Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

March 21, 2024

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

A family gathers for their granddaughter's coming of age party, and each family member reminisces about the past. Told from multiple POVs, the storyline follows three generations of a middle-class African American family.

Someone recommended this to me, but damned if I can remember who it was. Let me just say that Jacqueline Woodson is a wonderful writer, but this was just okay. I know a lot of readers really loved it, but I found it sad and depressing. Even a celebration of a grandchild reaching the age of 16 has very little joy, since everyone seems to be remembering only the bad times. Even the events of 9/11 get dragged in. Ultimately I found the story to be very unsatisfying.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K. J. Charles

February 21, 2023

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K. J. Charles

Gareth Inglis is estranged from his father and living a marginal life in London, working for his uncle as a law clerk and looking for companionship in the city's gay underworld. He has a romantic encounter with a man who lives in a rural area, but a misunderstanding pushes them apart. When his father dies suddenly, Gareth finds himself in possession of a title, a country estate, a sister, and wealth. Life in the country is a lot different than Gareth expected, but as he slowly learns the pleasure of country living, he also begins to suspect that his father was not only a selfish man, but may have been a traitor to his country as well.

Boy meets boy in this LGBTQ romance/adventure. I'm not much of a romance reader but I had read another of the author's books (The Magpie King, a gay fantasy/romance), so when NetGalley offered an eARC of her forthcoming book, I decided to give it a try. Good characters (although there are a lot of Doomsdays), interesting circumstances, good writing. There are several strong female characters as well. Be advised that there is pretty graphic gay sex starting on about page three, and a lot more sex in the last half of the book. I don't have a problem with that except that it's hard to read about other people having sex when you're not getting any.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Gay men have been looking for each other throughout history

Sex with Presidents by Eleanor Herman

October 6, 2020

Sex with Presidents:  the Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House by Eleanor Herman

Oh my.  The men that the American people have elected president, and those who have sought this high office.  It's surprising some of the men who have been sex magnets for women - who would have thought that women would be throwing themselves at chain-smoking 5-pack-a-day Lyndon Johnson?

Best presidential lover:  Bill Clinton.  He always tried to satisfy his (many) sexual partners and give them a good experience.

Worst presidential lovers:  it's a tie between Kennedy and Trump (there are a number of other parallels between the two).  One actress noted that her sexual encounter with JFK was "a memorable minute."

Full of trivia about a select collection of presidents and First Ladies, this is a light and entertaining read to get your mind off the pandemic.  Don't feel too sorry for some of those First Ladies:  most of them knew what they were getting when they married their husbands (some knew and schemed to marry them anyway), and some First Ladies gave as good as they got.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.