Roger Hyttinen

Review of Perfect Ten by L. Philips

January 13, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Perfect Ten follows Sam Raines, who after having broken up with boyfriend Landon, two years prior, is lonely. He’s ready to find a new boyfriend, but that’s not an easy task given that there’s only one other gay kid at his school that he knows of. His best friend Meg, who is a Wiccan, offers to perform a love spell for Sam. All he has to do is make a list of the top ten traits that he wasn’t his new boy to have and then petition the Goddess.

Now Sam is not a believer in Meg’s religion but decides to give a go, figuring his love life could use all the help it can get. So in a midnight cemetery ritual involving candles, the elements and a spell recited in Latin, Sam burns his list, thus sending out his intent to the universe. Much to Sam’s surprise, the spell seems to have worked — but not quite in the way he’d hoped. Instead of bringing one perfect guy to his doorstep, the spell brings three of them. There’s Gus, the debonair and swoon-worthy new French exchange student; Travis, the super-sexy and flirtatious bisexual rockstar with a huge heart; and Jamie, the adorable angelic-looking artist whose face lights up every time he sees Sam. Oh, and there’s also Sam’s ex-boyfriend Landon who still seems to hold a special place in Sam’s heart causing Sam much confusion.

As it turns out, all of them make a play for Sam’s heart, and now all Sam has to do is choose.

What I Liked

First off, I love the cover. It was eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing and super-cute, letting us know that we’re in store for a sweet and fluffy read.

I was in the mood for something that wasn’t too heavy, and this book fit the bill. It was a fun blend of teen romance with a tad of magical realism thrown in resulting in a swoony young adult romantic comedy. It was fun journeying along with Sam who, wanting to explore his options, struggled to choose a new boyfriend from several equally charming contenders. But of course, it’s not as easy as it sounds leading to much drama and both romantic and sexual tension, all of which renders the story compelling.

For the most part, I liked Sam’s character though there’s no denying that he is flawed like the rest of us and ends up making some stupid mistakes. But he felt realistic to me. He was so caught up in the idea that he now had romantic options that he felt that is was okay to “date around” a bit until he made his decision. Not surprisingly, Sam learned that not everyone was okay with this. Lesson learned. But still — I found it refreshing and fun to read a story featuring a teen who had multiple suitors.

I liked the secondary cast of characters and also found them relatable. I especially enjoyed the friendship between Sam, Landon, and Meg and felt that the events in their relationship demonstrated the ups and downs of friendship nicely, especially how loyalties become tested from time to time. I felt that Landon and Meg were believable, well-developed characters, both of which I could relate to. I also liked how Meg’s and Sam’s dating life and romantic interests led to several interesting and frank discussions about love and sex.

Additionally, I felt the magical realism aspect of the story really lent a feeling of fun and intrigue to the story. Truth be told, it was the magical realism aspect of the story that caused me to pick it up. I liked the premise of high school kids do a spell, the spell works and they have to deal with the fallout and learn lessons in the process.

That being said, I did like the inclusion of Wicca in the story and thought that the author did an excellent job of representing Meg and her involvement with the Wiccan religion in a respectful way. This was especially evident when Meg, explaining her religion says:

“The great thing about Wicca is that you don’t need to use any fancy spells or words if you don’t want to. You just have to speak from the heart.”*

On that same note, I did enjoy the representation in the book. We had several gay characters and at least one bisexual character. I also loved how much of the story focused on art. Sam was a writer (though I don’t recall him having actually written anything), Travis was a musician, and Jamie was an artist, and it was through their creativity they all connected, which really resonated with me.

I thought the ending was well done and enjoyed how it all turned out, especially given that there was a huge “fake-out” at the end. The conclusion was romantic and satisfying, with a HEA.

What I Didn’t Like

One of the main things that I disliked was how the French foreign exchange student’s dialog was written phonetically. I hate it when authors try to write an accent or a dialect in this way, and it rarely works. It certainly didn’t here, and I found it super annoying. I also felt that the author resorted to negative stereotypes in the portrayal of Gus, portraying him more like a French caricature than a person.

