Elisa Rolle's Blog, page 142

Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell

The Cardboard Kingdom[image error]

"I loved it. These beautifully illustrated snippets of the everyday summer lives of kids with an amazing imagination made me laugh, cry, growl, and root for them. What starts with only a couple of kids roleplaying together grows into a true whirlwind adventure between a great many friends. Great costumes, fantastical masks, and brave plots prove that these kids have more in common than they initially think. They support each other in such wonderful ways, I was happy to read the whole thing in one sitting. There are characters for everyone: the boy who dresses up like a girl, the vocal girl who is told she's too loud for a good girl, the reformed bully, the prince and his rogue best friend, the bookish boy without friends, and so on. Something and someone for everyone to relate to. I was blown away by how much could be told with just a few pages and images. Couldn't recommend this higher."

Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier, Awkward, and All's Faire in Middle School, this graphic novel follows a neighborhood of kids who transform ordinary cardboard into fantastical homemade costumes as they explore conflicts with friends, family, and their own identity.

"A breath of fresh air, this tender and dynamic collection is a must-have." --Kirkus, Starred

Welcome to a neighborhood of kids who transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes, and their ordinary block into cardboard kingdom. This is the summer when sixteen kids encounter knights and rogues, robots and monsters--and their own inner demons--on one last quest before school starts again.

In the Cardboard Kingdom, you can be anything you want to be--imagine that!

The Cardboard Kingdom was created, organized, and drawn by Chad Sell with writing from ten other authors: Jay Fuller, David DeMeo, Katie Schenkel, Kris Moore, Molly Muldoon, Vid Alliger, Manuel Betancourt, Michael Cole, Cloud Jacobs, and Barbara Perez Marquez. The Cardboard Kingdom affirms the power of imagination and play during the most important years of adolescent identity-searching and emotional growth.



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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Leaning Into the Look by Lane Hayes

Leaning Into the Look (Leaning Into Series Book 6)[image error]

"Although this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone in my opinion. Sweet story with complex yet lovable characters who draw you into the story almost immediately. Grant Kostas has overbearing Greek parents who love to meddle in both his social and business lives. Miles is recently out of a long term relationship, not really looking for another and yet the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other. Their courtship is funny yet poignant and the realization that they do truly need each other is a beautiful thing. Thoroughly recommended."

Grant Kostas made a career based on his looks before joining his family’s real estate firm. He may not love his job but he’s better at sales than he thought. And when he’s poised to bring in the biggest account of the company’s history, even his father is impressed. Unfortunately, the extra attention highlights Grant’s personal life. His parents accept that he’s gay. They just wish he’d meet a nice Greek man.

Miles Harrison is a fabulous red head going through a rough patch. Between getting dumped by his long-term boyfriend and finding a new place to live in the city, he’s nearing his wits end. He’s not sure why he thought rooming with his boss’s friend was a good idea. Miles has had a crush on Grant for years. However, he knows attractive people aren’t always pretty on the inside. As the two men grapple with external problems, they form an unexpected bond of friendship and trust that feels like the real thing. The only way to know for certain is to let go of fear and lean into the look.


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Beggar’s Flip by Benny Lawrence

Beggar's Flip[image error]

"I chuckled when I realized I'd started reading this story on 'Talk like a Pirate Day'. There was enough exposition on what had happened in the previous book to enable me to catch up easily. The characters, both main and secondary, as well as the plot, were grounded and real, and the occasional hints of melodrama were perfect ... it was a pirate story after all."

A sequel to Shell Game, Darren--socially awkward, exiled noblewoman turned pirate queen--and Lynn sorta kinda Darren's slave girl, sorta kinda Darren's life coach, and altogether the bossiest backseat helmsman that ever set foot on a pirate ship are at it . . . again.

Darren receives a message delivered by her dying brother pleading for her to warn their father about a traitor. Meaning Darren has to return home to Torasan Isle, and to the father who keeps sending assassins after her. Lynn thinks it's crazy, insane, and obviously certain death for Darren, and is not overly happy about the idea. As usual, Lynn is right and chaos ensues.


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Good People by E.J. Runyon

Good People[image error]

"This was about as close to a perfect story as you can get. The characters were so beautifully drawn, I hated to put the book down, and always looked forward to when I could pick it back up again. The plot was filled with anchors and familiar elements, and yet surprised me at several turns. And, like every excellent story, this one will leave me thinking about it for a long time to come."

