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    W_L
  • W_L
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  • 07/06/2021
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The content presented here is for informational or educational purposes only. These are just the authors' personal opinions and knowledge.
Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are based on the authors' lives and experiences and may be changed to protect personal information. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

WL's Mainstream Gay Book Reviews - 1. HIM Series by Sarina Bowen/Elle Kennedy

I am re-posting my blog entry and consolidating my book reviews into a series of Book reviews

My taste in Gay Romance novels made me wonder, why no one has ever done any reviews of well-known and established Male/Male novels on GA. Well, I'll break that mold.

I have a lot of respect for Sarina Bowen, especially after reading her 2.5 novel series about these 2 guys, who are given a second chance at love. She writes it with a bit of integrity, a bit of nuance, and believable realism. Also, the Hockey being played in the background is very good, (I was one of GA's last NHL bracket champs, when we had those :P So it helped get me into the action :D ).

Goodreads has a description of these books

https://www.goodreads.com/series/166433-him

Anyway, let me get to my brief reviews of the books:

Him Book 1

Ryan and Jamie are adorable couple for guys, who can double as hockey players. They were best friends as teenagers in hockey camp over the years, then one night Ryan coaxed Jamie into exploring sexually, but both were scared of what happened to admit their true feelings and drifted apart. Now after college, they are both back in each other's orbit coaching a summer hockey camp again as counselors and are rooming together. I know the set up is formulaic, but formulaic stories aren't bad if the details within the story are believable and logical, which Sarina Bowen handled with very adept plotting.

Jamie's development in the first novel from the oblivious former best friend to lover felt very organic. I don't know how bisexual guys feel, I never had really felt the way about women as I do about men; though, I have tried. I can't imagine how it must feel to go from thinking you are completely straight to realizing you actually can like guys. The sexual undercurrents of Jamie's evolution is contrasted with the meaningless sex of Ryan, who is very much gay though not open about it. It added another layer of complexity to the relationship, I think Ryan had a tough situation as well; he wants to be a professional hockey player and was good enough to do this, but sexual orientation hang ups are still very much a prevailing issue in professional sports. With all of that twisting and churning, the two young men find themselves inextricably drawn together, realizing that their one night of teenage exploration years ago was not just a simple encounter; it opens up a lot more cans of worms.

Seriously, I loved the story and I would recommend it to anyone on GA. It is fun for people who love reading about logical progression the different levels of sports from summer camps for teens with ability leading to professional level athletes. It is also a good romance story about two best friends, who found one another and sexually developed a connection, but due to their perceived fears, they abandoned what could have been fulfilling experience. Sarina Bowen as I have read this female author's work over the years has developed a very good writing style. She also has a penchant for using a particular kind of perspective storytelling that I find myself to be growing attached to, Dual Protagonist story, which is basically a story that follow two main character 1st person perspectives. It's basically 1st person, but grants the reader insights into 2 minds, perfect for romance fiction in my view.

Rating: 5 out 5

US Book 2

Ah, the honeymoon period after accepting you love one another and you are living together, this is a complex topic to tackle. For me, this book felt a little draggy in certain areas due to Jamie's character. He internalizes his issues far too much, Ryan on the other hand doesn't talk to his boyfriend/partner like he should and he knows it throughout the book. At the end of HIM, Ryan commits to playing professional hockey, in the closet as a gay man with Jamie in tow. Being your boyfriend/partners dirty little secret can't be easy and I get that Jamie is suffering in this kind of closet, I also get that he loved Ryan and only wants the best for him. However, I hate what all these secrets are doing to these guys, there's no good reason for 2 consenting adults not be open about the ones they love. The addition of Blake, a noisy and very big "bro"-tastic character, who happens to be Ryan's teammate on their professional hockey team just makes this worse as the threat of exposure and fear of people evaluating Ryan for his sexuality rather than his talent kept Ryan on edge to the point of suffering a panic attack.

I like this story and it's complex dynamics about people in the bright lights trying to find a way to be both themselves and be true to themselves. It's hard to be gay, it's hard to find a balance of expectations, and ultimately the ending felt a little too tidy for me personally. I do concede I think Canadian team was probably the best choice for Ryan to come out, it makes the dialogue and relative lack of homophobia more realistic. However, Jamie's runaway bride moment felt a little too contrived as a plot device, I think ultimately the issues in the story could have easily been avoided if the two guys just talked, plus given Blake a strong "We're kind of busy being gay here" message even after Ryan came out. I like happy endings, but I felt the problem here wasn't the message of the story, but how Sarina Bowen reached it in the end.

