As much as it physically pains me to do so, I’m going to have to agree with my pal Dan 2.0 when it comes to Tiffany McDaniel’s style . . . it’s probabAs much as it physically pains me to do so, I’m going to have to agree with my pal Dan 2.0 when it comes to Tiffany McDaniel’s style . . . it’s probably not for me. I looooooooooved Betty and agree that there is an excellent story within the pages of this latest release regarding a series of prostitutes who are found in Chillicothe, Ohio (inspired by the true tale of the “Chillichothe Six”). Unfortunately, it was so mired in the purple prose that I could not feel all of the feels that I was supposed to be feeling. I have actively avoided The Summer that Melted Everything for fear of being a wrongreader and I will probably continue to do so for the foreseeable future since the main complaint was regarding how it too was overwritten.
Also, I already dislike a face cover, but if you're going to commit to one at least get it right. One sister lipsticked her TOP lip, the other the BOTTOM. Stuff like that drives me batshit.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
I picked up Cherry after seeing the extremely stylized and eye-catching trailer for the Apple + film starring Spiderman and brought to life by the gentlemen who also introduced me to some of my best fictional friends via Community and Arrested Development . . .
The movie looked intriguing, but at some point I have to put my foot down when it comes to all of these subscription streaming services, so Apple got the ixnay and I went to the library.
And yeah, I’m clearly not the target demographic for this. The writing was simply turrrrrrrible and talk about a slog when it came to story (or lack thereof). I’m being super generous in giving this 2 Stars, but the part in Iraq had promise and called to mind movies of the past like Platoon or Full Metal Jacket. The rest could line the cat box. Jesus' Son meets Reservoir Dogs? In Nico Walker's dreams maybe. ...more
I requested The Familiar Dark without knowing anything about it other than I really dug TFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
I requested The Familiar Dark without knowing anything about it other than I really dug The Roanoke Girls by this author and was up for whatever she had to offer next. When I discovered it was a story about a mother’s quest to find out who murdered her 12-year old daughter in the Ozarks region of Missouri and the ancillary players would be found in titty bars, trailer parks and consist of “entrepreneurs” who adjusted their sales from meth to heroin based on the growing demand, well . . . .
“There was something someone told me the other day that really struck home. They said Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
“There was something someone told me the other day that really struck home. They said everything in this world carries consequences. I think that’s about right, don’t you?”
In case you aren’t familiar with David Joy, he’s an author who writes “rural noir crime novels” (a/k/a Hick Lit). And he’s one of the best. He’s one hundred percent my go-to guy when I’m looking for . . . . .
He also gives great book recs, posts some delish looking foodie pics and has about 12,473 nicknames for his four-legged best pal. I mean, that’s what I’ve heard. I definitely don’t internet stalk him or anything.
Back to the book. I was lucky enough to get a rare approval from Edelweiss for this title months and months and months ago and promptly read it . . . and kind of didn’t know if I liked it or not. I’m not going to go into details because I poured my heart out in some sort of sobby oversharing review regarding my family’s experience with a heroin addict once and I ain’t about to do it again. Let’s just leave it with the first part of this book was a bit of a gut punch and hit a little too close to home in its reality. It’s one thing to read a sympathetic fictional character – it’s quite another when he could be your own Daddy.
Anyway, so I read this and like I said I wasn’t quite sure I really liked where it went so I never wrote anything up about it – and then I re-read it last week since I knew release date was coming up. I stand by this still missed the mark just an eeeeeensie bit for me, but really I think it’s because I want things as black as Mitchell’s soul and this one provided a little bit of hope at the end.
This is a story of a father and son, the opioid crisis, drug runners, lawmen (and women), The Outlet Mall and it takes place while the mountains surrounding it all burn. It’s tightly woven, perfectly paced and well told.
Recommended.
ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Boy Swallows Universe was already on my TBR for receiving a bunch of accolades when it caFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Boy Swallows Universe was already on my TBR for receiving a bunch of accolades when it came out from various sources which I can’t remember because my brain is made of Swiss cheese. And more importantly because I thought it was a Young Adult novel (Apparently it isn’t??? I still argue it is) that was written by an Australian and I’ve had pretty good luck with the Aussie YA novelists in the past. Then a friend of a friend recommended it so I went ahead and pushed it to the top of the heap in order to play the guinea pig since I’m the faster reader. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have made her read it first. It was her pal who said how great it was, after all.
In theory this book should have been a clear winner for me. It had so many things that usually generate a high rating . . . .
Okay, that’s a lie. I read every dang page. But that’s really my biggest complaint. Reading this was like driving on a highway full of potholes. Things were moving along just fine and I found myself getting to know the characters and invested in the goings on and then WHAM – the pacing just went right out the window while the author droned on and on and on about crap that didn’t have anything to do with the story (*rinse - repeat* ad nauseum). I also don’t really buy that much of this was inspired by any real life events and when it came to some magical realism being thrown in as an afterthought I was like . . . .
I knew zero about Long Bright River before attempting to get my hands on a copy. All I knFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
I knew zero about Long Bright River before attempting to get my hands on a copy. All I knew was I loved Heft and when I recognized the author’s name I wanted to give her new release a shot. When I found out it was a dope story, wellllllll . . . . .
The story here is of two sisters. Mickey works on the right side of the law as a beat cop in Philly, her sister Kacey is a drug addicted prostitute. At its most basic, this is a “whodunit” when Mickey discovers Kacey might be officially missing at the same time as several women with a connection to the seedier side of life have been murdered. And believe me, that story is done well. It absolutely did not feel like 500 pages. What I did not expect whatsoever was . . . . .
No, not really. I’ll spare you the soapbox regarding my feelings on 99.99999% of the times that term is used, but let’s just say this one hit waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too close to home. You can stop reading here if you’re only interested in book specifics because I really have nothing to offer. Instead I’m going to get real personal.
Long Bright River resonated with me because I could relate to it on a whole different level. You see, I work in law and have a sister who died of a heroin overdose. She often went “missing” and turned up again only because she needed some money. I can only assume she more than likely whored herself out in order to get a fix when she did not have other means of obtaining money. She painted herself the victim and blamed every bad decision she ever made on her upbringing – which was the same upbringing I had and yet somehow I managed to become a fairly productive member of society. She had drug addicted baby after drug addicted baby. One died (basically at her hands because even though said baby was born addicted, she was still sent home with a garbage human to care for her who unplugged the breathing/heart monitor due to it “malfunctioning and beeping all the time” - a/k/a she was stoned, her baby dying was interrupting her high, and when she finally came to it was too late to resuscitate). A second baby died. Three more were taking in by a relative and since my sister never managed to make any supervised visits/not piss dirty eventually legal custody was granted in whole to that wonderful family. Another went to a family battling infertility and thankfully they were able to legally adopt her after the system ran its tedious, never-ending second/third/fourth/eightieth chance process. We thought she was going to go to prison once and we were so happy because at least she would have a roof over her head, food, and a chance at court-ordered rehab to get clean . . . but then she was released with a slap on the wrist (and trust me, manufacturing methamphetamine SHOULD NOT be a charge with fucking probation as the punishment), came out and spiraled out of control until her death.
As I said, I don’t think I’ve ever related to a story like I did this one. I have never had a book bring out so much real life, personal anger in me. I’ve never wanted to throat punch a fictional character like this. I’ve never had a twist that I cheered for as much as this one and I’ve never agreed with a character’s actions like I agreed with Mickey’s. My notes say real brilliant things like “fuck you” and “fuck you twice” because I was raging out so hard. I’ve never wanted someone to not be dead just so I could tell them what a fucking selfish/bullshit artist/baby killing/first world problem having piece of garbage they were because I was too cowardly to do it when they were alive and Liz Moore brought all of those repressed feelings to the surface (and out of my screaming face in the safety of my car where my children couldn’t hear me). Obviously this book might not generate the same type of emotion in most of you.