While I did find Sam likable (mostly), there were some things about his character that bothered me. He was at times almost over-the-top shallow and self-centered, and he struck me being oblivious to the feelings of others. He often didn’t treat the people in his life all that well. I recall a couple of scenes in the book in which he shames Meg into not losing her virginity with her boyfriend though he regularly had sex with Landon while they were dating. I felt he could as supported her a little better and at times, he didn’t feel like he was a very good friend.

Okay, maybe it’s just me, but I’m surprised that nobody had an issue with 21-year-old Travis trying to get 17-year-old Sam in bed. In fact, just about every conversation between Travis and Sam revolved around sex. I just found it surprising that none of Sam’s friends took issue with Travis’s age, especially considering that it is illegal in most states for an adult to have sex with someone who’s underage.

Verdict

In spite of our main character being a tad bit too self-centered, I thought that Perfect Ten was a sweet, lighthearted gay romance that I overall enjoyed. In fact, I read the book in a couple of sittings because I couldn’t put it down, so that says something about its strength as a story. I especially enjoyed the heart-warming conclusion that gives you all the right feels so in this way, it was quite an engaging story. I probably would give this one 3.5 stars.

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Review of Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones

January 11, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I was so excited when I received an Advanced Reader Copy of Summoned to Thirteenth Grave. This is the thirteenth and final book in the Charley Davidson series and I’ve followed this series since 2011 when Darynda Jones published the first book in the series entitled “First Grave on the Right.” Seven years I’ve been with these characters and the dreaded day finally arrived when I would have to say farewell to them, once and for all.

This series follows Charlotte Davidson AKA Charley Davidson who sees dead people and it’s up to her to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances — like murder for instance — they sometimes want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. She has her own investigation business but as it often turns out, most of her clients are the dearly departed.

As the series progresses and the tale unfolds, we meet all manner of interesting characters: ghosts, demons, angels and even Gods and the main characters of our story have all sorts of surprising secrets — some of which the characters aren’t even aware of themselves!

Now you may think that the series sounds spooky — and I guess it can be. But these books are filled to the brim with humor and snarky comments which at times, caused me to laugh so hard that tears were running down my face. In fact, a couple of times my partner would look at me while I was in the throes of hysterical laughter and ask,

“Are you reading Charley Davidson again?”

“Why yes. Yes, I am.

Now there is so much more to this story than a young woman who sees ghosts — hell, it took 13 books to tell this tale — so I can’t say too much about it since I don’t want to ruin anything for those of you who haven’t read it. Let me just say that the author did an excellent job of wrapping up this series. At the end, it felt like I was saying goodbye and farewell to much beloved old friends.

This last book was phenomenal and I really, really hated to see it end. This is probably my all time favorite series and this is one that I may even consider rereading. Heck, I actually pretty certain that I’ll reread it at some point.

So if you follow the series, know that this final book will be released in January of 2019 and it is a very satisfying conclusion to the series.

If you haven’t yet discovered Charley Davidson and if the premise intrigues you, then you’ll want to start with the first book “First Grave on the Right”. It’s the perfect time to dive in as you won’t have to wait for the next book in the series. They’re all finished. Let me tell you, it was hell each year waiting for the next book to come out.

I don’t really need to say that I gave this book five stars. A huge, grateful thank you to St. Martin’s press and Darynda Jones for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy.

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Review of The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein

January 7, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Trauma cleaner book cover The Trauma Cleaner is part memoir, part biography that follows a transgender woman named Sandra Pankhurst, owner of a trauma cleaning business. What Sandra and her crew of cleaners do, is to enter the properties of suicide victims, murder victims, hoarders, and drug addicts and cleans them up. In this book, we follow along with the Sandra and the author as we enter a few of these sites and some of the descriptions thereof are pretty horrendous.

