Random Review: Finding Your Feet by Cass Lennox #Review #Giveaway

Author: Cass Lennox
Book: Finding Your Feet
Series: A Toronto Connection Story
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: LC Chase
Publication date: January 16, 2017
Length: 300 pages

Reviewed by Erin

Synopsis

While on holiday in Toronto, Evie Whitmore planned to sightsee and meet other asexuals, not audition for a dance competition. Now she’s representing Toronto’s newest queer dance studio, despite never having danced before. Not only does she have to spend hours learning her routine, she has to do it with one of the grumpiest men she’s ever met. Tyler turns out to be more than a dedicated dancer, though—he might be the kind of man who can sweep her off her feet, literally and figuratively.

Tyler Davis has spent the last year recovering from an emotionally abusive relationship. So he doesn’t need to be pushed into a rushed routine for a dumb competition. Ticking major representation boxes for being trans and biracial isn’t why he went into dance. But Evie turns out to be a dream student. In fact, she helps him remember just how good partnering can be, in all senses of the word. Teaching her the routine, however, raises ghosts for him, ones he’s not sure he can handle.

Plans change, and people change with them. Learning a few steps is one thing; learning to trust again is another entirely.

Buy Links

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

Review

I'm a fan of really great covers. If a books cover doesn't catch my eye, it's likely I won't read the blurb. The covers for Cass Lennox's Toronto Series are absolutely attention grabbing which is why I picked up the first book in the series and why I was excited to read the second. Not to mention the diversity mentioned in the blurb had me anticipating Finding Your Feet. Trans rep, biracial rep, and asexual rep ... yes please! 

I did have some issues with the book, unfortunately, but let me start with some positives first. The cover. It's gorgeous. Colorful, eye catching, and representative of the book. I love when that happens. The romance between Evie and Tyler in and of itself was rather angst free and was sweet and fluffy. I'm always a fan of drama coming from outside of the relationship. The dancing. It was written well and was really engaging. And lastly, the diversity of all the characters, both the main two and all of the secondary ones. Different gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnicity, backgrounds ... all made Finding Your Feet widely representative. 

Now for the issues. I was really interested in Evie and Tyler as a couple. Evie identifies as biromanitc (bisexual, asexual) and Tyler is a biracial, straight, transman. I was really invested in seeing how these two navigated their relationship. The thing was, their relationship took a back seat to the relationship of two other characters in the book. At times it felt like this was a story about Gigi and Brock, not Evie and Tyler, and that left me really frustrated. I get setting up the next book in the series but there needs to be a balance and it wasn't present here. Not to mention that Gigi and Brock have A LOT of drama surrounding them ... it just really took away from getting fully invested in what happened with Evie and Tyler. There was also a pretty pervasive feeling of fat phobia and trans phobia present throughout much of the book. It left me feeling uncomfortable and cringing more than a few times. 

It's really difficult to rate and review a book like this that has a number of very positive things about it and then some deeply troubling issues. I commend the author on the diversity of the characters, I just wish the fat shaming and the transphobia wasn't present. That being said, I'm not sure I'll continue with the series. Cass Lennox IS a very good writer though, so I will be on the lookout for other books from her.

Giveaway

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Blog Tour: The Wrong Woman by Cass Lennox ~ Guest Post #Giveaway

Author: Cass Lennox
Book: The Wrong Woman
Series: Toronto Collection
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover artist: LC Chase
Publication date: May 22, 2017
Length: 283 pages


Synopsis

As an independent filmmaker, Katie Cherry is used to difficult shoots—but a band’s music video in a tiny lesbian bar is proving worse than most. Stress-busting, expectation-free sex with Zay, the calm, gorgeous bartender, seems just the ticket. But then she and Zay discover the band’s lead singer beaten into a coma in the bar bathroom. They need an alibi, but playing girlfriends is a role Katie’s never excelled at, so she can't see this ending well.

