simonlorden's Reviews (1.38k)

This was a lovely short story about two teenage gay boys experimenting with each other and a bunch of condoms. It is part of a series that is focused on encouraging safe sex (you can read more if you click the link in the Goodreads description), and it kind of shows - at some parts it felt like I was reading an info video about AIDS, but it was still natural enough that it wasn't really disturbing.

This was a wonderful story with steampunk elements, dinosaur, a f/f pairing, and I'm pretty sure the protagonist is #ownvoices autistic. And you can read it for free on the Giganotosaurus website.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

LGBTQAI+: Lesbian MC and LI (butch/femme pairing), nonbinary side character, multiple queer side characters (e.g. a bisexual woman, two men in a relationship)

I knew from the beginning that this book would be out of my comfort zone: it’s very rare that I read erotica, and even rarer that I read about kinks other than like, light bondage. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been interested in this book if it hadn’t been for Jae’s Lesbian Book Bingo, which has an Erotica square I was struggling to fill. That being said, this book was a very pleasant surprise.

Read the full review on my blog.

There was also a nonbinary side character, Ray, and I would like to talk about that representation a little. Overall, I felt like it was good rep: Ray’s gender and pronouns were respected, and it was especially great that Phoenix made sure to ask what words they are comfortable with for their body in a sexual situation. However, I did have two issues with the way Ray was handled.

1) Ray is first mentioned/introduced at a party, and even before they physically appear, some others at the party make ignorant comments about their gender and pronouns. These comments are called out immediately and they never come up again, so I could accept this as a realistic portrayal of cis people being ignorant even if they mean no harm – but I felt really weird about the fact that we got all these comments before actually seeing Ray at all. In a way, the nonbinary character was introduced by transphobic comments before actually speaking a word. 2) Ray just… disappears halfway through the novel. They are busy, so Phoenix and them keep postponing their plans, and then… Ray just never appears again. There is actually another party towards the end where Kris mentions inviting Ray but Phoenix decides against it, and just… Why? There is no real reason given, and both of Ray’s doms come to the party, so I don’t understand why they weren’t invited. This way, I liked Ray but at the same time there’s not much to like because they only really appear in a few scenes.

My rating: 🌇🌇🌇🌇/5.

I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Representation: #ownvoices for two mlm main characters; one wlw main character
Trigger warnings: two scenes of sexual assault

Periphery is a sci-fi adventure where all three of the main characters are queer, which was refreshing to see. Two male characters are in a slow-burn romance with some serious Han/Luke vibes, and the third character, a black woman is in an established relationship with another woman, although the girlfriend only shows up towards the end.

Plot-wise, this was a kind of typical sci-fi adventure, with the kidnappings, scoundrels and alien invasion (and honestly, I couldn't find a fault in the logic of the aliens - humanity does kind of suck). I sometimes felt like the book went on too long, but overall the plot was okay, and the cliffhanger twist at the end certainly earned some more points from me.

One thing that rubbed me the wrong way is that Arsen was a textbook example of the slutty bisexual trope. We meet him literally while in the process of hooking up with a girl (whose name he later doesn't even remember), he flirts with most people he meets including antagonists, it's implied that he frequently uses sex to get himself out of trouble, and he keeps making sex jokes. I'm not entirely sure whether Ilaria and Ion are bisexual or gay/lesbian, but Arsen is the only one who is explicitly shown to be attracted to multiple genders, so this was kind of meh.

I was going to give this 3 stars, but I really did like the ending twist, and it's great that all three mains are queer. I'm curious to see what happens in the sequel. (I really hope ***** can still be saved or otherwise I'll be kinda pissed.)

This book was like a roller coaster that sometimes goes up, but mostly it stays down.

First of all: it was clear that this is not a happy story from the cover and blurb, and I was certainly not expecting sunshine and rainbows. But the level of constant hate, self-hate, bullying and just negative emotion was incredibly frustrating to read.