It's still a good story and anyone who loves HIM should read it

Rating: 4 out of 5

EPIC book 2.5

After 2 novels, there came a baby Novella in the series called EPIC, which was really straightforward story about Jamie primarily trying to find professional fulfillment. He gets a chance to play backup hockey goaltender professionally for one of Ryan's games. It's not unheard of to have non-professional goaltenders and for fans of Hockey, we've seen this happen in real life, it's a one in a hundred thousand chance that a local would be called up to play relief due to injury in the middle of a game. Sarina Bowen knowledge of Hockey deserves praise here, it's a magical moment. Now, Ryan is facing off against Jamie, his partner, like they used to as teenagers. Jamie's success seemed to imply he has a chance at Professional levels, which could imperil Ryan and his relationship due to the distances between the teams.

This is a cute story, it has none of the emotional depth of energy that either HIM or US did, but it was fun to see how these guys squared off. Also, as a reader who enjoy the sport the plot is set in, it is nice to see that Sarina Bowen paid homage to her plot device. A simple story can easily be derailed by complicated structure or plot elements. There was no lack of communication in this story and the two main characters felt like they had grown through all these books into responsible adults, who had bright futures ahead of them.

Rating 4.25 out of 5

Overall Rating: 13.50 out 15.00 or 90% score, pretty good series overall.

------------------

What do other readers think? Feel free to disagree with my reviews on these books if you want, I won't take offense as I am just an avid reader. However, I hope other people share their own opinions and reviews of stories they read from the published fiction world.

PS: I just found the wiki for the non-professional Hockey Player who played a perfect game in 2017-2018 season when he was called up in emergency backup after the Chicago Blackhawk's back up went down, I was not joking (Also the fact that he's in the same profession as me does mean I am bias to this kind of story line :o :lol: )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Foster_(ice_hockey)#Chicago_Blackhawks

Updated 9/12/21- Added Elle Kennedy as co-author.
Copyright © 2021 W_L; All Rights Reserved.
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The content presented here is for informational or educational purposes only. These are just the authors' personal opinions and knowledge.
Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are based on the authors' lives and experiences and may be changed to protect personal information. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

Mrsgnomie

Mrsgnomie 67,033

Posted (edited)

I love the idea of the review. I read this book a while back and really enjoyed. I actually paid for it on Kindle which is a big deal because I'm terrified to buy books only to hate them. Which is stupid and I need to get over it. 

I will say that I enjoyed the first book the most. I agree the second book was a little draggy. I'm not a huge fan of series (Except for NR Walkers Red Dirt. I will read that series over and over until I die). I enjoyed the third book because it was an easy and fun read. All the hard stuff had been done already. I love in Oregon where there is no hockey but I LOVE reading about it. Never been to a game in my life.

Can't wait to see what other books you have lined out for review. 

Edited by Mrsgnomie
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W_L
18 hours ago, Mrsgnomie said:

I love the idea of the review. I read this book a while back and really enjoyed. I actually paid for it on Kindle which is a big deal because I'm terrified to buy books only to hate them. Which is stupid and I need to get over it. 

I will say that I enjoyed the first book the most. I agree the second book was a little draggy. I'm not a huge fan of series (Except for NR Walkers Red Dirt. I will read that series over and over until I die). I enjoyed the third book because it was an easy and fun read. All the hard stuff had been done already. I love in Oregon where there is no hockey but I LOVE reading about it. Never been to a game in my life.

Can't wait to see what other books you have lined out for review. 

Thanks @Mrsgnomie, my tastes in books are very eclectic, but most are gay romance :) 

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W_L
15 hours ago, Mawgrim said:

This is a great idea. I often browse through books but am reluctant to take the plunge and buy without some idea of what the quality of the writing will be like. These reviews are very useful.

Thanks @Mawgrim, one of the things I've learned when reading books is that there's variability especially in certain genres and authors. You can have great gems in one story and then you might fall flat in a sequel. These are just my opinions on the books I've read, a bit more in-depth than Amazon Customer Reviews and a bit less than the "official" blurbs from NY Times, Village voice, or someone, whose job is to be a critic.

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W_L

W_L 10,612

Posted (edited)

@Mawgrimand @Mrsgnomie

I am glad you are both finding more reading materials and exchanging book recommendations. I've read NR Walker as well but I did so with another of her books, Galaxies and Oceans. It resonated pretty well even with Australian themes, plus I loved the sweet idea of a kept boy and a lonely lighthouse keeper bonding.

