Sideblog of @thirdspin with books I have read and enjoyed. This is mostly a record, not reviews or recommendations, although I certainly recommend everything that makes it in here.
It's going to be largely fiction, with a lot of romance or other soft/cozy genres. I'm not generally a fan of thrillers, mysteries or horror but there are always exceptions!
I am pretty sensitive to second-hand embarrassment; I'll include a rough count of places I started skimming for personal reference in the tags since that is extremely subjective (check the original post). I'll also tag with the title and author, and do my best at genre--corrections welcome!
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Common Goal is my least favorite of the series, I think, however I'm not sure I've read it since the first time and I did come around on heated rivalry, so! open mind!
Also Ilya is being a dick right at the beginning, always endearing:
Ilya pointed at a chalkboard beside the bar that advertised the drink special that hadn’t changed in over two years. "I would like a Scott Hunter. Please.”
Scott groaned. “Just bring him a beer, Kyle. He’s being an asshole.”
“Have you had it?” Ilya asked Eric.
“No.”
“I want to try it. And bring one for Bennett.”
Eric caught Kyle’s gaze and shook his head. “I don’t—”
“I can make one without alcohol,” Kyle offered.
Ilya looked delighted. “Yes! A virgin Scott Hunter.”
As I possess neither a penis nor the capacity to be aroused by visual stimulus, I have no idea if the amount of time these guys spend thinking about how to hide an erection is real-life-normal or smutty-novel-normal. Particularly for a 41-year-old man with a great deal of self control.
I hope it's the latter. It's exhausting to read, much less experience.
The first time I read this book, I think I was really icked out by the age difference (Eric's 41 to Kyle's 25). I think I trust Reid more this time so I'm reading it more closely instead of going fast just to get through it, and I actually like what she's done with the dynamic.
Like Kyle's type is older men (although not exclusively) but Kyle is an oulier for Eric which makes a HUGE difference for me. Also Kyle's record with of older men he's attracted to is consistently 10 to 15 years older than himself, which also make me feel better about it because I'm not really worried that he's going to get bored with Eric.
Then there's the fact that in the bedroom Kyle's the one taking the lead and almost mentoring Eric (and the whole mutual pining thing that comes from this is something that I do love).
At least at the beginning, Eric is the sophisticated mature rich older man but Kyle doesn't actually need anybody to save him. His life has problems which are resolved ia the book progresses, but he comes from money and he's fine with or without Eric. They are both actually turned on by the idea the sugar daddy dynamic, but it's truly a dynamic to have fun with instead of Kyle's livelihood which. to each their own, but not for me.
He averted her gaze and asked, “How was the opening?”
AVOIDED he AVOIDED her gaze you can avert your own gaze but you cannot avert someone else's gaze unless you're grabbing them by the chin and that is fully not the vibe in this MLM romance novel
“I’m going to head up to my room,” Shane said. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Shane,” Eric said.
“I will probably head up soon too,” Rozanov said.
Shane nodded, then turned quickly and left. Rozanov stayed at the table for about another minute, then told Eric he was going to the bathroom. He went, Eric noticed, in the direction of the elevators instead.
(to be fair Eric literally just came out to Ilya. Still.)
Finished and I did come around to it! Another book where I definitely want to read more of the two of them. I was definitely remembering the plot as more Eric-has-a-midlife-crisis than it actually is, but I would love to see them settling in to each other more. They get together for real and then there's the epilogue... seems like a few threads were left hanging.
I kind of wanted to meet Eric's ex, since that is explicitly a friendly relationship. In fact I want Eric to have any interactions with people his own age at all. It's mentioned a few times that he spends all his time with hockey players a decade younger than he is, and that's one of the things that makes him and Kyle work well together. But since he's retired, that's no longer going to be the case and I find myself wanting some reassurance that the new life Eric is going to build in his retirement is going to be something Kyle fits into.
This is what I'm talking about. Ryan Price I love you and your very reluctant penis.
