Enay QueerBooklover's Reviews > Storm Clouds and Devastation

4.5 stars - There aren’t many books in queer lit that address eating disorders & the supposed need for physical perfection. This book does a fantastic job looking at these topics, as well as depression & suicidality (but content warnings definitely need to be considered)

Swoon /5 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Angst /5 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Steam /5 ♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️
Plot /5 🧐🧐🧐🧐
LOLs /5 🤭🤭

Bodhi is a gay sex worker, who has struggled with self-image his whole life. This is partly because he was a larger kid, and partly because of bullying & assault (again, check content warnings). Jules is a new job one night, & Bodhi instantly recognises him - he’s Bodhi’s childhood best friend’s father who Bodhi was attracted to as a baby gay. Jules tries to resist on moral grounds, but his attraction to Bodhi is too strong, although he also sees the pain inside Bodhi & wants to help him heal.

Bodhi’s character has been crafted with such skill & empathy, I was blown away. And while it was a hard read, the author nailed Bodhi perfectly. I liked the complexity of his relationship with Jules, & I especially appreciated that the author didn’t fall into the trap for Bodhi that “love cures everything” - he needed to hit rock bottom & get professional help to heal from his past traumas. And while Jules helped him in many positive ways, it was Bodhi who did the internal work to help himself. The deep understanding of depression & suicidality was impressive, as was the ability to articulate it for the reader to immerse themselves. My favourite part was the way the author positively painted stretch marks as “faded silver ribbons” - a beautiful description of a commonplace skin mark that is often described with disgust.

Swoony, super steamy, teary - it really had it all for me.

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