Re-read number 237, and Rook and Dante are STILL some of my favourite MCs! Now, this is how you do a MM-mystery-romance<3
-----------------------------Re-read number 237, and Rook and Dante are STILL some of my favourite MCs! Now, this is how you do a MM-mystery-romance<3
------------------------------------------------
So I think I have finally found a book by Rhys Ford that hits ALL of my buttons. I have liked, and almost loved, quite a few of her books, but I hadn't yet found one that was perfect! And I think... I think this one is IT.
We have a mystery! We have GREAT MCs, with quite a few differences. We have GREAT supporting characters. We have yummy, smexy, HOT sex between the MCs. We have fantastic pace and length of the story. And lastly we have humor! [image] So Rook is a reformed thief. He now owns a shop where he buys and sells movie memorabilia. He found his grandfather late in life (and cousins and aunts and such, but he doesn't really hang out with them), and he has his shop assistant Char. Rook however was an 'honest' thief, and he has quite a few 'known associates' that will help him, since he's a good guy (with a GREAT snarky attitude!) But otherwise he's living a pretty sparse excistence.
Dante is the Cuban-Mexican cop, who was *this close* to catching Rook, and locking him up, before Rook became a law-abiding citizen, and before Dante's partner decided to plant evidence in order to nail Rook. So yeah, they definitely have history; not only was it a game of cat and mouse, but they almost slept together, during the 'original' case, 5 years ago (in a dark back-room, with no knowledge of who they were about to smex it up with). [image] When the story begins, Rook finds an 'old' enemy, dead in his shop, and suddenly he is on the run. He is caught, but his cantankerous grandfather helps him out, and Rook is again facing off with Dante and Dante's FANTASTIC partner Hank (seriously this dude, he is AMAZING, because he tries SO hard!)
The chemistry between Rook and Dante... Whowee..., It was great, and even though it has a taste of 'insta-something' it was believable BECAUSE they had history. Luckily they don't get straight to the smexy times, they actually take their time, and go back and forth. Here Rhys was definitely true to the characters and the parameters that were set for them, and it worked so well for their history and their traits. They are both snarky, and Rook can be quite douchey, but with his origin story it doesn't surprise me. However they work as a couple, since both are stubborn and BOTH give as good as they get. [image] The mystery part also really worked for me. I had not guessed where it was going, and while the bodies are piling up, Rook and Dante have to figure out how to move forward, fight for what they want and trust each other, all the while Rook's grandfather is 'trying to help'. Dante's uncle Manny also makes an appearance once in a while, and he was just such a great counterpoint to Rook's grandfather.
The story actually only takes place over a few days, but it felt like longer, since the pace and the choices for the MCs were spot on. And because Rook and Dante has history the 'insta-something', never felt out-of-place or like a magic solution -IMO. I was entertained throughout, I laughed a lot, and I loved all of the characters. It is clear though, that we do not have all of Rook's story yet (his mother and his 'adventures' as a carnie), and I'm pretty sure something will also come up with the waste of space that is Dante's parents. I truly hope though, that this will not be another: I-forgive-all-your-disgustingness-just-because-you-put-me-in-this-world! But as for the rest of it: The next book of the series will be a one-click-buy... So please: GIVE ME MORE!!! [image]
And just a side-note: Could you PLEASE for the love of all that is holy: when you have a story connected to another story, just mention it in the blurb or something? When Alex and his BF were introduced in this one, it was quite CLEAR that they were not 'new' characters (they were not instrumental to the story, but STILL...), and it was only after googling and reading quite a few reviews, that somebody mentioned they had a story in an Anthology (Grand Adventures for those interested).
AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH what is it with these authors/editors/publishers/anthologies, that you have to have a Masters degree in archeology to dig out the prequels and side-stories to other books once in a while? Just add it to the blurb goddammit! *phew* I feel better, this book though, this book was GREAT!
Merged review:
Re-read number 237, and Rook and Dante are STILL some of my favourite MCs! Now, this is how you do a MM-mystery-romance<3
------------------------------------------------
So I think I have finally found a book by Rhys Ford that hits ALL of my buttons. I have liked, and almost loved, quite a few of her books, but I hadn't yet found one that was perfect! And I think... I think this one is IT.
