This is one of the strangest manga I have ever read. Komazu is a little sparrow who is afraid of snakes, but one day a snake saves him from a stampede. The snake is named Shirato. The two of them have a very strange relationship which ends up causing them to fall in love with each other, but because they are predator and prey, the fear that Shirato might eat Komazu looms over them. Also the author went kind of weird with the animal anatomy so, like, Komazu only has a cloaca and Shirato has a spiky snake-dick?
***WARNING: SPOILERS***
I had to read this because I just wrote a book that metaphorically involved sparrows, so it felt like fate. And I thought it was cute. A lot of the yaoi/shounen-ai books that were circulating when I was young were kind of rapey, and even though Komazu is maybe a little too aggressively curious about touching, this book didn't feel rapey, and I appreciated that. Fun one-shot if you like shape-shifter vibes that sort of but not really goes into monsterfucking/furry territory, although I will say that it is so damn weird that the HEA involves the snake guy creating a magical peen for the sparrow guy.
Well, it's Pride Month, and even though we should all be reading diversely year-round, I try to up the ante in June and make books by and about the LGBT+ my primary focus. I think I picked up THE OTHER MAN during Amazon's World Book Day, but I hadn't read it until now. The illustrated cover makes it look like it's going to be one of those fluffy rom-com books... but it isn't really that. There's not a lot that's fluffy about this book, actually, and there is a lot of cheating, so if that is something that bothers you, you might want to give this a pass.
One thing to keep in mind while reading this book is that it is set in India, prior to the overruling of Section 377, which made homosexuality illegal in India. The hero, Ved(u), is a closeted gay man who is afraid to come out because it is literally illegal and he doesn't want to shame his parents because he knows that they have expectations for him-- expectations that involve marrying a woman.
Ved is a workaholic and an executive of his father's company. But he lives a double-life. He uses Grindr to hook up and have anonymous sex with other men. It's not really wants for himself, but after getting hurt by another man years ago (11 years his senior, secretly engaged), he doesn't really have a lot of emotional availability left. When he meets a Brazilian-American named Carlos who's in India on business, though, the man seems like he's his perfect match: emotionally available, affectionate, interesting, and open to new experiences. But this time, Ved has a dark secret of his own. He's engaged to be married, too.
I can see why some people took issue with this book. The cheating is a lot to stomach-- and what makes it even harder is that both of the people he's cheating on, Carlos and his fiancee, Disha, are really likable people. Ved comes across as incredibly wishy-washy and kind of a user, but considering his position and the weight on his shoulders, I could understand why he had such an internal struggle.
I really wanted to love this book and it had really high ratings from my friends, but I couldn't get into it at all. The fact that Charlie so obviously had anxiety made me wonder how he made it through the screening process, and it was honestly pretty sadistic how he kept getting forced in all these uncomfortable situations. Which I guess is a well-placed blow at the reality TV industry, but it's not super fun to read about. Despite that, I think I still could have gotten into this book if the writing weren't so flat. It reminded me a little of RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE with its forced quirkiness, so if you liked that, you might like this.
This was my first buddy read with the amazing Julia, so make sure you check out her review! I was super psyched to read DIG YOUR GRAVE because the first book in the series, CALL THE CORONER, ended up being an unexpected fave despite the violence and dysfunctional romance. Sequels that follow a couple actually getting together are always hard, and I was interested to see how Ashton kept things fresh between Daniel and Stavros in this new book
But... I actually wasn't that into it.
First, the violence in this book seems to have been upped by a lot. It pushed the limits of what I'm comfortable with personally, and I think anyone who doesn't enjoy reading about gore and torture should avoid this book. It doesn't shy away from graphic detail. I said in my review of CTC that the first half of the book was torture porn and the second half was an enemies to lovers romance. This was... mostly violence. And there wasn't much of a plot except for the torture stuff and Daniel and Stavros each taking a turn rescuing the other from... torture stuff.
