Matt Rees (The Samaritan Scroll) reviewed this book along with Italian Shoes on Amazon. I loved Italian Shoes so I was optimistic, but this one did not work for me--at least not for now.

I thought this book was fabulous. It was very honest about Julian's gay life but was also quite sensative but full of detail. It was funny and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Back Cover Blurb:
Julian Clary is one of Britain's most loved entertainers and this is his story, intimately told in his own words.
After a quiet suburban upbringing Julian went to St Benedict's where the unholy monks taught him the rudiments of glamour, alternative living and brutality. From there, he packed his bags for London, where he developed a taste for shameless performance. And, like any other self-respecting homosexual of that era, Julian was having as much sex as possible. Graduating when the alternative comedy revolutions was just in its infancy, Julian added his own brand of glitter and smut to the mix. After pottering about in community theatre and working as a singing telegram, Julian took to the cabaret circuit as The Joan Collins Fan Club and never looked back. With his co-star Fanny the Wonderdog, and her uncanny impersonations of the Royal Family, the big time was but a step away.
Stardom on stage and TV and a place in the nation's hearts were his. Suddenly he was the most famous, uncompromising queen in the country. Yet it was a time of mixed emotions, as Julian enjoyed the highs of success while privately suffering the compromises of celebrity and the life-altering pain of losing his lover.

I love the Discworld books, in part because each one is very different from the last.

I think the reveal at the end is magnificent, and any book which establishes the superiority of women in every situation imaginable is all right by me.

There is not much blood, gore, or violence, even though it is a story of war. This pleases me.

Paper Mirror is the tenth installment in the popular Hardesty Mystery series. Author, Dorien Grey has crafted a fast paced mystery that continues an established and much loved series, yet easily stands alone, welcoming new readers.Private investigator extraordinaire, Dick Hardesty was settling into the role of family man after adopting Joshua, his partner’s orphaned nephew when an invitation to a highly publicized gala leads to the most intriguing case of his career. Once a crotch-tingling playboy, Hardesty had never been particularly fond of black tie functions, he was more of the party persuasion. Jonathan, on the other hand, was always eager to square his bow tie and rub elbows with the wealthy and well to do. The fact that his favorite author, Evan Knight, would be attending this noteworthy event, just added fuel to Jonathan’s barely containable excitement.The Burrows Library had been literally willed into existence by the late Chester Burrows, an eccentric collector of homosexual writings. It was said that his, was the largest private collection of books on the subject. With such a colorful character as the library’s benefactor and namesake, it was not surprising that the opening night celebration was slated to be the social event of the season. At the very moment Jonathan is being introduced to famed author, Evan Knight, the courtesies are interrupted, when Dick is informed the body of a library cataloger had been discovered in the basement. Police surmise Taylor Cate’s death was the result of blunt force trauma caused by an accidental fall down the stairs. However, due to lingering doubts among board members, Dick is asked to investigate the incident.

As the story progresses readers are treated to a collage of friendships, romantic entanglements, and secrets among individuals with long shared histories. The twists and unexpected diversions are all part of this skillfully constructed mystery, which in retrospect provide several ‘a-ha’ moments for the reader. Dorien Grey’s strong emphasis on story development and character interaction, as opposed to stereotypical fluff, has almost certainly opened the doors to a wider audience. A well written novel, that showcases our similarities rather than our differences, I recommend Paper Mirror to all who enjoy a good read.

Happy Reading!

I went to Lambda Rising because I was in desperate need of pick me up after a miserable test, and I wanted some gay gay gay reading.

The problem with picking up sciencefiction at LR is this. If you pick up something from a mainstream press, there's a guarantee of a certain level of sciencefictionness, but not a guarantee of queer sexuality. Often, but not always, and it's quite difficult to tell from the back of the book, if the book is all about war or something. If you pick up something from one of the smaller gay or lesbian presses, it'll definitely be gay, but it may well lack any real genre sensibility, working more as an allegory than a sciencefiction story.

I took a chance on this because the reviews specifically praised the worldbuilding, and they were quite right. I enjoyed the world, I enjoyed a relatively slow reveal. It was quite gay as there were no men on the planet.

I thought it was a little lacking as a romance, but that's OK. Wasn't looking for a romance, was looking for dyke-y sciencefiction, and I got that in spades.

Good writing, decent plot for a porn novel, but the sex is not that hot. :(

This book was a little sad, and was written from an unusual POV, not from that of the queer teenagers, but of the heterosexual younger sister of one/girlfriend of the other.

It felt really true to life and it failed for me on the "Why do I care scale?" If I want to read about gay people, I really do more want to read about the people who are gay, instead of the people who are affected by the gayness. And if I'm going to read a story about people, I want it to be sff.

I think other people who are more into 'literary' fiction would appreciate this.

Incredibly, this book is actually halfway decent. The AB books have been like crack (I know they're bad, but I can't help going for that next hit.)

This one has something approaching a plot. (The bad guys are coming to get us, but they're not doing it according to their own bad guy rules. Goddamnit. Also why?) And the sex scenes are relatively few (4-6) and largely necessary to advance the plot.

And it appears we've resolved the Question of Richard, although I've thought that before and been wrong, so who knows.

Anyway, I'm planning to reread this, to see if it could possibly be as not wretched as I thought on first reading.

BLURB
Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of her life. Into her world--a world already overflowing with power--have come creatures so feared that powerful, centuries-old vampires refuse to mention their names. It is forbidden to speak of The Harlequin unless you've been contacted. And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.

Long-time rivals for Anita's affections, Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City, and Richard, alpha-werewolf, will need to become allies. Shapeshifters Nathaniel and Micah will have to step up their support. And then there's Edward. In this situation, Anita knows that she needs to call the one man who has always been there for her...

Whew - well, finally, we're back to plot, though there is still some porn-y elements, Anita returns to the basics with a bang.
First of all, it's like every cool secondary character she's met pops in again - Peter and Edward and Olaf, the swanmane, the twin vampires, Bella Morte, Doyle and the cops, Marmee Dearest, the council - everybody gets a bit of a go!

less on the whole zombie raising front, which I thought was a pity - I think the first book without a single raising, but so much better than the last three/four offerings - I don't even care!

Paul was the third grade class’s first openly gay class president. He ran with the slogan, “VOTE FOR ME…I’M GAY.” Paul lives in an amazingly open community. The prom queen is also the quarterback, the cheerleaders ride Harleys, and his parents have never had a problem with his sexuality. Just as Paul’s relationship with Noah is about to take off, his ex-boyfriend Kyle starts speaking to him again and at every turn Paul screws up. Paul has to win Noah back, help his friend Tony (whose life is as closeted as Paul’s is open) and try to repair his friendship with Joni. All that and organize the Dowager’s Dance.
I was expecting an issue book here—so the non-issue that is Paul’s sexuality was a welcome surprise. Although, I do think Levithan overdid it somewhat—no school would allow their cheerleaders to perform complex maneuvers on Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the gym…an insurance nightmare. Still, by making Paul’s life free from conflict about his sexuality, Levithan opens the novel to unfettered romance between Paul and Noah. Some of the more romantic bits are sickeningly sweet, but even those are secretly enjoyable. I found myself grinning an awful lot while reading this book.

Very cute. Worth the read - it's quick. This should be required reading for all high school freshman English and/or cultural studies or current events students.

A sweet book about teen love between two boys. Heartwarming and light, it's a great, quick, summer read.