The Queer and the Restless by Kris RipperMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
*I received this book from NetGalley and Riptide Publishing in return for a fair review.*
This is the third book in the Queers of La Vista series, which is important in several ways – somewhat minor characters (depending on the book and situation) pop up throughout the series – sometimes getting major starring roles of their own, sometimes just mentioned in passing, there’s a murder mystery that’s been running throughout the series (well, at least the first three books now), and – maybe most importantly on a personal level – I acquired access to this book a good longish while ago, but didn’t read it until now. Because I’d read and loved the second book (no not because of that), so asked for the third – then when I got it, attempted to read the first book . . . and couldn’t (mind you, I know that some people ‘still’ see that one as the ‘best’). Which blocked me.
The Queers of La Vista series is one of those oddball ones that require a certain broad reading ability. As in – the first book involves two men getting hot and heavy (so MM romance; one of whom is a rather depressing sort – and I believe he was before he acquired multiple sclerosis – which certain didn’t help his depressing personality) with a touch of BDSM tossed in (not sure how much, there were tastes of it in the 27% of the book I’ve been able to read so far (the two main characters in this book are Emerson Robinette and Obie ‘NoLastNamegiven in book synopsis’ – both get mentioned, and Obie has one or three lines of dialogue in the third book); second book involves two women (so FF romance), one kind of a poster child for Butch women (the well dressed kind), while the other is all curves and feminity (Jaq Cummings and Hannah – both show up and have significant lines in book three); book three, this book here, involves a man and a woman, so MF romance. With a twist (more detailed later). Book four involves a poly relationship involving three men (so a MMM romance – Cameron plays a biggish role in book three; and both Josh and Keith (to certain extents) play roles in prior books)). And book five involves another FF romance (and this one also being something of a twist – what with it being a ‘pretend’ dating thing, but I’m just going by the book description here; this one stars Zane Jaffe who has popped up in all of the books I’ve read as a fun loving, weird dancer, who is obsessed with putting a baby in herself (as in getting pregnant, not as in humping people to put a baby there).
Right. Those were some rather large paragraphs. But this is supposed to be about this book here, so let’s get to that, eh?
The book stars Ed Masiello, half Mexican half Italian, and Alisha, whose genetic make-up – if given – didn’t stick in my brain. Ed works as a reporter on fluff general interest stories – though he’d prefer more hard hitting work; while Alisha works in an adventure company – setting up adventures for people (like setting up hang-gliding in Hawaii for fat lazy balding accountants), but would prefer to be doing the adventures herself – though ‘going with the flow’ type of adventures, not preplanned.
Ed and Alisha have known each other for a while, before the book opening, but they’ve mostly been in adjoining circles, not talking much to each other. Until this book that is. When the two hook up. Which is where the twist comes in, you know that MF romance, but with a twist. Since Alisha is a lesbian and feels odd thinking of herself as straight (so she thinks of switching to using ‘queer’); while Ed also has some issues thinking of himself as straight – even though he has always been attracted to women. It’s the part wherein his father wants nothing to do with ‘Anna’ until she ‘starts acting normal again’ that might explain a few things (what with Ed’s birth name being Anna – Ed’s spent most of his life as a lesbian attempting to figure out how to fit his body, until he realized what exactly was going on – i.e., he is transgender (and is in the transition process)).
The murder mystery that has been bubbling along for a while now in the series plays a big role in this story – Ed is obsessed with it and works diligently to try to figure out what is going on – mostly on his own time, though. It’s an obsession that has an impact on his life (gets in trouble at work, relationship issues, etc. etc.). Quite neat how everything occurred.
Another ‘neat’ thing was the relationship involving Ed and Alisha. In some ways it felt more real than some I’ve read lately – especially their point of conflict. For both have personalities that the kind that do not exactly mesh together well. So it was neat to see that actually play out in a more realistic way than have a point of conflict that was some generic romance trope, but that actually focused on the characters that were in the story. (view spoiler)
You know those couples you see, who have been together for 10, 20, 30 years and are ‘known’ as always fighting, always bickering, but showing occasional flashes of love? I’ve a suspicion that if Ed and Alisha actually made it that long, that they would be one of those kinds of couples. Because their personalities really are, at times, opposed.
Neat to see this story unfold and fill up the pages of the book. Both the romance and the mystery.
One last thought that I almost forgot to include – I like humorous sex scenes – there was at least one quite good humorous sex scene in this book.
Rating: 4.38
January 3 2017
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