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A Decade of Visions
Born to a single mother in Dust Bowl-era Nebraska, Roy Manger learns to deny his true self from an early age. The rural Midwest is no place for a boy who wears girls’ clothes for fun—let alone for one who suffers gruesome hallucinations. It is only when he leaves home that he can embrace his true identity, spending his days as Roy and his nights as Raina, working as an escort in a ritzy Chicago bordello. But after a run-in with the law, Roy is torn between extremes: to live as a man or as a woman; to ignore his grief or struggle to accept it; to suppress his visions or seek to understand them. With the support of Woodrow, a convict with a murky past, Roy will have to come to terms with the fact that, in life, all of the greatest joys must come from within—and the greatest dangers, too.
This is a work of literary/genre fiction.
This is a work of literary/genre fiction.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 21, 2016
55 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Ramses
1 book33 followersCameron Ramses is an American writer living in France. Most days he can be found sitting upright and feeling appalled. In addition to writing, he also runs a French pastry Instagram. Follow him: brioche_boy
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 6, 2016
This author is new to me and I liked his smooth style. Set in the dust bowl days of the 1920s in Nebraska, the story follows Roy, a young gay man trying to find himself. Leaving the harsh life in Nebraska, Roy finds himself as a classy prostitute in a Chicago brothel. Adventure calls in the form of Woodrow and the two return to Roy's family home with Woodrow still heading west. This is an interesting and different coming of age story set in an an era that many people did not live through. Roy's adventures will make you chuckle and may even disturb you but you will remember them.
July 27, 2016
Wow! This one is definitely not an easy book to review. When I am thinking about A Decade Of Vision, the only word that comes to mind is unusual. I mean that in a good way, though. It is not a typical love story, I don’t even know if it can qualify under romance. It is a novel that is taking us directly into the world of Roy/Raina and how he/she cope with schizophrenia.
I really struggled to get through the first part of the story (when Roy was 12 years old). I told myself I will get to the next section and I will see if I keep on reading. I am so glad that I did. If it hasn't been for that first part, I would have given this book a strong 5 stars. It is original, emotional and unique.
Roy is a 19 years old gay man. His sexual identity is quite tricky: he is not feeling totally as a man nor as a woman. Therefore, he is navigating between living his life as a man : Roy and sometimes he is living as a woman and he calls herself Raina. When he arrived in Chicago he did not have any money and not enough skills to get a traditional job. He became a prostitute in a brothel and he is doing it strictly under Raina personality. When one of his high profile customers wasn't aware that he was a man, he was in a fury and Raina found herself in jail. That’s where she met Woodrow, a young black man that flew out Alabama and its slavery.
At some point in the story (it happened twice), we were reading about Roy and Roy’s mom story. It was a dialog between 2 characters, but the author chose not to voice the other characters remarks. As if we were reading a script. the author was commenting instead of giving us a dialog. Here is an example of what was done : “Woodrow interrupted with a question”, but we don’t get to know which one. That drove me nuts and I was not totally sold on the idea.
The story is taking us into Roy journey from his customers in the brothel to his decision to leave Chicago and go back to his home in Nebraska. We witness Roy when he is losing touch with reality and has his hallucinations. It is a journey into a schizophrenic mind. There is nothing shocking there, it just helps us to understand how Roy is coping with it every day of his life. The story is set in 1935; the author was able to grasp that essence of that era and translate it into his writing. The ending was spectacular and at that point, I understood why he chose to begin the story the way he did.
If you are looking for a book outside the box this one will be for you. It is raw and authentic, you will not find sunshine and lollipop in there. If you struggle with the first part as I did, please continue to read the book, you won’t be disappointed.
*I was gifted this book by Jeep Diva in exchange for an honest review.
I really struggled to get through the first part of the story (when Roy was 12 years old). I told myself I will get to the next section and I will see if I keep on reading. I am so glad that I did. If it hasn't been for that first part, I would have given this book a strong 5 stars. It is original, emotional and unique.
Roy is a 19 years old gay man. His sexual identity is quite tricky: he is not feeling totally as a man nor as a woman. Therefore, he is navigating between living his life as a man : Roy and sometimes he is living as a woman and he calls herself Raina. When he arrived in Chicago he did not have any money and not enough skills to get a traditional job. He became a prostitute in a brothel and he is doing it strictly under Raina personality. When one of his high profile customers wasn't aware that he was a man, he was in a fury and Raina found herself in jail. That’s where she met Woodrow, a young black man that flew out Alabama and its slavery.
At some point in the story (it happened twice), we were reading about Roy and Roy’s mom story. It was a dialog between 2 characters, but the author chose not to voice the other characters remarks. As if we were reading a script. the author was commenting instead of giving us a dialog. Here is an example of what was done : “Woodrow interrupted with a question”, but we don’t get to know which one. That drove me nuts and I was not totally sold on the idea.
