Bout of Book 25 | Sign up + Update post

And it's that time again, time for another round of bout of books. I have the time again to be an expert - so any questions, feel free to ask here or on social media - and I'm so excited to try and buckle down and get some reading done. Especially because so many good books come out on the 14th - one of which I've already been hyping for a while now (Red, White, and Royal Blue, go forth and be happy).

Anyway, this part of the post is just for sign up - below will (eventually) be my TBR and then daily updates on what I get up to. It'll probably be a slow start to the week since I am heading on a few day trip for a book event.

Information:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 25 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

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TBR (possibilities)

• The Ice Princess by Elizabeth Holt
• Read Queer America by Samantha Allen (currently-reading)
• The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (currently-reading)
• The Art of Three by Erin McRae (currently-reading)
• I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
• Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (reread)

Updates

Monday
Notes:
I read a lot of fan fiction and packed for my train journey the next day (today as of writing this), here I come Red, White, and Royal Blue launch!


Tuesday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Pages read: 120
Books:
The Ice Princess by - started and finished - 120 pages

Notes:
Read this one for a romanceopoly challenge (the second mystery one, if anyone else is taking part), and I enjoyed it. It wasn't anything super special to me but it was fun and entertaining, I'd definitely consider checking out more of this author's work.

Wednesday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 2
Pages read: 432
Total # of pages:  552
Books:
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren - started and finished - 432 pages

Notes:
I've been slowing making my way through Christina Lauren's backlog and so was excited to be approved for this ARC, though the release date snuck up on me. I'll be having a full review coming very soon but I enjoyed it a lot, gave it 4/5 stars.

Thursday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 3
Pages read: 23
Total # of pages: 575
Books:
Wet Nails by Shira Glassman - s+f - 23 pages

Notes:
This was a cute and short f/f story that was a lot of fun. I've been searching out more f/f because it's there, it's just not as prominent as m/m (or, obviously m/f), but I find whenever I do read f/f I enjoy it a whole hell of a lot, and this was no exception. Of course, I've read this authors work before so I was expecting to, and would read anything Shira writes, though there's still a few things I have yet to get to.

Friday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 4
Pages read: 324
Total # of pages: 899
Books:
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver - s+f - 324 pages

Notes:
I've been waiting for this book for... a long time, since before Mason had a book deal since I follow them on twitter. This was one of my most anticipated books for 2019 and it did not disappoint. It hurt but it also was so hopeful and positive, even though the main character wasn't because of depression/anxiety, the book was and that's just something I needed. I'm not enby myself but I am queer so reading queer stories that, ultimately, are positive is one of my favorite things. (Ben is kicked out of their house in the first few pages, so it feels weird calling this a positive book, but it really is separate from that).

Saturday
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Sunday
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Notes:

Book Review: Dream Daddy: A Dating Dad Simulator

Title(s): Dream Daddy: A Dating Dad Simulator
Author: Leighton Gray, Vernon Shaw, Wendy Xu, + many more
Genre: contemporary, romance, queer, graphic novel
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 128
Publication Date: May 14th, 2019

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Oni Press presents Dream Daddy, a comics series based on the acclaimed Game Grumps visual novel video game!

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator invites the player to Maple Bay, where they play as a single Dad new to town and eager to romance other hot Dads. The comic series tells five standalone stories, each focused on different Maple Bay Dads, their kids, and their relationships with one another. Dive into entirely new stories featuring the backstories and adventures of your favorite Dads, told by game co-creators Leighton Gray and Vernon Shaw, along with the comic industry's top indie talent like C. Spike Trotman, Josh Trujillo, and Kris Anka!

Review:
Disclaimer: received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have to first say that I have no played the Dream Daddy game personally, though I have seen quite a few people playing it and I do own it. It looks amazing - just a bunch of queer dads living their best life - but normally when I set down to play a game I end up opening Stardew Valley or Sims 4 because I am nothing if not consistent (with games).

I've been watching Game Grumps for years, though, and still can't quite believe that these things are connected? Either way - this was something that I was so hyped about and excited about it.

To finally talk about this specific related content, however - I fucking loved it. It was amazing, so much fun and so... just so fun, I think that's the main thing about it. Even before I finished the first issue I knew I was going to love it.

This gives like an extra level to the characters and is just... honestly, it's just a bunch of queer people living life and that's something I always love to read/watch/anything.

I don't have much to say about this because, honestly, you need to just read it - even if you haven't played the game or even have knowledge of the game. I'd suggest reading this anyway - the whole plot of the game isn't important to know, just the basic plot and such would be helpful, and then you can enjoy these weird queer dudes getting up to nonsense.

If you've read this, please let me know. Also - if you've played the game, did you enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to have?

Happy reading!