Love is an Open Road #2
I feel like I should be more than two entries into this year’s Event, but I’ve been busy, I guess. Reading is by no means the only thing I am behind on, if that makes you feel better, although I have no idea why it would.
Anyway, I realized I was remiss last week and didn’t post the link to the event, which is a …thing put on by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. So now you have that, and I’ll try to remember it henceforth.
A note: I’m not just talking about the good stories this year, because Reasons. Ones I didn’t finish are marked DNF (Did Not Finish). There will still be some that I don’t review and don’t mention (and don’t read), but I plan to generally talk about most of them this year.
Dashed by Gwynn Marssen: A clever and funny tale of an accidental summoning. It’s a really great short read, although while the resolution of the Really Big Problem was clever, the reason why that particular problem resulted from the thing that caused it was never made clear.
Imprint by Devon Grey: DNF I used to think that I didn’t like first-person narratives, but it turns out I like them just fine, unless the narrator is like an annoying uncle with a captive audience. Then I hate them.
An Unexpected Acquisition by L.L. Bucknor: DNF, but I got about half-way. An accountant takes over the book of a new client, and makes friends with him. I think it was aiming for a romance between them, but at some point I realized the writing style was just a list of events, and that ruins everything for me. If one could avoid noticing that, it might be an okay read.
Mr Wonderful by Willow Scarlett: This was a wonderful story, about a wonderful young man who meets another wonderful young man, and they spend a wonderful weekend together, generally being wonderful. It’s probably the most wonderful feel-good affirming story I’ve ever read.
A Case of Time by Al Stewart & Noah Homes: DNF One member of a long-distance couple decides to spice things up by sending the other on a treasure hunt after clues, until the tables are turned, and I realized there were better things to read. Thinks it’s a much better story than it is.
Three Musketeers and a Jester by MC Houle: DNF A young man invites his boyfriend over to meet his besties. The boyfriend’s name is shortened to FA, which I couldn’t handle, especially since the rest of the writing was sloppy. Like I’m trying to read a bit more right now, but can’t figure out which character is being talked about and which is doing the talking. Sloppy.
Perihelion by Tami Veldura: A very intriguing sci-fi tale of a world that I will not attempt to describe nor explain. It claims to be book #1 of something, and the sequels might be worth checking out, especially since the first one, while fantastic, is also incredibly, incredibly confusing.
Haywire Witch by Ren Stjerne: A powerless witch tries to live in the human world, but finds that nothing is as it seems, including his powers. While the porn-to-plot ratio for this one is a bit high, it’s still a cute and sweet little read.
Breathing Again by Sofia Grey: This was a an incredibly moving little story. I was crying by the end–and pretty much without even realizing it. It was beautiful and perfect, and gave me all the feels. Which is extra special, since most stories that have the veteran/PTSD/disability tag combo are…just awful in so many ways, but this one really stood out as something different and real and…it was fantastic. Go get a box of tissues and read it.
The Union of Sun and Moon by Gus Li: This one was decent. It tended to jump in time and place, skim over large portions of the action, and leave things unexplained that were really rather Important. Not to mention that the main emotional-impact event left me rather …unimpacted. But it had it’s moments, and was worth reading.
