Review | The Girl In 6E by A.R. Torre

Title: The Girl in 6E

Author: A.R. Torre

Published: Janurary 21^st 2014

Pages: 352

Format: eBook

Genre: Thriller, Erotica

Rating: ★★★★

Find on: Goodreads

Synopsis:

I haven't touched a human in three years. That seems like it would be a difficult task, but it's not. Not anymore, thanks to the internet. I am, quite possibly, the most popular recluse ever. Not many shut-ins have a 200-member fan club, a bank account in the seven-figure range, and hundreds of men lining up to pay for undivided attention. They get satisfaction, I get a distraction. Their secret desires are nothing compared to why I hide... my lust for blood, my love of death. Taking their money is easy. Keeping all these secrets... one is bound to escape. What if you hid yourself away because all you could think of was killing? And what if one girl's life depending on you venturing into society?

Thoughts:

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect. I’ve seen it around the book community a little bit, but not enough to know more about it that what the synopsis was giving me. When I put this book down at the end, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not that I expected to not like the book, but I was somewhat hesitant. I’ve read thrillers before, and I’d like to believe that I’ve read my fair share of sex scenes, but the combination? That was something else, and I really liked it.

I found the book to be less graphic than what I expected it to be. Because of the synopsis, I was prepared for much more than what was actually presented to me. However, I quite liked the way that it was balanced out. There definitely are some quite graphic scenes, both sexually, and when it comes to something gorier, but I never found it to be too much. Nonetheless, the book is quite twisted, so keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up.

“Pity is a bitch I’d like to avoid.”

The first half of the book seemed very slow, and it took me a while to actually get into the story. There’s a lot of background information, back story, and build up done, and it took me some time to process all of that. However, right around the 50% mark shit gets real pretty fast. The book really picks up, and everything happens way too fast for my liking. The last bit just seemed a little too crammed, and before I knew it, it was all over, which is a bit of a shame. I would have liked for it to be a little more fleshed out.

I really liked the main character Deanna. I loved seeing how she progressed throughout the story, but also getting a lot of back story on her in the process. Even though a lot of her thoughts and actions may seem a little out there, she seemed like a real, and realistic, character. She’s a smart girl, which shows in the way she’s made a living for all those years she’s been indoors.

While Deanna’s is the main point of view, we do get snippets from some of the other characters once in a while. It was a little confusing in the beginning, because I wasn’t prepared for the switch. But after a while I got used to the style of the switches. I liked the fact that we didn’t just stick with one throughout the entire book. It made the book a little more daunting, because we actually got the perspective of 'the bad guy' in the story.

I wasn’t really a fan of some of the other characters. We get to see a good deal of Deanna’s deliveryman, and I’m still not sure how I feel about him. A lot of times he seemed very out of place, even though he does prove to be helpful. Still, I’m not exactly a fan of his character.

I enjoyed the writing style, and I definitely really enjoyed the book, and I’m very interested in seeing where the next book will take Deanna.

Mini Reviews | First Reads of the Year

Title: Drama

Author: Raina Telgemeier

Published: September 1st 2012

Pages: 240

Format: Paperback

Genre: MG, Graphic Novel, lGbtq

Rating: ★★★★

Find on: Goodreads

Thoughts:
This was my first read of 2016, and I really enjoyed reading it. It was a pretty quick read, both because it was a graphic novel, but also because its intended audience is middle grade. It is definitely a read that I would recommend for someone who want to read a fun, quick, middle grade graphic novel, or just to younger readers in general.

There is a lot of typical middle school drama going on in this book - which is kind of hinted to in the title - and it was portrayed really well. The story was a little all over the place at times, but isn't that just how middle school is?

The main character is likable, and she is a joy to follow. She acts like someone her age would, and the way she reacts to the different things in the book are all very realistic. I like the fact that she is so passionate about her role in the school play - which is the set designer. She's very responsible, energetic, and kind of all over the place - but in a very likable way.

There's a big focus on friendship in this book, and they were all portrayed really well. There is some love/relationship stuff going on, but it doesn't really take over the main part of the story. There are some lgbtq+ characters in this books, and I very much enjoyed reading about them. I liked the fact, that it wasn't the main plot of the story, but that it just kind of fell into it naturally - if that makes sense.

