{"id":13528,"date":"2020-10-27T18:43:28","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T22:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=13528"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:25:13","slug":"glitterland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13528","title":{"rendered":"Glitterland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glitterland<\/a><\/em> (2018) Alexis Hall<\/a> (Spires)<\/p>\n

\"Glitterland\"<\/a>I kept reading the synopsis of this story and thinking, “I don’t know if this is my kind of story.” But I utterly adored Boyfriend Material<\/a><\/em> as well as Waiting for the Flood<\/a><\/em>, so I decided to try it.<\/p>\n

It opens with a the aftermath of a one-night-stand and the main character, Ash, having a panic attack.<\/p>\n

And a blow up with one of his best friends–and ex-boyfriend.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod,\u201d I said, petulant as a child, \u201cif I\u2019m such a horrendous waste of your time, why do you bother?\u201d <\/p>\n

Once upon a time he might have said: Because I love you. <\/p>\n

Once upon a time he might have said: Because I care about you. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I feel guilty all the fucking time,\u201d he snapped. \u201cAnd because the last time I didn\u2019t bother, you tried to kill yourself.\u201d <\/p>\n

The words echoed through my head. I tugged at my cuffs, pulling them down until they hung over the heels of my hand. One of the unadvertised advantages of bespoke tailoring. All my shirts were cut this way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So Ash is a mess. He’s trying–sort of–but he’s a mess.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d fuck up and let them down, they\u2019d feel sad, I\u2019d feel sad, they\u2019d feel sad for making me feel sad, and so on, and so on, and so on. As if I didn\u2019t bear enough frustration and regret on my own account, without also feeling guilty for hurting the people who loved me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That hit close to home.<\/p>\n

One of the things I especially loved is that nothing was as clear cut and easy as it seemed. Ash’s memory is a mess from his treatments, and he’s terrified of going back over the edge.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t have called myself a superstitious man, but when it came to the intricacies of my biochemistry, the complexities of my illness, I was as helpless as a frightened child who prayed to a god called science.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s something else I have lived. And it sucks.<\/p>\n

But it’s not all angst. There are lovely funny bits. <\/p>\n

“Greg and Laura are getting divorced so they both decided not to come in case they met without a lawyer present. Although since Max knows about eighty lawyers, I don\u2019t know what they were worried about.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which is good because they helped offset the bits that made me cry.<\/p>\n

The other thing I adored is the language. I think I want to hear the audio version, because I am not up on my British accents, and although he did an excellent job writing how much of an accent Darian has, I still kinda wanna hear it.<\/p>\n

Again, lovely. A bit more angsty than I was prepared for (because it’s 2020, so it’s all fluff all the time) but the funny bits worked well to offset the hard parts.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Glitterland (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) I kept reading the synopsis of this story and thinking, “I don’t know if this is my kind of story.” But I utterly adored Boyfriend Material as well as Waiting for the Flood, so I decided to try it. It opens with a the aftermath of a one-night-stand and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,292,207,510,148,26,56,934],"tags":[227,50,211,544,513],"class_list":["post-13528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-ebook","category-mental-health-rep","category-own-voices","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-trigger-warnings","tag-alexis-hall","tag-boinking","tag-depression","tag-mm","tag-suicide"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3wc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14138,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14138","url_meta":{"origin":13528,"position":0},"title":"Waiting for the Flood","author":"Michelle","date":"March 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Waiting for the Flood (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) If you've read Alexis Hall, you may think you know what to expect from this story. Chances are you are completely wrong. It has been two years since Marius decided he was no longer in love with Edwin, and moved out of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Waiting for the Flood","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Waiting-for-the-Flood.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13604,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13604","url_meta":{"origin":13528,"position":1},"title":"Boyfriend Material","author":"Michelle","date":"November 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Boyfriend Material (2020) Alexis Hall I don't care that I just read this. I managed to hold off before re-reading, and then tore through it, no better able to put it down in a second read than it was on the first read. In fact, I'm lucky I didn't just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Boyfriend Material","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Boyfriend-Material.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13388,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13388","url_meta":{"origin":13528,"position":2},"title":"Boyfriend Material","author":"Michelle","date":"September 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Boyfriend Material (2020) Alexis Hall This story was an utter delight. I started it mid afternoon, and pretty much didn't set it down until I'd finished it--past my bedtime. Luc O'Donnell is a mess. Because both of his parents were semi-famous musicians, he's always been in the eye of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Boyfriend Material","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Boyfriend-Material.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20577,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20577","url_meta":{"origin":13528,"position":3},"title":"Husband Material","author":"Michelle","date":"August 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Husband Material (2022) Alexis Hall (London Calling) Although the characters are the same, this is a very different book from Boyfriend Material. Which I utterly adored. That doesn't mean this book wasn't excellent, just that you need to go into it with different expectations. First and foremost, Alexis Hall said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Husband Material","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Husband_Material.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Husband_Material.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Husband_Material.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25817,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25817","url_meta":{"origin":13528,"position":4},"title":"Something Spectacular","author":"Michelle","date":"February 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Something Spectacular (2023) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous #2) I was somewhat hesitant to read this book as I thought it was Arabella's book, and I'm not sure I can handle an entire book with her as the main characters (Bonny was difficult enough and that book wasn't from his point-of-view)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Something Spectacular","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Something-Spectacular-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18481,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18481","url_meta":{"origin":13528,"position":5},"title":"Murder Most Actual","author":"Michelle","date":"November 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Murder Most Actual (2021) Alexis Hall Liza and Hannah are having a bit of struggle with their marriage. A struggle that Hannah tried to help by scheduling a vacation for just the two of them: no internet, no cell services, just the two of them in the wilds of Scotland.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Murder Most Actual","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Murder-Most-Actual.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}