Book Bingo:Your Heart Was a Legend

Your Heart Was a Legend by Emily Nakanishi is only available as an ebook, unfortunately. I really prefer print, but it's only thirty-four pages, so I pulled through. [I was asked to read this by a friend. I probably would not have picked it up on my own, but my review is completely honest and not influenced by an outside source.] The novella centers around Frankie, a high-school senior who is coming to terms with his homosexuality. Before I read it, the piece was described to me as "gay romance," but that's not really what I found in reading it. While Frankie does wish he could admit his true feelings for Tobias, his best friend and semi-guardian, the primary focus of Your Heart Was a Legend is Frankie facing himself and deciding what he wants in life.

(picture taken from Torquere Books)

I could tell that this was Nakanishi's debut to publishing by the open phrasing and simple sentence structure. However, she often surprised me with unique word choices and spot-on dialogue that kept me intrigued. Considering how few pages there were to read, she did a fantastic job of drawing me into Frankie's world. I did have a little trouble understanding the ending, though. As someone who found love fairly early in life, I think, the idea of more than one person appealing to me at the same time doesn't quite calculate. Maybe it has less to do with when I found love and more to do with my personality. Whatever the reason, Nakanishi approaches the ending in a way I did not expect. My only real complaint with this novella is that it's so short! It's easy to see various opportunities with side characters that could have extended the piece and perhaps added even more dimension to the town the author has created. All-in-all, a very interesting, quick read.

This novella was my "New Release" read for the Book Bingo Challenge. So far I'm really happy with my progress! Thanks for checking back with me! Don't forget to subscribe and keep checking back for more great reads!