So I’m currently reading Spare by Prince Harry and so far it’s a very moving read.
I’m only fifty pages in but you can already get the impression that Harry is a very traumatised individual. I get the feeling that this book is going to be very heavy going- so seems like I’ll have to take precautions not to get too affected by it.
This is a hard short story to review not because it’s a bad read- it’s the complete opposite! - but it’s hard to put into words how moving this book actually is.
But I’ll try anyway :P
I won’t lie- if you look at the cover, it essentially tells you the story of the novella! But DO NOT let that put you off- because this story will hit you in the feels!
It revolves around Tess and her pondering “what if”- the pandemic provided her with both an opportunity and also an impediment to her falling in love with Charlie, who before the world fell to shit with covid lockdowns, were friends at a school in Melbourne. But alas, Tessa ends up going viral but with a major difference to her song that she originally performed and written for Charlie and Charlie ends up relocating to Brisbane.
In the space of around 71 pages, Will Kostakis takes us on a journey that not only explores ones true self and sexuality, but also the aspect of internet viral sensations and the aftermath, as well as providing us another opportunity to see if Tessa gets the girl.
I’m sure we’ve all been there with our own love lives- the passion and the confusion, especially if you were an LGTBQIA teen trying to come to terms with yourself. Kostakis is a nuanced writer who writes so well, it’s not just the things that’s written on the page that moves you, it’s also the things that are implied.
I solidly recommending this short story to you- it’s a heart-warming read by the end that’s for certain.
Poke Check
Series- Harrisburg Railers Book 4
Universe- Hockey Romance Universe Book 4
Author: RJ Scott and V.L. Locey
Publisher: Love Lane Book Limited
Pages: 186
Formats: Kindle
Rating: 5 stars
Up until now, goalie Stanislav “Stan” Lyamin has always been in the background, his lack of English a source of comedic relief, however at the same time coming across as a gentle giant that you know you want to get to know more.
At this point in the series, it could be said that authors could get tired or rest on their laurels but this wouldn’t apply here- after all how does one write a character that speaks little English without coming across as condescending or as a caricature?
That’s why on face value you would think that Poke Check could be either really good or really bad- the fourth book in a series to keep the reader engaged without being hockey.
There is a reason why this novel is- so far- my favourite in the series and I absolutely love Stan as one of my favourite all time characters in a novel.
We find Stan still in his goalie position, living life as a good goalie and best fiend to Tennant Rowe. As in any sport, trade of players and movements happen and soon we see Erik Gunnarsson arrive as a new linemate for the Railers- a huge shock to San as not too long go, they had a relationship at a hockey camp, but not for long as soon as the camp was over Erik “ghosted” Stan.
Not too surprisingly, Stan plays the role of a stoic Russian goalie; talking to his pipes and straight out refusing to speak to Erik or even give him the time of day. This position soon becomes untenable. for soon the team (lead by Tenannt of course!) stages an intervention!
Shortly after, the thawing of relations begins in more ways the none- and I guess it’s fair to say that little Noah, son of Erik, helps with that- we soon see Stan falling heads over heals in love again with Erik and Noah, wanting nothing but the best for them.
While this reads as yet another insta love or insta relove story, it doesn’t detract from the fact that the characterisation of Stan and Erik are amazing- Stan’s’ English doesn’t become magically perfect overnight, frankly if you ask me it becomes sort of worse!- but never in a bad way; its a trait of his and his inner monologue is in that same broken English that you come to expect. Instead Stan is developed as a genuinely good giant of a goalie, who cares both passionately and deeply. As for Erik- the Swede is another brilliant character with both flaws and other traits that you cant’ help but love him and little Noah.
I think i have to admit that this is one book that’s one of my all time favourite reads.
Deep Edge
Series- Harrisburg Railers Book 3
Universe- Hockey Romance Universe Book 3
Author: RJ Scott and V.L. Locey
Publisher: Love Lane Book Limited
Pages: 198
Formats: Kindle
Rating: 4.5 stars
Towards the end of First Season we are introduced to Dieter Lehmann; a player for the Railers who approaches Layton Foxx with some “issues” that I can’t say lest they spoil it, however they will make you go OMG and hope that you see Dieter’s story and never fear, Dieter is the next in line.