The weird non-use of quotes but using dashes instead and still saying “he said/she said” after every bit of dialogue was annoying, though. There. There’s something about the book.
Jesus’ Son has been on my TBR for an age due to the fact that it is considered a modern classic and has appeared on list after list of must reads that I can’t ever stop myself from looking at, despite having 11,000,000,000,000 books already waiting for me to get to them. I can’t guarantee everyone will love this one – due to the aforementioned drug addict narrator along with a supporting cast of the same ilk – not to mention the fact that a lot of these shorts are real Debbie Downers. Buuuuuuuuuuut, the writing is pretty brilliant and my library copy literally fit in the palm of my hand (it is a miracle I did not lose it – I did, however, receive a past due notice because it’s so small I forgot I stuck it in my car console for safekeeping), so it’s not like it’s going to take much of your time.
Go read J. Kent Messum’s review review for more details. He’s a writer by trade so he actually uses words rather than pictures to get his point across and he also talks about the audio, which is apparently read by the best reader of all time . . . .
If it weren’t for Lauren, I would have never even heard of this book let alone tracked down a hard copy from the library. And this is why places liked Goodreads or Instagram are awesome. Not for “likes” and followers and influencing and all the other real barfy shit that people only seem to talk about – but for friendship and book recs and potentially discovering a new favorite that would have not pinged your radar otherwise.
Per the above, I checked out We Disappear per Lauren’s recommendation alone. I did not read the blurb. You shouldn’t either because there’s a big fat fucking spoiler right in the middle of it that would have pissed me off if someone had blabbed it to me so it’s definitely not okay for the freaking book jacket to do it. The story here is about Scott, a meth addict, who returns to Kansas from New York after receiving a call from his mother who is battling cancer. Supposedly “disappeared” herself for a time as a child, Scott’s mother Donna has always had more than a bit of a fixation on missing persons cases. A dead boy being discovered in a field is the catalyst to the call to her son for help in amateur sleuthing their way to figuring out the “whodunit.”
And now let’s get giffy. This book had EV.ER.Y.THANG. on the Mitchell and Kelly sure-to-be-5-Star-meter going for it. To begin with . . . .
As Avril Lavigne would say – this was everything everything that I wanted. Dark, gritty, methy, dead people, nutters, the list goes on and on. All the Stars.
Riggle had to move in with his uncle at the local trailer park after losing his over-theFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Riggle had to move in with his uncle at the local trailer park after losing his over-the-road trucker dad in an automobile accident followed by his mom succumbing to her grief and committing suicide. This is the story of a week in Riggle’s life when he not only receives a 5-day suspension from school for supposedly having a vape pen full of THC, but also the week when his uncle goes missing.
Unlike yesterday’s review, this is a book that is being marketed as it should be – Young Adult. Again, kids aren’t stupid. Hell, they probably know more about dealing with real-life issues than many adults who either live in a comfort bubble or who have grown complacent. There’s no reason to hide them from the darker side of life and with a title like this you flat out know . . . .
However, since it is YA it does retain a little bit of hope – unlike most grit lit selections I pick up.
I’ve never read this author before (but I did buy a copy of Motherfucking Sharks because - DUH). As the placeholder “review” below indicates, whenever there’s a trailer park on a cover or even a hint that some bad shit might go down due to drug dealing or usage, I’m pretty much like . . . .
Seriously. This is pretty much guaranteed to be 5 Stars from Mitchell. Also, it's by the guy who wrote Motherfucking Sharks so if things go well I might have to invite him over to the dungeon my spare room while he writes his next book....more
Before we get started let’s get real clear on some things. Aside from my addiction to TheFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Before we get started let’s get real clear on some things. Aside from my addiction to The Real Housewives In Every-Single-City-On-The-Entire-Planet franchise, I don’t watch a lot of television programs. The ones I do often find myself tuning into? Well, they tend to have some similarities. I like fellas like these . . . .
