The Haunting of Velkwood is a stunningly beautiful and truly eerie novel not only about confronting the ghosts of your past (quite literally, in this The Haunting of Velkwood is a stunningly beautiful and truly eerie novel not only about confronting the ghosts of your past (quite literally, in this case), but also about the isolation and empty promises of America’s suburban neighborhoods and the manner in which such a way of living encourages neighbors to pay no attention to what happens behind other’s closed doors lest your closed door be the one that comes under scrutiny.
I haven’t enjoyed a horror novel this much in months, and I truly think it’s because I really got to sink my analytical claws into it. In university I studied human geography and urban planning, and one of my great areas of interest was the dangers and perils of suburban living to the human psyche and familial relationships (especially between parent and child). The Haunting of Velkwood really allowed me to stretch the parts of my brain that are absolutely fascinated with how dangerous it is for humans to live in isolated and homogenous groups like the titular one in this book.
People fear what they don’t understand, and that is true of Velkwood Street both before the main narrative of this book and during the main events. What happened? Why? Who was involved? Who’s still in there? Are they alive? Dead? Something else? Can it be fixed? What will happen if they just let it be? Should they poke the bear?
The story and Kiste’s lovely writing are as haunting as the shadows in the depths of the main character’s eyes. A evocative and sad tale of how you can never truly go home again, especially if home was never truly safe to begin with.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
I thank the universe for sending the romance world Cora Rose. I honestly don’t remember what reading romances was like before her and I don’t think I I thank the universe for sending the romance world Cora Rose. I honestly don’t remember what reading romances was like before her and I don’t think I want to remember. What I do remember is that I wasn’t a huge rom com fan before her, but with one book she made me fall into instalove with her style, her characters, her charm, and the hilarious situations her characters somehow seem to end up in without it seeming completely cheesy. Let’s not forget her impeccable ability to embed her characters with dimension, depth, and a wealth of personality.
Exception is shorter than most Cora Rose novels simply because it’s part of a series in which all the novels are on the shorter side. They’re meant to be fast-burn and low-angst. But Cora wouldn’t be Cora if she didn’t do the book her way. It turned out magnificent.
Exception is hot, hot, hot! The spice is nice and plentiful, but not so plentiful that we don’t get plenty of plot and character development. The book is hilarious, full of marijuana-induced hijinks and a perverted kleptomaniac of a monkey. It’s also emotionally touching, with our opposites-attract main characters maybe not being as opposite as they think and coming together in the most auspicious of places.
It’s an excellent entry into the Unlucky 13 series and just a stellar rom com all on its own. I’m here for it.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, ideas, and views expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
This book is simultaneously one of the most adorable books I’ve ever read and one of the saddest. It’s precocious and it’s discomforting. It made me cThis book is simultaneously one of the most adorable books I’ve ever read and one of the saddest. It’s precocious and it’s discomforting. It made me cry several times.
The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley is a book about family, for good or for ill. Family isn’t always pretty and it isn’t always kind. They make mistakes and they are sometimes disagreeable indeed. For all their trespasses though, they are family, and sometimes family is worth fighting for. Sometimes they’re worth crossing oceans for.
I have a huge spot for magical realism. It’s probably my favorite genre to read. This book mixes magical realism with historical fiction set in the latter half of the 18th century, as America is forming and the Ottoman Empire is ruling Constantinople. In London, Abel Cloudesley is a renowned clock and automata maker. His son, Zachary, is a genius with an unquenchable appetite for knowledge. He also seems to have inherited his mother’s gift of second sight, which Abel tries to wave away due to Zachary’s almost preternatural intellectual abilities because he doesn’t want his son to be seen as any more different than he already is. Just as Zachary is suffused with love for his father and desperately clamors for his attention, Abel only wants Zachary to be safe and he’s steeped in guilt that he may not have been the best father and doesn’t think he can give Zachary everything he needs. So he sends Zachary to live with his Great Aunt in the country on her estate where she can use her resources to indulge and educate Zachary’s mind away from the filth and dangers of London.
From this point, this book explores themes on gender identity, found family, education, religion, gender equality, politics, war, conservation, LGBTQ issues, adolescent rebellion, and socioeconomics. Our characters age and travel. Some get sick and some inevitably die (this is before germ theory, people).
Every character in this book learns more than one lesson, and most of them are hard ones. There is love in these pages, though, and that makes it worth the read. If there were not love this book would be too sad. It’s a great read if you like books about automata and historical fiction set during the Ottoman Empire.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.
This book was amazingly diverse in so many ways: Native American representation, socioeconomic representation, ethnic representation, mental health reThis book was amazingly diverse in so many ways: Native American representation, socioeconomic representation, ethnic representation, mental health representation (I’ll get back to that), and so much LGBTQIA+ representation I was absolutely giddy for the queerness of it all.
I only have one huge gripe with this book: Did it have to be so predictable? That’s what lost this book a star. Well, that and the fact that I didn’t love the book enough to need it on my own bookshelves.
Don’t get me wrong: I truly enjoyed the book. I was hooked on it from the beginning and engaged from start to finish (in spite of the predictability). The story is compelling, especially with the added diversity and representation angles that aren’t simply thrown in for the sake of marketing appeal. Edgmon is definitely using fantasy’s ability to comment on sociopolitical and sociocultural issues to full potential with this book and I was living for all of it.
