A quick read that quickly entraps you. I didn't know the story of Tam Lin, but that wasn't a problem -- it's re-told in this modern re-interpretation, so you'll pick it up as you go along. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling A hot athlete boyfriend in the US and fae lovers in Ireland? I want to be Tom!
Although I probably wouldn't be besties with the protagonist, the supporting characters are all smart, sexy, fun and mysterious. Who wouldn't want to live that life? I loved this quick LGBTQ read, and now I want to go to Ireland to find my own hot fae. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling My philosophy on reviewing books is linked here: http://www.curiousdoodler.com/myblog/...
Overview:
This novella was good! It started out slow, but by the end I was enjoying the story! The writing was fantastic.
Deep Dive:
My biggest challenge with this story was that the pacing felt off. A lot of time was devoted to the set up, but the set up wasn’t used much in the actual story. It’s a short novella, so lingering on something that didn’t affect the plot left the story feeling disjointed and awkward.
My minor gripe is the kilts. I realize the story explains why there are kilts in Ireland, but I don’t understand why an element that needed so much explaining was included. It felt awkward and shoe horned in for a few one lines. Also, women wear men’s kilts which doesn’t make sense, even with the justifications used in the text.
The writing in this is very polished. The formatting had some errors, but the writing itself was a pleasure to read.
I was impressed by how well the main character was developed through the story. At the beginning, I couldn’t stand the main character and almost didn’t finish reading it, but as the story progressed the character evolved and I grew to like him. I’m impressed that so much development was crammed into such a small story. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley
actual rating: 3.5
I definitely feel like there were a lot of things that could have been expanded on in this novella but it was a quick, fun read and impressive for a debut. Also I'm always a sucker for classic retellings and faerie stories and this one was pretty interesting. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling Steamy retelling of am old story
Fantastic worldbuilding lends to a vivid modern take on old stories of fae, knights, queens, love and betrayal. This short novella packs a punch--and some very steamy scenes. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling
READ & DOWNLOAD å TEXASBEERGUIDE.COM Ù T.J. Deschamps
Over five hundred years ago, Tam Lin betrayed the Queen of the Fae, leaving her to be with his human lover Janet. Tom, a literature professor, knew the story. Adopted, he spent his life studying the stories of others and their families, never knowing his own.
When his boyfriend, Ariel, gifted Tom an all expense paid trip to Ireland to seek out his Ulster-Scots roots, he never expected to find out how his story tied into the legendary Ballad of Tam Lin. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling
I'm conflicted with this book the read up does not explain what this is about and if I'm honest it shows as Tam lin when you search for this book and amazon have this as a fantasy read, this needs an age bracket I may also add but what I am conflicted about is the title, to me it's wrong and that should not be printed on the front cover because that word is wrong in so many ways, this book is 73 pages and to be honest the price on amazon £5.41 I kind of feel ripped off, although I'll admit I didn't check the page content but hands up how many do? And I now have book 2 which is the same and the price around the same Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling I didn’t remember the original story of Tam Lin but you really don’t need to in order to understand this book. I really enjoyed reading this book that starts out in the real world and gradually becomes more about what happened in the original tale and the application of that tale to Tom in the current day. This book blends the two stories very well and was a joy to read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling Tom, fed up with his boyfriend's refusal to commit or come out, heads to Ireland for a vacation. While there, he discovers nothing, including himself, is what it seems. This retelling of the story of Tam Lin is well written, with compelling characters and lots of steam. Tom is a bit of a bittersweet hero, but the supporting cast is great, and everyone is more complex than they seem. Well worth a read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling I was really intrigued by the idea of a queer re-telling of Tam Lin, but unfortunately this book was a complete disappointment. Honestly, it just feels incomplete - the outline of a story is there, but it's missing most of the details that would help me understand what is going on and care about the characters. Additionally, the editing is poor - the dialogue is clunky, and there are a number of misused or misspelled words.
This is described as a romance, but there was absolutely zero romantic development, just a few sex scenes I didn't care about and a supposedly romantic conclusion. Arial and Tom's relationship got really no development before they separated, and then Tom fell into bed with Aoife and Fergus immediately, leaving that relationship underdeveloped as well. I love some good polyam bisexual romance or erotica, but I want to actually care about the characters and relationships, and feel their attraction to each other, even if they're only together for a night. I didn't get any that of that here.
And then all of a sudden the fae show up and now we're in a world where magic is real, which felt very jarring. I could see that the author was trying to foreshadow this earlier in the book, although I didn't think this was very well done, but it felt like an abrupt shift when it appeared. The remainder of the story was just event after event, with no time to slow down or actually feel what was happening, and there were some reversals near the ending that didn't feel impactful or earned because of how quickly everything moved. And the epilogues were more confusing than anything.
I'm sad to give this such a poor review, because I do like the idea, but I think it could have used a lot of expansion to make the characters and story more comprehensible and appealing, as well as another round of copy-editing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling was a pretty quick book to devour. In it, you will meet Tom. All he wants is to be with the love of his life, Ariel. In public that is. He doesn't want to be in a secret relationship anymore. So it was a huge risk to ask him to marry him and he's just patiently waiting for the answer. Or the break up.
The one thing he wasn't expecting - a trip to Ireland to find out information about his ancestors. Alone, that is. Even if it was all paid by his boyfriend Ariel, he didn't leave in the best mood. So when things start getting strange he honestly thinks that he is losing his mind.
Along the way, he runs into two mysterious and alluring people. They are also married but things get heated pretty quickly between them. It was a nice surprise since I had no expectations of this story going down that route.
I also really enjoyed the little betrayal and secrets that came out to play as well. It definitely made this book that more interesting and hard to put down. It just pains me that I just found time to dive into this and I regret not being able to do so earlier. Definitely enjoyed this little retelling - I just wished that it was a bit longer. Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling