R. Cooper (2)

I am not sure what possessed me to read this because the cover is highly suggestive of a BDSM relationship, which I’m not usually interested in reading. The book description hooked me, and the reviews posted used words like “sweet” and “adorable” so I bought it.

I had the strangest experience with this book because about half the time, I didn’t understand what was going on, but I was still totally hooked by the relationship, which is filled with sexual tension and longing.

The story is basically that Fen is the pretty, inexperienced son of an evil Earl (one of many in this world) who runs away into the woods and is rescued by Lan, a Robin Hood–esque character who is taking down the system one Earl at a time. Fen has a huge crush on Lan; Lan wants Fen but is determined not to take advantage of his innocence. There are many conversations about alliances and Lan’s role in reshaping society, and this was where I felt lost; but I sort of felt like I was reading about an unfamiliar culture and could accept their unfamiliar rules (sort of like when you read your first Victorian novel and think, “So they’re alone in the garden. Why is this a big deal?”). Also, Fen is narrating and his inexperience with the world affects the narration.

Technically there is some amount of Fen’s hands being tied up in this book, but it was always done in the most highly consensual way. I kept thinking, “I love how much consent is in this book, and every time it comes up, it seems to add to the sexiness of the scene.”

Also, while there is a background of battles and evil Earls, we don’t actually see any of that in the book, which is why I thought it counted as a cozy romantasy. The story starts with Lan finding Fen and stays with Fen at the rebels’ camp and home base, with the war happening off-page. So, the most stressful it gets is worrying about people making it home safely (which, given that it is a romance novel, I did not find too worrying).… (altro)

audio fiction, series (~3.5 hrs) - gay witch Halloween romance.
October reading challenge: pumpkin on cover; takes place around Samhain/Halloween; witch protagonist.

Lonely, almost-30 y.o. gay witch Piotr lacks a familiar and crushes on genderqueer fellow witch Bartleby Dorchester, who happens to be a "human familiar" assigned to help him out before Samhain, and who might also be romantically interested in Piotr, but Piotr has multiple hangups (mainly, abandonment issues and a belief that he is unlovable/doomed to live alone) so doesn't realize how perfect they are for each other.

One of those slow-building romances, told over a handful of episodes of the would-be couple spending time together before some final steamy scenes. There's a pumpkin patch, a lot of baking, a meddling but well-meaning ghost, a power outage, and a rainstorm.… (altro)

Re-read Feb 13.

I was able to get a little more in to the story this time, but the last two chapters just went all vague and abstract painting on me.

3.5 stars

Synopsis: Scotty has moved to a small town to help his sister after she and her ex-husband split up. He is a fire fighter, and works really hard to stay in shape. After one of his runs, he stops to get something for his sister, and learns that a group of women are trying to set up the other single gay guy, Cole, with guys they think would be appropriate for him. Even though Scotty is gay, he isn't even on the list.
Scotty has a problem with this, because about a year ago, he and Cole had an encounter, and have mostly been avoiding each other ever since. Scotty has been observing/slightly stalking Cole since their encounter, and he doesn't think the women know Cole well enough to decide who would be good for him, but Scotty also knows that he isn't right.
Cole lost his husband a few years ago, and is the school librarian. As he and Scotty keep running in to each other, they start to talk, rather than waving across the street, and Scotty becomes more embroiled than ever.

What I liked: the relationship development between Scotty and Cole. I liked that a point was made of Cole going through the grieving process, and his slow emergence in to the world around him. I liked Scotty's sister, and how gentle and understanding he was with people, and I liked that Cole saw through his public persona to the one underneath. Cole didn't suffer fools gladly, and Scotty appreciated that, and was in on the joke because he knew him so well.

What I didn't like: There is just something about this author's writing style that I don't connect with. The writing is solid, the characters are interesting, and I was completely involved in the story, but at the end, it felt as though I wasn't part of their lives, like I was only observing it from a distance. There was a slight disconnect for me, even though I completely related to Scotty, from their relationship together, I guess.

Overall impression: This could have easily been a 5 star read for me: good story, well edited, interesting characters. But because I felt removed from the ending, it definitely mitigated my experience while reading.… (altro)