. But if you're curious it might answer some questions.
9/4: I feel like as an active Mormon - not an angry ex-Mormon but an actual every day, church-going Mormon who believes the gospel with her whole heart - I owe it to the community to read and review this book. Because I'm also a staunch LGBTQIA ally and lover of the m/m romance genre. My "cred" as both is substantial. AMA.
It makes me very nervous to read this. I have a feeling it will upset me. But I feel a responsibility to read it so I can give a more un-biased view. My gut tells me there are inaccuracies here and that my church isn't painted in the best light, which tends to happen when being presented by people who don't truly understand it. I get that - I didn't understand it for awhile. In fact, I spent many years away from the church because I didn't understand it, but I'm so grateful for the events in my life that brought me back.
So I will read this, and I will deal with all the emotions it gives me and then I'll report back....more
I ended up enjoying this a lot, but it took me way too long to get into it so I couldn't give it a full four stars.
It's got everything you lo3.5 stars
I ended up enjoying this a lot, but it took me way too long to get into it so I couldn't give it a full four stars.
It's got everything you love about Anyta Sunday - excellent banter and humor, an adorable and believable slow burn, and a very satisfying ending. I just didn't fall in love with Percy and Cal the way I did with Theo and Jamie. Oh well.
Also, I have to admit it bugs me a little that these books are set in the U.S. The dialogue is SO not U.S. English. I wish she had set it in New Zealand and then I wouldn't be pulled out of the story every time they said something an American just wouldn't say. Like "cheeky." I LOVE the word cheeky, but ppl in the U.S. just don't use it. We don't say "cheeky" here. Sorry. And we don't have lamb kebabs at 4th of July barbecues. Or "onion rolls". I don't even know what an onion roll is. And what on earth is a wheeled basket? They went to the grocery store and couldn't find a cart so they used "wheeled baskets" instead. IDK. The baskets at my grocery store sure don't have wheels. There were a lot of little things like that that added up....more
This was a very sweet and cute feel-good story. It doesn't delve super deep or get very angsty, there's no internal conflict in the relationship and tThis was a very sweet and cute feel-good story. It doesn't delve super deep or get very angsty, there's no internal conflict in the relationship and the secondary characters have a tendency to lean towards cliche. And yet none of that matters. This book is like eating cookie dough out of the tub, or re-watching your favorite rom-com for the 30th time. It's a comfort read. I dare you not to smile when reading this....more
Nichole (DirrtyH)
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Books:
2017
(54)
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