Zay Fayed-Smith is finally getting her life back together after her junkie ex broke it apart. She’s working part-time while pursuing her dream of being a lawyer, and definitely keeping things chill on the girls front. Of course, that’s when a crime happens in her bar and her ex shows up wanting to try again. “Dating” Katie seems like the best way for Zay to keep her head down and teach her ex a lesson.

Except pretty soon, the charade begins to feel less and less like acting. And when the attacker turns his attentions toward Katie, they have to cut through the lies to discover what’s real.

 Buy Links

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

10 Little Known Things about the TC series

Lots of fun stuff happens in the course of researching, writing and editing a novel. Here’s a collection of stuff from across the entire Toronto Connections series.

1. In Blank Spaces, Vaughn tries to watch a Bruins vs Leafs game during the toga party. That game is based on the Wednesday 30 November 2011 game, in which the Leafs lost to the Bruins 3-6. (Bad, but not as bad as the infamous overtime game 7 loss on 13 May 2013 – I’m not that cruel.)

2. The Dam, the fictional bar in The Wrong Woman, was inspired by this excellent establishment in Queen Street West: http://www.thebeavertoronto.com/events/ I had a cup of tea and cake there entirely on a whim while in Toronto. I recommend it!

3. My editor burned through two wood-scented candles while editing Growing Pains. We thought that was appropriate, given the book’s setting in NATURE. (I had a pumpkin and vanilla candle.)

4. There's a scene in Blank Spaces where a reporter gets wrestled to the ground by a burly caterer. Despite these two being entirely background characters I, um, totally ship them. In my head. As it were. *embarrassed mumble*

5. I originally planned to include lyrics from “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” by Jet in Finding Your Feet. I decided against it, as permissions requests can stack up and be expensive.

6. The scenes involving Brock's family in Growing Pains were very difficult to write. It turns out I'm bad at putting my characters through negative experiences - my editor really had to push me to up the ante where tension and fear were concerned.

7. This Pride and Prejudice joke happened during Blank Spaces edits.

8. The Wrong Woman was actually the second book I completed for this series. The writing order, submission order, original running order and eventual running order are all different. It helped to connect the characters and keep them consistent, and to work in running jokes across all four books, but honestly, it was a tough way to write a series. I’m sure there are details I’ve messed up.

9. Most of the touristy things Evie does during Finding Your Feet are touristy things I did while in Toronto. (Excluding the dance competition. There was no competition. There were performers at Toronto Pride though.) I definitely recommend visiting the city, it’s a pretty amazing place.

10. I ate more pizza during the year I wrote and edited these novels than I've ever eaten before. Fact.

About the Toronto Connections Universe

The winters might be cold, but hearts are warm in Toronto. Canada’s largest city is home to a big lake, a big tower, and a big queer community. People here are trying to get by like everyone else: pay the bills, deal with life in the city, and maybe find some happiness along the way with someone who’s sweeter than maple candy and more constant than a Canadian’s love for Timmie’s coffee.

For some, falling in love is a real challenge. For others, falling is the easy part—it’s the happy ever after that proves a little more difficult. But in the end, love is worth every complication, misunderstanding, and occasional swear word.

Check out Toronto Connections! http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/toronto-connections

About Cass Lennox

Cass Lennox is a permanent expat who has lived in more countries than she cares to admit to and suffers from a chronic case of wanderlust as a result. She started writing stories at the tender age of eleven, but would be the first to say that the early years are best left forgotten and unread. A great believer in happy endings, she arrived at queer romance via fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, and manga, and she can’t believe it took her that long. Her specialties are diverse characters, gooey happy ever afters, and brownies. She’s currently sequestered in a valley in southeast England.

