Scan barcode
rellimreads's review against another edition
2.0
DNF @ 37% ~ Maybe as a cishet female I’m not entitled to an opinion on this but I couldn’t finish this book. I’ve read 100s of M/M books, so it’s not like I have an issue with two dudes getting it on. However, a LOT of this felt very clinical and textbook to me, like someone was trying to do a “what it’s like to be trans info dump”. That took away from my ability to connect with the characters and become invested in the plot. It seemed semi-useful except that I looked up a few things trying to figure out how they worked and minimally the assertion that Nic could ejaculate is not possible.
Also, under WTF?!?!? ~ having unprotected sex with some one you JUST met while working for an LGBT health organization. Are you kidding me?
I mean, it wasn’t a 1 Star because the author can put together cohesive thoughts, spells correctly, etc. And allowing that maybe part of the problem was me... but I couldn’t finish.
Also, under WTF?!?!? ~ having unprotected sex with some one you JUST met while working for an LGBT health organization. Are you kidding me?
I mean, it wasn’t a 1 Star because the author can put together cohesive thoughts, spells correctly, etc. And allowing that maybe part of the problem was me... but I couldn’t finish.
laur_reads_'s review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. The trans male rep in this book was so wonderful. By far the best part of the book. Loved the discussions about bottom surgery for trans men and Nic coming out of his shell with his appearance and breaking the binary he felt he had to conform to. Some reviews took this aspect very negatively but I recommend reading other reviews here if you want more information. At the end of the day, every trans persons experience is different.
The romance felt very lackluster though, and it is overall still a romance book, hence the rating not being higher.
The romance felt very lackluster though, and it is overall still a romance book, hence the rating not being higher.
missysreadingcorner's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book. I haven't read a lot of m/m books with trans men but so far I haven't been disappointed. However, this is definitely my favorite because both characters, Kyle and Nic, were very secure in themselves, sexually and in their gender identity. I like how Evie and Kyle were raising Kevin to be a kid and be himself. The sex scenes with Nic and Kyle were so hot. E. Davies really knocked it out of the park with this one.
liza5326's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book I've read that actually gave me a lot of information on being a trans man, not just mentioning it and making it a plot point. I learned a lot about the surgeries and found Nic to be a beautiful dichotomy between his masculine and feminine sides.
Kyle was an amazing character, even with his troubles. From his green hair to his skirts worn over skinny jeans, I loved him! This book flew by for me because I was completely entranced.
Kyle was an amazing character, even with his troubles. From his green hair to his skirts worn over skinny jeans, I loved him! This book flew by for me because I was completely entranced.
iam's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
This didn't click with me as much as I had hoped.
Content warnings include: homophobia, hatecrimes, assault, arson, stigma around (gay) HIV positive people, homophobic slurs used both as slurs and by gay people for self empowerment;(graphic) mentions of: abusive parent, child getting kicked out by homophobic/transphobic parent, teenage homelessness, death of parents.
I loved the selection of themes in this book, and there's a wide variety of them: working in charity, HIV, being trans and being gay and being femme and/or gender-conforming and how to combine these with (the desire for) traditional western masculinity, dating issues, co-parenting a child, finding the right therapist, transitioning, but also the daily casual homophobia gay people face, among many others.
As much as I liked the themes I just... yeah, as mentioned above, it didn't click with me. It wasn't that the execution was bad. I also wouldn't say the problem was how it was written. Instead some parts just were a bit confusing for me to read and I found myself unwillingly skimming a lot of paragraphs and being unable to concentrate on the words and make sense of them.
I also felt like some scenes/chapter were rather disconnected from the rest, especially since others transitioned so smootly from one into the next.
I think one aspect that made me not like the book as much as I wanted it to was that it was rather negative at parts. It does have a happy ending and isn't exactly unhappy - but the characters do face a lot of negative things, some of them just casual and on the side, others bigger and more life changing. Maybe the issue was just that the overall atmosphere didn't quite fit my mood because I wanted it to be more uplifting.
That said, again, the book isn't an unhappy or particularly negative one, and it furthermore has no obligation to be happy all the way through. In a way it very realistically portrays a lot of the big and small and often casual blows, inconveniences, issues or outright attacks queer people have to deal with, often on a daily basis in everyday life. And that isn't always easy to read about.