Title: The Sculptor

Author: Scott McCloud

Published: February 3rd 2015

Pages: 488

Format: Hardcover

Genre: Graphic Novel

Rating: ★★★

Find on: Goodreads

Thoughts:
First of all, I really loved the art in this graphic novel. Second of all, this is a brick of a book, like, I felt like I was going to break my back when I had to bring this home from the library. But I also understand why it is as big as it is. There are a lot of panels where it's just the pictures telling the story, and I really enjoyed those parts.

This book has a lot of hype, and it is very well loved. However, for me, this was just an okay book. The plot was interesting, and it raised some pretty difficult and complicated questions, but it wasn't enough for me.

I didn't feel connected with the main character, and to be honest, I didn't actually like him at all. I don't know if you're supposed to like him, but still. Also, I felt like there was a lack of female characters in this book. There's the main love interest, and then there's her roommate. But mostly, that is it. It is very male dominated, and I missed some female representation, and for that sake, some female interaction.

All in all, this wasn't really my cup of tea, but I can see why people would absolutely love this graphic novel, so I would recommend that if you find it intriguing, then give it a go, it might be just your thing.

Title: George

Author: Alex Gino

Published: August 25th 2015

Pages: 195

Format: Hardcover

Genre: MG, lgbTq

Rating: ★★★★

Find on: Goodreads

Thoughts:
This was such a wonderful read. This book has been on my radar ever since sit was released last year, and I'm so glad that I finally read it. It is an important book, and I would recommend this to pretty much everyone. It is a really heartwarming story, and it will probably make you smile, and give you the warm fuzzies. The ending of this book made me smile so much, and I shed a tear or two while reading it. There were a lot of beautiful moments throughout this book.

The writing in the book was simple, maybe even a little too simple sometimes, but I really didn't mind at all. However, it its primary target is middle grade, so it is understandable that the writing is on the simpler side. That is not to say that the writing was bad, not at all - simple isn't bad.

I thought that the main character, Melissa, was adorable, and I really liked her. She was the absolute sweetest, and I loved getting to hear her story. I liked the fact that she was so sure of herself, and who she was. You were rooting for her throughout the entire book. I also think that her best friend was a great character, their friendship was really well done. I loved the fact that the best friend was supportive of our main character.

I you loved this book, the I would definitely recommend picking up Gracefully Grayson, if you haven't read that one yet. The stories have similar themes, and they both include a school play, but they are still very different books. And both are very worth the read.

Review || Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson

Title: Trust the Focus

Author: Megan Erickson

Publisher: InterMix

Published: March 27th 2015

Format: eBook

Genre: NA, LGBTQ

Series: In Focus #1

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Find on: Goodreads

Summary:
With his college graduation gown expertly pitched into the trash, Justin Akron is ready for the road trip he planned with his best friend Landry— and ready for one last summer of escape from his mother’s controlling grip. Climbing into the Winnebago his father left him, they set out across America in search of the sites his father had captured through the lens of his Nikon.

As an aspiring photographer, Justin can think of no better way to honor his father’s memory than to scatter his ashes at the sites he held sacred. And there’s no one Justin would rather share the experience with more than Landry.

But Justin knows he can’t escape forever. Eventually he’ll have to return home and join his mother’s Senate campaign. Nor can he escape the truth of who he is, and the fact that he’s in love with his out-and-proud travel companion.

Admitting what he wants could hurt his mother’s conservative political career. But with every click of his shutter and every sprinkle of ash, Justin can’t resist Landry’s pull. And when the truth comes into focus, neither is prepared for the secrets the other is hiding.

Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the book from start to finish. The premise of it all sounded interesting, and I think it delivered what it set out to do. It was very sweet and cute, but in the end, I wasn’t blown away by the story, and I was left with wanting more from it. Or, I think I expected to get something more from it. The story deals a lot with growing up. Both boys have just graduated college, and is at that point in life where they need to figure out where to go. I really liked how the theme was shown throughout the whole book.

The romance in the story was so sweet, and there were some absolutely adorable moments between the two characters. These were usually scenes where not much was happening, but it was the small things that mattered, and that absolutely melted my heart. However, I would have liked some more build-up to that romance. Because we don’t get that much back story on the characters, and where they have already been in regards to the romance, it loses some of what could have been a build-up to it.

“Trust the focus and put down the camera.”

  

The characters made the story interesting. I really liked both characters, even though they could be difficult to tell apart some times, because their voices were, in many ways, very similar. I feel like we got to know so much about Justin and not enough about Landry. I would have loved to get more back story on him, which in turn, I think, would round the character more, and make him stand out from Justin Not having that much on Landry made him seem a little flat and, at times, unrealistic as a character. But besides them falling a little flat from time to time, they seemed real to me. They both got frustrated, and they both lashed out, and when they did, it felt real – that’s something I really appreciated about the book and the writing.

