Review: The Mythology Book by Big Ideas Simply Explained

“The Mythology Book” by Big Ideas Simply Explained charts myths from across the world. However, so much time was dedicated to Greek and Roman mythology, and that of the wider European peoples, and barely any to people of Africa, The Middle East, Asia, Pacific islands, and indigenous folks of the Americas.

I get they couldn’t cover everything, but it seems suspect to me how they glossed over the mythology of non-European cultures. This was especially egregious regarding their treatment of African cultures. They did one detailed section dedicated to Egyptian mythology, then glossed over everything else. It would have been nice to learn more about the Yoruba people and Orishas, or the Dogon people of Mali.
I guess I expected too much.

I give “The Mythology Book” 2.0 out of 5.0 stars. Skip this if you want to learn more than the CliffsNotes version of mythology outside of Europe.

Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A staple of gothic horror dripping with queer subtext, Oscar Wilde’s tale of eternal youth gone awry is a cautionary fable on how beauty is only skin deep and how we must all accept we will grow old.

As it was written over a century before Stonewall and the gay liberation movement, it does suffer from the dreaded bury your gays trope. Also, Wilde’s tendency to filibuster on what he considers “good art”, and other subjects made the plot stand still at times for several passages. I also wasn’t a fan of how stuffy and pretentious the writing was.

That said, I did enjoy the novella and identified with Dorian’s wish to remain young forever, as I’m approaching middle age.

However, the way everyone thirsted after Dorian was rather disturbing, given he was described as barely out of his teens; it recalled how the queer community often puts young and beautiful people on a pedestal, then throws them away once they age out of being hot.

Overall, the ending felt maudlin and Dorian’s punishment disproportionate to his crimes.

I give The Picture of Dorian Gray 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. You should check this out if you like Victorian gothic horror, but know the ending is far from happy.

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Review: Beauregard And The Beast

Falls flat on both the romance and fairytale retelling.

Let me start by saying I wanted to like this book. A gay spin on Beauty and The Beast? Sign me up. Grumpy/sunshine, introvert/extrovert, nerd/jock? Triple check. However, this didn’t do it for me.

I will say from a technical standpoint Evie Drae is a competent writer as this book had few if any typos, grammatical errors, and was formatted well.

That said, this book failed to deliver on both the romance and fairytale aspect. Bo and Adam had no chemistry whatsoever and instantly wanted to hook up with each other. And aside from being gave and supposedly liking books, they had nothing in common.

I say supposedly because I don’t recall Adam ever picking up a book besides when he and Bo are studying to get their GED.

This combined with their lack of chemistry had me scratching my head as to why they’d be declaring their undying love for each other after only a few months of knowing the other, let alone why they’d be together at all. It felt to me like their whole relationship was surface level and based solely on looks/wanting to hook up.

As for the Beauty and The Beast aspect, it was nonexistent. You could have changed the names and it would have no effect on the story. There was no curse, no magic, no whimsy at all.

Additionally, the whole third act could have been resolved in a matter of paragraphs had they just talked and been honest with each other about what they wanted and were thinking/feeling.

As for the sex scenes, they lacked emotion and sensuality and towards the end I skipped them as they added nothing to the story.

This leads me to my next issue. Halfway through the second act, the story drags and by the last 60 or so pages I was tempted to DNF as nothing was happening. And by the end I was just glad to be done with this story.

 This book just didn’t spark joy for me. Check it out and maybe you’ll have a different experience.  

I give Beauregard and The Beast 2.0 out of 5 stars.

Review: Claime Me, Love Me

Claim Me, Love Me by Jaiyde Thomas

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

What a hot mess, emphasis on mess.

Claim Me, Love Me by Jaiyde Thomas is a BDSM m/m romance. It features Josiah, an out and proud frick boy who’s blind; and Caleb, his Uber driver, who’s closeted and suffers from anxiety and intimacy issues.

I wanted to like this book as I felt for Caleb and Josiah, but this book missed the mark in so many areas.

First, there was zero chemistry between Josiah and Caleb. They become obsessed with each other after exactly one meeting and then declare their undying love after only knowing each other a few months. I honestly don’t see what they saw in each other as they didn’t interact much, and when they did it was mostly to hook up (more on this later).

