Tag Archives: Anyta Sunday

Your Book Boyfriend’s Boyfriend Short Story Clear Out

Revenant, by Michelle Frost

The Metal and Magic series, that Revenant is a prequel of, was featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. So, I was glad to be able to pick up this freebie and test it out. I thought that it was a little rushed, but easily readable. I liked the characters and world. I’ll happily check out the rest of the series.

Exposed, by Jamie Luther

I liked the reversal of expected roles here and the characterization of Torran and Penn. This seems like it will be an interesting series. As a personal quibble, I hate the whole “Boy” thing. I think my associations with it just aren’t the sexy kind and I find it always pulls me out of a sexy scene. But that’s just me and my preferences.

Fireman’s Carry, by Eli Easton

I enjoyed this short/intro to the Hot Cannolis series. I liked both characters and the drama was engaging. It was enough that I’d be interested in following the series when it comes out.

Just George, by Mary Calmes

It’s been several years since I read any Mary Calmes, but I used to quip that her books were like crack—almost always formulaic and often containing problematic aspects, but hitting so many emotional buttons I liked them anyway. I didn’t find much objectionable in Just George, but in classic Calmes style, the story pressed all my “Awww” buttons and I enjoyed it.

Blood Omen, by Sheena Jolie

There was too much world-building for such a short piece, especially since it tended to be info-dumped. (I sense a lot of it was simply brought over from something long, one assumes the rest of the series.) But I liked the characters and it does seem an interesting world. I’d give the series a shot.

Gravity, by Kiki Burrelli

Meh, not bad. But, while I liked the idea behind the story, I thought the whole thing felt rushed and a bit too much of a mish-mash.

Light My Way Home, by Morgan Brice

I’ve not read the Treasure Trail series (though it was featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight), but I was able to follow this story just fine. I liked both of the characters and the world. I did think it was a little heavy on the tell vs. show and it felt a little rushed in the making-the-alternative-relationship-work department. But I enjoyed it enough to give the rest of the series a try.

To Kiss a Frog, by Elizabeth Silver

I quite enjoyed this; thought it was super cute. It also feels complete, which often isn’t the case with series prequels. I look forward to the rest of the series when it comes out.

Until His Beginning Ends, by Kiki Clark

This was a sweet story. I enjoyed the characters, the writing, and the world it introduces. I’ll be interested in following the series.

How to Date a Dragon, by Louisa Masters

Meh, it was fine. The writing was readable, etc. But, despite being a .5/prequel I was pretty confused. It definitely didn’t feel like it should be read as an introduction to the world. Plus, I just thought Hagen was annoying. I get that that was kinda his whole shtick, but I didn’t enjoy him.

Mr Fairfax, Mr West and the Meet Cute, by Anyta Sunday

I really struggled with this story in the beginning. Not because of bad writing or anything. I am one of those people who suffers strongly from second-hand embarrassment. So, reading about a guy who got himself into an embarrassing bind and then had to do increasingly embarrassing things to keep from having to admit it was difficult for me. Honestly, I almost DNFed it. But luckily it balanced out and I enjoyed the last half of it a lot. The two characters are both very sweet.

Until His Soul Awakens, by E.M. Lindsey

I quite enjoyed this in a quiet sort of way. It’s a bit of a slow burn for such a short piece. But it made the payoff that much sweeter.

Dirty Magic, by Richard Amos

Meh. I liked the idea of the world. But the writing is kind of a rambling, stream-of-consciousness mess and the solution for saving the day was come across far too easily.

Of the five downloads that I mentioned not having page lengths for, I think these four are short stories. So, I’m going to read them and add the reviews as I finish.

A House of Blood and Gold, by Raven Abernathy

This story turned out to be 131 pages long, according to my Kindle. Which I deemed long enough for it’s own post. You can find it here.

Twice Bitten, by Eliot Grayson

I enjoyed the heck out of this, which surprised me. I did not particularly enjoy The Alpha’s Warlock, with some of the same characters as in this novella. But here I liked both of the heroes, appreciated their individual struggles, thought the sex was hot, and the story felt complete, despite it being so short.

Aleric, by Taylor Rylan

Meh, I’d say it was OK, at best. The dialogue was just so stiff. It certainly didn’t tempt me to continue the series.

An Emporium of Hearts, by Hailey Turner

I thought this was very sweet. The world makes it pretty obvious the story is part of something bigger, but the little bit of story here feels complete enough to enjoy.

***

*As a personal shorthand I call anything under 100 pages a short story. I know there are variations, depending on length. I even wrote a post about it once. But for the puroses of this blog anything with less than 100 pages I call a short story.

Book Review of True Colors, by Anyta Sunday

Leave a reply

I received a copy of True Colors, by Anyta Sunday from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Oskar used to be Marco’s best friend. His everything. His sunshine yellow.

But that was before. Before Marco stopped being a hot jock. Before he learned to live with scars and pain. And before Oskar tore their friendship apart.

