Book Tour for Wallflower by Heidi Belleau (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Hello hello! I’m Heidi Belleau, and all week I’m touring the interwebs promoting my new novel Wallflower, which is book two of my New Adult m/m series Rear Entrance Video, all about a group of roommates working at a seedy porn store. Every day this week I’ll be stopping by different blogs with new tidbits, behind-the-scenes info, and of course a contest! Read on!

Becoming Bobby.......

Today on the tour, I give you the inside scoop on how Rob becomes Bobby, his female alter-ego. All with links, so you can shop along!

Foundations:

Start with the lingerie: a lacy bra in an a-cup and functional (but still cute) control panties. Add silicone bra inserts for extra oomph. Surgical tape, for tucking.

Fashion:

Throw on a cute, feminine sweater or embellished,strategically volume-adding tee. Pair with cute skinny jeans, or if you’re feeling extra girly, a pleated skirt and comfy cotton tights. Finish with basic flats, pink Chuck Taylor high tops, or designer rain boots (it is Vancouver, after all!)

Beauty:

Clip in hair extensions, of course. CC cream for an easy foundation. Circle lenses for big anime eyes. Easy-peasy beginners eye-shadow palette in neutral shade. False eyelashes, for special occasions (like videochat with a certain someone!). A basic mascara for the rest of the time.A natural looking blush. And cute, coral lipgloss, of course!

Finish with an ultra girly headband (especially if you don’t have your extensions in—it turns your k-pop haircut feminine in a flash), and, of course, non-prescription glasses, for fake geek girl appeal.

Add in a couple buckets of self confidence, and voila!

This gamer geek has a lacy little secret.

Art student and MMORPG addict Robert Ng has always been a loner, but he's recently made it his goal to make more (IRL) friends. Which is how he winds up working nights at Rear Entrance Video, shilling sketchy porn and blowup dolls as a favor to his roommate. The longer he works there, though, the more he realizes he’ll never be truly happy until he becomes the person he is online: his female persona, Bobby.
Bobby is cuter and funnier than Rob is, and a thousand times more popular with boys. Becoming Bobby IRL presents its own set of challenges, though . . . especially when you're sitting on the fence between two genders, only one of which has caught the attention of your seriously cute customer/classmate.
Dylan Ford is a six-foot Inuit comic book artist who always says what’s on his mind, and screw anyone who doesn't like it. As rough as he appears, though, Dylan has a soft spot for Rob. But will out-and-proud Dylan still want Rob if he's not all man? 

Buy it now or read an excerpt at Riptide Publishing!

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

From beginning to end Wallflower keeps putting readers through the emotional wringer just as much as its conflicted main character Rob as he struggles with who he really is.  Ms. Belleau presents a thought-provoking story that gives no easy answers but is memorable in its presentation giving us a cast of strong-willed characters just trying to find happiness.

As the story starts the quiet and unassuming Rob shows signs of having social anxiety and a gaming addiction.  Sensing he's becoming lost in this other world has him trying to engage others in real life with varying degrees of success.  It's not until he slowly and secretly starts to embrace his feminine side of Bobby that he starts feeling free and gains the confidence to interact with others.  Even as he gains confidence though he experiences new and dangerous problems in his feminine persona that confuse him even more as to who and what he needs to be happy.  Into this emotional upheaval comes a new boyfriend who is caring and supportive but clouds Rob's identity even further.  The issue of sexual identity isn't dealt with very often in literature and I commend Ms. Belleau for presenting it in such a caring, compassionate and believable way.  Rob is in a spiral of depression early on desperately wanting to be noticed and finds that dressing as a woman gets him noticed and complimented.  Learning the ins and outs of being a woman brought a smile to his face and his joy brought a smile to my face too.  At first it's a thrill for him, but then danger rears its ugly head through a vindictive preppy, and "being" a woman soon brings more complications that have him learning the art of compromise to be truly happy.

Helping Rob through all this are his roommates who we've seen in the previous book in this series.  They're a colorful group of men trying to deal with their own relationships but there for Rob when he needs them most, showering him with brotherly affection and physical protection when his life's in danger.  Rob's new boyfriend Dylan is an out-spoken breath of fresh air he calls it like he sees it.  He's out and proud and doesn't hold back going after Rob once he gets the signal.  He's a big teddy bear not afraid to show his caring side and wants nothing more from Rob than honesty as he's extremely open-minded and accepting.  I loved them together and was left frustrated by Rob's vanishing act when things got tough while applauding Dylan for his graciousness and understanding nature.

This is an immensely satisfying journey of one man's idea of identity.  It's emotionally intense with memorable characters.  Though an over-the-top event occurs late in the story it didn't diminish my satisfaction.  There were very few sexual interludes and what there was furthered the main couple's relationship and showed the power of love's acceptance.  Ms. Belleau has created another fine addition to her repertoire and fans of the m/m genre will find it intriguing.

My rating for this is a B+

*I received this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada, but now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband and daughter. She has a degree in history from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in British and Irish studies. Her writing reflects everything she loves: diverse casts of characters, a sense of history and place, equal parts witty and filthy dialogue, the occasional mythological twist, and most of all, love—in all its weird and wonderful forms. Visit her online at www.HeidiBelleau.com, or chat with her on twitter: @HeidiBelleau

**********GIVEAWAY**********

Win an e-copy of Rear Entrance Video #1: Apple Polisher!  All you have to do is leave a comment on this or any of the other Wallflower tour posts.  Each comment counts for another entry, so be sure to follow the entire tour.  Just make sure your comment includes a way for me to contact you, be it email, twitter, or facebook! (NO CONTACT INFO=NO ENTRY)  On October 27th,  I’ll randomly draw a winner from all the entries who will receive a copy of Apple Polisher in their choice of format.  Good luck!