The book provides vivid descriptions of people, many of them hoarders, living in feces-invested homes with rats, roaches, flies, rotting food, mold-lined walls, rotted floors, and nearly unbearable stench, all of which the author witnessed firsthand as she accompanied Sandra and her crew to various scenes over a four year period. But in addition to cleaning up, Sandra enters into the lives of the occupants, gently leading them and guiding them to hopefully a better way of living, away from the hoarding and the filth. As she does so, we get to hear the stories of the some of the hoarders all of which I found quite fascinating.

But this isn’t just a look at the business of trauma cleaning, though that part is quite interesting. The Trauma Cleaner is also about Sandra’s personal life in which we learn that she began life as a boy named Peter and during her childhood, suffered horribly at the hands of an alcoholic and abusive father. It’s in these personal stories where we follow Sandra’s struggle with gender identity as she moves from suffering at the hands of abusive parents to her estrangement from her children as well as all of her friends after her transitioning process.

As Sandra’s personal history unfolds for us, we witness harrowing events such as her life as a child during which she was beaten, starved, ignored and forced to live in a shack outside of her home; the time she spent as a prostitute; a shocking event where she was beaten, raped and nearly murdered by a client; and the night that the person with whom she was in love with was brutally murdered right in front of her. She has also had to endure much transphobic abuse and hostility surrounding her transition.

Sandra’s story is truly fascinating as she has gone through more ups and downs than most of us can even begin to imagine. In fact, some of the events of our life seem so far out there, that part of the story read more like a fiction novel than a biography.

What I liked

Though Sandra had gone through more than her fair share of hardship, her story is also an inspiring one. It’s a story of a strong woman who overcame one difficult situation after another by sheer force of will and through it all, held on to her dignity. So in this way, Sandra Pankhurst is quite an admirable person, and I loved the way she reinvented herself over and over again. The author painted a mesmerizing portrait of a woman’s bizarre life and did so in a way that allowed me, as a reader, to empathize and connect with Sandra.

I also enjoyed how multi-faceted and complex of a person Sandra is. The blurb for the book describes her as a husband, father, drag queen, sex worker, and wife. We cannot forget that she is additionally a successful entrepreneur and a trauma cleaner so, in this way, she is indeed a woman of many guises.

I found both Sandra’s personal story and the brief peek into her life as a trauma cleaner to be utterly fascinating, and it held me captive until the end of the book. I thought the author did an excellent job of presenting and balancing Sandra’s business with her clients with her personal history, and I think that Sandra may be the most compelling person that I’ve ever read about. By shifting the narrative back and forth between Sandra’s trauma cleaning business and her history, we begin to get a glimpse of those events which brought her to the current place in her life.

Additionally fascinating was the peek into the lives of the hoarders. What I found surprising, was how hoarding does not discriminate on the basis of income or intelligence but rather, hoarders can be anyone from a drug addict to someone holding a Ph.D.

I enjoyed reading the narratives of the hoarders and learning how they ended up in their current situation. Reading some of these accounts certainly has caused me to think about ways of making my own life more uncluttered.

What I Didn’t Like

Initially, I was a bit confused by the book. The name of the book is “The Trauma Cleaner” so I went into this book assuming that the focus was going to be on the trauma cleaning and the intricacies involved with it. In actuality, the book touched very little on the “trauma” aspect of Sandra’s business and mostly focused on her past life. The few trauma scenes that we did experience were told through the observations of the author. I would have preferred more client stories and more trauma site anecdotes. Thus, if you’re expecting to learn about the trauma cleaning business and all that’s involved with it, this isn’t the book you’re looking for.

Additionally, we are told that Sandra is an unreliable source as there are huge gaps in her memory mostly likely due to years of drugs, hormones, alcohol, and exposure to chemical cleaning supplies necessary for her business. So I couldn’t help but wonder how many of the events in the book actually happened and how much was just speculation on the part of the author. In this way, I’m a bit dubious about many of the events as presented in the book and couldn’t help but wonder to what extent they were embellished. Though to be fair, I’m typically not a fan of unreliable narrators.

