jrv45's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
the_novel_approach's review
4.0
4.5 Stars
The first time I ever read one of B.G. Thomas’s stories, I was hooked. I said to myself, “Here’s a man who knows what love is and knows how to put it on paper,” then I went to my computer and bought every single one of his books available at the time. From that point on, he’s been an auto buy for me, and even though there may have been one or two of Mr. Thomas’s stories that went in a direction that made me feel just a tad uncomfortable or sad, I can always feel the love his characters have for each other and wouldn’t dream of missing out on one of his books.
Gabe is basically a good man who has known what it’s like to be out in the cold, albeit it temporarily, who meets the right person at the right time. This is what I call the crossroads part of the story—this is the point where Gabe wouldn’t have ended up where he is now if he hadn’t done the right thing at the right time. But Gabe has been burned before when returning a favor, so I give him big kudos for not giving up completely when he meets Todd. Gabe could have just walked by this young man. Instead, he decides to give Todd a helping hand.
Now, Todd, who has hit the bottom of the barrel, has come to a crossroads as well. All the dreams he had when he came to the big city have been systematically squashed like a bug. He’s homeless, cold, and desperate when he meets this stranger who, at first, mistakes him for a hustler. Even though the hustler part gets cleared up the morning after their one night, Todd actually contemplates robbing his host blind while Gabe is at work. I was glad that Todd made the right decision by trusting Gabe.
We all take something away from every book we read, and this is what I enjoyed about The Boy Who Came In From the Cold. Call me a sappy romantic, but I really love these types of romances; not too heavy with the angst but with a moral to the story—the moral in this case being “pay it forward.” Or, better yet, the simple reminder to always show kindness without expectations.
Charlie David did an excellent job with the narration of The Boy Who Came In From the Cold, and I would highly recommend the audio version if you’re a fan of B.G. Thomas’s and Charlie David’s work.
My rating is a solid 4.5 Stars.
The first time I ever read one of B.G. Thomas’s stories, I was hooked. I said to myself, “Here’s a man who knows what love is and knows how to put it on paper,” then I went to my computer and bought every single one of his books available at the time. From that point on, he’s been an auto buy for me, and even though there may have been one or two of Mr. Thomas’s stories that went in a direction that made me feel just a tad uncomfortable or sad, I can always feel the love his characters have for each other and wouldn’t dream of missing out on one of his books.
Gabe is basically a good man who has known what it’s like to be out in the cold, albeit it temporarily, who meets the right person at the right time. This is what I call the crossroads part of the story—this is the point where Gabe wouldn’t have ended up where he is now if he hadn’t done the right thing at the right time. But Gabe has been burned before when returning a favor, so I give him big kudos for not giving up completely when he meets Todd. Gabe could have just walked by this young man. Instead, he decides to give Todd a helping hand.
Now, Todd, who has hit the bottom of the barrel, has come to a crossroads as well. All the dreams he had when he came to the big city have been systematically squashed like a bug. He’s homeless, cold, and desperate when he meets this stranger who, at first, mistakes him for a hustler. Even though the hustler part gets cleared up the morning after their one night, Todd actually contemplates robbing his host blind while Gabe is at work. I was glad that Todd made the right decision by trusting Gabe.
We all take something away from every book we read, and this is what I enjoyed about The Boy Who Came In From the Cold. Call me a sappy romantic, but I really love these types of romances; not too heavy with the angst but with a moral to the story—the moral in this case being “pay it forward.” Or, better yet, the simple reminder to always show kindness without expectations.
Charlie David did an excellent job with the narration of The Boy Who Came In From the Cold, and I would highly recommend the audio version if you’re a fan of B.G. Thomas’s and Charlie David’s work.
My rating is a solid 4.5 Stars.
endemictoearth's review
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
This is a strange book. Own voices m/m, which I’m trying to read more of, but it’s a coming out/Cinderfella situation, which I wasn’t fully expecting (I just sort of jumped in on the title.) I think the hardest part to get through were their respective backstories. Todd had a fairly standard internalized homophobia commentary running through his head, the same few phrases from his stepfather playing over and over on repeat, and Gabe has a twisted tale of love gone wrong (where he actually doesn’t come off as a good guy, just not the worst guy in the situation— Throw in some outrageous side characters, and we’ve got . . . a very weird story. Everyone apart from the two main characters is written as an over the top caricature (nearly quit at the gross fatphobic descriptions of the evil lazy landlord who kicked Todd out.) This book was published seven years ago, but seems a lot older than that. There were some insights that seemed particularly male/own voices, but other than that, it was a fairytale peppered with slurs.
Spoiler
waiting until the day a formerly abused kid becomes ‘legal’ to have sex with him isn’t sweet. It’s BARELY decent.)mousegoddess's review
5.0
I have a thing about romance novels with a super short time frame for love. I mean, I can enjoy a love at first sight story... But whirlwind romances tend to have me rolling my eyes and sighing sarcastically (so I have my curmudgeonly moments). Perhaps it's because of my real life experiences, but that's neither here nor there. You will notice, I'm sure, that I rated this five stars. And, yes, it's a whirlwind romance. So why? Because it is well-written, the characters are believable(and engaging!), and safe sex. Maybe a silly thing to love in a romance novel, but I do. I messaged with my BFAM whilst reading and he had to deal with many a flail and "omgomgomg". Highly recommend. Loved it. Can I adopt B.G. Thomas? I have an opening for a cool uncle.
anitalouise's review
4.0
Odd yet sweetly quirky tale that is told almost like a fairy tale. Todd, who grew up in a house filled with hate, and Gabriel, hunky guy who seems too good to be true. Had some difficulty getting engaged in the story in the beginning but then when the author used the word "shtupped" correctly in a sentence, I howled with laughter and started to enjoy it. Tried to discern if readers are supposed to experience this as a fairy tale - Gabriel the angel sent to love Todd - or as a standard contemporary MM romance read. At any rate, really did finally enjoy this. Great secondary characters, especially Peter, however Tracy was annoying. Sad that the only female characters turn out to be Tracy the buttinski and Todd's mother, the weak-willed woman who allowed his stepfather to abuse Todd.
poultrymunitions's review
1.0
Autoimmune response.
One friend described this as refreshingly male; another said it worked for her as if it were a virus that somehow infected her without triggering any antibodies.
Me? I was Mr. T-cell from page one.
Odd ruminations on how expensive things are; clumsy interjections from POV subconscious thought—what are you, a queer?; baffling motivations; the word 'shitfire' four times on the same page; head-hopping in the same chapter; grating female characters; logic-fails and dafuqery throughout; a big beefy muscle head who goes to bed naked under an oversized nightshirt like a slutty cheerleader at a sleepover in a porno inspired by a John Hughes film.
I wanted to like this.
My body was not ready.
One friend described this as refreshingly male; another said it worked for her as if it were a virus that somehow infected her without triggering any antibodies.
Me? I was Mr. T-cell from page one.
Odd ruminations on how expensive things are; clumsy interjections from POV subconscious thought—what are you, a queer?; baffling motivations; the word 'shitfire' four times on the same page; head-hopping in the same chapter; grating female characters; logic-fails and dafuqery throughout; a big beefy muscle head who goes to bed naked under an oversized nightshirt like a slutty cheerleader at a sleepover in a porno inspired by a John Hughes film.
I wanted to like this.
My body was not ready.
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