IT IS RELEASE DAY FOR RENAE KAYE AND BOOK TWO OF THE TAV SERIES, YOU ARE THE REASON! I HAVE MY GIRL KYLEE HERE TO GUEST REVIEW FOR ME, AND I HAVE MY INTERVIEW WITH RENAE, AN EXCERPT, AND AUTHOR BIO AND LINKS, LET'S GET TO IT!
I LOVE THAT KY CHOSE THIS QUOTE, IT IS BEAUTIFUL! HERE IS MY REVIEW:
You Are The Reason ( The Tav Series #2) by Renae Kaye
reviewed by: Kylee
Davo’s a pretty average guy. He has a decent job, owns his own home, and spends his weekends at the pub. He fully accepts that he’s gay, but doesn’t want to be one of those gays who are girly. He likes football and other masculine pursuits, and firmly avoids anything that could be seen as femme—including relationships that last beyond fifteen minutes.
Then Davo’s friend and gay idol not only gets a boyfriend, but also adopts a baby girl. Davo is seriously spooked and scuttles down to the pub. That’s where he meets Lee, cute from her cherry-red hair to her pretty little dress and pointy red shoes. Davo is charmed—but how is that possible? He’s gay. Isn’t he? Then Lee tells him he’s actually a guy—he just likes to wear women’s dresses occasionally. Thoroughly confused about an attraction that’s out of character for him, Davo begins the long journey to where he can accept himself without caring what everyone else thinks.
Firstly I need to say that I am a huge fan of Renae's work. I have loved every book she has written with "The Blinding Light" being my favorite.
So you can imagine how excited I was when Bec asked me to review Renae's latest book "You are the reason". Once I started to read I could not put it down. This book was fantastic and did not disappoint.
As with all all this author's books this one is written in a style that's deeply engaging, witty and never dull. Not even for a moment.
Lee and Dave (or Davo to his friends) are a gorgeous and perfect for each other couple, or they would be if only Davo can get past his own insecurities and judgmental thinking.
And then there is Lee. I want to be Lee's BFF. He is loving, kind, sweet and has the patience of a saint to put up with and find humour in Davo's many "foot in mouth" moments.
Renae does a great job in developing the characters and making them believable. The added bonus of this book is we get to catch up with Jake, Patrick and baby Maxine from the blinding light.
I absolutely loved this book, it was quirky fun and a joy to read. I will definitely be re-reading it again.
the 5 magic 8 ball rating
I LOVE THAT KY DID THE MAGIC 8 BALL RATING, BRILLIANT! HERE ARE THE LINKS, YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT NOW!!
YOU GUYS SHOULD BE SET FOR LINKS ;) TAKE YOUR PICK, JUST GRAB THIS BOOK, :)
HERE IS AN EXCERPT:
An introduction to Davo
WHEN I was eleven years old, I worked out what it was to be gay. Being gay meant you were a boy but liked girly things. Being gay meant you were bashed at school and ridiculed by the sports teacher. Being gay was not good.
I didn’t want to be gay.
So I took my entire My Little Pony collection, which I had lovingly looked after for years, and I dumped it all in the bin. And I didn’t cry. Much.
And when my little sister begged me to help her pick out some matching shoes for her Barbie? I sneered and told her boys didn’t do girl stuff like that. I cut my hair macho short, I practiced kicking a football until I was the best in the class, and I made sure that no one ever had a reason to call me gay.
When I was thirteen, I worked out what it really meant to be gay. Being gay meant you had a choice. You could be one of those gays who liked girly things, got the shit kicked out of you at school, and was ridiculed by the sports teacher, or you could say “up yours” and tell everyone that you were gay and didn’t give a flying monkey about their opinion.
Okay. I may’ve said “flying fuck” instead of flying monkey, but I was thirteen, and saying the fuck word was part of my hate against the whole world.
But I still despised anything girly. I made myself a slogan. I may like dick, but I’m not a pussy.
I wrote this in my secret journal (only girls have diaries) and used it as my daily mantra. By the time I was fifteen, I’d told my mother I was gay and proudly printed those words across my bedroom wall. I may like dick, but I’m not a pussy.
Mum wasn’t impressed.
But Dad was. He stewed about it for days (the fact that I was gay), and then said, “Well, at least I don’t have a pussy for a son.”
So I kept playing football. I wore all black and swore like a sailor. I refused to have any friend at school who was even a touch feminine (because it might rub off on me). I also refused to have anything to do with anyone who was a homophobe. So my friendship group was reduced to two people—Thor and Harry. Both were straight but didn’t give a flying monkey about me being gay.