Verdict

All in all, The Trauma Cleaner was an engaging, mesmerizing and poignant look at the life of a fascinating person. The book was humorous in some places, heart-breaking in others but through it all, the author painted for us a portrait of a strong, admirable and resilient woman who chose to live life on her own terms.

Though I was a bit disappointed initially after having realized that trauma cleaning was not the focus book, I ended up truly enjoying this unique and engaging biography about human survival, loneliness, pain, loss and ultimately, triumph. It is an emotional and sometimes shocking story about an extraordinary life, and I’m so glad that I read this creative book. Recommended!

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Review of The Evolution of Jeremy Warsh by Jess Moore

December 29, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Evolution of jeremy warsh book cover The Evolution of Jeremy Warsh takes place in the late 1990s and follows Jeremy Warsh, a high school senior and artist who, ever since his grandpa passed away, has put aside his comic art and not touched it. Because he and his mom are struggling financially, Jeremy doesn’t count on going to college but instead, expects a boring life of drudgery.

Then things begin to slowly change for Jeremy. His best friend Kasey comes out of the closet, he receives an unexpected gift from his father and his other friend Stuart begins dating. Inspired by his friends, Jeremy picks up his pencil and starts drawing again, creating a sassy, wise-cracking, no-nonsense, in-your-face character he named Penny Kind. What’s special about Penny, however, is that she speaks to him — literally — and is not afraid to expect and demand more from him than he’s currently giving. That is to say, she holds him accountable for all of his actions and inactions, causing him to continually reevaluate his life and his decisions.

This is especially true after he kisses a boy at a party and he begins to question everything he thought he knew about himself as new and confusing feelings surface. I really enjoyed how Jeremy’s art not only helps him cope with his problems and insecurities but also shows him ways to overcome them, opening his eyes to the different paths available to him.

It was so much fun journeying along with Jeremy as he experienced the ups and downs of life in high school: dealing with high school bullies, facing an uncertain future, finding his place in the world, feeling like an outsider, supporting his friends, supporting his family and discovering and accepting his emerging sexuality. I found him to be not only a lovable and empathetic character but also a wonderfully relatable and memorable one who revealed more and more of himself as his understanding of the bigger world around him unfolded.

Additionally, the diverse cast of secondary characters in the book is truly delightful. These are characters who not only amuse and entertain us but also touch us, and prompt us to think about who we are and how we want to live our lives. Jess Moore really seems to understand the teenage soul — the doubt, the uncertainty, the longing, the self-awareness, the challenges and the confusion and in so doing ended up creating a believable world with plenty of heart.

I also thought the burgeoning romance in the story between Jeremy and Matt was soft, gentle and well drawn. I liked the fact that it was slow and not at all rushed, resulting in a sweet and heartwarming affection that didn’t take away from the rest of the story. It was fun, however, to see Jeremey move from a place of doubt and confusion to a place of acceptance and certainty.

This feel-good story has everything you need for the perfect high school senior story: a tight group of witty and charming friends, a zombie homecoming dance, a high school senior identity crisis, an ultra-cool mom, a will they/won’t they romance, and that somewhat melancholy high that comes with endings and new beginnings. All in all, a delightful story!

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Review of The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

December 29, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This is the second book in the Winternight Trilogy and takes place in the mid-fourteenth century.

The Story

The Girl in the Tower picks up shortly after the events of the first book, The Bear in the Nightingale. Vasya is on the run after being accused of being a witch and cast out by her village. Deciding against life in a convent or a life with a husband, Vasya takes off on her trusty stallion Solovey to see the world, a thirst for adventure in her blood.

