Continuing The Scientific Method series with this MMM novella, which doesn’t really have anything to do with science (the name is explained in book 1). Even more than the first two books, this one delves deep and heavy. But it brings the boys closer together, even though it’s a bit rough along the way. I liked that they were closer at the end.
Trigger Warning: Suicide (side character) and depression (main character).
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
I enjoyed Book Boyfriend so much that I went looking for more Kris Ripper to read. I found this delightful gem of a series, and I’m so glad I did. It has so many of the things I love in romance. It’s highly kinky, and very polyamorous. There are some queer relationships, some straight ones, all kinds of different characters, and they all support each other. I’ve always loved books and series that do that. I know the thought with publishing is to group all your similar characters into a series by themselves (all the gay men in this series, all the fem doms in that series, or even totally separate them out by pen name) but that doesn’t feel real to me. The joined approach feels more natural, when there are all kinds of people living and getting along together. I dug into the first few books right away. And hey, the first one is free so I added it to my page of recommended free books! Catalysts is MMM, and follows Will as he comes to grips with his bisexual and kinky nature. His journey is written carefully and I loved it.
This is book two of The Scientific Method series, and it features Will and the woman who captures his heart. And the struggles he has with that. One thing to note about this series is that it doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. At all. They all wrestle with their inner demons, and talk about it, and get stronger along the way. That’s one of the things that makes the books so good.
Candy Cane Kisses: A Holiday Anthology edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A collection of mostly sweet holiday romance short stories that I really enjoyed. At least, the ones that I got through. I didn’t get through the whole book, but I’m going to save it for next year when I’m in the mood for holiday romance again. But I’m sure the second half will be as good as the first half. They were all great, but here’s the ones that stood out to me:
Ice Dancing and Crab Apple Sorbet by Melissa Yi – a story of two figure skaters trying to make a relationship work in the spotlight. It reminded me of the movie The Cutting Edge, but it was its own story. It packed a lot of history into one short story, and was very well done.
A Little More Aloha by Julia Vee – a fun visit to Hawaii.
Trapped Between Book Lovers by Stefon Mears – as a book lover who loves used bookstores, I loved this story!
She Wanted It to Be Perfect by Ron Collins – a touching FF romance with a bit of science fiction.
Love Hard
Netflix Original Video
This was a really fun Christmas holiday rom-com. The characters were fun, the romance felt fresh to me, I laughed, and wound up really rooting for them at the end. It even poked at some really common rom-com tropes it a way that felt so interesting. I enjoyed it a lot.
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
Hi Wild Ones! I read and watched some fun ones this month. And wound up thinking about consent and how consent was portrayed during each and every one of them, and all for different reasons. It was a very thoughtful month.
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I really enjoyed the writing and authorship parts of this story. It’s always fun to see the process of writing explored in fiction, and this story was no exception. I also enjoyed the main character pining for the other character. So much tension about what would happen! It was a fun read overall, but it had a very unexpected angle, one that involved a serious discussion about consent and how that gets handled within a relationship. I won’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it did make me think about some of the ways we approach romance in popular media.
This is book 4 of the Zandian Masters series, which deals with alien masters and human slaves in an alien galaxy. That premise obviously plays a lot with consent, and it does so in a way I like. Lots of readers like the kind of possessive alpha male that loves and punishes his woman as he sees fit. I like that books like Book Boyfriend exist to talk about the realities of healthy relationships in real life, while there are also books like His Human Rebel that can push my buttons in a safe way when I want that. There’s a place for both, as long as the reader has a good understanding of what’s healthy in real life.
Heartstopper Season 2
Netflix Original Video
Just like the first season, there was lots of fluffy twee queer romance of all kinds. I love these characters, and their friendships and their loves. It was a fun season overall.
SPOILERS! But this season also has a lot to say about trauma and consent issues. There are multiple instances of our main group actively excluding people from their lives who have hurt or traumatized them in the past, even when the offending party apologized for their actions.
The characters chose to keep their spaces safe from those people because they weren’t over the trauma and didn’t want to be around the others.
It was so unexpected and different from the typical narrative of what we’re taught (don’t make a scene, and if the other person apologizes you have to forgive and move on so that everyone can be friends) that it took me by surprise. It felt uncomfortable to me at first, wrong.
So I thought about why that was. And then I realized what the show was doing: it was actively modeling healthy boundaries in a way I don’t think I’ve seen before on TV. At least, not exactly in that way, not in a show about teenagers that’s probably aimed mostly at teenagers (though adults can definitely enjoy it). Most shows would have had the group forgive the past bullies and invite them in, and everyone would be friends. That’s what I expected, but why should trauma victims feel pressured to forgive and befriend their bullies? The show is educating through demonstration. It took me by surprise, but it’s wonderful to see.
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
The third in the Zandian Masters series, which I’m still enjoying. It’s full of yummy sex, like the other books, with a good relationship that develops between Seke and Leora. It’s still primarily an erotic romance story, but the plot still continues to develop.
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
For those looking for MMF menage with some D/S in a quick read, this is it! It was short, hot, and left me thinking about the three of them after. I liked the premise that brought them together, that Cecelia is a travel writer who happens upon a rock concert that changes her life. The rock star angle was handled nicely, and a bit different than I expected. Fun read. It is a Kindle Unlimited book if you have that.
This is the start to the Zandian Masters series, in which a group of alien men each acquires their own human female slave. In this one Lamira is purchased for the purpose of breeding. Of course she’s reluctant in the beginning, but Zander wins her over by the end! Rose is known for her spanking stories, and this one is no exception. It was hot and fun (basically erotica with romantic leanings and the start of a plot I think will go through the whole series), and I enjoyed what Rose did with Lamira’s character. It does have some non-consensual elements to it (due to that slavery aspect), so reader beware.
I enjoyed the first one so much I read the second one! This one is a little different in that Lily isn’t Rok’s slave, she’s his prisoner. But lots of yummy sex still happens. And the plot from the first book develops more in this one, as the characters from the first book appear in this one and continue to grow.
What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!
