Blurb:
Presents the author’s story of leaving his previous life for La Dolce Vita – or rather the Southern Italian version of that seductive way of life,with its luscious foods, physical beauty and sun-drenched vistas.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes, but found it too detailed and I lost interest
For people who like: Southern Italy, stories about getting used to another way of life, Mediterranean flair
My thoughts:
Head over Heel is a fun book about the “adventures” of an Australian moving to Italy to be with his Italian girlfriend. He goes to Italy and has to deal with the very unusual everyday life, corruption, language and what not that every expatriate has to face in one way or the other.
I found the book very amusing and entertaining, however, I just couldn’t be bothered reading about all the details of Italian life. Chris Harrison describes many aspects and I just found it too tedious, maybe because I have been to Italy numerous times (even though never as a resident) and didn’t find the situations as strange as other readers might. I stopped reading after maybe 80 pages when the plot hadn’t gone very far yet and the couple was about to move from the South to the very different North of Italy, so I assume there were many more surprises in store for the narrator.
If you have never been to Italy and know next to nothing about it, you will enjoy this greatly.
Location: Andrano, Puglia, Italy
All images from wikipedia. Image of piazza by user Lupiae
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Head over heel |
| Author | Chris Harrison |
| Publisher | Nicholas Brealey Publishing |
| ISBN | 978-1857885217 |
| I got this book from | Netgalley |
| Buy link | Buy Head Over Heel |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Isabel, the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics and an occasional detective, has been accused of getting involved in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. In this first instalment, Isabel is attending a concert in the Usher Hall when she witnesses a man fall from the upper balcony. Isabel can’t help wondering whether it was the result of mischance or mischief. Against the best advice of her no-nonsense housekeeper Grace, her bassoon playing friend Jamie, and even her romantically challenged niece Cat, she is morally bound to solve this case.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes, very much
For people who like: cosy mysteries, philosophical musings, Edinburgh
My thoughts:
What a treat! After reading “The perils of morning coffee” I was eager to read the first book in the series and I wasn’t disappointed. “The Sunday Philosophy Club” was not only cosy, but even gentle, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Isabel Dalhousie sort of becomes entangled in a mystery – to tell the truth, she gets involved by choice –, and tries to get behind the reason for a young man’s death. A death that the police finds unsuspicious, it was an accident to everybody but Isabel.
In her sleuthing attempts she meets interesting people and continuously ponders philosophical issues. It was interesting to observe how her awareness of how to be nice and charitable was thrown out the window when she herself assumes the worst of people and is not too shy to share those thoughts with others. Often we would just read an inner monologue where she tries to decide what to do and what it entails, then again she has delightful conversations with her housekeeper Grace, her niece Cat and other people somehow involved either in her life or the case. Especially Grace was a wonderful character whom I will be happy to hear more about in the next books.
I very much liked the location (how could one not love Edinburgh?), the description of social life there and the different circles Isabel got in contact with, the philosophers, the musicians, the financiers. Our sleuth Isabel has quite a vivid imagination. She is rather quick with her assumptions and conclusions, and in her mind someone turns from friend and ally to murderer in a heartbeat. It was fun to see how her carefully thought out ideas turned to dust.
Now I am coming to Jamie. I am not sure what to think about Isabel’s relationship with him. In the short story I read previously he was there also (that story is set later on, not sure when) and from the context and his being mentioned in the way he was I gathered he was Isabel’s boyfriend, husband, someone along those lines. Now it turns out he is Cat’s ex boyfriend and Isabel and he are only good friends, even though Isabel might be a little bit in love with the younger man. So, I am curious to see how that relationship develops and into what direction.
This was a delightful first book of a series that makes me want to read the next one right NOW.
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Images from wikipedia. Usher Hall by Kim Traynor
Product info and buy link :
| Title | The Sunday Philosophy Club |
| Author | Alexander McCall Smith |
| Publisher | Anchor |
| ISBN | 978-1400077090 |
| I got this book from | the library |
| Buy link | Buy The Sunday Philosophy Club |
| More info | The Sunday Philosophy Club series |
| and more | Alexander McCall Smith’s website |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Explores the unexpected patterns that love, and its absence, weave into our lives. With her understanding of human complexity and contrariness, the award-winning author takes us to the margins and centres of people’s lives, introducing us to some of her most unforgettable characters yet.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes, very much
For people who like: stories that get you emotionally involved
My thoughts:
One thing I know for certain. I am giving the spot where Amy Bloom’s God of Love hangs out a wide berth.