Second, I'm not really sure how the romance between these characters has progressed or that they've really developed as people. The attraction between them still seems to largely hinge on physical elements and a mutual love of fucking people up. And watching two guys just lusting after each other and getting off on watching their partner cut guys up with saws just... doesn't do it for me. On multiple levels. I guess it's realistic that these guys (who are older-- in their 40s and 50s, I believe) are largely set in their ways, so their romance might be less fluid than a couple that was younger and still developing emotionally, but it wasn't all that enjoyable for me to read against that tapestry of violence.
If you like really dark books-- I know some people enjoy being shocked, which is why splatterpunk is a thing-- this will be a great fit for you. Sometimes books sugarcoat the lives of the people they're about; I totally believe that these two dudes are awful cartel goons who revel in their violent lifestyle. And I've found out that this really isn't for me, but maybe it will be for you.
Side note: the author seems to have changed her writing style a bit. It flowed much more in here, I noticed: there wasn't as much of that telegraphic writing style I noticed from the first book and she didn't have as much word repetition. So even though the story wasn't as interesting to me, it does seem like her writing style is becoming more polished with subsequent books. I'll probably check out more from her soon-- but I think I'm done with this particular series.
So far, AMERICAN LOVE STORY is my second favorite romance in this LGBT+ series featuring PoC love interests. AMERICAN FAIRYTALE was a DNF, whereas AMERICAN DREAMER was the crown jewel in this series that was just shy of perfection. AMERICAN LOVE STORY sits at a solid three-star rating, smack-dab in the middle. There were some things I loved about it, and other things I didn't as much.
Our two love interests are Patrice and Easton. Patrice is an immigrant from Haiti who works as a professor at Cornell. He's a political activist and has a huge following on Twitter. Easton, on the other hand, is white and rich and works as an ADA (assistant district attorney). They had a hot hookup once but then things fell apart. Now they're getting back together but their relationship is already on the rocks: Patrice is outraged by police stops in the area targeting men of color, and Easton doesn't want to rock the boat and compromise his position by making too much noise. They dance around the issue, but as the relationship-- and the stops-- get more serious, something has to give.
I thought this book did a really good job talking about racism-- institutional racism and racism at the individual level. The microaggressions from Easton's family are a disgusting reminder that sometimes white people need to seriously reevaluate the vocabulary they employ when talking to PoCs and break out of their toxic mindsets in the way they think about and view people of color. The police stops were also really well done. When Patrice got stopped, my heart was in my throat and I was ready to cry. It was so intense and could be potentially triggering for some readers, I think. I loved Patrice's Tweets on Black Twitter, and how supportive the department head was in his passion for change.
The things I didn't like-- honestly? The relationship between these two. In book one, I could see where Jude and Nesto were both coming from. Here, I could see where Patrice was coming from. But even though Easton acknowledged his privilege and tried to do better, I felt like his fallback decision was to not do a thing. Standing silently by while his parents insult his boyfriend and only getting involved in the stops when his boyfriend was targeted by them were not the best ally or boyfriend behaviors (I mean, even when his boyfriend's young friends were targeted, the man still didn't hustle). It also really upset me when one of Easton's friends tells Patrice to stop being so "sanctimonious" and "angry." Calling black people "angry" is always a serious microaggression, but especially when it's justified, and I actually felt a little sick in side when Patrice apologizes to Easton. It felt wrong.
I'm giving this a three because parts of this book were done really well, and I loved Patrice as a character, but I really didn't care much for Easton as the love interest and unlike Jude from book one, I don't really feel that his character arc developed quite as significantly. Also-- the whole thing with Brad?? Where was the comeuppance for that? At least the Karen of the first book got publicly castigated and shamed, and had to go on leave at work. Unless I missed it, Male Karen wasn't really dealt the shaming he deserved here. But the difficult issues of police bias and racism themselves were handled really well here and I loved how the author dedicated her book to the protestors, and Patrice, and Ari and Yin are great. The author seriously needs to make a young adult/new adult spin-off about those two, I'd pick it up in a heartbeat. They are so pure and adorable. So even though there were things I didn't like, I really can't be mad. There was a lot to like in this book and it kept me reading.
