Book Review: Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass

Surrender Your Sons

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Surrender Your Sons 〰️

This book is powerful in more ways than one. Many queer novels are about romance, which is excellent, (and this one has a bit of it as well), but Surrender Your Sons isn't just about being in love. It's so much more.

This dark YA is about conversion therapy, (which, in my mind, 100% never works, and the staff are always "ex-gays," aka still gay but pretending they aren't in order to "fit into society"). It's also a murder mystery thriller, and I'm here for it.

Stories about new love, coming out, and found family are great, but reading a story about what could happen if you came out to your zealot mother and it goes terribly wrong, well, I think it's just as important to read. This novel brings up many serious topics, and I believe Sass handled them very well.

I was hooked right from the first page to the last, and I secretly hope for a sequel, considering how it ended. I can't stress how much I loved this book and that I think it's an essential read with an excellent story. Sass knew how to make me (and I'm sure many more) feel all the feels.

If you are looking for an exciting read with a dash of romance, this is the book for you. 10/10. I highly recommend it.

Surrender Your Sons

by Adam Sass

Book review: Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

Only Mostly Devastated

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Only Mostly Devastated 〰️

I didn't expect to feel all the feels when finishing ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED today, but here we are.

Only Mostly Devastated Cover

This book played with my emotions the whole way through. It made me feel and think about things I never thought about before, and I appreciate that. In a way, I learned some valuable life lessons, just like Ollie, after finishing this book.

Also, is it somehow possible to get Ollie to narrate my life? He was a blast to read as a character. Gonzales really created a likeable and relatable character to read. She brought him to life. In fact, all of the characters were great, and they all went through some character growth spurts, and I love that for all of them.

I think that any queer youth, whether out and proud or not ready to be out, could benefit from reading this book. (Well, even straight people as well, but yeah). Not to mention the lesson on life and death and how it was all handled was perfection.

The pacing for everything was perfect, and all of the characters were loveable. (Though some may seem awful at first, you learn to love them once you know them). I loved this book from start to finish. 10/10. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: If This Gets Out by Sophia Gonzales and Cale Dietrich

If This Gets Out

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If This Gets Out 〰️

Actual rating: 4.5/5

Finally, a story where the characters fall in love early and get together early, and we have a lot of the rest of the book to read with them in a relationship. I love falling in love stories, but a lot of the ones I've been reading lately have it take the whole book for the characters to get together and then maybe a chapter of them being in a relationship before it ends. Yes, those books are great reads, but I want to see the relationship more. My own book is a mix of this, where it takes. While for them to get together but when they do, we still have a lot to read of them together.

I loved the chemistry, not just between Ruben and Zach, but the whole band of Saturday as a whole. You can tell they are all genuinely great friends and love each other. It's also great to read about close platonic relationships.

If This Gets Out Cover

I think Angel is my favourite character, though. I love them all, but he had such a great personality that I would have loved to see him more in the story. It was sad to see him succumb to drugs, but it's a reality for most pop stars.

Actually, this book as a whole was spot on for young celebrities. In fact, the whole industry knowledge was so well put together that you'd swear the authors were also part of a management company for pop stars. I mean I'm sure it's not too difficult to research everything, but they made it all seem very believable.

I love Zach's coming out story. It felt a bit rushed, but at the same time, not. It was established that he did find guys attractive before, but when he finally sees Ruben as something more, my queer heart squealed. Zach and Ruben are so cute together. And the fact that Angel and Jon are so accepting makes me happy.

Overall, a very great read. Many important topics are discussed, and that alone makes this a must-read, especially if you love LGBT+ stories.

Book Review: Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan

Melt With you

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Melt With you 〰️

Okay, my poor gay heart needs more of Dugan's writing now. I finished this book in like a day, and I loved every second.

Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan

Dugan (from the two books of hers that I have read so far) is a master of the enemies-to-lovers trope. I mean, Fallon and Chloe were besties but then became "enemies" before becoming friends and more again, but still!

I loved the narration of Fallon. She's got such a great personality to read. She expressed such a range of emotions that made me feel the same right along with her. She was admittedly a bit frustrating to read at points about telling Chloe how she felt, but even she admitted her faults, so I guess that's okay in my books haha. Besides, if she did follow Jami's advice (sound advice, great friend, by the way, we all need a Jami in our lives) and told Chloe her true feelings and just talked it out, we wouldn't have had a novel.