Around 80 pages, I wanted to DNF this book and just be done with it. Then the plot picked up a little and I was intrigued. Then it went down again. Then sometimes there were rare moments when I was interested in what was going to happen, where I felt the tension, or maybe Misha had a really funny sarcastic comment... and then it went down again and the whole thing was just boring and/or frustrating.

I was ready to give this three stars, because it did have some parts I enjoyed, but then it ended and I was left with this feeling of "... wait, really? THAT's the end?" I felt like nothing was really resolved, and the book just ended in the middle of the finale.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Short version: I loved this SO MUCH. It was not only full of feels, but also beautifully crafted with subtle hints and twists and symbolism.

To quote the author, it has:
* A fantasy-mythological setting loosely based on Norse mythology
* Cute demigods with feelings firmly in It's Complicated territory
* A shape-shifting trickster
* A daring rescue
* Found family feels
(The above list is from Meredith's Goodreads page. Below is my own words again.)

How Saeter Robbed the Underworld is a story within a story - The frame story is about two queer dads with their three (adopted) children. The eldest, Eirik, has just had a fight with his friend, so his dads tell them a bedtime story that is about difficult relationships and conflicts. This story is the story of two demigods - Saeter is the son of the God of Envy, and Skault is the son of the God of Love.

I absolutely loved everything Meredith did with this story. Although I could see several of the twists coming from a mile away, they still somehow felt satisfying... in fact, probably even more satisfying than if they had come out of nowhere, because it was set up beautifully. I also really loved the suggestion that adopted family is just as important as biological family,

although this is a little subverted at the end, but the message is still there

.

It is difficult to talk about my favourite twists without spoilers, but I'm going to say that I really loved the symbolism/parallel done with the three animal shapes Saeter takes to save Skault.

And now some spoiler-y screaming:

I KNEW that Skault would be the only one able to hurt Skault, and it still killed me. And!! It's not spelled out, but it's still pretty obvious that my theory was right about the identity of Papa and Father, and it's beautiful.

Full review on my blog, The Golden Library.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: LGBTQAI+, Mystery/Thriller, 40s protagonist
Published: April 16th 2018 by Bold Strokes Books
Lesbian Book Bingo squares: Romantic Mystery, Doctors/Veterinarians
Sex on page: No

First of all, I love the cover, it’s beautiful, but I feel like it has a very different atmosphere from the book itself. I could imagine the cover on a romance, but it doesn’t really scream “mystery with disappearance, murder, maffia, alcohol poisoning and suicide attempt” for me.

If I had only two words to summarise the plot, I’d say “too much”. I understand this is a mystery, but it felt like there were too many sideplots, too many secrets, too many twists, too many connections. I finished reading the book, and honestly, I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS about several of the minor plotlines.

My rating: 📱📱📱/5.

cont.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a m/m sci-fi story between a human and an alien, although it wasn't clear from the blurb that Daevor and Vhrain would be aliens.

In short, the way I can sum up "A Matter of Choice" is... a lot of missed opportunities. To me, the blurb suggested that there would be some kind of polyamorous arrangement between the three protagonists, but in reality, Vhrain has to exit the relationship before anything can happen between Leon and Daevor.

There is also mention of his old pirate crew coming to rescue Leon, and I was excited to see a crew of misfits with all their banter. Instead, I found the relationship lacking. The crew clearly cares enough about Leon to search for him (for months?) and rescue him, but he doesn't seem to have any friends - it's a faceless mob of people he barely knows and has no real connection to.

Daevor's name is also misspelled multiple times, sometimes even when the POV changes at the beginning of the chapter, which... I know editing is a lot of work, but that's pretty noticeable and this is not a very long story? So that was a little weird.

I still give this story three stars because I enjoyed learning about Daevor's species (although we don't even learn their name, but I suppose that is less important than the culture), but ultimately this was a pretty neutral read for me.