The release of the audio was delayed and it ended up being a Very Bad Thing. This book is all about valorizing cops and, well, cops have a bad rep. Especially these days. Given that the kid’s dad engaged in police brutality but apparently it’s ‘okay’ because he’s a Good Cop and was having a bad day or whatever. I managed to get 74% done before rage-quitting. Audio narration was as good and capable as ever....
You might’ve been able to guess from my review of Treasure for Treasure that it’s my favourite of the Being(s) in Love series. His Mossy Boy is easily my favourite audiobook in the series. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy the book itself, I do. Ian is probably my favourite romantic interest of the entire series. Well, maybe my favourite butch romantic interest. He’s all broad and muscular with chest hair and shit and he’s so, so gentle and caring with Martin....
It isn’t a big secret that this might actually be my favourite urban fantasy series of all time. I mean… what’s not to love about it? It’s basically the Ultimate in queer urban fantasy1. Like. Look: this story has an Indigenous MC and a mixed Asian (two different kinds of Asian) ’trans’ MC. This is sooooo fucking gay. In the queer way. Lmao. This is also my favourite book in the series so far....
Okay. OKAY. So I fucking love this book, ok? Like. A lot. Back during the years where I was really too disabled to actually sit down and read books and was only listening to audiobooks, this was one of the books that I read several times. There’s a great deal about the story to enjoy. As is frequently true with Megan Derr’s fantasy books, there are very few white people. Alan is on the lighter side of things, but I think that the only true white people are those in Benta?...
I honestly love this book. It’s a great fantasy book that doesn’t get too bogged down by world-building. It also makes me very happy that the prince in the book is dark-skinned (and, if memory serves, Rath is also not white). The book also gets bonus points for the portrayal of sex work as not being inherently shameful and that Rath isn’t ‘saved’ by the prince. Watching Rath win all the challenges while actively trying to fail is super amusing....
Keys is a fantasy book by Amber Kell and the audio version is narrated by Derrick McClain. The story follows Oz as he is reluctantly thrust into being the hero of a thousand year-old prophecy. From what I’ve been able to tell, this book is an anomaly in Kell’s body of work. She seems to focus mainly on writing urban fantasy with ridiculously overbearing alpha males (like toxic masculinity to the max)....
I have to say… this book is quite possibly one of the most frustrating books I’ve ever listened to. If miscommunication is a thing that you Do Not Like, then you should avoid this book. It took me forever to finish because I would get so frustrated with the characters I would rage-quit for like a month. And its a long fucking book. So. I think I actually had to sit and read parts of it to get through (since I read much much faster than the audio narration)....
I’ve listened to the book again. And, honestly? My last review was terrible and entirely unfair. So I’m reviewing it again! Way back then, I didn’t really understand what R Cooper was trying to accomplish with the book. I viewed the whole thing as a mess of miscommunication. Miscommunication that created unnecessary angst and conflict. Which is something that tends to frustrate me to no end – part of how I’m autistic....