Also, for more resources about Black Lives Matter and how to get involved, please check out the website blacklivesmatter.com.
The first book in this series, AMERICAN DREAMER, was so good that I immediately zoomed out to grab all the other books in this series. It was a laundry list of everything I love in fiction: positive friendships, loving families (well-- for the most part), food and foodie culture, diversity(!), and a slow-burn romance where the focus is on the building of the relationship rather than a purely sexual need.
AMERICAN FAIRYTALE... is not that. Camilo is a social worker, which is awesome, and when we meet him he's at a charity event, where he meets a billionaire who casually throws down $10,000 for a plate at the event. They have sex in a bathroom before returning to the event. And then... it kind of gets boring?? One of the things that made AMERICAN DREAMER such an intense read for me was how real Jude and Nesto felt. I know people like them in real life. Even though the book was set in NY, SF has a food culture scene just like that, and I got to drool over the book while enjoying my foodie adventures vicariously through the story. It was passionate and interesting and emotional, and the villain of that story added some pretty desperate conflict to the pacing and plot.
I just don't find billionaires all that relatable. And while I will read billionaire romances on occasion, there has to be more to appeal than just "wow, he's commanding at sex and has a fuckton of money." Because I already have the t-shirt for that. In fact, I have many t-shirts. And they're all full of holes. I also didn't really like Milo as much as I liked Nesto. Part of that was maybe because the plot didn't seem to focus quite as much on his passion for his work, like Nesto's story did, which hooked me in from the beginning and didn't let go. I'm definitely going to continue with the series, but I think I'll be skipping this one, as I'm just not all that interested in Milo or Tom.
I don't think I'd gotten more than about fifty pages in before I put the rest of the series on hold at the library. AMERICAN DREAMER is such an amazing book, and there is so much about it that I really enjoyed. To start, it's a romance between the owner of a Caribbean fusion food truck and a children's librarian. Are you swooning yet? It's also infused with a love of books and good food, the importance of friends and family, and the desire to make your dreams real (but not, obviously, at the cost of love).
I wasn't expecting this book to take a sledgehammer and start whacking me in the feels. Nesto's story behind his food truck OuNYe (a play on ounje, the Yoruban word for "nourishment," and NY) was so touching and I loved how emotional and nostalgic he got over food. The moment he enters town, though, he starts getting harassed by a "Karen" named Misty, who seems determined to shut down his dream at all costs.
Coincidentally, Misty has also been bullying Jude (messing with his food, denying his budget requests), the librarian. Jude's big dream is to set up a mobile library for kids living in rural or low-income areas. His story of how he became a librarian actually made me cry, and his backstory was so hard to read (what is it with books about gay men named Jude always making me cry). He's been fucked up by his family, and it's given him trust issues, so even though he's attracted to Nesto, he's hesitant to get into a relationship.
AMERICAN DREAMER, in addition to being a fantastic story (romance aside), is also a great romance. No "gay for you." No "wow, anal sex is so easy and you can just go without lube!" sex. No exploitative hookups that magically turn into love without any sort of chemistry or relationship footwork. The attraction between the two of them is instant, but the relationship progresses at a slow, believable pace, with all of the usual pitfalls that plague new relationships, like miscommunication, broken promises, past histories, etc. Nesto is probably the most like me, personality-wise (stubborn and hard-working and focused), so when the inevitable falling out happened with Jude, it was hard not to side firmly with Nesto because I got it. Tragedy is hard-going alone, and when someone makes a promise like that, you expect them to keep it. Help, I'm crying.
My only qualms in the book were that some parts were a bit of a slog. Some of the scenes between Jude and Nesto felt repetitive, even though I understand that it was to build up their relationship. I also really wanted to see Misty get more of a comeuppance than she did. That ending was not satisfactory, and fucking around with people's food is a pretty serious offense. I never really understood why she was going after Jude, and came to the conclusion that she's one of those intolerable bigots who hate the LGBT+ and people of color with equal hateful fervor. Either way, I was out for revenge.
