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Misadventurous
Misadventure awaits the daring and the uncaring. A misadventure has no apparent purpose. Only a misadventurer can understand why they choose a certain misadventure. To be misadventurous is to be selfish. Being misadventurous requires a sacrifice of reputation. The size of the sacrifice depends on the extent of the misadventure. For a misadventurer, reputation is of no concern. A misadventurer's only concern is doing something memorable. Something worth talking about. Percy has been mistreated and misinformed for most of his childhood. His mother has moulded him into someone she wants him to be. Only through experiences out of the sight of his mother's eye does he discover there's more to life than what he's been taught. He discovers that the future his mother has been building is not for him. By being misadventurous, Percy sets out to create his own future.
540 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2015
3 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
S.A. Tawks
15 books16 followersS. A. Tawks currently resides in Queensland, Australia. Some favourite enjoyments include the great outdoors, travelling and anything creative.
Works include The Spirit Series and the crime novels Mule, Misadventurous, Hacks, Double Feature & Skinflick. Other works include The Norfolk Solution and the story collection Life, Death, Money & Other Monsters.
Works include The Spirit Series and the crime novels Mule, Misadventurous, Hacks, Double Feature & Skinflick. Other works include The Norfolk Solution and the story collection Life, Death, Money & Other Monsters.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 2, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.
This was an interesting book. I would be tempted to classify it as a YA if it weren't for the very detailed and very frequent descriptions of sex.
This is the story of Percy, a 17-year-old Brisbane boy who has a chance encounter with a group of boys at a party that changes his life. He is introduced to the idea of being misadventurous, which basically means acting on almost any impulse you have for the sake of acting on the impulse. Percy rapidly goes from being a perfect student without much of a life outside of study to being a miscreant that sets mailboxes on fire and runs around Brisbane most of the night smoking and/or making out with his girlfriend.
The story is well-paced and never drags. Percy's journey remains interesting throughout the book. The characters are interesting and Percy is (realistically) driven by rebellion and the desire to have sex for most of the book, which seems credible for a teen with the sort of freedom he suddenly has.
Many of the characters are a bit one-note, and to be honest, if I never read the phrase "I never saw him/her again" ever, it'll be too soon for me. Percy has around 6-7 encounters with new people that end in this way, and at one point it started to get irritating.
A minor irritant was that some typos had evaded the editor and took me right out of the book (I noted these and will add a quick list to the bottom of this review in case the author wants to locate and fix them for a future edition).
I also did not find the character voices particularly distinguishable. Percy always sounded a bit robotic and simplistic in his speech pattern (which may be intentional, so I got accustomed to it) but any intelligent conversations he has with people end up sounding like Percy logically constructing and deconstructing arguments with himself. None of the other minor characters has particularly distinguishable voices to me either, especially ones that are clearly foreigners and should be distinguishable from a teenage Brisbane boy's voice.
Overall, this was a decently paced book. Expect a lot of descriptions of sex, many details about survival and encounters with dodgy people. The story is interesting enough and the main character is neither likable nor unlikeable, which may be intentional. I would recommend this as a quick and easy summer read.
Typos:
* "burry" instead of bury
* "every know and then"
This was an interesting book. I would be tempted to classify it as a YA if it weren't for the very detailed and very frequent descriptions of sex.
This is the story of Percy, a 17-year-old Brisbane boy who has a chance encounter with a group of boys at a party that changes his life. He is introduced to the idea of being misadventurous, which basically means acting on almost any impulse you have for the sake of acting on the impulse. Percy rapidly goes from being a perfect student without much of a life outside of study to being a miscreant that sets mailboxes on fire and runs around Brisbane most of the night smoking and/or making out with his girlfriend.
The story is well-paced and never drags. Percy's journey remains interesting throughout the book. The characters are interesting and Percy is (realistically) driven by rebellion and the desire to have sex for most of the book, which seems credible for a teen with the sort of freedom he suddenly has.
Many of the characters are a bit one-note, and to be honest, if I never read the phrase "I never saw him/her again" ever, it'll be too soon for me. Percy has around 6-7 encounters with new people that end in this way, and at one point it started to get irritating.
A minor irritant was that some typos had evaded the editor and took me right out of the book (I noted these and will add a quick list to the bottom of this review in case the author wants to locate and fix them for a future edition).
I also did not find the character voices particularly distinguishable. Percy always sounded a bit robotic and simplistic in his speech pattern (which may be intentional, so I got accustomed to it) but any intelligent conversations he has with people end up sounding like Percy logically constructing and deconstructing arguments with himself. None of the other minor characters has particularly distinguishable voices to me either, especially ones that are clearly foreigners and should be distinguishable from a teenage Brisbane boy's voice.
Overall, this was a decently paced book. Expect a lot of descriptions of sex, many details about survival and encounters with dodgy people. The story is interesting enough and the main character is neither likable nor unlikeable, which may be intentional. I would recommend this as a quick and easy summer read.
Typos:
* "burry" instead of bury
* "every know and then"
November 15, 2017
Misadventurous follows our character, Percy, on his journey from a "perfect" high school student, to one that is rebellious and goes against what he has always been taught. He meets some guys at a party, and he is told the concept of misadventure, which is doing what you want when you want, regardless if it is the "right" thing to do.
I really enjoyed the narrative, the places Percy traveled and some of the things he did. I finished this book in one day, so the narrative definitely kept me interested. What I found troubling, was that Percy seemed to pretty much stay the same, after his initial encounter with misadventure. He didn't have character growth, but he also didn't get worse, it was just... the same.