Deep Edge opens not on Dieter but on Trent Hanson, an Olympic level figure skating who not only has been usurped by another kid, but due to actions of certain people has fallen onto hard times.
The solution?
A reality show focusing on Trent assisting the Railers in honing their skating skills and trying to find an edge to improve themselves. A show that would mean Trent’s ice hockey rink and his program for LGBTQI kids would continue to survive despite the knock knock knock of the bank on his door.
It’s this situation we find Trent and Dieter falling “insta in love” with each other, but not before we see sparks of both lust and hate flying between the two- Trent isn’t afraid to be as sassy as he needs towards Dieter which doesn’t deter him, in fact it’s one thing that Dieter appears to enjoy.
While the romance is happening, we see both Trent addressing his fears with his lola and mum, while Dieter addresses some serious issues both expected and unexpected. What is nice is that when Trent figures out the situation, he continues to help Dieter and challenge him to grow and not just drop him like a hot bag of potatoes!
This is another enjoyable read in the Hockey Romance universe, and i devoured it easily and I hope you do too!
First Season
Series- Harrisburg Railers Book 2
Universe- Hockey Romance Universe Book 2
Author: RJ Scott and V.L. Locey
Publisher: Love Lane Book Limited
Pages: 219
Formats: Kindle
Rating: 5 stars
Now that Changing Lines has introduced us to the world, we come to the second novel in the series First Season.
Picking up on threads from Changing, First Season introduces to the social media guru Layton Foxx as the Harrisburg Railers deal with the process of Tennant Rowe coming out as both gay and in a relationship with a coach of all people! (Thankfully a defensive coach, opposed to Tennant who’s a forward). While Layton has to deal with it, he also has to deal with the “affections” of one Adler Lockhart; who on face value is a reach spoiled brat who doesn’t know the meaning of the word no!
Despite it being only book two of the series, First Season does what you expect it to by delving deep into the characters psyche while also continuing on with arcs from previous novels- for while we see Layton dealing with all kinds of PR hell (both in regards to Tennant as well as other members of the team), we also see him both thaw out and deal with the advances of Adler- you know Layton has some trauma in his past bet you never know what until it slowly gets revealed piece by piece.
As the “fallout” from the coming out plays out, we see both Layton and Adler growing as individuals, with Layton revealing his trauma, while Adler grows and is shown that money can’t be everything. As to be expected, both characters are more than that as they’re richly fleshed out while also showing how when things go right, humanity can surprise you.
Another good book in the series
Changing Lanes
Series- Harrisburg Railers 1
Universe- Hockey Romance Universe Book 1
Author: RJ Scott and V.L. Locey
Publisher: Love Lane Book Limited
Pages: 205
Formats: Kindle
Rating: 5 stars
As the first in the series, Changing Lanes has a lot to do. It has to introduce the world that we’re playing in as well as characters that you want the reader to identify and fall in love with; especially if you create such a rich world that this novel sits in.
The short version is that this is easily achieved and blown out of the rink!
In Changing Lanes we are introduced to Tennant Rowe and the basic premise of most sports books in this particular genre- what happens when a player comes out and the aftermath of such a move. While it is such a massive trope, I have to admit it’s one of my favourites and therefore am very particular with how the storyline is handled .
The great thing about Changing Lanes is that it is literally the first novel in a massive world- as of writing this review there are 27 books (both novels and novellas) over 4 series of interconnected world building! As you can image, that’s a lot of output but the question remains of is that a rich world?
Therefore, as started earlier, Changing Lanes has a lot of pressure on it- for you have to willingly fall in love with both Tennant Rowe and Jared Madsen as well as other characters because you never know what’s going to happen to whom and when!
And it works- I devoured this novel and the rest in the Harrisburg Railers series, and I’m re-reading the series again while attempting to read the other books in the universe; thankfully there’s a PDF on the authors website with the suggested reading order thank fuck!
