Tag: Marie Sexton

Guest Review: Trailer Trash by Marie Sexton

Posted March 25, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Trailer Trash by Marie SextonReviewer: Tracy
Trailer Trash by Marie Sexton
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Publication Date: March 21st 2016
Genres: M/M, Young Adult
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars

It’s 1986, and what should have been the greatest summer of Nate Bradford’s life goes sour when his parents suddenly divorce. Now, instead of spending his senior year in his hometown of Austin, Texas, he’s living with his father in Warren, Wyoming, population 2,833 (and Nate thinks that might be a generous estimate). There’s no swimming pool, no tennis team, no mall—not even any MTV. The entire school’s smaller than his graduating class back home, and in a town where the top teen pastimes are sex and drugs, Nate just doesn’t fit in.

Then Nate meets Cody Lawrence. Cody’s dirt-poor, from a broken family, and definitely lives on the wrong side of the tracks. Nate’s dad says Cody’s bad news. The other kids say he’s trash. But Nate knows Cody’s a good kid who’s been dealt a lousy hand. In fact, he’s beginning to think his feelings for Cody go beyond friendship.

Admitting he might be gay is hard enough, but between small-town prejudices and the growing AIDS epidemic dominating the headlines, a town like Warren, Wyoming, is no place for two young men to fall in love.

Due to his parents divorcing Nate has been uprooted from his home in Austin, Texas and moved to a little town called Warren, Wyoming that’s dying a slow and painful death. He meets Cody not long after moving and they hang out together for a few weeks before their senior year starts. Cody tells Nate that he won’t want to hang out with him after school starts but Nate assures him he will.

When school starts Cody makes himself scarce even though Nate looks for him constantly. Nate lives in an area of town that is upper middle class called Orange Grove and Cody lives in a trailer in an area they call The Hole (short for shit hole). The kids from the Orange Grove are preppy, petty and snobby and Nate really doesn’t like them all that much – especially when they talk trash about Cody. Of course now that Cody avoids him he really has no true friends.

Eventually Nate finds out that Cody is gay and in Wyoming that might as well have been the plague. No one wants to be around Cody, especially with AIDS big in the news for the past few years. Of course small town thinking means that Cody possibly has AIDS just because he’s gay – doesn’t matter that he’s a virgin. When Nate starts to analyze his feelings about Cody he finds that he’s attracted to him and soon admits that he’s gay as well. It’s not something he’s comfortable with at first but if it means he can be with Cody then he’s all for it. Of course once Nate’s father finds out all bets are off and soon the boys are being torn apart in more ways than one.

This was a very powerful YA story that really touched me. I can so easily see all of this happening in a small Podunk town in Wyoming and the prejudices that Cody had faced his whole life – from being trailer trash to being gay. It was assumed that he was a bad kid just because of his parents and where he lived and that broke my heart as in this case he was just minding his own business. Even Nate’s dad, a local cop, had his own prejudices against Cody and he’d talked to the boy only once.

Nate and Cody together were a great couple. It was hard for Cody to see the light at the end of the tunnel but Nate gave him the hope that he needed to do what needed to be done so that they could be together. I loved the two of them to pieces, both separately and together. They each brought distinct personalities to the relationship that were so different in so many ways but blended perfectly together.

The story was very sad in a lot of places but had a theme of hope running through it that kept me reading. I really liked the flash back in time to the late 80’s and that was a fun aspect of the story with all the fashion that is mentioned. This young adult, coming of age story is so good and one that you won’t want to pass up.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars

0 Comments

Tagged: , , , , , , ,

What I Read Last Week

Posted February 28, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 11 Comments

Ah another week passes and I’m behind the 8 ball. One of these weeks I’ll get my shit together and get this posted earlier. Don’t hold your breath though. 🙂

I have to tell you this cute little thing…my youngest and I were sitting on the couch on Saturday just enjoying sitting next to each other.  I was reading and she was watching a movie.  Whenever I have a book with a cover of a shirtless guy I show her and she usually say, “Mom!” in a shocked voice.  I, of course, just show her to hear her indignant “Mom!” Well, she must be getting used to it because I showed her the cover of Changing the Game.  She looked for a few seconds, paused and then calmly said, “It’s like Thor with an epic tan.”  OMG lol  She cracks me up.