There are many explicit sex scenes in this book, and while I read a lot of romance novels, that doesn't bother me. The wording, though, was a bit strange for my taste. Everything was worded in a very educational way, if that makes sense. Like all parts and actions were described the same way they would be if you were in a sexual education class.
Many difficult topics were introduced in this novel, such as rape/molestation, drugs, homosexuality vs heterosexuality, tolerance, and some others. This is great to open conversation, but I feel that a couple of those were not brought in the best light.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I did find a few issues with it. Due to subject matter and the explicit sex scenes, I would not recommend this for readers under 18. I have also read Mule by this author and I enjoyed that one much more, so maybe start there?
*I was honored to receive this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my thoughts.*
I really enjoyed the narrative, the places Percy traveled and some of the things he did. I finished this book in one day, so the narrative definitely kept me interested. What I found troubling, was that Percy seemed to pretty much stay the same, after his initial encounter with misadventure. He didn't have character growth, but he also didn't get worse, it was just... the same.
There are many explicit sex scenes in this book, and while I read a lot of romance novels, that doesn't bother me. The wording, though, was a bit strange for my taste. Everything was worded in a very educational way, if that makes sense. Like all parts and actions were described the same way they would be if you were in a sexual education class.
Many difficult topics were introduced in this novel, such as rape/molestation, drugs, homosexuality vs heterosexuality, tolerance, and some others. This is great to open conversation, but I feel that a couple of those were not brought in the best light.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I did find a few issues with it. Due to subject matter and the explicit sex scenes, I would not recommend this for readers under 18. I have also read Mule by this author and I enjoyed that one much more, so maybe start there?
*I was honored to receive this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my thoughts.*
August 21, 2025
Misadventurous is my fourth published work, my third novel and my second stand-alone story.
The tale is told from the perspective of teenager Percy Samuels. The crime/adventure novel is set in Queensland, Australia. It is the story of how Percy transforms from an obedient, studious son into a boy more interested in being disobedient and partaking in delinquency. This is not your ordinary tale of adolescent blues. The novel covers some very serious and hard topics and also some taboo topics.
I like to think of my previous crime novel, Mule, and Misadventurous as a pair of similar yet contrasting novels. Mule focuses on a not-so-smart guy trying to change his life by attempting to do the 'right' and smart thing. Misadventurous, however, focuses on a smart guy trying to change his life by doing the unconventional and not-so-smart thing.
This is a novel for mature readers but that does not mean it is solely for adults. I hope that readers can experience Misadventurous with an open mind and feel enlightened in some way and are inspired to have conversations about hard topics rather than offended by some of the themes and how they're discussed within the story. Though, I do realise this is an ideal.
Some of the themes discussed in Misadventurous are desire, education, rebellion, delinquency, tolerance, intolerance, and, of course, adventure.
I don't want to say too much more so I'll just say that I hope you enjoy the story and, most of all, I hope you derive enjoyment, small or large, from the words I've written.
The tale is told from the perspective of teenager Percy Samuels. The crime/adventure novel is set in Queensland, Australia. It is the story of how Percy transforms from an obedient, studious son into a boy more interested in being disobedient and partaking in delinquency. This is not your ordinary tale of adolescent blues. The novel covers some very serious and hard topics and also some taboo topics.
I like to think of my previous crime novel, Mule, and Misadventurous as a pair of similar yet contrasting novels. Mule focuses on a not-so-smart guy trying to change his life by attempting to do the 'right' and smart thing. Misadventurous, however, focuses on a smart guy trying to change his life by doing the unconventional and not-so-smart thing.
This is a novel for mature readers but that does not mean it is solely for adults. I hope that readers can experience Misadventurous with an open mind and feel enlightened in some way and are inspired to have conversations about hard topics rather than offended by some of the themes and how they're discussed within the story. Though, I do realise this is an ideal.
Some of the themes discussed in Misadventurous are desire, education, rebellion, delinquency, tolerance, intolerance, and, of course, adventure.
I don't want to say too much more so I'll just say that I hope you enjoy the story and, most of all, I hope you derive enjoyment, small or large, from the words I've written.
June 6, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Unfortunately, I had to end this at the 15% mark. I'm currently in a place in life right now where I have no time to read stuff I'm not super into. It wasn't the storyline that I couldn't get into - no, that was really interesting and I still really do want to know how it all ended up - but I just couldn't get into the way it was told.
Why was the whole beginning of the book told in the form of a reflection? I couldn't understand this. I would have enjoyed it much more if it was told in the present, and maybe in third person so that the use of "crack" would still work (I did enjoy that). I also found the chapters too short.
Overall, Tawks is a creative writer and she does have good storylines and I'm sure if I read this whole thing I'd be raving about the plot. However for now, I'm going to leave this as 'unfinished' and recommend Mule if you're wanting to read something by her.
Unfortunately, I had to end this at the 15% mark. I'm currently in a place in life right now where I have no time to read stuff I'm not super into. It wasn't the storyline that I couldn't get into - no, that was really interesting and I still really do want to know how it all ended up - but I just couldn't get into the way it was told.
Why was the whole beginning of the book told in the form of a reflection? I couldn't understand this. I would have enjoyed it much more if it was told in the present, and maybe in third person so that the use of "crack" would still work (I did enjoy that). I also found the chapters too short.
Overall, Tawks is a creative writer and she does have good storylines and I'm sure if I read this whole thing I'd be raving about the plot. However for now, I'm going to leave this as 'unfinished' and recommend Mule if you're wanting to read something by her.
June 24, 2015
Not my usual genre - BUT once I got past the sex and got over being older ( did I really admit that ?)I was totally absorbed by the story and could not put it down.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews