Cover Image: TAD

TAD

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Member Reviews

It has been four years since this book was out so that’s my fault and I apologize unreservedly. Someday I hope to pick it up, when time and attention permit!

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This was an easy and fast paced book to read. I really enjoyed all the characters and was able to connect to them. I've never heard of the author before, but I will keep a look out on them for future publications.

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Funny, entertaining, but confusing. I loved the plot and the characters, but the development and the structure didn't work for me: they took me out of the reading over and over again. Good story, but wrong reader.

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Wonderful. I loved every minute. Exactly the type of story i enjoy. Will definitely be keeping an eye on this author.

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I had a lot of issues with this book, to be honest. The characters are all over the top, which isn't an issue in and of itself, but combined with the other little things it grated on me. The way it treated sexuality was incredibly bizarre to me, to be honest. The ending made things confusing and weird to me, to be honest. All in all, I just couldn't really get into it.

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That would have been a DNF if I did not get it as an ARC from Netgallery. I picked it for the cover and quickly regretted it. First, Tad is The Angel of Death (TAD) and is punished to become human. One of the main subplots is that he has no sexual desire until he becomes “human.” First off, the treatment of his lack of interest in sex by the other MC was offensive and did not treat being asexual as a valid form of human sexuality. This got even worse that when Tad became “human,” he suddenly had sexual desire since obviously, one could not be human without wanting sex. This is a damaging trope in books that to be asexual is to not be human. On top of that, the sexual assault at the bar was treated oddly and almost dismissively. The characters felt like caricatures and the plot was unnecessarily convoluted. The point with foreign policy and changing futures needed more nuance than it was given, so it just came across as a muddled political message. I also did not like the ending and feel that it cheapened the main relationship, but I will not spoil that here. Anyways, nice cover, harmful tropes and a mess of a plot.

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I really can't condone any book that has the blatant islamophobia to say they'd never understand why Bush didn't "blow up the entire Middle East" after 9/11. Excuse me?

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Tad and Doug were wonderful characters and they were surrounded my a great cast of supporting characters. I loved the found family aspect of the storyline and I enjoyed the twists and turns the characters go through.

I found the ending to be unexpected but still enjoyable, all in all I found the entire premise of the book very entertaining.

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley*

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Okay, this book was something else. The Angel of Death loves humans and tries to help them as much as they can. One Day, he meddles too much and because of this, he is punished to live like a human. After a year on the streets he meets Doug, a young man with his own problems, who decides to help him.
I have to say that I loved relationship between Tad and Doug. Their friendship was beautiful and pure. They teach each other how to be a good person. How to be human.
I really liked that even after so many years Tad was still struggling sometimes. That he kept being so innocent and naive.
Now something I didn't really like. Plot twists. I can understand why, but sometimes I thought "naaah".
And, sadly, because of this, I didn't really like the ending.
But it was a good read, well enjoyed.

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This was a sweet story about angels, fate and human nature.

When Drag Queen and hairstylist, Doug first meets Tad it seems random. Tad is on a bench, weeping, guilty over the events of 9/1. The reason he is guilty is because he’s an Angel of death. He manipulated the events of 9/11 as much as he was able to try and save as many people as he could. Unfortunately, that runs against the rules of “heaven” and he is punished by being banished to a life on earth.

Doug is a sweet man and takes Tad under his wing. Of course, Doug knows nothing of Tad’s past life. ?Doug believes that Tad might be a pilot who was traumatized (just like everyone else) by the terrorism.

The two becomes friends, attempt to be lovers, discover they are better as friends and move on with their lives.

The story becomes more complex once Tad is visited by his angelic friends and warned that he is changing the future course of Earth by existing on earth.

I really liked the idea of a chosen family that develops throughout the course of the story. Doug isn’t living the best life when he first meets Tad and together, they find their way towards a family of choice. Of course, it has its ups and downs, but ultimately their lives are better for finding one another. I’ve read a few of Neu’s books before, and he always does a great job at characterization.

In particular,I loved the way Neu wrote about Doug’s issues with his own body. In the society we live in, Doug’s embarrassment and discomfort with his body seem like something we need to be able to read more about! We need to be able to live in a world in which there are books where many different body types are celebrated and accepted as part of our natural variety. Kudos to Neu for that!

Some of the ideas were a bit too “fairy tale” for me. But, I’m not a particularly spiritual person, so I struggled a bit with suspending my disblief. I do love the sentiment behind the story though! I also feel that this novel was written as a memorial by Neu and I think that is a remarkable way to honor someone.

This was a light read with heavy emotional moments so 3 stars from me!

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3.5*

This was a wonderful story with an interesting perspective on society, fate, mortality and angels. We follow Tad (The Angel of Death) who has been sent to Earth as a punishment for helping, and Doug- a human with a big heart who loves to drink, party and perform as Enshannon (his drag persona).
Tad and Doug build up a brilliant and wonderful relationship and friendship over the course of the book and are fiercely loyal to one and other, Tad is even more protective of Doug.

Throughout the book there are many twists and turns due to alterations in life and fate and the reader can never guess what the consequences may be! However, the friendships mostly remain strong throughout and maintains a strong theme in the novel of love and acceptance. With such diverse characters you can't help but love them and feel for them, M.D Neu creates wonderfully realistic characters and portrays their struggles In life accurately.
The LGBTQ+ aspects of this book are well written and the characters well developed. The positive message portrayed for these characters are ones we desperately need, and the serious messages are made all too clear.

The supernatural aspects are interesting and enjoyable- but I just felt that something was missing, perhaps due to the lack of world development. However, we do get to see the way Fate works and why the Angel of Death must behave in a certain way and this was very fun and interesting.

The ending was a twist that-depending on how well you were paying attention- is unexpected and heart-warming, though not the ending you would probably expect.

(Trigger warnings for suicide, 9/11, sexual assault, attempted rape)

*I was provided with an advance digital copy by netgalley/publisher (Ninestar press) in exchange for an honest review)*

Review posted oon Goodreads/ with link to goodreads posted on my twitter @BookreviewsKb

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