My name is Kelly and I am addicted to the trailer park lifestyle. In theory Trailer Park Noir should have been a hit. Not only did it have a winner of a title and irresistible cover art, but the residents of the Riverside Mobile Home Park were just the type of folks I hoped to meet. Struggling single mother with a special-needs daughter, widowed PI with a booze problem, slovenly property manager, internet pornographer, methamphetamine manufacturer, dead person. You know, my kind of crowd. And the beginning and the ending of this book were what generally result in 4 and 5 Star ratings for me. So where did things go wrong in the middle???? Well to begin with, while I’m not personally “triggered” by many (okay, ANY) things, when it comes to items I feel others would potentially want to be warned about, it’s pretty much . . . .
To me there’s a HUGE difference in writing about topics that you know will limit your audience (i.e., ANY book in the “grit lit” genre) and writing about a topic with the intention of turning off your readers. There’s not a fine line between gritty and squicky, there’s a giant cavern. Books like this or The Traveling Vampire Show leave a bad taste in my mouth because I question whether the taste level has been turned so far South as an attempt by the author to mask their inability to write well or because they get off on telling these types of stories. Either one is going to result in a low rating from me. Trailer Park Noir gets a bump from 1 to 2 due to its potential to be better than it was (and that title and cover, obvi). ...more
“You gotta be like barbed wire. Tough no matter what, ready to tangle with anyone who Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
“You gotta be like barbed wire. Tough no matter what, ready to tangle with anyone who gets too close.”
Do you suck at keeping up with reviews? (Don’t answer that, Ron, we all know you do.) If so, is there a reason one (or 30) fall through the cracks? It can’t be because I didn’t like this book because holy crap I liked this one. (Meth = 4 Stars. Kidding. Sort of.). And yet somehow I read it 42,000 days ago and never bothered posting. Now you get next to nothing because Old Lady Brain is a debilitating condition so the details are scarce. Simply put, this is a story about . . . . .
No - not that kind of Family Feud – more like the Hatfield and McCoy version that has been going on for an age and even murdering the other’s family members isn’t over the line. The focus is on Harley McKenna, daughter of a criminal who has been working for him since she was only 16. Now the Springfield clan are closing in on Daddy Duke’s operation and Harley has decided she’s had enough. Her plan is to take out both operations . . . . .
Here’s where I win my mother-of-the-year award, because despite the fact that this is a violent, gritty type of tale, I would totally market it as YA. What you have to understand is when I say “YA” I mean like Juniors and Seniors in high school. This book was a freaking feminist manifesto that kicked ass and took names and I would highly recommend it to older young adults. It’s in your face and no nonsense and that is the kind of daughter I would want to raise if I had one....more
Being one of the boys is a pretty simple task. Choose the right side in “the war.” What war, you might ask? The war between mother and father. Pick dad and you pick strength – fun – a new start in a new location – a chance to be one of the boys with him and your brother. Pick mom and you’re weak – nothing – less than nothing. It’s not until your new life starts that you begin to see what started the war to begin with. Dad’s volatile temperament, his inability to focus on his job at times, and the worst thing of all – the strange chemical smells that come out of his bedroom when he locks himself in there, sometimes for days at a time “smoking cigars.”
I’m pretty sure I read this wrong. Okay that’s a lie. I know I read this wrong. It was supposed to make me feel all the feels and it didn’t. That’s alright, though, because . . . .
And this time I’m blaming everyone in my household being sick as the problem instead of my lack of heart. Here’s an image of what I experienced this weekend. First with the husband . . . .
