REVIEW: Kings of Ruin by Sam Cameron

Kings of Ruin by Sam Cameron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fun, lively, and exciting. This book was better than I expected, and I admit I expected very little due to my poor luck with the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, and to a string of same-old same-old Young Adult fictions with all the publishers. Is there any Young Adult fiction where saving yourself and the world doesn’t take a backseat to the Romance? Because good grief.

Control, The Waking Dreamer, The Trials of Renegade X, Tandem — desist your Romance shit. Yes, that includes the two of you books that I rated 3-stars, which means I like you. Desist. Y’all are series; you can do it, says the crazy person talking to books. Anyway.

What I Liked

+ the couple

Danny was a sensible main character. It was surprising because bad decisions haunted his past so I fully expected him to repeat them, but he didn’t. It was refreshing because, speaking as an avid reader of Young Adult fictions, I rarely come across Young Adult main characters who are sensible. I mean, holy shit. Finally, it was pleasant because it excused the matter that he was in the closet. Rural America, enough said. I loved how Danny skillfully balanced putting his life at risk to figure out what was going on (because ignorance could kill) and knowing when to back off to stay safe.

Kevin was adorably nice despite the fact that he was working that whole mysterious Bad Boy image. I was elated to see a love interest that was only a Bad Boy in appearance and not an asshole because Bad Boys in Young Adult fictions are usually assholes.

+ the romance

Infidelity is a huge pet peeve for me so when it was a bomb of surprise when I didn’t get angry at how Danny used his unwitting girlfriend to disguise as straight. Danny and Laura’s relationship was too casual for me to take it seriously. Danny was at least honest and guilty about his reason for having a girlfriend, and he treated her nicely if one put aside the using-her thing. Equally important was how respectfully the book treated her. I was very happy with how in the process for the reader to gain sympathy for Danny, Laura was never “bitchified.” Laura was a minor character and her relationship with Danny was very downplayed so it would have been easy for the book to do so. But it didn’t, and I was glad. I was free to be happy without guilt; I could ignore Danny’s relationship with Laura, which allowed me to focus on just Danny and Kevin.

Danny may have been in the closet, but his romance with Kevin wasn’t angsty. It was a little angsty in the beginning but it quickly tapered off because Danny was honest and open about his feelings and sexuality with Kevin. I liked how between the two boys there was no dilly dallying with the attraction and the clearing up of misunderstandings. “I like you but I’m in the closet.” “I like you but you appear to be straight.” Talk, talk, talk. “We now know both of us like each other.” OMG, y’all, kiss already. *squee*

+ Danny’s family and friends

Danny may have family issues but I loved how it was obvious for the reader to see beyond Danny’s biased viewpoint that his family was a loving family. His stepfather was a not jerk, and his stepsister was not a bitch. His mother was someone who did really give a shit about her son. I also like how Danny’s friend Eric was a true friend and was also a sensible person like Danny. The only I would have changed is for Danny’s stepsister to be part of the action because she seemed pretty cool, and it would have been nice to read about step-siblings fighting bad guys.

+ the plot

It was fast-paced. I couldn’t believe how quickly I went through the book. The book fully delivered on its promise of car chases and fiery explosions. I was just “Yaaaaaaay!” Homicidal alien-possessed cars, a secret government agency, a national conspiracy; what fun!

What I Didn’t Like

+ the world building

It was shoddily built. I didn’t mind how the human characters have little idea of what the aliens were, or Ruins as the aliens were called, but I did mind how the human characters poorly explained their theories of what they thought the Ruins were. Because of the book description’s failure to mention aliens, I thought they were evil spirits for the entire beginning. Then I spent the middle of the book being confused to learn that was not the case and annoyed with trying to find out what was the case. Though at the end I got a good grasp of what the Ruins were, I wish it hadn’t happened so late. I didn’t see any good reason to withhold the information considering that some of the story was told in Kevin’s viewpoint and not poor ignorant Danny’s.

What I Was Okay With

+ the ending

It was Happy For Now. The romance was unresolved among a few other things. Usually, I would file such an ending under things I didn’t like but I was okay with it, believe it or not. What helped was how Danny didn’t have to hide who he was anymore and was accepted and his family issues were resolved. The book ended on an optimistic note. I was left in a good place where I didn’t feel the urge to demand a sequel so I can get my closure yet I would be elated to read the sequel if there was one. Either way is good for me, and this rarely happens because I’m a fanatic for closure.

Conclusion

I rate Kings of Ruin 3-stars for I liked it. If you took the movie Transformers, focused it on the humans, and made the main characters two gay boys who have the hots for each other, you would get this book. Recommended for readers looking for a light drama and thriller read.

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REVIEW: Reactivated by Caitlin West

Reactivated by Caitlin West
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Characters were poorly developed. The plot was infuriatingly incomplete.

