Reviews

Finding North by Carmen Jenner

drez80's review

3.0

This was a little long, and I didn't really feel the chemistry between the MCs. I feel like they were just together because they never got closure for what happened when they were younger. Also, they didn't communicate. They really needed to sit down and talk about what happened previously and work that all out before becoming a couple and having a real relationship. They'd get jealous but they'd just fall into bed to fix it and never discuss it. But they weren't really in a relationship, so no one had the right to be mad. That was just aggravating for me as the reader. And for the love of God could North find a pair and admit he's gay already?! That dragged out far too long. The other thing that bothered me where the flashbacks. This is purely preference, but I'd rather get the whole backstory at the beginning of the end, not in flashbacks in bits and pieces. There was always something indicating that it was a flashback, but there was never anything saying you were back to the present. You just had to start reading to figure it out. Overall it was a decent story, but I could have done with it being shorter and less mis/non-communication.

lilnute's review

4.0

Beautiful story about good and evil, love and hate and heartbreak.
Highlighting the struggles of LGBT's face all over the world..

mdee's review

3.0

3.25 stars

nicandbooks's review

5.0

Freefalling straight into perfection

"I hope I always feel like this. I want to always be right where we are now, my hand in his, freefalling. Not into the water, but into one another. But even twelve-year-old me knows that once North finds out my secret, this feeling, these butterflies torpedoing inside my gut, will all be ripped away, replaced with thorns, fear, hatred, and ugly words."

Carmen Jenner is one phenomenally talented Australian author and when I realised that she had written a mm (male-male) romance novel I was shocked but not surprised. And only shocked because it wasn’t until I read the blurb that I realised it was about two guys ... Carmen’s talent is boundless so I knew that if she wanted to write about two men falling in love, it’d be a fabulous story. And Finding North is certainly one incredible romance.

Will and North are best friends - well, were best friends until an incident that happened 12 years ago pushed them and their potential love apart. Will is openly gay; something that isn’t easy to do in a small steel mill country town in NSW, Australia. And North, he’s the one man that Will has truly loved and the one man who has the power to break Will’s heart over and over again. North has a lot of demons to battle when it comes to his sexuality, but the biggest is the fear of losing Will, if only he was brave enough to admit it. He’s not keen on labelling whatever it is he feels for Will, and herein lies the problem - because when you live in a town full of prejudiced, homophobic people, not making a decision about who you are can almost be as bad as identifying with a group that is (unfortunately) looked down upon.

"Everywhere I look it seems everyone is comfortable in their skin. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that—completely comfortable with who I am."

Carmen treats the subject of gay romance, of love between two men, of homophobic behaviour and homophobia, with such respect and realism. My heart was in my throat for so much of this book and I spent a good portion of the second half with tears pricking my eyes. Will and North are characters you can’t help but fall in love with and I am no exception. Their story isn’t easy, it isn’t without heartache, it isn’t a comfortable read - but it’s a book about learning to love yourself, learning to accept that you can fall in love with a person regardless of their gender, and learning that there are some horrible people in this world but you can’t live your life for them, you have to live it for you.

I absolutely adore this book - words can’t adequately express how much I love it. Will and North are two men who won’t be leaving my heart and mind anytime soon.

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aelrae's review

4.0

3.5 stars

danaherrmann's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

acchan991's review

4.0

I'm a sucker for the friends to lovers trope. I liked both of the main characters and their banter.

paddlefoot55's review

5.0

Preorder sale - just 99c!



ARC received for an honest review

Carmen Jenner is an insta-buy author for me. And Carmen Jenner dipping her toe in the m/m genre - yes please!

Finding North is so much more than just a m/m romance novel. I read a lot of m/m and I love it all. But often we get two out and proud men who find each other. Their animal magnetism drawing them to each other - and I have to say, it gets me hot under the collar.

What we don't often get is the bond that Will and North have. Best-friends-to-lovers-to-strangers-to-lovers, (phew, did you keep up?), there is always going to be an unbreakable bond between them. No matter what has happened, when love turns to hate, it is still there.

I loved that this was not a simple "gay for you" story. North is confused, afraid, angry. The internal struggle between the head and the heart, what he wants and what he thinks he should want.

I could completely understand Will's reluctance to let North back in. After a decade of the same, who would? My heart broke over and over for Will as they kept going around in circles.

Then again, I could understand North's fears too. But I wanted to shake some sense into him all the same.

We got glimpses of Will and North's pasts, but I would have loved to have gotten more of North's childhood, as it still plays such a huge part in the man he is today.

There is quite an oppressive feel around Will and North, Red Maine - the small town they live in. Like many small towns there is a festering hatred for what they don't class as "the norm". Bigotry abounds, and the pack mentality has set in.

As the title says, this really is about "Finding North". Not just North coming out. But Will and North finding their way back to each other. Finding a way to survive in such a vitriolic world. Finding a way to see things are not all black and white. Finding the love in each other.

Finding North a beautiful, touching, and at times heartbreaking read. But I read with a sense of hope in my heart the whole way through.

Now Ms Jenner, what will you bring us next?

milkmir's review

5.0

Safety Stats
Will
Sexuality as conflict - no
Virgin - no

Spoiler

His first time was with North when they were in high school. North had already lost his virginity and had been with a lot of girls. Will was in love with him, which North knew and taunted him about. After he and North stopped being friends, Will moved on with other men.

What's Your Number - no

North
Sexuality as conflict - yes

Spoiler

Though he and Will had sex when they were in high school, something that North instigated, he always denied that he was bisexual. There is external conflict from homophobic people in the town and from North's father, who at one point physically harms North and Will when he finds out about them.

Playboy - yes

Spoiler

North had sex with most young women in the town that they lived in. One of his previous partners was a woman who works at Will's bar, which Will is fully aware of.

Sex scene with OW - yes

Spoiler

There is an explicit scene where North has sex with his girlfriend, after he and Will have spoken for the first time in years. Another time, after North taunted Will about their first time together, he tries to have sex with his girlfriend again, but they break up.

Cheating - yes

Spoiler

I consider it a mutual cheating situation, since in the same period that North was having sex with other women, Will was also continuing to have sex with other men. I love this, since Will has spent years being used to North's other partners. But when North finds out Will has been with many other men, he is completely shocked and completely vulnerable to his jealousy.

OW drama - yes

Spoiler

North's ex-girlfriend is hostile towards Will. At one point she shows up at Will's apartment, upset that North is with another man. Will believes North is still with her and has been cheating on her with him, so he kicks North out of his house.

Overall, Not Safe but I like anyway.

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samanthamsouza's review

2.0

Well, I actually don't know what to say about this book. I read a sample, liked it, downloaded it and then proceeded to read the whole book. I read the synopsis awhile ago, so I wasn't prepared to the amount of angst, internalized (and externalized) homophobia and violence in this book. So I decided to use the suggestion goodreads gives and give it two stars, since the book was only regular to me.

Side note: I loved the character development with North, although it was mixed with so many confusing feelings it kind of made me lose interest in the story sometimes.