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A review by eileen9898
#Junkie by Cambria Hebert
3.0
this review talks about #junkie and #rev)
I don't really know how to rate these books because there are things I like and things I don't.
First, the slut shaming. Women who are quick to jump into sex, even tho the main guys are also involved, are sluts. The casual way, in which the guys talk about women, how complicated they are, superficial and in need of protection, is really starting to bother me. This book is written by a woman writing about men. I don't know if this reflects on her personal views on women or if this is how she thinks men view women. Either way I'm concerned.
I think the books try to tackle toxic masculinity and praise vulnerability in some instances, but the glorification of solving problems with your fists defeats that goal a little. It doesn't equate to the amount of mentions that they are "alpha males". The territorial and possessive behaviour, that is written as sexy and healthy.
Regarding the writing, the spoken language and the inner monologues of the characters are completely out of sync. They speak very plainly, not overly descriptive and they get to the point quickly. But the inner monologues are dripping in flowery metaphors, over the top comparisons and sweet nothings. I know not everyone says everything they think but this is just ridiculous.
Also the amount of unnecessary repetitions are making me wonder who edited these books. Every couple of pages the characters go into long rants about loving each other, how difficult everything is and how horny they make each other. It's the same shit every time. The themes are caught in loops. Once everything about love and homophobia and sex is mentioned, it goes directly back to love and everything starts again.
On the contrary, the whole racing aspect I really enjoy because you don't read about that really. It's more a focus in book one than in book 2, that was more focused on the relationship. But what I read I found to be interesting.
Aside from all the alpha bullshit, I love how dedicated the guys are to each other from the beginning. Their loyalty is to each other is never questioned and there are no cheating side plots. Once it's clear to them how much they like each other, all sexuality questionings is out the window, which I liked. Drew in particular doesn't care about labels, just that he loves Trent and that's enough for him. That was a rather refreshing take in the queer new adult/adult romances I've read. Usually the questioning part makes up over half of the plot.
What I can't deny tho is how invested I was from page one. These books are by no means short and even despite the repetitive nature, they never dragged. I read book one in a day and listened to the audiobook of the second in 3 days. The characters are dynamic and well fleshed out and you root for them from the beginning. It may sound like the negative outways the good, but I liked reading / listening to them and enjoyed myself. If you don't care about my negative points, I definitely recommend them.
I don't really know how to rate these books because there are things I like and things I don't.
First, the slut shaming. Women who are quick to jump into sex, even tho the main guys are also involved, are sluts. The casual way, in which the guys talk about women, how complicated they are, superficial and in need of protection, is really starting to bother me. This book is written by a woman writing about men. I don't know if this reflects on her personal views on women or if this is how she thinks men view women. Either way I'm concerned.
I think the books try to tackle toxic masculinity and praise vulnerability in some instances, but the glorification of solving problems with your fists defeats that goal a little. It doesn't equate to the amount of mentions that they are "alpha males". The territorial and possessive behaviour, that is written as sexy and healthy.
Regarding the writing, the spoken language and the inner monologues of the characters are completely out of sync. They speak very plainly, not overly descriptive and they get to the point quickly. But the inner monologues are dripping in flowery metaphors, over the top comparisons and sweet nothings. I know not everyone says everything they think but this is just ridiculous.
Also the amount of unnecessary repetitions are making me wonder who edited these books. Every couple of pages the characters go into long rants about loving each other, how difficult everything is and how horny they make each other. It's the same shit every time. The themes are caught in loops. Once everything about love and homophobia and sex is mentioned, it goes directly back to love and everything starts again.
On the contrary, the whole racing aspect I really enjoy because you don't read about that really. It's more a focus in book one than in book 2, that was more focused on the relationship. But what I read I found to be interesting.
Aside from all the alpha bullshit, I love how dedicated the guys are to each other from the beginning. Their loyalty is to each other is never questioned and there are no cheating side plots. Once it's clear to them how much they like each other, all sexuality questionings is out the window, which I liked. Drew in particular doesn't care about labels, just that he loves Trent and that's enough for him. That was a rather refreshing take in the queer new adult/adult romances I've read. Usually the questioning part makes up over half of the plot.
What I can't deny tho is how invested I was from page one. These books are by no means short and even despite the repetitive nature, they never dragged. I read book one in a day and listened to the audiobook of the second in 3 days. The characters are dynamic and well fleshed out and you root for them from the beginning. It may sound like the negative outways the good, but I liked reading / listening to them and enjoyed myself. If you don't care about my negative points, I definitely recommend them.