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endemictoearth's reviews
3472 reviews
Love, Your Neighbour by T.J. Land
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
DNF @ 17% (That is still two full hours of audiobook, so I didn't DNF capriciously.)
I think this author peaked with Part of Your World and is now on the downward trajectory. I loved Part of Your World and . . . enjoyed a lot of Yours Truly. I don't know what this is. Toilet King right out of the gate . . . whyyy
Other than that, this one started off kind of clever with the AITA post and messages back and forth, but I was already narrowing my eyes at a lot of stuff from like 10% onward, and was scouring 1 and 2 star reviews for intel about certain suspected plot points, which is never a good sign. I kept seeing the word trauma in most of the low rated reviews, and paired with the basic bitch obsession with talking about Starbos and McD's (which . . . I'm currently boycotting both of those places-likely it's coincidental, but I heard some things), I'm out. It just leaves a generic yet bad taste in my mouth.
I'm going to return the audio to Libby early to make someone's day, because this was not the book for me.
Edit: I lied. I also had the ebook on hold, and it came available yesterday, so I borrowed it, keyword searched a few things and then I was like, "OH. A different shitty thing than I thought, but at least it ties into the book I actually liked, I guess?" and stopped reading before it retroactively ruined that for me. Both have been returned and I'm moving on to something I have more hope I'll love.
I think this author peaked with Part of Your World and is now on the downward trajectory. I loved Part of Your World and . . . enjoyed a lot of Yours Truly. I don't know what this is. Toilet King right out of the gate . . . whyyy
Other than that, this one started off kind of clever with the AITA post and messages back and forth, but I was already narrowing my eyes at a lot of stuff from like 10% onward, and was scouring 1 and 2 star reviews for intel about certain suspected plot points, which is never a good sign. I kept seeing the word trauma in most of the low rated reviews, and paired with the basic bitch obsession with talking about Starbos and McD's (which . . . I'm currently boycotting both of those places-likely it's coincidental, but I heard some things), I'm out. It just leaves a generic yet bad taste in my mouth.
I'm going to return the audio to Libby early to make someone's day, because this was not the book for me.
Edit: I lied. I also had the ebook on hold, and it came available yesterday, so I borrowed it, keyword searched a few things and then I was like, "OH. A different shitty thing than I thought, but at least it ties into the book I actually liked, I guess?" and stopped reading before it retroactively ruined that for me. Both have been returned and I'm moving on to something I have more hope I'll love.
Starter Home by Hannah Henry
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
Uh, I frickin' LOVED this. I'm going on vibes here, and it's a banger for me. Are You Ready For A Ramble?
This is the best friend's brother/brother's best friend trope, but it's not just that.
Hunter's background is messy, but he always had his best friend Quinn there for him growing up, and became a de facto member of the family (after Quinn's oldest brother Jonathan had moved away). Quinn got married, and they remained best friends, but their relationship has changed a lot and Quinn is now divorced, bitter and clinically depressed. He and Hunter band together to buy a duplex, but despite sharing a wall, Quinn seems further away than ever.
If this book is about Hunter and Jonathan, why am I going on about Quinn so much? Well, he is inadvertently a factor in how and why H and J get together. Hunter buys his half of the house hoping that he can reconnect with his platonic soulmate BFF, but when that doesn't happen, Jonathan starts spending more and more time with Hunter. This book got the 'friends who don't need a reason to hang out, they just default are always in each other's spaces' vibe so well, despite the fact that that all happened before the book even stars. In fact, the specificity and nuance of this book is way more than it had to be.