Bernie is a battered wife, escaping her husband Carlos for the summer. Meg is a writer and pre-op transgender woman, dealing with father issues, and sharing her place with Baby, another woman on the edge.

Bernie faces her close-knit family’s disapproval that she’s brought her abuse out into the open by this flagrant, trail summer separation. Meg confronts the issues of her own absent father, who is now terminally ill, and her younger sister’s dark history, which weighs heavier on her than the final stages of her upcoming transition. Bernie’s only champion is Carlos’s cousin Gloria, who offers to help and to visit Bernie in Hollywood, in spite of at first calling all Bernie’s new neighbors freaks.

Relations come in all kinds of configurations–what we accept from some, what we must refuse from others, and how we recognize those who earn the right to be called family.


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Four by Tia Fielding

Four (Love by Numbers Book 2)[image error]

"Just as I thought I loved this book as much as I loved the last book. I loved the characters. Both the main ones and the secondary ones. Hell, I loved the township as a whole. This one even had me crying in spots."

A Love by Numbers Story

When unlikely attraction blossoms between a twentysomething genderqueer tattoo artist and an older, small-town veterinarian, both are forced to face their pasts for a chance at a loving future.

Four years ago Padraig Donovan lost his husband, the only man he’d ever been with. Now his life consists of the work he loves, a big empty house, and the possibility of a lonely future.

Kaos’s experiments with makeup landed him in the hospital at the hands of his disapproving ex. With nowhere else to turn, he flees to Acker, Wisconsin… and runs into a sexy widower and the kindest man he’s ever met.

Padraig and Kaos know there’s something worth exploring between them, and as they raise a puppy and deal with the ups and downs of their respective jobs, they fit into each other’s lives in ways they never expected. Being with Kaos—who is so different than the guys he’s always been attracted to—opens up an exciting new world for Padraig. But can he convince Kaos to trust another man with his body… let alone his heart?


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Risking It All by Morningstar Ashley

Risking It All (A Begin Again Novel Book 2)[image error]

"I got sucked into the lives of Danny and Jaden. They equally broke my heart and made me love them as I lived their lives with them. I actually wished the book was longer."

Jaden King was raised in Boston to a wealthy family that taught him what love and hard work is. He has a challenging and rewarding career until everything was turned upside down. What was once a promising future has quickly become a frightening and unknown reality. After months of dealing with the fall out on his own, he decided getting away--or more realistically, running away--to White Acre and his best friend sounded like the perfect plan.

Danny Keegan is a laid-back man with simple tastes and an even simpler life. He adores the little town of White Acre where he grew up, he loves his parents, and he enjoys his uncomplicated life. He’s always told himself the fact that he’s a closeted gay man in a conservative, parochial town wasn’t an issue and coming out of the closet wasn’t necessary. But with the addition of Jaden in his life he realizes as happy as he is, he could be happier and the future of a love of his own doesn't seem so out of grasp as it always had.

When Jaden and Danny meet, their chemistry is undeniable but playful flirting doesn't mean anything. They start spending all their free time together, and what started as a simple friendship quickly turns into something much more than either saw coming. But, Jaden carries a secret that could end it all before it even begins. And though Jaden is scared to tell the truth and risk everything that has come to mean so much to him, he knows that he can’t go on without laying himself bare, leaving Danny with an important, life changing choice to make. His content little life or what could be the love of his life.

Will Jaden’s truth be too much for Danny, or will Danny decide a life out in the open, full of love, laughter, and passion is worth risking it all?


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie

Hullmetal Girls[image error]

"This is an excellent contribution to the scifi-genre with young adult characters. The world-building is outstanding. The plot captivating. The book is LGBTI-friendly without being itself LGBTI fiction at all."

Aisha Un-Haad would do anything for her family. When her brother contracts a plague, she knows her janitor's salary isn't enough to fund his treatment. So she volunteers to become a Scela, a mechanically enhanced soldier sworn to protect and serve the governing body of the Fleet, the collective of starships they call home. If Aisha can survive the harrowing modifications and earn an elite place in the Scela ranks, she may be able to save her brother.