Anyone who likes romances that highlight other cultures, give good food porn, and focus on relationship building over sexual content (although there's some of that, too), will love this book. Reading AMERICAN DREAMER gave me the same rush that watching Million Pound Menudid: it's a success story rooted in how food brings people together, wrapped up in Afro-Latinx culture, and tied off with a cute bow of romance. I'm diving into the next book immediately.
BOYFRIEND MATERIAL has been sitting on my Kindle for ages and I'm sorry to say that I've never gotten around to reading it until now. Sorry to say because it's actually really amazing. Luc is me. Or, at least, he's the me I'd be if I were the gay son of a rockstar. I loved his socially awkward grumpy snarky self, and I found myself really relating to him the way I haven't related to another character in a while. It also has FAKE DATING which is one of my favorite tropes in romance and here, it was done really well, with valid reasons.
Luc is the son of a man named Jon Fleming, who's kind of like Ian Anderson but more of a jerk. He works at a conservation charity for dung beetles and their donors are very conservative and don't take to, ahem, flamboyant stereotypes of gay men. Which, given what happens to Luc at a club after a bad pick-up attempt and a binge drinking sesh, kind of ends up being how he's portrayed in the tabloids. To gain back his clout-- and his donors-- he needs a fake boyfriend to reupholster his image, and that's exactly what Oliver-- buttoned-up barrister, vegetarian, ethical covert-ops gay-- represents for him.
There was so much I liked about this book. I liked the chemistry between the characters. I liked the banter and the witty observations. I liked Luc's friends and coworkers even though they were a little too quirky (two men named James Royce-Royce??? who are married?? WHAT). I liked the nod against bisexual erasure and I liked how so much of their relationship building was about boundaries, consent, and standing up for one another and accepting themselves, flaws and all. Really, the only thing I didn't like about this book was the third-act drama/break-up/misunderstanding. I HATE THAT.
BOYFRIEND MATERIAL was basically everything I was hoping for from RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE and did not get. It's an opposites attract/fake dating extravaganza filled with delightfully British humor and two men learning to accept themselves and find that missing piece in their lives. LOVE.
Whoa. That was one of the more difficult books I've struggled to get through in a while-- not because it was bad, but because it was so unrelentingly brutal. After finishing this, all I could think was, Game of Thrones, eat your heart out, because there's a new bad bitch on the block. Only since this is about a bisexual elf and a gay dragon, I guess you could call it Gay of Thrones. Or, my favorite alternative title: Lysander Can't Catch a Fucking Break.
IRON & FIRE continues where the first book, SILK & STEEL, left off. Humans, dragons, and elves are at war. Eroan, the elf, was captured when he tried to assassinate the dragon queen. Obviously, that failed, and he ended up as the prisoner of the royal dragons. Lysander is the young prince, and the black sheep of the family because he's gay and unbreedable and also because everyone thinks he's sniveling, weak and pathetic. He drowns his shame in alcohol, but after meeting the elf and seeing him remain unbroken, he starts to want to drown in something else... like that booty. The feeling even seems like maybe it's mutual.
Of course, this is not your mother's romance novel, and absolutely nothing works out. There is rape, slavery, torture, violence, incest, and abuse, and basically a whole entire rainbow of trigger warnings. The book ends with both leads apart and hating each other once more because of a betrayal. Eroan must return to his people as an outcast to convince them to fight the dragons, and Lysander ends up being an abused and broken plaything, only to be reborn like a phoenix from flames as a fucking death machine fueled by Kill Bill levels of revenge and rage, including a certain elf.
The plotting and the reveals in this book were really great. Second books often end up falling short because they end up as placeholders for the series finale, and have mostly expositions and padding. Not this book. There were expositions, yes, but it was an entire roller-coaster of W-T-F getting there, and if you thought the first book was dark, this one is where Nash really snuffs out all the lights.
