Welcome to Litsy!

Strong pick. Ike and Buddy Lee, both ex cons and fathers to gay sons who had been less than supportive of their kids. Their sons have been murdered and they are out to find out who hurt their kids. TW for homophobia, racism, transphobia

Loved it! A redemption story about two dads who are coming to terms with how their close mindedness cost them valuable time with their kids. Loved watching the relationship between them grow.

#12booksof2022 @Andrew65
This was the only book I finished in November.

So, I had he Stolen Tongues beat out Razorblade Tears, but I kept thinking and thinking about Razorblade Tears. Just the emotions from it and how much I loved it, so I switched it out. It definitely wins for the best book I‘ve read this year, with The Nothing Man in 2nd place and Stolen Tongues in 3rd.

Started my Christmas gift book read on the plane @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ✈️ I can already tell I‘m going to love it.

#Litsylove #RazorbladeTears #Friendship #RipLovers #SnailMail #BookLovers

Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

Going to try and get some serious reading in before the end of the year.
#mmdbookclub #bookstagram #booklyapp #storygraph #litsy

This was my Dec #doublespin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

I really like his writing, but I don't love the violence and tension and pacing. I got 170 pages in and bailed. I did read Blacktop Wasteland, and while I think he has talent, his books are just not for me.

#LMPBC
This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, and love this challenge to make me step out of my comfort zone.
Over all I was not a huge fan. The amount of language and violence just turned me off, and I had a hard time getting past these.
If it weren't for audio listening I don't think I would have finished.
@Kellyann28 @Staci.Reads @ AllureofBeauty

It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Mississippi! I‘m going to try to finish this one and move on to something less violent … this one involves many #evil acts 💔

#OminousOctober

My new glider from William made by our Amish community and fall pillow from my soon to be mother in law. 🧡🤎

This is a very engrossing read. There is a lot of graphic violence so it‘s not for the queasy! Two very flawed characters, but Buddy Lee makes me laugh at times!

Two fathers attempt to avenge their sons‘ death. There‘s a lot going on in this book- race, homophobia, violence, grief, regret, etc. The violence and strategy reminded me of Breaking Bad in which I loved the writing, the completely flawed characters, and nonstop action. It‘s a great one but not for the squeamish.

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts Oct 18 #Orange

Kaikeyi is on my #tbr Hope to get to it next month and Razorblade Tears is one of my favorites of the year.

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

It‘s a beautiful day to be sitting in my new swing reading and watching the leaves fall from the trees! 🍁 📚

I hope everyone is having a great day!

Thank you so much Soubhi for this birthday surprise!! Of course I had to open it early! Can‘t wait to read this one!!

💞🎈🎊🎉📚

#bookspin October Picks

Finished this one today! I liked it! It was far more violence-detailed than I expected, but it didn't bother me. Good exampels of anti-heroes. I'll get this in the mail tomorrow! #LMPBC @allureofbeauty @cwarnier @staci.reads

10-14 Sep 22 (audiobook)
Entertaining, rather violent, modern Western with a great narrator. Recommendation from Obama‘s summer reading list.
The homophobic fathers of a murdered gay couple join forces to find their killers and claim vengeance. Characters are well-developed and though the outcome is quite predictable it did hold my interest.

Starting this one today for #LMPBC !
@staci.reads @allureofbeauty @cwarnier

Poignant, brutal, achingly original story of two very flawed fathers looking for revenge following the murder of the gay sons they rejected. No wonder it just won the Anthony for best novel. And no, I am not stalking Shaun Cosby at Bouchercons. Not really. Ok, maybe a little… #5stars #powerfulread #voice #faveauthors

I almost bailed on this because the violence was getting to me. I can handle some but this was a lot. And graphic. But I read a bunch of really good reviews that convinced me to keep going. I‘m glad I did-I agree with all those really good reviews-but I won‘t be reading this again.

This was my #bookspin for September @TheAromaofBooks

The tagged is my September #bookspin and The Girls in the Stilt House is my #doublespin

@TheAromaofBooks

#ArtfulAugust #BOTM
@Eggs @AlwaysReading

I had to google BOTM - this was a 2021 finalist which I read recently.

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

This is my second attempt at a Bookspin list for September. I initially had a load of the same titles as Aug on it, but decided I wanted to shake things up.

Slumping big time, so thought I'd bring in some new titles!

An excellent revenge story. Lots of violence, so I don't recommend it if you're not good with that sort of thing. It also touches on racism, homophobia, and classism. Got this recommendation off of President Obama's summer reading list. Now wouldn't that be an amazing book club?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This one made me cry multiple times. It‘s a very good revenge story. I thought it discussed issues of race and sexuality very poignantly with respect and honesty. I‘m glad I grabbed this one from BOTM. This was my #bookspin No. 12 pick from July.

