Annery
I've had this forever but hadn't read it. Perhaps that was a mistake. I can see how the story would've seemed revelatory or daring 10 or 15 years ago.
Essentially it's one man's story of obsession with his girlfriend's brother. He tutors him, takes him on a camping trip, things happen. When they return home our narrator ends up hospitalized, losing tons of weight, and indulging in unhealthy behavior because he can't cope with the rejection of his paramour.
For me it got a bit long and/repetitive but again I'm sure this read differently when it was published.
After the events of the last book our Sean is sitting pretty ... until he isn't. Belfast in the 80's will do things to a body and our boy is one of those who only learns the hard way. Like we all do.
Needless to say I'm all in with this series and I'm on to the next book. Audio of course.
As an aside if you need to restock your music library Sean is your man. He's got impecable taste.
I knew I was in for a treat when there was an epigram by Tom Waits, though I was already primed having read [b:Dead I Well May Be 8312763 Dead I Well May Be (Michael Forsythe #1) Adrian McKinty https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1274939546l/8312763.SY75.jpg 22463]. I wasn't disappointed. This story/series takes place at the same time, the early 80's at the height of ‘The Troubles', but this time in Ireland. Our MC is Sean Duffy, a university grad & Catholic boy who has joined the police in Belfast. He wants to be part of the solution. The case zigs and zags and our Sean suffers more than a few scrapes. The author, likely due to experience, has a firm grasp of time & place and effortlessly takes the reader there.I'm super glad I chose to go with the audio as [a:Gerard Doyle 12434 Gerard Doyle https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1584953555p2/12434.jpg] brings all the flavor of the language. It only enhances the story. 10/10 recommend
3.5Oh boy, I've procrastinated writing reviews (I've had no time) and now ... I'll try?I cut my teeth on Regency romances and though this was a Victorian I was quite pleased with the ‘back to basics' story: An alienated/estranged son (we'll call him Nick) unexpectedly inherits a Dukedom whose finances have been squandered by an incompetent father and/or brother. He's a self-made man who wants nothing to do with the place that only holds bad memories. However once there he slowly changes his mind by spending time with those who live & work there and his female estate manager (Mina). Everything was going swimmingly but the last 1/3 dragged with the heroine just waffling about whether she would or wouldn't marry the Duke and what really annoyed me Mina turning the gambling club that provides the generous income that keeps the estate & it's residents in clover into some charity for future inventors or something just as dreamy & unrealistic.What was sure to be a 4.00 or even a 4.5 became a 3.5 and that because of the very good audio by [a:Karen Cass 13558500 Karen Cass https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1689967680p2/13558500.jpg].
I won't lie. I got this primarily for the cover. Look at it! It's gorgeous. However the reality is that I'm likely too old for this or I've read the OG gothic novels this is looking to emulate. No shame in that but IYKYK. Maybe a younger person will enjoy this more.
Having said that I still think that, especially in the last third, that the narrative is perhaps too expository.
I did this on audio and though I did warm up to it eventually at first I felt like it was a bit of an elocution class but maybe that was just me.
My first outing with this author and I'm happy I took the chance.
Maybe knowing 60's & 70's Latin American history, Mexican specifically, would add to your enjoyment of this but I think it's a perfectly good example of a modern noir. I'll be coming back to this well.
Maite and Elvis aren't heroic people in any sense of the word and yet are the only characters in this tale with any, albeit incidental, moral clarity. They're not overly ambitious or pretentious. They like music and want someone to know and know them. Simple. So hard.
This was ... interesting?
Eden was mercilessly bullied and one occasion horrifically abused by Sean and his friends in high school. Eden left town then but nineteen (19) years later he's is back seeking revenge on Sean (the only one left) who is now sheriff of their town.
The plot twist of course is that as a teenager Eden had a crush on Sean and it's continued unabated mingled with legitimate desire for revenge. That's common grist for romance. What's bizarre is ALL the rest.
Sean of course participated and/or instigated the bullying of Eden in school because of his own unacknowledged sexuality while Eden was openly gay. Nineteen years later, despite zero gay encounters, he's pretty comfortable accepting his attraction/fixation on Eden. Only Eden.
For his part Eden hangs the moon for Sean despite (or maybe because of) everything that happened. One could almost say that he's fetishized his past experience. Not outside of the scope of reality. Just off for a romance.
The truly bizarre is the character (I forgot his name) of Sean's best friend. He goes from concern to obsession with Eden. The results are ... and the fall out is ... umm.
Will I continue with this series even though it's on KU? Probably not. It's shallow but the character of Eden is unappealing and Sean is cartoonish and not in a good way.
I feel like I blew my wad praising the first book in this series because this, this I really loved! Riley and JC are characters who read like authentic human beings, with thoughts, problems, and reactions believable to their ages and life experiences. Is Elmwood a little fantastical, whimsical, and a bit of wishful thinking? Probably. However this is romance. That's what we're here for.The audio by [a:Nick J. Russo 8141120 Nick J. Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is EVERYTHING and a big chips.
So this is part 2 (?) of this series and I'm guessing that it will/should continue in order to finish the story. I'm not sure that I'll go on.On the one hand this was a bit different from our daily fare which is good. On the other hand I can't quite see the logic, motivations of certain characters, or where this is going. Normally that would be a good thing but I'm apprehensive about ... where is the meta story going.Perry is all that is good in the world plus extra sprinkles. Life did him wrong three years ago and now he's putting his life back together via a job in Maverick Insurance where some of the staff seem unaccountably fond and concerned with the new janitor. Nathaniel/Nate was the first responding officer in Perry's hour of distress and since then he's been fixated on him. Now as a homicide detective when a case takes him to Maverick Insurance he sees/meets Perry again and all bets are off. I figured out pretty early in [b:No Good Deed 114821648 No Good Deed (Maverick Insurance Mysteries #1) M.J. May https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676323530l/114821648.SY75.jpg 137146289] what was going on however we are now on BK.2 and the original “villains” are background fodder while Nate & Nat (don't ask) have moved on to different cases. The current one is only tangentially connected to Perry which makes me wonder how or when the original story will evolve. On the romance department the story is idealistic & gentle. Not a bad thing. Just an observation. Those who like their MC to have all the correct views and say the right things will likely enjoy this more than I did.As usual YMMV.