“Where the God of Love hangs out” consists of two sets of four connected stories with four separate short stories in between. The first set is titled “William and Clare” and is about a two friends, both married to other people, discovering their love for each other rather late in life. This was very different from any other romance (if you can call it that) I have read. The couple are two elderly people and they are neither beautiful, sexy nor healthy. Their story moved me very much and made me like Amy Blooms’ writing style from page one. (I posted a book beginning on Friday here where you can read the first paragraph). The ending was extremely upsetting and it got me thinking for a long time afterwards.
The second set is called “Lionel and Julia” and is about a young man falling in love with his stepmother. They spend one night together and this one night overshadows the rest of their lives. Again quite upsetting how we see that one mistake – if it can be called a mistake – has consequences for years and years to come.
The four stand alone stories – one of them giving the book its title – were very good, too, each of them in their own way. The one is liked the least was “By-and-by” simply because I don’t like reading about violence and this was a violent story.
I found the stories very touching and shocking at the same time, and immediately went in search for more of Amy Bloom. Unfortunately I found out that some of the stories in “Where the God of Love hangs out” had been published in previous books as stand alones, whereas here they were connected to others in the set. I can see why Lionel and Julia had more stories in them but I really don’t want to buy a book when I already own some of its content. I suppose I will have to wait until I find Amy Bloom at the library.
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Where the God of Love hangs out |
| Author | Amy Bloom |
| Publisher | Random House |
| ISBN | 978-0-8129-7780-6 |
| I got this book from | I bought it |
| Buy link | Buy Where the God of Love Hangs Out |
| More info | Amy Bloom’s website |
| and more | Interview with Amy Bloom at The Guardian |
| and even more |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Summer in Edinburgh is a season of delicate sunshine and showers, picnics with loved ones in blossoming gardens, and genteel celebrations of art and music. But Isabel Dalhousie’s peaceful idyll is broken when a single meeting over coffee with fellow philosopher Dr. George McLeod brings an irate phone call from his wife, Roz, who implacably accuses Isabel of conducting an affair with her husband.
Wounded by the injustice of Roz’s wild allegation and concerned both for her standing among the gossipy group of her scholarly peers and for Roz’s apparent state of hysteria, Isabel sets out to discover more about the McLeods, and to set the record straight before the bitterness in their marriage poisons her own reputation. For insight into the McLeods’ relationship she turns to Millie, who is both an old acquaintance of Isabel’s and a university colleague of George’s.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes
For people who like: cosy mysteries, Isabel Dalhousie, short stories, Edinburgh
My thoughts:
I have only ever read one book by Alexander McCall Smith before I came across this short story. It was the first book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and I didn’t like it. I gave that one and the following two books that I had bought in a fit of optimism (it was a 3 for 2 at Waterstones, so I was right to buy three) away and decided that Mr. McCall Smith was not for me.
As it turns out now, I think it was Africa that was not for me, because this short story with Isabel Dalhousie, of whom I had never heard before, was just right for me. I loved the setting in Edinburgh, the characters, the topic and the writing style. This is a very short story of only 43 pages, still it introduced me to Isabel Dalhousie’s world quite effectively. It was a very enjoyable read which made me want to read more of this series, as well as some of Alexander McCall Smith’s other series. I am particularly fond of the name of the “Portuguese Irregular Verbs” series – what a charming title! The first book in “The Sunday Philosophy Club” series is already waiting for me.
However, I will definitely steer clear of Botswana, I know that much.
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Product info and buy link :
| Title | The perils of morning coffee |
| Author | Alexander McCall Smith |
| Publisher | Pantheon |
| ISBN | ASIN: B005GQ40H2 |
| I got this book from | the library |
| Buy link | Buy The Perils of Morning Coffee (only available as e-book) |
| More info | The Sunday Philosophy Club series |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Neuer Held des Kayankaya-Autors ist Eddy Stein. Der hat sich im linksalternativen Kreuzberg eine Klischeeidentität aufgebaut, während er in den Bonzenvierteln ausgeklüngelte Trickbetrügereien startet und sich so sein Musikerdasein finanziert. Doch bei einem Handgemenge im Hausflur seiner Altbauwohnung tötet er aus Versehen Berlins meistgehassten Prominenten: den Großkapitalisten Horst König, der als Käufer der Tempelhofer Deo-Werke zunächst als Retter gefeiert wurde, nach der angekündigten Schließung aber als Vernichter von 8000 Arbeitsplätzen in den Schlagzeilen ist. Um seine Tarnung nicht auffliegen zu lassen, muss Eddy die Leiche verschwinden lassen. Als das gelingt, hören die Schwierigkeiten trotzdem nicht auf, denn der vermeintliche Mord an König wird zum Großereignis, und die Boulevardmedien feiern den unbekannten Mörder als Volkshelden.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: German
I liked it: Yes
For people who like: Screwball Comedies, Billy Wilder
My thoughts:
Da das Buch ohnehin nur auf deutsch erhältlich ist, und dies ausserdem so gut in den German Literature Month passt, ist es nur angebracht, auch auf deutsch darüber zu bloggen.
