Abdi Nazemian’s book Like A Love Story is one of my all time favorite books, and ever since Abdi Nazemian is an autobuy author for me. And yet again, Abdi Nazemian has written a beautiful, heartfelt and intriguing story with wonderful characters told in three parallel stories by the POVs of each of the three generations of men in the same family, that come together in the end to give the main characters understanding and closure for each other and the mistakes made and the losses they’ve suffered in their lives. This book follows three men – the grandfather Bobby/Babak, the father Saeed, and the son Moud – from the 1930s Hollywood to the 1970s Theran until today’s Los Angeles, and shows how the past is always connected with the present, and how actions and decisions made a long time ago affects generations to come. Moud is an out gay teen, who lives alone with distant a father, who doesn’t seem to be able to fully accept Moud for who he is, and who lives a closed-off life after the death of his wife. But as the story evolves, it becomes clear that Saeed has had his own struggles, and not the least how Babak’s life and struggles has affected the following generations.
These three characters and their friends and loved ones are what made the story! I adored every single one of them as the story unfolded. Abdi Nazemian described them with such integrity and empathy, allowing them to be real, with flaws and less likeable traits. I also loved the side characters, especially Ava in Iran. The only characters I immediately took a dislike to was the obnoxious, self-righteous know-it-all Shane (not until the end, when he kind of changed to the better) and of course, Babak’s horrible mother. I loved the insights into Iranian life and culture throughout the three generations and the amazing character growth of both Moud and his father Saeed. But my absolute favorite of all was Babak and his amazing life journey of self-discovery, curiosity, bravery and his ongoing support for the queer community. He was such a kind and truly good man. I would have loved to get to know his father a little more, since he seemed the be the reason that Babak could find the right path in life, but maybe he will have a story of his own sometime later… The way Abdi Nazemian writes is simply amazing (and one of the reasons I love all his books). He sure has a way with words, and managed to make all of the characters fully fleshed out and relatable, and tell the story in such a beautiful, almost poetic way. Just like his previous books, Only This Beautiful Moment was such a fast and intense read. All of the three stories completely pulled me in and I felt like I was flying through the pages. All in all, Only This Beautiful Moment was a wonderful, gripping, enlightening and emotional story with the important message to value the beauty in life and live your life to the fullest! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Author info: Abdi Nazemian
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This must be one of my favorite historical MM romances ever! Such a sweet and tender, slow burn, friends-to-lovers romance overshadowed by the constant fear of being found out, yet so full of hope and joy. We Could Be So Good is a true gem that I recommend with all my heart! Set in the 1950s, this wholesome story follows the two young men, Nick Russo and Andy Fleming, who become unlikely friends at their newspaper work, despite all their differences. Nick with his rough Brooklyn background working as a criminal reporter and Andy, being the media mogul heir to take over the running of the entire newspaper. Nick, being sure of who he is and what he wants, but knowing the risks that entails, does all he can to hide his true self and not let anyone into his life. Not until freckled, gorgeous, earnest, clumsy and absolutely clueless Andy comes into his life and turns it upside down. Andy on his side struggles with heavy abandon issues and with finding his direction in life. And that thing about himself he might suspect he does all he can to suppress…
The characters in this book were amazing and so relatable. I immediately rooted for both Nick and Andy, they were so sweet and adorable and so real. I loved that the relationship developed slowly and with hesitation that felt true to the time. The yearning mixed with fear, the wanting mixed with anxiety, the hope mixed with tension was all too understandable considering the severe consequences of being found out, and made this love story even more epic and intense. I also loved the secondary characters, and the wonderful found family they created, with Emily and her queer friends. Emily was such a wonderful, strong, courageous and fun best friend that always stood by Nick, and even Andy in the end. The way we got to see the creation of a queer community and their pride and support for each other made this book into both an important eye-opening story to tell about how queer love was forbidden, and the injustice in how society treated anyone falling outside the ordinary (especially anyone from the lower classes without good lawyer connections) and a swooning, sweet and emotional love story that took my breath away. It was a painful story about the struggles for the queer community in the past (and sadly still), but also such a hopeful and empowering tale about the power of love, found family and happiness. And the character growth, how Nick’s fear eventually lessens and how Andy grows in confidence and starts to stand up for what he truly wants, was amazing! All in all, I absolutely loved this book, it really is one of the greatest romances I’ve read! Thank you so much for the recommendation, Nicole (Bookstagram @nicolereadsmm), without it I might have missed this gem! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Cat Sebastian This was such a beautiful and poignant read! An epic love story with added layers of grief and betrayal. I loved the two parallel love stories, one present day and one in the past, and how they were intertwined throughout the book, empowering the present day romance by the discovery of queer history and its struggles. Of Sunlight and Stardust follows two men who have been beaten by life. Tanner Rowe has had a tough upbringing as an orphan in and out of foster care, when he meets the love of his life, Emma. Only to lose her too when she gets sick and dies from cancer. In an attempt to honor and keep her close to his heart, he buys the house with the dilapidated barn Emma dreamed of owning. There, he meets homeless Cole Lachlan, who is just out of prison and needs a job. Renovating the barn together, the two lonely, broken men start not only to find hope and joy again, but also new kinds of feelings for each other.
