AngelFire, I owe you a fruit basket for this one. I never would've heard about it, much less prioritized it, without your championing.
I LOVED this stoAngelFire, I owe you a fruit basket for this one. I never would've heard about it, much less prioritized it, without your championing.
I LOVED this story and don't understand how it's so, so hidden. The author's evocative prose brought alllll the feelings. The world building was vivid and dimensional � it came alive in a way that made me wish it was the backdrop for a long series, not just <300 pages.
The last 20% or so had some room for improvement, didn't feel quite as tight as the rest, but nothing that detracted from my wholehearted enjoyment of it. I will reread this one for sure.
Thanks for the awesome buddy read, Ele and Rosa!
#TeamRakhadar but also really #TeamBebukul MY HEART
So, so good. The first time, I read it for the enthralling experience of it. The second time, it was to bask in the craftsmanship of each sentence, evSo, so good. The first time, I read it for the enthralling experience of it. The second time, it was to bask in the craftsmanship of each sentence, every word choice. I swear this author would be one of my favorites if he would only write more. ...more
What a journey this story was. It blows my mind to read gems like this... that are put out into the ether somewhere like AO3, and just sit there beingWhat a journey this story was. It blows my mind to read gems like this... that are put out into the ether somewhere like AO3, and just sit there being so much higher quality than most of what's polished, published, marketed.
My favorite thing and least favorite thing about this series was the same: characterization. And the best part of that was with the POV character, Ryan. Not only did the author do a great job of developing him, but in this volume we finally, finally got some amazing evolution. The growth ship that we were waiting on came in at long last, and the wait was worth it.
I went into this volume thinking it was improbable that 1) I would ever really like Ryan, and 2) I would ever actually want him and Brendon together.
Ye of little faith. Both of those things happened, and happened well. Despite my fierce objections, Ryan wriggled into my heart, and I ended up fully buying that the MCs were ready and would be good together.
So, how was the characterization my least favorite thing? Because Brendon wasn't written even half as well, and if he had been, this story would have broken me in the best way. There were times that I saw him clearly, but more times that he was too hazy, or even blank. Let me be clear that this had nothing to do with him not being the POV character � Green managed to make many SCs pop off the page without having their points of view, such as Sisky, Vicky, Pete, Gabe, and more. I got enough of a feel for Brendon in vol 3 that the lack of him didn't ruin the story for me, but there was boundless opportunity here.
Thank you to Teal, Jan, and Shile � this buddy read added so much to my experience of the story! ❤️...more
3.5 stars, but it finished strong, and some things that I was side eyeing did come together for me by the end. I was entertained the whole time, but s3.5 stars, but it finished strong, and some things that I was side eyeing did come together for me by the end. I was entertained the whole time, but still somewhat distant from it because Brendon's character development was non-existent most of the way through. It pissed me off and made it hard to care, either about him or about Ryan's infatuation with him. But the last book of this volume was well done and made up for a lot.
The author really didn't give herself an easy job for the last volume. ...more
I haven’t validated this, but I feel sure that the word “poignant� has been used often to describe this book. And that’s accurate but the story is mucI haven’t validated this, but I feel sure that the word “poignant� has been used often to describe this book. And that’s accurate but the story is much more than that, too. It’s beguiling and heartwarming.
I am rapidly falling in love with Kaje Harper’s writing. This one was much different than the first I read by her, but in both she demonstrated such a skillful way of using only a few words to evoke enormous emotions. As you’d expect from a gay relationship that began during WWII, Into Deep Waters covered a lot of ups and downs in our history of queer-friendliness (and lack thereof) � but most importantly, it explored the sanctuary that Daniel and Jacob found within each other despite all of that.
It isn’t a terribly long book (about 60K words), but the development was heavily placed on the genesis of their relationship, and this felt as it should be. Throughout the decades that followed, it had unpredictable parts and predictable parts, and I loved them both because they were depicted beautifully.
(Aside: I don’t ever knock off anything rating-wise for bad covers, but� if I did� ...more
Yummy feels-generating story, and squirmy for more than one reason. Not just the one you thinGAH! Yes. This was teh good. Do I have to words?
OK. I try.
Yummy feels-generating story, and squirmy for more than one reason. Not just the one you think (but that one too). The characters popped directly off the page, an excellent accomplishment for <15K words. And not only the main dudes � there were at least 4 peripheral characters whose personalities and roles contributed an impact, two of whom were essential, because (view spoiler)[without Nick and Jane calling Oliver out on his assholery, it would have been far less tolerable (hide spoiler)].
