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The Community: Sightlines – Santino Hassell
Chase Payne is a walking contradiction. He’s the most powerful psychic in the Community, but the least respected. He’s the son of the Community’s founder, but with his tattoo sleeves and abrasive attitude, he’s nothing like his charismatic family. No one knows what to make of him, which is how he wound up locked in a cell on the Farm yet again. But this time, the only man he’s ever loved is there too.
Elijah Estrella was used to being the sassy sidekick who fooled around with Chase for fun. But that was before he realized the Community wasn’t the haven he’d believed in and Chase was the only person who’d ever truly tried to protect him. Now they’re surrounded by people who want to turn them against their friends, and the only way out is to pretend the brainwashing works.
With Chase playing the role of a tyrant’s second-in-command, and Elijah acting like Chase’s mindless sex toy, they risk everything by plotting a daring escape. In the end, it’s only their psychic abilities, fueled by their growing love for each other, that will allow them to take the Community down once and for all.
I always pictured Chase as Billy Idol, Generation X era.
Young Adam G. Sevani as Elijah:
Oh no! I wasn’t feeling the Chase-Elijah merger. I like Chase and Elijah’s being his sassy twink self but their combination wasn’t working. Now, I see why some reviewers say the same thing. The “Elijah’s in love with Holden” issue was so stupid and unconvincing that I couldn’t believe it went on for three quarters of the book despite all the declarations from both Elijah and Chase. I could understand the reluctance to express feelings but I draw the line on the willfully stubborn.
This being book three I expected grand things, like major showdowns which I have been expecting since book one but the climactic scenes were a letdown. The rescue scenes lacked action and it seemed like the major villains had the easy way out. Again, total waste of superpowers.
If there was anything that the book succeed in doing it’s that it painted a good picture of the nightmare that is The Farm. Torture, human experimentation, drugging and rape, these are just a few of the horrors inflicted upon helpless psychics. Which is why I would have wanted to see harsher, nastier punishments for Jasper and Richard.
I feel conflicted. I wanted to like this but unfortunately I was bored with the most of the story which again involved a lot of talks about things I could listen to with only half of my brain engaged and the other half playing mahjong and still not miss anything important. It lacked the chemistry of Holden and Six’s book but had, at the very least, the dry wit of Nate and Trent’s conversations. It suffered from the non-issues that could have been resolved sooner had Chase and Elijah just talked properly. It did give a nice vision at the end where everyone came together like a family. So, while I didn’t hate the book, I didn’t quite like it either.
Rating
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Ill in the Head
Artist: Dead Kennedys
Album: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30364806-sightlines)
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The Community: Insight – Santino Hassell
Growing up the outcast in an infamous family of psychics, Nate Black never learned how to control his empath abilities. Then after five years without contact, his estranged twin turns up dead in New York City. The claim of suicide doesn’t ring true, especially when a mysterious vision tells Nate it was murder. Now his long-hated gift is his only tool to investigate.
Hitching from his tiny Texas town, Nate is picked up by Trent, a gorgeous engineer who thrives on sarcasm and skepticism. The heat that sparks between them is instant and intense, and Nate ends up trusting Trent with his secrets—something he’s never done before. But once they arrive in the city, the secrets multiply when Nate discovers an underground supernatural community, more missing psychics, and frightening information about his own talent.
Nate is left questioning his connection with Trent. Are their feelings real, or are they being propelled by abilities Nate didn’t realize he had? His fear of his power grows, but Nate must overcome it to find his brother’s killer and trust himself with Trent’s heart.
My first Santino Hassell book sadly didn’t blow me away. For the most part, it felt like nothing was happening. What saved the book was the awesome voice acting and the dialogue. Hassell wrote some of the most natural sounding dialogues I have ever come across with and Greg Bordeaux did an outstanding job acting them out. It felt like I was listening to actual conversations between real people when Nate and Trent were talking. Chase’s emotional outburst was delivered in the most gut-wrenching clenched teeth delivery ever and with these, I would have gladly given the book 5 stars.
However, there is much left to be desired. Insight is the first book of The Community series and it introduces Nate Black from the notorious Black family, all psychics and all slightly unhinged. Nate works in a liquor store where he first met Trent. The attraction was instantaneous which would have worked had this part been explained a little more. All throughout the book, Trent was just this highly intelligent supportive friend/boyfriend figure and not much else. The chemistry between him and Nate worked for me somehow but it would have been great if Trent had been more fleshed out.
The story was part mystery, part romance and mostly paranormal thriller. Nate received visions of his brother’s death in New York and he set out to hitchhike with Trent all the way to the city. There he met the members of Theo’s band and Evolution’s staff, a club for queer psychics where he discovered The Community, an organization that supposedly takes in and assists disenfranchised psychics like his brother. Soon he noticed the suspicious and unsavory side of The Com and tried to uncover how all of these are related to Theo’s death. These parts involved a lot of talks and explanations about The Com and psychics in general and not much action so it was a bit of a drag. There were a lot of cool powers mentioned and I was over-expecting some awesome shounen anime type battles but only a few of these powers were seen in action so meh.