Ich habe bisher kaum von Jakob Arjouni gehört, und erst Lizzy’s giveaway post hat mich auf ihn aufmerksam gemacht. Da erinnerte ich mich vage an den Titel “Happy Birthday, Türke”. Wie es der Zufall will, bin ich kurz darauf in unserer Bücherei auf “Der heilige Eddy” gestossen.
Der Anfang erinnerte mich sehr an Billy Wilders “One, Two Three”, nur ohne Schwiegersohn in spe, dafür aber mit Leiche. Herrlich komisch, und Eddy’s Gedankengänge und Grundsätze sind einfach wunderbar.
Später lässt die Komik etwas nach, aber deshalb wird es nicht weniger unterhaltsam. Jakob Arjounis Stil zu schreiben hat mir sehr gut gefallen und Eddys Stimme war sehr realistisch – soweit ich das beurteilen kann, ich bin weder mit Trickbetrügern noch mit Original Berlinern bzw. Berliner Originalen gut vertraut.
Die Geschichte wies ein recht grosses Loch gegen Ende zu auf. Eddy’s Geschichte, die er der Polizei erzählte, klang zwar plausibel, jedoch könnte sie in Miuten wie eine Seifenblase platzen, wenn die Möbelpacker oder Königs Bodyguards aussagen würden. Die Bodyguards mögen ja vielleicht noch aus bekannten Gründen den Mund halten; weshalb aber die anderen schweigen sollten, leuchtet mir nicht ein. Und damit wäre dann auch Arkadi dran. Irgendwie hat mich das nicht zufriedengestellt.
Abgesehen davon ist dies eine wunderbare unterhaltsame, komische Geschichte, die schnell gelesen ist, einfach deshalb, weil man das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen mag.
Location: Berlin, Germany
.jpg&filetimestamp=20041126225804 "Hotel Adlon")
Alle Bilder von wikipedia. Klick auf das Bild führt zu dem wikipedia Eintrag mit Urheber.
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Der heilige Eddy |
| Author | Jakob Arjouni |
| Publisher | Diogenes |
| ISBN | 978-3257240177 |
| I got this book from | the library |
| Buy link | Kaufe “Der heilige Eddy” |
Hast du dieses Buch auch gelesen? Wie fandest du es?
This post is part of
Blurb:
The new Honey Driver mystery – Chefs can be arrogant, competitive and downright murderous at times, so when Bath International Taste Extravaganza (BITE for short) organize a best chef competition, Honey Driver, the Hotels Association police liaison officer, senses trouble. Her instinct proves correct when the winning chef is found dead in his own kitchen. Then a second, and a third . . .
In a nutshell:
I read it in: German (Dinner für eine Leiche)
I liked it: No
For people who like: food mysteries, cosy mysteries, Bath and who don’t mind a convoluted story with neither head nor tail
My thoughts:
"A Taste to die for" is the second book in the Honey Driver series and the first one I have read. There is no need to read the first book to get into the story.
Honey is the owner of a small hotel in bath and at the same time liaison between the police and the hotel association. Why a position like that is necessary at all I have no idea but apparently it is. Again, why a liaison would be actually not only included in the investigation but also actively engaged in it is another mystery. Honey goes around questioning people as if she had a right to do so and, astonishingly, people acknowledge that right and tell her whatever she wants to know. If someone tries to refuse she is not beneath blackmailing by suggesting if they won’t cooperate she will simply ask someone else, i.e. a person the witness feels he has to protect, and thus she manages to extract the information from them after all. I personally would tell her to piss off and come back with the investigating police officer.
The mystery in this book is convoluted at best. There are so many potential candidates for position of murderer that after a while I completely lost track. Who hated whom and why got so entangled that towards the end I really couldn’t care less about who did it and why. The whole story felt disconnected and situations seemed to be thrown in at random in order to confuse the reader.
