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Know Not Why

by Hannah Johnson (Goodreads Author)

4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 · rating details · 418 ratings · 122 reviews

Howie gets a job at Artie Kraft's Arts 'N Crafts hoping to score with his lady coworkers. After all, girls love a sensitive guy, and what's more sensitive than dedicating your life to selling yarn and ... stuff? (Okay, so maybe it'd be a good idea to actually learn what one sells at an arts 'n crafts store.) But things don't go exactly according to plan. Coworker #1 is Cor...more

ebook, 317 pages

Published April 23rd 2012 by Smashwords

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I'll Be Your Drill, Soldier by Crystal Rose

The Best Humorous Gay Romances

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Best M/M Romance Published in 2012

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Feb 23, 2013 Emma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: out-for-you, employer-employee, ironic-hipsters

Smart, funny, adorables. I found it exhausting at times: I want to give Adderall to everyone in it except Emily and Arthur.

The weird thing for me was that Emily's behaviour was seen as so socially transgressive. I identified with Emily a great deal, and I fear I have been offending people IRL unknowingly :(

3.5 rounded up.

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 24, 2013 Julio-Alexi Genao rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Julio-Alexi by: Emma

Ill-advised rhetorical device dooms a promising story to the brackish and mosquito-ridden end of the FML, why-am-I-reading-this-many-words-that-cause-me-pain literary pool.

Some will enjoy this a lot. Check it out; it's not terribly bad—but if you're irritated with the protagonist's early-and-often, inane, repetitive, juvenile and horridly self-centered and ill-tempered monologuing, be advised: it only gets worse.

As for me, all I could think were the following two things:

1. I'm on deadline.

2. Wha...more

10 likes · like · see review

Feb 20, 2013 Heather K (dentist in my spare time) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: clean-romance, contemporary, m-m, made-me-laugh, romance, young-adult, loved-it, favorites-2013, new-adult

**4.5 stars**

"Know Not Why" is my type of book. I love funny books, anything that shows cleverness and has fast, snappy dialogue. Oh my, this book had that in spades. I wanted to quote every page that I read; the dialog was crazy funny in the best possible way. I couldn't help but adore this book. It was one of those books that makes you happy. It was just so sweet. I also fell in love with all of the characters. Hannah Johnson did a fab job creating unique, fully developed personalities for thi...more

13 likes · like · see review

Nov 05, 2012 M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: glbt-bestest, coming-of-age, absolute-all-time-favs, comic-relief, queer-sorting-hat, confectionary-mm

I'm having one of those weeks where I just really need a hug. I really, really needed to read something with no angst, no bitterness, no unnecessary violence; something that's sweet without making me roll my eyes too much and funny enough to keep me entertained. This was it. My literary hug. In a huge way. It was exactly what I needed right now. There's no melodrama, no mystery and very little conflict. It's about (and narrated by) Howie, who, can I just say, is goddamn hilarious. I don't know w...more

26 likes · like · see review

Feb 15, 2013 Camille rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: male-1stp-pov-romance, m-m-rom-erotica, new-adult-romance, gay-for-you, made-me-happy

Freaking hilarious and still substantial. I loved this book! Even got a little "melty" over it when it ended....totally awwwwww/worth it/moving.

ETA: this book remains in my top 5 m/m. It is beyond stellar :-)

13 likes · like · see review

Mar 06, 2013 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: buddy-read, m-m-romance, asshole-mc, holidays, meh, wtf-did-i-just-read, this-is-not-good-for-my-rage, everyone-loves-it-but-me

Know Not Why... this book's average rating is 4.3 stars. I only gave it a 2 because I did actually sort of like the other ~~caricatures~~ characters in the book. The only reason I didn't DNF it was because it was a buddy read.

I could spend a lot of time and energy going over why I hated this book, but it's not worth it.