I can’t tell anyone reading this or the author in the length of a book review how much the mental health representation in this book meant to me. I may be cisgender, but Gem’s mental health struggles in some ways feel so much like the ones I’ve dealt with my whole life as a bipolar and having BPD. That feeling of needing to do whatever I can to keep people’s love, attention, and to keep myself safe. That feeling of sometimes not knowing if you’re real (I call it “my meat suit doesn’t feel right”), saying things you don’t mean, acting out even though you don’t even want to and then having to face the aftermath of your destruction once the episode passes? Yeah. I’ve been there. When I was a teenager I would’ve given anything for a book like this to identify with. I’m glad teenagers today have books like these to identify with.
So even though this may not be something I want to live on my bookshelves, I highly recommend it to all of you. Please, go read it. It’s everything diverse and important fantasy needs.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Coming of Age/Disability Rep/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/OwnVoices/Psychological Fiction/Supernatural Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy ...more
It’s very rare for our beloved Eden and Saxon to step outside the box and try something new, but I do like it when they do. Up in Flames is their firsIt’s very rare for our beloved Eden and Saxon to step outside the box and try something new, but I do like it when they do. Up in Flames is their first time writing something other than hockey romance as a joint endeavor, and just like any other time these two have a document shared between them, if there’s a single crack in there you sure as heck can’t see it. These two are so symbiotic when they write it should be scary, but it nets all us readers amazing books so I think I’ll just sit here and be in awe of their symbiosis instead.
Like Eden’s solo effort, Can’t Say Goodbye, this book is made of somewhat heavier stuff than the author duo’s usual fare. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s good for authors to stretch their wings and try new ventures. You never want to stifle the muse when they come to call. Of course, neither Eden nor Saxon is in the business of getting truly angsty, but they did want to tell a story that wasn’t all just sugar, spice, and everything hilarious. Of course there was sugar (the way Sanden and Remy are to one another is definitely sweet and considerate), and there was spice (definitely fewer spice scenes than we’re used to from the writing pair, as well as somewhat less explicit but they’re still hot), and I don’t think either Eden or Saxon could stand to release a book that didn’t make us smile and laugh more than we got the sads.
Speaking of the sads: This book does have the sadness, but it has the healing for the sadness too. Or, rather, it showcases the path to healing the sadness. I applaud both authors for fully endorsing, researching, and having both Remy and Sanden going through the process of therapy to help them work through their inner demons and trauma separately and for themselves. They both owned up to the fact they needed to be healthy to move on in life and sought out the tools to help them get there. Men seeking treatment for mental health issues is still a stigmatized issue, and seeing it normalized and visible in media can only work in favor of helping to destigmatize the process.
I took a star off because I thought the ending was a bit rushed, but otherwise it’s an outstanding novel.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Oh, Andrew Joseph White, if you keep writing books as good as this one and your debut I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself.
I fell in love wiOh, Andrew Joseph White, if you keep writing books as good as this one and your debut I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself.
I fell in love with White’s 2022 release, Hell Followed With Us, from the moment I first heard of it. It was like nothing I’d ever heard of before and I was ready to board the ship. I enjoyed the ride immensely. Then, when White announced his second novel, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, I could’ve swooned. Everything about this book made me swoon and behave like Veruca Salt, shouting, “Don’t care how, I want it now!”
Obviously, this is one of my most-anticipated releases this year, and holy hot damn it didn’t disappoint. If I could give this book more than five stars I totally would. This book hits really close to home for me in more than one way. My ex-spouse is both trans and autistic, my older child is gender fluid and autistic, and my younger child is autistic enough that he’s been declared permanently disabled. I myself am bisexual and mildly autistic, besides also being bipolar and having a host of other psychological issues. In the 1880’s (the time period this book takes place in) I’d likely have been placed in an asylum when I was in my early teens and left there to rot. For that matter, any of my family members might have met that unfortunate fate, if not worse.
AJW deserves not only all the accolades but also all the admiration for writing a book with a main protagonist that’s both trans and autistic. It couldn’t have been easy to write, and it couldn’t have been easy to convince agents and editors to publish it. But I’m so ecstatic that this book got written and made it onto book shelves because it’s brilliant and it’s beautiful in its own savage way.
When writing historical fantasy, you need to be just as careful with the “historical” portion of the book as you would be when writing historical fiction so as to not only keep your world building framework steady and make sure your atmosphere is correct, but also to avoid anachronisms where you can. AJW acknowledges in the back of the book that the queer historian he consulted to help him with the research for this book pointed out that such things as the constant chaperoning of unmarried females in Victorian times were definite obstacles to fiction. Therein lies the joys of historical fantasy, where all of a sudden the fantastical parts of the plot can create opportunities to circumvent what would otherwise be seen as an anachronism.
The world AJW created in this book is cold, cruel, grey, dreary, hateful, and wretched. There is no beauty to it except for the ties between the women at Braxton’s, which start out as tenuous and loose as a hasty basting stitch when Silas arrives but steadily tighten and grow stronger like corset laces as the book goes on and the abuses they endure grow with every day that passes.
There is precious little sweetness in this book, but when it is there it’s worth slowing down for, just to sink into a little and revel in it. It’s intimate and soft and a little unraveling. It’s an oasis, a pit stop in the midst of desperate chaos as Silas and the girls try to figure out where the spirits are and how they can escape a place that is sure to only serve up their deaths in the near future.
