I’m a huge Mia Kerick fan. I’ve read most of her books and I have more on my tbr waiting for me to read. I’ve always enjoyed her work but Intervention was the turning point for me. Since then, I’ve eagerly awaited news on her newest releases and always done my best to keep my eye out for her books. So when she told me about a Christian YA m/m romance that she was writing, I knew I would have to give it a shot because I just happen to be Catholic like the MC in the book. And right now I’m really glad I did!

I connected with this book in a lot of ways. As someone who was raised in a Catholic household, went to two Catholic Primary Schools and lives in a Catholic Country, it’s a weird slightly familiar feeling when I read a book about someone struggling with that particular religion. It also helps when the characters are young like Anthony, because I can definitely connect with that.

I really liked Anthony. He was confused and young and wasn’t sure what he was going to do. It felt very realistic and I actually sort of felt like I knew him. There were times I wanted to jump into this book so I could be there for him and help him as he struggled to accept his sexuality. There were times he was angry and acted out and said things he shouldn’t have said. But all that fit really well with the story. It was how I imagine someone like him struggling and it didn’t make him any less of a likable character.

David was amazing! Absolutely amazing! He was exactly what Anthony needed and I thought the two of them were really great together. There were ups and downs in their relationship and there were times it seemed like something bad was going to happen. But no matter what, David was there for Anthony and he stood by him and helped him deal with everything. He’d been there, done that and was wearing the t-shirt to prove it. So he understood what Anthony was going through a bit more than most would have.

There were other secondary characters I really liked. Like the two families. There were secondary characters I didn’t like. Like Anthony’s “friends” from his Church. I don’t even know what to think about them. All I can say is I’m thankful I didn’t go to school with kids like that. It would have been pure hell, I think. Though not all the kids in this book were bad, some were actually quite good, and one was a bit of a surprise, so that was a good thing.

Inclination doesn’t Catholic bash. It doesn’t even really insult the religion. It just shows how you can believe in God, follow your religion and still be openly and actively gay. There was a priest in this who made me smile and reminded me of a priest in Dublin who acknowledged his support for gay marriage, as well as another one who came out just a couple of weeks ago during Mass.

Do I think this book is for everyone? No, not really. Actually, I know it won’t be for everyone. But I also think there are people who will love this book as much as I did. It’s definitely one of my favorites from Mia. I’d gladly read it again and again, whenever the mood strikes. And I’m really glad I had the chance to read it because it definitely left me thinking.

An ARC of this book was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My review can also be found on Greedy Bug Book Reviews.

~ Samuel Johnson, quoted in Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

This was my favorite of the Starman trades and the hardest to track down affordably.

My main attraction to the Starman series was always that he was a legacy hero and always trying to live up to what his father, the original Starman, accomplished. This one was great because it had Starman teaming with a collegue of his father and a superhero in his own right, Wesley Dodds, the original Sandman, now a very old man.

The relationship between Jack Knight and his family, and in this story Wesley Dodds, make the Starman series more than just another superhero comic that you forget about ten minutes after you read it.