I might have to write a review on that book, it is a standalone.

Edited by W_L
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Mrsgnomie
39 minutes ago, W_L said:

@Mawgrimand @Mrsgnomie

I am glad you are both finding more reading materials and exchanging book recommendations. I've read NR Walker as well but I did so with another of her books, Galaxies and Oceans. It resonated pretty well even with Australian themes, plus I loved the sweet idea of a kept boy and a lonely lighthouse keeper bonding.

I might have to write a review on that book, it is a standalone.

I love all her bood. The Weight Of It All is also cute. The Drink you Hate. I could go on.

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lomax61

Hey there.

I just stumbled upon this. I’m really glad you started this thread. While there are many books in your reviews that I’ve read, there are many I haven’t, so it’s also great to use something like this as a potential recommendation for someone else to read. I already notice you don’t have The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney, the first of his Austin trilogy books. Have you any of his?

And it’s already encouraging to see you’ve started with a favourite book series. I’ve been party to a Facebook page where gay male writers of gay romance were bemoaning the number of straight women living out their fantasies writing gay romances. While I didn’t and don’t want to get into the argument, I have to agree with you that this series by Serina Bowen and Elle Kennedy (my Kindle version has Elle Kennedy credited as co-author whereas your Goodreads link does not. Is there a story there?) is damned good, definitely not a pronoun switch and also well written and researched. On the strength of reading Him and Us, I even bought Good Boy, about Jamie’s sister coming to visit to look after him, expanding the scene that was not really played out in full during Us. Serina Bowen also wrote The Understatement of the Year, part of a more general romance series, a book in the series with a gay romance that I enjoyed immensely.

Good job, W_L. I’ll see what else you’ve got here.

 

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lomax61
On 7/9/2021 at 4:30 AM, Mrsgnomie said:

I love all her bood. The Weight Of It All is also cute. The Drink you Hate. I could go on.

Totally agree. Loved both of those books as well as the Red Dirt series, and Evolved. Sometimes her stories don’t hit the mark (I didn’t take to Cronin’s Key or Imago) but nobody can dispute her amazing body of work.

  • Like 1
W_L
3 hours ago, lomax61 said:

Hey there.

I just stumbled upon this. I’m really glad you started this thread. While there are many books in your reviews that I’ve read, there are many I haven’t, so it’s also great to use something like this as a potential recommendation for someone else to read. I already notice you don’t have The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney, the first of his Austin trilogy books. Have you any of his?

And it’s already encouraging to see you’ve started with a favourite book series. I’ve been party to a Facebook page where gay male writers of gay romance were bemoaning the number of straight women living out their fantasies writing gay romances. While I didn’t and don’t want to get into the argument, I have to agree with you that this series by Serina Bowen and Elle Kennedy (my Kindle version has Elle Kennedy credited as co-author whereas your Goodreads link does not. Is there a story there?) is damned good, definitely not a pronoun switch and also well written and researched. On the strength of reading Him and Us, I even bought Good Boy, about Jamie’s sister coming to visit to look after him, expanding the scene that was not really played out in full during Us. Serina Bowen also wrote The Understatement of the Year, part of a more general romance series, a book in the series with a gay romance that I enjoyed immensely.

Good job, W_L. I’ll see what else you’ve got here.

 

Thanks for reading my review,

I've got eclectic tastes from award winning classics to trashy gay romances :P too. Gay fiction isn't a single category or genre of writing, it's just a type of story that incorporates same sex partners, sometimes better and sometimes worse.

If you're favorite genre is Fantasy, I'd highly recommend reading T.J Klune's Tales from Verania Series Starting with The Lightning-Struck Heart, it's dramatic, comedic, and completely gay. He's a very talented gay writer and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

I've got other recommendations if you are interested.

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W_L

W_L 10,612

Posted (edited)

@lomax61Just added Elle Kennedy as Co-Author, odd enough, I don't know why the goodreads series page ignored her.

I read my books by the way via Audible and sometimes through Kindle, if it's unavailable due to vision issues. I've got a collection of hardcover/paperbacks at home gathering dust, sadly. It's a limiting factor to what I have access to and what I don't.

Edited by W_L
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lomax61
9 hours ago, W_L said:

If you're favorite genre is Fantasy, I'd highly recommend reading T.J Klune's Tales from Verania Series Starting with The Lightning-Struck Heart, it's dramatic, comedic, and completely gay. He's a very talented gay writer and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

I've got other recommendations if you are interested.

