4/22/2024 0 Comments Exes & Foes by Amanda WoodyI absolutely adore Amanda Woody’s debut book They Hate Each Other and was so thrilled to read their new book, completely sure I’d love it just as much. Exes & Foes had such great potential and amazing representation, and I really, really wanted to love it, but unfortunately, it didn’t blow me away, nor have the same vibes or get me invested in the characters as THEO did. Exes & Foes is told from the dual POVs of the former best friends/crushes Caleb and Emma. For reasons still unclear to Caleb, Emma suddenly ghosted him four years ago, and now they are foes doing their best to avoid each other at school. But Emma has a way of always getting involved in Caleb’s life anyway, especially to steal his new friends or love interests. When a new girl, Juliet, begins at their school and spikes both of their interest, Caleb and Emma make a bet that whoever Juliet kisses first gets to date her. However, this bet somehow results in Caleb and Emma spending an unexpected amount of time together.
I really loved the concept with the two former best friends/secret crushes competing but ending up having to get to the bottom with their feelings for one another instead. And the representation was, just like in Amanda Woody’s first book, absolutely amazing and authentic. Just like in THEO, there was also an extra layer with abusive/neglecting parents that made your heart break for the main characters. But sadly, the execution of the concept didn’t quite meet its potential. For being the big love interest of both Caleb and Emma, Juliet was strangely lacking in personality and wasn’t fleshed out enough to make us readers understand how and why she was so compelling to them both. It also took such a long time to establish the whole plot setup that the first part of the book felt very slow and over-complicated. I would have wished to get Caleb’s and Emma’s backstory earlier and that we’d got more of their interactions. They had such wonderful chemistry and I rooted for them both when I learned about their hardship growing up (especially Emma) and how they’d been each others’ safe place and joy, I just wished that had come sooner. I also feel that the parental trauma parts could have been more explored as to why and how they started (and what about Emma’s dad and how had her mother met the new man becoming Emma’s sister’s dad, who seemed like a nice person apart from ignoring his wife’s first born and his daughter’s half-sister?) Strangely, the story felt both too long and too short, if that makes any sense. The story had such potential, it just took too long for it to fully rise up to it and let us connect with the characters. But that said, I still love Amanda Woody’s writing and their wonderful and authentic way of dealing with diversity and representation (there were so many different queer identities in this book and the inclusion felt both refreshing and yet so normal!), found family and mental health, and I can’t wait to read more of their stories. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen/Viking Books for Young Readers for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 3 stars Get your own copy: Penguin Random House Add to Goodreads Author info: Amanda Woody
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4/16/2024 0 Comments The Prospects by K.T. HoffmanThis was such an adorable rivals-to-friends-to-lovers sports romance that warmed my heart! I loved the pining and the awesome banter, and the hope and positivity despite the struggles, but most of all I loved the unique, real and delightfully queer characters! The Prospects follows Gene, the first openly trans player in professional baseball, who is focusing on staying positive and hopeful for the things he’s achieved and not on wanting things he can’t have. But when his former team mate, rival and former (still) crush Luis is unexpectedly drafted to Gene’s minor league team, it gets a little harder for Gene to stay focused and keep himself from wanting things…
Gene was such an amazing, unique and wonderful character! He was just so much himself all the time. So at home in his own body and with his queerness. So optimistic and full of hope despite the daily homophobia, misgendering and mean comments. But also so complex in his combination of positivity and shyness, how hopeful he was but still not allowing himself to fully dream, his confidence in being his own queer self and his insecurity in trusting his and Luis’s feelings for one another. Luis on the other hand was a bit more difficult to fully get to know. So sweet, anxious, beautiful and kind, but also closeted and withdrawn. I still feel like the reason for his lack of contact with Gene for all those years wasn’t fully explained. But together Gene and Luis made perfect sense and they truly stole my heart with their rivals-to-lovers romance, their banter, tenderness and mutual pining. Pure gold! And Gene’s family and the supportive team mates made me so happy too! Perhaps the baseball part was a bit too detailed. I don’t really know that much about baseball, so a lot of it went over my head and made the story feel a bit on the long side. But apart from that it was absolutely amazing and definitely worth the hype! All in all, a heartwarming, delightful, emotional read with unique and lovable characters and a positive message to never stop dreaming! Rating: 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 Get your own copy: Author links Add on Goodreads Author info: K T Hoffman Such a beautiful, emotional and poetic story about grief, friendship and the beauty of life! I love Jeff Zentner’s book The Serpent King and never expected any other story to match it, but Jeff Zentner has outdone himself! This book is a true gem! In the Wild Light is a timeless coming-of-age story set in a struggling small Appalachian town. Cash and Delaney have always been the odd ones out. Too smart, too nerdy and with too much integrity to fit in. And too poor, with parents lost to opioid addiction, to have a way out. Cash has his loving and supportive grandparents, but for Delaney, the friendship with Cash is her only beacon in the dark. Until Delaney finds a way to get both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut.