Knowing what I know now about the dragons, I'm dying to see what happens in the last book. I can't wait for the epic showdown I know is going to happen. I keep hoping Lysander will catch a break, or six, and that Eroan will get his head out of his ass long enough to realize that he doesn't really know everything. Also, I actually don't want Akiem to die. He's a psycho dragon, but he's my psycho dragon, and he's one sexy mother-fucker (literally, yikes) of a villain and I'm kind of obsessed. You should see his fight scenes and read some of his one-liners if you don't believe me, damn. He's fire. ...more
I don't read as much manga as I did when I was younger, but I still occasionally read the odd volume-- especially the ones aimed at older audiences, like josei and seinen (basically, the "new adult" versions of shoujo and shounen). HITORIJIME MY HERO was an especially nice surprise, because for once, I feel like the cover did a pretty good job not just representing what the art is like, but also conveying the tone of the manga.
Setagawa (the blonde) is a jaded and sullen teenager who works as a gofer for a petty gang. I feel like it's implied that his mother is a prostitute. He doesn't do particularly well in school, and his closest friend (an outgoing, immature young man) is the younger brother of the hot new teacher, who also happens to be a champion street fighter called "the bear killer" (lol).
One day, Setagawa ends up working for Kousuke instead, and even though his feelings are initially rejected, it turns out that Kousuke had feelings for him all along. Their relationship is taboo, but both of them feel alone and need each other.
I guess how you feel about this book depends on how you feel about student/teacher romances. I don't feel particularly great about them, but the fact that this is a cartoon makes it an extra level removed from reality, which I guess makes it more comfortable to swallow as fantasy. Setagawa is drawn as being much older than he actually is, so I originally thought they were around the same age or that Setagawa was a recent graduate. Kousuke also looks young, too.
As a romance, I feel like this was pretty well done. It's got a silly, manic vibe (captured on the cover), but also some darker, more provoking moments. The sexual tension was pretty well done, and although this is nothing near as explicit as the June Yaoi titles, there are some romantic and sexual scenes in here (although not explicitly drawn). There doesn't appear to be much tension, so I'm curious to see how this will make it as a series. In my opinion, a good manga needs a villain.
Two other things to note: this is apparently a spin off of another manga title called Hitorijime My Boyfriend. It doesn't appear that reading that other series is necessary to enjoy this one, as these leads were actually side characters from the original series. Second, I loved the translation/cultural reference section at the back that defined not just certain words and brands, but also gave cultural context for some of the scenes and references happening. I really, really appreciated that.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
I love books about dancing, even though I'm not a dancer. I just find the blend of passion and discipline the art requires so utterly compelling. I can only imagine the mastery it requires one to have over their body, the exacting precision, and the endurance it takes to be on one's feet for hours, contorting one's body in time to music, while staying on the beat. I can't help but admire those who can dance, and well. That's why I always come running if I see a book about dance; it's such a beautiful form of expression.
10 DANCE 1 is a yaoi manga (which means M/M) about two dancers with the same name. Suguki Shinya is a refined and buttoned-up ballroom dancer. Suzuki Shinya is a flamboyant and immature Latin dancer. Both of them are very skilled and have their own dance school, but in order to truly be champions, they have to master the other's arts and do 10 very different styles of dances from both schools of dance in competition.
Even though they are bitter rivals, they (and their dance partners) agree to an alliance, where they teach each other their dances. Their female partners quickly grow frustrated with their temperamental partners and are happy to leave the two men to their arguing, but both Shinyas are incredibly stubborn, and despite getting in digs at each other the whole time, they often end up dancing until dawn. It isn't long before things start to get complicated and their passion for the dance begins to bleed out into passion for each other.
"Yaoi" often means explicit M/M content in manga, so I wasn't sure what to expect when picking this book up. Apart from a few shirtless scenes, this book is very tame. Anyone looking for explicit will be disappointed, but I actually really enjoyed the connection between the two male leads and the descriptions of the dances. It's incredibly slow-going, and even by the end of the book, they haven't really kissed or moved their relationship in a truly romantic direction, but I don't mind slow-burn if it means that there's a deeper connection when the relationship between the leads is consummated.
