Learning to Go, by Friday Donnelly, can best be compared to watching a train-wreck. A beautiful and emotional train-wreck.
On a superficial level, it could easily be described as a furry, slice-of-life, erotic romance, drama about the rocky relationship between Rufus, a co-dependent tiger, and Victor, a narcissistic lion; and things only get worse from there when, one day, Rufus decides to hire a professional Dom after one of their many, many fights.
However, a deeper look reveals instead a coming-of-age story about a mid-20s man that needs to learn how to start living for himself, instead of basing his happiness and self-worth around others. A story filled with allegories about both literature and the game of Go, which I think served well not only to foreshadow events in the story, but also to showcase the growth of our main character.
Just to get it right off the bat, there are quite a lot of issues when it comes to the writing. Grammatical errors, repetition, character inconsistencies, too much exposition, weird chapter split choices, among many others plague this novel. In fact, it was not uncommon that I had to go back to reread several parts of the novel just to be sure I was getting things straight; though all of these are relatively minor issues that could have easily been fixed with a little more editing. As for the actual content of the novel, this is where Learning to Go excels by giving us two deeply flawed characters as leads, and it's their interactions what drives the whole novel.
On the one paw, we have Rufus, our point of view character, who is a good natured man, but also naive and with both a saviour complex and self-steem issues to boot. On the other paw, we have Victor, a proud, cynical, self-loathing, and pessimistic lion whose world view was twisted after an incident that left him crippled; yet, despite his flaws, he's also shown to be caring when he wants to do so, which tricks the reader into liking and excusing his temperamental outbursts just as much as it happens with our protagonist. And believe me, these excuses and rationalizations happen a lot, because this is not a healthy relationship.
Both Rufus and Victor are stubborn, aggressive (Victor overtly, Rufus passively), don't listen to each other, don't share each other's interests, and don't even respect each other. The rate at which they break up and get back together again could put some “will they, won't they” couples to shame. Hell, it could be argued that they've never loved each other to begin with. For Rufus, Victor is a project (a fact that even he states multiple times throughout the novel). While for Victor, the only thing he likes about Rufus is the attention that the tiger gives to him. A textbook example of an abusive relationship, and a believable one at that given how all the hostility tends to happen in a more subtle manner than what we're normally used to in fiction.
Though I have to say that the ending left me with a sour taste. While easily predictable since the early parts of the book, and in spite of the epilogue tying the plot nicely, I was kind of hoping for some things to happen in a different way.
If you can stomach all the writing mistakes and are into moving dramas, interesting characters, abusive relationships, and steamy sex scenes I heavily recommend Learning to Go. As for those looking for something more polished, I'll just say to look forward instead for whatever novel Donnelly comes up next. I know I am.
“Smalls, Talls And All” is an adult anthology by Joshiah Warbaum comprised of 14 stories about size difference: a couple of macro stories, a few plausible-size-difference ones, and about half of the rest (or more) are about micros. While I liked most stories overall, some even being the best I've read so far in this year, there's a lot of dubcon all throughout the anthology, so take that into account before buying this book (you can easily count on one hand the stories where everything is 100% consensual).
Moreover, if like me, you were drawn in by the cover, let me just warn you that there is no paw content in any of these stories, just so you know what you're getting into.
I figured this guy was one of three things: A psychopath; some kinky old guy with a case of obsessive anal compulsive disorder; or the hottest person I would ever meet - Mark, shortly before meeting Hawk for the first time, in a chapter fittingly titled as “The Mistake”.
Wolf Play by H. A. Kirsch starts in a simple manner. While browsing the personal ads from a leather-community app, Mark encounters the profile of “Hawk”. No face, only a list of things he would or would not do. Mark messages him and they decide to meet, but things turn sour after he discovers that this sexy, rough leather dom is a wolf. Having a problem with them because of childhood trauma, Mark decides to keep his distance, but the next day he wakes up to another message from Hawk. Will he ignore it, or will he willingly throw himself to the wolves?
Now, when it comes to the actual plot, that's pretty much it. They meet, they keep on meeting, and a couple of chapters later the book is over. The main conflict in this story is between Mark and his feelings—what he wants and doesn't want, the latter being any kind of wolf in his life—yet my main issue with Wolf Play lies exactly in how this “conflict” is handled, or barely handled at all.
