Book Review: Get Your Shine On – Nick Wilgus

Date of Publication: July 24, 2015
Genre and Themes: LGBTQ, Romance, Family Drama
Format: 330 pages, ebook
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 9781634763738
Cover Art: AngstyG.
Characters: Henry Hood, Sam Rakestraw, Ishmael Hood

Get Your Shine On obviously has the formula taken from the author’s The Sugar Tree series because of its setting in the South and the couple with a kid but it actually has its very own charm with humor that is so spot on, commentaries’ so blunt they’ll make you flinch and characters so vibrant its feels like you’re actually living their lives. I just loved everything about it! There are some plot points in the story that were a bit predictable but in a way that feels so natural to the story.

I loved Sam and Henry’s relationship! It’s quite realistic and I loved how they have their own careers and are making a home together and not caring one bit about the nasty naysayers in their little hometown. Oh, how I absolutely adore Ishy!!! What a sweetheart! I just want to adopt him! He’s a bit slow on the uptake sure but he’s still a kid after all and I loved how his voice was so consistent all throughout the story. It was easily predictable why he’s like that but at the same time, it’s still a bit horrifying to actually read it!

I enjoyed how fast-paced the story was and how each character made an impact in the story. And that beautiful, heartwarming ending was just beyond! Just perfection!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

About Nick Wilgus
I sold my first short story to The Horror Show Magazine at the age of seventeen and I’ve been writing ever since.

From murder mysteries to romantic comedies featuring gay couples, I’ve been channeling my dreams and demons for almost four decades. Along the way, I picked up a Lambda Award nomination, was named one of the best columnists in the state of Mississippi, and had an award-winning movie based on my first novel, MINDFULNESS AND MURDER.

A former newspaper editor, I’m a proud dad who lives in Tupelo, Mississippi right down the street from the house where Elvis grew up.