On the side there is a romance between Honey and the police detective, that started in book one. Those two continuously undressed each other with their eyes, but then never got down to it. Unfortunately this did not lead to a tension where the reader – if so inclined; after all this is a mystery, not a romance – was eagerly anticipating the consummation of their love.
Originally I found the setting very interesting, as I work in the hospitality industry myself, but my expectations were not met. I don’t think the setting could be more unrealistic than it was. The behaviour of those hotel managers towards each other left a lot to be desired. There were shouting matches and almost violent outbreaks because of some minor issues which were just ridiculous.
Even considering that Honey’s hotel is a private one it is hard to imagine that she would allow an eighty year old permanent guest who dabbles in occultism and speaks to ghosts to help out at the reception and answer phone calls.
Also I have never seen a hotel manager who passes out from drinking too much in the hotel bar and spends the night on a sofa in the hotel’s public areas. This was just too much.
The only credible aspect of the story was the behaviour of the chefs, I give the author that. Cooks in general are a very special species and chefs are even stranger. So their behaviour rang true to some extent.
All in all I found the story hard to follow, it didn’t make much sense to me, the included romance was lacklustre and the plot disappointing. The only saving grace was the location and the descriptions which made me want to visit Bath. I would only recommend this for the die hard English cosy mystery lover who has read all other series out there already and is looking for something new to give a go.
Location: Bath, England, UK
All images from wikipedia
Product info and buy link :
| Title | A taste to die for |
| Author | J. G. Goodhind |
| Publisher | Severn House Publishers |
| ISBN | 978-0727877413 |
| I got this book from | my mom who picked it up from a grab table |
| Buy link | Buy A Taste to Die For  |
| More info | The Honey Driver mysteries |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Like most women, whether they’ve chosen the Fortune 500 career path or have five kids by 35, Anna David wondered if she’d made the right choices. Then she came upon the classic Sex & the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown, Cosmo’s fearless leader from the mid-sixties to the late nineties.
Immediately connecting with Gurley Brown’s unique message of self-empowerment combined with undeniable femininity, Anna vowed to use Sex as a lesson plan, venturing out of her comfort zone to meet men in new ways and date those she would have never before considered. She decides to open herself up in every way possible, hoping to overcome the fears that have haunted her for years.
In a nutshell:
I liked it: Yes
For people who like: self-improvement stories
My thoughts:
"Falling for me" is the tale of Anna David almost re-inventing herself with the help of a book from the 60s written by Helen Gurley Brown about "Sex and the Single Girl". She takes every single advice from the book and tries to adapt it for her own use and integrate it into her life.
At the beginning of her transformation she is suffering from severe heartbreak and realizes she has to do something to change her attitude. She is a workaholic who has basically no hobbies and never sticks to anything. At times I wondered how on Earth she manages her life on her own. She can’t cook, she buys furniture simply because they are cheap with no sense of what goes together at all, her wardrobe is an eclectic mess, she always picks the wrong men. In some ways she is so naive that I was wondering how she ever gets anything done without being taken advantage of.
Even though she continuously tries to convince me that she is doing all that self improvement for herself and finding a partner is not the main goal, I could never shake the feeling until the end that it is. Even when she says that she is perfectly alright with being single now that she has found her best self, it didn’t quite ring true to me.
Also, on her various dates, there is always something that puts her off the guy. She continuously tells herself she has to lower her standards, but she doesn’t really seem to do that. Before you start arguing now, I am not saying that lowering one’s standards is a good thing per se, but Anna David’s standards seem to be unreachable for ANY man. She doesn’t seem to give them a chance at all or maybe she is just looking for things to complain about. I was starting to wonder whether she even WANTED a relationship and then her therapist puts my thoughts into words when he asks her whether she was available at all.
All her "adventures" are interesting and a lot of them very funny. I suppose that is because a lot of her dates are such failures that you can’t help but laugh.
I wouldn’t say this book is for someone who is looking for the same sort of self improvement project, as quite a few of the steps of the program require a good deal of money. Buying furniture, new wardrobe, taking classes, hiring professionals etc. doesn’t come cheap. So if you are a single girl looking for a man (or simply want to change your style in a big way) and have to live on a small income don’t use Anna David’s way as your guide.
