Never Hollowed By The Stare

boys love manga | MM romance | indie music | giveaways and more

Never Hollowed By The Stare
  • Home
  • REVIEWS+RECS
    • MANGA
    • BOOK REVIEW
    • SOUNDTRACK
    • QUOTE
    • TRAILER
    • DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS
    • BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
    • Reviews A-Z
    • MINI MOVIE REVIEWS
  • MEMES+TAGS
    • MUSIC MONDAY
    • LAST YEAR I WAS READING
    • FLICKer FADE SUNDAY
    • TAGS
    • MISC POSTS
    • PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
    • FIRST LINES FRIDAY 56
  • TOURS & BLITZES
    • COVER REVEAL
    • GIVEAWAYS
  • About + Ratings
    • ABOUT + RATINGS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • Policy + Contact
  • Home
  • REVIEWS+RECS
    • MANGA
    • BOOK REVIEW
    • SOUNDTRACK
    • QUOTE
    • TRAILER
    • DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS
    • BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
    • Reviews A-Z
    • MINI MOVIE REVIEWS
  • MEMES+TAGS
    • MUSIC MONDAY
    • LAST YEAR I WAS READING
    • FLICKer FADE SUNDAY
    • TAGS
    • MISC POSTS
    • PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
    • FIRST LINES FRIDAY 56
  • TOURS & BLITZES
    • COVER REVEAL
    • GIVEAWAYS
  • About + Ratings
    • ABOUT + RATINGS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • Policy + Contact

Archives

  • April 2023 (2)
  • March 2023 (106)
  • February 2023 (104)
  • January 2023 (109)
  • December 2022 (118)
  • November 2022 (128)
  • October 2022 (122)
  • September 2022 (107)
  • August 2022 (118)
  • July 2022 (104)
  • June 2022 (112)
  • May 2022 (114)
  • April 2022 (61)
  • March 2022 (115)
  • February 2022 (88)
  • January 2022 (92)
  • December 2021 (90)
  • November 2021 (114)
  • October 2021 (118)
  • September 2021 (127)
  • August 2021 (84)
  • July 2021 (114)
  • June 2021 (113)
  • May 2021 (119)
  • April 2021 (112)
  • March 2021 (122)
  • February 2021 (101)
  • January 2021 (90)
  • December 2020 (121)
  • November 2020 (127)
  • October 2020 (129)
  • September 2020 (120)
  • August 2020 (131)
  • July 2020 (131)
  • June 2020 (138)
  • May 2020 (118)
  • April 2020 (109)
  • March 2020 (105)
  • February 2020 (99)
  • January 2020 (111)
  • December 2019 (112)
  • November 2019 (94)
  • October 2019 (74)
  • September 2019 (54)
  • August 2019 (51)
  • July 2019 (54)
  • June 2019 (47)
  • May 2019 (43)
  • April 2019 (53)
  • March 2019 (41)
  • February 2019 (41)
  • January 2019 (47)
  • December 2018 (52)
  • November 2018 (51)
  • October 2018 (56)
  • September 2018 (61)
  • August 2018 (55)
  • July 2018 (59)
  • June 2018 (90)
  • May 2018 (60)
  • April 2018 (60)
  • March 2018 (57)
  • February 2018 (51)
  • January 2018 (50)
  • December 2017 (45)
  • November 2017 (50)
  • October 2017 (52)
  • September 2017 (35)
  • August 2017 (50)
  • July 2017 (12)
  • June 2017 (12)
  • May 2017 (21)
  • April 2017 (87)
  • March 2017 (16)
  • January 2017 (5)
  • December 2016 (4)
  • November 2016 (25)
  • October 2014 (67)
  • September 2014 (109)
  • July 2011 (7)
  • June 2011 (14)
  • May 2011 (77)
  • April 2011 (25)
  • March 2011 (5)
  • Uncategorized

    REVIEW TOUR: Home for Christmas by R.J. Scott (Giveaway)

    November 22, 2019 / No Comments
    Read More
    neverhollowed

    You May Also Like

    LAST YEAR I WAS READING…(August 24, 2022)

    August 24, 2022

    RELEASE BLITZ: Awakened Desires by Colette Davison (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    November 23, 2022

    FIRST LINES FRIDAY 56: Asexual Hipsters and Winkie Faces

    May 21, 2020
  • manga,  Uncategorized

    MANGA: Ametora

    November 22, 2019 / No Comments
    Image result for 雨寅―

    Ametora – Yorita Saemi

    The nerd and lover of dams, Tora, and the novice, Amane, are fellow research partners at the university. Both had planned on going to Amane’s family summer home for a break, but for some reason, Tora made Amane angry and ended up hanging out with Amane’s friends instead. There, Amane turned out completely different, acting like a diva queen. Furthermore, in the group, there is a poor, heartbroken ex-boyfriend of Amane’s. Is the weekend for these five men going to be troubling…?! Enjoy the troublesome days of love for Tora and Amane.

