Rattling Bone, Jordan L. Hawk
I didn’t realise this was coming out, and leapt on it as soon as I did! It’s lovely to revisit Oscar and Nigel, and see them a little further into their relationship — in fact, with Oscar taking Nigel to meet his parents. It’s… predictably awkward, especially as soon as they discover Nigel’s job and what the two of them work on together. I like that the contention isn’t about Nigel being trans or about it being a queer relationship, and there’s no tension about the non-binary character either; instead this is pure family dynamics, secrets being kept, etc. I enjoyed that there were complexities there, that it wasn’t just both parents being a united front of anger for exactly the same reasons.
Of course, those secrets are relevant to the story, and Oscar finds himself having to use his newly acknowledged talents to help his family — whether they want him to or not.
I was a little worried that the jealousy/inferiority complex stuff so characteristic of Whyborne in the early Whyborne & Griffin books was going to come out here with the references to Oscar’s childhood friend, but luckily it didn’t really go that way too much. The ending is cute, too.
So much more I’d like to know about the background stuff and their sponsor…
Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed.
I’m just digging into the Spectyr series now, too!
I love that their problems don’t center on their sexual orientation! Too often books that have trans/queer characters tend to make that the focal point, and it’s nice to just see them existing and being accepted. Definitely going to keep my eyes open for this one.
Lindsi recently posted…Bonded by Thorns (Beasts of the Briar, #1) by Elizabeth Helen