Bottom line? Howie is an immature, selfish asshole to his classmates, his love interest, his best friend, his brother's girlfriend... the list goes on. Sure, he sort of gets over it...more

8 likes · like · see review

Dec 15, 2012 Tiya Rosa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: asshole-mc, awww-touching, favorites, gpoy, funny, m-m, monty-python-reference, young-and-new-adult, awesome-females, debut, fade-to-black-smexin

This book owned me, you guys. When I was done, all I wanted to do was pleasure it orally while giving it chaste kisses and then serenading it with As The World Falls Down as I walk it to its door. I love each and every word on its pages and am currently struggling not to stalk Hannah Johnson online.

Howie is 22, lives at home, insistent in his heterosexuality and is a bit of an asshole in his pursuit to prove it. He applies for a job at an arts and crafts store 'cause he thinks it's a perfect pl...more This book owned me, you guys. When I was done, all I wanted to do was pleasure it orally while giving it chaste kisses and then serenading it with As The World Falls Down as I walk it to its door. I love each and every word on its pages and am currently struggling not to stalk Hannah Johnson online.

Howie is 22, lives at home, insistent in his heterosexuality and is a bit of an asshole in his pursuit to prove it. He applies for a job at an arts and crafts store 'cause he thinks it's a perfect place to pick girls up, but finds that not only is he not getting dates, he's also starting to fall for his very male boss, Artie. We read about his everyday misadventures at work, we root for his HEA, and we meet some of the most real and likable people in the genre.

The story is told in the first person by Howie and when we meet him, he's just this spaz with an awesome sense of humor whose employment in a small-town store actually caused his mother to bake a cake.

"Apparently my ability to get a just-over-minimum-wage job that requires (basically) no skills is about as miraculous as the occasion of my birth."

As the story progresses, though, we see what the story is behind his apparent lack of ambition and while I would have loved for there to be a resolution in that area as well, I was cool with it since the glimpse was enough to let us know that hiding behind jokes and wisecracks and inappropriate female-objectifying thoughts is actually a pretty cool guy.

And Arthur, the love of our narrator's life, is a great yin to Howie's yang. He's more mature and stable in his sexuality for one. He doesn't spaz out or tend towards hysterics. He's sweet and understanding and just this solid guy that balances Howie and his jumpy energy.

The supporting characters are also not just labeled "hero's mom", "hero's obligatory fag hag", "hero's too-perfect brother" then given predictable behavior and dialogues based on those labels. I loved that they were actually characters with depth and personalities and such awesome voices that they felt real. Seriously, guys, these characters are all so distinct and brilliant and so well written that you can give me a line from the book and I can identify which character would do or say that.

They were each also essential to Howie's growth and happiness. Because Howie, for all his bravado, is practically a wee wittew boy emotionally and this book is not so much about his romance with the dreamy Arthur as it is his journey towards being an adult male with figurative testicles.

Come to think of it, this was also a bit of a coming of age story of his best friend, Amber. There was a lot of growth in that front and it's a sign of how good this book is that you don't feel that Amber is encroaching in Howie's territory in her side journey towards her own HEA/HFA.

You know what else is a sign of a good book? The fact that there were no genitals shoved into any orifice on-page and I didn't mind. Not one bit. This was fade-to-black sex, people, and I still embraced it in all its non-explicit sexual content-y glory. You're welcome, book.

I also loved the lit references (Aunt Petunia, bitches!), the quick Monty Python nod (orgasm alert!), the most believable drunk narrative I've read in a while, and the fact that Howie's mom wrote an erotica sequel of an Austen novel and called it Mansfield Spark: The Hot Nights of Mr. and Mrs. Bertram.(less)

18 likes · like · see review

Dec 18, 2012 Heller rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, m-m

I loved, loved, loved this book. Very coming of age that's not quite YA but classified more like new adult, college age.

Howie starts to work at a mom and pop arts and crafts store in the hopes of getting laid. His logic is that the women who work and shop there will see his sensitive, creative side and want to jump his bones.

Not exactly the best plan. ;)

The store is being run by the owners' son, Arthur. A man struggling under the pressure to keep the store afloat when competition from a larger...more

20 likes · like · see review

Feb 24, 2013 Kelly Maybedog Hawkins rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kelly Maybedog by: Plainbrownwrapper

Shelves: what-male-protagonist, what-humor, what-glbtq, how-ebook, where-own, nook-lendable, why-favorites, where-b-n, what-m-m-read

Five plus stars!