The magnificent thing about Changing Lanes is that thankfully I’ve fallen in love with all the “right” characters in the sense they are the ones we see explored in further novels and are all richly developed.
You’ll loose track of time, but it’s highly worth a read!
The Boy from Boomerang Crescent
Author: Eddie Betts
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Australia
Pages: 304
Format: Kindle
Rating: 5 stars
As you are probably are all aware of by know, I am very fussy when it comes to my reading so anytime there’s a new auto biography out that interests me, I have high standards for both the content itself and how it’s written. On the other hand there’s a few people that I know will produce a ripper of a yarn and Eddie Betts was/is one of them- as soon as I saw his book had dropped, I instantly brought it and was waiting for the right time to read it.
The right time turned out to be the Sunday just gone and it went the way I thought it would; i read it in two sessions in the arvo/evening only pausing for the evening meal.
The question that has to be poised is how do I start reviewing this?
I guess the first/best way is from the beginning- it’s hard to describe the feeling, but settling down to read it was a lot like a soft blanket coming to rest over my shoulders; Betts has always come across as a genuine bloke who likes a yarn and that is essentially what this memoir is.
This is a yarn where you feel Eddie is speaking to you one one one- from the beginning of hearing about his families heritage, he uses the language of his people in lieu of some English words- for example if the sentence is “we washed our bums”, the word bum would be one from his language. It comes across as a man proud of his heritage which he rightly admits to.
What is unusual about this memoir- and I use the term unusual loosely- is that in terms of timeline structure, there are moments you will get occasional whiplash Only minor whiplash mind you as this is a fairly traditionally structured memoir, but there are moments when he’s discussing his AFL playing career where he will skip forward to another point in time. This isn’t bad because when you are reading it, it gives you an overall picture of Betts as a person- he brings together the impact of what he was talking about with the benefit of hindsight and time.
To me, this memoir reminds of an oral history- and that is a great thing. Instead of it being cut and dry, it’s a yarn from one person to another and its easily accessible to most people with a grasp of the English language.
I have left this next point to the last in my review because while it as been covered in the media, I don’t want it to distract with how much of a bloody ripper this memoir is and that is the infamous Adelaide Crows pre-season camp. I’m sure we’ve all heard about it and yes it’s covered in some detail by Betts. All I will say is that when you read about it, your jaws will drop with how truly horrific it is.
Enjoy the read!
As a reader, the above image is for me so very very accurate- I hestiate to DNF a book under ANY circumstances.
The problem is how long do you give a book before you DNF it?
I was reading a novel the other day on my Kindle using my Kindle Unlimited program- thankfully it means I didn’t waste any more purchasing the book! At the star tthe book seemed like it was going to be up my alley but then I got hints of small (or what iassume would grow to be major) things in the novel that didn’t sit quite right with me.
I try to read new things- after all we all have our own prefered genres and sometimes it’s good to shake things up (otherwise how do you find new things?). But conversley how do you know when it doesn’t sit with you?
For me, this novel and the things I felt uncomfortable with were very odd- on the one hand I did feel uncomfortable which is good because you need to shake things up, but on the other hand I could feel myself being drawn in and feeling strong emotions towards the character.
In the end I DNF it; could possibly say with a heavy heart. But when do YOU know it’s time to DNF a book, an article, a show etc?
Author: Seth MacFarlane
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Pages: 108
Formats: Kindle
Rating: 5 stars
As a fan of The Orville, I must say their season three is the it’s reached it’s apex in terms of reaching its mark- while it started off as a “comedic” sci fi, instead it’s in the annals of classic sci fi as a well written and performed piece of artistic work, pondering questions in a way that only science fiction can do.
When I saw that there was a novella being written I eagerly pre ordered it- I had already read the comic books which were both brilliantly written and drawn, so I had high expectations of the novella.
Waiting to read it in the correct order- it is advertised as being based after the eighth episode of season three- when I saw the eighth episode I eagerly devoured the novella.
Full disclosure I am a massive book worm, so within a few pages I got a bit of a feeling of where this novella was heading and even said something out loud, but while I was proven right, it didn’t detract from the journey to the end.
