Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra

3.5 Stars

Asiana - Book 1

To be honest, the first thing that drew me in about this book was the cover.  It's gorgeous!  And then the blurb sounded good and different from what I've spent most of my fantasy reading career reading.  The past couple of years have see a rise in the diversity of my fantasy reading.  Lots of Asian stuff is on my radar now.

Anyway... good read.  More New Adult than I would normally like.  I think I would have liked more time spent on the actualities of this very post apocalyptic world instead of the angsting of the main character, but... it's New Adult.  I've seen it referenced as a romance as well, but quite honestly, the romance is mostly in the second half and as far as I can see isn't created from much.  It's as if the author has said there's a romance so there is.  I would have liked to see that more developed too. 

I liked the characters, was intrigued by the world but I wanted more.  And since I know there's another book coming, I was very annoyed by the cliffhanger ending.  Had this been a standalone, I'd have cheered it.  (Hint - I thought The Sopranos ending was genius.)

So, yes, I will add the sequel to my list, but I won't be rushing out to buy it as soon as it's published.  )

The Wrong Woman by Cass Lennox

1 Star

Toronto Connections #4

I am totally the wrong person for this book. I read it as a Riptide Advance Read and didn't realise that it was SO New Adult. I was hoping for a good lesbian romance but that's not what I felt I got.

I did not like either of the main characters, I thought they were totally self-absorbed, arrogant, and completely clued out about how to go about having any kind of relationship. And the inner dialogue. It was constant. CONSTANT. And irritating. I wish I had a dollar for every time one or the other thought "UGH". I could have a good shop for books, let me tell you.

I don't know, if I hadn't been reading it for Riptide, I would have DNFed it by the end of the 3rd chapter.

But that being said... I'm fairly sure the fault lies mainly with me and not the book itself. Maybe the young people out there will like it? I really hope they're not all like the ones in the book - even the secondary and tertiary characters. I honestly didn't find anything romancey about it (I still don't know why the MCs are together other than that they're hot) at all and as for the mystery at the centre of the plot, well, it was more an afterthought than anything else, it seemed to me. Sadly.

This just re-affirmed that New Adult romances are not for me one little bit.

Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane

4.5 STARS

This is a wonderful story. I mean, seriously, Lifetime or someone should make a movie of it and play it every year. It'd be so much better than a lot of the stuff they're showing!

Rusty and Oliver are friends. They meet in high school. Rusty is a football player and Oliver... is not. Rusty's family leaves much to be desired. Oliver's family, while challenged, is a warm, loving place. Oliver is gay... Rusty is... well, at the start of the book, he's undeclared. *g* This is the story of how Oliver and Rusty became a most adorable couple.

Nobody writes confused young people the way Amy does. She understands the angst that consumes so many of them and how everything is so important, so live or die important. And she creates characters that you take to your heart and, well, in my case, just want to mother the hell out of. *LOL* And she creates secondary characters that I always fall in love with. Oliver's father, his cousins, Rusty's sister, his college roommate... I loved them all. Rusty's roommate, Rex, made me laugh out loud so many times. What a piece of work! I've heard murmurs that he will be getting his own book (as is de rigeur in M/M circles)

So, if you're looking for a heart-warming, easy-to-read, emotion-packed, fun Christmas read, you can't go wrong with this one!

Portrait of a Crossroads by Kelly Rand

5 STARS

What a lovely read! The language of this novella? Short story? Quick fic? - whatever it's labelled as, the language was BEAUTIFUL! It reminded me of one of those stories we used to study in high school that I never got because I didn't have enough life behind me to appreciate the beauty of it. 

Yes, the protagonist is a young woman, Annette, a year out of high school, and while I think that many young women can identify with her feelings of uncertainty, apathy, quiet desperation, I don't know that they can be truly understood until later on in life. 

Be that as it may, I know that I would not have been able to fully appreciate this actual portrait of a crossroads (And may I say that this is an EXCELLENT choice for a title for so many reasons.) as a young woman. I really enjoyed it!

Reread it and upped it from 4 stars to 5. :)

Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino

3.5 STARS

Theta Alpha Gamma - Book 1

This is a light, fun read, with endearing characters that will make you smile. Although I did find myself wanting to pinch both Brad and Sebastian in some of their more dim-witted moments. :) 

The thing is, Brad is young, he can be forgiven. Anne Tenino writes a perfect 21-year old young man coming to terms with his newly-realised sexuality. The way his thoughts jump around at times and the way they fixate on something so small and insignificant at others is bang on. My own son was 21 not so long ago, so it's very familiar. 

Sebastian, the older and supposedly wiser half of this duo is 28 years old and comes across as a wee bit jaded and cynical and a tad pretentious in this knowledge. It was fun seeing him realise what was what in the final chapters. And all the intimate moments and sex scenes between him and Brad were perfectly hot. :)

And from a technical standpoint this book was really well written. It flowed very nicely and the POV changes came when it was comfortable for the POV changes to be there. And witty, yes I chuckled a few times out loud while I read this. So in the end, a quick, fun, hot read that will make you smile.

Talker's Graduation by Amy Lane

4 STARS

Talker - Book 3

Mmmmhmmm. That's the sound of satisfaction. 

Tate and Brian are grown men now (I'll still see them as boys but that's because I'm an old lady. *LOL*) and they've begun to actually live the life they've fought so hard to have together. They love each other SO much and they love their life and it's really pretty damned satisfying to this reader. 

There are some lovely bits of introspective thought in this book as Tate finally, FINALLY, truly understands what's between him and Brian. God, they're lovely together.

I'm sad their tale is done, but I can envision a future for them both, say, ten years from now, Brian with his art, Tate with his kids and how they conquer more of life's struggles together, with love and laughter and understanding. (And maybe get a fireplace in that cottage of theirs!)

Talker's Redemption by Amy Lane

4 STARS

Talker - Book 2

Rip your heart out, that's what Amy does here. Rips your heart out, turns it over a few times in her skilled hands and then shoves it back into your chest filled to overflowing. I love Brian and Talker. I love Jed, Aunt Lindie, Doc, Craig, even the rat... OMG, I love 'em all!

Talker by Amy Lane

4 STARS

Talker - Book 1

A lovely, heartfelt, sweet story of first love. 

Tate and Brian are lovely young men that you root for from the very beginning. Tate is so open and so sweet and trusting and just gets so damaged by life. But Brian is there and Brian loves him even if Tate doesn't see it. Tate talks - hence the nickname Talker - and Brian listens. 

I think this would be a perfect read for young people and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to young adults. Yes, there is sex, explicit at times, but it's my opinion that young folks need to be exposed to this and allowed to talk about it openly and with no judgement. You know, I wish I had had this book 10 years ago when one of my son's friends was dealing with coming out.