CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME!!! Stories Beneath Our Skin by Veronica Sloane

Tattooing might have once been Liam’s passion, but he left it all behind along with ugly memories when he went to college. When his uncle’s health fails, Liam must come home at last to say his goodbyes. His days are spent at the hospice, leaving his nights to rake over the past. To fill those empty hours, he takes a job at Great Sin Ink. The close knit friendship of the workers there both intrigues and shakes Liam, who has spent the last four years keeping everyone at arm’s length. Neither Deb, the no-nonsense piercer, nor Goose, a manic tattoo artist, will let Liam get away with his isolationist ways for long.

If it were just those two, Liam might have stood a chance -- but there’s also Ace, the owner of Great Sin. He hires Liam despite a thin resume, and that is a kindness Liam can’t forget. The two start up a tentative friendship, learning about each other as the summer days melt into each other. Slowly, Liam reveals a tender heart underneath the wall of quotes he uses to keep everyone out. Unfortunately, life doesn’t stand still, and both Liam and Ace have hard struggles before them that might break them up before they can even get together.

Why did Jem choose this story for me for CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME? Because she knows me. She knows me well. Couple of tattooed boys with broken hearts and an ENTIRE book filled with snark? Yes, please! Good job Jem, you done good!


You know how sometimes you can read a story that tells you profound things in one simple collection of sentences that you can’t get out in rambling paragraphs of word vomit with any kind of clarity? This is one of those stories. There were so many things I loved about it. Liam came from a background of heartache, but he wasn’t a ridiculous mess of angst. His pain read true without being overly dramatic and I really appreciated the subtlety the author used to tell his story. The impact was so much greater with fewer, well thought out words. The secondary characters were just as important as the mains. These guys were so close with their friends and ‘family’ so the strength of the secondary characters gave Liam and Ace a lot of depth because I could see them as more than just a “boyfriend”. They were fully fleshed out because of Deb, Goose, Frankie, Gene and Cole. I didn’t mind when one of the MC’s was off talking with the secondary characters instead of to one another because the conversations were just as important and just as entertaining.

Most of all I loved the love story here. It was quiet and real and beautiful. Liam and Ace were perfectly meshed. Each provided the other with the missing pieces they need to be whole and balanced. It was a slow build up to get to their relationship and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. Anything sooner would have cheapened what they had. My favorite part was the first real conversation the two of them had alone in the diner. Liam is very quiet but the words he does say have a lot of impact and Ace can appreciate them and draw them out. I loved that they were honest with one another. There was never a moment of “I can’t let him know how I feel even though I’ve basically already told him and the rest of the world knows and wants to smack us upside the head and just freakin’ say something already” crap. That was refreshing and it didn’t take away from the UST at all.

Finally, the snark. The snark is hilarious. There were so many great lines and so much love, even in the bickering between any and all of the characters. It was like listening in on best friends and just wanting to be a part of their world.

I did a lot of highlighting with this story, but this line stuck with me:

“The epiphany broke over him quietly, the groundwork long since laid.”

They are beautiful words on their own, but taken in context, at this part of the story, they are everything.

So Jem, you were spot on. Everything you knew I would love is here in this book in spades. Jem wins ALL the things.

Find out more about Stories Beneath Our Skin over on Goodreads . . .

CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME: Jem vs. Jet

Hear the monster trucks? See the pink and purple lights and lasers? The white clouds of smoke as the metal cage gets dropped over the arena? See the gay porn mascots, swishing their tails to the awesome beat of the unicorn glam rock band? The candy and chocolates being thrown in the air? The glitter bombs shooting across the sky?

This isn't a test, honey. You're not dreaming or hallucinating!

It's CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME! THUNDERDOME! THUNDERDOME! *echoes* 

The unicorns have cordially invited you to witness our epic reactions to books that we love and think fellow unicorns would enjoy. They just haven't got to it yet.

Well, not anymore!

It's CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME!

All the things happen inside the arena! Two readers enter! Two winners leave? Candy gets consumed? Naked mascots get groped?! What?

This match is Jet (Ann) vs. Jem (Jenni Lea)!

Ann has to read - Stories Beneath Our Skin by Veronica Sloane

Jenni Lea has to read - Stealing West by Jamie Craig

Jem - Why Stories Beneath Our Skin ?

 Pretty much because I love this book so much and I need for everyone to read it.  But mostly because I think Jet will love it too.  It has everything she likes:  smart writing, multi-dimensional characters,  a mature plot line but most of all it has SMARK!  I know Jet loves SMARK just as much as Jem does.

When I first read Stories Beneath our Skin I was overcome by the sheer brilliance of the writing.  I had no words to describe how I felt.  I still don't have words good enough to describe it.  The words in this book are subtly amazing.  So beautiful in their simplicity.  No purple prose or fluff here!  I fell in love with all of the characters, not just the main protagonists.  It's a book that I could read over and over again and not tire of - ever.  I just want Jet to experience the awesome power of these words.  Plus it has tattoos and c'mon, who doesn't love tattoos?

Jet - Why Stealing West?

Why did I pick this book? Well, you know how sometimes you’ll read an older book, it’s not as new and shiny as the one you keep seeing in your update feed ad nauseam, but it’s so awesome you want ALL your peeps to read it NOW?

That’s what this book has always been for me. It was one of the early books I read when I first discovered the magic that is MM and I remember thinking, “This book is fucking filthy and I love it super hard!” I’m a big fan of the writing team that is Jamie Craig, and this is by far my favorite. Not only is it deliciously filthy, it is really incredibly romantic. Like, real romance. Not insta-love hearts and flowers BS, but the ‘these two dudes HAVE to be together or everything I know about the universe is a lie’ kind of romance and reading about them figuring it out has stuck in my head for years now. I ended up rereading it last year to see if it was just my newness to the genre that made me love it then or if the story really was that awesome to my now jaded self. It really is that awesome. Anyone who can make beautifully dirty kink deeply romantic at the same time (think, our resident Queen Shit of Fuck Mountain, Heidi Cullinan) is brilliant in my book.

Why did I pick this book for Jem? The obvious reason is she shares my love for the country boys and all that is the dirty. I’m hoping she’ll forgive me the fact that there is no shifting, knotting or knocking up of said country boys. But, I would be the biggest fool of all to try and rec any of that to our resident expert. No one knows more about the howl and growl than our Princess of Knottinghim, don’t even try and tell any unicorn otherwise. I do think she’ll get the romance out of the story though too and I mostly really need another unicorn to read this damn thing and Jem is a gamer who will give anything a fair shot.

Be good to my boys Jem! You don’t have to be gentle though, they aren’t fans of that nonsense. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for our reaction post later this week! It's CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME! THUNDERDOME! THUNDERDOME!

P.S. We have other matches/challenges coming in the future! A thing of beauty to see unicorns in their battle gear, prepared to read!