I love the whole road trip thing, and Chloe was so sweet in her side adventures to show how much she cared for Fallon. It made my gay heart melt. (Pun intended).

These two characters were compatible, even with their flaws. They were relatable and so well written, and I enjoyed reading about their journey. Also, gotta love a good "only one-bed" trope done right.

If you are looking for a great sapphic read, this book is worth it. It will melt your heart into gooey goodness.

My 2022 Year in Books (GoodReads)

Book Review: When the Corn is Waist High by Jeremy Scott

When the Corn is Waist High

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When the Corn is Waist High 〰️

When the Corn is Waist High by Jeremy Scott

Okay, so not going to lie; it took me a while to get into this book. It was an insta-buy for me because I love the author and his other works. But when I started the read, the pacing felt very slow. I kept reading because the MC was interesting enough to keep me engaged.

Then the plot twist happened.

When it was revealed that the MC (of which this story was told in first-person POV) was the killer behind everything, I was hooked. It was terrific how Scott managed to keep the information that the MC was a killer from us despite having it be in first-person. But if you look back, everything made sense, and if I were to re-read the book, I'm sure some clues pointed to it.

At first, I didn't like Solomon for his actions (cheating with a married woman), but he was such a well-written character that I overlooked that fact. And then when he shanked her after she discovered his murder stuff, well, my face dropped. But like I said, I was invested. Now I wanted to know how the bok would end with him trying to catch the killer, but the killer was himself!

And boy, did I not see the ending coming. Okay, so I predicted a bit that he would plant the evidence on someone else, and he did. I didn't think he'd get away with it, but he did, and it made sense. But what really blew my mind was the even bigger double twist of the story that happened right at the end. I did <i>not</i> see that coming. All I know is that I'll be thinking about that last chapter for days.

For the twists, I recommend it—you for sure need to see how the MC did everything and why. The pacing picked up once the first twist was revealed, so that was great. And the MC is really fun to read. Scott really knows how to write his characters.

Book Review: Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

Some Girls Do

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Some Girls Do 〰️

I saw someone recommend this book on Twitter and decided to give it a go. Boy, am I glad I did. I need all the queer books by this author now, please.

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

This book made me feel all the feels from start to finish, and I couldn't put it down. I loved the enemies-to-lovers trope. It was executed perfectly. I loved Morgan's and Ruby's personalities. Both were written so strongly, and each was a unique and exciting character. I wish there were more of these two, but alas, this book seems to be a standalone. Which, fine, but I still want more.

I will say, though, at the start, I wondered why they felt so strongly for each other besides "she's hot." Both girls were from such opposite worlds. But as I read on, I could feel the chemistry.

I love Ruby's coming arc, and I love Morgan learning to accept the world around her. And Ruby's big moment in her final pageant was *chef's kiss*. (And let's not forget Tyler, who speaks truth bombs about consent and is a really cool guy. I would have liked to see more of him, to be honest).

I loved every character and story beat—great pacing and writing. If you're looking for a great YA sapphic romance novel, this is an excellent pick for you. Thank you, random Twitter user, for posting about this book.

Book Review: Triptych by Karin Slaughter

Triptych

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Triptych 〰️

Triptych by Karin Slaughter

This was a wild ride from start to finish. I'm not usually one for crime novels (I think I bought it because I thought it was more of a thriller), but I'm glad I did. It was a great read. However, I admit that I didn't get into the book until part 2. The first part was so-so, and I didn't like part 1's MC (and after finishing the book, I had good reasons not to like him).

I loved John. I was confused when part 2 came, and it was a completely different story and MC, but it all made sense later. And then, when there were multiple POVs in part 3, it all came together into one coherent story.

I love the symbolism in the book's name, even if I had to look up what the hell a triptych was. But after a quick Google search, it made sense, not just because the book was divided into three parts. Just like a real triptych, not everything is as it seems. Symbolism! I love it.

The detail of everything, from medical to crime and more, was so well written that I feel like I have a better understanding of that part of the world that I am not a part of. It was easy to picture every gruesome detail happening.

If you are into crime and detective stories, this book is a great read. It's part of a series but reads as a stand-alone, just in case you don't feel like continuing the series. I may continue reading the series as I kind of feel invested in this author's work now. Also, it's a quick read, despite the page count. I would recommend this book. But be warned, it is not for the faint of heart.