Thank you Plainbrownwrapper,Tiya Rosa,and Julesmarie, for being the reason I read this right away. This book is amazing and anyone who loves M/M humorous romances needs to read this. It's funny, smart, sweet, romantic, everything wonderful. The characters are interesting and fun. The story is completely believable and one of the sweetest romances I have ever read.

For the first fourth of the book, I laughed out loud at least once per page it was that funny. I laughed a good deal...more Five plus stars!

Thank you Plainbrownwrapper,Tiya Rosa,and Julesmarie, for being the reason I read this right away. This book is amazing and anyone who loves M/M humorous romances needs to read this. It's funny, smart, sweet, romantic, everything wonderful. The characters are interesting and fun. The story is completely believable and one of the sweetest romances I have ever read.

For the first fourth of the book, I laughed out loud at least once per page it was that funny. I laughed a good deal later but the story became a little more poignant. It was a feel-good novel through and through and near the end I wasn't sure if the relationship would last but it didn't matter because it was still a happy ending. What I mean is that the romance isn't the only part that is important or gets worked through. Howie coming to terms with his sexuality is equally important.

Yes, Howie is somewhat of a jerk a couple of times but it's completely understandable given the short length of time in which this book takes place. Coming out is hard and he does it really fast considering. And while Arthur is mostly wonderful, he isn't a saint, either. In fact, at one point he is incredibly blunt, I would have left if he had been talking to me. Howie stayed and it was good but Arthur was not at all sensitive during that scene.

There's no sex but that's good because it wouldn't fit. I think this would be a great story for any questioning teen to read even though this is very much a book for adults.

The book is long, longer than it needs to be but I didn't mind because it was so entertaining. The end dragged a tad but it as mostly because I was waiting for something (that didn't actually happen). But it was a great ending. One of the things I liked best: mild (view spoiler)

I loved the literary references and the jokes about ignorance. I loved the complexity of Mitch and even his roommate. The author has excellent taste in music (I love all the bands Howie does--go Femmes!). I particularly loved his observations about grammar.

In short (well, medium), I loved this book to death.

Read it.
(less)

10 likes · like · see review

May 06, 2012 Anke rated it 4 of 5 stars

4-4.5*

I just finished reading this book and now try to get my thoughts in some orderly written form. First, although the formatting and editing of the book is very good and it's rather long with 100.000+ words, I still think that $9,99 is too expensive for an unknown, self-published author. 2-4$ less would have been a fair price. Especially when thinking of similar quality books sold for 2,99$. Nevertheless the blurb and the cover got me to buying this book.

Now, the story: The first few pages we...more

10 likes · like · see review

Dec 08, 2012 Vladimir rated it 5 of 5 stars

Cute cover. Quirky Blurb. Definitely piqued my interest.

UPDATE

Warning: Chosing to read further may result to stomach cramps and hysteria.

Do not be fooled by the seemingly poetic title. This book is freakishly crazy! I laughed so much that I almost considered to stop reading -- almost.

Howie Andrew Jenkins is a 22 year-old small town guy living with his mother and attends night classes at their local community college whilst trying to figure out how to "Spice things up" from his otherwise mundane...more Cute cover. Quirky Blurb. Definitely piqued my interest.

UPDATE

Warning: Chosing to read further may result to stomach cramps and hysteria.

Do not be fooled by the seemingly poetic title. This book is freakishly crazy! I laughed so much that I almost considered to stop reading -- almost.

Howie Andrew Jenkins is a 22 year-old small town guy living with his mother and attends night classes at their local community college whilst trying to figure out how to "Spice things up" from his otherwise mundane life. One day, Howie concocted a plan to get down 'n dirty with the ladies of their local Arts & Krafts store against the better judgement of his bestfriend Amber May.

Little did Howie realize that the moment he stepped inside the four walls of the store, it would forever change the way he sees and lives his life.

The story is primarily driven by Howie's thoughts. His quirky, sometimes petty, mostly neurotic and totally crazy thoughts that had me having serious bouts of laughter from start to finish. A midst these thoughts though is a person living in the shadows of his brother and someone deeply wishes to be acknowledged as individual.