Not wanting to leave his dying grandfather, but not being able to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity go, Cash follows Delaney, into a new place with a whole new kind of struggles. I absolutely adored this story and the way Cash was able to appreciate the beauty around him! I also loved his and Delaney’s intense relationship and the realistic way in which they fought and made up and doubted their feelings for one another but in the end always were there for each other. It was such a relatable and beautiful story of finding yourself and your calling, finding your people (loved the poetry teacher!), dealing with grief and loss, daring to love and believe in your own worth and not let your circumstances limit you. As Jeff Zentner so beautifully described it himself, this book is about “standing in rivers, floating on rivers, reading poems, writing poems, audacious journeys with friends, having friends smarter than you, learning about the wonders of the world from friends smarter than you, that one teacher you never forget, talking on front porches, sitting silent on front porches, watching the sun set, and falling in love.” All I can add, is that this book is a true masterpiece where the raw, sad and emotional realities are interwoven with poetry, beauty and hope! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Add to Goodreads Author info: Jeff Zentner 3/28/2024 0 Comments Invisible Boys by Holden SheppardThis was such a raw, authentic and absolutely heartbreaking story about three teenagers trying to find a way to accept their true selves and survive the small town bigotry, homophobia and intolerance. Maybe a bit too dark for my personal preferences, but nevertheless a highly recommended one. But please be aware of the trigger warnings! Invisible Boys is a harsh coming-of-age story about three boys, who have to keep their true selves invisible to survive their small town, religious everyday life. Even to themselves. This is not a cute YA story about coming out. It’s a dark, raw, heartbreaking story about four struggling boys, who were not always likable or did the right thing.
I read the book with a knot in my belly, constantly wondering what kind of bad things that would happen next to the boys, or how they would screw up their own lives. I rooted so much for them all, but I can’t fully say that I liked them as characters, if that makes sense. Charlie, the punk rocker, was such a trouble maker who’d been let down by just about everyone and who lived for his music. I definitely understand why he acted out the way he did, but sometimes I just wished that he’d been able to keep his mouth shut just for once, or that he could treat the teachers and others wanting to help him with a little more respect. I truly adored him though and the way he stood up for himself and still was able to believe in love and being supportive of his friends after having been betrayed and let down so many times. Zeke, the shy A star student, who had always been in the shadow of his big brother and who tried so hard to be loved both at home and at school that he almost forgot who he was. Zeke was the easiest of the characters to root for, but sometimes his lack of backbone just got a bit too much. Hammer, the soccer star, was outright mean and selfish, using others without hesitation and a complete misogynist. Still, I so wanted him to come to terms with his sexuality and find a way to accept it and to heal. And then there was Matty, the sweet farmer boy, who played such an important role for the other characters. Knowing that he’d never be accepted as a gay man amongst his family or the farming community, and not having the courage to create another future for himself, he still tried so hard to find a way of not giving up hope for the life he wanted. All in all, this was a tender, raw, heartbreaking, sad and quite upsetting story tackling toxic masculinity, anger, suicide and homophobia, with characters I didn’t always love, but who got me completely invested in their story and made me wish for their happiness and courage to find their true selves so much. I definitely recommend it, it’s a relatable and important story that will stay with you for a long time, but please check the trigger warnings first, and be aware of the darkness, flawed characters and intensity of the story. It’s a complex and tragic story that will break your heart, but also give you hope. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Amazon Author info: Holden Sheppard This was such a cute, heartwarming and fun add-on to the Hockey Ever After series, telling the story how Grady and Max from the third book got engaged. I absolutely adore the Hockey Ever After series! The stories are kind of independent, but the characters from the previous books make appearances and I truly recommend you to read all of the books in the series, simply because they’re absolutely worth it! They are all such wonderful and sweet mm hockey rivals to lovers romances, with the perfect amount of steam and lovable characters with an absolutely sizzling chemistry!