If this weren’t eye-roll-inducing enough, so much of the “conflict” in this story could have been easily solved had they just talked to each other. Also, they both needed a ton of therapy, but like in so many bad romances, Caleb’s and Josiah’s issues magically get better through the power of love (cue eye roll).

I don’t know much about BDSM, but I do know informed consent is a big part of it, and that was completely lacking with Josiah and Caleb. Josiah constantly sprang things on Caleb and expected him to be cool with it. And not to kink shame, but I found the whole Sub/Dom thing as depicted in this book to be abusive like crazy.

If someone isn’t comfortable doing something, as Caleb makes clear to Josiah several times throughout the book, then you should respect their boundaries. Yet, he kept pushing Caleb to do things he wasn’t ready for.

But the biggest offender in this book is the writing, especially the dialog. It’s just so bad. Like every time someone talks, they always say the other person’s name. Also, so much passive voice. And I lost count of how many times I cringed during Caleb and Josiah’s Sub/Dom conversations.

The common thread between them all being it didn’t ring true and felt forced.

I kept reading, hoping things would get better but they got worse, and I found myself skimming the pages, especially the mechanically sex scenes devoid of any emotion or sensuality.

And while I’m on the topic of sex scenes, there’s a scene where Josiah gets wasted and has unprotected sex with multiple people, then he later talks about how he doesn’t want to risk passing anything to Caleb so they should hold off on sex until he gets his test results. Yet they then have unprotected oral sex.

Make that make sense.

This book was just a hot mess, and I can’t give it more than 1 star. Skip it.





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Review: Storming (The Coven of Zora #2)

The second entry in LD Valentine’s QPOC-led fantasy series finds water witch Adam taking the reins as coven leader after a powerful psychic demon enthralls Xavier and kidnaps him.

It took me a minute to get into this book, but once I did, I loved it. It was nice seeing all the characters grow and respond to Xavier’s absence. I also liked the scenes between Adam and Serea and how they butted heads, and him having to deal with the politics involved with Zora.

But this book isn’t without its faults.

First, after Adam and Max got into a fight, I thought they were too easy to forgive each other given everything that transpired between them.

Second, the story dragged a bit towards the middle and got repetitive with all the scenes of them fighting Xavier only for him to best them and retreat.

Third, I felt how Adam survived a fetal encounter tipped into deus ex machina territory, as it’s something that no water witch has ever been able to do nor is it ever explained and only commented on twice.

Fourth, the ending came off rushed, anticlimactic, and things wrapped up too neatly.

That said, I liked this book overall and can’t wait for the next in the series to drop. If you liked the first book, go ahead and add this one to your TBR list now.   

I give Storming (The Coven of Zora #2) 4 out of 5 stars.  

Review: Steppin’ Out: Poems and Thoughts From Yaad

Steppin’ Out: Poems and Thoughts From Yaad is a short collection of poems and reflection from Jamacian poet Patricia J. Cameron. Told in both Standard English and Pidgin English, the poems run the gamut from love, religion, family, and island life. 

At first the pidgin English was hard to understand, but I quickly figured it out and grew to love the musicality of it. I also loved learning about the Black experience through the lens of a native Jamaican. 

However, my biggest complaint is the formatting issues that made it at times hard to read. I also thought the collection was a little short at barely 60 pages. That said, I’m looking forward to reading more of Mx. Cameron’s work in the future. 

I give Steppin’ Out: Poems and Thoughts From Yaad  3.0 out of 5.0 stars. Definitely check this out.      

Review: Tristan Strong Keeps Punching

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Tristan Strong Keeps Punching is the third entry in Kwame Mbalia’s middle grade fantasy series inspired by African American and West African folklore. Picking up a few weeks after book two, Tristan must track down the missing Alkean inhabitants and children with fragments of Alke’s story woven within them, while trying to defeat the haint King Cotton and his Redliners, who want to take over the world and make it a safe space for them and their racist hateful views.

This time around, Tristan must deal with anger issues and questioning whether he’s worthy of still being an Anasesem and the Alkean Gods’ champion.

This time around, Tristan must deal with anger issues and questioning whether he’s worthy of still being an Anasesem and the Alkean Gods’ champion.

I don’t know what happened between the last book and this one, but I found Tristan to be so annoying. He constantly ran off halfcocked, ignoring everyone’s advice not to go off alone, and put himself and others in danger. And he suffers no consequences for his actions.