+ the characters

Ardan was established as a disciplined assassin, but the carefree way he acted towards Brad vastly undermined his role. He recently completed a mission so to have a stranger like Brad come up and chat him should have put Ardan on alert. Ardan should have been suspicious of Brad and done a background check at the least. Should have this, should have that — Ardan never did. Instead, what I got was a clumsy getting to know each other that quickly devolved into insta-love.

Meanwhile, while one character betrayed his character development, the other had none. I learned many things about Brad, e.g. his likes and dislikes, but none of it revealed to me who Brad was as a person. He was an American businessman of some sort; that’s all I got. He could have been anyone, anybody and it wouldn’t have made a difference in the book.

+ the plot

The romance was contrived and thin. It was thin because of the numerous flashbacks and introspections. The only thing decent about it was the one smut scene. If the romance was contrived and thin, the plot was even more contrived and thinner. The actual plot didn’t commence till after the smut scene and it was at the end. At the end!

Out of nowhere, Ardan got discovered by a random American government agent and emotionally blackmailed, because of Brad, into serving the agent’s interests. WTF. After only knowing Brad for a few days and a one night fuck, Ardan was willing to do anything to protect Brad from harm.

Cue to the epilogue that made the entire book a prelude. A prelude! Book 1 wasn't a complete story, but a prelude.

In Conclusion

I rate Reactivated 2-stars for it was okay. The only thing I liked about the book was the smooth writing because it kept the full force of my anger at bay.

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REVIEW: Glen & Tyler's Honeymoon Adventure by J.B. Sanders

Glen & Tyler's Honeymoon Adventure by J.B. Sanders
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Over the top and gratuitous — I love it!

+ the characters

Glen and Tyler rocked. I liked how the book practically took no time in making the two knobheads realize they loved each other. The couple was adorable. I liked how Tyler quickly revealed himself as a secret genius. I liked how Glen balanced Tyler out by keeping Tyler down to earth, nice, and essentially from becoming into the evil lunatic stereotype that runs in Tyler’s dysfunctional family.

I liked how not all of Tyler’s dysfunctional family were evil and even though they were not evil they were still a shade of lunatic. As for Tyler’s exes, it was heartening to see that not all of them were evil exes; I wished Stacey stayed throughout the book. There weren’t enough strong female characters in the story for my liking among the supporting characters which largely consisted of dudes and their guns.

+ the plot

The plot also rocked. It was a long book, but things were happening so fast that I never felt it was long and after I finished the book I wanted to read the sequel immediately. The plot didn’t start till halfway, which sounds like a bad thing and usually it is but in this book it was not. I enjoyed the couple’s little adventures as they slay random homophobes, save the world of hockey, and use their money to make the world a better place. I loved the enchilada of revenge fantasies and wish-fulfillment.

When the plot finally started, the thriller kicked in. I loved how Glen and Tyler always faced the danger together with — this is greatly important — open communications unlike in the other mm-romantic suspenses I usually read where the couple are apart, whether it be physical or mental distance or both, and they don’t share feelings and plans. In those romances, the suspense serves as the vehicle for the couple to reach a place of trust and love — not in this book. I liked the fact that book began with the two guys knowing each other for years and thus had a solid foundation of trust already built.

I loved how the good guys were on top of the danger with the planning, doing, and, most important, succeeding. It was a constant pleasure watching the bad guys get their comeuppance. It almost read like a video game where the warrior goes on a quest, collects allies along the way, defeats monsters, finds treasures to gets better equipment and magic, and ultimately rescues the princess or saves the kingdom or whatever the mission of the greater good is. However, in this story, the couple were together and rich — obscenely rich — and powerful from the start so it was more like a video game with cheats activated, and all that was needed of me was to sit back and enjoy the ride as they “PWN” one enemy after the next.

Only once did the plot’s over the top-ness got too over the top for me, and that was when couple and their bodyguards flew coach. During that scene, the plot paused for a couple pages and went out of its way to spotlight a political issue in the form of a random, woe-is-them gay couple. While I couldn’t agree more about the political commentary, I didn’t appreciate it. The airplane scene was cringe-worthy preachy and hideously contrived.

Other than that, the only thing would I have changed about the plot was the smut, to be specific its lack thereof, being the incorrigible smut fan that I am. The series spin-off the smut as erotica short stories. However, the short stories are illustrated which I am 100% on board.

+ the editing

But unlike smut, editing is not optional. The book, or at least its Smashwords edition, required another round of editing. I spotted several typos:

10.66% into the book: “Looks like Tyler fantasies are a Merriwether pass-time.” should be pastime.