I’ll get right to the books this week:

I started off the week with A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean. This was the story of a man who is seeking revenge. He ends up using his childhood friend to get back land that he once lost while gambling. It was a really good book but I definitely didn’t like the hero for most of the book. You can read my thoughts here. 4.25 out of 5

Next was Spellbound Falls by Janet Chapman. I’ve only read one Chapman book before and it just wasn’t my cuppa. I read the premise for this book and was intrigued. It was good but it wasn’t what I thought. It labeled as contemporary but the hero is from Atlantis and is hundreds of years old. That screams paranormal to me. Lol Anyway, a great romance but the rest…sad to say, not as good. I read this one for The Book Binge so when my review posts I’ll let you know and you can read more if you’re interested. 3 out of 5

Beauty in the Beast by Christine Danse was my next read and this was kind of a fantasy/steambpunk novella that was really good. I’ll post my review this week and tell you more.

Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss by Maya Banks was my next read and it was good! I wasn’t sure what to expect but I liked it. Our “hero” is courting a girl just so he can make a merger with the girls’ father. In Devon’s defense he DID want to tell Ashley all along what was going on but the dad wouldn’t allow it. Ashley is of course crushed when she finds out the truth (and you knew she would!) but she tries to make a go of it, losing herself in the meantime. I’ll post my review next week. 4 out of 5

Alpha Instinct is the first book in the Moon Shifter Series by Katie Reus. I’ve liked Katie’s book in the past and this was no different. The story is about a wolf shifter pack whose had a terrible tragedy. All of the men and pregnant females of their pack have died. The story centers around the pack but ventures off into different romances and definitely some suspense. I’ll be posting my review of this next week. 4 out of 5

Changing the Game by Jaci Burton was next. This is the story of Gavin who is a MLB player and his agent, Liz. Liz pulled some nasty shit in the last book so I wasn’t loving her as I went into the book but she had paid a price for her mistakes and was trying to move on. Liz has been in love with Gavin for the past 5 years but she doesn’t want him to know. Liz and Gavin start a sexual relationship but that’s all it is to both until things get a little more serious – and then Gavin got nasty. I really liked Gavin and understood his thoughts but hated the way he treated Liz just bothered me. Besides that I really liked the story. 3.75 out of 5

The Letter Z by Marie Sexton was the story of Angelo and Zach as well as Matt and Jared when they all head off to Vegas for a few days. Matt & Jared and their conception of how Angelo & Zach’s relationship when their out and about. Then Zach’s ex boyfriend, Jonathan, shows up and there’s a wee bit of tension…ok, maybe a lot. Lol I really enjoyed seeing all guys from the Coda books and this was a really great little story. 4 out of 5

Last for the week was Strawberries for Dessert by Marie Sexton was the story of Jonathan (yes, Zach’s ex) and Cole (who is Jared’s friend and used to be his fuck buddy). The story was about 2 men who at first glance are complete opposites. One who’s bright and flamboyant and the other who’s stiff and a bit dull around the edges. Can the two be together and make it work around their many, many issues? Read and find out…believe me, it’s worth it. 4.5 out of 5

My Book Binge Reviews that posted last week:
crickets chirping

Happy Reading!

11 Comments

Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

What I Read Last Week

Posted August 29, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 11 Comments

Howdoo!
How are you this fine Monday? I’m doing well. It’s been hot like the sun here this past week (it’s gotten as high as 111 F) and it doesn’t look like there’s an end to it so I’m just trying to stay indoors as much as possible.
The kids had a good week as school and they both like their teachers and their classes which is a bonus! Hopefully the teacher love will continue! lol
I still didn’t get a picture of my oldest – she’s always in such a hurry in the mornings that she can’t be bothered to stand still for two second so that dear old mom can click. Soon – I swear I’ll tie her down if I have too. lol
Update: I finally got her picture this morning. You can tell how thrilled she was! lol  