    Meh. Could have been cute but was all over the place. I really liked the seme but the uke is a liar. We could do without the annoying friends.

    Read More
    neverhollowed

    You May Also Like

    BOOK BLAST: Self-Care Workbook For Non-Binary Teens by Michelle Mann (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    June 27, 2022

    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Oracle’s Current by Mell Eight (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    October 29, 2022

    BLOG TOUR: Higher by Roz Alexander (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    August 8, 2022
  • book,  Uncategorized

    AUDIO REVIEW: Home for Christmas by R.J. Scott

    November 22, 2019 / No Comments
    42903870. sy475

    Texas: Home for Christmas – R.J. Scott

    Can Connor show River a real family Christmas?

    When Connor finds River on the roof of the campus admin building, he doesn’t know what to do. His friend is drunk, and shouting into a snowstorm, a bottle of vodka in his hand. The easy part is getting River down; the hard part is insisting River comes home with Connor for Christmas.

    River doesn’t have a family, or any place outside of college that he calls home. Not that it matters to him; he’s happy being alone for Christmas in his budget motel, watching reruns of Elf. Only, Connor keeps telling wildly improbable stories of the perfect family celebrations at his parents’ ranch in Texas, and it’s wearing River down. He didn’t ask to be kidnapped. He didn’t want to fall in love with the entire Campbell-Hayes family. But he does.

    From one Christmas to the next. This is Connor’s year to rescue River, and himself, for them both to mess things up, make things right, fall in lust and finally, for Connor to show the man he loves what being part of a family can mean.


    Home for Christmas is Connor and River’s story of friendship-turned-love. The two young men couldn’t be more different. Connor came from money. He had a sunny disposition, a glass half-full kind of person, a do-gooder who loves to fix things. River is a talented gymnast and diver. He had bounced from foster home to foster home and struggles with his black moods, his epilepsy and anxieties. He doesn’t want to be ‘fixed’.

    The story showed Connor and River spending the holidays at the ranch and how their feelings for each evolved. It started with Connor finding River on the roof, drunk and attempting to balance on his hands. Afraid that of what River might do to himself, Connor very persistently did not leave him alone and all but forced him to come with him to his family ranch for Christmas. Right off the bat, Connor’s tendency to help and fix things were obvious. Said tendencies also misfired at the latter point, a mistake that almost cost him River.

    River’s conflict and loneliness tugged at the heart. He was envious of a perfect family, wished he was part of it and also did not want the Campbell-Hayes to see his ugly side. The book tackled, among many things, mental issues like fear of abandonment. I liked how it was handled. There were no miracle cures. Instead, there were people, like Connor, who were willing to be a constant in River’s life.

    We meet different members of the sprawling Campbell-Hayes family, starting with Jack and Riley all the way to the aunts and cousins and by extension, the Legacy family. As a person who don’t do the holiday socializing thing, I sympathized with River and Jack, Connor’s Pappa. I liked that the author understood that anxious feeling of being in a crowd and gave the introverts their own quiet moments.

    This is my first Texas book and my first time meeting the Campbell-Hayes family. Like River, I was both overwhelmed and delighted by this warm, loving, larger-than-life family. Now I have to read book one just to see how everything started. Even though I started at book 9, it can be read as a standalone. There were enough backgrounders via improbable family stories to help you sort through the dynamics of the clan.

    I am a bit torn with the narration. Sean Crisden did a stellar job portraying the different characters and all the emotions really came through, especially River’s and Connor’s. However, I found his reading a little too fast. There were some moments where I thought a slightly longer pause would have been needed. I almost missed some parts where the characters did something because the sentences ran together. Slowing down the audiobook to 0.5X made it sound weird. I’m not sure if the reading speed is how Crisden typically narrates. I have listened to two of his audiobooks by Megan Derr and Riley Hart and I enjoyed how he read them.

    Still, Home for Christmas is a great holiday novella. It’s full of love and family with characters you couldn’t help but be drawn to. It’s a well-done hurt/comfort story with just the right balance of angst and sweetness. Recommended if you are in the mood for a Christmas story about opening your heart to love, hope and future possibilities.