It was also easy to guess who’s who and what’s what so the big reveal was not as shocking as it’s suppose to be. However, Jasper wins as the creepiest supervillain of the series even though we haven’t met him in person yet and I can’t wait for the showdown between him and Chase (book 3 maybe?).
I will tag this one as a case of first book syndrome and hope that Holden’s and Chase’s books fare much better.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Instant Crush
Artist: Daft Punk feat. Julian Casablancas
Album: Random Access Memory(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30364791-insight)
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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.
My knee jerk reaction to the book:
Maybe I’m too old for this shit but I am really, really tired of contemporary YA books being about sexual identity and other identity woes all the time. Can we have an LGBTQA+ teens that don’t give a rat’s ass about these things? Can we have LGBTQA+ teens who are just happy being themselves and don’t let their sexuality define them? Can we have a contemporary LGBTQA+ teen do something else other than worry about dating, sex, relationships and identity? This is why I prefer middle grade books over the kind of YA books that emerged after Twilight and Hunger Games (I know these are not contemporaries nor LGBTQA+-centric but they were a bad influence). So I’m sorry, I guess this is not the book for me.
But then, there’s the mystery of Blue. Who the hell is Blue?! I have got to find out.
Blue and Simon’s relationship consist of exchange of emails. They started tentatively then things turned sweet and flirtatious. It’s similar to Anyta Sunday’s note exchange story Noticed Me Yet? and while the latter’s handwritten note exchange was a drag, Blue and Simon’s was more plausible and interesting. Soon, both found that they were falling for each other and Simon tried to uncover Blue’s identity. There were a lot of red herrings and Simon never did guess, although there was a big clue but I’m happy to say I got it right.
I still don’t understand all the hype surrounding this book. It has this typical YA vibe, a lot of pop references, sarcasm and the like. Yes, it was fluffy but so are a million other young adult books. I like the low angst quality though and I might revisit old Elliott Smith songs because of it but overall, the story was nothing spectacular.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Independence Day
Artist: Elliott Smith
Album: XO(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19547856-simon-vs-the-homo-sapiens-agenda)
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REVIEW: Cask Strength by Layla Reyne
Agents Irish and Whiskey: Cask Strength – Layla Reyne
Professionally, the FBI team of Aidan “Irish” Talley and Jameson “Whiskey” Walker is as good as it gets, closing cases faster than any team at the Bureau. Personally, it’s a different story. Aidan’s feelings for Jamie scare the hell out of him: he won’t risk losing another love no matter how heart-tripping the intimacy between them. And loss is a grim reality with the terrorist Renaud still on their trail, leaving a pile of bodies in his wake.
Going undercover on a new case gets them out of town and off the killer’s radar. They’re assigned to investigate an identity theft ring involving a college basketball team in Jamie’s home state, where Jamie’s past makes him perfect for the role of coach. But returning to the court brings more than old memories.
As secrets and shocking betrayals abound, none may be more dangerous than the one Jamie’s been keeping: a secret about the death of Aidan’s husband that could blow his partner’s world apart and destroy forever the fragile bonds of trust and love building between them.
This was marginally better than the first. For one, this airport scene is the best:
Mouth dry, heart racing, cheeks burning, Jamie’s fingers twitched with the urge to weave through the long red strands. Reaching down instead, he grabbed his phone, held it between his palms, and wedged his clasped hands between his knees, forestalling his impulse. He tried to force out a “hello,” but his brain refused to cooperate, all the blood in his body having raced south where his jeans became painfully tight.
Fuck.
He was gone. So far gone. Past casual, past a crush, past simple attraction.Poor Jamie!
I am now also mildly interested in the mystery of Aidan’s late husband’s connection with the terrorist and what Mel’s doing. I think this Renaud mystery could have been solved in book one already but book two had to end with a cliffhanger so we have to read the third book just to see things through. What a hassle! The basketball story was nothing spectacular and there were elements of predictability. It was pretty easy to guess the mastermind behind the identity theft ring once the character was introduced.
As I listened to the audio book, I love Aidan laying his Irish accent on thick as part of his disguise as sports agent. Jamie as Whiskey Walker, assistant coach was a good hiding-in-plain-sight twist with the added complication of his ex showing up on campus. I am still not a fan of the partners-to-lovers trope as shown here because there were too many emotional entanglements and unnecessary drama. It made the two agents who were otherwise competent, seem unprofessional and too emotionally compromised to do their jobs properly. Thank god for Cam, the voice of reason and sense, who didn’t even bat an eyelash at the scandalous photos nor made any snide comments at how the two agents are carrying on.
So, I’m still not getting why it has such high ratings in GR. Granted, there has been some improvements but I wouldn’t really go out of my way to recommend this series.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Why Oh Why
Artist: Spearhear & Michael Franti
Album: Chocolate Supa Highway(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34033755-cask-strength)
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Call Me by Your Name – Andre Aciman
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks’ duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.