You know when you add a bit of salt to sweet dishes in order to enhance their taste? Well the sweetness of this story lies on its comedic side, but the sad parts of the plot is what brings it out even more. The writing is good but there were some literary and pop culture references that I needed to look up to understand some of the lines better. The book also showcases a lot of memorable characters that made me wary at first but couldn't help but love in the end. From the outlandish group of people that work at "Artie Kraft's Arts & Krafts", to the peculiar members of Howie's family and friends, these characters truly made me feel that a place is only as good as the people living in it.

For those who want to forget their problems for a while, please, read away.But you might want to grab a tissue before starting this book because it's gonna be a total tear jerker...but for a whole different reason (",)(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Tutu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to read something funny and right then this book appeared on my feed. It was destiny :)

This was a hilarious story, a smart book with really good lines that did not feel forced, but something some very quick witted persons would think and say. :P

I loved all the characters and I second all those reviews who mentioned how incredibly original, unique and diverse they were. They were not cardboard copies of each other and they did not follow some clichés requirements. They did their own thin...more

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 30, 2012 DayDreamer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbtq, easy-read, reviewed-or-kinda, want-more, again-and-again-and-again, no-such-thing-as-enough, favorites

More like 4.5 stars, but either way I am impressed.

My biggest problem was (view spoiler)

Not so important for me, just no...more

10 likes · like · see review

Sep 15, 2012 Cayce rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m-best, glbt-ya

5 stars

acrylic is crap. I have it on good authority that it's like knitting with barbed wire, that it's squeaky, yeah that's right, squeaky, and that - although I can't vouch for this one personally - apparently it's what Satan uses to make Christmas sweaters for the ninth-circle sinners.

This is a totally impulse review. I picked up Know Not Why thanks to a recommedition, and from the first page I was hooked. I just finished it, and since I have nothing else planned for today I'm gonna wedge thi...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 10, 2012 Ren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, romance, favourites, kindle, read-in-2013, young-adult

This is, quite possibly, the most adorable book I've ever read in my life. It's funny and it's heartwarming and it made me laugh out loud every other page. I usually don't care for books that are written in first person, but in this case I realized from the first rambly paragraph that I would love it. It's my kind of book. It's not deep or meaningful or soul-searching (though it has its philosophical moments), it's a feel-good book. The book equivalent of a cup of warm tea and a blanket during a...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 21, 2013 Meep rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: y-a

There's a lot of slang and at first the feeling is very much of the average free online fic, going from scene to scene. The main character is initially annoying but at some point I found myself drawn in, his attitudes get explained without any undue angst and the friendships are engaging if cliche.

It's very teenage, in writing style and characters; I can't help thinking it would work better with a younger cast. The main character Howie is meant to be 22 and his love interest Artie is someone run...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Lani rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: author-american, author-female, queer-lit, romance, setting-location-united-states, favorites-2013, humor, new-adult

This book is exactly what I wanted to read. Light and happy and full of characters that I love.

I do wish that Dennis had been a little more fleshed out. Despite being Howie's twin I didn't feel like I knew anything about him even though I knew all about his brand new girlfriend, who was surprisingly pleasant.

This book made me laugh out loud a ton (and it made me cry a bit but I'm just in one of those moods) which is unusual when I'm reading. Even if I find something funny I don't usually laugh b...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-out, contemporary-romance, glbt, m-m-romance, needs-a-sequel, romantic-comedy

4.5 stars

Howie Jenkins is a man with a plan. Yeah, that’s right, his plan is to work at the locally owned Artie Kraft’s Arts and Crafts store so he can increase his odds of getting laid because, of course, arts + crafts = babes. Everyone knows that. Everyone but me, I think. If I’d been Howie’s BFF, I’d have been less worried about how sad that plan is and more concerned with the fact that the biggest flaw in the questionably brilliant idea may be that the mean age of the patrons who frequent ar...more 4.5 stars