Another rather prominent topic is the "be yourself" mentality, which is great and all - except it's somehow turned into a condition here, "be yourself or else...", which really didn't sit right with me. You can't force people to be comfortable with themselves from one moment to the other. Luckily it worked out in the book, but it still left me feeling uncomfortable..
This didn't click with me as much as I had hoped.
Content warnings include: homophobia, hatecrimes, assault, arson, stigma around (gay) HIV positive people, homophobic slurs used both as slurs and by gay people for self empowerment;(graphic) mentions of: abusive parent, child getting kicked out by homophobic/transphobic parent, teenage homelessness, death of parents.
I loved the selection of themes in this book, and there's a wide variety of them: working in charity, HIV, being trans and being gay and being femme and/or gender-conforming and how to combine these with (the desire for) traditional western masculinity, dating issues, co-parenting a child, finding the right therapist, transitioning, but also the daily casual homophobia gay people face, among many others.
As much as I liked the themes I just... yeah, as mentioned above, it didn't click with me. It wasn't that the execution was bad. I also wouldn't say the problem was how it was written. Instead some parts just were a bit confusing for me to read and I found myself unwillingly skimming a lot of paragraphs and being unable to concentrate on the words and make sense of them.
I also felt like some scenes/chapter were rather disconnected from the rest, especially since others transitioned so smootly from one into the next.
I think one aspect that made me not like the book as much as I wanted it to was that it was rather negative at parts. It does have a happy ending and isn't exactly unhappy - but the characters do face a lot of negative things, some of them just casual and on the side, others bigger and more life changing. Maybe the issue was just that the overall atmosphere didn't quite fit my mood because I wanted it to be more uplifting.
That said, again, the book isn't an unhappy or particularly negative one, and it furthermore has no obligation to be happy all the way through. In a way it very realistically portrays a lot of the big and small and often casual blows, inconveniences, issues or outright attacks queer people have to deal with, often on a daily basis in everyday life. And that isn't always easy to read about.
Another rather prominent topic is the "be yourself" mentality, which is great and all - except it's somehow turned into a condition here, "be yourself or else...", which really didn't sit right with me. You can't force people to be comfortable with themselves from one moment to the other. Luckily it worked out in the book, but it still left me feeling uncomfortable..
adventures_by_nessa's review against another edition
4.0
I say this in every E. Davies review and I will keep saying it. Every book is like a comfort. You always know you are going to gain a new comfort read from an E. Davies book and I will continue to make my way through every single one because I need those comfort reads in my life.
Kyle and Nick was a lovely story, that did have it drama with some miscommunication and personal trauma. Kyle’s work goes up in flames and when he needs someone to turn to to help him heal he has Nick by his side, even though they have a misunderstanding about their differences in financial standings Nick steps up and helps Kyle heal.
Honestly, I sort of have an idea on who was behind the fire, but it was interesting until the end. Really enjoyable.
*Listener Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook through Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest review.
Kyle and Nick was a lovely story, that did have it drama with some miscommunication and personal trauma. Kyle’s work goes up in flames and when he needs someone to turn to to help him heal he has Nick by his side, even though they have a misunderstanding about their differences in financial standings Nick steps up and helps Kyle heal.
Honestly, I sort of have an idea on who was behind the fire, but it was interesting until the end. Really enjoyable.
*Listener Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook through Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest review.
garbutch's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a trans homelessness survivor, which I think should be relevant in what I say here. (Despite it not being much.)
I don't feel like giving an actual review so I'm just going to say some stuff this book had.
One of the protagonists is a stealth trans man. There were explicit sex scenes that featured him with a metoidioplasty. (This is refreshing, and does need more rep in this genre.) His body is not really depicted quite realistically as a trans person, and it's implied his bone structure (jawline, figure in general) changed with transition despite that not being usual, and not having any surgery mentioned that would do that.
I don't think any other marginalized demographics are mentioned besides just this one trans man and some gay folks who don't actually seem to have trans friends despite being community connected. It takes place in 2017.
There is a pretty awful hate crime that happens () and some hospital stuff but no one is seriously hurt, just monitored.
Serophobia is addressed a bit, and there's a scene which educates about PrEP. It was clearly meant to educate the readers and not the characters in the story.
There is coercion toward Nick exploring his femininity. I don't feel that care was given toward trans people in the writing of this particular aspect.
There's also a weird comment near the end that implies they don't realize more than two parents cannot legally adopt.
