This one was definitely a bit different than I had expected but I can't say I'm disappointed by it. It's definitely easy to connect with the characters and even those moments that might be a bit out of my own comfort zone or realm of experience were well-written. There are a few points where the story seemed to drag or was slow to come together (and also a few plot points that just seem to show up for convenience's sake), but I'd recommend this one.

Content warning: Attempted sexual assault ( )

Wallflower, the second installment in the Rear Entrance Video series, is a wonderful journey of self-acceptance for Rob Ng. More serious than Apple Polisher, Heidi Belleau has written an insightful romance about gender fluidity with Rob exploring all the facets of his sexuality.

Rob is shy, insecure and socially awkward and more comfortable in the virtual world than the real one. Filling in at Rear Entrance Video is way out of his comfort zone but it eventually provides him the opportunity to dress as his feminine alter ego, Bobby. The lines of Rob's sexuality become a bit blurred and while he is gay, he is not transsexual. And everything is about to become even more confusing for Rob when he becomes romantically involved with his classmate/video store customer Dylan Ford.

The first half of Wallflower takes place mostly inside Rob's head as he struggles with his gender identity. The anonymity of internet has allowed him the freedom to express his more feminine side and his comfort with his online persona leads him to act out one of fantasies with one of his virtual friends. Following this encounter, Rob decides it is time to bring Bobby into the real world, but only at work. Ultimately, Rob is going to have to figure out how to merge Rob and Bobby into his everyday life.

Physically, Dylan is the antithesis of Rob and his character is larger than life. He is less conflicted than Rob, but Dylan does a have few issues stemming from his adoption by a white family. Overall, he is outgoing, friendly and has absolutely no filter-whatever he thinks comes spilling out of his mouth. But Dylan somehow manages to keep a few things hidden from Rob that play a key role in the story's resolution.

The second half of Wallflower is when the action begins. The confidence that Rob discovers as Bobby begins spills over into his "regular" life. A class project unexpectedly brings him and Dylan together and their desire for another explodes in a very hot encounter. Despite his hesitation in revealing his secret and some mixed signals from Dylan, the two throw themselves wholeheartedly into their relationship.

Wallflower is a delightfully unique novel and I love that Heidi Belleau steps out of the box with both the subject matter and the characters. Rob's issues are sensitively portrayed and his explorations provide fascinating insight into different gender identities and roles. It is also quite refreshing that Rob and Dylan are not the stereotypical white characters usually found in M/M romances.

Although Wallflower is the second novel in the Rear Entrance Video series, it can be read as a standalone story. ( )

This book took too light an approach to its subject matter, while dwelling a whole lot on internalized racism and misogyny. I think the author was well-intentioned and I really wanted to like this book about two POC MCs, one of whom is working through some gender identity stuff, but in the end the violence in this book jarred too much with its attempts at sweetness and affirmation. I gave it two stars bc I really liked Dylan. ( )

A Boy Meets Boy Review

Quick! Can you find me 5 published MM books featuring both a Chinese and Inuit romance lead? I'll wait...

*starts filing nails*



Couldn't find any? Maybe one closer to none?



I KNOW. The popular MM romances tend to lean towards the less diverse main characters - white, hunky males with monster packages. You'd think in this diverse world we live in that there would be a better representation of all different cultures and ethnicities that are out there. There are authors that have tried, some fail epically in a stereotypical way (not going to name any names but there's a certain one that comes to mind) and sometimes, you can hit paydirt with an author who knows how write characters as real life people, with normal flaws and issues and not make it about their culture.

I have found this with Heidi Belleau.



She writes characters realistically with different backgrounds (actually researched about her characters' ethnicity), three dimensional feel and diversity. Thank you. She gives good...characterization. ;D

Now getting my kudos for her having two minority romantic leads out of the way, I'll get to my thoughts of "Wallflower", book #2 of the Rear Entrance Video series.

It's quirky. If I had to give a one word description, that would be it.

The series could be read as standalone but trust me, you're going to want to read book #1, Christian and Max's story was an interesting one. Happy we get to see them as secondary characters in "Wallflower". Book #2 is Christian and Max's housemate's story, Robert Ng. Here's a little introduction about Mr. Ng:

"I'm Rob Ng. That's N-G pronounced like I-N-G. Ng. I'm nineteen--"crushing on my straight male roommate who won't so much as glance at me "--in first year, just graduated high school." And I wish I was a girl.

Robert is first generation Chinese-Canadian, an art major freshman, hasn't fully come out of the closet and extremely shy. He internalizes...a lot, he is the wallflower you might ignore or not quite remember if you meet him. Which is fine for Rob because in his downtime, he plays video games and gets to pretend with his alter ego, the extrovert to his eternal introvert, his feminine side...the fun Bobby.

And besides, Rob wasn't a girl. Wasn't born one, not physically and not even on the inside. He just liked...playing one. Dressing up as one.

At nineteen, Robert is still exploring and learning about himself. He has more fun as Bobby, makes some mistakes but his still young right? Plus he works at a porn/sex toy store, Rear Entrance Video which as Rob was intimidating but for Bobby...well just imagine. And Rob happens to meet six foot tall Inuit, fellow art major, Dylan Ford. He's adopted, out and proud, has white parents, a major chip on his shoulder for being a Sixties Scoop kid (don't know what a Sixties Scoop kid is? I didn't either but it's an interesting yet disheartening fact) and the owner of one very smart mouth. But he's charismatic and draws both Rob and Bobby's attention. Rob...he struggles throughout the book to try to find himself, a balance into the mixed up world he's in. Sometimes I wanted to hug him...other times give him a (light) boot in the arse. He did take the coward's way most of the time.


I like being a guy. I just like being a girl sometimes too. And not just as a sex thing, which I think is an important distinction? Or feels like it should be? I guess I'm both. Guy and girl. But more guy.

Dylan and Robert meet at Rear Entrance and share a class together. The sparks...I guess they flew. Their match was definitely an insta-love feel. The sex was hot, the dirty talk and alley sex scene definitely gets my vote for the hotness factor. But I have to comment on the suddenness of their feelings and some of the actions Rob takes. This kid has a lot of social issues and quirks so some of his choices seemed so out of the box for him. Maybe he could say it was a Bobby fueled behavior but at the end of the day Bobby and Rob are still one person. And I have to compare Dylan/Rob to Max/Christian. The couple from the first book is much more believable when comparing this book's couple. At the end of Wallflower, it was nice...the men say the right words I just had a harder time fully believing the longevity of their relationship.

This book gave a lot of focus to Robert/Bobby soul searching, the Dylan pairing felt rushed at times. I wanted to know more about the mouthy comic book artist. He was really good for Robert, very understanding, patient. I just wished I could have read some of his POV. The story is a good one, I enjoyed the secondary characters and storyline. I learned a bit about Canadian culture too. There was a nice twist at the end, a HEA with insta-love. A difficult topic (gender identity) handled with expert care that it was secondary to the rushed "love you".

Check this book out. The writing is pretty good. Not as good as book #1, in my opinion...but damn close.

Am I checking more from the author? Affirmative.

Reading more of the series? (Please, pretty please let there be more) Definitely.

A copy provided for an honest review." ( )

2.5 ( )