10 DANCE 1 is a light, cute read and I think anyone who enjoys music and manga will be happy to add this to their collection. I'm really curious to see where both Shinyas end up taking their relationship from here, and whether any new rivals will enter the fray to shake things up.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
CALL THE CORONER is a really weird book because the first 50% is torture porn and the second 50% is angsty romance. It's the type of book that could have been a dismally insensitive fail, but ended up working pretty well. I picked this book up on impulse because it was available through Kindle Unlimited and I've been on a binge of really dark reads lately, since those are what I enjoy.
Daniel and Stavros are both crime lords with terrible reputations. Stavros is the man who gave Daniel his scars and killed his wife, so Daniel decides that he's going to get revenge. He kills all Stavros's men and then takes him prisoner, torturing him slowly. But Stavros gets off on the whole thing and they end up becoming attracted to each other and when a rival cartel lord frees Stavros to level the playing field, Stavros decides it's only fair to pay Daniel back.
All the trigger warnings for this book are pretty accurate. Some books try to get cute with their warnings and use them to sell books. This one is actually helpful. I felt like I was prepared for what I was in for pretty well so nothing came as an unpleasant shock. The content was graphic but not to the point of being distasteful, even if it was sometimes hard to read some of the more descriptive passages of torture. I liked how fucked up the relationship was between the two characters and I was impressed about how the author made it work, and how they forged tenderness out of cruelty.
Only downside to this book is that the author had some weird writing tics. In the beginning of the book, everyone was winking all the time. In the second half of the book, the author fell in love with the phrase "bottomed out" and started using that all the time. There's also weird telegraphic syntax patterns where the author has passages where they just have one or two word sentences and it gets a little distracting at times because while sometimes it works, other times it breaks up the flow.
Anyone who likes really dark love stories will like CALL THE CORONER. I see that this is part of a series of cartel books and I'm actually really excited because practically the only cartel books I've enjoyed were books one and three in Karina Halle's Dirty Angels series. This one has joined the ranks.
The idea of a romance between an incubus and a vampire while their people were at war was so appealing. I just got Kindle Unlimited, and I've been availing myself of all the dark romance my smutty heart desires, and this was one of the romances that's been at the top of my list for a while. Incubi and vampires have been at war for a while, but now Matthew, a man who previously believed himself to be an ordinary vampire, is a key player in the sinister machinations of the incubus and succubus army.
Tarrick is a lord general in the incubi army, and Matthew's captor. The beginning of this book was so hot and I had high hopes that it would be like Ariana Nash's Silk & Steel series, which I love so much. It kind of fell apart, though, since there are lots of dull scenes interspersed with some pretty abusive sex. I'm not one to shy away from toxic romances but it has to work. Tarrick just came across as super smarmy and gross.
I'm giving this 1.5 stars because the writing was okay and I think this might work for people who like those skeevy heroes who enjoy being called "master" and throwing their power around to overcompensate for masculine inferiority complexes. I would probably rate this higher if I forced myself through it but at the moment, I can't be bothered, and if a book isn't good enough to see to the end, that's on the book.
Ever since I read C.S. Pacat's CAPTIVE PRINCE, I've been looking for other dark fantasy books that have that same fantasy bodice-ripper vibe. SILK & STEEL comes the closest of all the other books I've read to capturing that same balance of unapologetic smut and court intrigue, kind of like if GAME OF THRONES was written for the female gaze. Honestly, though, it had me at angsty dragon prince and arrogant warrior elf.
Prince Lysander is the younger son of a sadistic dragon queen who has physically and sexually abused him his whole life. He's treated as "broken" because of his attraction to men, and now she's trying to sell him and breed him with one of the other dragon clans, one that revels in violent orgies. Oh, boy. Eroan, on the other hand, is an elven assassin charged with the murder of Lysander's mother; he would have succeeded were it not for Lysander himself, who was the only one able to cut him down in battle. Now he's a prisoner in the dragons' tower, and finds himself perplexed by the silent, brooding dragon prince who has taken it upon himself to be his gaoler.
