#the guncle

[aurorawest]

The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi - 5/5 stars

This book managed to rip my heart out at least 3 times. I loved it. Medieval enemies-to-lovers slow burn; very romantic. Kinda read like fanfiction at times but in a good way. 10/10 would read a follow-up love story about Arundel and Captain Wekena. If you like Captive Prince, give this one a try.

Reforged by Seth Haddon - 4/5 stars

Pretty good bodyguard romantasy. Ironically CS Pacat blurbed this one (another am-I-in-the-matrix moment). The world was interesting and I enjoyed the politics, though they're definitely not as complicated as other SFF politics I've gone feral over (see: Captive Prince, Winter's Orbit, A Memory Called Empire). I ordered the sequel after I finished this.

The Doctor's Date by Heidi Cullinan - 4/5 stars

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske - 5/5 stars

Where do I start? I love, love, LOVE A Marvellous Light. It's one of my favorite books ever. None of the rest of the books in the trilogy could live up to it, really, because it's so good. You'll notice I rated this one 5 stars though, because quite honestly I fell prey to a bit of The Academy Paying The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Its Due syndrome. I did love this book and thought it was better than A Restless Truth (which I still loved!) but part of that is, quite frankly, just due to the fact that I prefer m/m romance to f/f romance.

Anyway. This was such a good finale to the trilogy. I loved that the romance was a giant middle finger to purity cultists. I loved that one of the mains was Italian. I loved finally getting the story of what happened to the Alston twins. One thing I thought was really cool was how, viewed from the outside, you totally get why Edwin is such a loner. I really admire from a writing perspective how Marske pulled that off.

I feel like there's a lot to be said about what Marske was trying to SAY with this book, but I definitely need to reread it first before I can articulate any of it. The purity culture stuff is obvious, but the magic system too. I feel like Jack when he's almost able to connect everything in his mind into a bigger idea, but he can't quite get there.

I've got a special edition from Illumicrate coming, so I'll be rereading it when I have that.

Oh also, this book was the embodiment of all that one tumblr post -

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - 5/5 stars

I saw this in bookstores for years before I finally gave in and bought it. The blurb makes it sound insufferable and twee. Ignore the blurb. This was such a good book about grief and learning how to live again after terrible loss.

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber - 4/5 stars

At last I can stop getting the Lauv song stuck in my head whenever I set eyes on this book (it's stuck in my head as I type this). Pretty standard-issue YA, but it was cute and had a good message.

The Stagsblood King by Gideon E Wood - 4/5 stars

Another book about moving on from grief! This is the second book in a trilogy. When I was trying to determine if I wanted to read on beyond book 1, I scoured the internet for information about what happens in books 2 and 3. Eventually I decided, hell, I enjoyed book 1 well enough, even if what I want to happen in the rest of the trilogy doesn't happen, they're worth reading. SO, to that end, I will tell anyone looking for info that Tel gets romantically involved with a new man in this one, which, eh. I still want him to somehow end up with Vared. It was still quite good though.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune - DNF at pg 82

So funnily, we were at the bookstore the day I was about to start reading this, and my wife pointed out Ravensong (also by Klune) to me and said, "Do you have this one?" I made a face and said, "That's an older one of his books and I'm wary of his early work after that horrible Verania series. I don't think I've ever read an author as hit or miss as TJ Klune."

I wrote the above when I was 60 pages in and now I have officially DNFed this. Listen. You know how in Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi was clearly given free rein to do whatever he wanted, so all of his worst impulses made it to the final cut unchecked? Yeah. That's what this book is like.

Here's my Storygraph review: I see Klune is officially Too Big To Edit now. This book has exactly the same problem that his awful Verania series had—a joke that's funny at first but quickly grows tiresome when it's repeated five times per page. The emphasis on Victor's asexuality was also weird and read like Klune was just super proud of himself for writing an ace character.

