![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reviews_and_ramblingsAnd the Rainbow Award goes to...
1.
Laura Lascarso – Hiroku
Hiroku
"The author did an amazing job with this book. All the red flags are out and flying high to warn Hiroku away from Seth and a toxic relationship but the author shows us how easily some characters can manipulate and others can turn a blind eye seeing what they want to see. This book touched me as I read about situations and conversations that I knew too well. I laughed and cried."
Laura Lascarso - When Everything Is Blue
When Everything Is Blue
"This was cute. This was sweet, exciting, fun, rejuvenating to read! Although the surfing didn't happen but a couple of times, it brought me back to when I used to watch the surfers on the beaches of Puerto Rico. This is a fabulous, sweet story and as I mentioned before, fun to read."
2.
S.M. James - In Case You Missed It
In Case You Missed It: LGBTQ Second Shot Romance (The lovehim Series Book 5)
"S.M. James has written a young adult novel full of teenage emotion and angst. The first-person narration shifts from chapter to chapter as we delve into the minds and hearts of Brooks and Darien. They are likeable characters, and their dialogue and texts are clever and realistic. Gay teens will relate to these two thoughtful young men and their relationship."
"The story was sweet as well as the romance between the MCs. This is the first time I read story that deals with cystic fibrosis. While I know nothing about the illness, I suspect the author did extensive research or has experience with family history or a friend. When I came across the first mention of CF, I paused reading to do research. I was impressed with how the plot developed once I knew about it. Very well done. The only thing I didn't care for was the first person/present tense writing. The rest? wonderful story!"
Eli Easton - Boy Shattered
Boy Shattered
"Writing about a high school shootings is such a serious subject, and it would have been easy to give it a huge amount of angst that could feel like exploitation. Eli Easton did a great job of writing this story about these two boys and their relationship and emotions, their community and classmates, and their parents. By keeping the story focused on the characters, it feels real and emotional, but not overdone."
"I could not put this book down. A great story. Terrific engaging characters. Contemporary subject matter handled well."
3.
Mia Kerick – Torn
Torn (Mia Kerick Story Ballads Book 1)
Vinny Bucci and Tommy Stecker are almost cousins. (Their mothers call themselves “sisters of the heart,” so that sort of makes them cousins, doesn’t it?) Since childhood, they’ve shared holidays and Sunday services and their passion for soccer. But now they’re eighteen, high school seniors, and what has always been devoted friendship—the next best thing to family—has started to feel like something else. Something more….
1.
Laura Lascarso – Hiroku
Hiroku
"The author did an amazing job with this book. All the red flags are out and flying high to warn Hiroku away from Seth and a toxic relationship but the author shows us how easily some characters can manipulate and others can turn a blind eye seeing what they want to see. This book touched me as I read about situations and conversations that I knew too well. I laughed and cried."
Laura Lascarso - When Everything Is Blue
When Everything Is Blue
"This was cute. This was sweet, exciting, fun, rejuvenating to read! Although the surfing didn't happen but a couple of times, it brought me back to when I used to watch the surfers on the beaches of Puerto Rico. This is a fabulous, sweet story and as I mentioned before, fun to read."
2.
S.M. James - In Case You Missed It
In Case You Missed It: LGBTQ Second Shot Romance (The lovehim Series Book 5)
"S.M. James has written a young adult novel full of teenage emotion and angst. The first-person narration shifts from chapter to chapter as we delve into the minds and hearts of Brooks and Darien. They are likeable characters, and their dialogue and texts are clever and realistic. Gay teens will relate to these two thoughtful young men and their relationship."
"The story was sweet as well as the romance between the MCs. This is the first time I read story that deals with cystic fibrosis. While I know nothing about the illness, I suspect the author did extensive research or has experience with family history or a friend. When I came across the first mention of CF, I paused reading to do research. I was impressed with how the plot developed once I knew about it. Very well done. The only thing I didn't care for was the first person/present tense writing. The rest? wonderful story!"
Eli Easton - Boy Shattered
Boy Shattered
"Writing about a high school shootings is such a serious subject, and it would have been easy to give it a huge amount of angst that could feel like exploitation. Eli Easton did a great job of writing this story about these two boys and their relationship and emotions, their community and classmates, and their parents. By keeping the story focused on the characters, it feels real and emotional, but not overdone."
"I could not put this book down. A great story. Terrific engaging characters. Contemporary subject matter handled well."
3.
Mia Kerick – Torn
Torn (Mia Kerick Story Ballads Book 1)
Vinny Bucci and Tommy Stecker are almost cousins. (Their mothers call themselves “sisters of the heart,” so that sort of makes them cousins, doesn’t it?) Since childhood, they’ve shared holidays and Sunday services and their passion for soccer. But now they’re eighteen, high school seniors, and what has always been devoted friendship—the next best thing to family—has started to feel like something else. Something more….