3.5 rounded up because of the audioThis would make a perfectly serviceable Hallmark movie, albeit one with a tad more violence than is traditional on the channel, and sometimes that's what you want. I did. It was a palette cleanser.As always [a:Andi Arndt 6746963 Andi Arndt https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] elevates everything she performs.
Reviewed together because [b:Played 57971698 Played (Auctioned, #4) Cara Dee https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624310084l/57971698.SY75.jpg 90835903] and [b:Finished 58730246 Finished (Auctioned, #5) Cara Dee https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628483106l/58730246.SY75.jpg 90835928] are basically just one longish book. The first part is told from Darius' POV. The preparations and richly deserved revenge that Darius has promised Grey is exacted on the POS scum traffickers with the help of friends & family. The events from [b:The Job 57877156 The Job Cara Dee https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619548297l/57877156.SY75.jpg 90837919] come into play but aren't rehashed. The second is told from Grey's POV and deals with the fallout & cleanup from operation revenge. All of Grey's mother hen come out to play in a useful way. Overall I think this was a satisfying end to D&G story but I understand there's one more book covering the wedding? I'll probably get to it but I'll be in no rush. This ended on just the right note.
I thought about skipping this one because it's a tangent story, not having to do directly with Darius & Grey, but I'm a completest at heart and so I read it. I'm not sorry I did.
Did I entirely believe that the change in the relationship between the MC could go so smoothly, without a hitch, pause, or questioning from themselves or their loved ones? Not at all. I didn't care.
Quite frankly I didn't pay too much attention to the external plot (don't ask me about it) but I did enjoy the chemistry between Boone & Case
I adhere to the vain hope of someday getting through all the books on my shelves (virtual & digital). In that spirit I read this which I've had ... forever? I must also admit to skimming a bit.
If I'd read this years back perhaps I would've been more exercised about it (good & bad) but as it is, given all I've read, how all things BDSM emerged since FSoG burst on to the scene I was ... underwhelmed?
Nick is the perfect, beautiful, unquestioning babe in the woods immediately recognizable as a sub/bottom to Damian (and Ashley) the Doms/Tops in the story. It's almost as if people walk around with an identifying brand. As if subs are Manchurian candidate type characters who are activated by one word commands from random Doms. In Nick's case it's “kneel” or “strip”, but these are my usual complaints about this dynamic. Enough of that.
The fact is I would've enjoyed this fine as an erotic short. As a longer novel with sex scene after sex scene portraying one form or other of a D/s dynamic I was bored or already knew what was going to happen and so skimmed a bit in the second half.
The cover is still gorgeous.
As always YMMV ❤️
First things first. This is not a romance, M/M or otherwise. It could be said to be romance adjacent, maybe? The lead is a gay man and here we get his return, after years of absence, to his hometown in California. If you've read (I haven't) the author's previous series/book you know a lot more about him & his backstory but you don't have to as this book does a good job of letting the reader know in broad strokes Vasily's backstory. I was fine with that, the story, and the writing in general.
My problem or “dislike” of the story stems from the following:
Despite being told over and over about Vasily's brilliantness he doesn't seem so smart. In his first five days back in he manages to sleep with with three (3) basic strangers and, at least on of them, highly inappropriate. I couldn't discern Vasily's attraction to any of them save base physicality of them being attractive gay men which I guess is a thing but ... maybe not when you are back home, fleeing some unfulfilled attraction, and establishing yourself as a competent professional.
Secondly I didn't buy the whole Vasily is a genius investigator. We, as readers, were told that but I'm not sure I believed it. He was competent.
Third the author/his character Vasily has/had a fixation on the post-work out smells of unwashed bodies and apparel. I'm sure that's a thing for certain gay men but I'm not a man, gay or otherwise, and stinkyness doesn't do it for me. It is in fact a turnoff.
Will I go on with this? Not sure. Probably not. We'll see. It's on KU.
As always YMMV and enjoy what you enjoy.
What can I say about this? If it were a Limited Series on Netflix I'd be all over this. I'd have it playing in the background while I did a crossword and call myself happy. Actually reading this is quite ... another experience. Not my wheelhouse but I'm open to trying new things (even if I don't continue).
The “problem” for me with saying that I enjoyed this was that the MC, Sharpe & Walker, who in this first installment are being setup as a Felix & Oscar/Burt & Ernie duo for an ongoing series are, at least to me, unappealing. I don't care to know anything else about them. I don't hate them. I just don't care to know them further.
The “villain” that, first Walker, and then Sharpe & Walker as team pursue is the hero we're all rooting for. He's a good person. The victims of his crimes are pretty despicable.
Anyway ... if this is your thing you may enjoy it. It's not for me but I can see how the construction works and appreciate it for what it is. If there's a series made I'll make the popcorn.
When you think you're just indulging in some sweet fluff and you get that but it comes with a sneak attack of pure, believable, unadulterated romance you know it's [a:Lane Hayes 7125719 Lane Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601401159p2/7125719.jpg] at her best. [a:Nick J Russo 43640018 Nick J Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] doing the audio honors is just icing on the cake.Vinnie & Nolan are delicious together but not treacly and their story was just what I needed & wanted right now.