THEGAYUK

Tag: Book Review

All the latest book reviews. Browse The THEGAYUK’s complete collection of for books.

  • BOOK REVIEW | Strange Bedfellows by Rob Byrnes

    Strange Bedfellows by Rob Byrnes is a crime caper story that is an addictive read. Grant Lambert and Chase LaMarca are introduced on a job to rob a store.

    As the scene unfolds they have to pretend to be mannequins in the shop window as the Police have turned up, which is an hilarious scene and just the start of this fantastically funny book.

    Grant & Chase are partners in life as well as crime, and when the offer of a well paid job comes along they can’t turn it down; even if it is from hustler Jamie Brock.

    Austin Peebles is an adorable democratic congressional candidate who has sexted a rude photo of himself that has found it’s way into the hands of June Forteene a rightwing blogger.

    Grant & Chase’s job is simple: steal the photo (as well as any copies) off June before she exposes it on her blog and ruins Austin’s political prospects. They complete the job; but enraged June soon posts a cropped version of the rude photo along with an ultimatum: the unnamed political candidate must withdraw himself as a candidate and provide her with compensation. Austin’s campaign manager Kevin Wunder refuses to pay Grant & Chase as they haven’t have completed their job correctly.

    Grant & Chase are convinced that they completed their job and that there’s something more going on. So they hatch a plan, recruit a team and set about making everything right. Along the way we get to know grumpy Grant and likeable Chase. Both characters were multifaceted like real people and the use of description by Byrnes gave a strong sense of the different characters.

    Byrnes used a number of close calls and twists to weave a fascinating plot that is perfectly paced. He used his unique writing style to engage the reader and packed the story full of funny, believable and entertaining scenes. Byrnes got the balance between showing and telling the story spot on for the reader. Strange Bedfellows had a satisfying conclusion that will leave the reader wistful for another of Byrnes‘ stories.

    What let’s Strange Bedfellows down was it’s cover. The topless man gives a misleading impression, as does the image of the Whitehouse. The topless man is like none of the characters described in the book; and implies some sexual scenes of which there were none. The Whitehouse gives the impression of a political story; but even non-Americans will fully understand the story as Byrnes explained what the reader needs to know and besides the story isn’t really about politics.

    Please don’t be put off by the cover, Strange Bedfellows by Rob Byrnes is a captivating read that will have you craving more of Rob Byrnes stories.
    Available from Amazon

  • BOOK REVIEW | Fanny And Stella

    ★★★★★ | Fanny And Stella

    28th April 1870: The flamboyantly dressed Miss Fanny Park and Miss Stella Boulton are causing a stir in the Strand Theatre.

    All eyes are riveted upon the two young ladies as they look down on the stalls, calling out to, flirting with and ogling the fine gentlemen below. Moments later they are led away by the police. What followed was a huge scandal that shocked and titillated Victorian England in equal measure.

    Fanny and Stella – two very alluring ladies-about-town – were not ordinary young women. They were actually young men who liked to dress as women: Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park, a bank clerk and solicitor respectively, part-time actresses and part-time prostitutes. Stella was the most beautiful female impersonator of her day, Fanny her sturdier and plainer companion. When the Metropolitan Police launched a secret campaign to bring about their downfall, they were arrested and subjected to a sensational show trial in Westminster Hall and if found guilty, they faced life imprisonment.

    As the trial of ‘the Young Men in Women’s Clothes’ unfolded, Fanny and Stella’s extraordinary lives as wives and daughters, actresses and whores were revealed to an incredulous public. The revelations shocked a nation of Victorians as the seamy underbelly of a hypocritical society was exposed with a cast of prostitutes, brothel keepers and transvestites gaining prominence along with a bevy of respectable aristocrats, businessmen and ambassadors who were implicated in the scandal.

    McKenna has meticulously researched the subject of the two unfortunate young men for this informative but also entertaining and gripping book. The story is both titillating and amusing as the trial unfolds revealing the antics of the two young men and their consorts. The language used by the Victorians in describing homosexuality and various sexual practices is enough to make you choke with laughter on your Earl Grey and have you lurching towards your chaise longue as you frantically reach for your smelling salts.

    Ultimately, the story made me reel in horror too, not because of Fanny and Stella’s behaviour but more because of the way they were treated by society. Imagine being holed up in prison with the threat of life imprisonment, no face powder and having your anus examined repeatedly for signs of sodomy? I’m sure Danny La Rue never had to go through that.

    McKenna presents us with an account that is fast paced and informative but also hugely entertaining to read as the very human story of the two men unfolds in all its grisly detail. Whether you’re a history fanatic intrigued by Victorian double standards or not, this book is sure to amuse, shock and beguile you. Well worth a read.

