Jaime Samms's Blog: Stories Between Men, page 6

Friend Release: Lex Chase with Chase the Sunrise

And now for something completely different.

I invited Lex by to talk about her newest venture, and boy, was I caught off guard!

I confess, I have mixed feelings about reading this book. I trust Lex Chase implicitly to deliver a great read, but I’m not so sure this particular book would bring me the relaxed sanctuary I usually crave when I read. I think that’s more a confession about me being a total lightweight than it is censure against the book. And I have to say, when I discussed the themes with hr, Lex was, as always, enthusiastic, kind and understanding, as well as 100% staunchly behind her work. I admire that in any writer.

Also important to note is that presales of this book go to a very worthy cause:

100% of the presale royalties of this book will go to Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center’s Domestic Violence Service.

 

In truth, I’m extremely intrigued by the concept she’s delved into, but it makes me uncomfortable. And that, totally, is about me, not the book. So here is her post, and now, you make up your own mind:

Hello Internet! I’m Lex Chase and I want to thank Jamie Samms for having me here for the Chasing Sunrise Blog Tour!

Guys. Guys. Guys. Let’s cut to the chase. Stephenie Meyer pretty much ruined vampires for everyone. Some disagree and hail how fantastically brilliant she is. Others groan at her take on the genre and has pretty much soured everyone to vampires until the end of time.

I am of the opinion of screw Sparklepires! That’s why with Chasing Sunrise and The Darkmore Saga I’m trying to bring sexy back at what makes vampires not only alluring, but the ultimate unrepentant predator.

Dear readers, meet the aisa.

The aisa are my take on the vampire mythos, and I have a great deal of fun with these guys. Sure, yeah, yeah. They’re pretty. They’re sexy. They’re exotic (which take that as you will.) But make no mistake. The aisa eat people.

Read that again. Eat people. In fact, they keep humans as livestock. The fun part about the aisa is we as mortal beings are all eeewww gross they’re monsters! Consider this, we have no issue when we eat a hamburger, or a steak, or McNuggets. It’s the same deal. The aisa are not a malicious people, they don’t get a thrill from killing humans. That’s just what they eat. When they can very well subsist on other types of animals to a point.

They’re replacement eaters. And what does that mean exactly? They have to eat the entire body. You know what I’m talking about. Not just the blood, but the muscle, organs—a yup brain too, the bones, and even the skin. I’d like to remind everyone at this point this is a romance novel. Sorry not sorry. ;D

But there are certain things that their own bodies don’t need or use. Aisa have no need for a stomach, and therefore they don’t have any digestion tract. Those organs still exist in their bodies, but they’re like vestigial organs they way a tailbone is. They also don’t need to breathe, but still have some lung function. Because no matter what you do, you still breathe to talk. Or you move air to make a sound. Their lungs only hold a quarter capacity of what we do. Their idea of a deep breath for them is a very shallow one for us. The tissue is still there. But it’s like a half deflated balloon.

And they don’t freaking sparkle.

As an aside, I really think I need to make a hashtag of #BTWROMANCENOVEL at this point.

In Chasing Sunrise we learn that the term aisa is a catchall name for the various aisa breeds. And there are just as many aisa breeds on this planet as there are just as many different nationalities over our green earth. While there’s a baseline of similar feeding habits and weaknesses, some have extreme variants. While we never meet them, there’s an African race that feeds exclusively on the milk of nursing mothers. No blood at all!

However, in our first glimpse into the world of the aisa nations, we meet the chasseurs by way of the most horrible example of them with the villainous Dominic Ravensgrove. However, it is a bit of a treat to find out what they’re like. They worship insects for a reason.

We also learn of Sevon’s heritage as a verkolai. His breed is considered the ruling class and not only that but godhood. I like to think of it as being appointed a pharaoh in the manner that people believe god speaks through them. But there’s a catch to being born the most powerful aisa breed and it’s a pretty shitty one. Being a verkolai is seriously a lot more trouble than it’s worth! You’ll have to read on to find out!

Remember! Meat is murder!
…………………..Tasty, tasty murder.

#BTWROMANCENOVEL

 

 

Genre: Vampires, Werewolves/Shapeshifters, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy

Series: The Darkmore Saga: Book One

Length: Novel

Published: July 25, 2014

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

ISBN: 978-1-62798-776-9

Pre-order: Paperback or eBook

Blurb:

Chasing Sunrise

The Darkmore Saga: Book One

On the Coastal Bend of Texas, a hidden kingdom called Darkmore lies in ruins, and King Sevon Maraté is trapped. Using Sevon as a mouthpiece and a scapegoat, Lord Dominic rules from the shadows. Sevon copes with the unrelenting abuse by dressing in women’s finery and casting an image of graceful nobility. Born of royal verkolai blood and as beautiful as he is lethal, he possesses the ability to part the Veil separating his world from hundreds of others. His gift is his chance to escape, but Dominic refuses to relinquish his tool for power. Dominic forges an ambitious plan to invade the prosperous land of Priagust. Only a select few know the mythic kingdom of shifters exists. Sevon is out of options for his people’s survival, and cooperating with Dominic is his only chance.