In addition to all that, here’s the deal: I would totally market this as young adult. Although it deals with some super serious mature storylines, I’m all about pushing the envelope. My (upper) middle schooler is currently reading an “award winning” recommendation from the school district. So is his teacher’s FOURTH GRADE son. It probably goes without saying my (not a voluntary reader to begin with) kid is hating every second of this experience. One of the Boys has a lot of things that might keep him interested: it’s short (remember, not a big reader), it’s contemporary and it deals with adult subject matter (drug use and child abuse). The thing that works for me when it comes to books I like discussing with the kid is the “book clubby” nature that generates conversation. Why do the characters not have names? What does he think was really up with the mom? Why does he think the boys chose dad in “the war”? Was dad healthy before they moved away from Kansas? Does he think the kids did anything wrong ever – either back in Kansas or in New Mexico? Why does he think they never tried to get away or tell someone about what was happening? Would HE tell someone what was happening if this was his life? THIS is the type of outcome I want to have after my kid finishes a book. Not to mention his privileged little hiney could stand a dose of “not everyone has it so good” every once in a while. If you’re like me, you might want your kid to read this one too. If you’re not like me I have a bunch of generic, vanilla recommendations from the school I can give you : ) ...more
“Surfers live by the rules of the wind and moon, because the wind controls how big theFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
“Surfers live by the rules of the wind and moon, because the wind controls how big the waves are, while the moon pulls the tide back and forth like a puppet on a string.”
This might have possibly earned its fifth star for being a “right place at the right time” kind of read, but I can’t imagine a universe where it would have scored less than four from me. If you know me (and Mitchell), you are aware that we enjoy a little . . . okay a lot of despair when it comes to some of our fave reads. What can I say????
The Tribes of Palos Verdes first appeared on my radar on one of those “books that will soon be a movie” lists that I am addicted to. I immediately wanted to read it simply for the cover . . .
But alas, the library didn’t have it. When the movie trailer popped up as an advertisement over on the Faceplace, I went looking to the library once again. I even gave up one of my seemingly endless porny book requests in order to beg them to buy this one. (I’m pretty sure they bought it simply to encourage me to not be such a perv all the time.)
The Tribes of Palos Verdes delivered misery in spades. Told from 15-year old Medina’s perspective, this is the story of what happens when her family transplants itself from the Midwest to an exclusive Palos Verdes neighborhood. A place filled with humble abodes such as the following and Average Joe types of neighbors like Donald Trump and the missus . . . . .
From a philandering father to a mentally unstable mother to a brother who attempts to fade into the woodwork via drugs to her own sad tale of being used (and abused), this story pulled no punches. I am always appreciative of authors who don’t feel the need to waste words, and Joy Nicholson delivers a real wallop here in barely over 200 pages. I also appreciate genre benders and The Tribes of Palos Verdes fits that bill as well as it appears it was originally released as an adult novel, but will definitely find its own tribe with older teens who like their fiction a little gritty.
Sidenote about the film: If Jennifer Garner can pull off this role I will eat my hat. ...more
On Thursday morning I rushed to the library as soon as it opened in order to retrieve a reserved copy of my most anticipated book of 2017. Upon finishing that one Friday afternoon, I was at a loss for what to read next. She Rides Shotgun (best title ever) was on what seemed to be an eternal hold at the porny library, but for whatever reason (*cough* kismet *cough*) I decided to roll the dice and check availability at the “fancy” library as well. And then? Well, then I got smacked right in the face with what turned out to be the sleeper of the year. I started reading it at work (shhhhh, keep that on the DL), got home and put my “going to Wal-Mart clothes” (a/k/a jammies) on and didn’t put it down until I was done. When I finished I had one thing to say . . . .
She Rides Shotgun is the story of Nate, a man who is set to be released from prison after serving time for armed robbery. Days before Nate’s freedom, he’s presented an offer he can’t shouldn’t refuse from the local Alt-Right Movement skinheads, the Aryan Steel. However, Nate isn’t exactly what you’d call a team player, so refuse he does – which leads to a “greenlight” being put on not only him, but also on his ex and his 11 year old daughter . . . .
“You think you can turn this around? Hell, you’re already dead. You’re a goddamn zombie walking.”
When Nate discovers his ex (and her new husband) have already been brutally murdered, it’s up to him to save the little girl, and an unlikely partnership is formed while attempting to remove the marker from their heads . . . .
“I’ll be back. Something goes wrong, you run.”
“I won’t leave you.”
“Fuck that noise. You’ll run.”
Which eventually leads to me really channeling my inner-Mitchell and being willing to declare ol’ Nate dysfunctional father-of-the-year . . . .