Ryan closed his eyes, blocking out the image of Mr. Perfect Dick, but not the man’s happy moans. Ryan took a slow breath—in and out—then looked down at his dick.
“All right, buddy. We can do this. No pressure, just whenever you’re ready. But let’s try to get there this time, okay?”
RYAN PRICE YOU DESERVE EVERY BEAUTIFUL THING IN THE WORLD
He held his breath, not wanting to make even the faintest sound that might compete with this perfect gift Fabian was giving the audience. Ryan couldn’t believe this was actually happening in front of him and that there were people in the world who were not here witnessing what was surely humanity’s most impressive achievement.
Ryan Price is me, just a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier and with a fuckton of red hair.
He found an empty table, sat, and waited, staring at the steam rising off his tea like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Then he remembered that he had an e-book on his phone he could read. Thank god for books.
Okay I got to the sex scene and I had to stop because I'm at work. I love the awkward communication and feelings of inadequacy met with understanding and reassurance and adjustments and also this little moment:
Ryan blinked. “We are not a good match.”
“Not at all. Want to make out?”
“Yeah. Bedroom?”
“Yes please.”
Incompatibility comes up in a few of Reid's romances (off the top of my head, Heated Rivalry and Time to Shine) and I kind of love to see it. Compromise and communication and all that good stuff!* Just two people who don't work well together on paper sexually, deciding that they like each other enough to try anyway, and putting in the work to make each other happy anyway. 🥰
*my one thing about Time to Shine is that it ended before there was any actual conflict in this area. like they talked about the existence of sensory issues and a major libido mismatch and some possible solutions, but the whole book is basically in the honeymoon stage and none of those problems actually come up! I really really want to see them having sex and it just going wrong lol.
I love that the happy ending isn't Ryan scoring a goal or winning a big game, finding joy in playing NFL hockey, but in realizing he is more than a hockey player, and quitting. I love that he recognizes that playing in the NHL is harming him, and instead of working to fix it, he just quits.
I love that he reaches his lowest mental point before the book begins, and that the love story isn't what fixes him. He's been working on fixing himself, which is what allows him to pursue and accept Fabian's love which, yes, gives him the strength to realize he can have a life beyond hockey and quit.
I love that the tipping point isn't actually Fabian telling him that he should quit, but that he sees his future in Duncan Harvey and he decides to make another choice.
I also love how Ryan's crush on Fabian is incredibly apparent anytime we're in his POV, but it's very rarely because he's thinking about his dick. I just really appreciate how often Ryan is not thinking about his dick.
I got the compilation ebook to attempt to save my hoopla borrowing limit and it opened to the beginning of an excerpt of The Long Game (where I stopped the last time). So my attempts to read in order are going great.
Man, Game Changer is a slog. It's a shame, I feel like I would have liked it more if it had been written later (I much prefer the writing in the later books). I like Kip a lot, I love Elena. I think Scott and his teammates could be fleshed out more, but I like what's there. But the plot is just meh, and I love a good coming out. The main conflict just seems contrived and rushed (Kip feeling like a shameful secret I mean, not homophobia in the NHL).
Changing the pacing so they didn't go from blueberries to falling in love in just a few weeks would help a lot, I think. Then Kip not telling his parents about Scott for LITERALLY no reason (he never even discussed it with Scott, just assumed? even though he told Elena right away which Scott was fine with that?) Kip hated hiding from his parents so much, and they really didn't have to hide it!
"And when he thought about it some more, he realized that no one was asking him to give up everything. Besides, Kip had given up a lot. He had distanced himself from his friends, from his family. He had adjusted his life to accommodate Scott."
Scott literally never asked him to do any of that! Scott asked Kip to keep things out of the public eye, and invited him to his apartment basically whenever Kip wanted, and Kip took that, told Elena by accident, and then started avoiding his closest friends and his family and sitting in Scott's apartment alone. He didn't need to do that. Scott didn't ask him to do that. I'm convinced that he could have told his parents and his sister without Scott objecting (probably a good thing to talk it over first). Probably Elena was the only friend he could have told, but she could have helped cover him with the rest so it simply didn't come up.
