Too Stupid to Live (Romancelandia, #1) in Q&A with Josh Lanyon

Nov 17, 2012 ttg rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, reviews

3.5 stars – An overall fun and light read about Sam, a grad student who’s obsessed with romance novels, and Ian, a former firefighter who’s struggling to stay out of the closet, and how they get together despite their early intentions, hang-ups, and the warnings from their lovingly meddlesome friends.

What I liked: The MCs were pretty great here. Sam’s a super fun character, and his running commentary about how his life was dissimilar (or similar) to a romance novel was pretty hilarious. Ian’s sl 3.5 stars – An overall fun and light read about Sam, a grad student who’s obsessed with romance novels, and Ian, a former firefighter who’s struggling to stay out of the closet, and how they get together despite their early intentions, hang-ups, and the warnings from their lovingly meddlesome friends.

What I liked: The MCs were pretty great here. Sam’s a super fun character, and his running commentary about how his life was dissimilar (or similar) to a romance novel was pretty hilarious. Ian’s slow unraveling was also pretty funny as he found himself falling more and more for a guy he was trying to write off as a “just sex” fling. Their relationship growth was both sweet and sexy and I loved seeing Ian’s shift from thinking just about himself to doing all these things to make Sam happy. (Even going as far as trying to reenact some of Sam’s favorite romance novel tropes in the bedroom.)

It’s also a pretty light read and is lean on the angst (which I appreciate). There are a few things that pop up, like Sam’s low self-esteem, or Ian’s family issues, but overall, it’s not too drawn out.

What was harder for me: I was pretty happy for about 75% of the book, just coasting along, but the last quarter and some of the climatic events felt a little heavy-handed. (Again, not an angst-fest, and Sam very much gets the awesome HEA that he always read about.) But there are a few things that came out of left-field that felt a little clunky and stood out more as structural pieces (Drama! Excitement! Fear for loved ones!) rather than feeling like a smooth part of the overall story and the characters’ evolution. I kind of wish that something had been tied in earlier so it wasn’t so left-field, or if the trajectory had gone in a different direction to get to that awesome HEA.

With that said, I did appreciate how Tenino poked fun at her own story as she (through Sam) labeled the romance tropes that the story was using. It was a pretty funny theme throughout, and I liked how it helped tie in those events near the end, even though they didn’t fit smoothly for me.

This book relates to two free stories that Tenino wrote that focus on Sam’s BFF Nik and Nik’s cop boyfriend Jurgen. It’s not necessary to read them to enjoy To Stupid to Live, but they’re fun reads (and free, so bonus.)

Overall, this is a nice read, and may be a good fit if you’re looking for something fun, sexy, and low stress. ...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: part-of-series-or-serial, age-gap, m-m, humorous, geeks-or-nerds

4 to 4.5 stars. Romance novel addict Sam is a grad student who has finally decided that he is done settling for Mr. Wrong and is ready to find Mr. Right. When he meets his "perfect Highlander" Ian he takes a chance, asks him out, but Ian rejects him telling Sam he is not his type. When the 2 meet at a party Sam decides that there would be nothing wrong with a one night hook up knowing that's all it would be, not realizing that since their first meeting Ian hasn't been able to stop thinking about ...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Susinok rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, contemporary, glbt

4.5 stars. Lots of humor in this one. Sam and Ian had a pretty long and fraught road to travel towards each other for a relationship. Sam suffered from bad self-esteem and Ian was commitment phobic. However, they worked it out together.

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Mar 24, 2013 Didi rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, m-m

Sam was just too adorable with his fixation on Highlander and romance novels. I can sooo relate with that! :D

Lots of steamy sexual contacts and inside-the-head convos; too many anxieties cause by assumptions, on Sam's part. Less communications as in talking between MCs which bugged me yet caused non-stop giggles. After the first encounter, there was no clue what made Ian sudden interest in Sam (I wondered along with Sam on this matter). Into half of the book, I didn't really care. Ian was going ...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Trish rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, funny

This story had everything I liked. It's written so well, has great, multi-layered MC's and funny side characters. The plot is about the MC's and their relationship, not a lot of extra "crap" thrown in to make the story seem interesting. The relationship is what this story is about and if done well, it's all you need. And this was done well.

Starts with 2 very different men. Ian, the typical confident, jock and player. But is that all there is too him? Um, no!

Sam is the complete opposite and his ...more

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Mar 04, 2022 Stephen rated it liked it

Sam is a late stage twink. He's also a romance addict who's looking for his own cover lad. Too Stupid to Live is what he calls himself in spots and all those (generally female) characters in his favorite romances.

If you're familiar with the urban myth that turkeys have been known to drown whilst staring open mouthed up at the sky wondering what all that wet stuff is, and you've ever read Sense & Sensibility and know about Marianne Dashwood and her proclivity to get caught in the rain. You'll kn ...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Liz (Bugetta) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-romance, m-m-romance, humor, e-book, 1st-in-a-series

4.5* This was such a fun read. I loved Sam, the romance novel obsessed MC with self esteem issues who saw so much of life through the filter of romance novel tropes. I laughed A LOT in this book (some things hit a bit close to home too. Um..anyway). And Ian was his perfect match, the highland laird, I mean former firefighter turned something to do with emergency service coordination (he now works in an office and wears a tie, it doesn't really matter :)), who has always been in the closet and ne ...more

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