One of Those Days

Good, short, deep-reaching read. It explains Alex and Ric's history, begins to paint them as 3-dimensional characters, and sets up the story for a sequel that I am excited to read (all in under one day--except for the last little bit). Alex's snarky dialogue with and reactions to and Ric are sometimes funny and sometimes sad, but are also realistic.

I immediately felt for Alex, as he was trying to be brave and show how different he is now from high school, but he still has a lot of untreated trauma from Ric's bullying, so that causes a lot of involuntary (and embarrassing and fearful) moments for him. Plus, this day is just not made for Alex, misfortune smiles upon him left and right. But Alex and Ric do connect, and Ric reveals his own show more host of issues that will need to be faced. My favorite things are how the characters are changed from youth and the cover that you get off of the download from Priest's website (beautiful men!). Overall, I this story has a lot of potential for its continuation, and I definitely recommend it. show less

Perceptive and wonderfully funny at the same time, this is a great short story. It's a good example of Zathyn Priest's style and I liked it a lot. While it was totally over the top, there is a lot of truth about dealing with a past full of bullying underneath all the humor. By no means making fun of the sad facts, this story shows one example how things can end well. I loved Alex and even began to love Ric. Wonderful story!

If your goal is to make me want to toss your book out the window within the first few pages, the key is to start it with a description of a woman wearing metaphorical devil horns because it's "that time of the month". Yes, hormonally driven mood swings can occur during a woman's cycle, but turning her into a stereotypical, fire-breathing harpy for shit and giggles is usually not a sign of good things to come.

I did continue reading because I was already a quarter of the way through this short story and I have to admit that Zathyn Priest has a way with words. There were many, many laugh out loud moments for me which earned the book back some of the stars it lost.

I liked Alex and his awkwardness (I am still the awkward fat girl so I show more related a little too much with him probably) but found his moods swung more than the hormonal receptionist's, whose characterisation continued to frustrate me. (She went from Godzilla with rage issues to sickeningly sweet and motherly in the blink of an eye. Those darn hormones. Grrr.) I liked Ric and his reaction to seeing how his actions had effected Alex even years later, but I didn't buy Alex going out with him or falling into bed with him so soon.

On a positive note, 'Fuck-knuckle' is set to become part of my repertoire!

I would have loved this if the only woman in the story hadn't had her reproductive system used as light relief, and if it had been longer, giving Ric and Alex time to get to know each other as adults before falling into bed with each other. show less

If your goal is to make me want to toss your book out the window within the first few pages, the key is to start it with a description of a woman wearing metaphorical devil horns because it's "that time of the month". Yes, hormonally driven mood swings can occur during a woman's cycle, but turning her into a stereotypical, fire-breathing harpy for shit and giggles is usually not a sign of good things to come.

I did continue reading because I was already a quarter of the way through this short story and I have to admit that Zathyn Priest has a way with words. There were many, many laugh out loud moments for me which earned the book back some of the stars it lost.

I liked Alex and his awkwardness (I am still the awkward fat girl so I show more related a little too much with him probably) but found his moods swung more than the hormonal receptionist's, whose characterisation continued to frustrate me. (She went from Godzilla with rage issues to sickeningly sweet and motherly in the blink of an eye. Those darn hormones. Grrr.) I liked Ric and his reaction to seeing how his actions had effected Alex even years later, but I didn't buy Alex going out with him or falling into bed with him so soon.

On a positive note, 'Fuck-knuckle' is set to become part of my repertoire!

I would have loved this if the only woman in the story hadn't had her reproductive system used as light relief, and if it had been longer, giving Ric and Alex time to get to know each other as adults before falling into bed with each other. show less

Over all it is a fast but very good book. I love all of it. It makes you stop and think about being a bully or being bullied in school. Do they hate you or themselves?

I love the spider part. (I feel the same way about them.) It had me laughing so hard my brothers thought I was going to pass out.

Fun short story - highly recommended for just that short M/M hit :)

Very, very funny and sweet. Very well written.