On one hand, Mark, our human protagonist, is wolf-phobic. This is clearly shown in his inner dialogue, yet as fate keeps on throwing more and more wolves at him, he just... goes with it. This can be explained in part because, just as how a specific event in his past led to him not liking wolves, that same event also led to him feeling that he “deserves” everything that happens to him. Now, this could be a good personal conflict and exploration, but the fact that he almost always goes with the flow when it comes to wolves takes pretty much all of the weight of what is supposed to be the main conflict of this story and a core part of his personality. The only times where his dislike of wolves actually mattered were at the very beginning when he first meets Hawk, and right at the end after Hawk finds out what happened. And to be honest, the latter could have easily been rewritten so as to have the same events and just a slightly different reason for them.
Now, while this may sound like I didn't like this book, it's not the case. I loved the interactions between Mark and the many wolves in his life (especially Hawk, who quickly grew on me after the first or second chapter). The sex scenes were for the most part hot, though be mindful that there is one rape scene in this book. And, also, the supporting cast was likable.
All in all, Wolf Play is a good quick read at only 68 pages. However, I believe that this book deserved to be longer, especially when taking into account the themes it's trying to explore.
You can also find this review at the Furry Book Review website.
A dead parent, a trapped protagonist, evil stepmothers and sisters, and a kind woman who dresses up and transports our main character to a party where they might find the love of their life, only for everything to go back to normal at the stroke of midnight—Whip and Boot could be best considered a modern, kinky, and gay take on an old story.
When Derek moved to Atlanta, the last thing he expected was to fall head over heels for the gator across the bar. The leather-clad Frank is all that the german shepherd-golden retriever could wish for, and yet Derek still wonders. Because, you see, the problem's not Frank's love for the whip, how he doubles him in age, or the fact that they just met. No, the problem lies with Derek. His family, what's expected of him, and even his own identity. Thus starts Whip and Boot, by Herr Wozzeck, a new-adult novel not about the endless sexual adventures of our hero, but rather about the journey of man as he discovers not only his own worth and his voice, but also what it feels to be in a non-toxic environment (with a healthy dose of sexy moments).
The one thing that stands out the most from this novel is its characters, especially our main character. Shy, closeted, naive, and traumatized, Derek has a lot of room for growth, and Wozzeck greatly delivers throughout our hero's journey, and the huge number of flashbacks we get serve to give us a clear picture of how he, and several other members of the supporting cast, came to be. This is even more pronounced when it comes to the most important relationship in his life: his family. This coupled with a nice cast of characters, from the almost perfect Frank to Derek's despicable stepmother; and the vivid descriptions when it comes to the leather community make this book a pleasure to read. In fact, the way these scenes are described show how much experience, and fondness, the author has with this content. However, some of the strengths of this book can also be its weaknesses.
For starters, there's the pacing. The overabundance of flashbacks, important as they might be to the story and characterization, sometimes make the chapters feel slower than they are, especially when taking into account that the events in the “current” time tend to breeze through, which leaves the story feeling rushed while also being like it dragged on, sometimes even in the same chapter (for comparison's sake, the flashbacks cover several weeks and years in the characters' lives, yet in the present we're left with a story that takes place in roughly 1-2 weeks with more than half of those days being skipped over). Moreover, there's the dissonance in tone between the suggestive cover, the blurb, the events of the first chapter; and the rest of the book, with everything giving a more sexual vibe than what we got, or at least giving an impression that the story will focus on Derek and Frank's relationship, yet it's also not the case. Frank barely appears throughout the book, being more present in the main character's thoughts than in the flesh, with the only relationship truly explored being that between Derek and his family (which, while appreciated, I feel that detracts from what was promised).
Overall, I have to say that I loved Whip and Boot, but it's always good to set the right expectations. If you're looking for a fun and quick read with interesting characters, a story about a young man learning to stand up for himself, or you're into kind leather-daddies (and who isn't?), then this is the book for you. But if you're just looking for some quick smut... get it anyway. It might not fulfill your expectations, but it's a good book and you'll thank me later.