I don't know. Their kind of third act fight just did not need to happen. It's the kind of thing that you'd see after a few years, when you've been building something and the only thing missing is a wedding, not a few weeks where you wouldn't be announcing it to random people anyway!
“I just…” And Kip now had tears in his eyes. “Things haven’t been great, Dad.”
“I know.” Dad hugged him again. “I didn’t want to intrude, but…are you boys fighting?”
“Boys? Who are you—?”
Dad smiled at him knowingly, then his face sobered. “I know he must be busy right now, with the playoffs, but it seems like maybe something worse than that is going on.”
What the hell? “What are you—?”
“Scott Hunter,” his dad said calmly. “You’ve been seeing him.”
And from that point it's a really good story! Crying over here about Huff and Carter and Bennet bringing Kip into the fold after The Kiss. This is why I'm doing so much complaining, I just know if this one had been written a little later it would be one of my favorites and I'm bitter about missing out on that.
19 (ish) year old Ilya, after placing second in a championship game against Canada:
He didn’t want to return to Russia at all. He wanted to stay in North America and start the next phase of his life. He didn’t want to hear his father—who likely hadn’t even watched any of the games—shame him for not bringing home a gold medal. He didn’t want to live with his father, or depend on anyone anymore. He wanted to be rich and famous and loved and have a huge garage full of sports cars. He wanted expensive clothes and gorgeous women and hot nightclubs. He wanted the weight of his family, and his country, lifted. He wanted to be himself.
1. I knew the show was a good adaptation, but I'm even feeling the same amount and same kind of discomfort reading the sex scenes as watching them. Good job publicly funded smut!*
2. Relatedly: I should not read a blowjob while brushing my teeth. Gagged in the sink a little there.
3. I am liking Ilya way more that than I have before! Maybe it's because the actor is endearing, maybe because Ilya pops up a lot in other books so I've had time to come around to him.
4. Also relatedly: why no bear tattoo in the show?
*entirely genuine. it's not my cup of tea but it's very well done, and the fact that it's so true to the book is fantastic.
Ilya liked it when Hollander was angry. He liked it when Hollander took out his frustrations on Ilya’s body. He liked him cursing him as he fucked Ilya’s mouth.
I really liked the way the show handled Hayden's kids in the aquarium scene (ie basically not showing them at all). Kids should be way rarer on TV than they are imo.
HOWEVER. This little moment would have been stupidly cute:
Shane knelt in front of the stroller and smiled at the sleepy-eyed little boy. “Hey, buddy,” he said. “You having a good time?”
Arthur reached out and grabbed the front of Shane’s ball cap.
“Let’s go see some penguins!” Hayden said. He had returned carrying one twin under each arm.
“Penguins!” both girls squealed at once. “Penguins!” Shane said, clapping his hands and trying to mimic the girls’ excitement.
Shane left the restaurant with a little spring in his step. It had easily been the best connection he had made with a woman…ever. He liked Rose. He wanted to get to know her better. He was excited by the idea of spending more time with her.
And she was very pretty. Obviously.
But mostly Shane just loved talking to her. She was funny and she asked a lot of questions, but none of them had made Shane uncomfortable. Shane liked a girl!
Poking fun aside, I love how clear it is in the book qthat Shane does genuinely like Rose. She isn't just a beard or a shield to him, there's a connection there. Shane, who has spent the whole book determinedly believing Ilya is an outlier (despite evidence to the contrary) and that he isn't gay, really, he is just very picky when it comes to women and he doesn't get to know all that many so he hasn't found anyone who has clicked yet, is excited because he thinks this is it, the person he's been waiting for. The idiot (affectionate).
“I’m sorry. You went to a gay club in Las Vegas with Scott Hunter?”