This was such a wonderful and swoon worthy bisexual awakening romance with two amazing main characters to root for. I truly appreciated the way in which Tanner and Cole slowly began to open up to each other, and for Cole to possibly see a new beginning and for Tanner to hope for happiness and love again. The authors did a wonderful job with these two men, truly making us see and feel their loss and grief, loneliness and vulnerability and fear of opening up again and risking more pain. I also adored the secondary story that we got to follow through the diary that Tanner and Cole discovered in the barn, and how this story empowered their own journey of self-discovery. All in all, this was a swooning, sweet and emotional love story with a historical and somewhat magical touch that connected four men and their love through different moments in time. Rating: 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 Get your own copy: Author links Amazon Author info: Riley Hart Christina Lee What a beautiful, heartbreaking, and important story! I loved the supportive family and friends, the art and culture, the character growth and how the main character Ander found their path in life and what really matters. Also, such a great non-binary representation! The story follows the Mexican-American nineteen year old Ander, who is about to start a new journey as an artist and leave his beloved San Antonio in Texas to attend a prestigious art school in Chigaco. But even though it’s clearly an opportunity of a lifetime and the ‘right’ thing to do, Ander has doubts and keeps stalling the move by taking on local projects and working at his family’s taqueria. There they meet the undocumented Mexican boy Santi, and things starts to fall into place. Like who they are, what matters in life, and the power of love.
“I’m with you. Through happiness and destruction.” It was light and fun with a super sweet love story, at the same time as it was heartbreaking and dealing with serious topics such as the constant fear of being found and detained by the ICE, the feeling of being put into a box as a ‘Mexican’ artist and only being seen as ‘authentic’ when limiting yourself to others expectations. It was a little slow in the beginning though. It took me a while to root for Ander, who felt a bit too naive and ignorant at first. And their instant interest in Santi was bordering to insta love. But then this marvelous story and all amazing, fleshed out, real characters just stole my heart. And broke it to pieces… All in all, this was a tender and emotional, sweet and adorable, empowering and heartbreaking story about love and finding a home. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Nowhere Bookshop Amazon Author info: Jonny Garza Villa 7/9/2023 0 Comments Glitterland by Alexis HallAaah, I so wanted to love this book that it’s super frustrating that I didn’t! I read it because of a wonderful review of one of my fellow bookstagrammers and because the blurb sounded right up my alley. But sadly, I didn’t really like any of the main characters and there were some other issues as well that made Glitterland quite a letdown for me. I loved Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material and was so glad when I saw the high praise for Glitterland as well, even though the topic for this one was a bit more difficult. Glitterland follows the clinically depressed and bipolar author Ash, who hides from the world due to his anxiety disorder and has given up completely on happiness and love, just trying to survive another day. So I know it wouldn’t be an easy, light beach read… but I did expect to root for the characters and be completely invested in their wellbeing and romance, but sadly I wasn’t.