“He was all she had and so he was all that mattered. And maybe she was all he had anymore, and maybe that meant she mattered.”
If She Rides Shotgun was food, I would have looked pretty much like this while reading it . . . .
This sucker played out like a film in my head. That means there was not one break in character where they did something I didn’t think that character would do, or went someplace I didn’t think they would go, or said something I didn’t think they would say. And they were so three-dimensional that the actors cast themselves in the roles. I’m not one who wants to make the sexy with Charlie Hunnam, but he was the only person I ever imagined as Nate. Same goes for Eleven Millie Bobby Brown as Polly, and Michael Rooker as Crazy Craig, and Danny Trejo as Boxer, and John Cho as Park and Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Houser and on and on and on and on. Jordan Harper, I’m telling you, if this was a movie my husband would watch the shit out of it. He tried to claim he might even be interested in reading the book, but that’s just crazy talk and even Mitchell said so. As for my feelings for you? Well . . . . .
You might want to go ahead and get a preemptive restraining order in case you aren’t already working on your next novel. Mitchell and I aren’t really well-known for our patience. Or you can take us up on our offer and stay in our dungeon guest room. We’re all for making sure new authors find the following they deserve . . . .
Just ask Adam Howe. We let him out every now and again. Sometimes long enough for him to even be the one who finally wears us down and makes us pick up a new release - like what happened here.
“If there was a God, He wasn’t worth a damn. The devil wins out every time.”
Despite having a reader copy of this for months and despite the glowing review of a certain throne sitter, I never bothered taking a gander The Weight Of This World until the day before publication. When I started it during my lunch hour the other day I was hooked right from page one (in the immortal words of one Ron Burgundy, “boy, that escalated quickly!”) and knew when I arrived home that evening I’d be greeting my family in a not-so-motherly way . . . .
Turns out that wasn’t necessary, because they were already out doing basebally things and wouldn’t be home for a bit. It also turns out I wasn’t quite equipped to read all this misery in one go because rather than it feeling like ripping a Band Aid, these characters were experiencing something more like . . . .
Aiden and Thad had been like brothers ever since Aiden’s daddy blew his momma’s brains out in front of him in the living room one day, immediately followed by making quick work of offing himself as well. Thad wasn’t really living a dream life himself, seeing that his stepdaddy wasn’t too fond of having his (literal) red-headed stepchild under foot, so he’d been sent down to live in the trailer at the bottom of their property by himself.
If you’re interested in reading the types of suggestions Mitchell makes for book club, this one checks all the boxes. Like reading any trigger you could imagine? Enjoy hearing about all the awesomeness that comes with snorting crank and staying up for days on end? Do you love hearing about not one, but several characters blowing their heads off? A book where you know right away nothing could possibly end well? Then this is definitely the winner since it has all that and more that I won’t spoil for you . . . .
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
And in honor of Ron 2.0 (who might actually find this one not so ridiculous even though these fellers were getting around in a Ranchero), here’s the song that played on a loop in my head while I was reading this one . . . .
Alas, it was not meant to be and I was immediately denied the ARC. And then the pestering of the porny librarian began. I tried to get so many libraries to buy this in so many formats I got the interweb equivalent of a cease and desist message something kinda like “WE GET IT BITCH! STAHP ALREADY.”
I just couldn’t help myself, though. I mean, I live like the most generic, vanilla lifestyle of anyone in ‘Murica, so when I see a story like this, it allows me to fully embrace my inner outer Fat Amy . . .
To show just how amazing some humans are still capable of being, on Thursday night (which was my birthday eve) I got a text message from the Queen of the South telling me I needed to send my address to Kelly J. Ford because she was going to send me a copy of Cottonmouths. After making sure Ms. Ford wasn’t locked in a basement (or maybe a singlewide, since that would be more fitting to the situation) and I wasn’t either (1) going to be charged as an accessory after the fact or (2) need to wire some bail money pronto, I proceeded to run around the house screaming with glee like a lunatic.
Then my husband and children went out of town and I received word from the porny library that they are, in fact, terrified of me and a copy of Cottonmouths was waiting for me to come pick it up and OF COURSE I went ahead and got it instead of being patient because . . . .
