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Book 753: Voices of LGBTQ+ – Lynda Wolters

Uhhh…. A for effort?

I said yes to this one when the publisher reached out with a review copy way back in July (it’s been a long year obviously), because it sounded interesting and was nonfiction.*

I was obviously going to come into it with some bias, as a gay man I’m clearly going to have opinions, but I’m also going to come into it with a lot more education and history knowledge, holding an advanced degree in gender, sexuality, and queer theory. And frankly my thoughts are divided on this book. Did Wolters do a good job of starting a conversation and representing the individuals she interviewed? More or less. If I were judging the book solely on this she would’ve gotten four stars.

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Book 749: Feinted Love (Crimes of the Heart #1) – Elle Keaton

I’ve been incredibly hesitant to accept another galley from Gay Romance Reviews after reading It’s A Steal and being appalled at the editing and the numerous 4-5 star reviews on Goodreads.* I’m glad to say this one was definitely a lot better than that one, so at least I wasn’t burned twice, right?

But what can I say (mostly because I’ve said it before), I’m a sucker for a cover model in glasses . . . swoon. I’m not sure I’d peg this cover model as Arnie, this guy just looks too smooth.

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Book 746: Best Laid Plaids (Kilty Pleasures #1) – Ella Stainton

If you don’t know this about me, I very much enjoy a pun. Unexpected, unplanned puns are the best, but any pun will do. So when Ella Stainton reached out to me about her debut novel, a book set in Scotland titled Best Laid Plaids as part of the Kilty Pleasures series, I of course said yes.* And then, when I finished it and saw the title of book two, Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way, clearly I was in pun heaven.

For a debut MM romance novel, it was pretty good. There were definitely some parts that could use some work, but overall, I enjoyed the read.

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Book 744: Better Than People (Garnet Run #1) – Roan Parrish

I of course grabbed a copy of this from NetGalley when I saw the cover because it’s freakin’ adorable.* I’m also, miraculously, pushing this post on the same day it’s published which RARELY happens! Don’t get me wrong, I love the ones with abs, but a cute dog and two guys clearly dressed for fall holding hands, sing me up.

This is the story of Jack, who breaks a bone in his leg/ankle while walking his pack of dogs, and Simon, a super anxious guy who loves animals but has trouble being around, speaking to or interacting with people.

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Book 742: Crime Dot Com – Geoff White

I honestly don’t know how people exist without being paranoid ALL THE TIME. When I first said yes to this after the publicist reached out, it was like 95% because the author’s first name was Geoff and 5% because the subject was interesting. And then I found myself completely absorbed with this book.*

Now I’m not saying we’re totally screwed, but I mean we’re not really that far from being totally screwed and White does a really good job of explaining all of it. He takes an in depth look at the start of cybercrime with the quaint “Love Bug” virus (Wikipedia) to the state sponsored hacking/cyber assault that nudged us into the rotting cesspool of Trumpism that is the US right now.
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