We have a mystery! We have GREAT MCs, with quite a few differences. We have GREAT supporting characters. We have yummy, smexy, HOT sex between the MCs. We have fantastic pace and length of the story. And lastly we have humor! [image] So Rook is a reformed thief. He now owns a shop where he buys and sells movie memorabilia. He found his grandfather late in life (and cousins and aunts and such, but he doesn't really hang out with them), and he has his shop assistant Char. Rook however was an 'honest' thief, and he has quite a few 'known associates' that will help him, since he's a good guy (with a GREAT snarky attitude!) But otherwise he's living a pretty sparse excistence.
Dante is the Cuban-Mexican cop, who was *this close* to catching Rook, and locking him up, before Rook became a law-abiding citizen, and before Dante's partner decided to plant evidence in order to nail Rook. So yeah, they definitely have history; not only was it a game of cat and mouse, but they almost slept together, during the 'original' case, 5 years ago (in a dark back-room, with no knowledge of who they were about to smex it up with). [image] When the story begins, Rook finds an 'old' enemy, dead in his shop, and suddenly he is on the run. He is caught, but his cantankerous grandfather helps him out, and Rook is again facing off with Dante and Dante's FANTASTIC partner Hank (seriously this dude, he is AMAZING, because he tries SO hard!)
The chemistry between Rook and Dante... Whowee..., It was great, and even though it has a taste of 'insta-something' it was believable BECAUSE they had history. Luckily they don't get straight to the smexy times, they actually take their time, and go back and forth. Here Rhys was definitely true to the characters and the parameters that were set for them, and it worked so well for their history and their traits. They are both snarky, and Rook can be quite douchey, but with his origin story it doesn't surprise me. However they work as a couple, since both are stubborn and BOTH give as good as they get. [image] The mystery part also really worked for me. I had not guessed where it was going, and while the bodies are piling up, Rook and Dante have to figure out how to move forward, fight for what they want and trust each other, all the while Rook's grandfather is 'trying to help'. Dante's uncle Manny also makes an appearance once in a while, and he was just such a great counterpoint to Rook's grandfather.
The story actually only takes place over a few days, but it felt like longer, since the pace and the choices for the MCs were spot on. And because Rook and Dante has history the 'insta-something', never felt out-of-place or like a magic solution -IMO. I was entertained throughout, I laughed a lot, and I loved all of the characters. It is clear though, that we do not have all of Rook's story yet (his mother and his 'adventures' as a carnie), and I'm pretty sure something will also come up with the waste of space that is Dante's parents. I truly hope though, that this will not be another: I-forgive-all-your-disgustingness-just-because-you-put-me-in-this-world! But as for the rest of it: The next book of the series will be a one-click-buy... So please: GIVE ME MORE!!! [image]
And just a side-note: Could you PLEASE for the love of all that is holy: when you have a story connected to another story, just mention it in the blurb or something? When Alex and his BF were introduced in this one, it was quite CLEAR that they were not 'new' characters (they were not instrumental to the story, but STILL...), and it was only after googling and reading quite a few reviews, that somebody mentioned they had a story in an Anthology (Grand Adventures for those interested).
AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH what is it with these authors/editors/publishers/anthologies, that you have to have a Masters degree in archeology to dig out the prequels and side-stories to other books once in a while? Just add it to the blurb goddammit! *phew* I feel better, this book though, this book was GREAT!...more
Holy moly this was a GREAT, solid MM-mystery and it is currently on sale at all major platforms, they fixed it so it also shows up at the 'zon (june 2Holy moly this was a GREAT, solid MM-mystery and it is currently on sale at all major platforms, they fixed it so it also shows up at the 'zon (june 2018). Now spend ALL the monies!!!! [image] First of all the amount of humour and snark was amazing, and it elevated this story from a good mystery to a fantastic book. I'm very surprised I liked this one as much as I did, considering I didn't like Cooper all that much. More than once he's a total douchebag and completely incapable of apologizing, going as far as mocking Park for having his feelings hurt.