The climax of this book is manic, horrific, and grotesque. No one escapes without trauma. And even as the book ends, the trauma lingers and the business isn’t quite done.
I can’t recommend this book enough. To all ages. To all readers.
(AJW does include a list of possible CW/TWs inside the book for those who need them.)
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. Any thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Body Horror/Ghost Story/Historical Fantasy/Historical Fiction/Horror/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Occult Horror/Own Voices/Paranormal Fantasy/Paranormal Horror/Secret Society ...more
I was really impressed by the first book in this series, Reaching Reed. Back then I hadn’t read any of Nicole Dykes work, but I really liked how theseI was really impressed by the first book in this series, Reaching Reed. Back then I hadn’t read any of Nicole Dykes work, but I really liked how these two authors worked together. My opinion hasn’t changed because Becoming Bennet is just as good as Reaching Reed, just in a different way.
I think some people may have read Reaching Reed and looked for too much of Cora Rose’s influence in it from reading her more dramedy-like books like Sem and Until Him and when they didn’t get that same vibe, they might have been disappointed. But I felt that Reaching Reed was this really nice blend of spicy, soft, and sweet, with the two characters coming together more naturally than they do in most Cora Rose books. And it was refreshing. When two authors choose to co-author books it can either go disastrously (I’ve seen that happen), or those two authors can coax out the best of each other’s talents and temper some of their more signature ones to create a harmonious duet of voices on the page.
Becoming Bennet skews more towards dramedy, almost reaching into romcom territory. I think I would’ve liked it to be a little softer, but I truly do like it as it is too.
I did have an issue with the California stereotypes in this book, but that may be because of where I live in California. Becoming Bennet takes place almost entirely in Kansas, which is where Bennet was born and raised in a very small town. Jasper, the other MMC, is from San Diego (as are the other Behind the Camera characters who show up later in the book) and they all act like they’ve never been to a farm or been around farm animals and that the notion of big skies and flat fields for miles is foreign to them. In reality, San Diego County has the largest number of small farms (less than 10 acres) out of any other county in the US and also has the largest number of organic producers out of all the counties in the US. Agriculture is the 5th largest industry in San Diego County. They have great nurseries, floriculture, apples in the mountains, are the number one producer of avocados in the country, tomatoes, citrus fruit, succulents, a large crop of strawberries every year along the coast, some coffee, and cannabis. In the city itself many people keep chickens in their yards for their eggs. San Diego has at least 44 regular farmer’s markets in the city. So I find it very hard to believe that all of the homegrown San Diego guys in this series have never had contact with a chicken or have never been on a farm. You would not believe the amount of people who love going to farms to pick their own produce (up here in northern California people will pay a lot to pick their own berries and apples).
I’m sorry to go off on a tangent like that. It’s just… California is a really big place with a ton of people, and we produce most of America’s fruits and veggies. We have farms and more farms. Especially if you live near the coast or in a valley. (Please note this did not affect my enjoyment of the book and did not in any way influence my rating but is more of a “this really bugs me” thing).
I loved Bennet so much. I love how sure he is of himself, his sexuality, his job, and how he feels about Jasper. He has Jasper’s number and he’s one determined man. He wants to crack Jasper open like the tough nut he is. I also love how passionate and patient he is about making Jasper come around. He’s loyal and invested. That loyalty and investment also extends to his family, and the way his heart is so tangled with guilt and sadness over how he hasn’t been to see them enough is completely relatable. Sometimes we’re born in a place we can’t stay in for many reasons. Bennet’s lucky that his family loves him and tries their hardest to understand him.
Jasper’s a jagged little thing. If there’s one more thing I wished this book had done it was go more into Jasper: where he came from, why he is the way he is, and how he deals with his demons (we all have demons). We got to know Bennet so much during this book, but I felt like we barely touched getting to know Jasper. I would’ve liked more peeks into his psyche. (Though his scene in the petting zoo made me so, so, so happy).
I don’t know if I need to tell you the spice is perfect. Because if you know this writing duo you gotta know the spice is ghost pepper hot, right? It is. It’s downright yummy. And it’s not just during the spice scenes: It’s almost an omnipresent thing, their chemistry and tension evident in words and actions throughout the book. They can’t keep their minds off of one another at first, and once their hands get involved they can’t keep those off one another either, quickly followed by just about every other body part.
It’s a really fun, sweet, and hot read. There are some truly funny scenes and some that are truly touching. Check it out!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
I’m sitting here humming “Moon River” as I start this review, because I’m thinking of Ely and Wyatt as the two drifters who are off to see the world aI’m sitting here humming “Moon River” as I start this review, because I’m thinking of Ely and Wyatt as the two drifters who are off to see the world and there’s such a lot of world to see. These two people who are so similar in many ways and yet have a large gulf between them, adrift in life and moored in their mutual, chosen loneliness. Two miserable dinghy-people, just bailing water out as fast as they take it on.
This book could’ve turned out so badly. A nudge one way and it comes out saccharine. A nudge the other way it comes out too pessimistic. Somehow, Victoria Lee kept it steadily walking that earnest and vulnerable line, where she opens up her characters for us and we fall in love with them and watch as they each fall apart and put each other back together, over and over again. This story is sensual, sweet, and optimistic (without coming across as so sunny you’d think Pollyanna was turning the pages for you).