I is one greedy heifer and I already had plans on spending the day avoiding the 116 degree heat by the pool, which I did and officially named “cooking with meth” . . . .
And also how even though I did get a free copy of this book, I was under absolutely zero obligation to pad my rating since I read the library copy instead.
I should probably talk about the book at least a smidgen at this point, huh?
Emily left town with high hopes of earning a college degree and never looking back. But when she flunks out and the collection agency comes sniffing around for her overdue student loan payments, Emily has no choice but to eat a big ol’ serving of crow and return to her hometown of Drear’s Bluff. When things go south between Emily and her parents, she’s left with no option but to turn to the last person she wanted to ask for help – her former best friend Jody who has become quiet the uhhhhhh entrepreneur . . . . .
“This is like the worst stereotype of the South come to life. All you need is a Confederate flag over the fucking door.”
I have to say there is nothing quite like the booknerd anxiety that is experienced once you finally get your hands on your most anticipated read of the year. Things could have gone sooooooo poorly. Thank Jeebus that was not the case. While Cottonmouths wasn’t action-packed or over-the-top like many of the other grit lit selections I have enjoyed in the past, it absolutely lived up to my high expectations and I was blown away with a story about not only meth, but also about first love and emotional manipulation and blurring the lines between what is right and what is wrong depending on certain circumstances and family who will drop a person like a hot potato for not being who they want them to be. In fact, when Shelby asked me how it was going, my reaction was . . . . . .
And that we had to figure out where these poor kids lived in order to get them away from all that mess because you just know there is no chance things are going to end well. 5 Stars. This sucker deserves every one of them.
Endless thanks to both Kelly J. Ford and my authorstalking bestie. I’d say I’ll be your ride or die, but let’s get real . . . .
Burn Down the Night was brought to my attention when a Goodreads’ friend posted a status update “gently hinting” that a buddy-read should happen . . . .
Since the requested participants of said buddy-read were last in line when Our Lord and Savior Tom Cruise was handing out willpower, she didn’t even have to get to the wedgie part.
So the plot goes a lil’ summin’ like this: Olivia was in school to be a nurse, but then stuff and things happened that landed her with a real charmer who quickly showed his true meth cookin’/sister wivin’ self. Olivia got out, but her sister remained. Fast forward to Olivia being known as Joan and working at a club in order to figure out how to save her sibling. It’s there Joan meets Max . . . .
Although the chemistry was off the charts when she was finding ‘em and grinding ‘em during a lapdance, neither was willing to drop their guard and give in to temptation. Fast forward again to some more stuff and things which leaves Max on death’s door and Joan the only person who might possibly be able to save him. How, you ask????
“You kidnapping me?” he asked.
“Only a little.”
While Joan and Max are in hiding, some truths begin to come out . . . .
“I let you go and you won’t kill me?”
“I was never going to kill you.”
“Right,” I laughed. “You were only going to beat the shit out of me?”
“I was going to fuck the shit out of you.”
And fuck the shit out of her he does . . . . eventually (*cough totally worth the wait cough*) . . . .
This book was hotter than a ballsack in 95 degree temps with 80 percent humidity. Not only was the leading male a bearded badass that called a certain someone to mind . . . .
But the plot was good with great pacing and just the right length as well. The writing was good too. It wasn’t over-the-top purple and distracting, just a little lavender when necessary. And the sex? Holy ladylove, Batman. Didn’t see that coming!!!!
I’m not generally into dirty talk or a lot of self-pleasure without actually sealing the deal, but I’m pretty sure my underpants melted off in the hood at my kid’s baseball practice where I was reading this so it gets every dang one of the Stars.
Many thanks to Vivian for being the cyberbully who forced this on me in the first place, to Shelby for always being another willing lemming ready to jump off the cliff, and to one of my favorite little smut-mongers Kathleen for hitting the request button as well. As for the author? You let me know if you ever want me to read anything else you’ve written. I’m getting real good at the sexy books : )
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
ORIGINAL "REVIEW":
Hmmmmm, bearded dude on cover who rides a motorcycle with meth cooking and "he's my captive, but I want to make all of the sex with him anyway" plotline???? Yes please. Om nom nom nom nom nom nom . . .