Lion's Legacy by LC Rosen - 4.25/5 stars

Queer, YA Indiana Jones, but less #problematic. This book had some eerie similarities to my own archaeology adventure novel(s), which made me wonder half-seriously if I somehow know Lev Rosen? Anyway, I feared this would be very heavy-handed and not nuanced on archaeology's ethical dilemmas, since it's YA and also the current culture is to view said dilemmas as completely black and white with no nuance, but I was pleasantly surprised. It manages to examine that, queerness, and daddy issues, plus has time to be a genuinely fun and exciting adventure story. Highly recommend.

Too White to be Coloured, Too Coloured to be Black by Ismail Lagardien - 4/5 stars

I picked up this memoir in a bookstore at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg as research for Six Places to Fall in Love, since Percy is coloured. A pretty brutal read, but good, and definitely good research. The author was a photographer and journalist through the most violent years of apartheid.

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - 5/5 stars

Two nonfiction books in a row?? This is the second book by Erik Larson I've read, the first being the excellent The Devil in the White City. I'm not, in general, all that interested in WWII when it comes to military history, but this book is about the day to day lives of Churchill and the people surrounding him (with brief stops to visit FDR and high-ranking Nazis sprinkled throughout). This is a very, very good book, and I recommend reading it if only as a reminder of the resilience and bravery of ordinary people under terrifying circumstances.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh - 5/5 stars

Holy shit. Holy shit is this book good. Imagine the love child of Lost, Person of Interest, and Battlestar Galactica, but queer and with multiverse shenanigans thrown in.

I need everyone to read this book. Now. Yesterday. Get to it.

[wormwoodandhoney]

imaginary musical: the guncle, based on the book by stephen rowley

based on the novel of the same name, the guncle is the story of andrew rannells as patrick ("gay uncle patrick", gup for short), a retired actor living happily in palm springs. when his brother's wife unexpectedly dies and his brother has a health crisis of his own, patrick suddenly takes on guardianship of his young niece and nephew. he tackles grief and responsibility by teaching his young charges to live by his "guncle rules", and meets a possible new love interest (jeremy pope) along the way.

also featuring alex brightman, ruthie ann miles, and jessie mueller.

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Patrick O’Hara- The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Alex Claremont-Diaz- Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Maud Blyth- The Last Binding Trilogy by Freya Marske 

Katherine- The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

[phierecycled]

i hope sometime soon andrew rannells gets over his hatred for the word ‘guncle’ because i desperately need him to be patrick in the film adaptation of ‘the guncle’

[queer-books-bracket]

[ashyblondwaves]

[tthomusic]

This meme goes especially hard for all the gay uncles out there lol

[wahlpaper]

The Guncle Review

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - 5/5 - Gay Contemporary Humor

If you follow my blog, you may have been wondering how the two-person book club with my mom is going. Well, I'm here to talk about our second book! The Guncle by Steven Rowley was my mother's pick. We're intentionally slow going to give ourselves time for the other books we wish to read. It also took her a while to decide what book she wanted for us. I know she kept being drawn back to The Guncle and I'm glad she finally went with it! It was emotional, hopeful, sweet, and a dash of silly!

The Guncle takes place in the summer following Sara's death. It focuses on the grief of Patrick (her best friend and brother-in-law), Maisie (her daughter and older child), and Grant (her son and younger child). Their father has been struggling with addiction and checks himself into rehab, leaving the children in Patrick's reluctant care for the summer. Patrick was a popular actor, but has been hiding in Palm Springs for many years now. Stubborn Maisie and questioning Grant aren't exactly excited about it either, but they'll need each other to get through the summer and mourning period. The experience might just change them in the best of ways.

...

Read More:

[wtf-tfw]

ohhhh you dont even WANT to know how effeciently my grinch is pooching right now queen.

[kaysbookpassport]

"Books should be an experience, he thought, not a trophy for having read them."

~The Guncle - Steven Rowley~

[frenchygv]

My fave books of 2023. I highly recommend all nine of these books.