Ah, T J Klune. Sorry, I tried, I honestly did. I still have Tell Me It’s Real and The Lightning Struck Heart sitting largely unread on my kindle, purchased based on the number of positive reviews I read on Amazon and Goodreads. I’ve been back a couple of times, but am still struggling to get past the first few pages. We all have books we know we’re supposed to like, but don’t, right? (I even gave James Joyce’s Ulysses a go in my youth!) I love humour in a story, but not when the comedy overshadows or replaces the story. I can see how some readers enjoy the frenetic stream of sassy dialogue from the gay unicorn and other My Little Pony type of characters at the beginning of Lightning Struck Heart, but it does nothing for me. I want to read characters I care about. Sorry, going to have to pass on this one.

But I would be happy to hear any other recommendations from you.

W_L

W_L 10,612

Posted (edited)

1 hour ago, lomax61 said:

Ah, T J Klune. Sorry, I tried, I honestly did. I still have Tell Me It’s Real and The Lightning Struck Heart sitting largely unread on my kindle, purchased based on the number of positive reviews I read on Amazon and Goodreads. I’ve been back a couple of times, but am still struggling to get past the first few pages. We all have books we know we’re supposed to like, but don’t, right? (I even gave James Joyce’s Ulysses a go in my youth!) I love humour in a story, but not when the comedy overshadows or replaces the story. I can see how some readers enjoy the frenetic stream of sassy dialogue from the gay unicorn and other My Little Pony type of characters at the beginning of Lightning Struck Heart, but it does nothing for me. I want to read characters I care about. Sorry, going to have to pass on this one.

But I would be happy to hear any other recommendations from you.

Try Wolfsong book 1 of Green Creek Series by TJ Klune, it's a werewolf-human romance regarding one werewolf pack. It's not an Omegaverse story, despite how it begins. I personally didn't like Book 1, but I've heard good things about the series so I gave TJ Klune the benefit of the doubt. By book 3, I was hooked and wanting blood.

I also think you should consider Audible versus Kindle, when reading TJ's books. Michael Lesley does a great job in Tales from Verania series starting with Lightning Struck Heart for the delivery of sassy dialogue with unique voices for each character. Kirt Graves does the same in Green Creek series, starting with Wolfsong.

If you like modern fantasy, I'd recommend SJ Hines Beacon Hill Sorcerer series, which is a love romance between a Vampire and Necromancer.

Beyond them, there's Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series, which George R.R Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, praised in the early 2000's, when it was published. It's set in a medieval fantasy world with magic, gods, fair folk (fae are protagonist), and warrior Queens leading a nation.

I have more possibilities, I am fan of gay fantasy as much as I am a fan of gay science fiction, I gather as much of those books as I can read.

In general, I read Sci-Fi and Fantasy as a passion beyond gay fiction too, so fantasy author's like George R.R Martin, Lynn Flewelling, Katherine Kurtz, Cassandra Clare, and others are on my radar. Science Fantasy is also covered under this as I do read stories that flow between both genres, horror fiction like Stephen King being a notable example of Science Fantasy.

If you are willing to venture into the Dork Side :lol: :lmao:  I highly suggest reading Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit, it's really fun Sci-Fi gay fiction published recently. Science fiction is one of my favorite genres.

Edited by W_L
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lomax61
4 hours ago, W_L said:

Try Wolfsong book 1 of Green Creek Series by TJ Klune, it's a werewolf-human romance regarding one werewolf pack. It's not an Omegaverse story, despite how it begins. I personally didn't like Book 1, but I've heard good things about the series so I gave TJ Klune the benefit of the doubt. By book 3, I was hooked and wanting blood.

I also think you should consider Audible versus Kindle, when reading TJ's books. Michael Lesley does a great job in Tales from Verania series starting with Lightning Struck Heart for the delivery of sassy dialogue with unique voices for each character. Kirt Graves does the same in Green Creek series, starting with Wolfsong.

If you like modern fantasy, I'd recommend SJ Hines Beacon Hill Sorcerer series, which is a love romance between a Vampire and Necromancer.

Beyond them, there's Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series, which George R.R Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, praised in the early 2000's, when it was published. It's set in a medieval fantasy world with magic, gods, fair folk (fae are protagonist), and warrior Queens leading a nation.

I have more possibilities, I am fan of gay fantasy as much as I am a fan of gay science fiction, I gather as much of those books as I can read.