There's a lot of Nick being oblivious to things like class and other stuff when the reality of being 26 and being a homelessness survivor this young is a permanently traumatizing thing for a lot of people. Just speaking for myself, I would not have survived being a trans homeless person without other trans community. He doesn't even say he spent time in shelters or on the streets or where he went. & Him being a rags to riches case to the degree implied seems pretty... hard to believe, even if he works in tech.
I'm getting farther into reviewing this than I want to give energy to so I'll leave it at that for now.
I don't feel like giving an actual review so I'm just going to say some stuff this book had.
One of the protagonists is a stealth trans man. There were explicit sex scenes that featured him with a metoidioplasty. (This is refreshing, and does need more rep in this genre.) His body is not really depicted quite realistically as a trans person, and it's implied his bone structure (jawline, figure in general) changed with transition despite that not being usual, and not having any surgery mentioned that would do that.
I don't think any other marginalized demographics are mentioned besides just this one trans man and some gay folks who don't actually seem to have trans friends despite being community connected. It takes place in 2017.
There is a pretty awful hate crime that happens (
Spoiler
arsonSerophobia is addressed a bit, and there's a scene which educates about PrEP. It was clearly meant to educate the readers and not the characters in the story.
There is coercion toward Nick exploring his femininity. I don't feel that care was given toward trans people in the writing of this particular aspect.
There's also a weird comment near the end that implies they don't realize more than two parents cannot legally adopt.
There's a lot of Nick being oblivious to things like class and other stuff when the reality of being 26 and being a homelessness survivor this young is a permanently traumatizing thing for a lot of people. Just speaking for myself, I would not have survived being a trans homeless person without other trans community. He doesn't even say he spent time in shelters or on the streets or where he went. & Him being a rags to riches case to the degree implied seems pretty... hard to believe, even if he works in tech.
I'm getting farther into reviewing this than I want to give energy to so I'll leave it at that for now.
compulsive_reader's review
1.0
Spoilers
I think this author just isn't for me. There are so many 5 star reviews, but I just don't think it's for me. I should have given up and not finished it.
The portrayal of Nik as a trans man was completely unrealistic. The story was predictable and almost painful. The nasty coworker being the arsonist just...seemed a bit too trite.
Thoughts while reading -->
I'd forgotten how badly edited a lot of these KU books are. The past few books I've read have been better written. This one is not well written.
Also -- 20% in. Unsafe sex is never sexy. WTF. Kyle works at an AIDS charity where a large part of his job is educating college kids about safe sex, but he's just going to trust Nik that he's clean and straight up have sex without a condom??? While giggling about how he "never does this"?? WTF. Also, trans men can't ejaculate. WTF.
How are both Kevin's parents able to go out to a club without any talk of a babysitter? Tell me you've never patented without telling me you've never parented.
50% -- another unrealistic sex scene. Also, did they even pretend to edit this? Any sentence has probably a 10% chance of using the wrong name and causing confusion.
I think this author just isn't for me. There are so many 5 star reviews, but I just don't think it's for me. I should have given up and not finished it.
The portrayal of Nik as a trans man was completely unrealistic. The story was predictable and almost painful. The nasty coworker being the arsonist just...seemed a bit too trite.
Thoughts while reading -->
I'd forgotten how badly edited a lot of these KU books are. The past few books I've read have been better written. This one is not well written.
Also -- 20% in. Unsafe sex is never sexy. WTF. Kyle works at an AIDS charity where a large part of his job is educating college kids about safe sex, but he's just going to trust Nik that he's clean and straight up have sex without a condom??? While giggling about how he "never does this"?? WTF. Also, trans men can't ejaculate. WTF.
How are both Kevin's parents able to go out to a club without any talk of a babysitter? Tell me you've never patented without telling me you've never parented.
50% -- another unrealistic sex scene. Also, did they even pretend to edit this? Any sentence has probably a 10% chance of using the wrong name and causing confusion.
mappyboi431's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was good! A fun little romance with a good amount of spice, but there was a lack of communication between Nic and Kyle until the end and I found it pretty frustrating. Also them having sex after the fire was not a good coping mechanism for Kyle and I feel like one of them should have known better.
tltravis's review
5.0
Be true to yourself
The moral of this story is don't let other dictate who you are, be true to yourself. These characters had to overcome many unfortunate, harsh realities which sucks. But in the end they found themselves in one another.
The moral of this story is don't let other dictate who you are, be true to yourself. These characters had to overcome many unfortunate, harsh realities which sucks. But in the end they found themselves in one another.