In most romances, I don’t so much get on board for genuine, heartfelt happiness. For some reason, when it comes to LGBTQ romances, that’s all I want for them. I want all the genuine happiness. Maybe it’s a reflection of how many unhappy endings LGBTQ people (especially transgender) get in real life and how much that upsets me. Maybe since I’m LGBTQ and I have a LGBTQ child I just want to see the LGBTQ people in romance novels end up happy because I didn’t and I want better for my own kid someday. This book genuinely moved me. The way Wyatt and Ely propped each other up even when they weren’t romantically involved, the way they supported each other in their sobriety, and the way they were so reverential with one another’s bodies when they were together was an honest show of how much it meant to them to shed every layer and be bare before one another in every way. To drop every veil and reveal everything, including every insecurity and every scar.
Now, I’m new to Victoria Lee’s work, but not only did she show off some serious research chops in this book, but she also brought beautiful prose and excellent dialogue skills to the table. Her characters jumped off the page and added just enough background color and noise that they never took away from our two main protagonists–they just garnished them the right amount.
I loved that this book ended happily, but not with a tidy little bow. Because life is messy. We don’t always get everything we want. But what matters is that we keep trying and holding onto the ones we love. This book definitely conveys that.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
This book was a change of pace from the first two Mike Bravo Ops books in a big way and I have to say, I’m still a little off-kilter about it.
Don’t tThis book was a change of pace from the first two Mike Bravo Ops books in a big way and I have to say, I’m still a little off-kilter about it.
Don’t take that to mean the book isn’t good, because it is. It’s merely a different vibe and speed than the previous two books, and a different feel than most of Eden Finley’s books. This book is more about connection, both making it and keeping it, than it is about almost anything else. Lemon is a stripper who is afraid of true connection and Atlas is someone who longs for true connection and is patient enough to wait for it. This is definitely not grumpy/sunshine–this is shy/uninhibited. They’re both either far too nice or too protective to be either grumpy or sunshine. If anything, they’re a lot alike, save Lemon is more apt to be taken advantage of because he isn’t trained to pick up on things about human behavior like Atlas has.
This book is a slow burn for an Eden Finley book, and that surprised me. I actually thought it was too long of a wait for the length of the book and wasn’t justified by the plot. I can see her reasoning for the wait in the writing, but it still bothered me and didn’t sit quite right with me. And when the spice did come, it wasn’t as fulfilling as I’d hoped it would be.
The few brief appearances by the rest of the Mike Bravo team were entertaining, as always, but they felt almost wedged in at times instead of seamlessly slotted.
Overall, did I like the book? Of course I did. Eden Finley doesn’t write bad books or even mediocre ones. I just think she’s written better. The book is still a very worthy read and you’ll love the precocious minx, Lemon. He’ll steal your heart and run away with it.
A copy of this title was provided to me by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Contemporary Romance/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Military Romance/Romance Series/Sadenverse/Sex Work Content/Spice Level 2/Workplace Romance ...more
Cora Rose, oh Cora Rose. You consistently bring us to our knees with some of the hottest couples with the best chemistry doing some of the most spicy Cora Rose, oh Cora Rose. You consistently bring us to our knees with some of the hottest couples with the best chemistry doing some of the most spicy and sexy things together while simultaneously writing those characters with such sincerity and care…and I can’t figure out how you do both and hit the bullseye every single dang time. Woman, do you know how to write a bad book?
Grey and Quinn are absolutely combustible together from the start in the fast-burn age-gap romance, even as they both struggle with very similar demons at two very different ages. Neither feels wanted by anyone in their life or feels like a priority to anyone they love, but somehow how that struggle manifests in each character compliments the other, with Quinn needing to care for people and Grey longing to be cared for. Or, in more racy terms, it leaves Grey longing to be pounded into the mattress and that feeling of being owned, and it leaves Quinn longing to possess that which he covets and to make sure it never goes without feeling wanted.
And hoo boy does Quinn want Grey. On his back, on his knees, on his stomach, on his side, standing up, bent over...it doesn’t matter to Quinn. All that matters to Quinn is keeping Grey feeling desired and filled as often as possible. And all Grey wants is that feeling of constantly being filled, stuffed and sore so he can’t forget how much Quinn wants him.
That doesn’t mean that the only cure for what ails Quinn or Grey is sex. I would argue that Quinn likely needed a touch more attention to his issues in this book and should probably be in therapy, but we all handle our damage differently. To be honest, I identified a lot with Quinn in how he thinks about and handles his sexuality and past experiences, because I was much like that myself, so I may be biased in my opinion of that part of his life. Even though Cora Rose treats Grey and his issues compassionately and with great care, there is something to be said for the fact that Grey should’ve likely been seeing a mental health professional at some point.
The imagery we’re given of Michigan and the beautiful upper peninsula would’ve been lost in many other author’s hands. Cora took great pains to write out the road trip Quinn and Grey went on, painting vivid scenes of both the wilderness and all the little towns and villages that dot the region.
Mostly, I just loved how Quinn and Grey were so in sync, right from the start. Their quiet times, their laughing times, and the times when they knew they were about to tear each other to pieces.