I enjoyed reading from the perspective of Justin. I think he made for an interesting main character, but at the same time, I would have liked, again, to hear from Landry. Granted, it made parts of the book seem more real, and more uncertain, because we had no idea what was really going on, but that also frustrated me to no end. There were some intense parts in the book, but they seemed far to short. That's one of the problems I have with this book. I kept wanting more, more drama, more intense scenes, more yelling and conflicts. It could be because of Justin's personality, that he wants to avoid the all too intense feeling, but as a reader, it gets frustrating to read. 

I think that the photography aspect tied the story well together. In the beginning, I wasn’t too sure how it would be incorporated, but the way it played into the story just worked so well. I’m glad that it wasn’t just a fleeting theme throughout, but that it actually brought something to the story and the plot.

The ending, for me, was a little bland. I feel like there could have been done something more with it. It was beautiful, and as a whole I liked the ending, don’t get me wrong, but I would have loved a little something more, and I kind of wanted the story to go off with a bang (not literally though).

Review || Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Title: Openly Straight

Author: Bill Konigsberg

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Published: May 28th 2013

Format: Hardback (borrowed from library)

Genre: YA, LGBTQ

Series:

Rating: ★★★★

Find on: Goodreads

Summary:
A funny, honest novel about being out, being proud . . . and being ready for something else.

Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write. And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.

So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is possible.

This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate being different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.

Thoughts:
I went into this book with certain expectations, but what I got was nothing like I thought it was going to be. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. What I got out of this book was so much more than I could have hoped for, and I'm so glad that I finally decided to read it. 

It was very well written, and I might have fallen in love, just a little bit, with Bill Konigsberg's writing. He managed to make the characters very believable, and he gave Rafe such a realistic voice. There was banter, and witty dialogue, but without it being too much, and it taking over.

The story is about Rafe finding himself and who he wants to be. He wants to shake the label he has as 'the gay-kid' - wants to show people that there's more to him than just that. It's an interesting take on everything, and this book comes up with some pretty interesting and important points to consider.

It’s hard to be different,” Scarborough said. “And perhaps the best answer is not to tolerate differences, not even to accept them. But to celebrate them. Maybe then those who are different would feel more loved, and less, well, tolerated. 

I really liked Rafe as a character. I thought he was so well developed, and such an interesting person, without being all that special. Mostly he is just an average Joe without any 'special' talents, and I really like that about him. To some extend I felt like I could into his head, and I understood why he wanted to shake the label. I mean, I think I've wanted to shake my own from time to time. I felt for Rafe and what he was going through. He was such a down to earth character, and I really liked that about him.

I absolutely loved the side characters, and I though they were such a great addition to the story. Rafe's roommate Albie was a strange but fun character to read about. I also really liked Toby, Albie's best friend, and would have loved to see more of him. Somehow he really made an impression on me, and snuck his way into my heart. My favorite parts of the story was definitely when we got to see Rafe, Toby, Albie, and Ben together. The things they got up to were hilarious, and I would have absolutely loved to see more of those four together. Their friendship was so new, but they quickly found their way together.

There was a great deal of humor in the story, and it made everything seem a little more light hearted. A lot of the humor came in from of Rafe's parents. They were so incredibly over the top, but somehow that still worked. The fact that they were so over the top just made them that much better. The humor and lighthearted-ness of the story also came from Albie and Toby

Straight people have it so much easier. They don’t understand. They can’t. There’s no such thing as openly straight. 

The romance. Oh the romance! It wasn't the main focus, but it still took up a great deal of the book. It was such a fragile kind of romance, and my heart ached for more of it. It was a realistic take on this type of romance, and I did have times where I wanted to yell at the characters to get their acts together. There were more than one romantic couple in the story, and that was something that I really enjoyed.

The ending felt realistic, but I would still have loved to see more. I want to know what happens to Rafe and all the others, but I guess I will just have to use my imagination for that. However, I did not see the ending coming at all. It was not what I imagined would happen, but I can see why it ended where it did, and I'm still very pleased with that.

I would honestly recommend this book to anyone. It deals with some pretty important topics that I think anyone can benefit from reading about. On top of that it's a nice story that will make you laugh and make you smile - at least once.

Review || To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Published: April 15th 2014

Format: eBook

Genre: YA

Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1

Rating: ★★

Find on: Goodreads

Summary:

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.