I've read a lot of books that were trying to be this book, I think. And actually, maybe we needed a hundred plus books that were kind of like this to allow this book to be what it is. I've been reading books where the Ostensibly Straight character has a crisis about feeling feels for a gentleman since I started reading m/m and queer romance back in 2018/2019 . . . I think they were necessary in the past. I've read stuff published in the mid aughts and early 2010s (you know, the annals of history) and we've come a long way. Yes, we needed stories about people struggling to accept their sexuality, or feeling unsafe to come out, and it's still a problem today, but I'm so happy to find a few books where it doesn't have to be that way. I was working out my many muddled thoughts about this book and decided that it's very Schitt's Creek in its attitude of homophobia isn't gonna be the issue, and "I like the wine not the label."
This book even does a thing I usually don't like, but in a way I didn't mind at all. (Thing being calling the Ostensibly Straight MC [Insert Other MC's Name]-sexual.) In this book, Jonathan doesn't call himself Huntersexual, well . . . not until his friend suggests it. But he doesn't adopt it as his identity, he just thinks that he's aware of the almost infinite number of terms to define one's sexual identity and none he's come across yet feel right. He's wonderfully secure in this area of his life, while also being a fully realized character with insecurities and fears.
Late, when Quinn finds out that Hunter and Jonathan have been seeing each other (and fucking each other, that's specifically what he finds out), he gets real pissed. Normally, I hate this sort of aggro possessive shit, but that's not really what this was. He's struggling hard. Admittedly, he's not doing much to stop the struggle, but he's really having a bad time and even though he wasn't being a good friend, he was kinda terrified he was losing his best friend. So, he lashed out at Jonathan, who takes it almost too calmly. But he knows how important Quinn and Hunter's relationship is and he would never try to fuck that up.
I don't know, I really am rambling, but this book hit me just right. Nothing pulled me out or made me skeptical, and all the ways the relationship between Hunter and Jonathan grew and developed just made me all gooey and smiley. I read it on KU, but went ahead and bought it for rereads, because I will be revisiting this one, for sure.
Plus, if for no other reason, I'll be rounding my 4.5 star rating up to 5 stars for the me-coded moment where Hunter says he needs an Emotional Support Baja Blast from Taco Bell, bc Very Same. I have gone through the drive thru line and ONLY gotten a Baja Blast.
This is the best friend's brother/brother's best friend trope, but it's not just that.
Hunter's background is messy, but he always had his best friend Quinn there for him growing up, and became a de facto member of the family (after Quinn's oldest brother Jonathan had moved away). Quinn got married, and they remained best friends, but their relationship has changed a lot and Quinn is now divorced, bitter and clinically depressed. He and Hunter band together to buy a duplex, but despite sharing a wall, Quinn seems further away than ever.
If this book is about Hunter and Jonathan, why am I going on about Quinn so much? Well, he is inadvertently a factor in how and why H and J get together. Hunter buys his half of the house hoping that he can reconnect with his platonic soulmate BFF, but when that doesn't happen, Jonathan starts spending more and more time with Hunter. This book got the 'friends who don't need a reason to hang out, they just default are always in each other's spaces' vibe so well, despite the fact that that all happened before the book even stars. In fact, the specificity and nuance of this book is way more than it had to be.
I've read a lot of books that were trying to be this book, I think. And actually, maybe we needed a hundred plus books that were kind of like this to allow this book to be what it is. I've been reading books where the Ostensibly Straight character has a crisis about feeling feels for a gentleman since I started reading m/m and queer romance back in 2018/2019 . . . I think they were necessary in the past. I've read stuff published in the mid aughts and early 2010s (you know, the annals of history) and we've come a long way. Yes, we needed stories about people struggling to accept their sexuality, or feeling unsafe to come out, and it's still a problem today, but I'm so happy to find a few books where it doesn't have to be that way. I was working out my many muddled thoughts about this book and decided that it's very Schitt's Creek in its attitude of homophobia isn't gonna be the issue, and "I like the wine not the label."