I think the most crucial point to mention for this book is that it is NOT for the faint of heart. It has all of the same triggers that CAPTIVE PRINCE did, and a lot of the world-building centers around rape or sexual violence. I didn't feel like the rape was romanticized, and the relationship between the two heroes isn't based on rape, but it is very much present in this book and committed by both men and women alike. There's also incest, which is gross. Nash also doesn't shy away from violence-- the fight scenes in this book are really well done, but part of what makes them so is no small amount of gore.
One thing I really liked is that this isn't GFY; Eroan is bisexual and has had relationships with women. Lysander, on the other hand, is gay and identifies as such; it's a huge problem for him as a prince in a homophobic dragon court that keeps trying to breed him with women. He's subjected to a lot of abuse because of that-- not just from his mother, but also from one of the other dragon clans that ends up drugging him into a stupor so that he'll be too blitzed out of his mind to realize that he's having sex with a woman. I think these scenes might be really hard for some people to read.
On the other hand, I liked that this book was so dark and didn't shy away from getting down and dirty in order to tell the story the way the author intended. It really did remind me of a bodice-ripper, not just because of the darkness, but also because of the globe-trotting adventures, alliances, betrayals, and fight scenes that made a lot of those 1970s bodice-rippers so much fun to read. This book is decently long, and yet the pages just flew by. I was never bored and was always wondering what happened next, and I wasn't even too mad when the cliffhanger I totally predicted happened because I had the other book in the series on stand-by, which I'm going to be buddy-reading with a friend.
If you enjoy dark fantasy novels or bodice-rippers and don't mind books with lots of trigger-warnings, I think you'll really, really like this-- especially if you're familiar with Pippa DaCosta's other work and want to see her try her hand at something different. ON TO BOOK TWO.
Some people are going to be put off UNDER HIS HEEL because it features brutal non-con sadism and scat (pee-drinking). I actually wasn't that shocked by anything in here because I've read so much erotica that I'm hard to shock at this point. I was more put off by the unpolished writing, lack of connection between the characters, and the fanfiction vibe: it felt like something someone had written for fun, almost as if the author was relying on the existence of preset characterizations within a preexisting universe to set the stage, rather than doing any of the legwork. I'm not sure if this was actually p2p, but it kind of read that way to me.
UNDER HIS HEEL is about Alex, a petty criminal who ends up selling himself into sexual slavery to pay off his and his brother's debts. Unfortunately for him, the man who buys him, Captain Tracht, is a gleeful sadist who likes to flaunt his slaves before his crew, and he gets off on pain and exhibitionism-- and if he can have both, so much the better.
I did like the starship setting and initially I thought UNDER HIS HEEL had a lot of potential. But it was just humiliation scene after humiliation scene and there wasn't a lot of thought or emotion behind anything that was happening. The comedy also seemed ill-placed and gave this story a very odd, tone-deaf vibe that I didn't really think fit the content, even if I chuckled a few times at some of Alex's more stupid decisions. I think if you like fanfiction a lot and are a really big fan of slash-fic, you'll probably like this, but I wasn't that into it, unfortunately.
This is fine. If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of vampire stories. Reading vampire stories, writing vampire stories-- I love it all. I don't care if the pairings are M/F, F/F, M/M, or a little bit of everything, if the story is dark enough and there's lots of biting and smut, I am a happy camper, regardless of who's doing what.
SINISTER HUNGER seemed especially promising with its very dark premise. Basically, humans live in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where the vampires have taken over and fight as Dusk Hunters (read: Slayers) to fight the nearby vampires at bay. After a massacre, the head Dusk Hunter, Vincent, sells himself to the vampire mayor, Maddox, as a blood whore to ensure the safety of his children after his wife dies in the blood shed. Yikes.