#unpopularopinion This was definitely not my jam. I really struggled to get through the vivid, gratuitous descriptions of the violence which dominated the text of the book. There are definitely moments that tug at the heart and lots of colorful characters, but overall, a no for me.
#lmpbc @kellyann28 @cwarnier @allureofbeauty

I thought this was a good one! #alphabetgame #LetterR @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Loved this one.

#AlphabetGame

Out of the book of the month 2021 finalists, this was the best one. Good writing. A bit graphic and gruesome. Kinda reminded me of Yellowstone in a way.

Well, that was one hell of a ride. I spent most of it trying to decide who should play each character in the movie. (There‘s gotta be a movie in the works, right?) I know Buddy Lee was described as a Sam Elliott lookalike, but I envisioned Matthew McConaughey (a la the seedier Rust Cohle in “True Detectives). For Ike, my immediate thought was Samuel L. Jackson, but I think he might be too old. So maybe Morris Chestnut…? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Really enjoyed this wild ride of a book. The fathers of a gay married couple—one Black, one White—take vengeance on the murderers of their sons, wrestling with grief and their own prejudices and regrets along the way. Fantastic narrator—highly recommend the audio. TW—much violence!

I have to say, Razorblade Tears is my favorite so far this year. It‘ll be hard to beat it!

June Books
HELP - How do you get Litsy to not chop off half the pic?

I didn‘t read as much this month. But Razorblade Tears was so good.

I @kellyann28 ahead and knocked this one out. And I really loved it and it made me cry. It‘s in the mail to @staci.reads (early but figured I‘d get it on its way with a head start since I got it read - I can‘t say they‘ll all follow that the early suit haha.).
@kellyann28 @cwarnier

This reads like an action movie or an episode of Sons of Anarchy in book form. It‘s more violent than I normally read but it was a real page turner. I‘m pretty sure I originally decided to read this because it was on the #NYWD list I got from @Cinfhen so I‘m glad it finally made it to the top of my metaphorical TBR pile. The final chapters provided a satisfying end to the story.

This book is SO GOOD. Ike and Buddy Lee are two ex-cons whose sons were married. Not accepting their sons lifestyle, they were pretty crappy dads. But when their sons are brutally murdered, Ike and Buddy Lee go on a revenge tour to find out who killed their boys and redeem themselves, even if just a little. The story is violent, but it has all the feels as it explores themes of racism and homophobia. One of the best books I‘ve read in a long time.

How can a book about revenge have so much heart? Cosby has written a book that will last with me for a long time to come. This book should have received every award it has to date and then some and is worth every bit of hype as well. 5 ⭐️+ #botm

Not as good as Blacktop Wasteland but still very good 👍 I love how Cosby engages characters in scorched-earth revenge plots ☠️ library book read on kindle so I could pretend I was working 😅 art by Tom Gauld

Book 34/150.

Slightly underwhelming follow up to the magnificent Blacktop Wasteland sees an unlikely alliance between two ex-cons out to avenge their gay sons' murders. A trifle heavy-handed in the messaging and I saw the twist coming a mile off. Just OK.

So glad I got over my squeamishness and finished this ebook. On the surface it‘s a rip roaring tale of vengeance , two fathers determined to find their son‘s killer. But it‘s also the story of privilege, race , prejudice- there‘s a lot to think about. Trigger warning ⚠️ for extreme violence. This would make a very good Netflix movie 🎥- who would you cast for Ike? Buddy Lee ?

I really loved this one. It was very gritty and had excellent suspense. My favorite thing was the relationship between Ike and Buddy Lee as they learned, grew and faced their mistakes together.

#pantone2022 - gossamer pink
#bookspinbingo - free space

I‘m about 30% in to this ebook and I‘m not sure if I can go on. I‘m so worried about these men and their path of vengeance. I‘m terrified of the ending. I‘m pretty sure there‘s no HEA - this is not my usual genre but it‘s such a compelling read.

Can‘t sleep. The hotel bed is not comfy and my back really misses my bed at home! Tomorrow (technically today) is the burial for my husband‘s gramma so I have a lot to do today but just can‘t sleep 😭

But trying to be productive with the insomnia. Really enjoying this one so far.

#LMPBC

Happy Easter 🐣 to everyone who celebrates. My Libby loan for the tagged book has come in today. Just started another ebook so this one will have to wait.

Settling in for Saturday night reading time!