I know they're all 'manly men' but can we please acknowledge that it's okay to have feelings and that it's okay to demand that the one treading on said feelings; apologize for being a shithead?! NOW you can kiss and make up! [image] As for the rest of it... Fucking fantastic mystery. Sure, there were a lot of people and names to keep straight, but I thought the author did a pretty good job of describing different characteristics, making it easier to navigate who was who (I feel like there should be a whom somewhere there, but I can't figure it out and I can't be bothered to Google it.)
I also had no clue where this was going, which I thought was amazing, considering I read a lot of mysteries and always have a guess or two. But here I was blank, so that was pretty masterful and fun IMO.
The chemistry between Cooper and Park was palpable at times, though I did miss Park's POV. I get that he's supposed to be mysterious (and that we have more books coming, YAY), but a wee bit more intimate knowledge of him and his history would have been appreciated, and it would have made it easier to swallow his easy forgiveness of Cooper's 'foot-in-mouth-syndrome' and douchetastic behaviour. In the end though, even if this story only takes place over a few days, it felt like a delicious slow-burn and I bought their connection. [image] Another thing I want to comment on is the fact that I didn't really notice that it was a shifter book. I know it sounds strange, but it was very... Fluent?Realistic? Seamless! And it read believable to me; making this a thoroughly enjoyable read.
I am really excited about the next one and am looking forward to finding out more about Cooper (and his idiotic father), but especially Park and his mysterious family and background.
I would recommend this to ALL MM-mystery fans, who wants some smexy times (though they come late *snicker*) and humour served with their main course of police work....more
This book had what book 4 and 5 in this series lacked for mI won and ARC and I am so freaking excited!
------------------------------------------------
This book had what book 4 and 5 in this series lacked for me. First of all this had a driven plot, where book 5, for example, was sort of... Slow? Chill. It was cool to see the gang and their significant others again in book 5, but not a lot happened, other than being a set-up for THIS book, which -IMO- could have been boiled down to a part of this story or maybe written as a novella instead. [image] I could also be talking out of my ass, and complaining about nothing, I just didn't connect with the two previous books as I did with this final book of ‘Sinners’.
Here Miki got a definite ending to his story and it was GREAT! It is kind of weird though, since I didn't actually miss anything in regards to his life, and I enjoyed seeing him in the other books in this series, but never actually questioned his past or the lack of an ‘ending’ for him. I just enjoyed the first book and Miki’s amazing grit! As described in my review of that story I DID miss that somebody or Miki himself made sure he got some help, here I’m thinking about the abuse and Miki’s very real problems in living a fearless life. And in this one Miki finally got help, which I applaud to the moon and back. [image] I also really enjoyed Miki and Kane’s relationship; I love that they bicker and fight and argue, but at the end of the day they are 100% in each other’s corners.
The reason this was not a full 5-star-read, is the amount of analogies used (it ISRhys Ford, but sometimes it becomes a bit much for me), the thing where Miki starts calling Donal 'dad' (I don't know if it's a cultural thing, since I get that Americans use that expression for FILs, it just reads REALLY weird to me, since we don't do that in Denmark or as far as I know in Scandinavia) and then: SERIOUSLY, do not read this spoiler if you don't want to know what happens in regards to the mystery, I'm SERIOUS! (view spoiler)[Who killed the evil guy? What happens to Adam and his mother? And wasn't it too easy that the evil guys suddenly took care of each other, especially considering the mother was sort of complicit? I don't know if it's supposed to be an artsy thing, where things are sort of left up in the air, but I found it quite annoying. I wanted a full story with a COMPLETELY spelled-out ending, which is probably also because of book 5 and it's weird 'interlude-ness'(hide spoiler)]
All in all though this was a really great MM-mystery-romance and I FUCKING adored Miki and his determination. He will fight -physically and verbally- with whatever is not bolted down if you attack him; there are no victims here! Great ending to a story I hadn't actually missed an ending for, but reading about Miki and Kane is no hardship! [image]
SHIT I almost forgot: MAJOR props to Miss Ford for writing full songtexts and including them, even though she 'only' used a verse or two as an intro to some chapters! That is hardcore work and pretty amazeballs!