Location: Manhattan, NY, USA & Sevilla, Spain
All images from wikipedia
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Falling for Me |
| Author | Anna David |
| Publisher | Harper Collins |
| ISBN | 9780061996047 |
| I got this book from | Netgalley |
| Buy link | Buy Falling for Me |
| More info | More about the book at Anna David’s website |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Rosa Achmetowna is the outrageously nasty and wily narrator of this rollicking family saga from the author of Broken Glass Park. When she discovers that her seventeen-year-old daughter, "stupid Sulfia," is pregnant by an unknown man she does everything to thwart the pregnancy, employing a variety of folkloric home remedies. But despite her best efforts the baby, Aminat, is born nine months later at Soviet Birthing Center Number 134. Much to Rosa’s surprise and delight, dark eyed Aminat is a Tartar through and through and instantly becomes the apple of her grandmother’s eye. While her good for nothing husband Kalganow spends his days feeding pigeons and contemplating death at the city park, Rosa wages an epic struggle to wrestle Aminat away from Sulfia, whom she considers a woefully inept mother. When Aminat, now a wild and willful teenager, catches the eye of a sleazy German cookbook writer researching Tartar cuisine, Rosa is quick to broker a deal that will guarantee all three women a passage out of the Soviet Union. But as soon as they are settled in the West, the uproariously dysfunctional ties that bind mother, daughter and grandmother begin to fray.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: the original German (Die schärfsten Gerichte der tatarischen Küche)
I liked it: Oh, yes.
For people who like: matter of fact storytelling, who don’t mind an un-likable heroine
My thoughts:
Rosalinda is someone who gets things done. Living in the Soviet Union this is definitely a plus. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. She thinks she knows what is best for everybody and would sell her grandmother if it helped her plans along. Unfortunately the other people in her life often don’t agree with her meddling and feel quite a bit of resentment. However, Rosalinda is sure they will come round eventually and see how great she is.
Rosalinda is the heroine of this book and we see everything through her eyes. From her point of view everything she does makes perfect sense. It would have been interesting to see what Sulfia, her daughter, and later Aminat, her granddaughter, think about how she manipulates them and how she more or less rules their lives.
Alina Bronsky told this story so fabulously in such a dry, matter of fact voice that it is a pleasure to read it. Already after the first few pages where Rosalinda talks about Sulfia’s pregnancy and the following attempts at abortion I knew that I would love the book. The short passage that sold it to me right away was this one (sorry, it is in German):
Ich wusste, dass solche Fälle vorkamen. Eine Jungfrau träumte, und neun Monate später brachte sie ein Kind zur Welt. Ich kannte sogar einen noch schlimmeren Fall, meine Cousine Rafaella: Sie hatte ihre einzige Tochter in der Blüte einer grossen, exotischen Zimmerpflanze unbekannter Art gefunden, deren Kern sie aus dem Süden mitgebracht hatte. Ich konnte mich noch genau erinnern, wie ratlos sie damals gewesen war.
Rosalinda’s extremely self-assured, not to say conceited, view of herself and the way she dismisses the rest of the world was just astonishing. Whatever happens, she never finds fault with herself, but always with the others. Even at the end when she reads about Aminat’s life story in the paper – a story where her grandmother, i.e. Rosalinda, features in a very negative way -, she doesn’t realize it is her they are talking about and comments that she is not even mentioned. In her eyes she just can’t do wrong.
All this doesn’t make Rosalinda sound like a kind and loveable character, but I liked her nevertheless. Her story got never boring, it was funny, tragic, sad, everything you could wish for. After reading Alina Bronsky’s second novel I will be sure to get her debut "Scherbenpark" (Broken Glass Park).
Location: Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg), SU (I think) & somewhere near Frankfurt, Germany
All images from wikipedia
Product info and buy link :
| Title | The hottest dishes of the Tatar cuisine |
| Author | Alina Bronsky |
| Publisher | Europa Editions |
| ISBN | 978-1609450069 |
| I got this book from | I swapped it |
| Buy link | Buy The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Only Orangery reviewed this book some time ago.
Lizzy’s review at Lizzy’s Literary Life
This post is part of
You can find all posts relating to German Literature Month at Beauty is a sleeping cat.
Blurb:
Police officer Gabriel Carter refuses to walk away from an assignment without seeing it through. So when he goes into deep cover as a male prostitute named Ty, he intends to do everything in his power to see his case to an arrest. He seduces his mark, Demetrius Prado, the second most powerful man in Las Vegas and a human trafficker, but the man is nothing like he expected.