Given that during this time period it is unheard of for a maiden to go off exploring on her own, Vasya disguises herself as a boy for protection. But she soon learns that the world is not without its cruelties as she stumbles upon village after village which has been burned down by Tartar bandits, many of the occupants murdered and their young daughters stolen away.

She eventually ends up in Moscow on the doorstep of her sister Olga and her brother Sasha, the monk. She plans to stay for a short visit in fear that her masquerade may endanger her siblings, but she inadvertently ends up catching the attention of her cousin Dmitrii, the Grand Prince of Moscow. Dmitrii is captivated by the brave and fearless young man named Vasilii he believes Vasya to be, which puts her, Olga’s and Sasha’s lives in danger as well as thrusts her in the midst of political intrigue and treachery. Then there’s the new mysterious lord, Kasyan Lutovich, who seems to have taken a particular interest in Vasya and she must now determine whether he’s friend or foe.

Soon she’s caught up in an intricate web of lies and deception, while carefully guarding the secret of her true gender and attempting to remain in Dmitrii’s good graces. This proves more difficult than she could have imagined once she learns that there’s a new evil force threatening her cousin’s kingdom and she is the only one who can stop it.

What I Liked

Like the first book, I adored Vasya’s character. I loved how she left her village with nothing and ended up falling in the good graces of the ruler of Moscow and becoming known to the people as a brave and fearless hero. Her strength, cunning, and bravery are truly admirable, and it was a treat watching her grow and develop into the strong, powerful, spirited and feisty woman she has become by the end of this second book.

I clearly got the feeling that Vasya was no longer a child and in this book, we’re introduced to Vasya the adult. This was especially evident in her reunion with Olga and Sasha. It was nice to see them together as adults, and it pleased me that after being alone and on her own for so long, Vasya was once again surrounded by the love and support of her family (even though they often didn’t see eye-to-eye).

What really resonated with me was the feminist statement the book made about the role of women in society. In this world, women had two choices: marriage or, if she couldn’t find anyone to marry her, a convent. This was a world in which women have no say, women did not ride horses, women did not go out on adventures, women did not dream of bettering themselves, women did not complain, and women often did not even leave the building. The role of the women was to bear her husband an heir and to manage the household. And here we have Vasya: a fiercely independent woman who ignores all of these societal conventions and decides to live life on her own terms, no matter what the ultimate cost to her. In this way, she is indeed a courageous and admirable character.

I also loved watching the evolution of Vasya’s relationship with Morozko and her sassy magical Bay Stallion Solovey. To my delight, Morozko the Frost Demon (AKA The Winter King or The Russian Death God) plays a much bigger part in this novel than in the first, and the scenes between him and Vasya were some of the most emotionally-intense and heart-wrenching in the book. We also learn quite a bit more about Morozko: his origins and his complicated role in Vasya’s life.

I once again enjoyed the supernatural aspect of the story and seeing Vasya’s interaction with the various spirits in the book, some of which help when things become dire. In addition to Morozko’s larger-than-life presence in certain scenes of the novel, we also have a tortured ghost, a sorcerer, a Firebird and several domovoi (local spirits/beings).

The world building in this book was phenomenal. I could almost taste the food the characters enjoyed at the feast and feel the frosty chill of the cruel Russian winter air upon my bare skin. The gorgeous descriptions and details in the book are vivid and lush, resulting in a truly atmospheric novel that’s moody, immersive and alive.

What I Didn’t Like

I am hard-pressed to come up with anything I disliked about this story. My only real niggle was that I would have liked to have learned more Koshchei the Deathless, who is the villain of our story. My knowledge in Russian folklore lacks in this department so a little more backstory on this character would have been helpful in understanding his role in the story. I would have liked to know more about his motivations and his reasons for doing what he did, which I felt were absent.

There were also a couple of scenes when Vasya acted way more immature than her years, and her treatment of others often had a bit to be desired, especially in regards to Morozko. I felt that her excessive harshness towards the frost demon was mostly unwarranted and undeserved, especially considering everything he did for her and how many times he saved her life.