And let us not forget Winter, because humans don’t deserve dogs. They are too good for us.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, views, ideas, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Bisexual Romance/LGBTQ Romance/Gay Romance/Contemporary Romance/5 Star Reviews/Age Gap Romance/Forbidden Romance/Road Trip/Spice Level 3/Standalone Romance
Merged review:
Cora Rose, oh Cora Rose. You consistently bring us to our knees with some of the hottest couples with the best chemistry doing some of the most spicy and sexy things together while simultaneously writing those characters with such sincerity and care…and I can’t figure out how you do both and hit the bullseye every single dang time. Woman, do you know how to write a bad book?
Grey and Quinn are absolutely combustible together from the start in the fast-burn age-gap romance, even as they both struggle with very similar demons at two very different ages. Neither feels wanted by anyone in their life or feels like a priority to anyone they love, but somehow how that struggle manifests in each character compliments the other, with Quinn needing to care for people and Grey longing to be cared for. Or, in more racy terms, it leaves Grey longing to be pounded into the mattress and that feeling of being owned, and it leaves Quinn longing to possess that which he covets and to make sure it never goes without feeling wanted.
And hoo boy does Quinn want Grey. On his back, on his knees, on his stomach, on his side, standing up, bent over...it doesn’t matter to Quinn. All that matters to Quinn is keeping Grey feeling desired and filled as often as possible. And all Grey wants is that feeling of constantly being filled, stuffed and sore so he can’t forget how much Quinn wants him.
That doesn’t mean that the only cure for what ails Quinn or Grey is sex. I would argue that Quinn likely needed a touch more attention to his issues in this book and should probably be in therapy, but we all handle our damage differently. To be honest, I identified a lot with Quinn in how he thinks about and handles his sexuality and past experiences, because I was much like that myself, so I may be biased in my opinion of that part of his life. Even though Cora Rose treats Grey and his issues compassionately and with great care, there is something to be said for the fact that Grey should’ve likely been seeing a mental health professional at some point.
The imagery we’re given of Michigan and the beautiful upper peninsula would’ve been lost in many other author’s hands. Cora took great pains to write out the road trip Quinn and Grey went on, painting vivid scenes of both the wilderness and all the little towns and villages that dot the region.
Mostly, I just loved how Quinn and Grey were so in sync, right from the start. Their quiet times, their laughing times, and the times when they knew they were about to tear each other to pieces.
And let us not forget Winter, because humans don’t deserve dogs. They are too good for us.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, views, ideas, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Bisexual Romance/LGBTQ Romance/Gay Romance/Contemporary Romance/5 Star Reviews/Age Gap Romance/Forbidden Romance/Road Trip/Spice Level 3/Standalone Romance...more
This book was simply an issue of (pardon the metaphor) a bunch of individual ingredients that should’ve tasted spectacular tReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
This book was simply an issue of (pardon the metaphor) a bunch of individual ingredients that should’ve tasted spectacular together but, for whatever reason, just didn’t end up tasting right.. Like a roast that’s been cooked too long or chicken that’s just way too bland. Sure, I’ll eat it, but it won’t be the best meal. It’ll leave me distinctly unsatisfied and wishing for a better meal.
That’s what happened here with Knock Knock, Open Wide. We’ve got Celtic folklore, a sapphic romance, a black goat, fractured family dynamics, a sinister group of priests, and a creepy children’s television show that’s been on for decades. These are all the sort of book ingredients that I could roll around in like catnip! These things are what attracted me to the book in the first place. It’s just that the book wasn’t put together in a way that I enjoyed much. It was just tolerable.
The biggest issue, I think, was the swiftly shifting timelines and POVs. This book not only likes to shift in time, but it likes to shift narrators, too. Sometimes, if you’re not paying close attention, you kind of lose track of where you are and who you’re with. I’m okay with this narrative styling usually, but not when it’s used so extensively. When it’s used as extensively as it is in this novel I feel like it’s a crutch for not knowing what else to do for exposition. We always say, “Show, don’t tell,” but that doesn’t mean you swing the pendulum all the way in the opposite direction and just show everything like a scattered mass of scenes. There has to be a meeting of minds somewhere in the middle because the scattershot approach ends up destroying pacing. Pacing in a novel has to be a natural and organic thing with natural ebbs and flows. This is a thriller and a horror: the ribbon needs to be kept taute, but not so taute that there’s no give for readers to breathe every now and again. You can’t keep a ribbon thrumming with tension if you keep letting it go to switch to somewhere else and someone else. It rips readers out of the story temporarily and then expects them to pick the same ribbon of the main, present-day storyline back up and pull the ribbon taute again. After a while, readers just get tired of it. I know I did. I was tired of it before the book was halfway over.
A secondary issue was that I thought the book was just too long for the story offered, seeing as I knew how the book was going to end and what was going on from probably about 25% into the book. After that it just felt like a whole bunch of hurry-up-and-wait.
A huge positive is that I love Sharpson’s writing style, sentence structure, and dialogue. This book has a terrific sense of self and the characterizations are wonderful. The dialogue is witty, sharp, and sometimes downright funny. The horrific parts of this book are absolutely nightmarish and fabulously written. I only wish the rest of the book had been as good.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. This review will not be appearing on social media. ...more
In 1998 (stay with me, here), a movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd came out called “The Object of My Affection”. In a rough nutshell, it’s In 1998 (stay with me, here), a movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd came out called “The Object of My Affection”. In a rough nutshell, it’s about a woman who gets pregnant and decides she’d rather raise the baby with her gay best friend than with the father of the baby and the gay best friend agrees. The issue is, of course, that committing oneself to being a surrogate parent and platonic significant other at the same time is a lot to ask of someone who comes to realize they want to fall in love for themself.