    P.S.

    Thank you to Signal Boost Promotions and Audible for providing a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

    Rating:
    3.5 Stars – that place between like and love

    Soundtrack: Driving Under Stars
    Artist: Marika Hackman
    Album: Wonderland

    Read More
    neverhollowed

    You May Also Like

    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Late Night Poetry by Nell Iris (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    March 28, 2020

    RELEASE BLITZ: The Red Zone by Beth Bolden (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    August 16, 2021

    BLOG TOUR: As Far As I Can Tell by Philip Gambone (Excerpt + Q & A with Author)

    December 3, 2020
  • song,  Uncategorized

    SOUNDTRACK: Driving Under Stars by Marika Hackman

    November 22, 2019 / No Comments

    Soundtrack to Texas: Home for Christmas by R.J. Scott

    Read More
    neverhollowed

    You May Also Like

    BLOG TOUR: Picture Love by A.F. Zoelle (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    January 21, 2021

    RELEASE BLITZ: Whatever He Needs by Mia Kerick (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    May 4, 2021
  • Uncategorized
    November 22, 2019 / No Comments

    We drove all day pushing hard to beat the snow
    We’re on our way, a few more hours and we’ll be home
    In the heat of the city, the snow is never settled
    In the moonlight on the palm trees, the forest’s cold as hell

    On my way…
    On my way…

    Through the towns, all dressed up in stupid lights
    Window down, I’ll cut my cheekbones on the ice
    It’s the time of the season: the cold is unforgiving
    But the lamp light on the snowflakes
    Life is still worth living

    Fa la la la la
    We’re Coming Home for Christmas on my way
    Drive beneath the stars ’cause I would never miss this oh, on my way

    Silent night I’ll put the radio on loud
    The rose turned white, there’s a blanket on the ground
    Cut my feet on the dashboard, the bells started ringing
    And you sleep on the sidedoor, the choir starts to sing

    Fa la la la la
    The Holly and the Ivy on my way
    Driving under stars, my baby is on the backseat oh, I’m on my way
    Another half an hour and I’ll be back for Christmas on my way
    We’re driving under stars ’cause I would never miss this oh, on my way

    Read More
    neverhollowed

    You May Also Like

    LAST YEAR I WAS READING…(January 5, 2022)

    January 5, 2022

    BOOKISH PLAYLIST: Songs About Reading, Libraries and Classics

    July 6, 2019

    RELEASE BLITZ: Cabin Fever by Roe Horvat (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    June 18, 2020
  • trailer,  Uncategorized

    MOVIE FEATURE: Tinta Bruta (Hard Paint)

    November 22, 2019 / No Comments
    Read More
    neverhollowed

    You May Also Like

    RELEASE BLITZ: A Box of Wishes by Jackie Keswick (Excerpt)

    November 13, 2022

    BLOG TOUR: Book of the Flower Garlands by Nikki Ali (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q&A with author)

    November 1, 2022

    FLICKer: Lucid Lucas

    January 19, 2023
  • Uncategorized

    COVER REVEAL: Ablaze by Elvira Bell

    November 22, 2019 / No Comments
    Read More
    neverhollowed

    You May Also Like

    RELEASE BLITZ: His Ranch Hand by Deanna Wadsworth (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    August 17, 2020

    RELEASE TOUR: King Of The Titans by J.K. Jones (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    July 31, 2021

    BLOG TOUR: Standard Candle by G.B. Lindsey (Giveaway)

    July 22, 2020

You can never have too much MM romance or indie music. Welcome and enjoy your stay!

FOLLOW NEVER HOLLOWED BY THE STARE

Follow Never Hollowed By The Stare on WordPress.com

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Me

November 2019
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« Oct   Dec »

If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to get a copy of your favorite MM romance & yaoi manga. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.

As a more ethical alternative, you can also use Bookshop.org to buy paperbacks and MP3 CD audiobooks and help support independent bookstores.

Rakuten Kobo UK
Alibris: Books, Music, & Movies

DISCLAIMER

Book images and promotional materials are from Goodreads or media kits provided for blog tours, cover reveals and release blitzes. Manga covers and other images are sourced through Google image search. The two dorks in the header image is from a manga by TogaQ & Kikuchi Neko. The cat logo is my own design. Reviews and other writings found in the blog are mine unless otherwise stated. All Buy Links to Amazon and Bookshop in my posts contain affiliate links.

Support This Site

If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!

Rakuten Kobo UK
SEARCH NOW:
by title
by author

Instagram

…
2023©Never Hollowed By The Stare