Howie Jenkins is a man with a plan. Yeah, that’s right, his plan is to work at the locally owned Artie Kraft’s Arts and Crafts store so he can increase his odds of getting laid because, of course, arts + crafts = babes. Everyone knows that. Everyone but me, I think. If I’d been Howie’s BFF, I’d have been less worried about how sad that plan is and more concerned with the fact that the biggest flaw in the questionably brilliant idea may be that the mean age of the patrons who frequent arts and crafts stores isn’t exactly within Howie’s 18-25 year old demographic. And they have 2.2 kids. And the employees are largely older women. I’ve been to arts and crafts stores. I know these things. I am that thing. But more power to the boy. He goes for it, gets the job in spite of the fact that Howie is probably the last guy Arthur Kraft wants to hire, and score! there’s a pretty, perky, and blond teenage Kristy Quinn who works there and is just ripe for the pickin’. Almost. Too bad Kristy already has a boyfriend. And she thinks Howie’s gay. Ouch. Double whammy.

And then there’s also Cora Caldwell, of the Rocky Horror Show Caldwells, but Cora could easily eat Howie and then reassemble his bones into something edgy and artful, so Cora’s a big no. Plus, she’s fairly awesome in a totally bitchy way. I kind of girl crushed on her, as well as Howie’s above-referenced BFF Amber. And then there’s the fact that the ‘rents keep trying to make with the matching between Amber and Howie, but she only has eyes for Howie’s twinly opposite and over-achieving brother, Daniel, who’s in love with the aggressively ordinary Emily.

It’s a conundrum.

I’ve been thinking about this book for a few days now and have come to the conclusion that I think whether you like it or not will depend entirely upon whether you like Howie Jenkins, the story’s narrator. See, Howie is…slightly annoying. But in a rather adorkable way! He’s adorkably annoying. Or annoyingly adorkable, I can’t decide which. Sometimes I just wanted him not to talk for a minute, that’s all. That Howie, well, he’s turned being a wiseass into a true art form. In fact, wiseassery may very well be his first language, but there’s a valid reason he hides behind all that snarky comedy, and you’ll just have to read the book if you want to find out why. I found him utterly endearing and wanted him to shut his freaking pie hole, all at the same time. He’s kind of like my kids—can work a last nerve like a pro, but now that he’s gone, I miss him.

But Howie’s not the only character in this book who lets his snark-flag fly high and proud. No, most of the characters are quite fluent in the articulation of mocky banter, others are merely fluent in utter nonsense, while still others don’t speak anything but literal and just get lost in the crossfire of all that extra-witty repartee. While I loved the premise of this story, I have to say there were times when the sarcasm overload began to take its toll on me. There was a lot of adorable and very touching stuff going on in this book too, though, so I soldiered through and am ultimately very, very glad I did.

What began as quite possibly the doofiest plan in the world turned into such a sweet enemies-to-lovers, coming-out story, as well as an unlikely romance between the unquestionably more sophisticated and giftedly eyelashed Arthur Kraft and our cluelessly adorable Howie, who tried so hard to be straight, but one kiss from Arthur, and Doh! hey, hm, maybe Howie’s not as straight as he always thought he was. And suddenly Howie’s living a double-life, one in which he can be himself at the struggling little arts and crafts store where his friends know the new and improved Howie, and the other where he has to hide the fact that Arthur is the first person in the whole wide world who has ever made Howie feel the way he feels when they’re together.

And P.S. – Howie has the best mom ever.

There is no doubt about it; this book is just precious, but for me, sometimes it felt like it suffered under the weight of its own über-verbose preciousness, meaning that at 317 pages, this one probably would’ve been trimmed down quite a bit had it been traditionally published. As it stands, however, for a self-pub, I’d say Hannah Johnson has a very promising future in this writerly biz.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 21, 2012 Tʀɪsʜᴀ Hᴀʀʀɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: loved, ya

4.5 stars.

This was a great book, it felt very fresh to me. It has been done a lot, but some of the things I found really nice. The story was not really a romance, don't get me wrong there was a romance in it, just not the main feature of this book. It was more about Howie and his life and his relationships with his friends and family.

Howie was a "cool" character, who always believed he was straight. Even though others thought he was gay. It was kind of funny the way it always came up and he n...more

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 10, 2012 Sunne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Okay - after about half the book I decided on a 3 star review.

