2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Foxes by Suki Fleet (164-07-02-2016)

1) Excellent writing. Suki Fleet is one of the best in the genre. Enthralling tale.

2) Beautifully crafted story that brought tears to my eyes several times. The author is to be commended for drawing a portrait of hope and love for homeless youth.

3) I try hard to think a rating through when it’s very high or very low. I know a perfect ten might at times seem too much, but I just couldn’t find any fault while reading this story. It’s rare to find a book that’s so dark, realistic, and genuine that it makes you cry and shudder and be thankful for everything you’ve got, while planting and nurturing the seed of so much hope. Danny is one of the most engaging and lovable characters I ran across in a while. His search for Dashiel’s killer, his relationships with people in his life, new and old, his quirks, his rambling minds, his struggle to express himself in an environment so harsh, it made me feel cold, physically, while reading, his pure love for Micky and his worry he might be too much, too creepy, everything is so carefully thought out and written, that you can truly imagine this young person, roaming the dreary streets of East London, hunting for sharks. Micky’s character is as well developed as Danny’s, even if he’s more of a project of discovery as you read the book. The lost friend, Dashiel, although present only through Danny’s thoughts and memories, and a few random comments from other minor characters, is as well developed as those still living. Foxes paints a picture of life on the streets of London of young runaways or kids thrown out by their families, as they mingle with predators, other homeless adults, the occasional generous soul, and the thousands and thousands of people who overlook them, unless they want something from them. Foxes does not judge anyone. Not the alcoholic vet, not the creepy, crazy-acting medical professional that Danny suspects of murder, not the actual killer, or the victim. It’s the type of story that, when you’re done reading, has shown you everything in great detail, and lets you decide what you think. Danny and Micky are the most improbably couple I’ve ever read. Although I hoped that somehow they’d be alright in the end, together or apart, I truly feared it wouldn’t happen. The predators roaming the streets at night, illness, hunger, lack of proper shelter, mysterious pasts, everything was stacked against them. I cried and I hoped, and wondered why the world allows young men to live like this, in such poverty and such danger. Foxes will stay with me for a long time, and that’s the most you can ask of a book once you’re done with it. That it makes you think, that it inspires you, and touches your soul.

4) Fleet’s words are magical and enthralling and I was hooked on this story from the first sentence. Don’t come into this expecting a sweet, or short, love story. There is a lot of angst in Foxes. I don’t usually enjoy angst but I loved it here.

Foxes by Suki Fleet
Gay Young Adult
Paperback: 274 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 8, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1634769201
ISBN-13: 978-1634769204
Amazon: Foxes
Amazon Kindle: Foxes

When Dashiel’s body is found dumped on an East London wasteland, his best friend Danny sets out to find the killer. But Danny finds interaction difficult and must keep his world small in order to survive. By day he lives in an abandoned swimming pool and fixes electrical devices to trade for supplies, but by night, alone, he hunts sharks―a reckless search for dangerous men who prey on the vulnerable.

A chance meeting with an American boy selling himself on the streets throws this lonely existence into disarray. Micky is troubled, fragile, and Danny feels a desperate need to protect him―from what, he doesn't know. As Danny discovers more about Micky, he realizes that what Micky needs saving from is the one thing Danny can't help him fight against.

To save Micky, Danny must risk expanding his world and face something that scares him more than any shark ever could: trusting he will be accepted for who he is. If a freezing winter on the streets, a sadistic doctor, and three thousand miles don’t tear them apart first, that is.

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html

2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Beauty, Inc. by Tara Lain (152-06-20-2016)

1) This book is part of a series, but one does not have to read it in sequence, as this appears to be a standalone book. It was a fast read, very delightful book about beauty in all forms, not just skin deep, and how treacherous a family can be when desperation drives apart rather than brings together. A modern fairy tale (in a manner of speaking).

2) Beauty, Inc is a delight. It's what I like to call a contemporary fantasy--not at all meant to be a mainstream contemporary. Belle is brilliant, kind, compassionate and afraid of being hurt. I can hardly blame him, as his own family has done nothing but take advantage of his nature and intelligence. Even to the point Belle is sold to Magnus Strong in exchange for forgiveness of gambling debts and to save the family company from ruin. What I love most about this book and its siblings in the Pennymaker Tales is the faithfulness to the original fairytales in which they are based, melding with modern sensibilities and culture. Ms. Lain has a remarkable ability to make setting and environment as much a character as the men she writes about. The apartments where Belle is sent to live once in Magnus' care is fantastic--in every meaning of the word. As for Magnus himself, he is the quintessential wounded hero and a perfect foil to Belle's compassionate nature. Magnus, at first glance, appears to be a scary, ruthless businessman/monster and acts with high-handed superiority, but beneath that rough exterior is a man who is deeply in love and lacks the social skills to handle his emotions. There are some typical misunderstandings between the lovers and machinations from supporting characters, but the charm and romance in this modern fairy tale outweigh the negatives. I suggest leaving expectations out of this book, and just enjoy.

3) I’ve been a fan of Tara Lain’s Pennymaker series of fairy tale retellings since Sinders & Ash. This is another fun addition—not too angsty (these aren’t dark fairy tales), and although the villains are a bit one-dimensional, that’s in keeping with fairy tales too. Altogether enjoyable.

4) This was a fantastic reimagining of Beauty And The Beast. The characters from the main couple to the supporting cast were all great. I would love to see a visual of the apartments or just to move in there. There wasn't one thing I would change about this book.

Beauty, Inc. (Pennymaker Tales #3) by Tara Lain
Gay Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 1 edition (June 8, 2016)
Amazon Kindle: Beauty, Inc. (Pennymaker Tales #3)

A Pennymaker Tale

Is beauty only skin deep?

Chemist Dr. Robert “Belle” Belleterre loves flowers, green trees, his best friend Judy, and “his baby:” the new face cream he developed to help put his father’s small cosmetics company on the map. Sadly he gets no help from his alcoholic, gambling-addicted father, who loses Belle in a poker game to Magnus Strong, the CEO of Beauty, Inc., the largest American cosmetics company—a man infamous for his scarred ugliness.

Belle finds himself uprooted from his home, living in a wildly crazy apartment in New York owned by Mr. Pennymaker, and completely unprepared for his mad attraction to the charismatic Strong. Feeling like a traitor, Belle fights his passion, only to see more and more of the goodness and humility hidden by Strong’s ugly face. But when Belle’s family starts manipulating his life again, the odds turn against happiness for beautiful Belle and his beloved beast.

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html