I am 150% certain I read this wrong. I was distracted last night between dealingFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
2.5 Stars
I am 150% certain I read this wrong. I was distracted last night between dealing with a real-world annoyance and pissing half the internet off so my attention was not focused on this story whatsoever. NONE of my friends who have read this rated it under 4 Stars so take my “meh” with a shaker full of salt.
The problem I had with Here Was A Man was twofold. (1) Like many other initial volumes, this one didn’t have a whole lot of plot development for me. It provided enough backstory, but you know the real juicy deets are yet to come and the main focus was just on kicking ass. Which leads me to (2) the ass kicking. Been there, done that . . .
I need to get my hands on the next volume and confirm my thoughts that this should end up being one of my favorite graphic novels of all time when it’s all said and done.
Once again this was a gift from the best little pitcherbook fairy in all the Goodreads’ land. Said book fairy has chosen to remain under the user name A. Nonymoose (not really – don’t bother searching that) so go read Mike’s review if you want to see just how iggnant I really am....more
I planned on being super organized and posting a string of books I read all in a row due Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
I planned on being super organized and posting a string of books I read all in a row due to friends’ status updates even though I knew nothing about said books, but then I got sick and couldn’t stop blowing my nose or coughing and I got umpteen reviews behind and . . .
Anywho, obviously I failed at my latest endeavor. But to get back on track, it was the following status posted by Sandra that made my ears perk up . . . .
“The last time I’d been seriously drunk with Jennifer, she wanted to fight so bad that when I didn’t raise a hand she hit herself right in front of me. I begged her to quit as she threw her fist into her face over and over again, then said, “You coward, if you won’t do it, somebody’s got to.””
That little snippet was from Page 3 and it made me immediately run to the library to pick up a copy of Nitro Mountain.
Talk about a romance not meant to be happily ever after. Beyonce wouldn’t be servin’ up no Lemonade if she was writing about these two. It’d be more like Drunk In Love. You know what I’m talking about, right?
Oh the Tumblr. It was a bounty of wonderment with this search (and I didn’t even get to all the “serfboardt” stuff – so many LOLz).
But to get back on track (again): be forewarned – the blurb states . . .
“An astonishing, even shocking debut--darker than a bad night in hell--that is written with both humor and heart by "a writer with abundant and scary gifts and consummate skill.”
If you believe in the Mitchell scale of darkness, you’ll probably find this one to be closer to dusk rather than “darker than a bad night in hell.” But if you like your fiction served up ensemble style and on the bleak and gritty side????
“The nexus between Aw-fuck-it and I-don’t-give-a-shit is a beautiful place tFind all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
3.5 Stars
“The nexus between Aw-fuck-it and I-don’t-give-a-shit is a beautiful place to be.”
When Nick Reid shows up to repossess a rental television, the last thing he expects is to get cold-cocked with a fireplace shovel. Actually, Nick probably would expect something like that. The thing that’s really unexpected is for the non-payment making resident to take off in the vintage Calypso Coral Ranchero Nick’s landlady let him take for a spin. This is the story of attempting to track down and steal back that cherry ride . . .
“A Ranchero is essentially a glorified Fairlane, which never rated glorification. It’s sort of a low-slung, boxy coupe in the front and a small truck in the back, not fit on the one end for a proper family or on the other for legitimate cargo.”
Ranchero was what would happen if Hap and Leonard and Stephanie Plum had a baby. It featured an amazing road trip through the Delta and one of my most favorite new subjects . . .
Put some meth in a storyline and you really have to poop the bed in order for me to hate it. It also featured two unforgettable main characters who, despite being complete opposites in appearance, went together just like peas and carrots . . .
Kelly (and the Book Boar)
>
Books:
meth-ooooh-meth
(23)
Loading...