 

The fam headed to a friends house for a get together this weekend. Judy used to live a few houses down from me for years but then moved to Iowa. She stayed there a year or so and when she moved back she moved about 2 hours away. Much closer than Iowa but still not as close as on the same street! I’ve hardly seen her since she’s been back, which sucks. We went and had a great time on Saturday night. Where she lives is considered living in the country but it’s gorgeous there. Rolling hills and open land and it was lovely. We were on her back deck when we got to see a mama deer and her 2 babies. We went for a walk about an hour or so after I took the picture and we ended up seeing the whole family – mama, daddy and 4 babies – so pretty!  The whole family had a great time and hopefully we’ll head there again soon.
I read a bit this week. I’m really behind on my netgalley and Book Binge reading and need to get my butt in gear. There are just too many distractions! lol Also, I know the month isn’t over yet but I realized that I’ve only bought 3 books the whole month and I spent very little money – one book was .99, one was 1.99 and the other 5.95 – bargain! Yay me! I’ve really been trying to read from my TBR and get those books read – it’s not easy holding myself back lol.
So what did I read?
First for the week was One Night in London: The Truth About the Duke by Caroline Linden. This was (kind of) an attached book to the novella I Love the Earl. The story is about a 3rd son who has stood by his father’s side through thick and thin – even when his two older brothers were off doing their own thing. The brothers find out after their father’s death that he may have been a polygamist. He was married before and never actually got a divorce – so will the sons inherit and will Edward’s oldest brother really become a Duke? That’s what starts the story off but not really the whole focus of the book. The focus is on Edward as he tries to quell the horrible (yet true) rumors going around London and helping a woman try to find her niece who has disappeared. I liked the romance quite a lot but I have to say that I was disappointed in not getting more info about the Duke and what exactly happened. So yes, some the truth about the Duke comes out, but not all. It was a cute book and I’ll read the next when it’s released to see if the truth comes out in that book…but I have a feeling we’ll have to wait until book 3 to discover it. 3 out of 5
Next was Jennifer’s Garden by Dianne Venetta. The story about a woman who is trying to get married before her mother dies and is creating a beautiful garden to get married in. But she finds herself doubting her decision to marry Aurelio when she starts falling for the Landscape architect, Jackson. You can read my review here. 3 out of 5
Changeling Moon by Dani Harper was a book I read for the Book Binge. It’s about Connor Macleod who is a changeling aka shapeshifter who is a vet in Alberta, Canada. He ends up saving Zoey’s life one night when she is attacked by a rabid changeling. The story is about their romance as well as keeping Zoey from harm when the wolf comes back to finish what he started. 3 out of 5
Changeling Dream by Dani Harper is the next book in the Changeling series. This book was about James Macleod who survived the shooting that killed his pregnant wife. He turns to a wolf and stays that way for 30 years. Now he’s back in Alberta and learning how to be a human again – but he’s only doing it because he’s so drawn to his brother Connor’s new Vet that he has on staff. He tries to stay away so that he doesn’t put her in danger but eventually the pair come together. I liked this book much more than book one. I love scarred heroes (emotionally scarred) and this one was good. The pair was apart for a lot of the book but it was still really good. 4 out of 5 (also read for The Book Binge)  