The story is taking us into Roy journey from his customers in the brothel to his decision to leave Chicago and go back to his home in Nebraska. We witness Roy when he is losing touch with reality and has his hallucinations. It is a journey into a schizophrenic mind. There is nothing shocking there, it just helps us to understand how Roy is coping with it every day of his life. The story is set in 1935; the author was able to grasp that essence of that era and translate it into his writing. The ending was spectacular and at that point, I understood why he chose to begin the story the way he did.
If you are looking for a book outside the box this one will be for you. It is raw and authentic, you will not find sunshine and lollipop in there. If you struggle with the first part as I did, please continue to read the book, you won’t be disappointed.
*I was gifted this book by Jeep Diva in exchange for an honest review.
May 21, 2016
I received a copy of this title to read and review for Wicked Reads
4 Stars.
Cameron Ramses is a new-to-me author.
To be quite honest, I have absolutely no idea how to review A Decade of Visions, or how to rate it either. All I can say is it was unexpected, original, intriguing yet confusing, and in a niche genre unto itself. So while I don't want to steer anyone away from reading it, I fear those looking for a mainstream MM romance will be confused. While those who 'get it', which I was one of them, will find it a very unique read.
The book itself is broken up into sections, beginning early in Roy's life at age 12. Honesty rearing its ugly head again, the beginning was not a hook for me. I struggled something fierce, but the story itself kept me engaged. Most of the scenes setting up the book were odd- the whole book was odd, truly- but these were odder than odd. There was some head-hopping, so I had a hard time keeping up with whether or not it was Roy, his mother, the various members of the vet's family. It was just back and forth in a very odd fashion. So when 'book 2' came about, I was seriously doubting whether or not I would continue. But I stuck with it.
Truthfully, when I came to the page that said Book 2, I got on Goodreads to make sure this wasn't an anthology of short stories, because I was beyond confused. In this instance, Book 2 was a jump in time- in other instances, it was no different than going from one chapter to the next.
Years later, in Chicago, Roy was Raina at this point, told by a man who would get 'Roy' arrested, where he meets the main love interest. In jail of all places. So while the delivery was inventive, it was still slightly dry. But, as I said, the story itself kept me going. Full circle- the reader is then thrust back to where we began- Nebraska.
Without giving the plot away, because I'm not sure how to explain it if I tried, I'll give out some key information. A Decade of Visions begins in the dust bowl in Nebraska, where a little boy is too sensitive. I'm not sure if you can call him gay, or transgender, as Roy himself says he feels like neither a boy or girl- he's just Roy or Raina, he or she, depending on how he is dressed. I did enjoy Roy/Raina.
Roy sees shadows of his dead loved ones- schizophrenia is mentioned, but those of faith would see it as seeing spirits. This is a large part of the storyline. It's not paranormal in nature, I need to add.
In a nutshell, the premise is unique, unlike anything I've ever read, but the writing style was just as odd- many conversations flowed like an interrogation, with paragraphs of 'telling' dialogue broken up with, "Roy asked a question." But the reader is left to guess what the question was by how the dialogue speaker answers. Then, as to break up the dialogue again, "Roy thought as much." "Roy asked another question." This happened frequently, and I found it jarring.
As for the blurb, which makes it sound like it's a sexy, running from the law type of read... 10% was in the bordello, with not much of anything dealing with the world's oldest profession. All between the sheets action is fade to black. The other 90% was as dark and depressive as Nebraska during the dust bowl.
I'm not saying the book won't stick with me, or that the characters weren't developed or intriguing. Just that A Decade of Visions doesn't read as the blurb made it sound, and I felt I better issue that as a warning. Because from the following, you'd expect a sexy, exciting read. For a reader like me, who enjoys books which don't follow the norm, I was entertained. For someone expecting what the blurb is offering, they may get a bit bent out of shape with their review/ratings.
Blurb: Born to a single mother in Dust Bowl-era Nebraska, Roy Manger learns to deny his true self from an early age. The rural Midwest is no place for a boy who wears girls’ clothes for fun—let alone for one who suffers gruesome hallucinations. It is only when he leaves home that he can embrace his true identity, spending his days as Roy and his nights as Raina, working as an escort in a ritzy Chicago bordello. But after a run-in with the law, Roy is torn between extremes: to live as a man or as a woman; to ignore his grief or struggle to accept it; to suppress his visions or seek to understand them. With the support of Woodrow, a convict with a murky past, Roy will have to come to terms with the fact that, in life, all of the greatest joys must come from within—and the greatest dangers, too.
4 Stars.
Cameron Ramses is a new-to-me author.