Connect with Cass:

• Blog: casslennox.wordpress.com/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cass-Lennox-1704635609768647/
• Twitter: twitter.com/CassLennox

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of The Wrong Woman, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 27, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Blog Tour: Growing Pains by Cass Lennox #Review #Giveaway

Author: Cass Lennox
Book: Growing Pains
Series: Toronto Collections #3
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover artist: LC Chase
Publication date: March 20, 2017
Length: 266 pages


Reviewed by Erin


Synopsis

Gigi Rosenberg is living his best life: performances in the big city, side gigs at a dance company, a successful drag act, and the boy of his childhood dreams who now adores him. Even if the boyfriend part isn’t the sparkly ride of passion he expected it to be, life is sweet. So when his sister’s wedding calls him back to his hometown, he sees an opportunity to show the hicks from his past how wrong they were about him. Only, his boyfriend isn’t quite on board.

Brock Stubbs left their hometown and his parents behind for a reason, and the prospect of facing them again is terrifying. He swore he’d never go back, but Gigi has made it clear refusal isn’t an option, and Brock will do nearly anything for him. There’s just one deal-breaker of a problem: Brock promised Gigi he was out to everyone, including his parents. He lied.

It’s magical to run into the sunset together, but staying the course takes work. For Gigi and Brock, going home feels like the finale of a long, disappointing year. Sometimes love isn’t all you need.

Buy Links

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

Review

Cass Lennox's Toronto Series is full of rich, diverse characters and the newest book in the series, Growing Pains is no different. We first met Gigi and Brock in book two, Finding Your Feet, and now we're a year into their relationship. What interested me the most and had me really wanting this book was to see how Brock and Gigi manage to put their past behind them and move forward. It's a tough go at times, especially for Brock and this book had my heart aching numerous times. 

If you haven't read Finding Your Feet, a little background for Brock and Gigi. These two have known each other for some time, in fact Brock was the bully who tormented Gigi so often in high school when they lived in a small Canadian town. Now, they're trying to move past all that to be together. It helps that this time, in Growing Pains, we learn so much more about Brock and the issues he's been suffering from that have helped shape him into who he is now and why he acted the way he did, namely that he was abused. Being in Brock's head and seeing things from his point of view was utterly heartbreaking at times. Not just the abuse he suffered, but the guilt from treating Gigi the way he did and the supreme difficulty Brock has in accepting his sexuality. Truly painful stuff. Gigi though, he's Brock's complete opposite in that he's open and honest about who and what he is. He's a diva and flaunts his gender fluidity. This makes for some tense moments between Brock and Gigi. 

There are some flashbacks to help get a better picture of things that happened in the past and while I'm normally a big fan of flashbacks, here they didn't work quite so well. I did appreciate the things I learned from them, but they were done in a way that took me out of the present day story more than I would have liked. I also have a bit of a problem with the fatphobia from Gigi. I do understand where Gigi is coming from and the things he's overcome, but it was a bit off-putting. All in all though, Cass Lennox has a way of telling a story that completely sucks you in. Even if you get frustrated or angry with the characters, you're feeling something. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series for sure.

About Toronto Connections

The winters might be cold, but hearts are warm in Toronto. Canada’s largest city is home to a big lake, a big tower, and a big queer community. People here are trying to get by like everyone else: pay the bills, deal with life in the city, and maybe find some happiness along the way with someone who’s sweeter than maple candy and more constant than a Canadian’s love for Timmie’s coffee.

For some, falling in love is a real challenge. For others, falling is the easy part—it’s the happy ever after that proves a little more difficult. But in the end, love is worth every complication, misunderstanding, and occasional swear word.

About Cass Lennox

Cass Lennox is a permanent expat who has lived in more countries than she cares to admit to and suffers from a chronic case of wanderlust as a result. She started writing stories at the tender age of eleven, but would be the first to say that the early years are best left forgotten and unread. A great believer in happy endings, she arrived at queer romance via fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, and manga, and she can’t believe it took her that long. Her specialties are diverse characters, gooey happy ever afters, and brownies. She’s currently sequestered in a valley in southeast England.

Connect with Cass:

• Blog: casslennox.wordpress.com/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cass-Lennox-1704635609768647/
• Twitter: twitter.com/CassLennox

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Growing Pains, one lucky winner will receive $15 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 25, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!