The psychological maneuvers that accompany attraction have seldom been more shrewdly captured than in André Aciman’s frank, unsentimental, heartrending elegy to human passion. Call Me by Your Name is clear-eyed, bare-knuckled, and ultimately unforgettable.
Excluding those of the M/M variety, I could proudly say I have read a lot of books. But for the life of me I could never do any in-depth intellectual review or critical analysis of any of them. I was never one for quotes or memorable lines (despite posting quotes here).
Symbolisms I could never pick up or cared about. I could appreciate the prose and how the words are strung together, the complexity of characters, the intricacies of the plot but whatever social commentary, references, metaphors or allegories present just pass me by. Call me shallow but I’m just in it for the entertainment. Therefore I might not have the mental capacity or attitude to fully enjoy this literary gem to its fullest.
Call Me by Your Name is the kind of
literary novel peopled with emotional intellectuals who namedrop dead Greek philosophers, play Brahms for fun and have informed opinions on poetry. Despite this being a smarter, classier, high brow kind of M/M, it didn’t really wow me. It’s one of those first person stories where the narrator is obsessing about a certain object of desire and nothing else. Sometimes, I find these stories tiresome and the experience claustrophobic. It brought to mind Lolita by Nabokov (which I liked, by the way), the manner in which Elio was going on and on about Oliver, the way he went about his moves and counter moves.There is really nothing going on, no mysteries to solves other than the the desired person, no monsters to defeat other than oneself. Elio’s world revolves around Oliver but I want there to be something else other than this single point. I want Elio to have something else to look forward to and not act like everything is bound to Oliver. To love the other person but still think of other things. All these pining, all these longing, most people might like all these feels but for me it’s just miserable and suffocating and appears so irritatingly hormonal to my logical self. In short, I wasn’t feeling the feelings.
Rating
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: What You Were
Artist: The Drums
Album: Portamento(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10706388-call-me-by-your-name)
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Coming Home – Jay Northcote
Jago returns to his home in the wilds of Cornwall, and is looking forward to catching up with old friends after a term away at university. When he’s reunited with Will—his best mate from sixth-form college and last summer’s fling—Jago’s feelings for him are rekindled and impossible to ignore.
Over the short winter break, Jago can’t resist taking whatever Will’s offering. But will the New Year bring new beginnings? Or will Jago be left with more bittersweet memories and a heart that needs to heal again?
Jay Northcote is a new to me author and Coming Home is a not bad story about friends who had a summer fling and now had to deal with the awkwardness of seeing each other again. This is a short story but I liked how the author fleshed out the details so it didn’t feel like things were rushed. I’m lukewarm about the couple but I liked the holiday atmosphere and the Brit stuff.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Barbed Wire Love
Artist: Stiff Little Fingers
Album: Pure Fingers(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19003291-coming-home)
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All Roads Lead to You – Harper Fox
Successful British model Sam was making a big name for himself on the catwalks of Rome when he met and fell head over heels in love with Lauro, a waiter in a pizza restaurant. Lauro, charming and naïve, returned all Sam’s affection, and they enjoyed one passionate summer in the vibrant city and the wild campagna countryside beyond. But Sam had big dreams. He accepted a modelling assignment in New York and left his pizza boy behind.
Now Sam is back, older and wiser. But Lauro is older and wiser too. Can the city of eternal romance work its magic on these two star-crossed lovers?
Cat Sebastian mentioned Harper Fox in an interview as one of the good ones out there. I have been meaning to read her Tyack & Frayne series for some time now. All Roads Lead to You is a mediocre fare and probably not the best representative of the author’s works. It is likable but predictable. Main points of interest for me is the “low-key Don Corleone” part and the glorious Italian food.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Beautiful People
Artist: Modern English
Album: Pillow Lips(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15513854-all-roads-lead-to-you)
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Say Cheese – Michael P. Thomas
Sitcom sensation Felix Medrano, America’s Sweetheart, throws a star-studded surprise party for his sweetheart, beanpole barkeep Grover Shepherd.
It’s a smash, save for one detail: Shep is a no-show.
Who’d have thought it would be so hard to pop the question?
Shep and Felix, an established couple are still being all adorable and lovely-dovey but it was borderline cheesy at times. I could definitely feel Shep’s frustration in the airports having gone through that every holiday in the past decade. The author, who is also a flight attendant certainly created a good picture of the madness that ensues during flight delays.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24841163-say-cheese)
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Kiss Me at Midnight: Saved by a Demon –
Alessandra Ebulu
Parker’s New Year’s resolution is to end his own life. What he didn’t expect upon reaching the bridge where he planned to jump was to encounter a demon whose New Year’s resolution is to save a human.
This could very well be saved by a totally random, completely human person and it would make no difference to the story because no magic powers were on display save for materializing out of nowhere. However, interesting premise and cute characters but needs more characterization and substance. Started with misery then morphed to holiday-ish and sickly sweet like a watered down cocktail with too much sugar.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16133164-saved-by-a-demon)