Now the boy next door has returned home, determined to rekindle his friendship with Marco, and Marco’s more afraid than ever. Afraid of getting hurt. Afraid of being humiliated.

Afraid of falling in love.

Can Oskar find a way through Marco’s fear, back into his heart?

Review: Mildly spoilery
This was a very sweet second chances romance. I liked that it was a slow burn and both characters were just lovely and sweet. I could relate to Marco’s self-consciousness and Oskar’s guilt. The sex is hot, without being porny and I liked the family involvement.

But I had a few problems too. The biggest one being that, though I totally get that what Oskar said was traumatizing to Marco, as well as the self-sabotaging aspect of the event, but they had been best friends for nine years. I don’t think it would have been enough to suddenly (and I mean cold turkey) throw the friendship out the window.

Additionally, I couldn’t fathom the logistics of it. The book reads like the event happened and they never saw each-other again. For example, Oskar’s nose was broken the next day and years later, when they meet again, Oskar wondered how it happened. But they lived next door to one another. Their bedroom windows faced one another. Their families hung out. Marco was a second brother to Oskar’s sister and basically mentored her. So, how exactly did they simply never speak again? How did they manage to never find themselves alone together with Oskar apologizing, Marco accepting and both moving on in one way or another? It stretched my suspension of belief too far.

Similarly, there’s a bully from the past that shows up. Turns out he’s matured out of being a dick and sought out one of the characters to apologize. The one that moved away, I might add. So, why only the one and not the other, the one that stayed in town and was both more easily accessed and more grievously harmed?

I had a little trouble following Marco’s sudden turn around too. I mean, he had to stop hating Oskar at some point in order for the book to progress, but it felt very sudden. And this after I’d spent most of the book wondering how both families seemed to not know what happened between the boys. Or, if they did, how they could be so heartless and cruel as to so blithely force Marco together with someone who hurt him so badly. So, either they were all blind or hard-hearted or the author just hoped the reader wouldn’t look too closely at this point.

Lastly, while it’s interesting that the book was set in Berlin, Germany, honestly, it could have been New Brunswick or Nashville for all the difference the setting made to the story. While I’d have hated for the author to throw in a whole lot of German stereotypes, the book and its characters felt very American. If not for the city names I would have NEVER known it wasn’t set in some nameless American city.

I mostly loved this. I thought the writing was lovely and the pairing sweet. I also had no problem following it, despite it being a sequel. (In fact, I didn’t know it was a sequel until I finished it and looked on GR to review it.) I’ll definitely be reading more of Sunday’s writing, but I thought this one had some holes in it, leaving me with a few too many questions.

Book Review of Rock, by Anyta Sunday

Leave a reply

I bought a copy of Anyta Sunday‘s novel, Rock, in order to be part of a group read.

Description from Goodreads:
Igneous.
When Cooper’s parents divorce, he finds himself landed in Week About—one week with his mum and one week with his dad.
Only, it’s not just his dad he has to live with. There’s Lila, too: The other woman, the one who stole the rock-solid foundation of his life.

And then …

There’s Jace. Lila’s son. Lila’s smug, regurgitated-fish-scale-blue eyed son.

All Cooper wants is to have his family back the way it once was, but there’s something about this boy that promises things will never be the same again.

Sedimentary.
Resisting the realities of his new life, Cooper and Jace get off to a rocky start. But rocky start or not, after hundreds of shared memories together, they forge something new. A close … friendship.

Because friendship is all they can have. Although it’s not like they are real brothers…

Metamorphic.
But how does that friendship evolve under the pressures of life?
Under pressures of the heart?

Review:
This was a hard book for me to read. Part of it was circumstantial, as I picked it up at a time when I was a little emotionally compromised and therefore more susceptible to the turmoil in it. I joked that it felt like a death by a thousand cuts at one point. But part of the reason is just that it’s a difficult read. Families, parents are human and sometimes their best effort isn’t enough and children get hurt. In the beginning I had a very hard time letting go of Cooper’s anger that had become my anger. I resented everyone involved. As pages went by, Jace chipped away at that until eventually that forgiveness spread to the rest of the family.

Similarly, I spent a lot of time hurt and angered by Jace, wanting Cooper to inflict a lash or two in return. But as pages went by and Cooper’s understanding grew I was able to see that Jace too was suffering, just in a different way than Cooper. I think that must take a lot of skill for a writer to present a reader with one POV and still show growth in perspective without ever coming out and saying it. Part of it, especially when Cooper is young, is that he’s a bit unreliable and biased as a narrator, but I don’t know that that’s all there is to it.

I did think the mothers, both of them, were placeholders. The story here is really about the boys and their father. The book has these two shadows of amazing women and both feel like tragic cutouts. Neither of them were as well developed as the other characters.

I loved the writing style, the word choice and flow. I enjoyed the rocks as a running theme, though I didn’t really feel compelled to run out and look up meanings or anything. I just thought it was a nice thread running throughout the book. All in all, quite enjoyable.

See Sadie Read

Sci-fi, fantasy, UF/PNR & LGBT+