After That Night by Karin Slaughter.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley.

Weyward by Emilia Hart.

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett.

How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T. Smith.

It was my first time reading Steven Rowley and both books of his I read made it into the list so he may become a new fave author; two books were the latest installments of two of my fave mystery/thriller series; one includes the point of view of an octopus (who was actually my fave character); two are “children’s books”; and at least four revolve around the theme of grief, about which I’ve found I enjoy reading.

Mis libros favoritos del 2023. Los recomiendo altamente.

* Después de esa noche de Karin Slaughter.

El último en morir de Richard Osman.

* El Guncle (tío gay) de Steven Rowley.

Las mujeres Weyward de Emilia Hart.

El juego de los deseos de Meg Shaffer.

* Los celebrantes de Steven Rowley.

Criaturas luminosas de Shelby Van Pelt.

* La Grace (gracia) de las cosas salvajes de Heather Fawcett.

* Cómo Winston entregó la Navidad de Alex T. Smith.

*Todavía no se ha publicado una edición en español.

Fue la primera vez que leí a Steven Rowley y los dos libros que leí figuraron en la lista así que podría perfilarse como un nuevo autor favorito; dos libros fueron las últimas entregas de dos de mis series de misterio/thriller favoritas; uno incluye el punto de vista de un pulpo (quien fue mi personaje favorito); dos son “libros infantiles”; y al menos cuatro giran en torno al tema del duelo, sobre el cual he descubierto que disfruto leer.

[literarythought]

Grief orbits the heart. Some days the circle is greater. Those are the good days. You have room to move and dance and breathe. Some days the circle is tighter. Those are the hard ones. — Steven Rowley, "The Guncle"

[acourtofpaperandink]

Book Review: (Book Club) The Guncle By: Steven Rowley

Post by: BookGirl Title: The Guncle By: Steven Rowley Cover: I really like this cover. The bright colors are very eye-catching. The cover itself tells a story and I love it.  Story: ★★★★ This was a book club read so not my normal thing. That said, I did pick it for the book club. The story is about a gay man who used to be a tv star struggling with the loss of his boyfriend and then suddenly…

[jessryno]

Book Review: (Book Club) The Guncle By: Steven Rowley

Post by: BookGirl Title: The Guncle By: Steven Rowley Cover: I really like this cover. The bright colors are very eye-catching. The cover itself tells a story and I love it.  Story: ★★★★ This was a book club read so not my normal thing. That said, I did pick it for the book club. The story is about a gay man who used to be a tv star struggling with the loss of his boyfriend and then suddenly…

[willmarstudios]

Bookworm Will Review 2023 (#29)

Title: 'The Guncle'

Author: Steven Rowley

Rating: 4 / 5

Review: (MILD SPOILERS)

I am torn on my rating because I REALLY enjoyed, but I'm not sure what it was missing for it to award it five stars.

The basic premise is Patrick's brother is pleading for him to watch his children, Maisie and Grant, while he is at a rehabilitation center over the summer. The connecting factor is that Patrick's brother's wife, Sara, was Patrick's best friend, has passed away. With that in mind it's already going to be a very character driven story as we watch the main cast over come grief and loss which can be kind of a downer.

I was surely proven wrong!

Through the summer we get a very interesting look into how grief translated from each of the established relationships from Sara. Her kids are young, so that was going to be tough, especially for Patrick since this isn't his first loss (his former partner died in a car crash). Its the fact that Patrick has lived so isolated and retired from the spotlight of a famous sit-com actor now having to raise two grieving children. The journey of healing is shown in many ways with humor & wit being at the forefront, like a temporary band aid that Patrick has used his whole life.

Getting to see him make a 180* when he reflects upon his life and experiences a new found sense of admiration for living while being a guiding pillar of hope for his niece and nephew. Truly a beautiful story with a lot of campy wit!

[drackiszunk]

I stayed up till 3am to finish this book. It was fantastic.