I liked it and it was mostly funny but for my liking more like an immature trainwreck. You couldn't look away but you know it happens. Howie is still in his teens with his behaviour and evading strategies. And I haven't even started on the dialogues. What did the author think? Normally I rant that authors write their dialogues to stilted and unnatural. Well, Mrs. Johnson did the opposite. The dialouges were bordering on unrecognisabl...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 20, 2012 astried rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: potato-chips, 2012

This is how it happened, saw the cover, saw the picture of heart & yarn, cursorily read the title, thought "knitting fluff" then grab it for rainy day. It wasn't exactly raining yesterday but I was looking for bus reading and just start reading, no review checking on goodreads, just another galance at the title, just jumping in.

20% in, I started to think that it might not be what I think it was but funnily I was already captured by it. I was sad when the bus ride ended and would've finished...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Kinda cheesy, kinda lame, kinda stupid, but super cute (*soo kyut!!!*) Know Not Why occupies a weird place in the market because it's coming-of-age YA for the adult who never grew up. Actually that sounds like it should be a growing market. The closest current analog I can think of is ladyporn...err, "romance novels." It seems like the common reaction to finishing this book is squeeing like a little girl. Dude, I ain't no girl, but yeah (*soo kyut!!!*)

Serious things though, the voices of the ch...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 31, 2012 Leanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-of-2012, comfort-read, coming-of-age, enemies-to-lovers, favorites, first-time-or-gfy, keeper-shelf, made-me-cry, made-me-laugh, mm, romance, young-adult

Oh, I loved this story!
Howie is an adorable underdog. At 22, the aimless twin of a perfect brother, he has sacrificed dreams of travel and escape from his little town to stay with his mom. He’s outwardly brash and funny as hell but inside he’s mostly sad and insecure. His finding a job at the craft store does so much more than lead him to love. It allows him to start believing in himself, to learn to open up and to trust others. Yes, he does accept the fact that he’s gay with surprisingly few q...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Samington rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: age-gap, college-students, contemporary, holiday, young-adult

3.5 stars, really. Cute and funny, though it went on a little long and everybody was a little bit unrealistic, in that way characters in these sorts of stories sometimes are. The length would have been helped if there'd been a bit more of a classic build-up and a climax, but as it stands it just sort of meandered to a gentle conclusion, which, though not bad per se, ended up being just this side of tiring. I liked Arthur a lot and found his and Howie's connection believable, but I think I would...more 3.5 stars, really. Cute and funny, though it went on a little long and everybody was a little bit unrealistic, in that way characters in these sorts of stories sometimes are. The length would have been helped if there'd been a bit more of a classic build-up and a climax, but as it stands it just sort of meandered to a gentle conclusion, which, though not bad per se, ended up being just this side of tiring. I liked Arthur a lot and found his and Howie's connection believable, but I think I would have preferred the antagonism-slash-UST between Arthur and Howie to have gone on a little longer; it was abandoned very early on in favor of a sweet but slightly bland romance, and though the first kiss was quite hot, the relationship that followed never quite met expectations. A bit matchy-matchy, too, what with all the minor characters (sans one, I suppose) pairing up as well.

Howie's interior narration was pretty great at times (my favorite, I think, was Fisticuffs Clifford) but some of his decisions didn't quite make sense to me. He appeared to come to terms with being gay (bi?) quite easily, but was still unwilling to come out to his mother and his childhood friends-- why? He knew they wouldn't react badly and there wasn't anything that really seemed to be stopping him. The text attempted to provide some explanation but even the author didn't quite seem to get Howie's motivations and so his logic remained unclear. Then he came out, and everything was fine, which further emphasized the nonsensicality of his fear.

Beyond that, there were places where the story just didn't seem to go anywhere and plotlines that never experienced resolution. Howie's issues with Heather Grimsby and Lindsay, Douchebag Patrick, the death of Howie's father... it all felt a little unraveled, in that they never quite seemed to have real purpose to me. Again, I think the lack of a climax and resolution ("falling action," as English-major-Howie might or might not call it) would've helped with this, but as it stands the lack of anything more intense to distract the reader means these issues stand out and linger in the mind.

