Top.Mail.Ru
? ?

Previous Entry | Next Entry

And the Rainbow Award goes to...



1.
Dan Ackerman - The Things That Come


The Things That Come

"In the first couple of pages, when it turns out the main character is a murderer, I thought about not continuing on at all. But I did keep reading, and I read every word. The book is quite good. That first, horrible scene ended up quite moving. Granted, there were far too many typos and missing words throughout the book, but the writing style itself was so strong that I was willing to put up with it. The cast of characters was diverse—gay, bi, straight, men, women, white, black, and Persian. We had a Catholic, a Muslim, and others whose religion we didn’t know. Characters were stock boys, nurses, students, infants, and prostitutes. None of it felt forced. The diversity felt natural, with characters both happy and upset about the diversity. The most striking aspect of any of the characters was that of the main character, who was schizophrenic. I’m no expert, but I have a friend of thirty years who has schizophrenia, and the author created dialogue and behavior that seemed authentic. The main character is also a cutter, and I’ve known cutters, too. This behavior was also described in a realistic way. And I appreciated that these “faults” were not dealt with as negative, just problems to be dealt with. When strange or potentially sappy or cliché events happened, the author gave the characters realistic thoughts and dialogue that should keep most readers from groaning. I see from the list of other books by this author that they often write about paranormal characters. The relationship of two “investigators” who join up with the FBI to help the main character deal with regular assaults by “the things” is similar to the one in the TV series “Good Omens” (though it looks like this book was written before the series aired and does not seem to be an imitation). I personally would have preferred characters whose supernatural status wasn’t grounded in religion, but that’s just my own bias showing. We never do find out what “the things” are, but I do wish the author had come up with a more captivating title. It’s appropriate enough once you read the book, but I think the lackluster title might keep some readers from picking it up in the first place. The novel was interesting and entertaining, well worth my time. I think most other readers will enjoy it, too."

"The Things That Come is an engaging, character-driven paranormal story with well-developed relationships between the main character, his love interest and his best friend, and seamless, natural inclusion of diversity. Much of the narrative takes place between the paranormal events that are the main driver of the plot, so there is, for most of the novel, a darkness looming over David as he strives to both establish a 'normal' life and solve the crimes of the past that led his parents to take him away from his hometown. The central characters are fully fleshed out, the events are horrifying (but not overly graphic or gratuitous). I was rooting for David from the very first page. His portrayal, both as a bisexual man and someone with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, is flawless throughout. The romance is touching and authentic to the context. My only niggle is that the resolution/conclusion to the paranormal element was a little rushed after such a long, well-paced build-up, but all in all this is an excellent read, and I'll certainly be reading more of Dan Ackerman's work."

"This one really shines. Chapter one opens at a blistering pace with loads of tension, and never lets go. The story was just great; propelled not only by dark revelations of high school secrets but also driven by the plights of David, and a cast of characters so real they all but jump off the page. The Things that Come is a beautifully written exploration of character and redemption. I highly recommend. "


Dan Ackerman - That Doesn't Belong Here

That Doesn't Belong Here

"That Doesn’t Belong Here is far and away the best story I’ve read this year. On the border of young adult and new adult fiction, this is the story of Kato, an ‘impossible creature’, and of friendship and love. It’s also a stark allegory for every inhumanity humankind commits against those deemed ‘lesser humans’ and animals. I truly struggled to put this down even to sleep, and I sobbed my heart, but this is generally not a sad story. There is hope and there is humour, and Kato is such a brilliant, optimistic character. Levi is his opposite in many respects, but together they are…byouiful. This is the second novel by this author I’ve read, and in both cases, the entire cast of characters is richly developed, the pacing is excellent, the plot is sustained to the end, and the ending…just perfect! Yes, Dan Ackerman has secured themselves another fan."

2.
J. Scott Coatsworth - The River City Chronicles

The River City Chronicles

"I absolutely loved The River City Chronicles. The author acknowledges Armistead Maupin in the Foreword, but truthfully, I loved this book way more than Maupin. I figured out fairly early on where some of the plot points were headed, but it didn't matter. It was just lovely to be immersed in this world. If only this was 'book 1' then I could visit again and again."

3.
A.M. Leibowitz - Keeping the Faith


Keeping the Faith (Faithfully Yours Book 3)

It’s been three years since Micah’s spouse, Cat, passed away at the age of thirty-six. In the process of cleaning his house, Micah discovers a series of letters Cat hid before he died, in which he made one request: that Micah empty his life of Cat as a way of moving on. Micah has been able to work through his sorrow, but he’s unable to fulfill Cat’s last wish. He can’t see a way past his loneliness despite all the caring people around him.