The more Gabriel learns about Demetrius, the more twists and turns are thrown his way in the convoluted case leading to Demetrius’s rival, Arden, and beyond. It’s a case of mistaken identities and layer after layer of trumped-up cover stories, and Gabriel is sure there’s no way he’ll ever be able to trust Demetrius with his life… much less with his heart.
My thoughts:
The story starts medias in res when Ty finally gets the chance to get closer to Demetrius. So we don’t know much about either of the protagonists and are being thrown right into the action.
I liked the story and the characters quite a bit, except that Ty’s principles as an undercover agent left quite a bit to be desired. Admittedly he was determined and wouldn’t back down from his mission even when his superior officer told him to pull out, but his motives were a bit dubious.
At the beginning he is determined to bring down Demetrius whom he often calls a monster. However, the hatred he feels for him doesn’t prevent him from falling in lust with Demetrius, and so he gives in to temptation as soon as the opportunity arises. Is this the responsible behaviour of a police officer undercover? OK, his cover is blown right away and he agrees to play yet another game to now bring down Demetrius’ rival, an even worse person called Arden. But his constant oscillating between believing Demetrius’ story and then deciding that he is a liar after all just grated on my nerves. His belief or disbelief in Demetrius was never based on any facts but rather his own unstable emotions.
So the so-called layer of layer of cover stories were actually only two and Ty could not make up his mind which one he should believe.
Also Ty’s constant disgust at the business methods he was witnessing were too much for me. Ok, I got it. Demetrius and Arden are human trafickers (among other things) and their business methods are less than refined. What would you expect? Every “normal” person would be appalled seeing people getting killed or treated like cattle, but Ty is an undercover police officer who should be a.) prepared for that sort of thing and b.) at least able to hide his emotions. He seemed to be neither. This just didn’t ring true and if the intention was to make him more likeable it didn’t work.
For me this was an ok read, but I think I wouldn’t read this story again.
| Title | Undercover sins |
| Author | Hayley B. James |
| Publisher | Dreamspinner Press |
| ISBN | 978-1-61581-855-6 |
| Buy link | Buy Undercover Sins |
Blurb: Riley has never been the kind of straight guy who sneers at gay men. Hell, most of his best friends are gay, and it only matters when Riley wants to drink a plain old beer at the froufy bars they drag him to. He can look and appreciate, but dudes just don’t do it for him. Or so he thinks, right up until the new downstairs tenant arrives almost literally on Riley’s doorstep.
The raging storm and motorcycle crash with which Kelly makes his entrance pale in comparison with the battle inside Kelly himself once he gets to know Riley. Riley is damnably hot, nice, and exactly Kelly’s type, except for one little thing — according to all the evidence, Riley’s straight.
Is love truly blind, or does it just wear blinders? Riley and Kelly need to figure it out before the labels and categories drive them irrevocably apart.
My thoughts:
If you come to my blog more often you will already know that I really like TC Blue. I haven’t read a lot of “gay for you” stories before this one (the ones I have read were not as obvious), so I wasn’t really sure whether this certain spin is for me or not. Well, it turned out it isn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the plot is a good one, the characters are especially nice and likeable and if you like gay for you, then this will definitely be a good read.
To me the constant pointing out that Riley is straight (either done by himself or by Kelly) was just too blatant. I was grateful that at least Riley wasn’t one of those characters who keep denying their attraction. Still, why couldn’t they just settle on bi or whatever and get it over with? So, I think I will stay clear of obvious gay for you in the future.
There were a few more things that I didn’t like but they are completely down to my personal preferences, so they might not bother you in the least.
I don’t like pets as a “character” that turns up continuously to, for example, help others to become friends etc. Even though I am aware that dogs might actually be doing that in real life, I just don’t want to read about pets. They bore me to death. So Kelly’s monster of a dog really didn’t help me to appreciate the story.
Second, Riley’s cussing. I don’t mind cussing, I don’t mind four letter words and vulgar speech is fine with me. Riley, however, takes the usage of “fuck” and “fucking” to a whole new level. You would think the latter is an adjective you can and should attribute to everything and anything. This was just too much. Admittedly, after a while you simple overlook this due to overexposure, still it is annoying. Or at least it was to me.
If you like gay for you, love pets and don’t mind the overly frequent usage of the word “fuck” then you will like this quite a bit.
| Title | Mandarin Orange |
| Author | TC Blue |
| Publisher | Torquere Books |
| ISBN | 978-1-61040-191-3 |
| Buy link | Buy Mandarin Orange |