All in all, worth a read, though it could have used a bit of a trim and maybe a slightly tighter plot to really make it shine.(less)

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Jun 11, 2012 Miss rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was beyond delightful. :D Like yes okay, it's over priced as literally every review has mentioned but whatever, I am the last of the big spenders when it comes to books. I wish I could get a physical copy though, I'm not a huge fan of ebooks and I wouldn't have picked it up if the preview on smashwords hadn't hooked me (damn you smashwords. 15% of the story? You know that's enough to get someone addicted! My wallet does not thank you).

ANYDOODLES

So back when I was in high school I read this...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Ami rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ami by: Nadine

Shelves: mm-contemporary, mm-young-or-new-adult

3.85 stars rounded up

I have to be honest, when I first saw the number of words (110.000+ words), I was a bit scared. I had been lullabied with shorter stories since I jumped into the world of m/m romance few years ago, and nowadays, lengthy books worried me. Worried that I might get bored easily. Well, I didn't get bored with this one...

ALTHOUGH, the story probably could do with little trimming (I still thought it was a bit too long), I found Howie's voice to be quite enjoyable to spend few hour...more

13 likes · like · see review

Mar 10, 2013 Sheri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Witty & fun. Tremendously immature. Howie makeover.

Howie is an obnoxious young man trying to grow up. Admirably he gives up his college plans to stay home with his recently widowed mother, and finds himself stuck in a rut. He is pretty much a lazy pig, and realizes the ugly truth about himself along the journey of the story. He takes a job at the local craft store in hopes of scoring a relationship or at a minimum scratching an itch. He is not disappointed, but confused with the desires and...more

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Mar 04, 2013 MsSadie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mm-that-i-loved-to-bits, literally-made-me-lol, 2013

This was a really beautiful, happy and absolutely HILARE book. I adored, adored Howie. The first person narrative worked perfectly - I was so in his head. God he made me laugh.
Gah! So many things to say about this book. As I said - freakin laugh out really, really loud. A lot. Some of the things that came out if these characters mouths were absolute gold. In fact, probably some of my favourite quotes will come out of this gem of a book.

The secondary characters were sublime. Amazing, incredible...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Yvonne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, m-m-coming-out, m-m-young-love, kindle-lendable-mm

Firstly I had some issues with the kindle version of this story. I had sentences cut off on one page only to be taken to the middle of some completely different paragraph on the next. As this happened several times it was annoying. I'm not sure who's at fault here, but the Kindle version needs to be re looked at and re edited.

As for the story, it took me about 20 percent in before I could start liking this one due to the little quirks and dudisms and general slanginess of the main character Howi...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Ari rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mm-romance

It's been a while I don't read a crack story and it's kinda refreshing when I got one.

The blurb definitely got me. (not this one...^^)
Howie, was twenty two, still living with his mother, hoping to score with his lady coworkers at his new job at Artie Kraft's Arts 'N Crafts shop. But things don't go exactly according to plan. Lady coworkers #1: Kristy: the classic beauty blonde, taken. Lady coworkers #2: Cora: tiny, much-pierced, and way too fierce to screw with in any sense. It's left him with c...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Hannah Johnson

Hannah Johnson is an English grad student in Alaska who has always loved to write almost as much as she loves to procrastinate.

Almost. Not quite.

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Quotes from Know Not Why

“You know, I don’t think it’s worth it to deny yourself happiness just so you can stay faithful to the person you think you’ve become.” — 12 people liked it

“Um,” Arthur says. He’s looking at me dead-on, like he’s forcing himself to do it. God, I wish he would knock it off. I also wish he’d lose his eyelashes in a freak eyelash fire incident. And his lips, too, because all of a sudden I’m looking at them, what is that. “Yes. I thought we should discuss—”

“You mouth-mauling me?” I ask loudly, indignantly, like a tough sonuvabitch who doesn’t want to be mouth-mauled. I make myself meet his eyes. They’re green; I never paid attention before. This really light, interesting, intelligent green—

FUCK, this guy needs to STOP HAVING A FACE.” — 11 people liked it

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