Glitterland
Ratings21
Average rating3.8
Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on hope, happiness, and--most of all--himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people's expectations. Then a chance encounter throws him into the path of Essex boy Darian Taylor. By his own admission, Darian isn't the crispest lettuce in the fridge, but he makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it's like to step beyond the boundaries of anxiety. But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can't see past the glitter to the light. Can a man who doesn't trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can a man who doesn't believe in happiness ever fight for his own?
Tags
Series
Featured Series
4 primary books6 released books#1 in Spires Universe
Spires Universe is a 6-book series with 4 released primary works first released in 2013 with contributions by Alexis Hall.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Alexis always writes mental health so well. He always makes me feel not alone in the darkness, and gives just the right amount of hope that it might be a bit better or at least manageable in the future.
I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. I think it requires a certain taste, and it's just not my thing. The two main turn-offs for me were the writing style and the characterization of Darian. This book is saturated with similes and metaphors, to the point that they completely distracted me from the story and interrupted the flow of the writing. I like to become immersed and lose myself in what I'm reading, and I wasn't able to do that with this book.As for Darian, I just couldn't get into him. I know the author was trying to write his words in a way that helped the reader imagine the Essex dialect, but it just made him sound like a young child to me, which felt all kinds of wrong! He was also much too unintelligent for my tastes. I personally think Richard Rider wrote a much better romance between a working class, ridiculously dressed younger man and a reserved, posh, intelligent older man in [b:Stockholm Syndrome 9788080 Stockholm Syndrome (Stockholm Syndrome, #1) Richard Rider https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1291018502s/9788080.jpg 14678106]. Pip is similar to Darian, except he's got so much more depth of personality. Of course, his and Lindsay's relationship is completely twisted and deliciously wrong on so many levels, and I know that's not everyone's cup of tea. So if you love metaphors and find dense models adorable, you'll probably like this book. Otherwise, give Stockholm Syndrome a try :)