*ARC kindly provided by author in a giveaway in exchange for an honest review*...more
FUCK! Dammit... Mothereffing shit! *sigh* If you're easily offended, please cover your ears, close your eyes and ignore this one, because there will bFUCK! Dammit... Mothereffing shit! *sigh* If you're easily offended, please cover your ears, close your eyes and ignore this one, because there will be swearing... Lots and LOTS of swearing. [image] Gregory Ashe delivered one of my favourite reads this year, and those of you who know me, know that I am a fucking, grumpy, not-easily-satisfied, reader. Mr. Big Empty was a masterpiece and if each book in that series had not had a price of around $9 I would have gobbled them up. As it is I am spreading my book-buys for as many authors as possible, and I wait for sales and other offers, since I do spend a lot of money on books.
When I browsed the mystery-section on Amazon, saw the pretty cover, the price AND Ashe's name, I hit the 'one-click-buy'-button so fast my keyboard almost cracked. Because, please let me reiterate: I LOVED 'Mr. Big Empty'!!!!!! Loved it! Both are long books, but Ashe's writing in Mr. Big Empty drew me in and didn't let go until the end, and this one was (in parts) no exception. Here though there were a few spelling-mistakes and one place where the names were switched, but otherwise the writing was all Ashe, and I liked that a lot.
Sadly the writing cannot make up for the story and the MCs. And at around 40% I started asking myself: "why are you still reading this, Line?" Normally I would have thrown in the towel and returned the book long before this, but Ashe is really talented IMO (his style is very effortless and flowy, and that works for me), and I hoped that he would redeem himself and make me like Somers better or something. Also the mystery was clever and had me guessing 'til the end.
However I did not even come close to liking Somers better and my rage-face and my WHY-face was prominent throughout: [image] ... It's a day later, and I am still RAGING!
The next part might be spoiler-y, not in regards to the mystery, but in regards to the MCs and their history, so proceed with caution (view spoiler)[ WHY IN THE FUCK IS GRAMES NOT IN JAIL? How in the FUCKING hell is Somers -the biggest coward and douchebag of them all- a cop? Also are we just gonna ignore that an alcoholic has a gun, is a policeman and that he shows up drunk at crime scenes? Can we also PLEASE talk about why Hazard lets Naomi off the hook? Where the hell is his integrity? His decency? His motherfucking balls????? [image] This book contained my ALL-TIME love/hate-plotline - the second-chance thing. And let me be clear: so far I have only found one or two stories with second chances, that could live up to my preferences of grovelling. Lots and LOTS of grovelling, for me to accept that a tormentor could become the love-interest/friend/confidant of the tormentee.
Here Somers PUSHED Hazard down a flight of stairs, so Hazard broke an arm. Somers and his sociopathic friends HOUNDED Hazard throughout school and made sure his life was hell. Somers and another disgusting goon held down Hazard, while Grames tried to carve his initials into Hazard's skin, so everyone would know that the 'town-faggot' belonged to Grames. Oh yeah, and Somers KNEW what happened to Jeff, but didn't say anything!
That's right the guy who's now an alcoholic cop, withheld information that could put a sadistic scumbag away, and let's not forget that his excuse for pushing Hazard down the stairs, was to show Grames that Hazard was 'under control' and wouldn't do 'anything'... *eyetwitch reaching fidgetspinner-state* And THAT WAS JUST ACCEPTED???? Fuck that noise, so very fucking much! [image] I swear to all that is holy, Somers needed to FUCKING beg for forgiveness for me to get why these two would become friends and/or more (??? That part is still up in the air)
But nope, Somers is a charming, good-looking, charismatic "guy" described as being hot, though it would be more fair to describe him as a coward, a drunk and a cheater, because yeah, this dude also cheated on his wife and the mother of his child #whataprince #mypantieswentthatway #YESsarcasm Being pretty/good-looking does NOT excuse you being a despicable human being! And after a week as partners (which Somers was REALLY excited about, which was weird) and a horrible fight, where Somers 'hits' Hazard on one of his REALLY sore spots on purpose, Hazard (yep, you read that right HAZARD) apologizes and now they're gonna move in together as roommates........................ ???
