Bad Boy by Elliot Wake Published by Atria Books, Simon and Schuster on December 6th 2016
Narrator: Randal Marsh
Genres: LGBTQI, Romance, Suspense
Purchase links: Amazon, iTunes, Audible
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Source: Atria, NetGalley, Purchased audiobook
Vlog star Renard Grant has nothing to prove: he’s got a pretty face, chiseled body, and two million adoring video subscribers. Plus the scars on his chest and a prescription for testosterone. Because Ren is transgender: assigned female at birth, living now as male. He films his transition and shares it bravely with the world; his fans love his honesty and positivity.
But Ren has been living a double life.
Off-camera, he’s Cane, the muscle-bound enforcer for social justice vigilante group Black Iris. As Cane, he lets his dark side loose. Hurts those who prey on the disempowered. Indulges in the ugly side of masculinity. And his new partner, Tamsin Baylor, is a girl as rough and relentless as him. Together, they terrorize the trolls into silence.
But when a routine Black Iris job goes south, Ren is put in the crosshairs. Someone is out to ruin his life. He’s a bad boy, they say, guilty of what he punishes others for.
Just like every other guy: at heart, he’s a monster, too.
Now Ren’s got everything to prove. He has to clear his name, and show the world he’s a good man. But that requires facing demons he’s locked away for years. And it might mean discovering he’s not such a good guy after all.
We received this book/audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
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Audiobook Review: 5 Million Stars
I don’t want to be a fucking pretty girl. I want to be myself.
This book! This audiobook! Oh. My. God. I’m in cloud nine right now after finishing Bad Boy. I’ve always loved Elliot’s writing, and his stories are always unique and very interesting, and despite me knowing this book would be good, I never imagined the flawlessness of it. Seriously, Elliot seriously overpassed himself with this book. Big applause to him!
Birth hurts; rebirth hurts, too.
Bod Boy is about Ren, a transgender who’s been a man for the past five years. He’s sure this was the best decision he has made in his entire life, but that doesn’t mean the transition has been easy for him, especially because he doesn’t have the support of his family and ex best friend/girlfriend/roommate. Thankfully he has a group of friends who are his new family, who helps him and supports him, even when his pride is too big to accept their help. He and his friends are part of a group of vigilantes named Black Iris, and they help and avenge women who’s been abused, bullied or threatened by men.
Me, the muscle. Ellis, the tech genius. Blythe, the charmer. Armin, the profiler. And Laney, our fearsome leader. We are Black Iris.
Note: Ellis is from Cam Girl and Blythe, Laney and Armin are from Black Iris.
So, when they were working on a case against a man who targeted feminists online, Ren faced a ghost from his past and then a monster, also from his past *shivers*, and then he started thinking his friends betrayed him and shit went down. He questioned everything, and he felt he could only trust his ex girlfriend Ingrid and his new friend and love interest, Tam *heart eyes*.
“I don’t hurt women,” I said, “because I know how it feels.”
I can’t say more about the story because anything would be a huge spoiler and I think everyone deserves to read and experience and analyze this book on their own. I really loved everything that I read. I was shocked by some stuff, I learned so many others but most of all, I understood what a transgender has to go through during the transition. I could also understand more about how many close minded people can damage the life of a person because of their beliefs 🙁
If masculinity was made up, why did it feel so right to me? Why did femininity feel so wrong? Why did I feel an overpowering need to alter this body from the inside out, not just my name and clothes and hair, my superficial expressions?
About the Audiobook: Randal Marsh’s performance matched the perfection of this book. His voice was so sexy and smooth and masculine, just like Ren’s personality. His pace was good, the pronunciation and accents were just on point and not to mention the inflections for the secondary characters. It was really an amazing experience to listen to this audiobook. I loved it so much that I started at 11:30pm last night and I didn’t fall asleep one minute. The story hooked me from the beginning and the narration was just so vivid that I felt like watching a movie instead of reading a book.
All in all, Bad Boy was a great book and the audiobook was a great companion for it. I propose a toast for Elliot. This is just perfect for him:
EVERYONE: Toast! Toast!
LANEY: To a very brave boy.
BLYTHE: And handsome.
ELLIS: And kind.
ARMIN: And genuine.
TAMSIN: And good in bed.
EVERYONE: [Groans.]
PS: I’m so glad I made peace with Laney. I wasn’t much of a fan of hers when I read Black Iris and to be honest, I was a bit hesitant about her having a big part in this book. And at some point I was pissed at her, just as much as Ren was with her, but something in my mind told me Elliot would write something great for Laney and he totally did. I’m so happy with how things ended in this story and I like her now.
PS2: I cried so much for Ren, especially when he was remembering his little sisters.
The person I admire most is my big sister because inside she is a boy but can’t tell anyone, which I think is very hard. I would be sad if I could not tell anyone I’m a girl.
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