[Book Review] Static By L.A. Witt & EnerGinseng Ginseng Herbal Coffee

Title: Static
Series: Standalone
Author: L.A. Witt
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Publication date: January 20th 2014
Page Count: 283 pages
Age Rating: Adult (explicit sexual scenes)
How I got my hot little hands on it: Received an ARC to review
Publisher’s page: Static

After two years together, Alex has been dreading the inevitable moment when Damon learns the truth: that Alex is a shifter, part of a small percentage of the population able to switch genders at will. Thanks to a forced implant, though, Alex is suddenly static—unable to shift—and male. Overnight, he’s out to a world that neither understands nor tolerates shifters . . . and to his heterosexual boyfriend.

Damon is stunned to discover his girlfriend is a shifter, and scared to death of the dangers the implant poses to Alex’s health. He refuses to abandon Alex, but what about their relationship? Damon is straight, and with the implant both costly and dangerous to remove, Alex is stuck as a man.

Stripped of half his identity and facing serious physical and social ramifications, Alex needs Damon more than ever, but he doesn’t see how they can get through this. Especially if he’s static forever.

– Winner: Best Science Fiction Romance in the 2013 EPIC Awards! Finalist: Best Transgender Fiction in the 24th annual Lambda Literary Awards! Winner: Best Bisexual / Transgender Sci-Fi / Paranromal / Fantasy in the 2011 Rainbow Awards!

My Review

I really love books that allow me to look into alternate viewpoints different than my own and Static is definitely that kind of book.  Alex is a shifter, a person with the ability to change sexes. Damon is Alex’s straight boyfriend who has no idea his girlfriend sometimes needs to be a woman and sometimes needs to be a man. He learns this important information the hard way when Alex is forced to get an implant that makes him static, unable to switch genders anymore, and keeps him stuck on male.  Can their love survive? More importantly, can Alex survive being stuck in one gender when everything inside him yearns to be able to shift when his gender identity needs it?

I really loved this book. Told through the first person perspectives of Alex and Damon, Static is emotional, but not overly so, and thought-provoking. I loved Alex and felt for him so much throughout the book. There’s an especially poignant scene in which Alex, stuck as a male thanks to the forced implant, sits in front of the bathroom mirror shaving as close as possible and applying make-up in a desperate attempt to look more feminine, and then being devastated when it’s still not feminine enough. Heartbreaking.

Damon has his own struggles as well. He really loves Alex, but can he physically love him as a male? He’s not gay or bisexual, and even if they find a way to remove the implant and allow Alex to shift, is it fair to stay with someone who you are only attracted to half of the time? Everyone deserves to be loved completely for everything they are, and Damon really takes the time to make sure he can give Alex what he deserves. (Spoiler Alert) There’s a happy ending for these two, but it comes after a lot of talking, thinking, and communication. I was a little disappointed in the intimate scenes towards the end as we see almost none of the hesitation that Damon displays throughout the book. It seemed very out of character for him in that as soon as his brain switched to finding male-Alex sexy, he just jumped in with both feet into sex. Despite the quick flip in sexual attraction, I was still happy that Alex and Damon were able to connect on that level and it didn’t cause me to love the book any less.

I wasn’t surprised I loved this book – everything I’ve ever read by L.A. Witt has been fantastic. She’s a great writer who can really spin a good, engrossing story. Love the book. Love the writer. Highly recommend both.

Static is a pretty thought-provoking book, and the main characters do some pretty heavy thinking of their own as they deal with the life-changing events that take place. EnerGinseng Ginseng Herbal Coffee may help with all the heavy thinking going around – the ginseng extracts are thought to help in opening up your body, mind, and spirit as well as aid in thinking abilities.