I thought of that movie while I was reading The Rachel Incident not only because they both involve a straight woman and a gay man being platonic besties, but also because their friendship is also as codependent as the one in the movie. And there’s a quote in “The Object of my Affection” that serves The Rachel Incident well:
“Don't fix your life so that you're left alone right when you come to the middle of it.”
This quote, I think, sums up part of the problem and the solution for besties Rachel and James in O’Donoghue’s dramedy, set largely in Cork County, Ireland, starting in 2009 and goes on into the late 2010s but ends somewhat nebulously prior to COVID. Rachel and James meet one day when she comes into work at the bookshop she’s worked at for two years and James is a new employee. They hit it off and become roommates. He tells her he’s straight, she thinks he’s lying but lets it go. She has a crush on one of her English professors anyway. One night at the bookstore after a book signing, she finds out for sure her roommate is gay when she sees him in the arms of someone unexpected. That night sets off a chain of events that deeply affects both of their lives for the next two years at least, sometimes testing their friendship to the breaking point. In the end, it’s Rachel who ends up paying the most for that sequence of events, even though she ultimately had nothing to do with it except keep a secret for her best friend who wasn’t ready to come completely out of the closet yet.
O’Donoghue has a great talent for dialogue. I found myself swinging from laughing to tearing up at some of the dialogue passages in this book. Her talent for writing Rachel’s inner narrative and keeping the character consistent while allowing for growth and development was also very nice. What I found myself not liking was how the book swung back and forth in time and tense without warning, since it was being told like Rachel is telling someone a story. That particular narrative structure just doesn’t fit the book well, especially when O’Donoghue doesn’t always tell us readers what year it is when she goes back to talking about the past.
There’s also somewhat of a cultural barrier, due to this book being based in recent Irish history not many international readers (like this US one) would be familiar with. I can keep up with the Irish and British slang just fine, but I know nothing of Irish politics because I’ve been too busy worrying about the mess we have over here. So a lot of the nuances of what the characters are talking about when it comes to laws and referendums was lost on me. Now, the debate about abortion and birth control is something that’s timely no matter where you are in the world, I think, because those are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights. Human rights are a global issue. So I definitely picked up on all of that, but when it comes to anything else political in Ireland I’m pretty much useless. That could’ve affected my reading experience, I’m sure.
If you want to read about everlasting friendship, unrequited love, loving the wrong person, loving the right person at the wrong time, second chances, how English degrees don’t prepare you for a career in which you can use it, and how people grow into becoming the people they’re meant to be, this is a great book. Just beware that if you don’t know that much about Ireland you might either need to just accept that for what it is or look it up.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under:Coming of Age/ Literary Fiction/LGBTQ Fiction ...more
You have to understand something: I loved the Netflix limited series “The Queen’s Gambit” (no, I haven’t read the book). IBe still my freaking heart.
You have to understand something: I loved the Netflix limited series “The Queen’s Gambit” (no, I haven’t read the book). I’ve watched that entire series from start to finish so many times. You know what this book reads like to me? Like YA Queen’s Gambit but funnier, less serious, and with less substance and child abuse. I’m not saying that to be insulting because if you delved any deeper than this shallow comparison it’d be like comparing apples and oranges. I really just mean that they’re both brilliant, both filled me with joy, both made me swoon, and both made me want to go back and do it all again.
First off: Dude, I have a fierce adoration for rivals-to-lovers. I also have a serious book crush on the book boyfriends who are the ones to fall first. Don’t even get me started on the fact that Hazelwood didn’t fall back on trying to make Mallory and Nolan some sort of opposites-attract trope. This book was the best kind of catnip: A fiercely independent, intelligent, bisexual, sex-positive FMC (praise be to Cheesus) and a strong, independent, intelligent, gives-no-effs MMC who acknowledges he is white and a trust fund baby (yes, it does cause problems but SPOILERS).
Do I want to go into the plot of this book much? Not really. It’s a romance. A dramedy, if you will. It’s closer to that mixed bag of genre than a straight-up romantic comedy. I have a love affair with the logic and strategy behind chess, as well as the aesthetic of it all. Do I know how to play? Heck no. But I love watching.
The supporting players in this book are absolutely vital and so endearing. Mallory’s sisters are exactly what little sisters end up being: pains in the butt but you would die for them in the blink of an eye. Her mother? Both a tragic and loving presence in Mallory’s life. Mallory’s bestie, Easton, is what we all wish we had in our life-long besties. Then there are all the chess players, big, small, misogynistic, kind, female, and more who make up the tapestry of Mallory and Nolan’s chess world. Some you want to castrate and others you want to just hug.
I just can’t with this book. It was too adorable for words and I gobbled it up.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without recompense. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Reads/Contemporary Romance/LGBTQ Fiction/Rom Com/Sports Romance/Standalone Romance/YA Fiction/YA Rom Com/YA Romance ...more
Welcome to polyamory done very, very wrong by Andrea Bartz.
I struggled with the rating for this book. It was entertaining eReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
Welcome to polyamory done very, very wrong by Andrea Bartz.