They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

Thoughts:

This is a book that I've wanted to read for such a long time. In fact, it was on my most anticipated books of 2014 list. Everyone has been raving about this, and I was so excited to finally read it. However, I must say that I ended up being disappointed with this book. It was not what I expected it would be at all. I might have hyped it up too much for myself, and that's why I was disappointed, but I'm not sure. I thought this was going to be one thing, but it ended up being something that I wasn’t prepared for, and something I didn’t really enjoy.

The premise was so promising, and I absolutely fell in love with the idea of this story. The thing is, I don't think it lived up to that promise. I was missing more of what the synopsis promised. It felt like there were way too many storylines fitted in to one book, and that made me question what the main story was actually supposed to be. I did really like Jenny Han's writing though, and I do want to try and read some of her other books, to see if they would be a better fit with me.

You'd rather make up a fantasy version of somebody in your head than be with a real person.

Our main character is Lara Jean, and I did not like her at all. She was incredibly immature, whiny (urgh, I hate that word), and oh so very annoying. There was so much unnecessary drama created by her, and it seemed like she couldn't see that she created it. It felt like nobody was ever good enough for her, and she didn't give people a fair chance. In addition to that, she was incredibly judgmental, which really pissed me off. When she had made a judgment of a person, there was almost no way for that person to escape that box they were put in. She had made up her mind, and that was that. Exclamation point.

Lara Jean acted way younger than she was supposed to be, while her younger sister Kitty, to me, acted much older than the nine years she was. There were times, where Lara Jean acted like the kids I teach in third grade. And one thing I just couldn't get behind was the fact that Lara Jean called her dad for daddy. I've always been taught that that's what you call your dad when you're a kid, and not when you're over 16. That might just be a personal thing for me, but it still annoyed me to no end.

There were two characters in the book that I actually liked. One of them is Kitty. She was such a fun character, and she had so much personality. She definitely grew on my throughout the book, and in the end, her appearances were some of the highlights. The other character I fell head over heels in love with was Peter. I honestly think that he was probably the character that went through most development, at least in his own way.

Peter was not special, and he was not perfect. He acted like your typical teenage boy would do, and I loved that about the character. Was he a jerk some of the times? of course he was, but honestly people are jerks sometime, and that's life. The thing was, I'm pretty sure he was aware of the fact that he wasn't the nicest at all times. He was a realistic character, and that was really refreshing.

Love is scary: it changes; it can go away. That's the part of the risk. I don't want to be scared anymore.

A thing that I liked, was the relationship between the Song sisters (Margot, Lara Jean, and Kitty). I love books were there’s a great sibling relationship, and this story had it. At least to some extend. There were parts where I thought Lara Jean might be a little too dependent on her older sister, but it was something I could look away from. I don’t really have any thoughts on Margot. I don’t feel like she was a particularly prominent character, and I didn’t feel like we got to know her much, which might have been nice.

I loved that we got to see some of the family’s Korean heritage. There was a part in the story where their dad, who is American, had to make this Korean dish, and even though he completely butchered it, it was still a great moment to see. I would have loved to have even more of those kinds of scenes.

The romance in this book was not for me. It seemed shallow and more or less pointless. I didn’t feel the love there were supposed to be between some of the characters, and that really dragged the story down, especially since it’s made out to mainly be a story about love. I would have love to have gone deeper into those feelings

I wasn't invested in this story for most of it. It was only with the final chapters of the book, that I started caring about what would happen. However, I must say, that even though the majority of this book was not for me, I’m still going to read the sequel. The reason being that I didn’t think there was any kind of closure in this book what so ever, and I would like to see what is going to happen.

Review || Three Mini Reviews

Title: Five Dates

Author: Amy Jo Cousins

Publisher: M/M Romance Goup @ Goodreads

Published: July 25th 2014

Format: eBook

Genre: M/M Romance

Series: Love Landscapes

Rating: ★★★ (3.5)

Find on: Goodreads

Summary:

Helping his sister Lucy raise her kid has put Devin’s love life on hold. When he loses a bet to her and the penalty is to go out on five dates with men she’s chosen from Guys4Guys.com, he thinks that’s bad enough. Finding out she used a thirteen-year-old picture of him to score a date with a young guy who looks like a rock star? Epically bad.