I get the adults are useless trope exists in middle grade and young adult novel for a reason, but just once I wished Tristan would have listened, instead of thinking he knew better. I could have excused this as his being only twelve-years-old, had he learned form his actions, but he doesn’t at all. And the only reason he survives is because of plot armor.

I also felt the romance Mbalia is setting up for Tristan and Ayanna wasn’t needed at all and it came off as an afterthought.

I will say Tristan’s sense of humor, which hooked me, was on showcase here, but those moments were rare as he spends mostly of the story complaining about things as though that alone will change things.

Overall while I did enjoy this book, I liked it much less than the other entries in the series. But I’m hopeful to see where the series goes next now that there is an army of kids with Alkean magic other there to be found and trained.

I give Tristan Strong Keeps Punching 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. If you liked the previous entries in the series, then check this one out. But know that it’s nowhere as light or funny, and Tristan can work your last nerve with his complaining.











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Review: Dark Star by Arch Hunter

Dark Star by Arch Hunter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Short and sweet but lacking depth.

Dark Star by Arch hunter is a short young adult LGBTQ+ romance novel that follows sixteen-year-old Tyler, the son of a conservative politician, who develops a sudden crush on his classmate Rufus and then must choose between being with his homophobic popular friends or being true to himself and pursuing his feeling for Rufus.

Overall, I like the story and thought Tyler and Rufus were well-rounded characters; however, I thought the other characters weren’t as developed and came off as one-dimensional.

I also thought the ending was abrupt and left a lot of questions unanswered. With a bit more editing this could have been a 5-star book. But as it stands, I give Dark Star three out of five stars.

Definitely check this out if you’re looking for a short, fun read.




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Review: The Coven of Zora #1

Rising by L.D. Valentine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Rough around the edges but a delightful story with likeable characters and an engaging plot

Rising (The Coven of Zora #1) by L D Valentine is a queer fantasy novel about a multiracial group of gay young adults who each control a different element and use spells.

The book centers on Xavier, an 18-year-old gay Navajo guy whose introduction into the world of magic involves watching a demon kill his uncle, and it almost killing him. Xavier controls fire and becomes the leader of his coven of 6 males witches, all of whom are gay. He struggles with magic and feelings of self-worth, inadequacy, and trust issues.

After Zora recruits him and the others, they train a bit then begin going on demon-killing missions, and it’s on one such mission that Xavier meets Alexander Kiras, Scion of House Asmodai, one of the four major demonic houses.

Alexander reveals he’s been killing off witches before a full coven could form and is intrigued how he missed Xavier’s coven; he also expresses his carnal interest in Xavier. Alexander then begins a cat and mouse game with Xavier and his coven, leading to a final confrontation between him and Xavier.

I liked Xavier a lot and thought he was Black until he mentioned being Navajo. I also thought Nate, Danny, Max, and the other characters were interesting but not as fleshed out as they could be. Also, the relationship between Xavier and Adam, who controls water, was okay but came off as a bit tacked on.

But it was nice to see a group of queer superheroes on the page.

My biggest complaints and what I feel keep this from being a 5-star book are the clunky dialogue and sentences and the ending which was very anticlimactic and abrupt. However, these issues were only minor, and I can’t wait for the next in the series to be released.

I give Rising (The Coven of Zora #1) 4.0 (rounded up from 3.8) stars. Definitely check this out if you enjoy action-packed fantasy with diverse queer leads.



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Review: Heal Queen Heal by TaSh Shabazz



My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Needs tons of editing but has a lot of potential.

Heal Queen Heal by TaSh Shabazz is a short collection of poems interspersed with Shabazz’s observation about life and her self-healing journey. While I got what she was going for I had several issues with this book.

First, the eBook wasn’t formatted right. I tried reading it on my Kindle Paper White but kept getting an error message saying the file wasn’t compatible with my device. Ultimately, I had to read it on my iPad. Thankfully, the book was only 82 pages, or this would have been an automatic DNF for me.

Second, the lack of proper editing and formatting. There are several punctuation and grammatical errors throughout the book, to the point I almost gave up as those combined with the author’s inconsistent formatting, random capitalization, and all-caps-ing of words made reading a chore.
While I empathized with Ms. Shabazz and her journey to self-acceptance and healing, I thought most of the poem lacked refinement, vivid or unique imagery, metaphors, or similes. They also didn’t have a consistent meter, and she often shoved words together with little to no meaning just because they rhymed.

