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pansies

Book Review of Pansies, by Alexis Hall

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PansiesI requested Alexis Hall‘s Pansies from Netgalley. I was approved and then two hours later the paperback showed up in the mail. Apparently, I had forgotten that I’d pre-ordered it. Oops. But it was fortuitous since I ended up reading from both copies and finishing that much faster.

Description from goodreads:
Alfie Bell is . . . fine. He’s got a six-figure salary, a penthouse in Canary Wharf, the car he swore he’d buy when he was eighteen, and a bunch of fancy London friends.

It’s rough, though, going back to South Shields now that they all know he’s a fully paid-up pansy. It’s the last place he’s expecting to pull. But Fen’s gorgeous, with his pink-tipped hair and hipster glasses, full of the sort of courage Alfie’s never had. It should be a one-night thing, but Alfie’s never met anyone like Fen before.

Except he has. At school, when Alfie was everything he was supposed to be, and Fen was the stubborn little gay boy who wouldn’t keep his head down. And now it’s a proper mess: Fen might have slept with Alfie, but he’ll probably never forgive him, and Fen’s got all this other stuff going on anyway, with his mam and her flower shop and the life he left down south.

Alfie just wants to make it right. But how can he, when all they’ve got in common is the nowhere town they both ran away from.

Review:
This is a truly beautiful book. Now, I’ll admit I’m biased, as Hall is one of my favorite authors and I’m kind of predisposed to like anything he writes, but I did very much enjoy this. The writing is lush. The romance so…well, so sweetly romantic you could almost scoop it up with a spoon. Both characters are distinct and likable. Hall even managed to make Fen’s forgiveness believable, which in the beginning I didn’t think was possible. Apparently, I’m a horrible person because I didn’t think Alfie deserved it.

Now, as with most of Hall’s books (maybe all, but I’m not a fan of definitives) all that lush writing can come across as painfully purple at times and this one may have been even more descriptive than normal. I think it’s lovely, but someone with little patience for such will probably not call this a winner. I also thought a few sections stood out as notably stuttered, in that they lacked the same level of flourish as the rest. Personally, I could have done with a little less sex, but I did really appreciate what Hall did with the sex he included. There are mishaps, and affection and a broad definition of what qualifies and very little penetration politicking (yes, I made that up), beyond Alfie’s engagement of his own injurious beliefs.

In all honestly, Alfie coming to terms with his own misconceptions and past self, with his own thoughtlessness, his own inability or unwillingness to consider the effects of his actions on another, or even to consider that he should consider such things was my favorite part of the book. Haven’t we all known (or been) that youth at some point?

I won’t call this my favorite Hall book. There’s little chance a contemporary romance could ever claim that title for any author, it’s just not my preferred genre, but this is definitely worth picking up. There is more emotion in this book than in most of what I’ve read this year put together.

What I’m eating/drinking: An extra hot latte from Webster Groves Garden Cafe (my local coffee shop) and, what turned out to be a chocolate chip muffin. I thought it was blueberry when I pointed to it in the display case. But honestly, how disappointed could I be?

Interborough

Book Review of Interborough (Five Boroughs #4), by Santino Hassell

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InterboroughI received a copy of Interborough, by Santino Hassell, from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
The Raymond Rodriguez from a few years ago wouldn’t recognize the guy he is today. He’s left his slacker ways far behind him and is now juggling two jobs and school. But the balancing act doesn’t allow much time for the man he loves.

David is doing his best to be supportive, but problems at work and his own insecurity leave him frustrated—in more ways than the obvious—whenever he goes to bed before Raymond gets home. The heat and affection between them is still there, but they barely have the time or energy to enjoy it. And it doesn’t help that Raymond is still hiding David from his colleagues.

The stress mounts so high that a vacation in paradise is filled with turmoil instead of harmony, and culminates on their return to the five boroughs with broken promises and heartache. They have to figure out how to stop allowing their differences to overshadow their love. It’s the only way they’ll make it to forever.

Review:

You know, I generally know what to expect when I pick up a Santino Hassell book and in that respect there were few surprises here. The characters were real and the situation gritty and über New York. He writes gay and bi men who struggle with relatable difficulties. It’s not the cotton candy fantasy many contemporary m/m romances portray and I love that about them.

In this one I unfortunately felt the under-framing a bit too much at times. There were certain scenes that felt abruptly added because the author had something to say on the subject. (Or maybe like he wrote a book around the theme instead of the other way around.) I’m not really complaining, I agreed with him and there are undoubtedly many who can relate and will appreciate seeing their experiences mirrored by the characters. And honestly the story really did call for them. An interracial romance could easily feel less authentic if racism wasn’t at least alluded to, for example.