The premise of this book reminded me quite a lot of There Is A Light by Ban Gilmartin with the raw descriptions of mental illness, the way depression affects the daily life and the people around you, and the chance romantic meeting. But whereas There Is A Light had wonderful characters that completely stole my heart, Glitterland had the opposite – characters that I genuinely disliked. The main character Ash had type 1 bipolar disorder and suffered from depression, panic attacks and had been hospitalized during his manic episodes, as well as for trying to commit suicide. But he was also kind or a jerk, to be honest. Some of his bad actions could definitely be blamed on the illness, but some were just because of his unlikable and selfish personality. The description of his mental health issues was done very well, and as readers we could completely understand hos his mental issues truly made it hard or impossible for him to do certain things, or interact with other people. But it was also quite clear that he sometimes used his mental health to manipulate his friends or for selfish gains. And speaking of his friends, Ash mostly avoided them or treated them badly, which made it difficult to understand why the put up with him, even though I have to admit that at times he was quite funny with his witty sarcasm. At one of the rare occasions when Ash did leave his house, he met the ‘orange glitter pirate’ Darian from Essex and a one night stands turned into something else. Darian was a true sweetheart, but the way he was described also made him very shallow and more of a cliché with the sexy but stupid model. On top of that, all his dialogue were written phonetically in a thick lower class Essex accent. I know from many of the reviews that a lot of readers had an issue with this writing style. But the use of accent as a writing style was actually quite alright for me as such. My main problem was hos the use of a lower class accent was used as a way to make Darian seem stupid and naïve, and to make Ash superior to him. Then there was Ash’s best friend and former lover Niall, who outed his mental health and was being a mean jerk in other ways all through the book, but who Ash in return guilt tripped for selfish gains (like being picked up from a one night stand in the middle of the night). I just couldn’t like or understand Niall or his and Ash’s toxic relationship at all. But there was definitely an interesting story behind Niall’s characters and how he’d fallen in love with two guys who never felt the same way about him. I wished we would have gotten to see more of the backstory there; I feel like I probably would have rooted for his character more if we had. The plotline was a bit aimless, with no clear start or ending, and a lot of things that were mentioned but never fully explored. Not only Niall’s backstory, but for example the process of the new book that Ash was writing (where its ‘research’ played a major role for the story) or Darian’s ex who now seemed to be his coworker (?) and how and when their relationship had ended. All this made it a bit hard to stay invested. And when things seemed to be going a bit better for Ash, of course his self-destructiveness had to ruin it all again… I did however truly love the side characters Chloe and Amy, and their loyalty and support for their friends and their sharpness and humor! Overall, I also loved the humor and banter throughout this book. It was so British and so witty, elegant and full of sarcasm, which is my favorite kind of humor! I also appreciated how Alexis Hall didn’t make mental health into something that could be cured by love. Even though the romance with Darian made Ash happier, it didn’t make his mental issues magically disappear, which made the story so much more real and relatable. I also appreciated Ash’s character growth in the end, but wished for it to have come sooner. So all in all, this book was a bit of a letdown, but it definitely had a lot of great parts and Alexis Hall definitely is a talented writer. And extra kudos for the raw and real descriptions of mental health problems and the British humor. I just wished that the characters would have been a little more likable… (In the latest edition of Glitterland, the short story Aftermath has been added, which I enjoyed so much more! That one was so much sweeter and really showed Ash’s character growth and gave us a true cinnamon roll moment.) Rating: 2.5 stars for Glitterland (4 stars for Aftermath) Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Alexis Hall Such a cute, comforting and hilarious historical queer YA romcom! Set in Camelot and with characters who are King Arthur decentants, but definitely not an Arthurian retelling but something completely different and gloriously queer! Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and this book has such a wonderful one with the Princess of England Gwen who is reluctantly betrothed to the King Arthur descendant Arthur, her bookworm brother Gabriel and maid Agnes, and Arthur’s servant and shenanigans partner Sidney and Gwen’s love interest the lady knight Bridget.
I loved the funny banter, the slow burn romances (yes, there’s both an f/f and a m/m romance!) and the sweet way this poked fun of the traditional heroic Arthurian legends. And Arthur’s and Sidney’s friendship was gold, I think I loved it the most, even more than the romantic relationships. The middle part was perhaps a bit slow, but the action-filled ending certainly made up for that! All in all, a very cute, fun and comforting read with fake dating, enemies to friends, self discovery and rewriting history. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Lex Croucher 7/6/2023 0 Comments Season’s Change by Cait NaryThis was such a wonderful and emotional friends-to-lovers mm hockey romance with two amazing main characters to root for. I loved how this book had a different vibe than many other hockey romances, with an MC who suffered from anxiety and panic attacks that added extra layers to the forbidden love trope. Season’s Change follows the struggling and angst-ridden hockey player Olly Järvinen, who is trying to get his career back on track after a traumatic previous season and change of team, and the happy go lucky new rookie Benji Bryzinski, who wants to leave his trailer park upbringing and anger management issues behind and earn his place in the big leagues. Being roommates shouldn’t be a problem, but there is something about the other that keeps knocking them both off track.
