Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? Here it does. Let’s discuss your favorite reads — or listens.
All tagged sports
A queer basketball novel set in the early 2000s should've been a slam dunk. Instead, "A Sharp Endless Need" squanders a brilliant first chapter and a timely premise on repetitive teen self-destruction tropes that clash with everything we're told about these characters.
One of the more interesting side effects of reading the entire “Game Changers” series straight through is that you stop thinking about the books individually and start thinking about the relationships as if they exist in the same ongoing world. Here’s my take on the best couples in the series and if they’ll make it to their tenth anniversary.
This is not my genre. I don’t read a lot of MM romance, and I definitely don’t seek out books where I know there are going to be extended, explicit sex scenes. I usually find them awkward at best and unintentionally funny at worst. And yet, after finishing the show a second time and immediately diving into Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series, devouring the books —plus the bonus content on her blog – in about two weeks.
I came to Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series backwards – starting with the TV adaptation of “Heated Rivalry” and then working my way through the books and every piece of bonus content I could find. What started as curiosity quickly turned into a full two-week binge. Here’s my take on the world Rachel Reid created and Jacob Tierney perfected.
The drama escalates to a level that strains credibility, particularly around the Olympic fallout and the Sochi scheming. At a certain point, the twists feel less sharp and instead repetitive bloat. I kept thinking this could have been 100-pages shorter. It’s not high art, but it’s also not trying to be.
Split between two narrators – Mark Wolfe, a self-absorbed technical writer from Pittsburgh, and Lakesha Williams, his diligent and thoughtful work colleague – the story kicks off with a mundane office conflict that feels disconnected from the rest of the novel's ostensible focus: the search for Godwin, a young African soccer prodigy. This odd opening sets the tone for a book that reads like two distinct narratives clumsily stitched together.
For all its flaws, “The Brothers K” offers a reminder of the bonds that hold families together despite their differences. The Chance family, though flawed and frequently at odds, is united by love and loyalty – a timely message about finding the good in one another.
Expectation: A horror story of a high school swimmer turning into a bloodthirsty mermaid in an act of rage.
Reality: Aimless and boring, a few body gore sections weren’t enough to keep me interested before throwing in the towel.
Expectation: An inter-generational friendship between two unlikely people.
Reality: Age-appropriate romance versus friendship. The whole thing was predictable, but the darker edges made it feel unique. As someone who doesn’t usually read this genre, I liked it more than expected.
Expectation: A “sports bro” book full of men suppressing emotions.
Reality: A contender for the modern “Great American Novel,” I was surprised by the depth of character development and the queer subplot.
Expectation: A crowd-pleasing finish to a beloved series.
Reality: Uneven, but ultimately satisfying, fans of the series shouldn’t skip this one as it is a closer cousin to the first novel than the second.
Expectation: Another engrossing novel about a fictional character that feels like someone you’ve known about your whole life.
Reality: Shallow and repetitive but still entertaining, it is the least interesting story from the author.
Expectation: A dramedy about wanting to hold on to your younger days in the twilight years.
Reality: A unique style of storytelling somewhat masks the affecting exploration of mortality, memory and caring for aging parents.
A flashback book review from 2019, and perfect for Pride Month as the “Beartown” series by Frederik Backman features an amazing gay character, Benji Ovich, who is instantly relatable to those of us that participated in sports growing up.