This book even does a thing I usually don't like, but in a way I didn't mind at all. (Thing being calling the Ostensibly Straight MC
Late, when Quinn finds out that Hunter and Jonathan have been seeing each other (and fucking each other, that's specifically what he finds out), he gets real pissed. Normally, I hate this sort of aggro possessive shit, but that's not really what this was. He's struggling hard. Admittedly, he's not doing much to stop the struggle, but he's really having a bad time and even though he wasn't being a good friend, he was kinda terrified he was losing his best friend. So, he lashed out at Jonathan, who takes it almost too calmly. But he knows how important Quinn and Hunter's relationship is and he would never try to fuck that up.
I don't know, I really am rambling, but this book hit me just right. Nothing pulled me out or made me skeptical, and all the ways the relationship between Hunter and Jonathan grew and developed just made me all gooey and smiley. I read it on KU, but went ahead and bought it for rereads, because I will be revisiting this one, for sure.
Plus, if for no other reason, I'll be rounding my 4.5 star rating up to 5 stars for the me-coded moment where Hunter says he needs an Emotional Support Baja Blast from Taco Bell, bc Very Same. I have gone through the drive thru line and ONLY gotten a Baja Blast.
Bear's Best Friend by Raleigh Ruebins
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
I've read a number of books from this author, and in my mind, they continually get a little more thoughtful with each book. This is very much in keeping with the author's backlist of cozy fluffy romances, but I was pleasantly surprised about how the 'straight' MC thought about himself and his sexuality. Basically, Sawyer has never allowed himself to think about being anything other than 'normal' - he is the odd man out in his family and gets a lot of judgment from his mother in particular, so it makes sense that he would try to conform in other ways or not try to explore options that would make him more of a pariah (in his opinion.)
Harlan is Sawyer's steadfast champion, and they've been best friends for a long time (I admit the timeline was a little fuzzy for me, but I just rolled with it . . .) the relationship is solid and wonderfully depicted.
It possibly lingered the merest bit too long near the end, but since there was some freshness to the trope, I didn't mind. The love confession under the influence of pain meds that was followed up by an almost identical confession the next day was very cute. I highlighted quite a bit, which is my yardstick for something a cut above. Plenty of books slide right through my brain, perfectly fine but nothing stands out, but if lines snag on my attention and make me think "Yeah, that's a great way to say that" I'm happy.
I kindly received an advanced copy from Gay Romance Reviews.
Harlan is Sawyer's steadfast champion, and they've been best friends for a long time (I admit the timeline was a little fuzzy for me, but I just rolled with it . . .) the relationship is solid and wonderfully depicted.
It possibly lingered the merest bit too long near the end, but since there was some freshness to the trope, I didn't mind. The
I kindly received an advanced copy from Gay Romance Reviews.
A Suitable Captive by R. Cooper
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Forbidden in the Falls by J.E. Birk
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book has a lot of good and great moments, which carried me through. I teared up near the end, because Malachai really is pretty well put through the wringer.
I have a soft spot for widower stories, and having the added weight of Sam's guilt about how his husband died, thinking he could have prevented the accident, made this especially poignant.
I think my biggest issue was the varying tone and pacing. The countdown to the festival (and wedding for Book 1's couple) was ostensibly a clever way to frame the story. It worked in some aspects, but I think it also made it so that we had to fill more of days with some sort of action, and a lot of it ended up involving townspeople who bear a grudge towards Malachai and cause him (maybe too much) grief. We kind of flit from witty banter to some really serious internal angst from Malachai, which felt like too much of a contrast.
That being said, the character work in the main cast was well done; these are not cardboard cutouts by any means, and being in a series, I got just enough information about the previous couple to follow along without having read book one. (They are getting married in this book and are present in the narrative, but do not overwhelm this couple's story.)
Any book that can wring tears from me is doing something pretty well, so I must salute it for causing me emotions. I do like the author's style and most of the choices worked for me, just possibly needed a bit of smoothing out of the plot's edges. Definitely intrigued by Christian's brother Colin and his best friend, who might be the next book?
Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing a review copy.
