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jackiehorne's review against another edition
4.0
Picked up book #2 in this series based on a recommendation by a fellow romance reader. But after I'd gotten a few pages in, I really wanted to read book #1 first. So back to the online store to download APPLE POLISHER.
So glad I did. Fabulous to see a gay young man of African descent as the lead in a romance. And to see the struggles Christian faces in trying to reconcile the different parts of his identity: preschool teacher-in-training; dutiful nephew to an aunt whose illness he can barely bare to acknowledge; gay man hoping to find a partner; and, due to the aforementioned aunt's illness, part-time worker in a sex video rental store. Really enjoyed reading about an uptight character whose uptightness stems not only from his personality, but from to the various social and personal forces that police his identity.
My only regret is that since the book is told entirely from Christian's point of view, we don't get as much insight into his new love, Max's, personality and background.
So glad I did. Fabulous to see a gay young man of African descent as the lead in a romance. And to see the struggles Christian faces in trying to reconcile the different parts of his identity: preschool teacher-in-training; dutiful nephew to an aunt whose illness he can barely bare to acknowledge; gay man hoping to find a partner; and, due to the aforementioned aunt's illness, part-time worker in a sex video rental store. Really enjoyed reading about an uptight character whose uptightness stems not only from his personality, but from to the various social and personal forces that police his identity.
My only regret is that since the book is told entirely from Christian's point of view, we don't get as much insight into his new love, Max's, personality and background.
ariannemaya's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think I can rec this series enough (though I would suggest reading them in the actual order, which I didn't do, lol). The characters are all interesting, it's a very diverse cast, it's light and funny (with some truly hilarious moments spread through all three books) with just the right amount of tension and drama. Plus, the sex feels real, as in, it isn't perfect. It's really hot, but it doesn't always turn out the way the protag thought it would, and that makes it even more perfect.
I think how fast I devoured each book from the moment I started (less than a day each) says a lot about how much I enjoyed them.
Spoiler
Cracking up during what was otherwise very hot sex? Check. Stopping just as you're about to get it on and having to bang on your roommate door for a condom? Check.I think how fast I devoured each book from the moment I started (less than a day each) says a lot about how much I enjoyed them.
tellingetienne's review against another edition
4.0
Cute gay romance, smutty, sweet, and had a bit more plot that you normally see in smutty gay romances. I am eagerly looking forward to the follow up.
iam's review
2.0
I loved this book's premise and some scenes were lovely, but just as many scenes were just plain weird and extremely uncomfortable or executed in a creepy way - and I'm not talking about the parts in the porn store.
There was absoluely zero buildup to the romance and we barely got to see the two interact aside from them having sex or fighting or having sex again - to me it still seemed like they were total strangers or just vague aquaintances when they said "I love you."
I think something might have been up with the books formatting - I started reading this on my phone but turning the pages was compeltely broken - it kept skipping pages or jumping forwards and backwards. It was fine on computer and e-reader though.
Content warnings include: homphobia, sex on-page, racism, sex work, family member with cancer; mentions of various fetishes and all things porn, parent abandoning child.
There was absoluely zero buildup to the romance and we barely got to see the two interact aside from them having sex or fighting or having sex again - to me it still seemed like they were total strangers or just vague aquaintances when they said "I love you."
I think something might have been up with the books formatting - I started reading this on my phone but turning the pages was compeltely broken - it kept skipping pages or jumping forwards and backwards. It was fine on computer and e-reader though.
Content warnings include: homphobia, sex on-page, racism, sex work, family member with cancer; mentions of various fetishes and all things porn, parent abandoning child.
nicola949's review against another edition
4.0
This was a definite case of the story growing on me. It took a little while to get into but once I was settled into Christian's story, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
So uptight and eager to make life decisions that showed he was a good person, Christian lived in fear and ended up slow to make the decisions to stand up and support his sick aunt. And he nearly let Max escape, which wouldn't have been a good thing! They were definitely hot together! (oh my, that scene on the shop floor!)