Key Tanaka awakens in a Scela body with only hazy memories of her life before. She knows she's from the privileged end of the Fleet, but she has no recollection of why she chose to give up a life of luxury to become a hulking cyborg soldier. If she can make it through the training, she might have a shot at recovering her missing past.

In a unit of new recruits vying for top placement, Aisha's and Key's paths collide, and the two must learn to work together--a tall order for girls from opposite ends of the Fleet. But a rebellion is stirring, pitting those who yearn for independence from the Fleet against a government struggling to maintian unity.

With violence brewing and dark secrets surfacing, Aisha and Key find themselves questioning their loyalties. They will have to put aside their differences, though, if they want to keep humanity from tearing itself apart.


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Ten by Tia Fielding

Ten (Love by Numbers Book 1)[image error]

"I actually started reading the other book first and had to stop and come and read this one. Bloody brilliant. Loved it. Loved the characters. Loved the story line. Loved everything about it. I know I’ll love the other one just as much when I finish reading it tomorrow. This one really sucked me in and what I've read of #2 will as well."

Can two broken men build one life?

Ten years.

That’s what Makai lost for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s been exonerated, but the abuse he suffered in prison isn’t so easy to leave behind. He heads to the one place he remembers being happy: Acker, Wisconsin, where he spent summers with his grandpa. Unfortunately, not everyone wants Makai there.

Ten days.

That’s how long Emil, now twenty-one, was held prisoner as a teenager. The mental and physical injuries he suffered at the hands of a drug trafficking ring still haunt him.

Nightmares, anxiety, and PTSD challenge the connection forming between Makai and Emil, though together, they might find a way to move beyond their pain and into a future—and a relationship—that both had thought impossible.

Now they just have to convince Emil’s father, the town sheriff. It won’t be easy with danger closer than they know….


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Family Camp by Eli Easton

Family Camp: Daddy Dearest, Book 1[image error]

"This was a fun read. I truly enjoyed reading the couple's smooth romance, how their interest in each other developed, and especially the kids, each with their own 'disability' and how a strong family unit became strong. Wonderful story and I highly recommend it!"

When Geo signs up for Family Camp, he envisions nature hikes, s'mores, and a chance to win over his recalcitrant new foster kids, Jayden and Lucy. He's tried to become a dad for so long, and he hopes the three of them can be the family he's always wanted. What he doesn't anticipate is the prickly and gorgeous camp counselor who constantly comes to his rescue.

Travis spends a week every year at Camp Evermore, the camp his adoptive parents own. As a pro baseball player, his presence guarantees a full campground and excited campers. He has one rule: Never, ever mess around with anyone at camp. His profession demands he stay in the closet. But one sweet and funny new dad is about to test all his resolve.

Sparks fly for Geo and Travis, and not because of the nightly campfire. Having been a foster kid himself, Travis is drawn to Geo's sincerity and big heart and to his kids. The four of them just fit. But will this be a summer romance? Or can they find a way to be a family long after Family Camp is over?

About the Daddy Dearest series

The Daddy Dearest series will consist of stand-alone contemporary novels focusing on single gay dads who find hot romance. Expect laughs, sweet and sexy slow-burn romance, and lots of family feels!


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride by Eli Easton

Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride[image error]

"Looking at the cover and the title gave me a feeling it would be a funny comedy. It wasn't, even if it had it's funny parts what with Robbie being disguised as Rowenna. I guess I was expecting full-on chuckles. And although I was a bit disappointed I still enjoyed reading it immensely. I love reading historical westerns and I feel there aren't many out there. At least not in the M/M genre. Highly recommended."

Being a fugitive in the old west shouldn’t be this much fun.

The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run--all the way to Santa Fe. When he still hasn't ditched his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail order bride he meets on the wagon train. Caught between gangsters that want to kill him, and the crazy, uncouth family of his "intended", Robby's only ally is a lazy sheriff who sees exactly who Robby is -- and can't resist him.

Trace Crabtree took the job as sheriff of Flat Bottom because there was never a thing going on. And then Robby Riverton showed up. Disguised as a woman. And betrothed to Trace’s brother. If that wasn’t complication enough, Trace had to find the man as appealing as blueberry pie. He urges Robby to stay undercover until the danger has passed. But a few weeks of having Robby-Rowena at the ranch, and the Crabtree family will never be the same again.


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