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Review: Haru to Aiden, by Alexia X.

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Last night I read Haru to Aiden. I see that since I picked the book up in December of 2019, it’s gotten a new cover (several, it seems) and the author, Alexia X., is now going by Alexia Praks. However, I’m going to stick with the cover I have because that means I read an X-authored book for my yearly Author Alphabet Challenge. I would normally call this cheating, except that I honestly didn’t know about the name change until I went to download the cover to write this post. So, I legit thought this was an X-book when I decided to read it. I’m running with it.

Eighteen-year-old Haru Ono has been in love with his stepbrother Aiden Davis since he was in middle school. Trying to keep his feelings under wraps is annoyingly hard when they’re living under the same roof in such close proximity, more so since Aiden is so caring and selflessly showers him with kindness.

Haru knows that family is important to Aiden, who has been shouldering the burden of raising five younger siblings, and it’s best Haru never reveals his feelings to Aiden. Then again, an eighteen-year-old boy with raging hormones can only bottle up so much until everything starts to burst.

I think this book will have a very select and limited audience, but that audience will likely love it. I found myself not hating it, but not loving it either. There was a time I was very into Yaoi (and if you don’t know what that is, probably don’t blindly pick up this book) but maybe I’ve outgrown it. I think being an existing fan of the manga style/genre is probably a prerequisite to enjoying this light novel, which is essentially a Yaoi manga in literary format. And here starts my issue.

I don’t think it works as well as a novel as a visual media. I just don’t. So, there’s that. I also thought the whole thing read like it was written by a 15-year-old fujoshi, especially the sex scenes, which were exceptionally cringy. It was surprisingly well-edited. Not perfect, but not the hot mess you’d expect if Alexia X. really was a 15-year-old otaku.

I did appreciate Haru and Aiden’s struggles, though the plot progression has been lifted from a million other similarly themed manga. Plus, the support of all the other brothers and friends was lovely. I did have to wonder how the two kept it a secret from each other when so many other people seemed to know. All in all, I’m not regretful to have read it (especially since it means I can mark an X-authored book of my yearly author alphabet challenge) but I’m not in any rush to read any more of the series either.

It’s also worth noting, in case anyone uses this as a gateway to further Yaoi that, while this book is very careful to ensure we know Haru is 18 (the Western age of consent), many of the manga written originally for non-western audiences don’t make this consideration. So, the whole genre could be considered super problematic by American standards. Just know that going in, so you’re not shocked.

Review of Scorpius Rising (Scorpius Syndrome #0.5), by Rebecca Zanetti

I picked up a copy of Scorpius Rising (by Rebecca Zanetti) at Amazon, way back in 2017. I’ve held on to it because Z-authors are always a challenge to find for my yearly alphabet challenge.

Description from Goodreads:

With a deadly disease spreading like wildfire across the country, microbiologist Nora Medina needs to focus all her energy on stopping the pandemic. Playing with dynamite—in the form of her way-too-hot ex—is the last thing she should be doing. But forced to work with Deacan McDougall against unexpected enemies with the seconds ticking by, she knows the explosion is coming…

Review:

Honestly, I thought this was pretty bad. The plot has too many holes in it. The heroine is spineless and the hero is a neanderthal jerk. (I can handle an alpha a-hole hero in a paranormal romance, where being a werewolf or vampire or sea monster explains away the assholeness. But in a plain old human, he just feels abusive.) The sex wasn’t sexy, being of the no foreplay, “he pounded/hammered/slammed into her” sort. The science was hand-wavy. And the whole thing just felt ridiculous.

Book Review of Eat You Up, by Lucy Leroux

I received an Audible code for a copy of Lucy Leroux‘s Eat You Up.

Description from Goodreads:

Dmitri, a high-end thief, is flying cross-country for a lucrative job when the woman destined to be his mate is seated next to him. Her scent drives him to the edge, but he manages to control himself on the flight by the skin on his teeth and fate—by way of the flight being diverted because of a terrible storm.

Nina isn’t sure why she’s trying so hard to get home in time for her sister’s wedding, given that the groom is her ex. But indulging in an affair with the aggressive and attractive man who has come to her rescue brings worse problems to her table. It’s just supposed to be a fling, but Dmitri clearly has no intention of leaving—ever.

When Dmitri’s new employer turns out to be Nina’s ex’s father, the line he spent a lifetime blurring becomes crystal clear. Unfortunately, by the time he realizes this, it may be too late to save his mate.

Review:

This wasn’t very good. I had the audio version and the narrator (Addison Barnes) did a fine job. That, and the fact that the grammar seemed fine, are about the only nice things I have to say about it. I thought the hero was an insufferably arrogant jackass. I didn’t like him. There is one scene toward the end after he’s been injured that he shows a little humility. I liked him for that paragraph and that’s it. For the entirety of the rest of the book, he’s pushy and self-absorbed. He walks all over the heroine and her expressed wishes.

Sadly, my dislike for the hero isn’t balanced for any like of the heroine. It’s not that I thought she was a doormat, she wasn’t. But the book if full of things she should be angry about (her sister stole her wedding, for example, by which I mean she seduced her fiance, accepted the same ring and actually got married in the hall they’d book for the original wedding) and the heroine is sad for a little while and then just shrugged it off. No bitch, you’re allowed to be angry about that and hold that grudge for a while. The author’s total unwillingness to allow her heroine the natural emotion of anger angered me. If I’m supposed to relate to this character don’t constrain her to the ‘feminine’ ideal of a pleasant milksop. Let her rage. She deserved it and I deserved to see it.

This is apparently book two of a series. I didn’t realize that initially. But I had no problem following the plot. I just didn’t like it very much.