A Stella Review: The Queen & the Homo Jock King (At First Sight #2) by T.J. Klune

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Sanford Stewart sure doesn’t. In fact, he pretty much believes in the exact opposite, thanks to the Homo Jock King. It seems Darren Mayne lives for nothing more than to create chaos in Sandy’s perfectly ordered life, just for the hell of it. Sandy despises him, and nothing will ever change his mind.

Or so he tells himself.

It’s not until the owner of Jack It—the club where Sandy performs as drag queen Helena Handbasket—comes to him with a desperate proposition that Sandy realizes he might have to put his feelings about Darren aside. Because Jack It will close unless someone can convince Andrew Taylor, the mayor of Tucson, to keep it open.

Someone like Darren, the mayor’s illegitimate son.

The foolproof plan is this: seduce Darren and push him to convince his father to renew Jack It’s contract with the city.

Simple, right?

Wrong.

What amazing book! TJ Klune is become an author to simply trust, he never disappointed my expectations. And this book had huge expectations to not break. And I can say at some point during the reading I was a little worried.

The Queen & The Homo Jock King is not for everyone, cause the author is not for everyone. TJ is too many times over the top, he doesn’t write funny books, his stories are hilarious and deep and unbelievable, each one I’ve read, no exception. If you already read TJ you know what to expect, I thought I was ready for Sandy but I was very wrong.

I was so happy to meet again all the characters of the first book, Tell me It’s Real, Vince and Paul, Charlie, Nana and the others. Paul and Vinny are going to marry and Sandy and Darren are going to be their best men. Meanwhile Sandy needs to seduce Darren to not lose the club he works at as Helena at the city council expenses. But of course Sandy being Sandy….

It’s a joy to read a new TJ book, each time I spend a couple of days laughing so much, usually my tummy will hurt at the end (and I almost peed myself this time around too!). It’s one continuous line of funny sentences, there is no pause. I have to say it was the first time I didn’t read one of his books in a one stand session. At times it overwhelmed me (in a good way), the dialogues were too much to take all together so I had to stop and read something else. I started to be concerned and ready to be let down. It took two weeks to finish it and honestly? They were the best two (reading time) weeks of the last period. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure it was better this way, I could fully enjoy the story and each moment, avoiding missing things due to my voraciousness at eat up every new book I have on my hands.

I got my dose of Sandy/Helena and it was amazing. The tension between Darren and him almost killed me. There wasn’t a thing or a word I didn’t like. Simply perfect.

Just a little note. If you have read Tell Me It’s Real and don’t like it, don’t even think about reading this second one, it is so much worse/better.

The cover art by Reese Dante is great, I can easily see Sandy/Helena in it. Just right!

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 350 pages
Published February 29th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
Original TitleThe Queen & the Homo Jock King
ISBN 1634768027 (ISBN13: 9781634768023)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SERIES At First Sight #2

Tell me It’s Real
The Queen & the Homo Jock

A Stella Audiobook Review: Tell Me It’s Real (Tell Me It’s Real #1) by T.J. Klune and Michael Lesley (Narrator)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Paul Auster doesn’t. Paul doesn’t believe in much at all. He’s thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother’s homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.

Enter Vince Taylor.

Vince is everything Paul isn’t: Sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.

But when Paul hits Vince with his car – in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it’d-only-be-manslaughter kind of way – he’s forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself – and that is one obstacle Paul can’t quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince’s family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he’s perfect the way he is.

I’m not going to tell you a lot about the book cause it can be described with one single word, AMAZING, just like everything TJ writes, his characters are the best. This book is so funny, hilarious and sweet. Paul just cracks me up.

This is not the first audiobook that I listen to, but I have to tell you I was a little scared when I started the audiobook, because it seemed to me the narrator told the story a little too fast and I was afraid I couldn’t be able to understand everything (ok my English sucks, I know!), but… BUT I need to congratulate with Michael Lesley, I didn’t miss a single word, he is a great narrator!
I think he was perfect for this book, he was the right voice for Paul, the right tone. I liked him a lot! He was funny listening to him doing different voices for Vince, Sandy/Helena, sometimes he seems a little over the top and exaggerated but I think It was what this book needed, a narrator who could fit the MC perfectly.

Two words: AMAZING to TJ’s writing and PERFECT to Michael’s narration.

Cover art by Reese Dante is amazing and perfect for the characters and story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Audible | Amazon | iTunes

Book Details:

10 hrs 24 min
Audible Audio, 10 pages
Published June 30th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press LLC (first published February 15th 2013)
Original TitleTell Me It’s Real
ASINB00LBF5JK4
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesTell Me It’s Real #1
CharactersPaul James Auster, Vince Melody Taylor, Sanford “Sandy” Stewart

A Stella Review: How To Be A Normal Person by T.J. Klune

Rating 5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.

Gus is not normal. And he’s fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.

Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.

But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

This is my sixth book by TJ Klune, my sixth five stars review and I’m still amazed by this author’s work. Each time I read a new story of his is a fabulous journey, sometimes full of tears (BOATK series), other times full of laughters (The Lightning-Struck Heart). How to Be a Normal Person was the perfect balanced mix of emotional parts and unbelievably hilarious scenes. To me it was another amazing winner, since the first time I read about Harry S Truman, the albino ferret! Only Tj could have chosen a pet like Harry for our Grumpy Gus.