Am I the only one that was freaked out by this cover? I thought at first that the woman was turning herself inside out until I realized that she just had her necklace hanging down her back! lol Freaky!
Annabelle, the American by Lavinia Kent was my next read. This is book 3 in the Real Duchesses of London series and I’m loving it. The newest cartoon comes out and shows Annabelle’s husband, Thomas, standing with a second family. The story has Thomas revealing secrets and the couple falling in love. The novella’s in this series are all connected so I recommend starting with book 1. This story, like the others had a great little romance in it and it was a great read. 4 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Betweens Sinners and Saints by Marie Sexton. This story was about a bartender who had worked at the same place for 10 years. The work included bartending but it also allowed the bartenders to have sex trysts in the back storage room. Levi loved his work and the fact that he was satisfied sexually so many times a weekend. His family HATES his job and his sexual exploits and aren’t afraid to let him know. Levi grew up Mormon and though he loves his family he hates meeting for holidays as they seem to attack him every time. The thought is that they understand that he’s gay but they want him to live a celibate life as acting on his sexual urges is a sin. Levi meets Jaime when he goes for a massage to help a muscle problem he’s been having. Jaime was sexually abused as a child and can’t even stand to be touched. The story revolves around Levi and Jaime falling in love, Jaime coming to terms with his past and also falling in love and Levi’s family pseudo acceptance of Levi’s relationship with Jaime. It was a great book! I really hated the way that Levi’s family treated his homosexuality but it was understandable given their Mormon upbringing. The romance with Levi and Jaime was slow and steady and in my mind that’s exactly how it should have been given Jaime’s past. I definitely recommend this one. 4.5 out of 5
Wild & Steamy by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles and Carolyn Crane was my last read of the week.
Meljean’s story, The Blushing Bounder, was set in the steampunk world of her Iron Seas novels. This was Edward Newberry’s story (you’ll remember he was Mina Wentworth’s constable assistant) and was about him and his wife, who hates him. It takes a murder outside the couple’s flat to get the two together. As usual Meljean’s world was awesome and the romance was good too.
Vixen was Jill Myles’s story about a were-fox who is being protected from hunters by two cat shifters. Miko wants them both but doesn’t want to choose between them. The men, Jeremiah and Sam have no problem working together however. The story was cute – more a happy for now than a true HEA.
Kitten-tiger and the Monk by Carolyn Crane was a story set in her Disillusionist world. Sophia is searching for the Monk so that he can zing her and disillusion her and save her from herself. She can erase peoples memory (only going back a day) and when searching for the Monk runs into her old love who she betrayed and abandoned. The pair have many issues but they still love each other and decide to stay together. Sophia and Robert were messed up, both of them but really they were perfect for each other. Definitely a sign of a good writer when they can make me want an HEA for two people I don’t really care for. lol
The book as a whole 4 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Happy Reading!