“And his boyfriend. Yes. Nice guy.”
Shane’s brow pinched. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Ilya shrugged. “I forgot.” Which wasn’t true at all. He just wanted to see this exact expression on Shane’s face. Ilya privately thought of it as his “scrunched confusion” face.
Shane was going to come. The realization hit him suddenly, and, in a panic, he jerked his hips off the bed to remove any friction against his aching cock. Unfortunately, the move also caused him to smash Ilya in the face with his ass.
“Aah! What the fuck, Hollander?”
“Sorry!”
This didn't make it in the show (I don't think) but I really wish it was. Rachel Reid's sex scenes get a bit uncomfy for me at times, as I keep mentioning (sorry) mainly because it does sometimes seem like she's mashing very sexy dolls together and I just get icked out. But other times it's like this! And I really love this!
Also I think Hudson should have gotten to boop Connor with a butt cheek. He deserves it.
And done! The show did the Talk with Shane's parents better, I think. Their characters felt kind of rote and almost flat on the page, but the changes in the show were the right move and of course the actors made a big difference.
That epilogue, damn. I do wish we got to see Hayden with the two of them. And I hope Shane comes out in-scene in the show, instead of just mentioning that he told the team but isn't public. I believe they skipped that with the Scott episode when it was in his book, and hopefully it's just being recycled because it's a great moment.
All in all, I have definitely come around to this book! I'm very glad I'm doing the reread even though it meant reading Game Changer twice in three months. On to Tough Guy, which I'm very excited about! I'll use the readmore for any rambling I feel inclined to, promise.
These are mostly books that I have been meaning to read forever. Then the T. Kingfisher, because while I always love her books for some reason I have a hard time starting them.
Tagging (if you want): @theonecalledeli @emjee @kaydeefalls @rosettyller and anyone else who wants!
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I just finished this, and it's amazing as expected! Such good characters to sink into. I highly recommend both this one and the first Hudson Valley book.
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The Pairing was so good. Casey McQuiston writes feelings in a way that makes me cry, like I am actually a little resentful whenever I finish one of their books because I will never feel the depths of desire they put into every one of them.
And that's about all I have to say on the subject. Quotes under the cut, sorry for the mildly crappy screenshots.
As most of you know, my beloved husband Mike passed away a few months ago. To be honest, I'm still grieving him and probably will for the rest of my life. Being a Bat-Gran, I decided to feed into the stereotype and get a fuzzy friend to live with. My intention was to get a kitten, but like most things in my life, it didn't quite work out that way.
This is Freya. She's about three years old and was rescued from a hoarding situation. She spent the first week in the house hiding under the buffet in my dining room, occasionally howling like a Klingon announcing the imminent arrival of her beloved to Sto'vo'kor. Freya has settled in nicely and spends her time chasing the elusive yellow spring...
And a great deal of the time napping.
Being the furry friend of Bat-Gran means she's a little ...odd. For reasons I have yet to figure out, Freya loves to watch an old 1950s TV show called Perry Mason. No matter where in the house she is, once the theme song starts, she comes mewing into the living room.
Freya only watches for a few minutes before wandering off. That's understandable since in every single episode, Perry will prove that his client is innocent by causing the true villain to break down and admit their guilt. She"ll usually return in time for the climax. Freya is surprised by Perry's legal skills each and every time.
I'm afraid to introduce her to Law & Order since only God knows how she'll react to Jack McCoy and his eyebrows of doom. Anyway, welcome home, Freya. May you nap in comfort (while slowly edging me off my recliner) for many years to come.
Why are hockey boys so cute? Seriously, if anyone has a theory, please tell me.
Also, another one in the ace box 🖤🩶🤍💜
I'm going to put some spoilery things under the cut with a bit of nit-pickiness at the end; basically I really enjoyed the book but I wished some things had been explored further. It's a genre thing, I know; FWIW there isn't criticism so much as me straightening out my thoughts.
Landon is coded as aspec and neuro-divergent, and I think it's done really well. There aren't any labels given for either; it's just who he is: he's an amazing goalie, he loves to cook, he has never had any romantic or sexual feelings for anyone (until Casey), has trouble connecting with people, he is easily overwhelmed by crowds and noises, and he is deeply averse to unexpected/unfamiliar touch. The last few are all pretty standard in my experience of reading autistic-coded characters, though I thought it was better done than most portrayals. I really appreciated how the people around him treated him--since we aren't saying 'autistic', we also aren't saying 'accommodation' but there is a buttload of kindness and acceptance from literally everyone. No one takes up against him because they think he's stuck-up or awkward--when he's quiet, they don't bug him about it; when he talks, they take him at face value; when he gets overwhelmed, they ask him what he needs and don't try to pressure him into anything else.
(There is this scene I love where a teammate talks to Landon about watching Casey dancing with a guy, making sure Landon isn't going to be an asshole, and Landon is extremely weird about it because he's having a gay awakening but he says it's fine and the teammate takes that at face value. I really liked this moment; you can see that they are watching out for Casey, but anyone with iffy people skills has had people not believe them when they say something doesn't bother them, and the fact that he is believed is lovely. I'm also positive that the teammate (I think captain, although I haven't double checked) continued to keep an eye on things to make sure Landon wasn't harboring biphobic tendencies. But he didn't go after Landon for what he assumed he was thinking! Fantastic.)
I also really, really like how the book handles the touch-averse thing. Landon hates casual touch, but he usually just deals--if he can see it coming he'll try to avoid it, but if he can't he just is uncomfortable. It's just a fact of life that a hockey team is fairly close and most of the players enjoy casual physical affection more than he does; he doesn't say anything and nobody notices. (Except Casey, who notices, makes an effort to back off, and apologizes when he throws an arm around him without thinking. In his case, Landon wouldn't mind, actually. It's incredibly adorable.) But back to the team: they think he's easily startled when someone claps him on the shoulder from behind, and they apologize for scaring him. Like I said, kindness and best efforts given the information they have. It's not exactly a roadmap for ideal interpersonal interaction--people should be able to set boundaries around how they are touched by others without worrying--but it is ah. familiar. It's how it goes, a lot of the time.
On to the nit-pickiness: Las mentioned, andon is particular about who touches him and when. Except when it's Casey, because he has just discovered how sexual attraction feels and it's amazing and he would like Casey to touch him at literally all times. It's a honeymoon period, and they explicitly discuss that there will probably be times in the future when he will not want to touch or be touched or even be around Casey in the future. Cool, we like honest communication. They talk a little bit about how they might handle sex and their different libidos--Landon offers to open the relationship to casual hookups, Casey declines, and they come up with a Sexy Plans that they think will work for both of them.
But I was left wanting to actually see it. Much as I love a good "not if it's you" in re: Casey chattering and Landon loving it and Casey's touch being always welcome when everyone else's is just tolerated, I want to see what happens when Landon's aversion to touch and loud noises does apply to Casey! I want to see Casey, who has a deep fear of being alone, dealing with his boyfriend needing space. I want to see Landon finding Casey too loud but scared to say it because he knows Casey is used to being rejected and criticised for being 'too much', but he really, really can't stand it just in that moment. I want to see how they navigate it! When Landon gets overwhelmed in the middle of sex and has to stop altogether, when Casey is terrified at night in the dark but doesn't want to intrude on Landon who told him he needed quiet. We do see them enact the Sexy Plan, but it isn't because Casey wants sex and Landon doesn't, but because they are both intrigued and excited by the idea and they want to try it out. Which is great! I don't want less of what was in the book, I want like 300 more pages of relationships stuff.
I want fanfic, basically, which is not new! But I would have loved for all of this to have been in the book because it's such good writing, and I know Reid would have done it well. Left wanting more.
By the same author as The Charm Offensive, and another book I highly recommend. (Also a book I read a few months ago so oops sorry about the lack of detail.)