Okay—they may’ve said “flying fuck” too. We were fifteen. Every second word out of our mouths was either “fuck” or “shit.”
However, disassociating myself from any gay person who was even a smidgeon feminine was devastating to my sex life. By the time I’d worked out the error of my ways, there was something inside of me that still shied away from the “girly gays.” I didn’t end up losing my virginity—“all the way” virginity—until I was eighteen.
Nineteen.
Okay, so I was twenty. That’s not a crime, is it? And besides, I made up for lost time.
Not that I’m promiscuous or anything. Much. I just like getting off. A lot. Frequently. And it doesn’t really matter what the guy looks like in the dark, does it?
Relationships are for girls—so I told myself—which meant that, at the grand old age of twenty-seven, I was single and still participating in blow jobs and fucking that didn’t require last names. Actually, most of the time, they didn’t require first names either.
I thought I was doing really well in life. I had a job, great friends, a place to sleep, and no strings to bind me. No one could be happier… right?
And I was extremely happy. Until Jake got himself a baby.
Jake Manning is my closest gay friend. Thor and Harry still take the joint title of being my best mates, but they get squeamish and maidenly if I want to discuss the fact that I like to put my dick in other guys’ arses. They don’t understand how great the feeling is and that I like to occasionally suck off another man.
Jake got that. He was gay and single—so he got the pickups and the problem of trying to make time for friends who had partners. Jake was also a teensy-weensy bit my idol. Okay… I fuckin’ loved the guy, in the nonromantic, non-girly type of way. He had a shit life, a shit family, and shitty-titty luck, but he was still facing up to every morning with a grin. I worked all day at my shitty job and grumped though the evening. Jake worked three shitty jobs and still managed to smile.
But curse words peppered his speech, and the only hint of femme on him at all was a stud in his ear. He was gay, but he was a man. My inner thirteen-year-old was happy with that. If Jake could do it, then I could.
Then Jake—my gay idol—up and got himself a boyfriend and adopted a baby. I internally crapped my pants. Moondancer, Applejack, Sunburst, and Minty all laughed at me from their My Little Pony heaven, telling me that sooner or later I was going to end up as one of those gays who called everyone “darling” and knew all the songs from High School Musical.
So the day I met Lee, you’ll forgive me for not noticing every little thing about him….
EEEP, YOU CAN'T WAIT RIGHT? I KNOW YOU CAN'T! HERE IS MY INTERVIEW WITH RENAE, THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!! LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE INTERVIEW FOR A SPECIAL CLUE: PAY ATTENTION FRIENDS YOU COULD WIN THIS BOOK!!!!
Thanks so much for joining me today Renae, and happy release day! I have a few questions and I can't wait to get to it! Here we go:
1. Do you find it easier to write a first book in a series, or the followup?
Definitely the first book. I think I’m more comfortable in writing the first book, and if it wasn’t for the readers pleading for more of the book, I would never have made a series.
You Are the Reason is my first “part-two” of a series, and follows The Blinding Light. The writing of it wasn’t too bad, since Chapter One starts three weeks after the first book ended, so I could allow the book to do what it wanted to, although I was restricted to what season of the year it was, and previous descriptions of characters.
I’ve also been writing a spin-off to Safe in His Arms, which 60% of the story occurs concurrent to the first book. I had a LOT of trouble with that one, trying to match timelines.
Bec- I can see where book one might be easier, but you make it look so easy! I know everyone can't wait for these followups! I give you kudos matching up the timelines, I can't tell you what a mess I would make of that!
2. Which character have you written that you connected with the most?
All of my characters have something of me in them, but I would have to say that Jake from The Blinding Light is most like me – and I connect with him the most.
Jake is a little more... umm... braver than I am, and whereas I hold my tongue and simply think bad, snarky, mean thoughts, he just comes out and says them. He also fusses around and organises everyone’s lives... umm... whoops – yes. I have previously been accused of this. LOL. It’s how I show my love and caring.
Jay from Loving Jay shares the same medical problem as me – verbal diarrhoea. Although Liam and I share a favourite football team. **wink** (And side note: I’ve been told I need to stop picking on Essendon Football Club.) So there is something about each character I find parallels my own life.
Bec- You can tell that you connect with each and every one of your characters on some level, the heart you put into your books shows that. I love Jay, I think he is my fave of your characters!
