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Book Review: Thirsty Mermaid, by Kat Leyh

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I won a hardcover copy of Kat Leyh‘s Thirsty Mermaids through Goodreads.
thirsty mermaids

Fresh out of shipwreck wine, three tipsy mermaids decide to magically masquerade as humans and sneak onto land to indulge in much more drinking and a whole lot of fun in the heart of a local seaside tourist trap. But the good times abruptly end the next morning as, through the haze of killer hangovers, the trio realizes they never actually learned how to break the spell, and are now stuck on land for the foreseeable future. Which means everything from: enlisting the aid of their I-know-we-just-met-can-we-crash-with-you bartender friend, struggling to make sense of the world around them, and even trying to get a job with no skill set…all while attempting to somehow return to the sea and making the most of their current situation with tenacity and camaraderie (especially if someone else is buying).

my review

A fun romp with loads of rep and found family, as well as a wonderful love yourself, whatever skin you’re in, moral. I wasn’t keen on the artwork in beginning, but it grew on me as the book progressed. Honestly, I could say the same for the humor. It was just too over the top in the beginning, but once it toned down a little I enjoyed it. All in all, I’m glad to have read it, but I didn’t love or hate it enough to give it much more of a review.

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Other Reviews:

REVIEW: Thirsty Mermaids by Kay Leyh

https://readerfox.com/review/thirsty-mermaids-kat-leyh-2/

steampunk cyborg

Book Review: Steampunk Cyborg, by Eve Langlais

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I do this thing sometimes where I search Amazon Prime for the odd, extreme sales and let fate and random algorithms sell me a cheap, surprise book. Eve Langlais‘ Steampunk Cyborg came into my hand in this manner.
steampunk cyborg

When a friend drags Agatha “Aggie” Bowles to a romance convention, all she wants to do is find some new authors and a quiet spot to read. Instead of relaxing with a book, she ends up kidnapped by a steampunk cyborg.

Which is as exciting as it sounds.

Except for the fact he’s more interested in the cog hanging around her neck than Aggie herself. He’ll do anything to get his hands on it. Problem is other people want it, too.

Can this cyborg relinquish a priceless treasure for love?  

my review This was utterly ridiculous. In one sense I can’t really fault it for that. It’s absolutely not supposed to be anything else. This is written to be cotton candy enjoyment with no depth or subtly. But in another sense, I have to admit there just wasn’t enough here to keep me interested.

Oddly, if there was more sex in it, I might call it Porn With Plot, and thus say it’s exactly what it set out to be. But there’s really not much sex in it at all. The thing with Porn With Plot books is that you don’t expect much more than an outline of a plot to hang the sex on. The Porn is the primary component, the With Plot secondary. This has about the same amount of plotting, but not the sex, which leaves it feeling flimsy at best.

The mechanical writing and editing is pretty good though. It’s certainly readable. Just maybe not for me.

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cemetery boys

Book Review: Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas

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Aiden Thomas‘ Cemetery Boys has been on my radar for a while. I finally got around to borrowing an audio version of it from the libarary

cemetery boys

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

my review

I have been intending to read Cemetery Boys for a while now. I’ve only put it off because I’m always afraid of books that have gotten too much hype and because I have to be in a particular mood to tolerate young adult literature with character on the younger end of the scale. (I’m 43-years-old, after all.)

I’m happy to say Cemetery Boys lived up to the hype and was very good. Sure, I personally thought some of the school bits and much of the general teenage angst was tedious (not the trans self-consciousness, that was different) . But that’s just a symptom of being old. I loved how immersed the reader is in the Brujx and Latinx cultures. I appreciated that, though Yadriel’s family struggled with his trans-ness, it was obviously not out of cruelty or a lack of love. And who wouldn’t adore Yadriel and Julian’s fierce dedication to one another by the end?

I did struggle a little with Yadriel’s father’s sudden acceptance. If felt a little too pat, but more importantly, I felt like he accepted the external confirmation that Yadriel was a Brujo, while I saw no evidence that he would have accepted him as a man on his own otherwise. I also guessed the end at the halfway mark. So, the mystery isn’t super hard to figure out.

All in all, however, I’m glad to have finally given this one a go.