Slash Update!

Artist's impression of me writing reviews seperatly! 

As I stressed myself half silly with a job application and spent most of Easter being on my hols, I have got a little behind on my reviews especially as I have binge read Alessandra Hazard to the point of four books not reviewed. As I am trying to write more reviews, and for the sake of my sanity, I am going to do a multi review to split on Goodreads.  

Yes, I am aware that these books are a little problematic at times, by their very nature, but I don't consider them reality or a blueprint for relationships, so I can't really see the harm. Anyway, on to the reviews.

Just a Bit Unhealthy
Number 3 in the series, this moves to the UK for the tale of Gabe, a straight football star obsessed with Jared, his gay physiotherapist. Although Gabe had a girlfriend, he can't be separated from Jared and treats him like an extension of himself, which inevitably messes with Jared's head. Gabe is a bit of a spoilt brat who must have his own way, to the point that he strings Jared along promising a physical relationship without the sex, just kissing and cuddling. I thought this was a slightly weaker story in terms of the erotic content because Gabe spends a long time convincing himself of a physical relationship. And whilst the intense co-dependency is explored, Gabe ultimately doesn't seem to grow as a person, just admits he's gay. I suppose I wanted him to become a little more independent.

Just a Bit Wrong
Number 4 in the series. Gabe's brother, Tristan is also a top football player at the same club, but he's gay (although hiding it because of his career). Jared's friend Zach is the straight physio assigned to help him, but Tristan is having none of it. He's the enfant terrible of the football club who treats Gabe and his poor assistant like dirt. Zach on the other hand has an open relationship with his fiancé and no intention of putting up with Tristan's nonsense. In the course of the physio they discover that Tristan enjoys being spanked and Zach enjoys spanking him, which was very hot. I probably would have liked more spanking! Zach develops a kind of obsession which he is advised to 'get out of system' by actually having sex with Tristan which is a rather bad idea. Unethical physio and poor advice aside, I enjoyed it, particularly the introduction of Zach's family. And Tristan does grow as a person.

Just a Bit Confusing
Number 5 is another slow burner. Gay, closed James has been friends with Zach's brother Ryan forever. Born into a privileged family, he fears to tell his parents about his sexuality and has to watch his best friend and obsession Ryan kissing his girlfriend in front of him. They have a weird relationship where Ryan has a thing about cuddling James like a Teddy bear, but thinks of James as his brother. Poor old James spends much of the book moping, and Ryan's poor girlfriend gets dumped so that James won't stop being Ryan's friend. I have to say, Ryan was right be freaked out by some of James's antics, although at the same time he probably should have let James go or at least stop with the physical stuff if they were going to have a platonic friendship. All that anger and freaking out about the sexual stuff didn't do either of them any good.

Just a Bit Ruthless
Book 6. James's friend Like, who is gay, gets kidnapped after trying to impress his father in Russia. James is so busy mopping about Ryan he doesn't actually notice Like going missing. The kidnapper is a straight Russian mafioso with a grudge against Luke's father, a wealthy scumbag. At first, Like is subjected to beatings and starvation, but Roman realises that he can use Luke to get to his father so moves him to his room. This is not a book I'd put in the angst category, not after reading Sloane's stuff. Roman is surpringly open minded for a homophobic Russian mafioso and encourages Luke to stop thinking about who he should be to please his father. I loved the way Roman and Luke blossom in this book, Roman allows Luke to express his flamboyant side and Luke makes Roman care. However, if dub con is not your thing, or you object to Like looking like a teenager (although he's 23) then this won't be for you.

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh

A new trilogy set in the mysterious Marquess House in Pembrokeshire, this is part narrated from the point of view of Perdita Rivers, a jewelry expert who inherits the house from her estranged grandmother, and partly from the point of view of Catherine Howard. Whilst I didn't always agree with the portrayal of the historical figures, for example Henry portrayed as a brutal wife beater, I appreciated that whenever the author could she used historical fact, which she explains in the footnote, and she has obviously done her research.   Walsh believes that Catherine was misrepresented by history and was not the airheaded flirt that she has been portrayed as, and I could see her reasoning and wanted to learn more. Of particular note was the idea that she had a cordial relationship with Anne of Cleaves whom she taught to dance. Some of the conspiracy elements seemed a little far-fetched at times, but it did add to the excitement of the novel and I both enjoyed reading it and wanted to read the next in the series. Perdita is an interesting character and I'm looking forward to finding out what is happening with Kit. The Catherine Howard parts were well written from a historical perspective and from the character perspective. You really feel for her as she is forced to marry the repugnant Henry to assist her power grabbing family and it's evident that whether or not he was a wife beater, he did suffer from memory issues. This is available on Kindle Unlimited and I would recommend it for readers who enjoy conspiracy theories, alternative history and historical fiction/contemporary fiction.

Best Man by Chris Delyani

More LGTBQ+ than the slash fic I often read. This is a serious, often bittersweet romantic novel from the point of view of Frank, a man who has never got over a romantic attachment for a friend and Julio, who is Frank's housemate since he divorced. Poor Frank is in a rather woeful state, locking himself up in his house avoiding Julio, so he is thrown into confusion when Jonathan turns up in his life again planning a wedding to his evil boyfriend Marcus who utterly hates Frank. Julio on the other hand is busy crushing on Marcus at his yoga classes unaware that Marcus is engaged. As a favour for Frank, Julio pretends to be his boyfriend to Jonathan and Marcus. 

