Giveaway, Spotlight, & Review: Wallflower by Heidi Belleau

Wallflower
Blurb:
"This gamer geek has a lacy little secret." Art student and MMORPG addict Robert Ng has always been a loner, but he's recently made it his goal to make more (IRL) friends. Which is how he winds up working nights at Rear Entrance Video, shilling sketchy porn and blowup dolls as a favor to his roommate. The longer he works there, though, the more he realizes he'll never be truly happy until he becomes the person he is online: his female persona, Bobby.

Bobby is cuter and funnier than Rob is, and a thousand times more popular with boys. Becoming Bobby IRL presents its own set of challenges, though . . . especially when you're sitting on the fence between two genders, only one of which has caught the attention of your seriously cute customer/classmate.

Dylan Ford is a six-foot Inuit comic book artist who always says what's on his mind, and screw anyone who doesn't like it. As rough as he appears, though, Dylan has a soft spot for Rob. But will out-and-proud Dylan still want Rob if he's not all man?

About the Author
Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.

She has a degree in history from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in British and Irish studies; much of her work centred on popular culture, oral folklore, and sexuality, but she was known to perplex her professors with unironic papers on the historical roots of modern romance novel tropes. (Ask her about Highlanders!)

When not writing, you might catch her trying to explain British television to her newborn daughter or standing in line at the local coffee shop, waiting on her caramel macchiato.

  Connect with Heidi:

• Blog: www.heidibelleau.com
• Twitter: @HeidiBelleau
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/heidibelleau
• Email: heidi.below.zero@gmail.com

Review

Robert is a loner, though he lives in a house with plenty of roommates who are close friends he still is pretty much all alone. He was never the cool guy still isn't the cool guy and his awkwardness and self doubt makes him almost incapable of making friends. That doesn't mean his older sister doesn't drag him to yoga in hopes of making him more social but even that is a bust but his butt sure thanks all the classes. The only time Rob truly comes alive is when he gets behind his role-playing game and become the sexy flirtatious Bobby. Because Bobby is the girl Rob sometimes like to become and Bobby says shit Rob can only dream of ever uttering. Too bad it’s his close kept secret and no one can ever know his longing desire to become a woman sometimes. Then there is working at Rear Entrance Video, the porn shop he got suckered into helping out with its sketchy customers. Yet, it’s in that porn shop where Bobby will emerge and change Rob's life truly for the better.

With working at the porn shop Rob also has his art classes, where once again he's invisible and forgettable. There he runs into Dylan a customer from REV and now his classmate, of course Dylan wouldn't remember him but Rob is drawn in by the boy and when they're partnered up for a project their relationship takes flight. They're hot for each other but Rob has secrets and he can't truly feel happy because he's plagued with guilt and afraid he will be found out that he and the bubbly sassy Bobby is one and the same. Of course a transformation such as Bobby doesn't come with a series of ups and down when working in porn shop, and Rob's shame eventually jeopardizes his safety. 

First of all I love the shit out of this book and the reasons aren't about how sexy it was or about it being interracial. There is a wider picture to this book and there are so much topics and meaning I could sit here and write a 20pg review. Heidi wrote about a Chinese/Canadian and an Inuit that in itself is like a huge feet. These characters had culture and not just the title, but actual background and the stigma that comes with being a different race and the assumptions fool ass people make. Then there is that underlying of Rob actually judging those without taking the chance to present himself and letting them draw a decision for themselves. This is where I found the book to be real, because it’s in our nature to expect the absolute worse of people and sometimes the absolute worse is to be expected. Also there is "I'm weird, freaky and wrong" so if someone is hurting me I probably deserve it because after all it’s my fault. I love that realistic writing and it made me feel. So I salute you Heidi Belleau, your writing is a fixture, its cultural, and most of all its diverse. There is just so much to love and talk about in Wallflower just so much to love, I love Rob and his courage, I love Dylan and his "fuck the man" attitude. I somehow see him rocking an N.W.A t-shirt singing "Fuck the police".

Should You Read It? Yes, yes, and more yes. If you want to read something different and not just your cookie cutter M/M romance then this book is for you. I love the play on gender and that there isn't just one way to be yourself. Like our finger prints we are unique and I just love reading that in books.

4.5 Pants Off

Review: Book #1 Apple Polisher

Contest

• Win an e-copy of Rear Entrance Video #1: Apple Polisher! All you have to do is leave a comment on this or any of the other Wallflower tour posts. Each comment counts for another entry, so be sure to follow the entire tour. Just make sure your comment includes a way for me to contact you, be it email, twitter, or facebook. On October 27^th, I’ll randomly draw a winner from all the entries who will receive a copy of Apple Polisher in their choice of format. Good luck!