One of my favorite books in the series is the third one, Unrivaled, so I was so happy when I learned there was a short extra story to the romance between Grady and Max. They started off as archenemies who hooked up by accident and who then found out that they had a surprisingly good time together. Soon they kept meeting up for more, with the fighting on the ice as foreplay… After a big hiccup in the third book, and the extra strain with Max’s team beating Grady’s team to the Stanley Cup, they are back on track and ready for summer vacation in this lovely extra novella. Grady and Max are such an amazing couple! I rooted for them both already from the start in the third book and I really appreciated the slow burn from loathing each other to slowly beginning to open up and getting to know each other with all their vulnerability and insecurities, and from there on letting the attraction take them even further. I loved this lite cute novella, with them both having the same idea about proposing and all the missed opportunities and hilarious situations. I also adored the way the Lockhart family took Grady to their heart and let him have a family again after losing his parents at a young age. And it was so wholesome getting more of Dante “Baller” gossiping and meddling into everyone else’s business. All in all, this was such a sweet and adorable bonus story that gave me the pleasure of spending more time with Max and Grady, and made me smile throughout it all, and warmed my heart! Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily. Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Author links Amazon Author info: Ashlyn Kane Morgan James Young Royals is one of my favorite shows and Red, White & Royal Blue one of my all time favorite books, so a story combining those into a new book by Julian Winters was of course something I needed to read! Prince of the Palisades might not be exactly of the same caliber as RWARB, but it was certainly a wonderful, sweet, adorable and emotional mm romance story between a struggling prince and a badass pink-haired commoner! Prince Jadon is the spare of the fictional kingdom Reverie as the younger, messy brother of crown princess Annika. After a leaked video of him trash talking the prime minister (who is also the father of his ex) makes his parents lose their patience with him, Jadon gets exiled to Los Angeles and a preppy private school together with his sister and two royal guards. In order to be allowed back home, Jadon must change the public perception of him and prove that he is worthy to represent the royal family. Including making friends with his fellow students, joining the school play and making public non-political speeches. But definitely not getting involved with someone or getting caught kissing in public. Which turns out to be harder than expected when sparks start to fly with a certain pink-haired film student…
Running With Lions is my favorite Julian Winters book, with all the amazing characters. This story had the same kind of vibes and fleshed-out characters, witty banter and focus on love and friendship. I truly adored Princess Annika, the quirky royal guards and Reiss’ family. Jadon and Reiss had a wonderful chemistry and I loved their fun banter and how Reiss kept Jadon grounded and showed him what a “normal” life and family looked like. It was perhaps a bit too insta-lovey the way Jadon immediately was intrigued by Reiss, and it took me a while to warm up to Jadon who came across as a little too immature and selfish at first. But the character development was amazing and at the end I fully rooted for him and his relatable struggles to find his path in life. I also loved the fanfiction references to RWARB and The Princess Diaries in the tweets and comments. All in all, this was a sweet and charming YA read about finding your true self and taking a chance on love! Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the free ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Add on Goodreads Author info: Julian Winters 3/8/2024 0 Comments Offtrack by Esha PatelI’ve been a Formula 1 fan since way before Drive to Survive, so the story about a female F1 driver and a racing romance felt like the perfect book for me! And I’m glad to say that the racing parts were done really well and felt both realistic and captivating. You could tell that Esha Patel had done thorough research and how much of an F1 fan she must be herself. But unfortunately, the romance fell a bit flat for me. There were also some parts of the plot that just didn’t make any sense and pulled the story down. So even though I wanted so much to love this story, it ended up being an okay entertainment for the moment, but didn’t fully meet the hopes and expectations I had. Offtrack is a story told in the dual POVs of the two F1 drivers, Diana/Diyana - the first female F1 driver ever, and Miguel - racing royalty as third generation of a family of F1 drivers. I loved the idea of a female F1 racer, and how strong and badass, yet kind, Diana was. She’d had to fight so hard for her dream to come true and even fight harder to keep it, with all the misogyny going on in the racing world.
