Blind Ride by B.A. Tortuga Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.25/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Blind rep

➮ Cowboy romance

➮ Gay rep

➮ Friends-to-lovers

➮ Hurt x comfort

Blurb

Jason Scott has everything a bull rider wants—success, money and traveling partner Andy Baxter. When he loses his sight in an accident, he stands to lose it all.

Jason Scott is at the top of the bull riding game, on his way to a winning season. Along with his traveling partner, Andy Baxter, he’s riding hard on the circuit, working around the country with all of the other bull riders and bullfighters, living the good life. The only thing he wishes he had is Bax, but he’s afraid to take the step that would make them more than friends, worried that it will ruin everything.

When a terrible accident leaves Jason unable to see, his whole life goes south. Jason decides to chuck it all, determined to go home and hide at his momma’s ranch. Bax has other ideas. He wants to make sure his best friend doesn’t give up, and he hatches a plan that stuns Jason and makes their friends and family think he’s crazy.

With the help of the other bull riders and a very persistent bull fighter named Coke, Bax convinces Jason to give life one more try. With Jason cautiously learning to hope, and his relationship with Bax going to the next level, life gets pretty complicated. Everyone gets in on the project, from Jason’s strong-willed mother to an entire ranch full of children, all of them working to help Jason do what he loves. 

LGBTQ+ Representation

4/5 🌈

I thought it was well-done and respectful overall. I just feel like their identities could've played more into their characterization. Especially in a realm filled with homophobia, it feels like it could've mattered more.

My Thoughts

The narration of this one truly made this book shine! I felt like it brought the story to life. The narrator's Southern drawl added to my immersion immensely. 

This book also does a great job with pacing given it is a shorter story. The relationship development felt natural. Speaking of, I of course commend the gay rep in this book. It was respectful and thoughtfully done. 

Due to the cliff hanger, I am very excited to dive into the rest of the series!

This book does contain a good bit of open-door spice. If that is not your thing, I do not recommend this book. 

Thank you to Gay Romance Reviews for the ALC! My review is honest and voluntary. 

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown Review

* This review is spoiler-free *

3/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Best friends to lovers

➮ Queer bipoc disabled MC

➮ Summertime

➮ Lesbian relationship

Synopsis

Andrea is a teenager dealing with cerebral palsy, coming to terms with her LGBTQ+ identity, and realizing she has feelings for her best friend. Andrea and her best friend Hailee are hoping to cross off everything on their Best Summer Ever list. As Andrea navigates summertime adventures with her ever-growing feelings, she struggles to maintain balance.

LGBTQ+ Representation

5/5 🌈

This is by far the best LGBTQ+ representation among the books I have read this year. The main character Andrea identifies as bisexual. Her crush Hailee identifies as lesbian. Both of them go through the process of coming out and coming to terms with how their lives will change because of coming out. In addition, another one of Andrea's friends is a trans guy and serves as an example of someone out and proud. If I remember correctly, there is also an additional friend of Andrea's who has lesbian parents. I highly appreciate the varied representation this story provides. It does well at portraying the fears young people experience when they are discovering their sexuality. I do wish there was at least a little representation of people whose coming out stories are not perfect. 

My Thoughts

I listened to this book as an audiobook and admittedly, that may have diminished my experience. Personally, I found the voice used for Hailee to be quite grating and honestly sound like Hailee has been a long-time chain smoker despite being in high school. It really diminished from my ability to relax and take in the story because I was so distracted by her voice. 

Other than that, I find the drama and conflict to be very middle school and immature. Instead of a story about high schoolers, it feels like rising seventh graders. Instead of having the mind to talk things out or at least use the resources they have, it is just a lot of back and forth. 

I feel a bit bad given this is my first rather harsh review of a book. I wish I enjoyed the experience much more than I actually enjoyed it. This book got as high of a review as it got because I do not like to tank reviews for books with excellent representation if it was simply not my favorite. If not for the representation this would easily be a 2.5 stars. If the story were more unique and realistic for the target audience it would've been a much better reading experience. 

If you can get past the immature-feeling drama and overall juvenile feel, I recommend supporting a queer bipoc author who provides excellent representation. I admire Brown's accomplishment of getting more inclusive stories out into the world. I would consider this book better suited to a middle-grade audience than a young adult audience.