I’m not going to talk about the plot, TJ can write what he likes, I couldn’t care less because to me his creative mind is this fantastic place I want to know. I have no clue how he creates characters so unique and lovable. This time Gus won me over, I loved him through out the story. I cheered him on through his journey in the discovery of a normality he thinks he doesn’t have and absolutely need to be with Casey. I so wanted to hug him and his friends, they gave me a warm sensation I needed so much.

Like all TJ’s books, there is a great cast of characters, I don’t like to define them as“secondary characters” because to me they felt like the main ones, all of them with a smart mouth, funny and supportive and perfect in their imperfections. The three queens were probably my favorite ones, the story would have been nothing without the lesbian/ sisters trio.

As I said I loved all of TJ’s books but I’m realizing he’s doing better with each new one he releases. He grows and improves and I have no idea what he wants to achieve. I always think he can’t do better than the book I’m currently reading and he duly contradicts me. And even though How To Be a Normal Person has the typical quality of Klune’s work, I think it’s really different from the previous novels, just a little over the top but not too extreme, no angst at all, maybe the right choice if you’re approaching this author for the first time. I’m going to re read it really soon to appreciate it better, I rush through it because I was too hungry and curious.

I just want to add, as you can read from the blurb, Casey, the other MC, is asexual. This was not my first time with this sexual orientation and to me not the better one cause it wasn’t addressed a lot, but still I think the author chose the perfect way to deal with it, most of all according to his style. There’s no sex in the story but please don’t let this be a reason to not give the book a chance. There was no need for sex, I got my steamy fix in other ways.

Maybe it’s not clear, but this is a highly recommended read, sweet, hilarious and emotional. I couldn’t ask for more.

Cover art by Reese Dante. It’s simply, fitting and FINALLY something different. I love it!

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 290 pages
Published October 16th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634765796
Edition Language English

AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Normal-Person-Klune-ebook/dp/B015VOHR0K

DSP

A Stella Review: The Lightning-Struck Heart by T.J. Klune

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.

Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam’s pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King’s Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.

When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.

At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.

Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can’t control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan’s boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.

Or so he thinks.

“I don’t have time for all the relations and courting and wooing bullshit,” I said. “I’m a wizard. I havequests.”

“Uh, you’re an apprentice,” Gary said. “And you’re sent on errands.”

“You know how you wanted to dye a strip of your mane purple?” I said.

“Yes. Because I’d be beautiful.”

“Well, too fucking bad,” I said savagely. “I’m not going to do it. You’re just going to have keep it white. Forever.”

“You promised!”

“That was before you were a jerk!”

“Oh my gods,” Gary said. “Lartin. Get over here and untie me. I want to kick Sam in the fucking face.”

“No! He’s going to untie me so I can hex the shit out of you. Lartin. Get your ass over here and untie me.”

“Um,” Lartin said. “I don’t know if you guys understand the point of being captured. Like… I captured you? Right? And so—”

I’m really terrified right now. A review for The Lightning-struck Heart? Almost impossible to write, as a matter of fact scratch the almost, just impossible. What am I going to say about this amazing book? It was perfect, hilarious, unbelievable, I laughed so much. It was simply fantastic, I peed myself every sentence I read. There aren’t funny moments, it’s a continuous of crazy characters, crazy scenes, crazy facts that follow each other at every moment. At the end I wasn’t sure if I was more in love with Gary, the hornless unicorn, or Sam, the prudish wizard (apprentice, sorry Gary!) or TJ for creating something like that. I just knew I wanted more and more of these guys and this world. So hurry up, TJ!

The Lightning-Struck Heart has some specific qualities that made this book precious and unique. The humour is the most evident. I can honestly say I have never read something like that so far, always so much over the top, you have to read it to understand, there are really no words I could write to describe it. I just can tell you to buy it. Then, the dialogue. Just wow! Simply engaging and together with the well developed and eclectic characters cast, made impossible to put my tablet down for a minute. Luckly the book is a long one so I could get my full fix, I was so satisfied at the end. Moreover there’s the all “feeling section” to consider. Really, the emotions and the feelings that pervade the story were overwhelming, in a good way of course. Love, friendship, loyalty, and not least lust. They sprang out from every word.

“It’s you,” I said, not able to look away. “It’s how I feel when I’m with you. How I think I’ve always felt. You’re my lightning-struck heart. It doesn’t matter about the cornerstone. It doesn’t matter about who I am or who you are. Not to me. I think it would have always been this way for me. Even if we had never escaped the slums. Ever since the beginning. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve struck my heart, and now I have to let you go because you’re not mine to keep. I need someone that I can be strong for. But I need someone who can also be strong for me.”

I want to add that this book was just the confirmation of the great talent TJ has, a terrific gift he absolutely needs to continue to share with us. Of course it’s totally different from the BOATK series or the Tell Me It’s Real one (BTW are you ready for The Queen & The Homo Jock King?), but the genius is there, just amplified at the nth degree. Freaking perfect! I just wish I could give the story more stars, five are not enough.

Cover art by Paul Richmond. It’s not what I’m used to see with this artist work and I honestly wouldn’t have recognised it as his but I like this cover, it’s fitting and powerful.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published July 20th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
Kindle Edition, 533 pages
ASIN B011PVYANK
Edition Language English

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Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Audible | Amazon | iTunes

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