Tag Archives: JCP books

Book Review of Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary (Channeling Morpheus/Sweet Oblivion #1-5), by Jordan Castillo Price

Leave a reply

I received an Audible code for a copy of Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary, by Jordan Castillo Price (narrated by Gomez Pugh). It’s a series I’ve wanted to dive into for a while. I even have an ebook copy of the first novella. So, It was great to get a chance to listen to the first five stories together.

Description from Goodreads:

Michael is a waif in eyeliner who’s determined to wipe vampires off the face of the earth. Wild Bill’s got the hots for Michael and will stop at nothing to go home with him. Forget about moonlit castles and windswept moors. These bad boys haunt all-night diners and cheap motels, cut-rate department stores and long, lonely stretches of the interstate. Ride along with Wild Bill and Michael as the twists and turns of Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary unfold in America’s heartland.

Review:

Five stars, five full stars.

Other reviewers have mentioned that there is a lot of sex in these novellas. I’ll go a step farther and say these books are like 85-90% sex. But I don’t think I’ve ever read an erotica (straight or queer) that managed so much character growth and plot progression with so little. Bill and Michael seem to work all their problems out in bed (or the van or the graveyard or the shower………..). But they work them out. They tackle tough issues and personal demons and I adored them, Bill especially. Despite all his jaded ennui, you could just feel his desperation for human warmth (and I don’t just mean physical warmth).

This audiobook (which Gomez Pugh did an amazing job narrating) is a compilation of the first five novellas. It brings the story to a satisfying conclusion and a natural stopping point. I finished wanting more, but not feeling slighted to not have the next several novellas at my fingertips. In fact, I think I want to wait for them to come out in audio. I enjoyed the narration so much.

Again, five stars.

Review of Body Art, by Jordan Castillo Price

Leave a reply
cover of Body Art

I received an Audible Code for a copy of Body Art, by Jordan Castillo Price, narrated by Gomez Pugh.

Description from Goodreads:

Does everyone have a certain “type” they end up with…whether they want to or not? If Ray Carlucci’s ex is anything to go by, Ray likes his men gorgeous, rebellious, and chock-full of issues. But now that Ray is single again, he has a shot at a fresh start—a very fresh start, since his tattoo shop was gutted by repo men and he can fit all his belongings in the trunk of a taxi.

Ray’s shiny new chauffeur’s license lands him a job as a driver for an elderly couple on Red Wing Island. It’s a cold fall, and since the Michigan island is the summer home to snowbirds who fly south for the winter, it’s practically deserted—save for Ray’s new household and a sculptor named Anton Kopec, who works day and night twisting brambles and twine into the distorted shapes of macabre creatures. Compelling, bizarre, and somewhat disturbing…not just the sculptures, but the artist, too. Ray has a feeling Anton is just his “type.”

Despite their scorching chemistry, when a dead body is unearthed by some workers and a freak ice storm traps them all on the island, Ray can’t say for certain that his new flame isn’t capable of murder.

Review:

A short review for a short book.

I adored Ray as a character and thought Gomez Pugh voiced him beyond perfectly. Anton I liked a little less, but he’s not the focus of the book. I do have to say though, that as a bipolar character, he felt very real. 

The mystery however wrapped up a little too quickly for me. (It didn’t even start until well into the story.) And I felt like the Whites and everyone else at the home were simply abandoned. As a reader, I wanted to know their fate or at least touch base with them a single, conclusionary time. 

All in all, a great read.

imperfect match

Book Review of Imperfect Match, by Jordan Castillo Price

Leave a reply

I received an Audible credit for a copy of Jordan Castillo Price‘s Imperfect Match.

Description from Goodreads:

Lee Kennedy’s destiny is controlled by the Algorithm. It’s the reason he’s still in college, regardless of his good academic performance. He’s switched his major repeatedly and stalled on his Master’s thesis, but there’s only so much longer he can hold out. Because once he graduates, the Algorithm must be triggered.

Everyone in Lee’s family has allowed the Algorithm to match them with a spouse. As has everyone on his block. His neighborhood. In fact, everyone he’s ever known. Pairing with his own chosen match seems inevitable…until, at his sister’s wedding, he meets Roman.

The waiter lives in the Taxable District, a run-down neighborhood that’s only a brief train ride away, but feels like another world. The seedy District is governed by different standards—different expectations—so it’s not exactly a surprise that Roman isn’t married. But it’s definitely a shock to taste his lips.

One forbidden encounter has Lee reeling. He questions everything. His past. His future. And especially the Algorithm. He longs for the freedom to choose not only his own partner, but his own destiny. 

When defying the Algorithm will cost everything—family, home, and even livelihood—is Lee strong enough to take another path? 

Review:

It took me a surprisingly long time to settle into this relatively short story (novella). I caught on fairly quickly that the Boomer and Taxable districts were adherents to different economic and dogmatic systems. But it wasn’t until Lee started to identify his own privileges and the restrictions that came with them that I really started to appreciate the story. Watching him struggle with his responsibilities, searching for a way to meet them while being true to himself was a pleasure. The romantic subplot was sweet, but I felt almost unnecessary. I don’t mean I wish it wasn’t there. It was integral to the story Price was telling. But I also think the rest of Lee’s experience was substantial enough all on its own. 

I don’t know if the term Boomer was chosen specifically to create parallels to the Baby Boomers. But I do think that this story could easy be read as representing the divide between them and Millennials (leaving Get X out as always). Certainly, the difference in opportunities, mind set, and mores fits. All in all, a satisfying read. And Joel Leslie did a good job with the narration.