11 Comments

Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

What I Read Last Week

Posted December 13, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 5 Comments

Happy Monday! Hope you’re all rested from your weekend. I’m not, but I hope you all are. lol
Let’s see we put up the tree and trimmed part of the inside of the house on Saturday. We usually put up a 4’ tree in the kitchen/dining area and that’s where the kids have the “fun” tree. They put up all their silly, crazy, homemade ornaments with a big Santa hat on the top of it. It’s great, really, and they love putting it up. Except I can’t find the friggin ornaments! I’ve had them in the same box as the ornaments for the tree in the living room for a thousand years but I obviously deviated from the norm last year and now can’t find a thing! Ug! lol
Then yesterday I spent a few hours on the computer getting things ready for the DIK Winter Break giveaway that we’re having starting the 19th. That was a lot of work but let me tell you, it’s gonna be great! It’ll run from the 19th of December until the 2nd of January and LOTS of stuff is being given away so be sure and check every single day during that time. There will be multiple posts per day so keep checking!
My oldest is still having eating issues but we’ve talked some more about underlying issues and they may be winding down. She was much better this weekend so we’ll see how this week goes. On a funny note with her…we were talking about sex stuff and you know, how she should avoid it at all costs, condoms, etc. We’ve had the talk before but something she said brought it up again. She was, of course, completely embarrassed about talking about it and said, “Mom, we don’t have to have the sex talk again, I’m not gonna have sex until I’ve been married for 2 years!” LOLOL Omg I tried so hard not to laugh that I excused myself and had to go into the bedroom and giggle to myself for a few moments. I went back, hugged her and told her that it was the best plan I’d ever heard. *sigh* Funny, funny girl.
Anyway, on to what I read this week – as I said last week, I wasn’t focused enough to review last week but I still read!
First up was The Princess in His Bed by Lila Dipasqua that I read for The Book Binge. This was another set of fairy tale adaptations that included The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling and The Princess and the Pea type stories. They were quite good and I enjoyed reading it. My review has posted over at TBB so you can go here to read it if you’d like. 4.25 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was Bound by Deception by Christa Paige. This is book one in the Blood Vine series and though it was short it was pretty good. It was about a race of people who were long lived and the men turn into vampires. The women have to find their true mate or end up aging as humans do and dying. Anna kind of gets duped into being with Dimitri but he knows that he’s her true mate. There’s a man in the story who feels that Anna should have been his and takes matters into his own hands. It was a cute story with a different take on the whole vamp thing. I liked it. I just need to put book two on my ereader now. lol 4 out of 5
Christmas at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas was my next read and I loved it. It got such mixed reviews when it released that I wasn’t certain what I should expect. Well I loved it. Really loved it. The story follows bachelor Mark as he “inherits” his niece after his sister dies. The little girl hasn’t spoken a word since her mom died. He’s not sure what to do with her so ends up moving in with his brother to share the responsibility. He’s dating a woman but he’s not feeling the love. Six months after the little girl starts to live with him they meet Maggie who runs the local toy store. She has her own baggage because of being widowed at such a young age and not being sure how to deal with it. Mark and Maggie and Holly end up making an unlikely family. I have to say that I liked both the hero and the heroine, Mark’s brothers, Maggie’s family, the emotion, the humor and everything else about the book. It touched all of the different places in my heart – I just wanted it to be longer! lol Now, I do have to say that I got this from the library – if I had paid the HC price for it I might have felt differently because of the length of the book. But since I didn’t – it was great! 5 out of 5
Next was A to Z by Marie Sexton. This was the story of video store owner Zach and Angelo who eventually becomes his employee and so much more. But Angelo has issues that he has to work through and it’s not always smooth sailing between the two men. I really liked both the characters in this book. It had alternating first person pov from chapter to chapter but it flowed really well. Sometimes when that happens I tend to like one person’s pov better than the other but not so with this one. I also very much liked Angelo’s inner thoughts and views on some things. For all of his hard shell on the outside he was quite a tender person on the inside. Good story. 4.5 out of 5
Next up was How to Wed a Baron by Kasey Michaels. This was more or less an arranged marriage story but they don’t actually get married. It was about a hard man who is softened by a woman and I really liked it. I’ll review this on Wednesday so stay tuned.
Last but not least was Prince Charming Doesn’t Live Here by Christine Warren. This is an expansion of her original ebook release Faer Fetched. It has very little resemblance to the original story, however, except a sex scene or two – even the hero’s description changed quite drastically. I read this one for The Book Binge as well but I’m sad to say that I didn’t love it…or even like it that much. 2 out of 5
My Book Binge Reviews that posted this past week
Happy Reading!

5 Comments

Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Place review “here” (nsfw)

Posted December 10, 2010 by Tracy in Miscellaneous | 9 Comments

Yes, it’s true…this is the space that a review should be living right now.  Do you see one?  Yeah, me neither!  
It’s been a nutty, nutty week and though I’ve been reading it feels like my brain is all over the place and I can’t focus.  Between my new plaything (no, not a man, a phone) and twitter I can’t friggin concentrate! lol  Even my hubby mentioned last night that I was playing with my phone instead of reading.  Ok, last night wasn’t playing, it was working to get my email working on it after 3 hours of frustration but if he wants to call that playing?  Well, ok. 🙂 And yes, the solution ended up being something so simple – you’d think the tech support and the people at the Sprint store would know this by now but apparently not.
I did finish A to Z by Marie Sexton last night and really, really liked it.  I thought that Zach and Angelo fit so well together and I just loved some of the inner thoughts that the men had – especially Angelo.  Like when he was viewing Jared and Matt (from Promises) and looking at the different way they love each other?  Oh man – made my romantic heart go pitter pat.  Good stuff.  I gave it a 4.5 out of 5
So other than that I got nothin. I thought I’d post a few playthings (no, not phones, men) for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy them.  I promise to be more on the ball next week.  No, really, it could happen. Stop laughing.

 

9 Comments

Tagged: ,