To be quite honest, I have absolutely no idea how to review A Decade of Visions, or how to rate it either. All I can say is it was unexpected, original, intriguing yet confusing, and in a niche genre unto itself. So while I don't want to steer anyone away from reading it, I fear those looking for a mainstream MM romance will be confused. While those who 'get it', which I was one of them, will find it a very unique read.
The book itself is broken up into sections, beginning early in Roy's life at age 12. Honesty rearing its ugly head again, the beginning was not a hook for me. I struggled something fierce, but the story itself kept me engaged. Most of the scenes setting up the book were odd- the whole book was odd, truly- but these were odder than odd. There was some head-hopping, so I had a hard time keeping up with whether or not it was Roy, his mother, the various members of the vet's family. It was just back and forth in a very odd fashion. So when 'book 2' came about, I was seriously doubting whether or not I would continue. But I stuck with it.
Truthfully, when I came to the page that said Book 2, I got on Goodreads to make sure this wasn't an anthology of short stories, because I was beyond confused. In this instance, Book 2 was a jump in time- in other instances, it was no different than going from one chapter to the next.
Years later, in Chicago, Roy was Raina at this point, told by a man who would get 'Roy' arrested, where he meets the main love interest. In jail of all places. So while the delivery was inventive, it was still slightly dry. But, as I said, the story itself kept me going. Full circle- the reader is then thrust back to where we began- Nebraska.
Without giving the plot away, because I'm not sure how to explain it if I tried, I'll give out some key information. A Decade of Visions begins in the dust bowl in Nebraska, where a little boy is too sensitive. I'm not sure if you can call him gay, or transgender, as Roy himself says he feels like neither a boy or girl- he's just Roy or Raina, he or she, depending on how he is dressed. I did enjoy Roy/Raina.
Roy sees shadows of his dead loved ones- schizophrenia is mentioned, but those of faith would see it as seeing spirits. This is a large part of the storyline. It's not paranormal in nature, I need to add.
In a nutshell, the premise is unique, unlike anything I've ever read, but the writing style was just as odd- many conversations flowed like an interrogation, with paragraphs of 'telling' dialogue broken up with, "Roy asked a question." But the reader is left to guess what the question was by how the dialogue speaker answers. Then, as to break up the dialogue again, "Roy thought as much." "Roy asked another question." This happened frequently, and I found it jarring.
As for the blurb, which makes it sound like it's a sexy, running from the law type of read... 10% was in the bordello, with not much of anything dealing with the world's oldest profession. All between the sheets action is fade to black. The other 90% was as dark and depressive as Nebraska during the dust bowl.
I'm not saying the book won't stick with me, or that the characters weren't developed or intriguing. Just that A Decade of Visions doesn't read as the blurb made it sound, and I felt I better issue that as a warning. Because from the following, you'd expect a sexy, exciting read. For a reader like me, who enjoys books which don't follow the norm, I was entertained. For someone expecting what the blurb is offering, they may get a bit bent out of shape with their review/ratings.
Blurb: Born to a single mother in Dust Bowl-era Nebraska, Roy Manger learns to deny his true self from an early age. The rural Midwest is no place for a boy who wears girls’ clothes for fun—let alone for one who suffers gruesome hallucinations. It is only when he leaves home that he can embrace his true identity, spending his days as Roy and his nights as Raina, working as an escort in a ritzy Chicago bordello. But after a run-in with the law, Roy is torn between extremes: to live as a man or as a woman; to ignore his grief or struggle to accept it; to suppress his visions or seek to understand them. With the support of Woodrow, a convict with a murky past, Roy will have to come to terms with the fact that, in life, all of the greatest joys must come from within—and the greatest dangers, too.
September 15, 2016
2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: A Decade of Visions by Cameron Ramses
1) Unusual, intriguing, very different style and narrative; beautiful in all its shadows.
2) This book feels more like gay lit than true romance – the arc is strongly related to the setting, as it relates to the development of the main character who is genderfluid, or perhaps M2F. There is a fascinating historical feel, a very interesting psychology, and some delving into the mind of a character with more than their share of questions and demons. There is a love story here, but the romantic element does not feel like the focus. Recommended for those who like something different and particularly appreciate a focus on character thoughts and personal changes.
1) Unusual, intriguing, very different style and narrative; beautiful in all its shadows.
2) This book feels more like gay lit than true romance – the arc is strongly related to the setting, as it relates to the development of the main character who is genderfluid, or perhaps M2F. There is a fascinating historical feel, a very interesting psychology, and some delving into the mind of a character with more than their share of questions and demons. There is a love story here, but the romantic element does not feel like the focus. Recommended for those who like something different and particularly appreciate a focus on character thoughts and personal changes.
May 26, 2016
3.5 rounded up.
Review coming in a bit.
Review coming in a bit.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews