Advertisements

Author Archives: atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato” by Scarlet Beriko

02 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Tatsuyuki Oyamato may be 4th generation heir to a yakuza family but all he cares about is partying and getting girls. Until he finds himself attracted to a man. After a drunken hookup, he wakes up with someone who proves to be more than just a random dude as he knows Oyamato and his infamous family.

Hooooo boy, this is a dark one. The guy Oyamato sleeps with – mild spoilers – turns out to be Nozomi Koga; the son of a man who once owed money to the yakuza. When Koga was a kid, the yakuza came to collect and found his father had been sexually abusing him. Oyamato was also a child and thought Koga was a girl because of his long hair and the creepy way his dad dressed him.

This book is rife with sexual assault; which is offputting (of course) when it attempts to combine it with the romance forming between Koga and Oyamato. I don’t want to spoil too much but yeah, major rape trigger warnings here. It feels almost wrong to say I like it. The art is well done and I adore the main pair. They make the hardest parts of this book worth it for me. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Advertisements

Overdue Writing/Reading Update

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Over the last few months, I’ve been slowly working on Emma’s book in the First Brood series and working on the next episode of Fruit of the Dead. I’m a little annoyed with how slow it’s going but progress is being made.

The main reason why things are slow going is I have been working very hard on catching up with all the ARC books I have around. So, expect more reviews this month as I try to clear off my ereaders and get rid of all those books I got from BookExpo and Book Con. I’m starting to trip over those and that’s not good at all.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “In the Midnight Room” by Laura McBride

19 Wednesday Jun 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

*This review has been cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Book-ended with the life of June Stein, this novel dives into Las Vegas in the 1950’s and a casino called ‘The Midnight Room.’

This book feels a lot like the times where I went into a real casino in Vegas and Atlantic City; glitz, glamour, sadness, and desperation. Including June, the lives of four very different women collide together over the course of a lifetime in this book and we follow some hauntingly poetic stories. I’m not really one for historical fiction and this book managed to suck me in and I had trouble putting the book down.

I do have to say some of the point of view changes had me confused but the story managed to sort itself out in a few paragraphs; particularly in the end when it’s suddenly all from June’s perspective but as it’s her life that frames the entire narrative, it’s forgivable. An excellent period piece and I recommend. 3.9 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “Manfried Saves the Day” by Caitlin Major & Kelly Bastow

18 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Steve’s life has really turned around since the first book. He makes a living off his cartoons, he has a great girlfriend, and he’s finally happy. But when his girlfriend’s man shelter is in danger of being bought out, Steve may be stretching himself too thin trying to keep up with his deadlines and help Manfried compete in a man show to win prize money to save the man shelter.

Much like the first, this book is just too cute. You get the classic “raise money to save the *insert thing here*” plot but it’s refreshed by having tiny men as pets instead of cats. It may be a predictable plot but the adorable art makes this a worthwhile read. I absolutely enjoyed it. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “Manfried the Man” by Caitlin Major & Kelly Bastow

17 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Steve works at a tech support call center and has very few friends as close as his pet man, Manfried. He wants to be a cartoonist but he hates his job and he’s one of the last single cats his age. But when he ends up fired and loses Manfried, he unintentionally goes viral in his search for his best friend.

I enjoyed this little switcharro where the cats are in the human’s position and visa versa. The idea of people as pets, without being dystopian horror, was a nice funny diversion. Unless you are particularly prudish and don’t wanna see a lot of cartoony naked men, this is an adorable little story. 3.9 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare” vol. 1 by Yuhki Kamatan

16 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tasuku Kaname ends up outed at school and the homophobia he faces makes him desperate enough to want to end it all. But a mysterious woman leaps from a window and in his search for her, Kaname discovers a Drop in Center; built for people to just come in and talk about their problems. Here, he meets people in similar situations.

Although this felt too short, it is genuinely heartwarming. In my experience, I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by understanding people and it’s too easy to forget some people are still homophobic twats and kids are at a real risk. Kaname found his little tribe and it’s very sweet. I look forward to seeing how his story progresses from here. 5 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “My Solo Exchange Diary Vol. 2” by Kabi Nagata

15 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nagata is still struggling to live on her own and make the connections she desperately wants so she doesn’t feel like such a failure. I empathize so much with Nagata’s struggles; especially when dealing with the fact she really does have people who care about her. Depression and anxiety can and does lie to you about who is really there for you. It’s a struggle to remember you have people who love you no matter how broken you feel.

If I had a complaint, I’d say the art can be too simplistic at times. I felt more detail would give the story more impact. 4.7 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “A Treason of Truths” by Ada Harper

14 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Empress Sabine is invited on a diplomatic mission with some other leaders to a place called The Vault; a technological marvel self sustained by nanotechnology and an archive of an unfathomable amount of human knowledge. But what seems to be an olive branch quickly becomes a deathtrap and Sabine’s former bodyguard, Lyre, must face the secrets she’s been keeping not only from her queen but the woman she loves.

Although I didn’t read the first book, A Conspiracy of Whispers, this story stands well on it’s own. The world building gives the story weight and doesn’t get bogged down in the previous book’s events while still making them understood in relevance to what happens in this book. The action is well paced and tense, making this a fun page turner.

This also doesn’t disappoint in the romance department. Even without too many explicit love scenes, Sabine and Lyre’s relationship is touching and sweet and it’s great to see a lesbian relationship with women of color. As a romance and a science fiction novel, it succeeds on nearly every level except for a lack of development with the main villain and the societal mess behind his motivations, which I won’t spoil. I felt he needed more time to get to know all the details. 4.5 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Book Sale!

03 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by in Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Beaverish-original (1)

Between Jun 3 – 14, 2019, my short lesbian thriller “Beaverish” will be discounted from $1.99 to $0.99! Just click here to pick your favorite retailer to check it out. This is a quick story with no erotica in it.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “Coyote” Vol. 2 by Ranmaru Zariya

02 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by in Book Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Though madly in love, both Coyote and Marleen’s secrets are forced to the surface and it is uncertain if not only with their feelings survive but if they will lose their lives as well.

I have to admire how the secrets came right out without dancing around and dragging it all our for several volumes. This story is tightly contained and highly dramatic with plenty of angst and smutty action to keep you entertained. What remains to see is how this will all shake out and if that conclusion will be satisfying. 3.7 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.