Blog Tour: Driven by M.B. Mulhall

Welcome M.B. Mulhall as she visits with the Driven Blog Tour! Check out her chat about the 5 books that drove her to write. <~~~ See what we did there? ;D 

Driven released 3/7/17!

Five Books That Lead Me to Write YA LGBT Novels

I was a vivacious reader as a child and pretty much devoured every book I could get my hands on. When I finished with the children's section of the library, I moved right into the adult area as YA didn't really exist at that time. The stories were pretty much the same in the sense that any romance was always hetero, girl meets guy, guy meets girl, yadda yadda.  Even though I knew a good deal about the LGBT community (thanks to my uncle who was out and proud and brought his "friends" around) I never really thought it was odd to not see LGBT literature. I just figured it was something that wasn't written about. It wasn't until I got to college that I found LGBT stories existed and were out there for me to find.

1) Gravitation

As a college student, I practically minored in Japanese and grew to love all things related to the country, especially manga. I was a Marvel comics kid growing up and manga combined my love of art and stories and Japanese culture. I came across a series called Gravitation a my love for yaio (boys love) began. The stories were sexy and funny and normal. There was no real stigma in two men having a romantic relationship.  It was eye opening.

2) The Bermudez Triangle

While I continued to hunt for other yaio manga, it would still be several years before I would find prominent LGBT characters in young adult literature. I think the first YA book I found with something other than a hetero relationship was Maureen Johnson's The Bermudez Triangle.  I thought it was not only a great coming of age story but a seemingly realistic romance between two best friends coming to terms with their sexuality/sexual identity. I thought it was well done and relatable to straight and queer readers alike.

3) Ash

Then I found Malinda Lo's Ash, a lesbian retelling of Cinderella. It was an okay read, but I felt the sexual undertones of the story were too subtle for how they were marketing it.  Although I was glad to be finding more stories with LGBT characters playing main roles, I thought this particular story could have done more with it.

4) Two Boys Kissing, Boy Meets Boy, Will Grayson Will Grayson

It was at this point that I discovered David Levithan. Two Boys Kissing, Boy Meets Boy, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (it didn't hurt that I was also a John Green fan). Obviously this is three books but I'm lumping them together because I discovered them all at the same time (yay for libraries!) Here were the main-stream, well-selling YA books with prominent LGBT characters I was looking for. Finally!

5) Gone, Gone, Gone

Lastly, I had been a fan of Hannah Moskowitz since I found her first book Break. I thought her style was different from others I had been reading and I really enjoyed her writing, therefore I followed her all over social media so I could see when she had new books coming out. When I first saw the blurb for Gone, Gone, Gone  I knew I had to read it. It was a poignant story that dealt with scary true-to-life events and the fragility of a new couple trying to find love amidst broken families and real life horrors. It was a beautiful, heartbreaking read.

I thought all these stories were important and ones that needed to be told and shared. I wanted to be able to add to them and hoped that people would find my own writing as touching and enlightening as some of these books. I hoped my stories would not just entertain, but education and help people see that love is love regardless of whether it's between two men or two women or a woman and a man. And maybe some day I'll make someone else's top five list. That would be quite the achievement.

***

Eighteen-year-old Oliver’s troubles don’t end when he’s released from prison. He has nowhere to go, and he can’t even think about moving past his crimes while trying to survive homelessness.

Helping an elderly woman after a fall guides Oliver into at least a temporary home. In exchange for odd jobs and some assistance, he’s welcomed into a life with the old twin spinsters, and it seems too good to be true. The neighbor, Simon, certainly thinks it is. He doesn’t trust Oliver or his motives. Oliver is used to that kind of judgment, but it isn’t helping him overcome his guilt. Maybe Simon is right and Oliver doesn’t deserve happiness—or any of the other feelings stirring in a heart Oliver thought he’d closed off for good.

Oliver has two options: let the pain of his past swallow him and destroy all hope for the future, or move on to the new possibilities in front of him. Choosing to live won’t be easy, and Oliver might not be able to do it alone.

Links:
Harmony Ink Press: https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/driven-by-mb-mulhall-454-b

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33952885-driven

***

About the Author
MB Mulhall is a published author who typically has way too much on her plate. In between making vlogs and writing books, she tests her patience and pays the bills by helping to manage a home for developmentally disabled adults. She has a BA in Comparative Literature and Languages from Hofstra University as well as an Elementary Education degree from Georgian Court University.