I think this book had one of the best coming out scenes I've read in a while, capturing Christian perfectly.
Visit my blog if you want to see all my m/m reviews in one place! Because Two Men Are Better Than One!
So uptight and eager to make life decisions that showed he was a good person, Christian lived in fear and ended up slow to make the decisions to stand up and support his sick aunt. And he nearly let Max escape, which wouldn't have been a good thing! They were definitely hot together! (oh my, that scene on the shop floor!)
I think this book had one of the best coming out scenes I've read in a while, capturing Christian perfectly.
Here goes nothing.There's a strong support cast in the story - Christian's Aunt Beverly and her friend, the shop girls (bitches!), Christian and Max's flatmates and some assorted random customers. Christian had his secrets, Max had secrets and there's a perfect set up for the subsequent books which I am looking forward to reading.
"And as to what I'm 'into'...I'm into you."
Wow, hey. That had been pretty smooth. Could have even made it all the way to romantic, if he'd left it at that and just kissed the damn guy, but of course he didn't.
"I mean, I'm into lots of guys. Well, not lots of guys, but a few. A normal amount.. Well, a normal amount for a...a guy like me. Well, a guy like me who doesn't do the club thing. A guy like - I'm gay. Not just when I'm drunk. All the time. Gay. But I do-"
Max kissed him.
Visit my blog if you want to see all my m/m reviews in one place! Because Two Men Are Better Than One!
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Apple Polisher is a funny, sexy and thoughtful journey of self-discovery. Heidi Belleau perfectly balances real life issues with plenty of humor in this page-turning first installment of the Rear Entrance Video series.
While Christian Blake's dear Aunt Beverly is fighting cancer, her video store, Rear Entrance Video, is about to go under but he is afraid that working in a video porn store will destroy his chances of becoming a kindergarten teacher. Throw in his (unwanted) attraction to his sexy new roommate, Max, and Christian spends much of his time fretting about his future.
Apple Polisher is written in third person from Christian’s point of view. The narrative is a little rambling and slow moving at times and Christian occasionally veers off on some lengthy thought tangents. But the story begins to come together when Christian begins working at Rear Entrance Video and he finally hooks up with Max.
Christian’s single-minded pursuit of his teaching degree makes him oblivious to a lot of things in his life. Everything and everyone takes a backseat as he devotes himself to school. Christian is slowly losing himself as he makes change after change in an effort to avoid his professor’s scrutiny. But his biggest mistake is his failure to make Aunt Beverly a priority. Trying to save Rear Entrance Video is Christian’s first selfless act and it is the first step in his much needed transformation. He sometimes takes one step back for every two steps forward, but he is putting a lot of effort (and risk) into his efforts to keep the store from going under.
Christian’s other saving grace is his relationship with roommate Max. Their romance is rocky in the beginning but once Christian commits to making the relationship work, he throws himself into it wholeheartedly. Max is just what Christian needs-he does not put up with Christian’s crap and he challenges Christian to think about the choices Christian is making. For the most part, their romance is a slow simmer but when it does heat up? Their sex scenes are positively incendiary and so down, dirty and smokin’ hot your eReader is in danger of melting.
Max remains an enigma for much of Apple Polisher. Tantalizing glimpses give away frustratingly little about him so it is completely and utterly shocking when the truth about him is finally revealed. Christian’s reaction to Max’s revelation is absolutely, positively, without a doubt, the best scene of the whole book.
An excellent beginning to Heidi Belleau’s ingenious Rear Entrance Video series, Apple Polisher is an entertaining and thought-provoking novel. The cast of characters is diverse and multi-layered. The video porn store is a wonderfully unique setting and it provides an interesting backdrop for the various characters and their upcoming stories.
While Christian Blake's dear Aunt Beverly is fighting cancer, her video store, Rear Entrance Video, is about to go under but he is afraid that working in a video porn store will destroy his chances of becoming a kindergarten teacher. Throw in his (unwanted) attraction to his sexy new roommate, Max, and Christian spends much of his time fretting about his future.
Apple Polisher is written in third person from Christian’s point of view. The narrative is a little rambling and slow moving at times and Christian occasionally veers off on some lengthy thought tangents. But the story begins to come together when Christian begins working at Rear Entrance Video and he finally hooks up with Max.
Christian’s single-minded pursuit of his teaching degree makes him oblivious to a lot of things in his life. Everything and everyone takes a backseat as he devotes himself to school. Christian is slowly losing himself as he makes change after change in an effort to avoid his professor’s scrutiny. But his biggest mistake is his failure to make Aunt Beverly a priority. Trying to save Rear Entrance Video is Christian’s first selfless act and it is the first step in his much needed transformation. He sometimes takes one step back for every two steps forward, but he is putting a lot of effort (and risk) into his efforts to keep the store from going under.
Christian’s other saving grace is his relationship with roommate Max. Their romance is rocky in the beginning but once Christian commits to making the relationship work, he throws himself into it wholeheartedly. Max is just what Christian needs-he does not put up with Christian’s crap and he challenges Christian to think about the choices Christian is making. For the most part, their romance is a slow simmer but when it does heat up? Their sex scenes are positively incendiary and so down, dirty and smokin’ hot your eReader is in danger of melting.
Max remains an enigma for much of Apple Polisher. Tantalizing glimpses give away frustratingly little about him so it is completely and utterly shocking when the truth about him is finally revealed. Christian’s reaction to Max’s revelation is absolutely, positively, without a doubt, the best scene of the whole book.
An excellent beginning to Heidi Belleau’s ingenious Rear Entrance Video series, Apple Polisher is an entertaining and thought-provoking novel. The cast of characters is diverse and multi-layered. The video porn store is a wonderfully unique setting and it provides an interesting backdrop for the various characters and their upcoming stories.
aashkevr's review against another edition
3.0
This is a cute enough story, but there were parts of it that were clearly written for the "thrill" rather than the plot. This is something that bothers me in these romantica type reads. If you are going to make the story about more than sex, then you need to make sure that the story is consistent and that it retains verisimilitude. Otherwise, what was the point of the story?
For this reason, I almost rated this book lower.
The main conflict in Apple Polisher is that the MC is gay but wants to be able to teach kindergarteners. I didn't find it coincidental that squeaky clean, worried-what-everyone-will-think gay-boy main character was named "Christian". Christian is deeply concerned that his sexual preferences will prevent him from being able to pursue his teaching dreams. The book spends little time exploring why kindergarten is so important to Christian, even as he acknowledges that it's partially an age group concern that (theoretically) stands in his way.
The thing is, Christian doesn't really look into how his sexual preferences will affect things. He equates his gayness with other "moral" character infractions that could affect his schooling.
So, Christian is uptight and a bit of a prude. And a bit hypocritical.
The progression of the plot makes it increasingly difficult for Christian to stay in the closet. Outside events "force" him to continually compromise his position and his original beliefs and convictions.
The most important development is that Christian finds it necessary to take on a position as manager of an adult movie and toys store (called ... yep, "Rear Entrance Video" - how unlucky).
Christian will have to make some important decisions about what is most important to him and what he is willing to sacrifice for the people he loves - a new boyfriend, his family, and the future self he has always envisioned.
---
But here's the thing that I personally feel damages the whole story. At the end, after Christian has managed to keep EVERYTHING he wanted - the store, his boyfriend, his gay roommates, his position in school, his friends, etc - everything he stood to lose - he decides that he needs to "prove" himself to his boyfriend by participating in webcam pornography.
WHAT THE HECK?
So, Christian goes from being overly uptight to being needlessly reckless. He's still trying to "prove" himself and he's still overly concerned with what other people think. He hasn't learned anything ... he's just changed focus on what exactly it is he's trying to prove.
