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Gives Light

Book Review of Gives Light, by Rose Christo

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Gives LIghtI grabbed a copy of Rose Christo‘s novel, Gives Light, from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Skylar is witty, empathetic, sensitive–and mute. Skylar hasn’t uttered a single word since his mother died eleven years ago, a senseless tragedy he’s grateful he doesn’t have to talk about.

When Skylar’s father mysteriously vanishes one summer afternoon, Skylar is placed in the temporary custody of his only remaining relative, an estranged grandmother living on an Indian reservation in the middle of arid Arizona.

Adapting to a brand new culture is the least of Skylar’s qualms. Because Skylar’s mother did not die a peaceful death. Skylar’s mother was murdered eleven years ago on the Nettlebush Reserve. And her murderer left behind a son.

And he is like nothing Skylar has ever known.

Review:
I generally thought this was very sweet, but before I do anything else I’m going to mention one major problem I had with the book. Then I’m going to make a conscious and concerted effort to ignore it, because that’s how I read the book.

Skylar is said to be 16-years-old and Rafael probably a little older. I’ve never been a teenage boy, but it’s my understanding that at that age they are walking balls of hormones and can be expected to have become intimately familiar with “themselves” and their ever-present “urges.”

Skyar and Rafael are innocents. Christo went to great pains to establish this. For example, at one early point Skylar wanted to hug someone in thanks. He acknowledges that most boys his age wouldn’t, but he did. He’s thus shown, to be less emotionally reserved (more child-like) than his peers. Later, Rafael saw a pack of Trojans and didn’t even know what they were. I know the reservation was remote and didn’t have TV and such, but I’m supposed to believe men don’t talk?

Even after they fall in love (I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by telling you it’s a romance.) there is no sexual tension. They remain blissfully innocent of the temptations of the flesh. Another, less forgiving, reviewer called them “boy-shaped, iniquity-free automatons.” It’s not wholly inaccurate. I however thought all their innocence smacked of prepubescence and compromised the credibility of the book.

Now, I do understand that this is YA m/m romance and had the boys been humping like rabbits, or more realistic teenagers, it would have been a very different book and lost a little of it’s lightness. I do get it. So I do understand why it’s written the way it is. That’s why I decided to let the issue go and focus on the rest of the plot.

But sex probably could have been addressed, or at least it could have been suggested that they even knew what it was. All the ‘funny feelings in their stomachs’ didn’t really work as a substitute for the raging erection realism would have required.

Other than that one big issue, I basically read this book with a silly smile slapped on my face. It’s sweet, that’s the best word for it. Seeing Skylar find a place in the world and Rafael find someone to give him the forgiveness he’s always wanted was heart warming.

I did think the characters were a little gendered, with Skylar and his disability being the weaker and therefore feminized half of the pairing. This showed in the ways Rafael, being gentlemanly, always held his hand and walked him home, but never the other way around. Skylar loved the way Rafael’s arms made him feels safe and how naturally protective Rafael was of him, but never the other way around. The way Rafael was a bundle of energy and action, while Skylar was calm and sedate. The way Rafael was broad and strong, while Skylar was smaller, but long and wispy. The way Skylar chose to cook because he couldn’t abide the cruelty of hunting, while Rafael was an expert hunter and outdoorsman.

None of it was overt and any one or two of those distinctions wouldn’t mean anything. But taken all together it starts to feel like maybe it does.

I also thought everyone’s, not only easy acceptance of their relationship, but tendency to come to Skylar unprompted to tell him they had no problem with who he loved was just too easy. Again, it was sweet that everyone was so open-minded and accepting, but it smoothed everything out with no effort on Skylar or Rafael’s part. This is especially true as the book states more than once how the Shoshone way is to keep their opinions to themselves and not interfere in others’ private lives.

The writing itself was beautiful. It bordered on purple on occasion, but mostly stayed on the right side of the line. I also really liked the narratives tone. It was quite witty. There was also a wonderful theme of forgiveness and the importance of community. All-in-all, I had some complaints, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Father Figure

Book Review of Father Figure, by Kichiku Neko & TogaQ

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I bought a physical copy of the illustrated novel, Father Figure, by Kichiku Neko (author) and TogaQ (Illustrator). I’ve included the full cover (front and back) simply because it’s so freakin’ gorgeous. Art is subjective, of course, but this is the sort that ticks all my boxes.
Father FigureDescription from Goodreads:
A deep obsession with his estranged father leads Gabriel down a dangerous, twisting path. 

Review:
The description doesn’t tell you much about what to expect in this book and I think it’s the sort you really need a little heads up on, because a more accurate synopsis would be full of trigger warnings. I suspect it would roll right against a lot of people’s hard limits.

It’s a scary proposition, this book. The thing is though, none of it is used as titillation. There is sex, yes, but unless non-con is your kink, it’s not sexy.  This is neither a romance nor erotica. It’s almost Transgressive Fiction and is uncomfortable in much the same way Lolita is. It concerns cringe-worthy subject matter, but in such a way as to push boundaries and force concerted thought on the matter. It’s worth working through one’s own discomfort to face it.