This journal is friends only. This entry was originally posted at https://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/5323118.html. If you are not friends on this journal, Please comment there using OpenID.

Appointments


2016 LGBT Rainbow Awards

2016 Guidelines
2015 Winners

In the Spotlight

Top 100 Gay Novels List - Simple
Top 100 Gay Novels List - Wanted

Art

Previous Appointments Visual Summary

Gay Themed Movie

Previous Appointments Visual Summary

The Inside Reader

Previous Appointments Visual Summary
Top 100 Inside Readers Novels

LGBT Fashion Designers

Previous Appointments Visual Summary

Check out my books

Gay Romance Challenge


Gay Commercial


Around the World



visited 20 states (8.88%)
Create your own visited map of The World

visited 15 states (30%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Gay Classics

Previous Appointments Visual Summary

Romance History

Previous Appointments Visual Summary


Main Tags


Characters: Alpha Males, Cinderfellas (from rags to riches...), Friends (with benefits), Multicultural Lovers, Pretty... Men! (hustlers) & Virgins (at least in one way)
Dream Lovers: Cowboys, Pirates & Sheikhs
Erotica (M/F)
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Futuristic, Historical & Paranormal
Length: Short Story, Novella & Novel
Men in Uniform: Cops / Detectives / PIs, Firefighters & Military
Non Conventional Lovers: Elves, Gods, Deity & Witches, Furry Lovers, Shapeshifters & Vampires
Otherwordly Lovers: Angels, Demons & Ghosts
Possible Futures: Apocalypse Now & Back to the Future
Relationships: Bondage / Submission, Breeches Rippers, Coming of Age, Disability, Gay for You, Male Pregnancy, May / December, Ménage a trois (or more...), Silver Romance & Twincest
Settings: Art World, College, Medical Romance, Office Affairs, Seasonal Romance, Show Business & Sports
Yaoi (manga)
From Movie to Novel (and viceversa)
Top 100 Gay Novels List

Secondary Tags


Activist
Actor
Artist: illustrator, painter, photographer, sculptor
Author: novelist, playwright, poet, screenwriter, writer
Dancer: dance, choreographer
Designer: architect, costumer, fashion designer, graphic designer, hairstylist, makeup artist, set designer, tailor
Director: director, stage director
Eccentric: aristocrat, art collector, drag queen, explorer, female impersonator, heir/heiress, hostess, lover, muse, prostitute, socialite, spy, survivor
Essayist: anthropologist, archivist, biologist, columnist, critic, editor, educator, historian, journalist, lecturer, librarian, linguistic, philosopher, professor, psychoanalyst, psychologist, psychotherapist, publisher, reporter, researcher, scholar, sexologist, sociologist, teacher, theorist
Leader: commander, emperor, judge, monarch, officer, politician, senator, statistician, warrior
Model
Musician: arranger, composer, conductor, lyricist, pianist, singer, songwriter, violinist
Producer: producer, manager, entrepreneur
Sport

Preditors & Editors Poll






Amazon Profile




My Associate Amazon Store

Goodreads Profile


Top reviewer
Best reviewer
Top user
Top librarian
Most followed


Library Thing Helper Badgers


(Gold Medal) Helper for contributions to any area of LibraryThing
(Gold Medal) Common Knowledge for contributions to Common Knowledge
(Gold Medal) Work Combination for help maintaining LibraryThing's work system
(Silver Medal) Author Combination for help combining author names together
(Bronze Medal) Distinct authors for splitting homonymous authors into distinct authors

Publishers


List of LGBT publishers (for reviews look the Tags section)
Detailed List

Ego Surfing


Who links me



Statistics




ClustrMaps



Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings
Country Share

Country Share




Site Meter
Site Meter





Disclaimer


All cover art, photo and graphic design contained in this site are copyrighted by the respective publishers and authors. These pages are for entertainment purposes only and no copyright infringement is intended. Should anyone object to our use of these items please contact by email the LJ's owner.
This is an amateur blog, where I discuss my reading, what I like and sometimes my personal life. I do not endorse anyone or charge fees of any kind for the books I review. I do not accept money as a result of this blog.
I'm associated with Amazon/USA Affiliates Programs.
Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. However, some books were purchased by the reviewer and not provided for free. For information on how a particular title was obtained, please contact by email the LJ's owner.

Latest Month

December 2021
S M T W T F S
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 

Tags

Comments

Powered by LiveJournal.com
Designed by Tiffany Chow