3. Is there a theme that you want to write about that you haven't tackled yet? (ex. bsdm, futuristic...)
A little while back I started a story because the damn thing wouldn’t leave me alone. It’s set in a somewhat dystopian future, and I really hope I finish it one day. It really is a big step away from my usual contemporary romances I’ve written.
But the one that I’m really looking forward to, is a story I have all mapped out which is actually sci-fi. A big leap for me. We’ll have to see how it goes.
For the immediate future, I’m sticking with the thought of why mess with something that’s working so well?
Bec- That is a very valid point, but I can see you wanting to write something out of the norm to test yourself, even if it never sees the light of day, it would be a triumph!
4. Which book was the hardest to write?
Wow. That’s a hard question. The easiest book to write was The Shearing Gun. It actually took me six weeks, and I never once stumbled on it.
However, I do remember stumbling and hitting a pretty solid wall when writing Shawn’s Law. I was 70% in and just hating the story. I was ever so close to hitting delete, just because I thought that no one would get the humour. I coped by writing 200 words a day, just chipping away at it.
But overall, I think the hardest book to write (of what I so far have published) was Safe in His Arms. I was uncomfortable writing in third person (you will notice all my other books are first person) and I was also trying to keep the humour to a minimum. The subject matter was pretty grim – I’m kinda glad no one checked out my google history around that time. So a lot of that book was forcing me to go against the grain.
Bec- I know so many people that are glad you did that book the way you did! I have heard many say it is their favorite, and I think it is a double win because it was so far out of the norm and ended up being a book readers treasure!
5. Will there be another book in this series after You Are the Reason?
I really hope so. Despite the quick succession of books I’ve had out in the last 18 months, I really don’t write all that fast. I have plans for the next four books I want to finish – all spin-offs: two to Safe, and one each for Loving Jay and The Shearing Gun. They are the only stories I have a solid grip on at the moment. I doubt I will finish these four in the next 10 months.
I have a number of ideas for characters (some we’ve previously met in The Blinding Light and You Are the Reason) who will make a good subject, but haven’t actually planned their stories yet... I’m a crazy author who can write four stories all at the same time, and frequently do. If an idea hits, sometimes I just have to get it out. This means that I have several all on the go, and quite possibly could finish all of them in quick succession.
So the next book in The Tav Series – yes. I definitely want to write one, but ask me again in six months about it.
Bec- This is such good news for everyone!! So much to look forward too! I had no idea there was gonna be a Loving Jay Sequel, WELL YAY!!! This has been a ball Renae, and so informative! Thank you so much for taking the time to join me! :)
OK GUYS, HERE IS THE INFO ON HOW YOU CAN WIN AN E-COPY OF THIS BOOK, GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY HUNTING!!
In order to celebrate my release of You Are the Reason, I’ve organised a scavenger hunt. I will be releasing ONE WORD as the hunt item on several stops of my blog tour. In order to WIN an eBook copy of the book, follow along the blog tour and find a minimum of FIVE unique words. Email the five words to me at renaekaye@iinet.net.au before August 16th to be in the draw.
Today’s word is: SCI-FI
I look forward to hearing from you.
ALRIGHT FRIENDS, TIME TO FIND OUT EVEN MORE ABOUT RENAE, AND WHERE YOU CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH HER!
Renae Kaye is a lover and hoarder of books who thinks libraries are devilish places because they make you give the books back. She consumed her first adult romance book at the tender age of thirteen and hasn’t stopped since. After years – and thousands of stories! – of not having book characters do what she wants, she decided she would write her own novel and found the characters still didn’t do what she wanted. It hasn’t stopped her though. She believes that maybe one day the world will create a perfect couple – and it will be the most boring story ever. So until then she is stuck with quirky, snarky and imperfect characters who just want their story told.
Renae lives in Perth, Western Australia and writes in five minute snatches between the demands of two kids, a forbearing husband, too many pets, too much housework and her beloved veggie garden. She is a survivor of being the youngest in a large family and believes that laughter (and a good book) can cure anything.
How to contact Renae:
Email: renaekaye@iinet.net.au
Website: www.renaekaye.weebly.com
GUYS, I HAD A BLAST TODAY, THIS ONE WAS SUCH A FUN POST, AND I ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE! THANKS KYLEE, FOR THE TERRIFIC REVIEW, AND THANKS RENAE, FOR THE WONDERFUL ANSWERS FOR THE INTERVIEW! THIS WAS A BLAST GUYS, I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I DID!
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