It’s also an emotional roller-coaster.  You hate the main character, or what he’s doing, at the same time that you want to comfort him. You see the end coming and want to avoid, even as you know it can’t really end any other way. (Though, those familiar with Yaoi mangas, which this very strongly resembles, will likely hold out hope of a happy ending. I know I did. Such unlikely pairings are far more common in that media.) I teared up before I reached the last page.

There are 19 illustrations in the book and each one is a piece of art. Honestly, it’s why I bought the paper version instead of the digital one. Because it’s so darned pretty!

Despite being a hard read, I’m thrilled to have read it. I find Guilty Pleasures, the author and illustrator’s publishing partnership where I bought the book, difficult to navigate. But from what I can garner, all the other works are ‘in progress’—mangas published per chapter. I don’t read that way, too impatient. But should they publish another full work, I’ll be first in line to buy it.

(Watch Me) Break You

Book Review of (Watch Me) Break You (Run This Town #1), by Avril Ashton

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(Watch Me) Break YouI bought a copy of Avril Ashton‘s (Watch Me) Break You.

Description from Goodreads:
Here comes trouble…

Men. Women. Drugs. Dima Zhirkov’s favorite things. Add in the element of danger and he should be right as rain. But not today. It’s not working, hasn’t for a long time. He’s grasping at the flimsiest of straws to prove he’s indeed strong enough to run his streets. Until he sets eyes on him. In the midst of a room full of strangers, Dima is drawn to a man as cold and dangerous as he’s beautiful. Captivated, Dima embarks on a ruthless campaign to get his new toy into bed.

Here comes the danger…

Xavier “X” Storm is content to pull the strings while someone else handles the day to day dealings of his gang, The Rude Boys. He’s after what Dima holds closest—the Coney Island streets. He contracts out the job of killing the Russian, except Dima isn’t that easy to kill. When he suddenly shows up in X’s path, tempting him to indulge in the dirtiest play, he finds Dima isn’t all that easy to shake, either. His cocky attitude and rough submission tempts X to go where he’d vowed to never return, and they plunge head first into an affair fueled by possessive obsession.

Run for cover

Sex and pain Dima can handle, and X delivers the most depraved kind. Their connection is explosive, their games addictive, but Dima can end it whenever he wishes. He doesn’t see that X is breaking him down, giving Dima everything he wants and even more than he ever thought to need. By the time he realizes who X is and what he wants, Dima is raw and bullet riddled. It’s run or fight. And Dima doesn’t back down. Neither does X.

Review:
This book has great reviews, but I’m just not seeing the appeal. The whole thing felt like one long, sustained and unwavering note. It got a little old.

The book is primarily sex. I knew that going in, so no complaints. But it seemed to be on repeat. I’m not sure if X and Rush had a lot of sex or if I just read the same sex scene 5 times. The plot was weak and for two men running large criminal organizations, they seemed to do very little actual work.

I hate to say it, but Rush was written as a woman. Really. He cried all the time, was described as needy and sexually hungry (all at the same time). He often fainted when he climaxed. X joked about knocking him up and told him how much he liked seeing him in his kitchen. Not to mention Rush was always on the receiving end in bed.

It would have taken little more than a change in pronouns for him to be female and other than the fact that it’s unlikely a woman would have headed part of the Russian mob, a female would have fit the descriptions better. It would have been a Glen Close, boil the bunny type woman for sure, but still would have fit the character.

I also have to address the whole “safe word” thing. Yes, I understand that in real life BDSM safe words are important. In the same way that if you plan on having anonymous sex you need to use a condom. I get that. But if erotic authors religiously ensure to point out the partners stopping and rolling one on, it breaks the fantasy. The book risks feeling like an object lesson instead of a fun sexual romp.

Safe words here played the same role.  X and Rush spent the beginning of the book enacting real violence, waving guns and throwing threats. But the second anything drifted toward sex, X would stop to ensure Rush remembered his safe word. What?

When faced with such complete violently erotic abandon as the rest of the book exemplified, the use of said safe word struck a false and out of place note. It broke the narrative and reminded the reader that there was an author somewhere who stopped at her keyboard and thought, “oh, I better use safe words or real BDSMers will call me out for being unsafe.” Hello, they’re already being unsafe—Rush let X choke him unconscious their second time together. Why bother?

My biggest issue however, was that once Rush had elbowed his way into X’s life the whole rest of the book was just a broken record of “I love you,” “I need you.” “Stay with me.” In the last half of the book “love” was used 36 times. I get that the author was ensuring that the reader understood the depth of emotion these men felt (even though the whole book occurs in maybe a week), but it was too much. I felt beat over the head with it and eventually wanted to gag on it.

Generally, I love some broken men. I love crazy violent pairings. But this was too much of a good thing, with not enough of anything else to balance the cray-cray.

The writing itself was fine and I liked finding people of color as main characters for a change.  The editing could have used a little more attention, though. All in all, I think this one just wasn’t for me.