An easy novella to read, I’m hesitant to give too many details of the plot away lest I ruin the enjoyment for a fellow reader. Admittedly I did wonder one big question, but that question was soon put to rest within the next chapter, which in my opinion shows you that Seth MacFarlane knows how to plot out a storyline.
What I can tell is that this novella does what classic science fiction does best- it ponders humanity both in the past and the future, in this case using the future as a frame to explore humanity’s past [spoiler redacted] (sorry not sorry!).
While only a short read this novella will make you engage and think of the ideas that it raises- which is what good science fiction do (for other examples look at both the novel and the 1997 adaptation of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers [despite massive differences both hold up extremely well though don’t try comparing to each other as you’ll go insane] and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five).
If you’re on the fence about reading this novella I recommend it- it will stay with you and make you ponder a lot of things.
So I’m currently working my way though the novel Holding by Graham Norton and I must say I’m very impressed.
While it could be described as tedious that’s not the word I would use- so far Norton is a writer I’m enjoying as he’s a world builder. He focuses on the minor details to create a rich word which for me is a great thing.
I can’t wait to see how this novel ends- it’s already hitting me in the feels so that’s always a plus!
Author: Tobias Madden
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 287
Formats: Kindle
Rating: 5 stars
There’s quite a lot I can say about this delightful YA book, but I will start by saying it really hit me in the feels.
I knew I was going to be in for something different in the first few pages when I discovered it was set in Ballarat- a semi major country town in Victoria, Australia. The fact that it’s set away from the capital is great if you ask me, always good to see different places represented in fiction.
The story opens and is based around Luca, a 16 year old openly gay ballet dancer, whose on the cusp of auditioning for the Australian Ballet School when a major accident shatters his dreams.
This book explores the themes of loss and acceptance while you’re just a teenager; after all who could rightly handle their dream being taken away at any stage in such a cruel and heartbreaking manner?
Tobias Madden handles this in a tender and sensitive way; while the themes explored in this novel aren’t anything revolutionary, Madden has a writing style that draws you in and makes you feel for each character- all of the major characters are richly drawn out and you feel invested in them and their journeys.
Author: Marlion Pickett
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 308
Formats: ebook
Rating: 2 stars
So I love my autobiographies and sport star stories, but this one I am very conflicted about truth be told.
The point of any pieces of written work is to engage the audience so that they feel something , anything really and this usually means the audience either sympathises/empathises so that they feel good or angry, but usually a feeling at that end of the spectrum not at the neutral or negative end of the spectrum.
Despite it being “written” by Marlion Pickett Theresa a 90% chance that it is not because the way the narrative flows it’s based on the “ghostwriters” interviews with people and weaving into a narrative structure consisting of a beginning, middle and end.
To be fair, while it doesn’t really go into much detail it also doesn’t shy away from the negative parts of Picketts life including time in jail and drug usage
The frustrating thing with this piece of work is that you go away not feeling like you’ve learnt anything more at all; yes he’s a shy person and also a family man, but the only thing you get a feeling is that he hasn’t learnt from his past- while he has appeared to be reformed and good on him, you still get the sense that he will no doubt eventually relapse at some point.
Personally I wouldn’t go out of my way to read this work- I brought it when it was an Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. It’s worth a borrow from a library or elsewhere but I wouldn’t spend the sixteen or whatever dollars on it to buy a physical copy.
Edit- I just looked at the Amazon kindle page for this book just prior to publishing this review. It’s one of the few books where’s there is a ton of promotional literature by the publisher with “testimonials”- for me that’s a big red herring as a work should be allowed to grow on its on and not need a shit ton of publicity to advertise its wears.
Author: Jacqueline Rayner
Publisher: BBC Children’s Books
Pages: N/A
Formats: Kindle, paperback
Rating: 5 Stars
What grabbed my attention to this is the beautifully designed cover; while it is in the newer style of the Doctor Who branding with the current logo, you can’t help but admire the beauty of it even if it contains one massive spoiler! (Although, to be fair, not entirely unexpected so in that sense could it be considered a spoiler?)