I struggled with the rating for this book. It was entertaining enough that I can’t say I wouldn’t recommend it to the right person, so rating it below three stars wasn’t an option. It wasn’t so poorly written that I felt rating it three stars was justifiable, but it wasn’t well-written or enjoyable enough to warrant four stars. So 3.5 it is.
I don’t want to get into the plot. If I did, we’d be here all night. Here’s the thing (and Bartz actually has one of the characters point this out at some point in the book): During the pandemic, when we were all snug in our quarantine pods and being oh-so-careful about everything under the sun, we all went a little crazy. I know I did. I went into COVID a total extrovert who loved to go out and loved crowded places. I came out of COVID a horribly anxious person who tries to avoid leaving the house at all costs and has anxiety and/or panic attacks when too many people are around. So much of the plot of this book is centered around being trapped and about different kinds of isolation and the notion of what it means to escape that I’m afraid I would just end up jibber-jabbering.
We can talk about our main character, Kelly, though. I was continuously disappointed by Kelly at almost every crossroads in this book. She’s not a particularly good person, although she claims to be and other people tell her she is. I didn’t view Kelly as good–I viewed Kelly as self-centered and passive-aggressive. Her constant insecurity and need for reassurance was exhausting, and it was almost like Bartz wrote her to always make the wrong decision or to be an absolute doormat. I like my female characters strong, not willing to be stomped on and willingly gaslit.
I also do not vibe well with Bartz’s writing style. Maybe she needs to read more erotic thrillers to get down the vocabulary of what goes into writing a sexy, summertime suspense novel like this, because the word “gooey” isn’t sexy. Her sentence composition lacks maturity, as does her word choices. She often chooses to make up adverbs that sound horrible when read out loud instead of simply composing a better sentence and a few times even used words that aren’t actually words, which is annoying.
Even though I didn’t guess whodunit, I was very disappointed by who did, because it simply didn’t make any sense to me. It was out of left field with not even the tiniest breadcrumb trail to accompany it. I felt it was simply there for shock factor and not because it did anything for the plot resolution or for the themes in the book.
I hesitantly recommend this if you’re just looking for something diverting to read this summer. It’s not terribly long (it could be shorter) and it’s not terrible. It’s just not great. Oh, do yourself a favor and skip the epilogue. It shouldn’t even be there.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, ideas, and views expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
I went into this book expecting something different than what I got. Sometimes, this can be a good thing. This time, it’s not entirely the “blurb baitI went into this book expecting something different than what I got. Sometimes, this can be a good thing. This time, it’s not entirely the “blurb bait” that turned me sour, it was the prose. Jim Bartley may think he’s written a clever dark comedy full of unfortunate violence in the tradition of the Coen Brothers, but the book never comes off as that clever. It just comes off as quite boring.
I was also hoping there would be more to the romance between Wes and Cam than what was portrayed in the book. I’m not talking about explicitness–I’m talking about mentioning it at all in any terms besides just mentioning it as an afterthought here or there or whenever someone else brings it up in a (historically-accurate) derogatory way. The way their relationship is portrayed almost makes it feel cheap.
It was just a disappointment on my end.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. Due to this review being three stars or lower this review will not appear in social media. ...more
So many people wondered if the infamous Chuck Tingle could write a serious horror novel. I say let them doubt no more, because Camp Damascus is not onSo many people wondered if the infamous Chuck Tingle could write a serious horror novel. I say let them doubt no more, because Camp Damascus is not only a serious horror novel, but it’s a relevant and timely one that also manages to preserve some of Tingle’s signature voice.
I couldn’t put this book down, people. Not only was it full of that righteous indignation for organized religion I love so much, but that rage was backed up by a wealth of well-researched and sourced ecclesiastical, religious, and lesser-known theological texts, some so obscure I’m not even sure how deep Tingle had to dig into academia to find them or how long it took them to go through bibliography after bibliography like a spiraling rabbit hole of Latin and Aramaic. If you’re going to write a horror novel lambasting evangelical Christianity and mega churches, Chuck Tingle really decided to go big or go home. I gotta tell you, the biblical sparring in this book was something I was here for in a big way, because there’s nothing like watching religious zealots being forced to shift their goal posts or deliberately misinterpret their own scripture.
I fell in love with the deeper story here too, of memories lost and the people we lose along with them. Picnics in the park, dancing awkwardly in an apartment, meet-cutes in book shops… Going from thinking you’re living a life with love being behind everything you do to knowing all that life has done is taken love from you might cause one to radically alter the course of one’s life, but it also probably won’t change the core of you. But just like conversion therapy doesn’t make you any less gay, losing your faith won’t necessarily make you any less kind or brave.
The characters in this book are brilliant. Keeping the main cast to a protagonist and two supporting characters really left a lot of room for great world building, fantastic character development, organic plot exhibition, and some great larger scenes filled with evocative and colorful imagery.
There’s also some fantastic random silliness, weird body horror with a point, and gnarly gore here and there inside, just to remind us we’re reading Chuck Tingle. I simply loved all of it.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Body Horror/Cult Horror/Horror/Horror Comedy/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQRomance/Occult Fiction/Occult Horror/Paranormal Fantasy/Urban Fantasy ...more
I knew when I read the previous book in this universe (don’t worry, both books can be read as standalones and you won’t miss a single thing), We Are WI knew when I read the previous book in this universe (don’t worry, both books can be read as standalones and you won’t miss a single thing), We Are Worthy, that I would want to read any other book Alisha Williams wrote that was set in the same universe. So, when We Are Destiny was announced, I signed up to read, review, and promote that book right away.