In general, I read Sci-Fi and Fantasy as a passion beyond gay fiction too, so fantasy author's like George R.R Martin, Lynn Flewelling, Katherine Kurtz, Cassandra Clare, and others are on my radar. Science Fantasy is also covered under this as I do read stories that flow between both genres, horror fiction like Stephen King being a notable example of Science Fantasy.

If you are willing to venture into the Dork Side :lol: :lmao:  I highly suggest reading Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit, it's really fun Sci-Fi gay fiction published recently. Science fiction is one of my favorite genres.

Do you like Durian? I think TJ Klune is like Durian, a fruit you either love or hate. I’m afraid I fall into the latter category.

Lynn Flewelling sounds more my kind of thing. I’ll check her out her Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series. I recently tried the acclaimed Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, but have found myself struggling to finish the book. Again, I think it’s the writing. I loved CS Pascat’s Captive Prince trilogy, even though the books garnered a lot of criticism for the depiction of brutality. But what a great ride.

Probably shows my age when I say that my fantasy tastes are more serious mainstream, growing up with the Narnia books, the Hobbit, and then Lord of the Rings, before being hooked on Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant epics. When my brother introduced me to Terry Pritchett and, by association, Neil Gaiman, I found my-go to books. Good Omens is still one of my favourites. I tried Harry Potter which got better with each book, and Stephanie Meyers Twilight (because I quite enjoyed the film) but hers were just awful.

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W_L
50 minutes ago, lomax61 said:

Do you like Durian? I think TJ Klune is like Durian, a fruit you either love or hate. I’m afraid I fall into the latter category.

Lynn Flewelling sounds more my kind of thing. I’ll check her out her Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series. I recently tried the acclaimed Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, but have found myself struggling to finish the book. Again, I think it’s the writing. I loved CS Pascat’s Captive Prince trilogy, even though the books garnered a lot of criticism for the depiction of brutality. But what a great ride.

Probably shows my age when I say that my fantasy tastes are more serious mainstream, growing up with the Narnia books, the Hobbit, and then Lord of the Rings, before being hooked on Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant epics. When my brother introduced me to Terry Pritchett and, by association, Neil Gaiman, I found my-go to books. Good Omens is still one of my favourites. I tried Harry Potter which got better with each book, and Stephanie Meyers Twilight (because I quite enjoyed the film) but hers were just awful.

Yes, I do like Durian and Stinky re-fried Tofu, along with Duck tongue and fried pork intestines. I hate Anchovies on anything, olives, cured fish, and kale belongs in the sea, not my stomach.

I was a Sci-Fi geek before I got into fantasy. I read a lot as a kid as well, when my eyesight was better than it is today. I've mentioned my reading of young adult mystery novels in the 1990's and my love of Applegate's Animorph series, which I still have fond memories over as one of my favorite book series, because it hid nothing about the costs of war and tragic sacrifices that have to be made for the greater good. Science Fiction, not fantasy, was my first genre.

Harry Potter came into play in my early teen years as the movies were starting to be produced, so I read the books.

I think you will enjoy Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series, Nightrunner features two bisexual male spies involved in mysteries and intrigue in the name of the Queen. The first book starts off quite fast and the action never lets up. I'll probably hold off reviewing the 7-book series until Winter, so if you want to wait to start on it until I post reviews, you may have to wait a few months.

The Tamir Triad, which George R.R Martin praised has a complex plot involving a gender fluid main character, a girl who is turned into a boy and lives a life of doubt with a destiny to one day be the greatest Queen of his/her nation's history. On sexuality/romance front, she as a boy falls in love with another boy, too, so you have a bit of gender vs. personal love question on romance. While I did not have interest in trans affairs, it helped me to understand some trans issues better from an unique perspective. Suffice to say, it's a fascinating book series, when it came out almost 20 years ago.

Tell me your preference for type of story, subject, genre, and setting, I'll make suggestions.

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Mrsgnomie
On 9/12/2021 at 3:37 AM, lomax61 said:

Totally agree. Loved both of those books as well as the Red Dirt series, and Evolved. Sometimes her stories don’t hit the mark (I didn’t take to Cronin’s Key or Imago) but nobody can dispute her amazing body of work.

Those two aren’t my favorite. I got through the first two of Cronin Keys but never finished the series. Throwing Hearts was left unread at 27%. Did you read Blood & Milk? It took me a hot minute to start it but I really enjoyed it in the end.

the books she does well, she does really well. 

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