11.69%: Glen’s Dad rolled back a little on his heals. should be heels

43.40%: It began to dawn on the reports that Tyler knew all their names. should be reporters

51.96%: Two instances of the name “Maureen” when it should be “Mary”

59.41%: “I surrender,” he said in a think accent. should be thick

67.32%: They never dock there, and probably haven’t ever seen it’s shores should be its

69.95%: The he raised his hands over his head. should be Then

And there's probably a few more I didn't notice. But what irked me was not the typos, it was the formatting. Paragraph indentations were haywire. The ebook was rendered readable only because of my magical reading app which super-thankfully allowed me to read annoyance-free and with undiminished enjoyment.

In Conclusion

I rate Glen & Tyler’s Honeymoon Adventure 4-stars for I really liked it, bumped up to a star for its re-readability. The book was a huge cheer booster. A big grin forcibly took over my face as I read it.

Update: 29 May 2013. Formatting issue is fixed.

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REVIEW: The Long Con by Lori Toland

The Long Con by Lori Toland
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Long Con had smut, and I love smut. I liked its BDSM-lightness, meaning there was one BDSM-y sex scene. I liked the dirty talk; it’s a small shame there wasn’t more of it. I liked how insatiable of a bottom Tony was and how eager Nate was to satisfy Tony. On top of the yummy smut, the book actually had a decent plot and a good twist so it wasn't just a PWP. I should have been a happy camper, but I wasn't. I couldn't bring myself to fully enjoy the story, and I felt annoyingly nitpicky.

When it comes to smut, I can tolerate insta-love a great deal, a very great deal. However, I couldn't tolerated it in this book. I was okay with the fact that the couple lusted for each other on first sight. Nothing about that was unrealistic. I was not okay with how that lust magically developed into love, and it bugged me.

My issue was that the couple got too intimate too quickly to be believable considering who they were, especially who they were. Nate was an undercover agent, one that is on an unofficial international mission. Tony was a Mafia kid, and not just any kid but the heir to a major Mafia family. They should have been on their guard. Instead, they slept together overnight and ended up cohabiting for the length of Nate's mission.

During the cohabitation period, neither of them was carrying a gun or throwing looks of suspicion at each other or anything that openly suggested distrust. They acted more like they were a regular, lovey-dovey couple instead of the dangerous, suspicious people that they were supposed to be. The insta-love brought on an unnatural level of trust between the couple, which made the romance surreal.

I expected a high level of anxiety as both try to come to term with their love against who they were and what they were supposed to be doing; I didn't get that. Don't get me wrong; I don't want angst. I just thought the characters were not believable in their role. Because of that, piling on the emotions being rather subdued, I couldn't connect to the romance.

In Conclusion

I rate The Long Con 2-stars for it was okay. Trust was a theme in this book, and it was not properly played. The issue eclipsed the smut. Ay. I want to slap my brain.

For what it's worth, I liked the twist about Tony. I think it would have been a better story if it was told from his POV instead of exclusively from Nate's 1st person POV. Nate wasn't boring per se; Tony was just way more interesting.

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REVIEW: Pursued by Joel Gomez-Dossi

Pursued by Joel Gomez-Dossi
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The writing was good, the story was fast-paced, and that’s everything nice I can say about this book because it was crappy. I think it was going for a B-rated-teen-horror-movie thing or a parody of it, but either way the book failed. I didn’t cringe. I didn’t laugh. I just wanted to finish the book already so it would stop annoying me.

The Characters

Jamie, the MC, was stupid and naive beyond belief. I would list all the stupid things he did but I would simply be summarizing the entire story, and I say this with no exaggeration. Honestly, I can’t even give one example because I would be compelled to rant in long paragraphs.

Now I will say this: Jamie did do one smart thing...kinda. That one thing was trying to find evidence against the villain to back up his claim that the villain was a villain. Otherwise, no one would believe him because the villain was a well-connected, respected cop who was actively sabotaging the MC’s credibility. However (and this where the “kinda” comes in), if Jamie was an inch smarter, he and his friends would have hired professionals, i.e. a private detective and a lawyer, instead of amateurishly doing it themselves. It was no surprise to see that they quickly tipped off the villain who then targeted his friends too, escalating the already dangerous situation to the going-to-capture-and-torture-you level.

While Jamie was a moron, the villain was a caricature. His character seemed to me like it was based upon a hodgepodge of traits a serial killer would have.

The other characters were no better. I know everyone has problems of their own, but everyone in this book was screwed up in one way or another. Domestic violence, illegal immigrants, family estrangement, conversion therapy, etc., each issue was slapped onto a character, and wham-bam, there’s your character development.

The Ending

It was more than a case of lazy character development, it was also a lot of unnecessary and superficial drama. I didn’t like the shit-isn’t-over-yet ending, particularly the HIV issue that should have been dealt with early in the story. The obligatory bittersweet ending, recall that the book is a horror/thriller, was a shade of ridiculousness.

