Geek Out: Recs and Babbles

I meant to write (and post) this post last week, but Life. In any case, it seems timely for this week, as LT3's Geek Out collection is releasing, and oh man, do we have some awesome stories. You can check out the full collection here (and buy the bundle here!).

I'm going to talk about my favorites. I have four favorites. (I am, as ever, indecisive as hell. ;3) I also kind of suck at reviews, so hopefully I will make sense. Disclaimer! I am one of the owners of the publishing company publishing these books, but the opinions and fangirling here are honestly presented.

Love Rampage by Alex Powell
Maíra has always wanted a unicorn, but isn't quite prepared when one shows up on her doorstep and kidnaps her—and proclaims that Maíra must confess her feelings to the girl she loves. Maíra is definitely reluctant to follow through with that, but everything changes when Carol is kidnapped by a demon... 

This book is my #1 favorite of the collection. 100% absolutely adored it from start to finish. Basically this book is perfect. It's lighthearted, fairy-tale style writing that makes fun of itself even as it explores more serious topics. Maíra is amazing, the unicorn is so hilariously bossy and one-track mind, I love it. Carol is also amazing, and the book is so tightly plotted and sweet, I'm just 100% over the moon with it. A++ recommend, will re-read forever.



The rest of these are in the order that I opened them in my browser tabs (aka no particular order), as they are all close seconds to Love Rampage. ^^



Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans
Jalen, lover of B-grade sci-fi movies, meets the far-too-handsome P in a cafe while deciding whether or not to skip uni again. When P invites them along to a double feature of Robot Monster and Cat Women of the Moon, Jalen can hardly believe that hot boys like bad sci-fi, too. But as their relationship progresses, Jalen realizes P leaves them wondering if they're on the same page about what dating means, and if that's what they're doing.

So I am ebook formatter extraordinaire for LT3, which means I get books in advance for ARC formatting as well as general ebook creation. I often get glimses of books while I do this, but I don't often read books at this stage. Rare is the book that I have to stop formatting so I can read it. Long Macchiatos and Monsters is one of those books. I had five hundred gazillion other things to do that day (as per usual), but I put them off because I was so intrigued by the glimpses of the characters I got as I verified formatting. P and Jalen are by turns sweet and amazing and quirky and lovely. I love the way they meet (coffee shop) and bond (over terrible B-movies). I have no idea how to wrap this up, so I'm going to stop fangirling here. ^^

(Also this cover legit makes me want to go out and get froofy coffee, even though it's ten at night and that would be a terrible idea.)

Defying Convention by Cecil Wilde
Danny and AJ have been online friends for years, and secretly in love with each other. When the opportunity to attend a comics convention comes up, they decide to go and share a room. But friendship online does not always translate to friendship offline, and both are anxious about how the meeting will go, and the friendship change, when faced with challenges easily avoided behind the safety of computer screens...

Defying Convention explores a theme I've seen done a bunch of times (relationship begins at con, major conflict arises b/c what is to be done after when the two MCs go their separate ways???). The twist here is that Danny and AJ have been online friends for years. I really enjoyed the way that played into their interactions, and I loved, loved, loved how comfortable they were with each other. This one has probably the most personal vibes with me; how Danny and AJ meet up and interact with each other resonated strongly with me, as that's 100% how I met Megan: online first, meeting up with a short visit first, and man was that first visit nervewracking, even though I knew it would be fine. I won't spoil the ending, but I loved it. I don't think they could have had a more perfect ending. I was genuinely flailing at the ending.

Double Take by J.K. Pendragon
Studying magical science at the prestigious Kemet Academy is a privilege and dream come true for Teka, a poor student from D'mt. But focusing on school doesn't mean xe can't also admire Hasani, the handsome graduate student overseeing Teka's work.

Then late one night at the school library, Teka runs into Hasani and is completely astonished when the stern, quiet man xe knows by day acts so flirty and casual, it's like he's a different person. When the late night encounter leads to dating, Teka can scarcely believe xyr luck.

But the luck plays out when xe discovers why Hasani seems so different between night and day, a discovery that seems to have no resolution except heartache...

I'm sure no one is surprised to see this one in the list of my favorites. Magic university? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Add in the threesome/twincest and the deft way that was handled, and I was over the moon. This is a short story (most of the Geek Out books are), but the worldbuilding was extraordinary. I loved how well laid out the magic was, the different customs for different provinces (?? I can't remember if they were called something different). I love Teka and xyr by turns shy and forward demeanor, and Hasani was amazing. Both of them. :3 I can 100% believe the way everything went down (vague statement is vague, but I am not spoiling the fun here). (Also, did I mention magic university??? Because magic university!!! ...I may have a book type.)

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I'm going to take a moment here and link the other four books in the collection: Horse Crazy, Manifest, Of Anime and the Baeci, and Sext Based Adventures. You should definitely drop by and check them out, see if they might vibe with you. ^^

I was going to post a writing news sort of update with this, but uh, it's long enough already, so next week. Over and out, and I hope ya'll have a good week.