Jay thought he wanted to fall for an older man. But his last boyfriend left him feeling humiliated and determined to stick to guys his own age. When he realizes he’s been conned into a date with exactly the kind of man he’s sworn to avoid, he’s ready to walk away on the spot. Only Devin’s swift apologies convince Jay to accept dinner to make up for the deception.

Thoughts:

This story was really well written. I loved the premise of the story, and I thought it was pretty well done. It was a fun story, with several amusing scenarios between our two main characters. The thing is though, I felt the attraction between the two characters, no doubt about that but I found it hard to really see the strong feelings there were supposed to be between them. At the end of the story, I felt like something was missing. Something to make it go to the next level, and make me love it.

I liked the fact that the story was shown not only from Devin's perspective, but from Jay's as well. The characterization of Jay was really cool. I was afraid that it was going to be way too stereotypical, but luckily it didn't happen. I would have loved to know a little more about Jay's background though - we did get a tiny bit of information, but a little more would have been awesome. They were both great characters, who had different voices and different personalities.

Title: Punch-Drunk Love

Author: Nico Jaye

Publisher: M/M Romance Goup @ Goodreads

Published: June 12th 2014

Format: eBook

Genre: M/M Romance

Series: Love Landscapes

Rating: ★★★★

Find on: Goodreads

Summary:
Between his biochemistry classes and rigorous kickboxing training, Oliver Reyes has enough on his plate, thank you very much. With his first official match coming up, he doesn't have any time for distractions, even if they come in the handsome and muscular form of the team's captain Derek Vance. However, Oliver's friends encourage him to loosen up a little at the out-of-town kickboxing meet, and a unicorn costume, a mysterious masked stranger, and that Diablo known as tequila soon lead to an unforgettable post-competition night in Vegas.

Once the team returns to San Francisco, can Oliver somehow go back to his no-nonsense daily grind of classes and training? Or will his wild night of make-believe in Sin City result in some real-life--and really attractive--distractions?

Thoughts:

This story was really good (I'm gonna pretty much say this about all three stories). I loved the way it was written and it was delightfully light hearted. There wasn't exactly any angsty feelings in the story, which I feel like there could have been, but I'm glad there wasn't. Another aspect of the story that I really liked was the whole kickboxing part. I enjoy watching kickboxing, so it was pretty awesome to see it in writing. There are a couple of steamy scenes in the story, which I don't really mind, especially when they are well written like these ones.

I feel in love with Oliver just a tiny bit - I thought he was absolutely adorable. He's just such a great character with some great characteristics. He's a sporty geek, who kickbox, loves science, and plays a lot of scrabble with his friends. Talking about his friends, I would love to have seen a little more of them, both Oliver's friends and Derek's for that matter. I also really liked Derek as a character. We don't get to know that much about him, but what we get is pretty great. I really felt a connection between Derek and Oliver, and they were just so sweet - Together and apart.

Also, there were a great amount of cowboy jokes/puns which were just hilarious. In addition to that, we also had unicorn costumes - well one unicorn costume, but that's still amazing.

Title: Game On

Author: Olley White

Publisher: M/M Romance Goup @ Goodreads

Published: June 12th 2014

Format: eBook

Genre: M/M Romance

Series: Love Landscapes

Rating: ★★★★

Find on: Goodreads

Summary:

What happens when all your expectations are blown out of the water? 

Max is finally meeting his his on-line gaming friend. 5t3ff is everything Max wanted in a girl, funny, kind and a good gamer. He's never felt such a connection with anyone and he's hoping that the friendship they have might move to something more. When 5t3ff turns out to be Stefan and not Stephanie, Max has to reassess his feelings. Or does he? Can love just be love, regardless of gender? And can the two boys ignore the labels long enough to find out? 

Thoughts:

I don't normally read gay for you stories, because they often seem really unbelievable to me, but this was so well done. The way the relationship evolved was very realistic and so beautiful. The slow burn romance was so sweet and just incredible. I really am a sucker for a slow burn romance. You could just see how the love between these two came to be. I was ready for this to be such and angst filled story, but that wasn't the case at all. Sure, there were some small moments where the angst sneaked in, but it wasn't overwhelming.

Stefan was an absolute darling. He had such a big heart, and was so much fun to read about. He and his friends were absolute hilarious, and their friendship was out of this world. The same thing with Max - he was very open to everything, and he was such a sweetheart. These two men were different, but then not so different at all. They fit together, and complemented each other.

A small thing that would have made this even better would have been if we got to see a little more of the before. The before they met face to face for the first time. It's talked about a small bit which was great, but to "see" it would just have been even better.