But I thought that some scenes had jagged edges, where I could see where they’d been stitched into the plot. For example, privilege was addressed several times in the book—passing privilege, racial privilege, situational privilege (being able to be out or not), financial privilege. These are real-world issues and I’m glad to see them addressed, but sometimes I didn’t think they were dovetailed as smoothly into the plot as they should have been, even when accounting for the fact that some of these things, like a racist interaction with the police, can and often do pop up on any regular Tuesday. Thus, my ability to pick them out as the author’s issue de jour.

But man, if my biggest complaint is a little roughness around socially relevant scenes that I’m glad were there regardless, in a book that otherwise shines, that’s high praise in my opinion. And others I’ve spoken to didn’t even agree that any particular scenes stood out at all, so this is subjective anyhow.

While the book does stand alone, I think a reader would enjoy it significantly more if they’ve read Sunset Park. Otherwise, you might wonder why it’s so important to these two young men to fight for a relationship that truly seems to be making them miserable. As much as I adore Raymond and David, what really choked my up in this book was all the ways the reader is told that they are madly in love with one another. I really liked seeing the gruff, protective exteriors scrubbed away and the beating hearts underneath.

All in all, it’s another win from Hassell. I’ve somehow missed the third book in the series and I can’t wait to go back and read it.

Book Review of Riding the Tail of the Dragon, by Jeannine Dahlberg

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Riding the Tail of the DragonI picked up a copy of Riding the Tail of the Dragon at Goodwill. I do love my $0.70 books. I chose it for three reasons. For one, the author is from Saint Louis, which makes her local to me. Two, it’s signed and personalized to someone, which always ignites my imagination. And three, that author picture is everything to me right now. I’m not making fun. The book is fifteen years old and styles change. But it’s a Bedazzled Glamour Shot! Man, what a 1980s flashback that is.

Description from back of book:
Forces of feng shui and a powerful, benevolent Chinese dragon create a whirl of excitement for Seth Coleman as he pursues his search for Rachel Ramsey, an heiress who is presumed to have survived the ravages of World War II in Paris.

Leaving Paris, the trail to find Rachel expands to Macau via the Panama Canal and Hong Kong. Traveling aboard a tramp steamer, murder, mystery and intrigue manifest to a compelling plot, which continues to the shores of Hong Kong, the island of Lantau and Macau.

Seth gains maturity during his adventurous holiday. The Orient, with its mystical beliefs in the ancient Chinese theory of feng shui, opens a new dimension for Seth in learning about the principles of harmony and balance in nature with its influences for good or evil. There is a choice, and Seth’s decisions affect his consequences, igniting energetic support from the invisible world of the Chinese dragon.

This ancient, antediluvian creature, which symbolizes power, fertility and well being in the Far East, is from the beginning of Seth’s adventure his protective guardian.

A man now wiser in worldly matters emerges at the end of his journey to capture the essence of friendship, loyalty and love.

Review:
Wow, that was…not very good. The story was sweet and all, but it was basically a series of unbelievable coincidences that allowed a young man to leave America for France and trace a woman, who’s adoptive name he didn’t even know, to a whole different country with no trouble…none at all. I mean, he just happened to stay at the one hotel where someone could tell him this. Just happened to meet the one girl who could connect him to just the right person to tell him that. Just happened to hire the one ship that would lead him to here. Just happened to hire the one coolie that would help him with that. At every stage he met the right person, was in the right place, said the right thing, such that there was no tension, no conflict, no difficulties present to him. None. Then there was insta-love on top of everything else.

What’s more, until the end of the book, when the draft for the Korean war was mentioned, I didn’t know the time frame for the novel. Post-WWII was all I knew, as gas was still rationed in France. And being that it was just after the war, I had trouble believing that people were so willing to give the main character information about the family he was seeking, as they were in hiding. Why were so many people so willing to disclose their location to this American stranger? And if you were in hiding would you continue to go by, not only your same name, but title as well (General bla, bla, bla)? I’m sorry, nothing in this book was believable. I thought the blurbs mention of Feng Shiu and a dragon meant that there might eventually be a magical explanation, but no.

I was also a little uncomfortable with the othering of the people of the China and Macau. It was subtle and I suspect unintentional on the part of the author, but definitely present. As was the subtle way females were shown as less competent. You have a female secret agent and a daughter raised to be part of a military-like force and both are left out of all the action. When guns were passed out only men received them, even the one who had no military training at all. While the closest either woman came to being active in her own defense (even though present) was passing her knife to a man. And when one later made a major decision in her life, she first asserted, “My father agrees…” This being the adaptive father in another country, who had nothing to do with the decision being made. But can’t have a woman deciding things without a man, oh no. Can’t have that.

None of this was helped by the head hopping, stiff writing and stilted dialogue that used names and titles far too frequently to feel natural or the way it’s almost all tell instead of show. So, while I believe the author was aiming for a sweet, affirming, love story it was a basic fail for me.

What I’m drinking: You guys, I’m not well. I have a cold…maybe mild flu. I don’t know, but I’m hacking half my lungs out and am stuffy as all get out. So, I’m drinking my body weight in echinacea tea.