In Conclusion

I rate Pursued 1-star for I didn’t like it. I’m thankful that the story limited the POVs to Jamie and the villain. Multiple POVs would have make it insufferable.

Just when you think the stupidity is over, it’s BACK! There is a sequel, Deadly Cult, and I must confess. I am seriously tempted to read the sequel despite rationality. Now that’s scary.

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REVIEW: Timothy by Greg Herren

Timothy by Greg Herren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author acknowledged Timonthy as a homage to his four favorite authors: Phyllis A. Whitney, Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Daphne du Maurier. I didn’t think much of this till a few chapters later when Timonthy strongly reminded me of a book I once read for my school’s summer reading.

Long story short: Timonthy is a gay fanfiction of Rebecca, paying the most homage to Daphne du Maurier. (Then again, it’s the only book I have read by one of the author’s favorite authors.)

I didn’t mind that the book was predictable for me because I read Rebecca. Timonthy and Rebecca were different in many ways, but the key pieces were there such as the distant husband, the MC dressing like the deceased spouse at the event scene, and the boat where it happened. I liked that Timonthy had the best parts of Rebecca. What I did mind, however, was that Timonthy also had some of worst parts of Rebecca.

The Flaws

+ the instant love with the MC
The elopement worked well in Rebecca’s historical setting, but not in Timonthy’s contemporary setting. Marriage, even with a pre-nup, should have been the last thing in Carlo’s mind after what happened with his deceased husband. The proverb “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” should have been Carlo’s creed.

I know marriage was unavoidable because the plot was paying homage. However, the book could have mitigated the issue if Carlo and the MC, nicknamed Mouse, married for companionship and the promise of love rather than for instant love.

+ the villain
Even dead, Timonthy still causes problems for everyone. I recall from Rebecca, the book, that Rebecca, the character, was one-dimensional. This happened in Timonthy, the book, to Timonthy the character, as well. It wasn’t for the lack of character development; the book focuses on Timonthy greatly and build him up to be a deliciously-hateful villain just like in Rebecca. But it was also the lazy kind of the hateful. Timonthy the book never once developed Timonthy the character beyond his wicked behaviors and deeds. Timonthy was an evil Gary Stu because he was an evil Gary Stu, period.

+ the distant husband
I understand that the book, being titled after the character, would focus on Timonthy, but was it necessary to have Carlo and Mouse apart for most of the story? The same as the couple in Rebecca? Carlo didn’t get much character development, and as a result his character felt bland. I found it jarring that such a major character rarely showed up in the book. It is entirely possible to have a distant, secretive character and still have him present in 100% of the book.

+ the meek MC
Mouse is an apt nickname for the MC. I liked him and his voice and how the story stuck to his 1st person POV. Nevertheless, I wished his growth to a wilful character happened faster instead late in the book. I would have enjoyed more of the book instead being rather bored for most of the book, bugged by Mouse’s naivety.

+ dishonorable mention
Last but not least, there was a supporting character who was seriously annoying like fingernails on chalkboard. She only showed up in 2-4 short scenes, but a single appearance was more than enough.

“I HAVE to play tennis this afternoon, and I didn’t WANT to cut my visit ONE minute short to have to run home and CHANGE. Oh, dear, you’re SPEECHLESS in HORROR at my CLOTHES.”

She talks like this every single fucking time. I know it was intentional to make the character a diva, but it did it in the most horrible way. I literally couldn’t stand to read her dialogue. I had to skim for the sake of my sanity.

The Plot

+ the bad prologue
The story began with a ridiculously long prologue. It lowered my expectation so much that I wanted the story to be over with already. The book would have been significantly better without it. Not to mention it ruined the ending some since it was one of those prologues where the scene happened after the story and the MC tells the story like a flashback. The prologue sucked like spoiled eggs.

+ the ending
I had mixed feelings about the ending. I liked it somewhat because of what happened to Carlo and Mouse, but, barring the terrible prologue, I would have liked it more if the closure wasn’t so weak. Specifically, the romance between Carlo and Mouse would have been convincing if they sincerely spent some time together and not the few, absurdly small scenes here and there like raisins in raisin bread. The instant love was bad enough.

The couple should have also gotten rid of the mansion and be done with Timothy and everything he corrupted once and for all. Seriously! The entire story was one long lesson of why they should. Apply the lesson, for y’all mental health’s sake already.

In Conclusion

I rate 3 stars Timonthy for I liked it. I almost didn’t like it had Mouse not grown to a willful character and saved the day. Better late than never.

If you enjoyed Rebecca, then you should consider reading this gay (smutless) fanfiction. I liked Timonthy better than Rebecca mostly because Timonthy’s ending was stronger.

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