However, the writing improved as the collection neared the end and I am open to reading future works by Ms. Shabazz as there is a glimmer of good writing to be found in this collection, but its cons outweigh its pros. Perhaps with more editing, this collection could have shined, but as it is, it doesn’t warrant the $9.99 price tag given the faults I listed and its shortness.

I give Heal Queen Heal 2.0 out of 5.0 stars.

Either rent this from your library or snag it when it’s on sale.



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Review: Eternally Yours

Eternally Yours by Patrice Caldwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Eternally Yours is an anthology of fifteen paranormal romance short stories by and featuring people of color. The stories run the gamut from tales about vampires and other monsters to mermaids, sea witches, and angels.

As with other anthologies I’ve read, I thought the stories stopped without telling a satisfying story. Also, I found most of them predictable to the point I guessed all the twists and the endings. I will say it was nice seeing Black and brown folks centered in paranormal romance stories.

However, of the bunch I only loved three of them, and thought the rest were just meh. My favorite of the three was Who Will Save Me by Julian Winters. It’s the story of a guardian angel pinning for his male charge, and I’d so read a complete novel with this premise.

My next favorite was Kiss The Boy by Adib Khorram. It’s a queer twist on The Little Mermaid featuring a nonbinary merperson and the boy they are soul bonded with.

My third favorite was another story featuring merfolk, La Bruja y la Sirena by Anna-Marie McLemore. It follows a sea witch and a mermaid who fall in love with each other. I loved the lyrical prose.

Overall, I thought this anthology was just okay and could have been better if there were fewer stories, so the ones included would have been longer to tell a more satisfactory story.
I give Eternally Yours 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. Rent this or pick it up on sale.



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Review: Worth Searching (Heart of The South #2) For by Wendy Qualls

Just not good.

Generally, I don’t read straight up romances as I find them boring, but I gave this one a shot as it featured dogs and a gay romance.

First, this book couldn’t have been more clichéd. City guy moves to the boondocks and falls for a country guy? Check.

A small, effeminate guy (Lito) is the bottom and the alpha male (Dave), muscle bound ex-army guy is the top? Check.

Fish out of water? Check?

A misunderstanding that the characters could have resolved if they just talked? Check.

If this weren’t bad enough, Lito, Dave, and the rest of the characters have zero personality.

And as for Lito and Dave, they have no chemistry together and I can’t see why they’d be together, as Dave seems like the type of guy who’d put “masc4masc, no fats, fems, Blacks or Asians” or “Latinos only” on his Grindr profile.

As for Lito, he’s the stereotypical gay guy into fashion/interior design/art and pop devas. And while we’re told he’s Peruvian, aside from a few lines about him being brown and speaking Spanish, he’s whitewashed like crazy.

The story takes forever to get going and there is no conflict until the last 3 or 4 chapters.

Only for the story to wrap up too neatly by the end.

Even the sex scenes, of which there are multiple, drag on, lacking any emotion or sensuality. They’re just a series of insert tab a into slot b.

The story finally picked up at the 80% mark only to abruptly end with a saccharin ending the characters didn’t earn.

Overall, I didn’t like this book and doubt I’ll read any of the others in the series.

I give Worth Searching For (Heart of the South #2) 2 stars.

Review: Newsletter Ninja 2 By Tamii Labrecque

Newsletter Ninja 2: If You Give a Reader a Cookie: Supercharge Your Author Mailing List With the Perfect Reader Magnet by Tammi Labrecque

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Meh.

While there are some nuggets of information to be culled from this book, most of it is a rehash of the previous book with a few chapters on what makes a good reader magnet and the process for determining that.

I don’t feel what new information Labrecque gives warranted a whole new book, especially one that touted itself as being focused on reader magnets.

Had Labrecque released this as a second addition of Newsletter Ninja, I could have justified the price, but for a book marketed as being about reader magnets to spend most of the book regurgitating info not about the topic at hand is unacceptable.

The few chapters Labrecque dedicated to reader magnets are mostly things readers of the first book could glean on their own. I’m also skeptical of her advice to have covers designed for each of your reader magnets, as most independent authors like me don’t have spare money to spend on such things.