This book hit two huge omegaverse sweet spots for me: omega on omega action, and alpha on alpha action. It’s all well and good to read your standard omegaverse novel where it’s all just alpha(s) on omega action, but to be honest, I’ve really gotten tired of them. They’ve started to bore me in the same way that about 75% of heterosexual contemporary romances have, which is why I don’t usually read m/f contemporary romance unless it’s highly recommended to me by people I trust to make good recommendations. With omegaverse, I now see the standard alpha(s) x omega and I’m already pretty bored. I end up returning them to KU usually before the 20% point because I just need more from my omegaverse novels now. And mixing things up or adding up the kink and/or spice factor is a spectacular way to grab my attention and keep me reading.
While I loved We Are Worthy because of its unconventional yet BAMF FMC who was more into who her potential pack members were inside rather than what muscles they had on the outside, I loved We Are Destiny because of the two omegas in the book: our MMC, Spencer, and the feisty little omega Everlee, who is barely-controlled chaos with devious plans in mind that are meant to make everyone happy. The two together are so sweet and cuter than a pair of kittens who have just discovered their toe beans.
Also, bravo to Williams for tackling the struggles that come with depression and anxiety and the unhealthy coping mechanisms one might use in the dark times when it seems you’ve lost everything and don’t know if you’re ever going to come out of the dark pit you’ve found yourself in. As someone who has a panic disorder and an anxiety disorder (let’s not talk about the bipolar), I felt those scenes were written rather well and handled with appropriate care instead of exploitatively. While Spencer’s anxiety and depression are intrinsic to the plot, Williams did take care to not make Spencer all about his depression and anxiety, instead opting as often as possible to show as many different facets of Spencer as possible.
Now, we all know we don’t read omegaverse for plot. We read it for fun and for spice. You don’t have anything to worry about on that front. There is a lot of spice in this book, and the pairings are in every formation possible. It’s all hot, and it’ll make you squirm real good. Not only that, but you get a lot of sweet and soft intimate moments, which is always nice.
All in all, it’s another winner from Alisha Williams in this omegaverse universe. It’s a great book available on Kindle Unlimited and you should definitely check it out if you like your omegaverse novels spicy, diverse, and versatile.
I was provided a copy of this book by the author. All opinions, thoughts, ideas, and views expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
In these past six months or so, Cora Rose has become an insta-buy author for me. All she has to do is announce a book and my head perks up like a meerIn these past six months or so, Cora Rose has become an insta-buy author for me. All she has to do is announce a book and my head perks up like a meerkat and I’m like, “Cora Rose? Must read!” I’m going to admit I’m a lot less familiar with the writings of Nicole Dykes, but that teeny, tiny fact wasn’t going to keep me away from this book. And I’m so glad I didn’t let anything deter me from getting my greedy hands on this book so I could devour it.
I don’t know how Cora Rose somehow does fast-burn, spicy, soft, and sweet all at once and yet makes it not only feel so effortless but also make it feel… natural. It shouldn’t feel so natural for two people to come together like they do in Cora’s books, but they do, and it’s always amazing. A Cora Rose book never lets me down. And judging by how popular she’s become in such a short period of time, I know I’m not the only reader who feels that way.
The simple, brilliant, and scorchingly hot premise of this series is one that totally taps into one of my favorite tropes: camboys (and sex workers in general). I am a big fan of how this book stays sex worker positive and never sinks to the level of exploiting it. Camming truly is a business as much as influencing and marketing is, just with less clothes. Sex work is the oldest profession in the world and is nothing to be ashamed of. This aspect of the book was definitely a plus for me.
How to express the way I feel about Reed, Hannah, and Carter? I can’t even with these three. I truly felt for Reed and his struggles, felt buoyed by Hannah and her ability to take most things in stride, and wanted to endlessly hug Carter for his huge heart and capacity to give.
I don’t know between Nicole and Cora who wrote what or who came up with what, but they sure make a good team. I’m looking forward to more from this co-writing team.
I was provided a copy of this book by the author. All views and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Thank you.
File Under: Contemporary Romance/Holy Crud That Was Hot/K!nk and BDSM Friendly/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Romance Series/Spice Level 3 ...more
This is author Amanda Linsmeier’s debut novel, a total mashup of genres ostensibly written for the YA set but also dealing wReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
This is author Amanda Linsmeier’s debut novel, a total mashup of genres ostensibly written for the YA set but also dealing with and handling some hefty subjects. I’d like to say it all hits, but it’s closer to about a 50% success rate.
Starlings wants to be a book about monsters, small town values, traditions, and putting familial duty above all other things, but it honestly mainly came across as “Midsommar” meets Main Street USA.
I’m really not kidding about “Midsommar”. I felt its influence all over this book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because I loved that movie, but I do tend to think it might be a problem when it’s so evident the reader can’t stop being reminded of it.
Linsmeier does have talent, because I did read the book and I won’t sit here and say it was a horrible read. I just think it wasn’t a consistent book and the climax bothered me more than I’d like to admit.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
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