There's a lot to love in this book. The author has a knack for writing flaws in the POV characters that I am really impressed by--they are definitely there, but the character rationalizes it (as do we all). It's so skillful that in that moment where someone sits them down and makes them face up to the changes they need to make, I found myself feeling surprised and struck and even a little defensive--exactly as if I was the one making dubious life choices. Maybe I'm just relating too hard, but I was incredibly impressed.
Also, I adore the background characters. I want two inebriated Grandmas of my own so bad.
I did forget to write this review up when it was fresh in my mind, so I won't go into too much detail, but it's pretty great. Gotta love the healing power of learning to accept yourself and finding people who love you, not people who like the nice parts of you despite the uncomfortable bits.
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I don't know how I've avoided reading any KJ Charles before now, but I'm not mad this was my first one! I enjoyed it so much. I absolutely love Pat's POV, and her internal monologue and the dialogue were perfection (seemed like period from my uninformed perspective, but it wasn't overpowering, which takes a lot of skill.)
Pat and Fenella's relationship was gorgeously developed, but! but! All of the platonic and familial relationships were not neglected! Far from it; I would have happily read all about Mertons & Co. growing up. And I would pay good money for a sequel (yes, Think of England is on my list).
I spent yesterday reading Six of Crows , which I've been meaning to since the first season of Shadow and Bone came out (shush I got around to it) and I was right! It's pretty great! My ebook included a hefty chunk of the next Crows book and as well as the first few chapters of Shadow and Bone, which was slightly disappointing because it was nearly a quarter of the page count and yes, it leaves you hanging 😅 It did also confirm that I'm more interested in the Crows books than S&B, so.
Anyway, it's good! If you've been putting it off like I have, you should go for it. I can't wait for my turn to borrow the next one comes up.
some spoiler-y musings on the fact that these books are often on aspec rec lists below the cut.
So Kaz is advertised as ace rep. However, he doesn't share any of his feelings on attraction with the reader. What seems to be the case from this book is that he is touch-repulsed because of trauma.
I'll start off by saying that the ace umbrella absolutely covers people who are touch or sex repulsed because of trauma. It's a label and a description, not a definition or a diagnosis.
But it can be a touchy subject because it's often the first thing that allosexual people turn to to explain why an ace person does not want to have sex. That explanation can come from a place of compassion, or not, and is generally accompanied by the expectation that asexuality is something to be healed or fixed with therapy or medication or twoo wuv. And then you'll be normal.
Now the fact that it has been used as a weapon against accepting ace people as we are does not mean that it's outside of the ace experience. That alone would not annoy me as much (there is of course the petty but it's not my experience that I'm mature enough not to hold as an actual flaw). But then.
Kaz has a close relationship with Inej, and at one point near the end he comes close to confessing how important she has become to him, how much he wants her to stay in his life even though The Plan would allow her to do whatever she wants forever. She feels the same way. Then she cups his cheek in her bare hand to demonstrate that he is unable to bear her touch, and in one sentence accepts that any closeness would have boundaries, and rejects him for those restrictions.
That hit hard, for obvious reasons.
Now this is the first book. And it's not the only barrier to them riding off into the sunset. And all of the characters are a fucking mess, it's one of the things that make it a good book! I have no doubt that things will end happily for them in the end (I mean a little doubt, but again, it's a good book). But I can't help but be suspicious that it's going to end with the power of twoo luv fixing Kaz.
It might be dramatically satisfying from someone else's point of view, but get the hell off of my ace rec lists.
(I should mention that there are some other ace coding bits unrelated to trauma. Things like Kaz being unconcerned with taking his clothes off in front of Inej early on, and unflustered by seeing beautiful and partially clothed people when he trusts that they aren't going to try to touch him.
(But then there's his recollection of the face cupping incident, where he is confused because there's the usual revulsion plus a good dose of "desire". It could go either way at the moment.)