I have a soft spot for widower stories, and having the added weight of Sam's guilt about how his husband died, thinking he could have prevented the accident, made this especially poignant.
I think my biggest issue was the varying tone and pacing. The countdown to the festival (and wedding for Book 1's couple) was ostensibly a clever way to frame the story. It worked in some aspects, but I think it also made it so that we had to fill more of days with some sort of action, and a lot of it ended up involving townspeople who bear a grudge towards Malachai and cause him (maybe too much) grief. We kind of flit from witty banter to some really serious internal angst from Malachai, which felt like too much of a contrast.
That being said, the character work in the main cast was well done; these are not cardboard cutouts by any means, and being in a series, I got just enough information about the previous couple to follow along without having read book one. (They are getting married in this book and are present in the narrative, but do not overwhelm this couple's story.)
Any book that can wring tears from me is doing something pretty well, so I must salute it for causing me emotions. I do like the author's style and most of the choices worked for me, just possibly needed a bit of smoothing out of the plot's edges. Definitely intrigued by Christian's brother Colin and his best friend, who might be the next book?
Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing a review copy.
Double, Volume 1 by Ayako Noda
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Home Grown Talent by Sally Malcolm, Joanna Chambers
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This was a breath of fresh air. Originally, I actually read this before the first book in the series, but immediately went back to read Aaron and Lewis's story.
This is a slight twist on the fake dating trope in that they are already aware of each other and are intrigued, but haven't really been thrown together much. So, instead of their relationship being allowed to grow organically (lol), they then start working with each other almost immediately, and the waters get very muddied indeed. I liked how honest Mason (mostly) was about how he had to publicize aspects of their relationship, while still trying to let Owen know he really does like him. This book didn't follow the typical beats, but made sense to me. It was more, “How much of this is real/how much of my heart am I willing to risk?”
Having both characters getting to know each other while we get to know them worked really well and I was pretty enthralled (which is not a word I use often to describe my reading experience.) I must admit I also like seeing the evil industry types get their comeuppance in these books . . . very cathartic.
Audio review April 2024: Simon Goldhill is a wonderful narrator, with a casual style that has a lot of emotion behind it. Mason is deliberately given a couple of different intonations, which matches his character putting on a shallow/cheery front to hide his more complicated past with hidden depths. And Owen is more consistent, as is to be expected of someone so solid and straightforward.
I was eagerly awaiting this audio version ever since I listened to the first one, and now I am fairly feral for the audio for the third book, which was narrowly my favorite of the series. Fingers crossed that it also gets an audiobook soon!
I received a copy for review from Gay Romance Reviews and these are my honest opinions.
This is a slight twist on the fake dating trope in that they are already aware of each other and are intrigued, but haven't really been thrown together much. So, instead of their relationship being allowed to grow organically (lol), they then start working with each other almost immediately, and the waters get very muddied indeed. I liked how honest Mason (mostly) was about how he had to publicize aspects of their relationship, while still trying to let Owen know he really does like him. This book didn't follow the typical beats, but made sense to me. It was more, “How much of this is real/how much of my heart am I willing to risk?”
Having both characters getting to know each other while we get to know them worked really well and I was pretty enthralled (which is not a word I use often to describe my reading experience.) I must admit I also like seeing the evil industry types get their comeuppance in these books . . . very cathartic.
Audio review April 2024: Simon Goldhill is a wonderful narrator, with a casual style that has a lot of emotion behind it. Mason is deliberately given a couple of different intonations, which matches his character putting on a shallow/cheery front to hide his more complicated past with hidden depths. And Owen is more consistent, as is to be expected of someone so solid and straightforward.
I was eagerly awaiting this audio version ever since I listened to the first one, and now I am fairly feral for the audio for the third book, which was narrowly my favorite of the series. Fingers crossed that it also gets an audiobook soon!
I received a copy for review from Gay Romance Reviews and these are my honest opinions.