I saw another review saying that these characters don't really seem to identify as gay, and I would agree. Both of them have been with women and Vincent adamantly says he isn't gay. It isn't "gay for you" so much as "gay for revenge," which works for the storyline but maybe isn't the most sensitive re: sexuality. I know a lot of my friends on here say that the GFY trope contributes to bisexual erasure, but I'm not sure whether discovering one's latent bisexuality after sexually humiliating someone for revenge counts?
SINISTER HUNGER is pretty violent and gory. There's some very intense and descriptive scenes of beating and torture. An (I think) underage boy is molested and then raped (rape is off-screen, iirc) by one of the "heroes" no less. It's not a very sunshine or rainbows type of book, and reminded me of a slightly less hardcore version of CALL THE CORONER, another dark M/M story involving "gay for revenge," only both of those characters actually end up admitting their bisexuality.
I want to give SINISTER HUNGER a higher rating but it had some major weak points. The fight scene in the beginning went on for way too long. I know it's supposed to show how much Vincent loved his family and how much he's sacrificing, but considering how short this book is, it goes on for much too long. I felt like Vincent started becoming attracted to Maddox way too soon, and that Maddox's character was inconsistent. He seems so "nice" in the earlier chapter, and then suddenly he's molesting young boys and threatening people with humiliation and rape-- and those scenes were weird, too, because they seemed more pervy and less, "I'm a bad-ass who's going to fuck you up." I think that's why CALL THE CORONER worked where this book did not-- in CTC, both leads are fucked up and that darkness is what binds them, whereas here it's much weirder and less convincing.
It's a dark erotic vampire story with blood-drinking and humiliation, but wasn't really my cup of tea. Parts of the book were done really well and four-star worthy, but the pacing and development of the relationship between the two leads didn't really work all that well, in my opinion.
🎃 Read for the Unapologetic Romance Readers Halloween 2017 Reading Challenge for the category of: a romance novel romance about zombies 🎃
The blurb on Goodreads is super confusing, because I don't remember reading any of the parts about Sera controlling his own brain or the details behind the government mandated experiments. All of that was sort of hinted at, but as far as I can remember it was never stated in such black and white terms.
Sera is a psychic who has, apparently, died. While he was alive, he was friends with a guy named "Wish" who promised him that he was going to create this great mental afterlife that he could frolic in when he died: think heaven, only for psychics, except that it's called, appropriately enough, "Wish City."
When Sera gets to Wish City, he finds out - surprise, surprise - that it's not exactly what Wish promised him. Paradise is downright ugly, with drugs and cheap sex filling the streets. Everything is dark and grungy and completely unlike what Sera expected.
Fiend, like the city, was also dreamed up by Wish, and like the City, he's a creation that managed to get loose from his creator and take on a shape all of his own. Fiend likes to eat brains, and next up on his cerebral prix fixe menu is Sera. Only... he's attracted to Sera physically as well, and decides to toy with his food before eating him - but that doesn't quite go as planned, either.
HOW TO LOVE A MONSTER falls into that hateful three-star review territory for me. There was nothing particularly wrong with the story but it didn't wow me enough where all I wanted to do was gush. It entertained me, and then we parted ways. I did think the world building was very odd, and while original, there were many aspects that confused me and could have used more fleshing out.
While reading, I kept having this sense of deja vu, wondering what this book reminded me of. Then it hit me: those weird dark fantasy movies from the late 90s like eXistenZ (1999) and Dark City (1998). Both of those movies had an incredibly original world with a compelling storyline and scenery, but - for me - also felt kind of confusing and sometimes even nonsensical (and not in a good way).
I bought this while it was 99-cents and for that, I think it was a good deal. If you're a fan of bizarre stories and/or are looking for m-m erotica that doesn't fit the usual mold, you'll like this, I think.
P.S. I realize that Fiend isn't a zombie, but since I don't read zombie novels for the most part, I decided to go ahead and use him for a zombie category on my Halloween romance challenge. He eats brains - I figured that was close enough.
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨
>
Books:
m-m
(23)
Loading...