And the reason for that: they both changed, so everything is honky-dory... [image] (hide spoiler)] Fuck this shit, so very fucking much! Seriously I am SO pissed, because it doesn't make any sense! The mystery and the people and the setting is kind of great, but having this much rage for one of the MCs and really not BELIEVING the relationship between the MCs, makes me so sad... And ragey, if that wasn't clear.
This book could have been brilliant, but fell completely apart... And I'm still ANGRY: fuck you Somers, you fucking asshole dipshit coward! I hope you drown in your own vomit on one of your daily benders... *ugh* [image] I'm pretty sure I can't make myself read the second book arriving here in December. Gregory Ashe is STILL on the way to becoming a favourite of mine (and that should really say something, considering how much I raged against this book), but I fucking hated these MCs and the choices made for their interconnected stories....more
Let me get this out of the way first: I now know why I sometimes have issues with Alexa Land's writing!
It's this: "I exclaimed" "I mumbled" "I murmured" "Let me get this out of the way first: I now know why I sometimes have issues with Alexa Land's writing!
It's this: "I exclaimed" "I mumbled" "I murmured" "I said"
She uses these descriptions, almost every time someone 'says' something, and it becomes very 'mechanical' for me. However once I identified that that was my issue, I could ignore all the 'remarks'; enhancing my 'reading-enjoyment' immensely. [image] And I really, really did enjoy this. Sometimes characters are different when they finally get to tell their own story, but Quinn managed to be JUST as crazy as he was in All I Ever Wanted, without it being too much.
And now for the 'gushing-part': SO Quinn... Quinn, Quinn, Quinn. I have to say, that I could not WAIT for your story, after meeting you in Cole and River's book. My dog dude, you were insane, in the BEST possible way. And I think that you are, quite possibly, my favourite character of this series (along with Skye!) [image] Quinn had me laughing like a loon, and I could seriously see the things happening to him, as real-life events. I also loved his story, his family AND his self-awareness in regards to his limitations. He definitely was a 'loveable disaster', with a GIANT heart and lots and lots of noble intentions.
Duke was infinitely more uptight, but I equally loved HIS journey and HIS heart. I did wish for a bigger confrontation with his disgusting parents though, which I thought would have given Duke (and me) some much-needed closure.
But this was the love-story of Quke *heh heh heh*, and how they navigated their (outwardly) differences, in this really FUN romance. Yeah, this will definitely be read again and again....more
This was a SOLID mystery with red herrings, drugs, hardcore detective-work and a creepy killer.
The reason it is not a full 5 stars for me, was Levi's This was a SOLID mystery with red herrings, drugs, hardcore detective-work and a creepy killer.
The reason it is not a full 5 stars for me, was Levi's inability to have a PROPER conversation with his long-term BF, Stanton, and to fucking end the relationship, if that's what he actually wanted. This is dubbed as slow-burn by many many readers, but I didn't read it as slow-burn. Yes, the story is long, but until 75% (or something like that) Levi is STILL with his BF, and the whole story only takes place over a short period of time. IMO Levi needed to fucking man up, and have that fucking conversation. Yes, he's a flawed character, but I didn't care that much for his flaws, since they made him a douchebag. I get that Stanton was 'high-handed', but I wanted to smack Levi more than once for not communicating. *sideeyeing my trusty frozen fish for douchebags*
I liked Dom and Rebel A LOT though, and I'm pretty hopeful that the next book will be a 5-star read for me, now that Levi is actually single, and we can move on.
As a BIG fan and 'devourer' (that is SO not a word) of MM-mysteries, I can safely say that this was a great story, and I have no guesses on the 'SOS', which is the best kind of mystery -IMO. [image]...more