Verdict

The vivid descriptions and thrilling storytelling resulted in an immersive and enchanting story. Arden managed to expertly infuse fascinating historical facts with fantastic elements giving us a spellbinding tale of political intrigue and uprisings, dark magic, deadly bandits, fantastical creatures, religious extremism, adventure, deception, betrayal and the dangers of hubris.

But moreover, the author gives us a brave, kick-ass and undoubtedly flawed heroine to save the day — a character you can’t help but fall in love with. We see how the fate of an entire country rests in the hands of a young girl who, without even realizing it, steps into the boots of a warrior.

All in all, The Girl in the Tower is an enthralling tale of folklore and magic with characters that are vivid and wonderfully rendered, and I absolutely loved it. I can’t wait to read the final book in this bewitching series.

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Review of Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks by Nathan Burgoine

December 28, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks follows a 17-year-old gay high school boy named Cole who, after pushing open the front door to his high school, suddenly finds himself many miles away at the museum that he was thinking about. When he’s finally able to gather his thoughts, he can come to no other conclusion other than that he somehow had just teleported from his high school to the museum. His suspicion is confirmed when it happens again though this time he’s placed in a much more precarious situation.

From there, we follow a string of one awkward situation after another as Cole unwillingly “pops in” all over the place, even ending up outside of a glass shower door in which a boy from his school is showering. Cole pretty quickly figures out that any time he touches or walks through a door, he risks “poofing” to somewhere else.

Cole then notices that creepy people are staring at him whenever he teleports and it doesn’t take him long to figure out that they people may not have his best interest in mind. Eventually, he learns that these people plan to put a stop to his teleporting — by any means necessary.

What I Liked

This novel was so much fun that I ended up reading it in its entirety in just one sitting. This story gripped me to such an extent that I could not put it down. It was original and unique, and I couldn’t wait to see where the author was going to take us next. I loved the premise of Cole’s teleporting, especially once we discover the reason behind it.

I also really loved Cole’s character. He was sweet, bumbling, goofy and overall a likable and relatable guy who won me over right from the start. His bullet journaling and nerdy obsessive planning endeared him even more so to me. I enjoyed seeing his reaction as he discovered his new powers and figured out how to manage them on his own.

Additionally, I loved the representation in this novel in which our main character is gay, and his friends fall somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum: bisexual, pansexual, asexual and transgender. Additionally, Cole’s father is deaf, so it was also nice seeing the inclusion of the deaf community as well. I thought the author did an excellent job of representing the diverse characters in this story.

I also enjoyed how rich, well-developed and irresistible the secondary characters were. They were engaging, fully realized and super-relatable and I found myself ruminating over them well after I finished the novel.

Lastly, I thought the romance was perfect. I liked how it unfolded slowly and naturally and wasn’t at all rushed. The buildup was sweet and playful, and their relationship developed exactly as it should have.

What I Didn’t Like

Though we find out the reason that Cole has demonstrated his sudden talent for teleporting, I wish the author would have gone into a little more detail about it. I would have liked to know why Cole possessed this talent, its purpose and what is ultimately expected of Cole and others like him. I’m hoping that the reason this wasn’t explained is that the author plans on exploring these topics further in future books.

There were also so many themes running through this story, and I wished that the author had explored them more fully; so in this way, the book definitely could have been longer. I would have enjoyed a little more backstory, especially in regards to the past history of the secondary characters and the other teleporters.

Verdict

I loved this quirky and fun story! In Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks, the author has demonstrated a clear talent for writing a unique and compelling LGBTQ+ story and has proven that he can go beyond usual boundaries to create something truly unique and stunning. This is an offbeat, wonderfully weird, immersive book with an adorable cast of characters. The intrigue and excitement grow steadily throughout the novel resulting in a story that is difficult to put down.

By the end of the book, I was head over heels in love with the two main characters, and I really hope the author continues this story in future books.

A huge thank you to Net Galley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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