Lisa Henry can do shorts WELL. But dammit, I still wish I had another 100 pages of these two hot potatoes.
(Thanks for the nudge, Annery! It's been on my kindle over a year but who knows when it would have happened. xx)
Damn. {{Deep breaths.}} That was an intense 19K words. Every one of them, intense.
I almost put this one down. Not because the writing wasn’t outstandiDamn. {{Deep breaths.}} That was an intense 19K words. Every one of them, intense.
I almost put this one down. Not because the writing wasn’t outstanding � it was. Not because it hit my limits � it didn’t. (But, caveat, it will for many people. Heed the warnings.)
I almost put it down because I just couldn’t envision a single scenario that would have made the story redeem itself, that would have made the evil� I'm having trouble finding the right term, here� what’s a word that means “not tolerable but somehow barely this side of unconscionable?�
You know when you’re in a relationship � lover, friend, colleague, any type of relationship � and things happen that make you say to yourself, “I’ll never be okay with this person again. That was a point of no return.� That kept happening in my relationship with this book.
And then, it turned. Lisa Henry broke me and then put me back together....more
4.5 stars. That frustrating thing when you read a random freefic online and you get amazed by the writing and WHAT?! WHO EVEN IS THIS AUTHOR and where4.5 stars. That frustrating thing when you read a random freefic online and you get amazed by the writing and WHAT?! WHO EVEN IS THIS AUTHOR and where is he??
Stories I love make me so coherent, I can't even.
Brother Mine was well beyond what I was expecting. Reading erotica can be difficult for me, because I still need a certain level of writing quality and story/character development in order to get into it. And that's so rare that honestly I hesitate to even classify this one as erotica. It's a great story with erotica elements. An author I like described it as "smut with heart" and that's spot on.
In fact� there was a lot of sexy here, but I wouldn't put it among the hottest things I've ever read � primarily because of some not-my-kink elements, so it's subjective. But the relationships and characters were so, so good. Nuanced and funny and complex and poignant and just more.
In an uncharacteristic move, I'm going to put content warnings here, because this one doesn't have a blurb or many reviews. It's wonderful but it definitely has stuff that many won't get behind: (view spoiler)[Incest, of course. Of the underage kind. Watersports. Extremely violent homophobic bullying. Possibly others I'm not thinking of, but these are the ones that will be the biggest concerns. (hide spoiler)]
Thank you, my dear friend, for this recommendation and for knowing me so well. ...more
I wasn't going to review this 12-page short, but the more I think about it, the more impressed I am with what Tonlet accomplished in only these few woI wasn't going to review this 12-page short, but the more I think about it, the more impressed I am with what Tonlet accomplished in only these few words. If you've ever had a relationship where your stronger feelings were unrequited, or if you've kept someone on the line that you loved but not in the way they needed, this one will pierce you....more
Beautiful short! I can’t wait to read more from this author; she’s hella talented. Short stories are so difficult to do well � usually ending up underBeautiful short! I can’t wait to read more from this author; she’s hella talented. Short stories are so difficult to do well � usually ending up underdeveloped in some element or another � but this one was spot-on....more
It’s too soon for me to say I have a new go-to author, isn’t it. Yes. Yes it is. It’s TOO SOON, me. Why do you do this to yourself.
Anyway. I was not eIt’s too soon for me to say I have a new go-to author, isn’t it. Yes. Yes it is. It’s TOO SOON, me. Why do you do this to yourself.
Anyway. I was not expecting this.
There’s a cliché that light can’t exist without darkness. I’m not sure if that’s true (metaphorically speaking), but I know that I don’t care for the light without that dark balance � it’s too fluffy, and I get bored. Likewise, if something is all dark, that’s just misery porn and it's boring too.
But all of that is to say: That’s not the case, here.
For all the dark content it contained, this was the feel-goodest story. I mean, some serious melting was going on over here. Volos and Berhanu’s relationship had great tension and was hard won � their own personal sanctuary within a world that was often ugly. As worlds are.
I loved the narrative voice of Volos (single POV, which I’ll go down fighting for, and unfortunately I don’t get often enough in Romance™️). He was a bristly warrior that I wanted to pet and wrap in cotton, and I am a straight-up sucker for that juxtaposition.
I would have loved a longer story about these two, but I’m in no way holding that against it; it was fully developed and well paced for its length. OH AND � awesome worldbuilding that would rival a series, just for a free novella! Who does that??
The puppet could only sever the strings and refuse to walk, not walk of its own free will.
This gritty, rough, intense story owns me. OWNS. ME.
SomeThe puppet could only sever the strings and refuse to walk, not walk of its own free will.