Overall, while I learned some new things from this book, it was nowhere as good or detailed as the first book and doesn’t warrant the list price. I give Newsletter Ninja 2 3.0 out of 5.0 stars.

Either skip this one or rent it from the library.



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Review: Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque

Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi Labrecque

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Newsletter Ninja: How to Be an Author Mailing List Expert is a nonfiction book about building and maintaining a mailing list to build your readership. At just under 200 pages, it was a quick, yet informative read.

I’ve read several books and articles and taken several courses on building your author platform/mailing list, but none of them explained the process in as much detail as Labrecque did in this book.

She gives you a tested process for growing your mailing list and nurturing relationships with your subscribers with several understandable examples that I found an immense help. I also found her voice friendly, funny, and always engaging. Also, her chapters were well organized with subheadings and bullet points that made note-taking a joy. They also didn’t drag on like in other books.

While I knew a lot of the topics she talked about, she covered them in more depth than other sources I’ve read, and I came away with a better understanding of them. She also covered several areas I wasn’t aware of, like the ask-to-give ratio and how to build genuine relationships with subscribers and keep them engaged in the long term. I especially loved the section on her newsletter philosophy, which is readers are secondary to building authentic relationships with people.

Until this point, everything I’ve consumed said it was all about gaining a lot of subscribers/clicks and converting them into buys. I’ve never been comfortable with that method, as it left me feeling sleazy. I was happy to learn there was another thanks to this book.

If had any criticism, it’s I wished Labrecque went into a little more detail on lead magnets and how to promote your list without coming off like a spammer. Also, she tries to upsell you on her newsletter course and consultation services toward the end, but it’s not overbearing.

Overall, I give Newsletter Ninja 5 out of 5 stars.

If you’re looking for a good explanation of how to build your author mailing list or if, like me, you haven’t had much success with your current methods, then I highly recommend this book.




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Review: Monster Hunter International

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Interesting premise, poor execution.

Monster Hunter International is the first book in the Larry Correia’s urban fantasy series about gun-loving monster hunters. It follows Owen “Z” Pitts, who is recruited by Monster Hunters International after killing his werewolf boss with his bare hands.

Owen then undergoes training and soon finds himself in the middle of the ancient battle between good and evil, as he and his fellow Hunters try to stop the Cursed One from using an evil relic to “destroy time”.

At nearly 500 pages, Correia could have rightly cut this book in half, and you wouldn’t miss a thing as he dedicates most of the plot to pointless descriptions of the various weapons and ammo, when he isn’t info dumping things repeatedly.

To make matters worse, the scenes drag on well beyond where they should end and become so redundant that by the end of the book, every scene feels the same. And you’re forced to slog through 20-plus-page chapters full of wall-of-text paragraphs.

And if that weren’t bad enough, all the characters have the personality and depth of cardboard. But the worst offender is Owen who, despite being “big, ugly, and ordinary” is revealed to be a master fighter, gunsmith, marksmen, and a master at any weapon he picks up, and at one point he’s asked to teach a class because he’s so good with guns. And did I mention he ends up with the hottest woman ever, who he falls in with at first sight?
Just no.

I could forgive all that had this book been interesting, but it was predictable to a fault that by the end I was skipping paragraphs to finish it.

Honestly, the only reason I didn’t give this one star is because the premise seemed interesting, but it quickly became apparent that Correia was more interested in waxing poetic about guns and pushing his political views than telling a good story.

This book reads like something a 12-year-old boy obsessed with guns, horror movies, and sex would write and is very amateurish, even by debut novel and self-published book standards.

Also, don’t read this book if you’re Black or brown, as Owen and his love interest Julie have an infuriating conversation about “how not racist” they are. This leads to Julie saying how the South isn’t racist anymore, how the Confederates weren’t really racist, and how the real racists are the Yankee Liberals and politicians in DC.

Did I mention this conversation takes place at Julie’s ancestral home, a former plantation, complete with slave quarters? Just no.

To summarize, this book started out okay, but took a nosedive fast and got worse.

I have no desire to read any other books in this series and don’t recommend you read it unless you have a strong liver and want to take a shot every time someone mentions guns/weapons/ammo.

I give Monster Hunters International 2.0 out of 5.0 stars.



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