The book opens in 1939 with the thirteenth doctor and her “fam” trying to find the premier of The Wizard of Oz only to find that it’s not only not occurring but the book seems to have vanished from the annals of society!
After encountering a quiet young chap by the name of Theodore, they soon find themselves in a world that’s very Oz-like and must try to find a way to get back to their own time and space!
While it could be said that this is a “simple” retelling/mash up of The Wizard of Oz with Doctor Who, it grossly oversimplifies matters as what this novel gets right is the characterisations of The Thirteenth Doctor, along with Graham, Yaz and Ryan; in fact I found that I discovered a good insight into them all but more in particular the Doctor along with Theodore, who isn’t a Mary Sue but indeed a really well developed character with their own insights and believes and self doubts.
While none of the major reveals are surprising in any way, the way they are revealed and fleshed out is, in my opinion, very well done.
Without giving too much away, the ending of this novel is simply one of the most heart warming I’ve read in fiction in a long long time- and I read a lot of fiction! The ending is, at its core; very simple and life affirming while also drawing tears of happiness to ones eyes; it’s further proof of what science fiction and Doctor Who does best and that is to accept without judgment.
Author: Chase Clemesha, MD
Publisher: Capstone
Pages: 65 Pages (e-book)
Formats: ebook
Rating: 3 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Review Copy
So as an LGBTQ person, it is brilliant to see books designed for the younger generation of the community celebrating and recognising people in the past/present who are influential in some sort.
The downside- and to be fair I did forget as I read this book- is that it is all about Americans. There’s nothing wrong with this in itself; except for the fact that there are heaps of influential people part of the LGBTQ community throughout the world that needs to be celebrated and word still needs to get out (for example Alan Turing is always worth a mention!)
Generally speaking, People of Pride is an excellent and accessible read for the younger reading people; the author doesn’t condescend the reader and there’s a brief paragraph with some illustrations.
I’m currently going through a stage of comfort reading and anything by N.R Walker is usually a go to reread with no hesitations, but more so in particular this novel and its sweet little short A Very Henry Christmas.
The most important question for this review is where do I start?
The best thing about this book- well let’s be honest anything written by N.R Walker- is the believability of the characters she writes. For a piece of fiction to be successful you need to be able to either relate or empathise with the characters and in The Weight of It All (TWOITA) you can’t help but empathise Henry, an individual who’s just been dumped by his boyfriend of eight years for being too fat and having an “old man” lifestyle.
Henry is nothing short of simply a superb narrator and character; you can’t help but life him because he’s not only a funny person but also a character who’s got their flaws and strengths, a richly drawn character that you can’t help feel like would be your friend if they existed in real life.
At its core TWOITA is a story about acceptance and loving oneself; for despite Henry attending a gym in order to try to get his boyfriend back, we see him being encouraged by his hunky personal trainer Reed to achieve greatness in his life.
Speaking of Reed, as the other main character he’s nothing short of totally loveable, believable and amazing; he is also richly drawn out with his own background and faults and fears and desires; another example of how we all have our own paths to follow and the message of accepting ourselves is truly universal.
By the end of TWOITA you can’t help but fall in love with everyone in the novel- well the ones who you should fall in life with anyway.
Rating- 5/5 stars.
N.R Walker is one of my favourite writers of all times; along with Renae Kaye and Sean Kennedy. As an Australian reader it’s always great to support local writers in a genre where we need more Aussie romance.
The story revolves around Leo- a young gay lad- who, while he isn’t working, volunteers at his local activity centre that pairs a younger LGBTQIA with an older member of the community- and Merrick; a local business owner busy with his clay making business.
They meet when the local activity centre decides to have an outing to the local clay making business.
This is a refreshing piece of work that I’ve read in a little while as while it also N.R Walker’s trademark good writing and humour; it also features older members of the queer community and they are given such strong character and plot; it’s invigorating!
The story moves along at quite a strong pace which is enjoyable and the “angst” that you normally find in piece of writing as this is also not atypical; indeed it was a good “blindside” but it again was refreshing to see it and I’m grateful for it.
