Tag: evil-females • BookLikes

review 2014-04-24 11:17

A Gay Romance - 'Gina A. Rogers', 'Kyle Adams'

This book takes taking nothing seriously very serious. ( yeah, I had to read it twice to understand what I meant too)
It's a spooftastic, caricature laden, chocked-full of every trope under the sun, a hilarious parody that pokes good natured fun at all the things m/m books seem to love to incorporate over and over again in all the books.
In a friendly way it exaggerates everything from growling with a capital G by an Alpha with a capital A to the “Homosapia County police. The fact that, miraculously and very conspicuously, every single officer who worked there was gay made the Hall of Head a double entendre and funny as hell.”
Ram Rage and his partner Blake are the cops that are going to try and solve the murder that was perpetrated at the Sew What and Kory is the prime suspect.
Which brings Kory in to Ram's life and the Alpha (with a capital growly A) doesn't know what hit him.
Murder, mayhem, inept cops, lube, unicorns, applesauce, never ending hot water heaters, and a green-eyed man everyone ( and I mean everyone ) loves and puntastic craziness ensues. Oh and not to forget a freaky plant with his own POV.
To enjoy this story you have to just let go and take nothing seriously and love a jammed packed story of jokey silliness. It was fun seeing what OTT satire was coming next, every trope was covered, sometimes to an extreme. And the book doesn't just make fun of all the ever present and much loved 'typical' and 'stereotypical' things in the m/m genre and in the books I've read and loved, it also makes fun of itself.
“I’m in charge here,” Ram growled. “We’re going to do this by the book. You can’t just skip pages of the gay manual, we do all the steps, in order, so we get the full experience.”

I found myself nodding and smiling, thinking oh yes, that in every other book I've read and then I'd read on and nod and say OH YES riiight that is also a must-have in an m/m story. A lot of the things I complain about or bemoan in books were so cleverly exaggerated that I had to laugh at myself a little for usually being annoyed by them. I've also never read any of it quite like these authors portrait it, I can say despite reading a lot, but the way this was done is definitely unique. At times it was a bit overwhelming and it took me a chapter or two to really get what it was all about, but certain things were just so well done and impressively ridiculous that I just had to be amused. Plus there was one of my favorite things EVER in this book, I don't want to say what, but it's no wonder everyone loves Kory. I also have to add my vocabulary for the word 'butthole' has been expanded ( pun intended) by leaps and bounds..so many different ways of saying it. I'm in awe.
I really don't want to give anything away, this book has to be read to be believed.

review 2014-02-25 15:41

Out Of The Blackness

Mandy, I read obsessively

3.65*
I read the blurb, looked at the cover and thought this would be horribly angsty and depressing.
I was in the mood for sad.
Well, I guess it was sad, all that Avery and Sam and Joey experienced. Even Tommy, might have even a victim of his circumstances to some extent. But it didn't really touch me, make me feel as much as I thought it would.
Maybe it was too much self flagellation or Avery having a lot of breakdowns, I'm not sure what kept me from really feeling.
I still loved watching Avery make his way out of Blackness and finally see himself for who he really is, and not what was beaten in to him from an early age.
Avery has his best friend and foster brother Sam.
Sam has been his anchor for years, his caretaker, his touchstone.
“It’s okay. I won’t let anything hurt you.” I nod against his chest even though I don’t really believe it. I know he’ll try and I am incredibly thankful to him for it; but I also know I shouldn’t have been born and the world has been trying to fix that situation since that very moment. It will win in time—when I’ve hurt enough, when it has punished me enough—no matter how much Sam tries to protect me.”

After another horrible incident Sam gets Avery to finally commit to therapy. And about the same time Noah enters Avery's life.
Noah, well I would have loved to get to get a little of his POV, what attracts him to Avery? What keeps him so determined and patient?
Even Avery wants to know.
Avery is fearful, has NO self worth and he doesn't feel like he deserves anything good in his life.
It's like he's just waiting for the next blow to come his way.
“Aside from Sam, the woodwork is my best friend. I try to blend in with it as much as possible. If no one notices me, I’m less likely to take a fist to the face or a boot to the ribs.”
Even Sam, who is his world and has never given him a reason to doubt him, Avery still doesn't really believe he wants him for the long haul.
“Trust. What a lie that word is.”
But Noah is not going to give up, he doesn't push, but he does make sure Avery knows he's there, he makes a point to always be in his vicinity.
“Still, there is something about him that makes me want to step outside the fear box.”
“He doesn’t understand that it’s not something inside me that’s broken, it’s me. I’m broken.”

I didn't mind Avery tearing up a lot, a lot. I understand he has all these fears and this awful voice in his head beating him down all the time. It wasn't enough that the people in his life beat him, he's continuing it on his own, by believing the crap they filled his head with.

I did like that although Noah plays a large roll in Avery's healing, it's Avery himself and his therapist doing a lot of the heavy lifting. And I was also glad that although Avery really has suffered unspeakable amounts of abuse, there was no sexual abuse.
“Noah sees good in me, even when I don’t. Noah wants me around, even when I’m desperate to escape my own head. It’s shocking, amazing and something I will never take for granted.”

Noah sort of seems to be too good to be true, and I really am glad Avery found a man like him. Although calling him little onewasn't my cuppa. I know Avery is small and Noah is huge, but you know, he's still a grown man.
I wish I had been more moved by the story than I was, but I think that's more my issue than the books. My main emotions stemmed from how parents, society and child services could fail all these children for years. That made me angry very very angry.
I would also have liked to have some resolution to Avery's family. I wanted him to have something of his father's, at least where he is buried. How are his brothers? Was there any kind of karma for Carl and his mother?

abuse-trauma cry-me-a-river ebook-owned evil-females family-drama friends-to-lovers hurt-comfort-disability m-m mom-from-hell