Since the author just spent all of this time developign the character, I found this backslide terribly disappointing. Had Christian learned nothing? What was the point?
My conclusion: the point was to cater to a particular fetish among erotica readers - on screen, exhibitionist/voyeuristic sex. So, verisimilitude in plot and important character development was sacrificed for sexual thrill.
It's not really surprising in romantica, but it was a little sad.
For this reason, I almost rated this book lower.
The main conflict in Apple Polisher is that the MC is gay but wants to be able to teach kindergarteners. I didn't find it coincidental that squeaky clean, worried-what-everyone-will-think gay-boy main character was named "Christian". Christian is deeply concerned that his sexual preferences will prevent him from being able to pursue his teaching dreams. The book spends little time exploring why kindergarten is so important to Christian, even as he acknowledges that it's partially an age group concern that (theoretically) stands in his way.
The thing is, Christian doesn't really look into how his sexual preferences will affect things. He equates his gayness with other "moral" character infractions that could affect his schooling.
So, Christian is uptight and a bit of a prude. And a bit hypocritical.
The progression of the plot makes it increasingly difficult for Christian to stay in the closet. Outside events "force" him to continually compromise his position and his original beliefs and convictions.
The most important development is that Christian finds it necessary to take on a position as manager of an adult movie and toys store (called ... yep, "Rear Entrance Video" - how unlucky).
Christian will have to make some important decisions about what is most important to him and what he is willing to sacrifice for the people he loves - a new boyfriend, his family, and the future self he has always envisioned.
---
Spoiler
But here's the thing that I personally feel damages the whole story. At the end, after Christian has managed to keep EVERYTHING he wanted - the store, his boyfriend, his gay roommates, his position in school, his friends, etc - everything he stood to lose - he decides that he needs to "prove" himself to his boyfriend by participating in webcam pornography.
WHAT THE HECK?
So, Christian goes from being overly uptight to being needlessly reckless. He's still trying to "prove" himself and he's still overly concerned with what other people think. He hasn't learned anything ... he's just changed focus on what exactly it is he's trying to prove.
Since the author just spent all of this time developign the character, I found this backslide terribly disappointing. Had Christian learned nothing? What was the point?
My conclusion: the point was to cater to a particular fetish among erotica readers - on screen, exhibitionist/voyeuristic sex. So, verisimilitude in plot and important character development was sacrificed for sexual thrill.
It's not really surprising in romantica, but it was a little sad.
peyton_'s review against another edition
3.0
Cute and fun. I didn’t like Melissa at all and found her evil streak to be unnecessary to the story. Could have handled that differently without being so upsetting. Otherwise, it was alright.
crtsjffrsn's review against another edition
3.0
Christian dreams of becoming a teacher and has enrolled in an academic program that has very strict expectations of what one must be in order to succeed in that profession--both academically and personally. So when Christian meets Max, he struggles with his feelings and the fact that he'll need to keep it all a secret. And then when Christian's aunt falls ill, he struggles again with how to help her. He desperately wants to help her keep her business going, but can he really work at a porn store and expect to become a teacher? And then there's mystery surrounding Max, as well. Can Christian find the balance between who he needs to be and who he wants to be?
This is an excellent story about expectations and living up to them (or choosing not to). Christian has many pressures he has to sort through from all sides and figuring out what to do means really thinking about what is going to make him feel happy and fulfilled. While I was honestly frustrated at times with the school--their rules seemed a bit over-the-top--I do know that some programs are like that and it really helped drive home the dichotomy that exists in Christian's life.
Well-written and definitely a recommended read.
This is an excellent story about expectations and living up to them (or choosing not to). Christian has many pressures he has to sort through from all sides and figuring out what to do means really thinking about what is going to make him feel happy and fulfilled. While I was honestly frustrated at times with the school--their rules seemed a bit over-the-top--I do know that some programs are like that and it really helped drive home the dichotomy that exists in Christian's life.
Well-written and definitely a recommended read.