Another great read from N.R Walker which I highly recommend
I happened to stumble across Renae Kaye by accident- I was randomly browsing the Dreamspinner Press website- and the cover for this novel caught me eye; along with the title. Thankfully I decided to purchase the e-book and I haven't looked back- Kaye has become one of my favourite authors!
Most novels in gay romance take a focus on the life in the city; the “big smoke” so to speak. But this novel takes the opposite approach- gays in the countryside and with recent news and opinion pieces in the Australian media- it's a story that even in fiction needs to be told.
The main focus of the novel is of Henry “Hank” Woods; the shearing gun that the title refers to, a closeted mid 20s Australian footy player who has compartmentalised his work life and his “love” life.
This all comes crushing down when the new GP (Elliott) comes to town and challenges Hank and his ability to keep his love life away from his ability to keep it away (literally!) from the small country town.
After a football incident and the inevitable teasing and what ifs, Hank and Elliott start a tentative relationship while juggling work needs and also their need to keep their relationship a secret from the other people in their small country town.
The strength of the novel is Kayes' writing and characterisation- you are constantly laughing and experience a wide range of emotions while rooting for Hank and Elliott. The small things that Kaye puts into her writing- like the nickname Hank gives Elliott- really pays off as that is what we do in Australia.
Without giving too many spoilers I can say that the “cliffhanger” wasn't as bad as what I thought it would be- thankfully! If it was I don't think I could have handled the extra shot of “the feels!”
Author: Renae Kaye
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages: 214
Formats: E-Book, Novel,
Rating:
So with a few days left of my extend sick leave I am going to put them to good use by posting more reviews this week and continue with at least bi-weekly postings, hopefully more!
Anyway to give a clue as to what I'll be posting I'll let you know about some of my favourite authors at the moment- Anna Martin, Renae Kaye and Sean Kennedy.
I am literally reading most/all their works at the moment and therefore I'll be spreading their works to as many people as I can.
Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
I was browsing through the Dreamspinner Press website and I came across this novel and I was slightly skeptical as to if I should buy it or not- after all I love my weepy M/M romances, but this one I wasn't too sure.
In the end I did- and brought the sequel at the sometime- hoping on the off chance that I would get hooked on it.
And I did.
The story line revolves around Liam who has promised his late best friend Alex that he would spread his ashes on the Isle of Wight and Sam; who quickly develop a "holiday romance" that's not quite a holiday romance. They fall in love quite fast- so fast that it almost made me think "are you shitting me?!?!"
But to Sue Browns' credit; I kept on reading and she used the cliched holiday romance and turned it on its head by making the "fall in love quick and deep" as part of Sam's trait; with which his entire family gives him shit for it.
The entire novel revolves around their romance; but yet it doesn't forget why Liam is on the Isle of Wight in the first place. This subplot is dealt with gently and respectfully while silently tugging on your heat strings.
Rating: 4 stars
It seems like a long long time ago that I was recommended this novel online by someone I chat occasionally with, but they knew enough about me that they knew I am a one eyed Collingwood supporter. But this novel still remains as my favourite go to read for when I'm bored or feeling a bit down.
Told from the view of Simon Murray, a mid 20years independent film festival manger; the novel revolves around the relationship between him and Declan Tyler, another 20something footy player whose potential is being held back by constant injury.
The writing of this novel is nothing if not superb as well as the characters and story arc; supporting characters are fully developed and you feel as if they're your best friends as well as Simons'. When the characters go through troubled times; you ache for them deeply which is further proof of how well Kennedy writes.
What is interesting is that this novel is now available as a second edition; which in my mind is not needed. While I accept the premise of second editions (after all, some errors are only picked up after publishing), I honestly believe that the minor changes to the novel (basically some tidying up of sentence structures, additional similes etc.) were not needed.
Most of all, this novel makes me ache for the day we get an out AFL player (ideally at Collingwood :P). If you like your romance without too much sexyness, but yet realistic I highly recommend this book. Plus it's always fun trying to pick out the locations of your home town.
Author: Sean Kennedy
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages: 376
Formats: Paperback, e-book, audiobook
Rating: 5 stars