She’s a crafter, a pet parent to a dog and two hedgehogs, a wife, a Jersey girl, a Whovian, and a lover of ink. Her next novel, Driven, is due out in March ’17 with Harmony Ink Press. You can find her all over social media posting pics of books, pets, and food porn.

Author's Website: http://mbmulhall.com
Author's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MBMulhall

Follow the Driven Blog Tour:

Feb 27 -- Guest Post on Prism Book Alliance
http://www.prismbookalliance.com/

March 3 -- Review on My Midnight Musing
https://mymidnightmusing.wordpress.com/

March 5 -- Interview at Bohemian Bookworm
https://thebohemianbookworm.wordpress.com/


March 7 -- Review on Lexiderms Little Book Corner
https://lexdidems.wordpress.com/

March 7 -- Review on Diverse Reader
http://diversereader.blogspot.co.uk/

March 9 -- Exclusive Excerpt on Joyfully Jay
http://joyfullyjay.com/

March 9 -- Review on Books at Dawn
https://booksatdawn.com/

March 10 -- Guest Post on Boy Meets Boy Reviews
https://boymeetsboyreviews.blogspot.com

March 12 -- Review on Book Pandemonium
https://bookpandamonium.wordpress.com/

March 12 -- Review on From Top to Bottom Reviews
https://fromtoptobottomreviews.com/

Review: Driven by MB Mulhall

Eighteen-year-old Oliver’s troubles don’t end when he’s released from prison. He has nowhere to go, and he can’t even think about moving past his crimes while trying to survive homelessness.

Helping an elderly woman after a fall guides Oliver into at least a temporary home. In exchange for odd jobs and some assistance, he’s welcomed into a life with the old twin spinsters, and it seems too good to be true. The neighbor, Simon, certainly thinks it is. He doesn’t trust Oliver or his motives. Oliver is used to that kind of judgment, but it isn’t helping him overcome his guilt. Maybe Simon is right and Oliver doesn’t deserve happiness—or any of the other feelings stirring in a heart Oliver thought he’d closed off for good.

Oliver has two options: let the pain of his past swallow him and destroy all hope for the future, or move on to the new possibilities in front of him. Choosing to live won’t be easy, and Oliver might not be able to do it alone.

I loved the blurb and the promise of this book, it is fair to say though the writing style didn't quite work for me.

I liked the way MB Mulhall set up the story; chapter one gave me a taste of something terrible to coma and it did make me want to read more. It was dramatic enough, written with just the right amount of information given and withheld and I was absolutely eager for more. Moving on into the story, I liked the whole premise of it and I liked the characters (particularly the twins!) 

Unfortunately, that is where I stopped liking it. For my taste the writing style didn't work, it tended to be a bit overly dramatic for my tastes and sometimes reasoning for actions and reactions felt convenient. I had eye-rolling moments. Several of them - but (and I know I harp back to this time and again) what is an eye-rolling moment for me, is the cherry on the top for another reader. Plenty of my very closest reader friends and I disagree on writing styles. (MY own sister doesn't like Harry Potter. I mean, that's nearly worthy of disowning, right?) All I can say is what didn't work for me. 

Some of the descriptions were a bit over the top for my liking. One scene that stuck in my head was how Oliver is absolutely petrified of getting into a car, it is a main theme of the book - yet when he does sexy thoughts of Simon help him not realise the journey had past. For me this felt like a big WTF because there is no way I could relate to it. Not the fear, but the way dirty thoughts overcame the fear. They felt so unrelated and unbelievable to me - yet I'm sure that many other readers wouldn't have thought twice about this. Or, you know, liked the way Oliver was distracted from the fear.

I did absolutely hate Oliver's mum and I really didn't like the way she was given some redemption. It was too little too late. I'm not saying that she shouldn't be allowed the redemption, but it was just given because of circumstances and ... well, it pissed me right off to be honest. I understood her pain, I really truly did, I can't imagine it. but she was still Oliver's mum and Oliver needed her. I was so angry at her.

I don't know, it's not a bad book but it really wasn't for me. Check out other reviews because they're probably saying something completely different.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
For more information see Harmony Ink Press or Goodreads.