Tag: moment-of-clarity • BookLikes

review 2016-02-02 23:57

Good lord, the angst. The ANGST! And so much of it is unnecessary as hell.

The third book in the Moments In Time series finally brings a HEA for Collin and Tanner - or at least a strong HFN. However, the way to get there was... hard. In many ways. And not all of them pleasant.

Back at college, Collin and Tanner are not only faced with a homophobia and angst to the max, but they also need to find a place to live since their dorm was flooded. After reconnecting with his brother Sean, Collin can stay with him and his daughters in his house. Even Tanner is allowed to come, and they both enjoy the (somewhat) quiet, the relative privacy and the babysitting inbetween. Until the bitch-y and absent mother of the girls, Laura, shows up in all her homophobic and hysterical glory.

After that nice little meeting, the boys are back on the streets looking for a place to stay. Because Laura is suing Sean for custody and the boys don't want to "damage" Sean's image or destroy his chances of keeping the kids. Which is... yeah, no. What?! That woman abandoned her kids, hasn't been around for weeks and NOW she wants sole custody? Also, in what world would a big brother throw his little brother plus boyfriend out on the streets when he is starting to fight for custody? It was a temporary solution anyway to let the boys stay until they could back to their dorm, and while I am well aware of how fucked up custody cases can get, and how homophobic judges can be, in my opinion there was absolutely NO REASON to throw the boys out immediately and without looking for another place for them to sleep first. It didn't make any sense, and it pissed me off.

So then, in all their desperation, Collin and Tanner try to reconnect somewhat with Wendy (Tanner's former fuck buddy) and maybe stay with her and her roommates. And let me tell you, I couldn't care less about this woman. She's manipulative, she's mean, and one big self-centred bitch most of the time. Even when she was fucking up her friendships for all the wrong reasons, even when her douchebag of a cheating boyfriend finally went a step too far, I couldn't muster up a lot of sympathy for her. And I was even less impressed with how she handled all the drama. I just disliked her way too much.

The big drama also was too much for me. First you get the homophobic assholes who didn't even get expelled or suspended for criminal property damage - in a freaking college dorm! Then Collin, the martyr, completely looses his shit and is looking in the most unlikely place for help/a place to hide. Which was not only an overused and old plot device, but also didn't make a lick of sense.

But... I still couldn't stop reading. And I still can't just give the book one or two stars. Because for one, I really enjoyed Karen Stivalis writing style. It was engaging and smooth, and I actually enjoyed the writing as such. And while they aren't flawless, I liked the two MCs and their on-page time together. Tanner and Collin are sweet, sexy, sometimes too cute, sometimes a little heartbreaking, but always likeable as characters. I liked to read about their relationship and I enjoyed the parts of their journey that actually was between the two and the two alone.

I could have done with a better ending, though. While it wasn't a complete HEA, in other parts it was just too much. Too much of in an "everything is absolutely fine for EVERYONE"-way. I really didn't buy it. And while I know that there is a new book out in the series, I'm not sure I'm going to pick it up. I think I'm just finished with this series for now, no matter who's staring in the next book.

review 2015-06-28 00:00

Moment Of Clarity

Sheziss loves Zeshak

This began well but then all hell broke loose.

"Good." I leaned forward, kissing his new, his chest. "Because I believe I owe you a cargasm."

Collin and Tanner come back from an "idyllic" summer in Fire Island. When they reach their dorm, they get the news there was a problem in a room that messed up the electricity system and that repairs could take weeks. So they seek a place to sleep. Till then, it's ok. Just remember it, I actually liked the book.

BUT

Sean, Collin's brother, is getting a divorce after he caught his wife cheating on him in book #2. She abandoned her children to "live a little" and there is only need to sign the official documents. Sean apologized to Collin for nor supporting him when he came out of the closet, and invites them to spend the time in his house till they can move to the dorm again. They grow desperate because there is no moment for them to be alone together, so when the chance comes, they begin kissing and all of a sudden, the wife appears and, disgusted, pushes her lawyer to fight for the kids' custody. So, in a few words, she left her children behind but now she has real chances to keep the kids? Only because a pair was kissing in an empty house? So now the house is a knocking shop and she has serious evidence of such, because, apparently, now she has the power.

So they have to find another place to crash and that's when they ask for Wendy's help and she, reluctantly, agrees. You are so nice, girl, above all because you are not even spending that weekend in your flat.

Secondly, when they finally move to the dorm, Tim, an homophobic asshole, hears some moans and gets into their room, finding out they are a gay couple. So he gets very angry and writes some message on their door for all the world to see. And surprise surprise, the RA mostly agrees with him! All the dorm now talks about them, so Collin and Tanner are eager to leave the place and that's when Gino, Collin's boss, offers a little apartment on the pizzeria. I'm pretty glad he is Catholic and an open-minded one *rolls eye*.

Thirdly, I wanted Wendy to die. It was tiring she attracted so much attention in book #2. Now she monopolizes the story. Again. She is egocentric and brainless. She doesn't live in the adult world, she keeps thinking that her actions don't have consequences. She is still dating the same bastard that cheated on her and then she comes crying due for the same reason. What did she expect?

And then she dares to get in the middle of the relationship. Why Tanner doesn't stop her in her tracks is something I will never understand. Why Collin doesn't dot the i's and cross the t's. There are some bounds you cannot cross and sometimes, if you give your hand, they take your arm. Sometimes you just have to mark the territory. Wendy is a bitch, but Collin and Tanner are too soft.

Fourthly, I seriously didn't get why Collin flees. Suddenly, everything is his fault, with no logical arguments and reasonings. He simply takes all responsibility about things that are just beyond his control. I can understand that he feels guilty of how things turned out. But there is a huge distance between that and assuming that the world is fucked up because you made it that way. I couldn't see any mind road by which his guilt went so out of hand. This is another Big Misunderstanding and I didn't appreciate it. Of course, he is wrecked after he writes a letter to Tanner and pushes him to Wendy's opportunistic arms without giving him the chance to defend himself. Collin doesn't respect Tanner's right to fight back and have an opinion of things. It's quite one-sided and I didn't like it. Not at all.

So, after some weeks secluded in Tanner's mom's house, watching Meg Ryan movies and eating chocolate ice-cream (no, he doesn't but he could have perfectly done all of that, for all it's worth), Tanner comes home to save the day and kiss and make up and happily ever after *snorts*.

In some moment Wendy, when she is leaving with Tanner to some friend's wedding, she writes a message to Collin: "Thanks". Thanks for what? Thanks for letting me have him? Thanks for spoiling it all after I jumped on Tanner and he rejected me? Thanks for giving him to me because it was the exact moment I realized this is not meant to be and that I'm an cunthole? That is not explained!

The ending is OTT sweet. I thought I'd die due to a sugar rush. They are celebrating the anniversary with Sean's kids, Wendy, who found the best boyfriend ever at the critic moment, and Quinn the Catholic priest accepting Collin's reality as if he has been brainwashed. Please.