     

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  • BOOK REVIEW | In The Mirror, A Monster

    ★★★ In The Mirror, A Monster

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  • BOOK REVIEW | Funny Peculiar

    Will Young has finally joined the scores of celebrities who have books about themselves on the shelves. The usual tomes are full of “shock” revelations and tedious romps through celebrity debauchery, usually ending on a redemptive note as the star reclaims his or her life back.

    This book is as far from that genre as you can get and as such is thoroughly refreshing to read. Will penned the entire book himself and has a distinctive writing style. Rather than a straightforward autobiography, he presents us with a series of beautifully written anecdotes, musings and diary entries. There’s something altogether quaint and charmingly British about the whole thing, reminding me of celebrity memoirs from previous decades. The book even has a series of cartoonish illustrations by Kathryn Pinker, rather than the usual glossy photographs you’d normally expect, which adds to its retro charm.

    The themes certainly aren’t old fashioned though and the book retains freshness and is written in an original and engaging style. He addresses the thorny issues of coming out in the media spotlight, experiencing depression, winning a TV talent contestant and what it’s like to have to undergo a make-over in front of the cameras on “This Morning”. He also writes candidly and with self-awareness about suffering from poor self-esteem and bouts of crippling depression as well as portraying his passion for what he does.

    He details lots of hapless exploits and is self-deprecating in his descriptions of his actions. The anecdotes, which often feature Will as hapless yet entirely normal, cover how not to behave at London Fashion week, what not to do when meeting the Beckhams or Julia Roberts and what not to shout out to a row of disabled people at a gig.

    The book is both funny and poignant and although Will isn’t reticent or coy in what he writes about, he manages to maintain a strong sense of dignity, a rarity in modern celebrity culture.

    I’d recommend this entertaining and original book to anyone, whether they’re a big fan of Will Young or not.

    “Funny Peculiar” is available from Amazon

  • BOOK REVIEW: Tiny Food Party Recipe Book

    Just in time for the Xmas party season comes this book, which you can use again and again, all year round, to create miniature meals, starters, canapés, snacks, indoor and outdoor treats.

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  • BOOK REVIEW | Rupert Everett, Vanished Years

    BOOK REVIEW | Rupert Everett, Vanished Years

    Celebrity memoirs can be terribly dull things: at best, scandalous and shocking and at worst, clumsily written and dull.

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  • BOOK REVIEW: Love You Bye, Scott Mills

    Scott Mills has been a much loved DJ at Radio One for the past 14 years and also happens to be one of the boys (aka gay).

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  • BOOK REVIEW | Briefs Encountered by Julian Clary

    Noel Coward was the toast of 1930’s British society with his razor sharp wit, sartorial elegance and much loved plays and songs. Goldenhurst, his house in Kent, provided a refuge where he could be himself and hide from the prying eyes of the general public and more importantly the law. (more…)

  • BOOK REVIEW | My Policeman

    Naive schoolmistress Marion first catches sight of handsome Tom in Brighton and is instantly smitten by his wholesome good looks and swimmer’s physique.

    In spite of some reservations about this dashing young policeman, she is determined that her love will be enough for them both. The complication is that Tom is increasingly lured into the gay underworld of 1950’s Brighton when he meets sophisticated gay museum curator, Patrick. The ensuing love triangle has far reaching consequences for the three of them in a society where homosexuality is still illegal.

    Vintage style is big business in the 21st century and one decade which brings on a warm rush of nostalgia is the 1950s. Homes are being decorated with stylish repro 50’s patterns and tweed jackets are making a comeback, but have you ever considered what it was like to be gay before the law reforms of 1967 made homosexuality legal? This pitch perfect novel captures the atmosphere of fear which surrounded being gay in 1950’s Brighton. Roberts has created a compelling and haunting story with strong credible characters which is hard not to become instantly immersed in.

    The backdrop of historical detail doesn’t intrude on a great story but adds depth and colour to it. The city of Brighton is recognisable by its landmarks but alien in its climate of repression. I would heartily recommend this book as being well written and eminently readable. It’s a book which causes you to stop and think about how we view the past through a filter of our own current experiences and realise that maybe the good old days weren’t always so good for gay men.

    BUY FROM AMAZON

  • BOOK REVIEW | My Policeman

    ★★★★★ My Policeman |Naive schoolmistress Marion first catches sight of handsome Tom in Brighton and is instantly smitten by his wholesome good looks and swimmer’s physique.

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  • BOOK REVIEW | Jack Holmes And His Friend

    Grand master of gay literature, Edmund White, is now in his 70s and his first novel was published in 1973. He’s renowned for his classic novel “A Boy’s Own Story” which accompanied me through an episode of glandular fever back in my teens and made the days bearable.

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