A very rare situation is happening today at Love Bytes reviews.

All 4 reviews today got the maximum rating of 5 hearts!

As I said this is very rare for us and when I found out I thought let’s do something nice for our readers.

Comment on all 4 of the reviews and give us your opinion if you have read the book or tell us why

you would like to read the book, and one randomly selected commenter will win one of the 4 books reviewed today.

Good Luck 🙂

Reviewed by Carissa

 

TITLE:  The Lightning-Struck Heart

AUTHOR:  T.J. Klune

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:  400 pages

BLURB:  

Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.

Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam’s pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King’s Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.

When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.

At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.

Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can’t control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan’s boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.

Or so he thinks.

REVIEW:  

I lowered myself to the ground and lay on my back in the grass. The night sky above was clear and bright, and while the moon was beautiful, yes, I had never been drawn to it. Not like the stars.

I had wished upon them as a child and had wished upon them as an adult. It was upon these stars that I had rested my hopes and dreams, my anger and frustrations. I wished because as a child, that’s what you’re supposed to do. You don’t know any better. I wished because as an adult, sometimes you don’t know what else to do. You know better, but you don’t care.

I could see the constellations of my childhood, and the stories that came with them: David’s Dragon. The Lightning-Struck Man. The Pegasus. Vhan’s Fury.

I hadn’t spoken to any of them in a very long time.

I said, “I don’t know what to do.”

Because I didn’t.

I honestly don’t know how to describe this book.

Ok…imagine you are a plucky young wizard(‘s apprentice) whose best friends are alternately a hornless gay unicorn who is the master of sass and a half-giant who has a tendency to smash things and take off his pants. You got that? Good. Now imagine you, plucky young wizard(‘s apprentice) you are, are insanely in love with the dashing and immaculate Knight Commander, and everyone knows it (except the dashing and immaculate Knight Commander). But unfortunately for you, Ryan, who is a DICK (Dashing and Immaculate Commander of Knights) is totally getting his ass (and the rest of himself) married to the crown prince, Justin (who’s a mothercracker). This is a travesty because clearly anyone who ships Rystin is a stupid-head and your muffins are not dry!

But you will not let this defeat you. You are a strong, independent wizard and you don’t need no DICKs to make you awesome!

Then the dragon attacks. And boy does he that suck. Because while the only thing of value taken is Justin-the-horrible, the King (who is a total KILF) kinda needs him back. For like reasons. Or something. So he sends you, your two best friends…and the love of your non-love-life, Ryan, to go save him from the ravaging beast. Oh joy.

And that’s the story of The Lightning-Struck Heart. Sort of. TA-DA! *jazz hands*

Is it normal to be in a constant state of what the fuck with these three? I feel like that’s normal.”

“Yes,” Morgan said. “Every day. All the time. Some days, you even think you’re getting used to it only to realize you’re not.”

Oh dear lord, but I did love this book. It was by far the most hilarious, most odd, and most damn fun I have had reading in some time. When I first saw that T.J. Klune had written another book I was all for reading it, and I totally jumped on snagging the review copy for Love Bytes, but I have to say I had no idea what I had gotten myself in for. The blurb is…well, frankly it is a little odd. Well, until you read the book, and then it all makes perfect sense. But me from a month ago had no idea what was in store for me.

I don’t think anyone can ever really know what is in store for them in this book. And that is perfect.

There is no way to describe the sheer absurdity that is Sam of Wilds and his merry band of loveable, if crazy, sidekicks. A lot that happens in this books is just nuts–and so damn hilarious I nearly fell out of my computer chair laughing. But despite how damn funny it was, it was also incredibly compelling and real. Which, yeah, hornless gay unicorn and sex-pervert of a dragon…not exactly standard-bearers of reality. But, my god, can T.J. Klune write to tear your heart out. Even as you are laughing, you can’t help but cry over Sam and Ryan. I feel I should take issue with the fact that I had to cry at all while reading this book. One should not have to feel as if their heart is being pulled out their chest by a book that had a song called ‘Cheesy Dicks and Candlesticks’–that I’m still humming three days after finishing the book.

I would like to lodge a complaint! (Mostly that this book had to end.)

So much goes on in this book, and I would love to talk about it, but I don’t think I can. Not without ruining some of the magic of the story for you. This book has to be read to be believed. And loved. Loved so very much. This quickly became my favorite story from Klune (and I have to say that is a pretty hard battle to win). There is so much heart, so much life, in these characters and they are well worth every single one of the 400 pages, and the hours it took me to read them, in this novel.

For all that I went in thinking that this book could not possibly work–that the characters were to outrageous, that the language was too modern, that the love would be too common–it’s not. It is just right. And I am in desperate need of more.

Five hearts. Because of reasons.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner

Amazon

ARe