I also really enjoyed all the racing parts, the strategy communication and the competitiveness on track. Esha Patel really managed to build the intensity, and I read the racing parts feeling almost as nervous as if I was watching a real race! So Diana as a character and the racing parts were great! But I had problems to fully understand and root for Miguel. On one hand he was the cliche of a playboy racing driver, on the other hand he was very supportive of his sister Paula and stood up for Diana when no one else did. I also had problems with the arranged marriage plot. Not going into details here to avoid spoilers, but everything about it felt off and made it hard to figure Miguel out. How could he be a player, allegedly screwing around with team principal’s daughter and others, at the same time as he was determined to honor the arrangement made when he was sixteen? Another thing that felt like such a huge plot hole that it pulled the whole story and the romance down, was (sorry, might be a bit of a spoiler coming up here) was the unbelievable way that Miguel hadn’t heard about a female F2 champion and didn’t recognize her at the driver presentation. Adding the even more unbelievable part that he’d forgotten that they not only knew each other from not only racing each other but having a crush on each other as teen karting drivers. Especially as this crush later became the foundation for their newfound romance. But even though I didn’t fully root for the romance, it was a very entertaining and fast paced read with a badass female racing driver giving hope for a near future with a real female F1 driver! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Author links Add on Goodreads Author info: Esha Patel 2/29/2024 0 Comments American Love Songs by Ashlyn KaneThis was such a sweet, fun and charming feelgood romance with characters learning a thing or two about life and themselves! The story follows Jake and his best friends’ alt-rock band, The Wayward Sons, as they find a new lead guitarist in the sexy nerdy Parker. It has a completely clueless MC, so much fun banter and quirkiness, a super slow burn friends to lovers romance and the perfect amount of heartbreak and emotions! It’s a sweet YA story, focusing on feelings rather than smut, which I appreciated. And I loved the writing style with the interspersing of blogs, texting, and media releases to tell the story (even though the blogging part felt a bit outdated and made you realize that the book was released in 2010).
All in all, a sweet, lovely, goofey, fun and heartwarming m/m band romance story that I’ve already reread twice now and know I will keep coming back to as a comfort-read! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Author links Add on Goodreads Author info: Ashlyn Kane This is the third book in the Mackenzie Country series and it was yet another sweet and heartwarming MM romance taking place in the remote New Zealand sheep country with fleshed out and mature characters to root for! I’ve never been to New Zealand, but the way Jay Hogan describes the rugged, southern alps scenery is so beautiful it makes want to book a flight right away to come visit… It’s almost like the nature plays a role in the story.
In this third book, we once again get to visit Lane Sheep Station, but this time focus is on Zach’s older brother Jules. The books can be read as standalones, but I strongly advice to read them all and in order, for the wonderful revisits of the previous characters and to fully understand the background to the events, but also because they are all highly recommended reads! As we know from the previous books, Zach’s and Jules’ father is a mean homophobe, who drove Zach away when he came out as gay. Naturally, Jules has had good reasons to keep his bisexuality hidden. Especially since he’s never met a man worth pursuing that side for. Not until his dad gets a stroke and physical therapist Liam comes to stay at the station and turns Jules’ world upside down… This was such an adorable bi-awakening story, full of first time sweetness, supportive family members and friends, and the struggle to stand up for yourself and take a chance on true love. It was also lovely seeing both Gil and Holden, and Zach and Luke still being so happily in love and totally sappy! Compared to the previous books, it was lower on angst and a little bit slower, but still full of humor, perfect chemistry, surprising twists and the perfect amount of spiciness! I received a free ARC of this book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Bookbub Add to Goodreads Author info: Jay Hogan This wonderful novella is set in The Cabots universe, even though there’s no real connection to the Cabot family, and it’s just as amazing as the other books in the series! In just about 100 pages, Cat Sebastian manages to write a completely addictive story with fleshed out characters to root for. Set in the 1950s it tells the story of Billy and Luke, who are baseball players and teammates. Recently Luke has been injured and gone into hiding, leaving Billy sick of worry. Billy, who has been able to keep his feelings hidden for more than five years, suddenly don’t know what to do when Luke turns up on his porch.
I loved the way the two of them slowly opened up to each other and letting themselves be vulnerable, despite the potential consequences. Cat Sebastian always has such an authentic way in describing the current time period and the fear and homophobia that queer people had to live with. Adorable first time experience, witty banter and pretend dislike to (unsuccessfully) disguise the true feelings. And Billy’s mother was pure gold! All in all, this was yet another highly enjoyable, adorable and heartwarming queer historical story by Cat Sebastian! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Cat Sebastian |
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September 2023
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