{"id":13596,"date":"2020-11-21T18:14:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T23:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=13596"},"modified":"2022-08-14T09:01:35","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T13:01:35","slug":"his-mossy-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13596","title":{"rendered":"His Mossy Boy"},"content":{"rendered":"

His Mossy Boy<\/a><\/em> (2017) R. Cooper<\/a> (Beings in Love)<\/p>\n

\"His<\/a>This story has problems, most of which are editing related.<\/p>\n

But I was also unable to put it down.<\/p>\n

Martin Dyer is a mess. He drinks too much and smokes too much weed in an attempt to escape from his brain and the pressure his mother places on him to be something he is not. What he is, is a barista who enjoys his job and loves working with this hands, making and fixing things.<\/p>\n

Martin sighed. \u201cLook, I don\u2019t just want to bake bread. I want to know how to bake all the kinds of bread. I want to, I don\u2019t know, do it in my own kitchen, which I have decorated how I want it\u2014 and I know you don\u2019t care how gay that sounds, but I can hear it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMartin, I don\u2019t\u2014\u201d Joe tried to interrupt. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can make my own oven mitts, Joe. I can crochet. The only thing keeping me from growing my own vegetables is the fact that I don\u2019t have a yard. I can sand and stain wood, fix locks, do basic plumbing, and I think vinegar can be used to clean almost anything. I would consider murdering someone for a decent mixer or a sewing machine. I collect recipes as if I have anyone to cook for, and the other day, I bought patterns for Halloween costumes for kids. Kids, Joe! You can say it. I\u2019m strange.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He is sweet and kind and loyal, but completely unable to deal with the thoughts and ideas that ricochet around his mind, crashing into one another and the ideal person his mother built up, which he will never be.<\/p>\n

Martin bit his lip, hard, and breathed through his nose, trying to slow down the panicky beat of his heart. The sensation wasn\u2019t unfamiliar. He\u2019d just never realized what this was before, that a person could have tiny little bursts of terror from only a few words.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The strongest, most compelling part of the story for me, is Martin’s struggle with his anxiety. He keeps trying to escape who he is, but of course he can’t, and that leads him to make many terrible choices.<\/p>\n

But he also has good friends who, although trying to deal with their own problems, step up when they need to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you\u2019d be mad at me.\u201d Martin was quiet. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am, kind of.\u201d Joe kept his gaze on the door. \u201cBut you seem mad at yourself already, so, how about I just\u2026 be here, right now?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also, there is Deputy Ian Forrester, who comes into the coffee shop every day, and who Martin is trying very hard not to notice. Or pay attention to. Or stare at.<\/p>\n

The story switches between Martin and Ian, but (obviously) I liked Martin’s story best.<\/p>\n

This is a wrenching story if you’ve struggled with mental health, but seeing Martin be accepted for who is, despite all the failings he keeps cataloging, is just lovely.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

His Mossy Boy (2017) R. Cooper (Beings in Love) This story has problems, most of which are editing related. But I was also unable to put it down. Martin Dyer is a mess. He drinks too much and smokes too much weed in an attempt to escape from his brain and the pressure his mother […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[194,292,2,207,148,26,56,16],"tags":[210,50,544,200],"class_list":["post-13596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-5-10","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-mental-health-rep","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-supernatural","tag-anxiety","tag-boinking","tag-mm","tag-r-cooper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3xi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20765,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20765","url_meta":{"origin":13596,"position":0},"title":"The Other Side of the Roses","author":"Michelle","date":"September 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Other Side of the Roses (2017) R. Cooper Sami is content to live at home, while working as an aide in a nursing home. But he worries his family is disappointed in him. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ve already met my future husband,\u201d he lamented. \u201cMaybe he said \u2018There is Sami, who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Other Side of the Roses","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/The-Other-Side-of-the-Roses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13589,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13589","url_meta":{"origin":13596,"position":1},"title":"A Boy and His Dragon","author":"Michelle","date":"November 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Boy and His Dragon (2013) R. Cooper I was perusing ebooks on sale and came across an R Cooper fantasy romance. Then I saw that it was available from the library. So I checked it out. And then realized they didn't have the kindle edition so I had to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Boy and His Dragon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/A-Boy-and-His-Dragon.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24318,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24318","url_meta":{"origin":13596,"position":2},"title":"Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut","author":"Michelle","date":"March 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Jericho Candelario's Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper \u201cHey.\u201d Susanna\u2019s voice was sharp. \u201cYou mean a lot to me. Stop thinking whatever you\u2019re thinking.\u201d Lincoln must have been snacking on frosting all day and gone without real, solid food. His eyes were very bright. The words in those books weren\u2019t always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jericho Candelarios Gay Debut","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jericho-Candelarios-Gay-Debut.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14269,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14269","url_meta":{"origin":13596,"position":3},"title":"For Better or Worse","author":"Michelle","date":"May 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For Better or Worse (2017) R. Cooper Everything looks like friendly teasing if you don\u2019t know what sexual tension is. I get confused.\u201d To this day he could remember the exact feeling of relief at discovering terms like demisexual and gray ace, and his immediate need to know more, and\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":"For Better or Worse","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/For-Better-or-Worse.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24931,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24931","url_meta":{"origin":13596,"position":4},"title":"For Better or Worse","author":"Michelle","date":"September 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"For Better or Worse (2017) R. Cooper (Montgomery Firefighters #2) Jimmy had been a boxer during his years of community college, and it showed in his face and how he moved. He was graceful but rarely still, and he watched everything as if a punch might come from any direction\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"For Better or Worse","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/For-Better-or-Worse-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3012,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3012","url_meta":{"origin":13596,"position":5},"title":"Fast Breads: 50 Recipes for Easy, Delicious Bread","author":"Michelle","date":"June 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Fast Breads: 50 Recipes for Easy, Delicious Bread (2010) Elinor Klivans and Susie Cushner As much as I love my Kindle, I can't say I've had much of a desire to read cookbooks on it. But this was a deal I could hardly resist, so I went for it. Yes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cookbook"","block_context":{"text":"Cookbook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/non-fiction\/cookbook"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fast Breads","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/fast-breads.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13596","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=13596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13596\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}