justinlife's Reviews (916)

This was a cute story just in time for the holidays. I find it funny that Banner uses these hot men covers, leading the reader to think it’s going to be a spicy read, when it’s really just a sweet romance with a little bit of spice. 

Banner created this fictional town in TX full of characters that he keeps up through the series. This is one of the best things about his style is how the secondary characters have full lives and don’t live to serve the plot. At times, I think he likes these characters more than his protagonists. 

This novel features Malcom, son of a chef, who hasn’t recovered from the date in book three but has to go help his dad with the catering of that dude’s wedding on Christmas Eve Eve. Mayhem ensues and hurt feelings come out. I love that Banner added another character outside the two main protagonists who I hope to see further down the line.

I would rate it higher but there was a scene involving sex and alcohol that I don’t think was handled well.

Overall though a fun light read.

It's weird to that there are so many hockey stories out there. 

This is a solid read and I really enjoyed the story. A lot of the plot devices used to get the story moving seemed so outrageous that they weren't even believable at all. Mainly, the business aspect of major league professional sports in the USA. 

It felt like Oliver was trying to go for something akin to the movie "Major League" which is fine, but it didn't feel real. It bothered me b/c the story of the characters of Gilbert and Sebastian was really cute. You get two characters who've grown apart, had issues, have to work through them and find their way back to each other. There's a lot for each of them to get through, but Oliver does a great job showing how their past scars and actions affect their decisions. 

The story was lovely. The setting could've used some work. 

This was fine. I blame myself more than the book. I think if I were in highschool, I'd love it. A queer historical fiction in the vein of The Count of Monte Cristo that's a swashbuckling adventure? Yeah, sign me up. I think I didn't realize the characters were so young when I went in and because of that, I was annoyed. I was also annoyed with the narrator and how he's just a rake. Like why would anyone want to hang out with him, he sounds exhausting. 

Overall though, it's a well written queer adventure novel and we don't have too many of those. 

T.J. Klune is a fun writer. He's all over the place and I love that about him. 

This novel takes place in a world where some people have extraordinary abilities. It follows Nick whose dad is a cop and mother was killed by some robbers. He's got ADHD and wants more than anything to be a superhero, but also a superhero dating one of the other superheros. 

Nick got on my nerves through the book. He's self centered and unfocused and, well, he's a teenager, so yeah, it makes sense. The writing was fun and his relationship with his dad was a great one to read. Klune writes dialogue that's believable and fun. There were many times through this book that I laughed out loud. There were also so many times where I was like "Nick, buddy, come on, read the room and the signs." He's completely oblivious to his best friend who's into him and that maybe another friend might be a superhero. 

Overall though, I liked it and would read more. The reviews about it being cop propaganda are... well, justified. You can see where they are coming from. In the framework fo the character, you can see it, but at the same time, it's a bit frustrating. 

This book is a lot. Like a lot a lot. It's dense and contains a narrative of how whiteness came to be and the major players that contributed to it. 

I was expecting something far more violent, but it was really tracing the history of whiteness and how that has affected the culture. You get to see the philosophers, artists, and anthropologists over the centuries try to justify its existence and how they came to their conclusions. 

It's a great book to read, but I'd recommend a chapter at a time. The audiobook was also very helpful.  This was well researched and you can see the course that was being plotted. What's interesting about it is that so many people who are considered white today wouldn't have fit that classification a century or two ago. The power dynamics and how that affected everyone involved. 

This was a really cool graphic novel that created a magical world in Manila. The art was gorgeous and noir like while the urban fantasy of a world where magical beings exist but are policed. 

I would love to read more of this. If there was a book two or even three, I'd love it. The art created a mood that matched a story of people living with decisions that changed the circumstances. 

Ugh, this is a case of expectations not being met. I like Grant Morrison's comic book writing, but this did not work for me. 

The story is told in first person narrative and the main character, Luci, is recounting the dramas and terrors of the panto play that she stars in as well as her obsession with Luda, the enegenue who showed up out of nowhere and is stealing the spotlight. 

This book was about 150 pages too long and so much didn't work for me. It was a thriller that didn't thrill. A horror that didn't scare. 

While I can appreciate the prose, I feel that it would have been better served if it wasn't first person narration. I think I needed that separation. Without it, it felt like listening to an self centered egoist take up valuable time telling a story that's not that interesting. 

The Black Flamingo is a thief that has mystical powers to see the world as it is, or rather, the worst of it. He's unabashedly queer and lives a life that's self involved. The series follows him as he uncovers a Nazi plot to use an angel to control the world or something like that. 

The art is gorgeous and the story is interesting. I like it when authors play with Christian mythology. I would love to read more of this series. There seems to be a lot of different directions this series could go if given the opportunity. 

Sina Grace is a fun author. I loved his run on the Iceman series and he gave that character so much life. 

Here he starts his series Ghosted in LA which centers on a young woman who moves to LA to follow her boyfriend to college only to get dumped. She moves into a haunted apartment complex where each ghost a special power. They welcome her and she helps them when she can. 

It's an interesting set up that could lead to a fun, longer series. I'm intrigued by some of the directions that were taken.