This gritty, rough, intense story owns me. OWNS. ME.
Sometimes when I am as enveloped as I became with this one, reviewing it is hard. Really hard. I lose my words. One of my friends who's buddy reading this one with me suggested that I take some of my text messages to her and turn them into my review. So I'm going to give that a shot.
It doesn't get more intense than the setting for this love story, where the characters are living in war conditions that make our (well� at least my) problems seem downright insignificant. They save each others' lives many times over and it's so real. What makes it feel that way is not only the excellent storytelling (though it definitely is). But in reality, there are so many true scenarios like this � wartime relationships that kept people alive.
It's heartbreaking and hopeful and endearing and gut-wrenching all at the same time. And it's so damn three-dimensional that I felt like my real life was the fictional part of my world during the week I was reading.
So many things that I would normally gripe about � constant POV changes, typos all day long, stream-of-consciousness style writing that was riddled with comma splices � I forgave every one. Because when you've created one of the most epic stories on the planet, and then offered it for free, you get my amnesty. Which is worth nothing, but there you have it.
Note: I will be continuing with book 2 shortly, which I'm well aware contains content that many of my GR friends loathed. I have done my best to avoid spoilers about this, so if you want to discuss now or later in the comments, please employ the spoiler tag. ...more
In the reading world, we often talk about expectations. Hype. Those things that drive us towards a book but sometimes hurt our actual experiences of iIn the reading world, we often talk about expectations. Hype. Those things that drive us towards a book but sometimes hurt our actual experiences of it.
The good news is that the opposite can work FOR you, and that was the case with this one.
It really wasn’t fair� Not fair at all. He wasn’t quite sure what was so unfair, but something definitely was. Or wasn’t.
It was almost exactly a year ago when I added this to my tbr, and I have no idea why I did at that time. Who knows how long it might have languished there, or if it ever would have surfaced at all. Then, a friend was in a dry spell (DRY, I TELL YOU � she hadn’t read anything for over a week. The horror!), and I had just finished my last read, so we spontaneously started comparing our shelves for something we could read together. And fortunately, another couple of friends jumped in as well. So, there you have lovely surprise #1 about this reading experience.
Sometimes when something is free, it can carry a stigma of worthless. And really, I should know better by now, because some of my favorites have been free (exhibits 1 - 2 - 3 - 4). I tend to go into them like� eh whatever, it will at least be worth the price I paid for it, right?
And that, my friends, was the most delightful surprise of all. The Lodestar of Ys is a charming and well-written story, with characters that wriggled into my heart. And when I say well-written, I mean not only was it edited better than many professionally published novels, but also the narrative was so engaging that it held my interest from soup to nuts. (Ahem, sorry.) It’s always impressive when someone writes high fantasy that manages decent world-building in only 50K words, and even more importantly, in a way that isn’t at all dry.
Fucking Sjurd would be like kissing a lightning storm� terrifying, exhilarating, and so very worth the risk.
Other pleasant surprises � this world was free of gender and sexuality inequalities. These things were just details, no better or worse. Also, minor spoiler � (view spoiler)[although the two MCs were initially attached to other people due to arranged marriages, those other people weren’t vilified, and the way they were "disposed of" worked well for the story. (hide spoiler)]
Highly recommend! NOTE: Be sure to download the version that's available from Smashwords or Amazon, because it contains two great extra chapters for the end.
And if you can find a few friends to enjoy it with you, even better. ❤️...more
Damn near perfection. This was my first Eve Ocotillo and I started reading it based on recommendations from reviewers I trust, even though I find readDamn near perfection. This was my first Eve Ocotillo and I started reading it based on recommendations from reviewers I trust, even though I find reading fiction online almost intolerable. I leapt in despite the format, thinking if it wasn’t worth it I would DNF quickly. But yeah, that wasn’t even something I considered after I started reading. One-sitting read.
TVatT is beautifully written from Sylvan’s (first person) perspective. Sylvan was trained - actually, programmed - as a pleasure slave since his childhood. At the beginning of the story, he is between masters due to the downfall of his previous abusive owner, and he gets sold to the king as a gift for his surly bastard son. But it’s an unwelcome gift � Lord Nygell has no desire for a slave like Sylvan. And Sylvan, being thoroughly conditioned that this is his one and only value, is completely lost as he is unable to fulfill the only purpose that he knows.
The character development was ON POINT. Sylvan, Nygell, and even the SCs came richly alive. I fluctuated between wanting to comfort, strangle, and fuck both of the MCs throughout the story, so you know something was written right. ...more
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