I liked the characters in this book and the way that the plot kept me guessing, I thought that the first person narrative worked well in the way that the characters were not necessarily what Frank and Julio thought they were. They are all very human and every one of them does things that they are ashamed of (or should be ashamed of!). I loved the way that Frank and Julio grew as people. This is not an explicit book, but I didn't feel like it needed it, this is a beautifully told story. 

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

A book that I would have probably liked better when I was younger. Brandes takes the story of the last few months of the Romanov's lives and adds magic and a romance between Anastasia and a guard called Zash. She had obviously researched the period thoroughly, but I wasn't entirely convinced by the magical elements. To me it felt like an unfortunate hybrid between real history and fantasy. The magic and the secret magical history of Russia wasn't really explained, and it was as if you were diving into a second book in a series. I wanted a bit more world building and description. Why did the Bolsheviks ban magic? However, this may have been a deliberate choice to normalise the magic elements.

The first part takes place in the quarters where the family is held and can be quite dry at times, contrasting with the fast pace of the second part. First part Nastya is actually quite annoying, but I think she's probably quite true to life!

Anyway, I just want to say that whilst this wasn't my cup of tea, it does have some charming elements particularly in the second half and would probably appeal much more to fans of ya fantasy/magic novels with a romantic twist. This is not a genre I tend to read much of though (I am so old and decrepit ya didn't really exist when I was a young adult!).

The Murder of The Romanovs by Andrew Cook

A history book that uses recently released sources to lay conspiracy theories about the survival of the Romanov family to rest. This is obviously well researched with a full bibliography of sources at the back, and is filled with a surprising number of illustrations for a short book. Cook goes into a great deal of detail about the last few months of the family.

However, I did have reservations about the book. Whilst there is a bibliography of sources divided into themes, I found it strange that there were no proper footnotes or endnotes. Whilst I don't always read all the footnotes, I suppose I find it reassuring to know exactly where the historian has found their information and to tell what angle they are taking with it. Also, I thought this lacked analysis. Most of the book was taken up with the description of what had happened, a small chapter at the end described what was in the newly released documents, then the rest was taken up with the original sources. I felt like I might as well just read the sources direct. The lack of analysis made the history somewhat dry and overall I found this quite an odd book.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray

I listened to the audiobook of this, which I thought was extremely well done with some really good narrators.

The story centres around a family of three sisters, Althea, Violet and Lilian, and their extended family and how they cope when Althea and her husband are sent to jail for fraud, leaving their two daughters in limbo. Even worse, Althea and Proctor are hated by the community where they live.

The story is narrated first person by the sisters, and in letters from Proctor to Althea. The sisters, along with their brother who is not as prevalent in the story, have all been affected by their unhappy childhood after their mother died leaving them to be looked after by their stern father. Althea has married her childhood sweetheart Procter, and is kind of a pillar of the community until she gets caught, although she has a difficult relationship with her daughter Kim. Lilian lives in the house where she grew up, widowed and caring for her late husband's grandmother. Violet is separated from her wife and struggling with anorexia and bulimia. The brother Joe is the only person who seems to have got off without becoming miserable and he and his wife are pillars of the church. Kim is mixed up and feels like Althea hates her due to her mother's strict attitude to her, and Baby Vi shows signs that she is becoming anorexic as well. Althea refuses to see the girls and Kim feel like it is because she hates her.

Food and hunger is a major theme of the book, as is the imagery of a river that Althea keeps going back to in her mind. The sisters are all forced by circumstances to take responsibility for themselves and their own happiness. The characters are beautifully crafted and you really feel as if you know them and will miss them after the book is finished. Aside from the sisters, I thought the characters in the prison where Althea is incarcerated were great, and Ni Ni the Korea grandmother living in the family home was so fantastically narrated by the voice of Lilian, she really brought her to life. Althea's daughters Kim and Baby Vi also provide pivotal roles to the story.

This was a brilliant book that I really enjoyed listening to, full of beautiful little touches. It explores the history of the characters in detail and why they are the way that they are.

Region 6 by Ian James Krender

Reading alternative history books, a genre I enjoy, the most important thing is to create a believable set up. I think Krender's set up is believable and he creates a vivid dystopian alternative timeline where the Nazis have won the war and have turned 1980s Britain into Region 6, an entirely Nazi controlled outpost where the populace are controlled with water additives to affect behaviour and the people who are not affiliated with the occupiers live and work in dreadful conditions. The story follows Thomas, who is one of the people who lives in a slum and works in a TV factory, and Stephen who has wealthy parents who gift him Nazi party membership for his birthday. Stephen has a good education, living parents and a good life but both men are struggling with forbidden homosexuality. When Thomas becomes involved in a resistance organisation, Stephen is sent to investigate him and the two men form a relationship.

This is not a particularly detailed depiction of their relationship and there are no sex scenes as such. I thought the characters well drawn and their motives well thought out. Thomas in particular is a character who is a bit rough around the edges and seems believable. I liked the way that the resistance fighters were depicted, and it made me think about how we consider terrorists. The plot is good too, although I think the end seemed a little rushed. Overall though I thought this was a very promising novel and I would read more by the author.