I read this book in one sitting, it was so addictive and I rooted so much for all characters that I just couldn’t bear to put it down until the very end! It was such a perfect slow burn, forbidden romance, story with lots of depths and emotions. There was so much angst and fear of messing up, the struggle for Olly to hide his true self and not give into his feelings for Benji, and for Benji to not let his anger or feeling of always being the odd one out get the better of him. And on top of that, a bi awakening for Benji with all the new feelings for Olly he can’t even put a name to. There were also so many other amazing side characters, and wonderful friends and family relationships, but also toxic ones, like the relationship between Olly and his dad, and between Benji and his sister, and Olly’s homophobic and mean former teammates. So definitely a lot of emotions going on, and a very intense read! This is Cait Nary’s debut book, but there is no way you could have ever guessed that. The writing was beautiful and Cait did such a great job describing Olly’s loneliness and anxiety, and his longing for being able to show his true self. I loved how Olly and Benji had this instant connection, that slowly was allowed to blossom into something more as their relationship developed. I also loved the other teammates, especially Poiro, and hope that Cait Nary will continue the Trade Season series with a book in his POV. I had some issues with one of the scenes (not going into details in order to spoil anything, but if you read the book you’ll easily know which on I’m referring to) and it was perhaps a bit unbelievable how Benji was so not worried about what others might think, and how super anxious Olle could just go with the flow when he and Benji started fooling around. But those are my only minor complaints. All in all, this was a both heartwarming and heartbreaking story with a perfect balance of hockey and romance, fun banter, vulnerability, steam and sweetness. Highly recommended! Rating: 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Cait Nary I had really high hopes for this book to be a light and fun friends-to-lovers summery read, and it started off really great with a wonderful friendship, fun banter and a lot of hilarious moments. But sadly, about halfway it turned into a story that wasn’t my cup of tea at all, with too much vulgar smut and a borderline toxic relationship. Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend is the third book in the Shell Grove series following a group of friends in a Southeastern small town. I haven’t read the previous books in the series, but had no problem getting into the story or the characters. The books in the series focuses on different persons, and even though the characters and past events from the previous books played a major part in this story too, it was really well done and everything was explained to keep you clued in to what had happened in the past.
In this third book, focus is on the two remaining singles, Maggie and Finn, who have been best friends since they first met eleven years ago, even though they are each other’s opposites. Where Maggie is spontaneous and always looking for a new adventure, Finn is as stable and secure as it gets, happy to run his local bar after his potential football career ended by an accident. With everyone in Maggie’s friend group getting married and having children, she’s feeling a bit left out and like it’s time to find a new adventure. Like accepting the job offer of her dreams in Key West. But for Finn, the news of Maggie leaving, makes him realize that he might have missed the chance to tell the girl of his dreams that he wants them to be way more than just best friends. I really liked how Maggie was such a joyful, adventurous and badass character, and how her backstory made her so willing to live her life to the fullest rather than being bitter for what she’d missed out on. I also really liked her and Finn’s relationship as friends (even though it was a bit too unrealistic that there was no sexual attraction for so many years) and how supportive they were of each other and their constant banter and pranks. But once they got together that all changed from fun and sweet into vulgar sex talks and smut, and toxic possessiveness. I don’t mind spice in a romance story, but all the vulgar talking and bad words, and the way Finn changed into a possessive alpha male wanting to stop Maggie from chasing her dreams was a big no no for me. All this talk about Maggie being his, belonging to him and him being her man, and Finns saying things like “Remove all your other male names from your vocabulary, Mags. Mine is the only one you need to know now.” just made me dislike Finn and the whole idea of his and Maggie’s relationship. The ending made up for a bit - I have to admit that it was really sweet what Finn did - but then it was a bit too late sadly. Too bad when the story and the characters had such great potential! But even though the story wasn’t for me, it still had a lot of good parts. I really appreciated how Maggie was such a strong headed woman who definitely took no sh*t from anyone and the sex positivity, as well as the wonderful group of friends and all the fun banter. So if you enjoy really steamy stories with dirty talks and obsessive alpha males, please don’t let my review discourage you from reading this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Tours for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 2.5 stars rounding up to 3 Get your own copy: Amazon B&N Kobo Add on Goodreads Author info: Melanie Munton |
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September 2023
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