Tell Me It's Real

So, here we are now!

This was a ride and a half. As I said in my updates, this was a crackfic on meth, smoking pot, while chewing coca leaves. So THERE went the spelling, right out the window. And look, THERE went the politically correct, straight out the other window, without even opening it first. (The crash you just heard was the glass shattering, and falling to the ground several stories down, on all kinds of people who are not gay). And booom THERE went half of your fans, the female ones who can't handle that many gay men have issues with vaginas. LOL. (Yeah, there could have been a few less jokes and less dumping shit on the vagina, but hey, it takes a true connoisseur to appreciate the art of the female fancy parts). (No, knowing show more Helena Handbasket is not enough). And KABOOOM there went a bunch of people who don't like slurs of any kind.

I don't mind, when it's done this way. I love it when everything gets put upside down and inside out, because THAT is where you notice it. People don't notice when others say "Oh, you're so gay," as if it's a weakness, something bad. Well, darn and dang, they'll notice when you change gay for others, like women, or fat people, or hispanics or so. Suddenly it's RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. So you notice.

About bloody time, if you ask me. (But I still love my vag, so stop cussing it, will ya?)

This book was pure crazy. It could most certainly have taken three more tours through the editing process, as both verbs and words were in the wrong tense and just plain wrong. Prepositions up the creek without a paddle. And usually that grates on my soul. Usually, I hate it.

BUT HEY! I just laughed my ass off, I laughed and laughed, and then I laughed some more. In two separate instances I even woke up Mr Lund from my guffaws.

So, even if the language wasn't up to Mr Klune's usual standards, I feel this book was written in one looooong sitting, maybe while he was writing some really deep and hurtful stuff in another book? (Into this River I Drown, comes to mind—that must have been a dark and heavy book to write, and this one would have cheered him up a lot).

What saves the day here is how it all gets so fucking out of hand it borders on the comically tragic. Or the tragically comic. There is one instance where a serious discussion about in how many ways Paul could possibly destroy their relationship, and ends up, after mere minutes, to be all about the superhero costume that Sandy should be wearing. Something just goes SPACE-BOINK-OIK in my head.

Crazy book is crazy. Now you will either love this book or you will hate it. There simply is no in-between.

You all know where I stand. I am firmly in the corner with the two-legged, squeaky-wheels dog named Wheels and the homophobic, slurring parrot named Johnny Depp. We are having a ball over here.

So, Mr Klune, please. Continue. We are all ears, over here. Feed us more words.
Pretty please.


***
I was NOT asked to read this book by anyone, I paid for it with my own money, as I do for all the books I read, all the music I listen to and the movies I watch. show less

Note to self: T.J. Klune is just one of those authors that people love but are not your cup of tea, AT ALL.

I've tried, really. I read [b:Into This River I Drown|17213054|Into This River I Drown|T.J. Klune|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357498784s/17213054.jpg|23695986] and [b:Murmuration|30119403|Murmuration|T.J. Klune|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474343141s/30119403.jpg|50544949] and I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Then I tried [b:Bear, Otter, and the Kid|12156759|Bear, Otter, and the Kid (Bear, Otter, and the Kid, #1)|T.J. Klune|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347434774s/12156759.jpg|17127576] and scratched my head over that one too. But this one was on sale, and everyone was so excited about a later book in show more the series that had just been released, so.....

...And it's just not working for me. I find Klune unfunny and self-indulgent. Paul's stream of consciousness rambling narration is exhausting and annoying. And if Vince is really "dumb as a box of rocks," how does he hold down a job and manage his life? And what is so dumb about him, besides the fact that he thinks Asia is a country and doesn't recognize Paul's "Freddie Prinze Junior" movie reference? His character is wildly inconsistent.

But what really bothered me was the author's casual misogyny. Every time Paul has a bout of self-doubt he calls himself a vagina or otherwise equates himself with a piece of female anatomy to indicate that he is less than a man (as opposed to different but equal). And he also dabbles in a bit of racism with a tasteless "sassy black woman" joke and other racial stereotypes. That's not funny, it's lazy and offensive.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me four times, I finally conclude that I don't like T.J. Klune's work, and will let others whose opinion I respect breathlessly await his upcoming releases while I give them a hard pass. show less

Fucking awesome! ("Language!")

Super hilarious with miniature sugary sweet unicorns burping rainbow smells while simultaneously sneezing glitter boogers.

Ridiculous, sweet, and all about true love at first sight--with billions of bumps along the way.

Totally wonderful.

Note: Read it now.

I listened to this on Audible, and I couldn't do it outside of my flat for fear of coming across as insane. So fucking funny. I read the Homo Jock before this one, so I got the story a little backwards, but I still loved it. So adorable, so funny. Just what my autumn blues called for.

My most re-read/listened to book of all time and rightly so. OTT humor and ridiculousness galore with a snarky and insanely imaginative narrator whose thoughts often go way off tangent. Sugary sweet, steamy, and positively charming—pure and utter perfection!

I'm rating this one high for making me cry. Paul can be a bit annoying as a narrator because he likes to go off on fictional tangents, but it was that habit that also endeared him to me because my husband and I do the same thing and I think it gets on people's nerves. So yeah, good one. Nice romance story.

4.5 So Not Surprised Stars!!

Having read 2 of Klune’s most likely popular series BOatK (shout out to my top book hubby, Otter!!!) and Tales from Verania (Tiggy 5eva!!), this comes as no surprise that I truly enjoyed myself. As with those books, this brings plenty of laughs that are absolutely based on inane ridiculousness and some gut wrenching feels to kick you in the literal or proverbial balls.

So, if you like seemingly underdog stories, heavy with familial feels, and deep romantic story arcs, all peppered with so much snark and fun, then this fan favorite is a no brainer and should not disappoint!