Wallflower (Rear Entrance Video, #2) in Riptide Publishing

Aug 02, 2013 Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs-and-for-review, college, part-of-series-or-serial, effeminate-flame-diva-character, m-m, trans-genderfluid-genderqueer-nb

Heidi Belleau does a great job really focusing this story on Rob's exploration and coming to terms with his sexuality.

As we find out early in the story Rob has an online, female, alter-identity he calls Bobby. Rob is shy, and introverted. Bobby is more confident and outgoing than Rob and he feels comfortable when he is her.

"Rob wasn't a girl. Wasn't born one, not physically and not even on the inside. He just liked ... playing one. Dressing up as one.
Rob didn't want to trick anyone, an

Heidi Belleau does a great job really focusing this story on Rob's exploration and coming to terms with his sexuality.

As we find out early in the story Rob has an online, female, alter-identity he calls Bobby. Rob is shy, and introverted. Bobby is more confident and outgoing than Rob and he feels comfortable when he is her.

"Rob wasn't a girl. Wasn't born one, not physically and not even on the inside. He just liked ... playing one. Dressing up as one.
Rob didn't want to trick anyone, and he especially didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to be a girl sometimes. Because it made him feel good ... Being Bobby, part time, at least, felt right."

When Rob decides that he is going to be Bobby during his shifts working at Rear Entrance Video, things become a little complicated. One night Dylan comes in and strikes up a conversation with Bobby. It turns out that Dylan is also in Rob's art class, but seems to not realize that Rob is Bobby. As Rob and Dylan's relationship grows, Rob has to decide if, when and how he can tell Dylan about Bobby and whether that will be the end of them.

I liked Rob in Apple Polisher and loved him here. His struggle to find himself is very relatable. Most of the first half of the book is focused on Rob and finding out who he really is inside before the story jumps into the relationship, but when the relationship starts it progresses very quickly. Dylan is sweet, and straightforward and proud to be a gay man. There is a little bit of a mystery as to some of his behavior that all becomes clear towards the end.

The secondary characters, including Rob's housemates from Apple Polisher, are all well written and all make an appearance. Rob's sister is a loving, supportive woman (yeah!) and Dylan's family is, well, interesting in a good way.

While this is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand alone story and I highly recommend it.

A copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Feb 09, 2014 Mtsnow13 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, romance, contemporary, series-read, less-than-200-pages, artist-actor, biracial-inter-racial, transgender, own-read, college-coming-of-age

I actually really enjoyed this one! I loved the way gender identity was handled, and like that the author did not attempt a 'one box fits all' approach.

The idea that a Native-American and an Asian-American (Canadian:)) might struggle with the preconceived notions that others may place on them, and that they struggle each in their own way not to be identified by their 'race' or culture...well, I thought it was handled well. The fact that they are both art students was appreciated, too, with thei ...more

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Oct 23, 2013 Shirley Frances rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm-series, mm-read, glbt, read-2-review, 2013, reviewed

3.75 stars

I've been sitting on this review for a week trying to make up my mind about my rating. On the one hand, it had all the elements I look for in a great book.

~Complex and compelling main characters that kept my attention throughout.
~A unique approach to an issue that is rarely dealt in books.
~Heidi Belleau's usual sizzling factor to her sex scenes.
~Humorous and engaging interactions.

Then there were the things that I couldn't overlook.

~Slow-paced start that made it a bit h ...more

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Jun 12, 2013 Alex added it

Shelves: queer, romance, gender-queer, riptide

I love this so.

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Oct 23, 2013 Jody rated it really liked it · review of another edition

From beginning to end Wallflower keeps putting readers through the emotional wringer just as much as its conflicted main character Rob as he struggles with who he really is. Ms. Belleau presents a thought-provoking story that gives no easy answers but is memorable in its presentation giving us a cast of strong-willed characters just trying to find happiness.

As the story starts the quiet and unassuming Rob shows signs of having social anxiety and a gaming addiction. Sensing he's becoming lost in From beginning to end Wallflower keeps putting readers through the emotional wringer just as much as its conflicted main character Rob as he struggles with who he really is. Ms. Belleau presents a thought-provoking story that gives no easy answers but is memorable in its presentation giving us a cast of strong-willed characters just trying to find happiness.

As the story starts the quiet and unassuming Rob shows signs of having social anxiety and a gaming addiction. Sensing he's becoming lost in this other world has him trying to engage others in real life with varying degrees of success. It's not until he slowly and secretly starts to embrace his feminine side of Bobby that he starts feeling free and gains the confidence to interact with others. Even as he gains confidence though he experiences new and dangerous problems in his feminine persona that confuse him even more as to who and what he needs to be happy. Into this emotional upheaval comes a new boyfriend who is caring and supportive but clouds Rob's identity even further. The issue of sexual identity isn't dealt with very often in literature and I commend Ms. Belleau for presenting it in such a caring, compassionate and believable way. Rob is in a spiral of depression early on desperately wanting to be noticed and finds that dressing as a woman gets him noticed and complimented. Learning the ins and outs of being a woman brought a smile to his face and his joy brought a smile to my face too. At first it's a thrill for him, but then danger rears its ugly head through a vindictive preppy, and "being" a woman soon brings more complications that have him learning the art of compromise to be truly happy.

Helping Rob through all this are his roommates who we've seen in the previous book in this series. They're a colorful group of men trying to deal with their own relationships but there for Rob when he needs them most, showering him with brotherly affection and physical protection when his life's in danger. Robb's new boyfriend Dylan is an out-spoken breath of fresh air he calls it like he sees it. He's out and proud and doesn't hold back going after Rob once he gets the signal. He's a big teddy bear not afraid to show his caring side and wants nothing more from Rob than honesty as he's extremely open-minded and accepting. I loved them together and was left frustrated by Rob's vanishing act when things got tough while applauding Dylan for his graciousness and understanding nature.

This is an immensely satisfying journey of one man's idea of identity. It's emotionally intense with memorable characters. Though an over-the-top event occurs late in the story it didn't diminish my satisfaction. There were very few sexual interludes and what there was furthered the main couple's relationship and showed the power of love's acceptance. Ms. Belleau has created another fine addition to her repertoire and fans of the m/m genre will find it intriguing. ...more

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