On their foray into Priagust, Dominic’s men kidnap and interrogate a shifter named Jack. Even under torture, Jack’s loyalty to his kind never wavers. But as Jack’s knowledge about Darkmore’s king and its history unsettles Sevon, a curious bond begins to form. Despite Sevon’s mistrust, Jack is determined to tame Sevon’s wild heart and perhaps earn his freedom. As invasion looms, Sevon wonders if trusting Jack will lead him into another trap or if he should forget about chasing the sunrise and remain Dominic’s compliant prisoner.

100% of the presale royalties of this book will go to Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center’s Domestic Violence Service.

Chasing Sunrise Excerpt

With a collection of purposeful strides down the center yellow line of the road, Dominic clapped his hands in wide arcs. He whooped and hollered to drive the livestock from their roosts. “Come out. Come out here and face me!” Dominic barked. “Surely one little whore hasn’t gotten the best of you!”

Finally, the herd arrived. Baggy, Redcap, Ten, and Sherise circled their cattle master cautiously, unsure of what to make of him.

“Where did y’come from?” Sherise mumbled.

Sevon kept his distance and peered through the bushes. He watched Dominic hold up his hands in a small, gentle gesture to halt the livestock. “Now gentlemen, let’s be rational,” he spoke precisely. Ten seemed nervous with the switchblade. “You.” Dominic nodded at Ten and his blade, then pointed to Redcap. “Slash his throat.”

“Fuck you,” Redcap snarled at Dominic’s brazenness. Ten shifted from foot to foot with the long blade. “He ain’t serious!”

In the space between breaths, Ten was on Redcap. He dragged the blade over his throat, cracking through bones and gashing arteries. Baggy and Sherise screamed, backpedaling from the fallen body. Sevon pressed his fingers to his lips as Ten seemed to glare directly at him with murder in his eyes. Sevon ducked lower into the bushes.

“You.” Dominic pointed to Baggy and gestured to Sherise. “Break his neck.”

“This bitch f’real?” Sherise screeched, backing up from Baggy.

“Trip,” Dominic ordered, and Sherise landed on his fat rear in the middle of the street.

Baggy crouched before the other man, wrapped his thick fingers around Sherise’s neck, and crushed the life out of him. In his last seconds, Sherise gurgled, “Think of my son!”

Dominic visibly stiffened, obviously put off by the man’s final words.

Sevon frowned as Sherise’s life ended in a long sickly whistle as his neck crackled and crunched in Baggy’s deranged grip.

Baggy and Ten were left and awaited orders like loyal, unquestioning soldiers.

“Take his eyes,” Dominic ordered Baggy, and then commanded Ten, “Drive your blade into his brain.” Smoothly, Dominic stepped aside and met Sevon’s gaze. He nodded at Sevon, who understood the gesture to come forward and sup while things came to their gruesome conclusion.

Sevon trotted across the pavement toward Redcap’s body, and he hesitated. Should he eat? What would happen? Would taking a human’s soul into his body really spell disaster? What kind? He didn’t want to chance it, but he didn’t want Dominic to notice he wasn’t eating. Sevon really needed to eat something, and Jack haunted the edges of his mind.

Moments later, Ten and Baggy fell in dull, meaty thumps nearby. Ten’s eyes had now been reduced to gouged pits, and his knife had been driven into Baggy’s skull through the ear canal.

Dominic gestured to Sevon, indicating he should feed.

Sevon shook his head and took one step back from the crumpled bodies. “I….” Sevon hesitated. “You should eat. I’m not hungry,” he lied.

Dominic arched a brow. “We came all the way out here, and you’re not hungry?”

Sevon’s mind raced for excuses. “I just wanted to be with you,” he said with a convincing smile. “Experience the thrill of the hunt.”

Dominic frowned and plucked Ten’s gore-caked knife out of Baggy’s ear. He considered the meaty pulp on the blade. “We can’t let them go to waste,” Dominic said in contemplation of the knife.

Sevon took another step back. “We can dispose of the ones you don’t eat,” Sevon helpfully suggested.

So far, Dominic hadn’t made an issue of Sevon’s refusal to feed, but Dominic’s scent was off. Dominic didn’t believe him, and they both knew it. Sevon took another step away from Redcap’s corpse. “Dominic,” Sevon whispered timidly.

Dominic rose like smoke and scrutinized Sevon. “You’re half-starved. Is that what you want? To become a fury? To leave me with this mess?”

Aghast at the accusation, Sevon’s head snapped with a quick shake. “No. I didn’t mean it like that,” he squealed. “I’d just… rather have a lily….” he pleaded with a submissive slope of the shoulders. He averted his gaze to the street. Sevon prayed Dominic wouldn’t catch on.

“But you need meat, bone, offal….” Dominic took slow steps toward him.

“I’m just not hungry, okay?” Sevon said with his attention settled on the pavement. His skin tingled with nerves. Just believe me, Sevon thought. Please, just believe me. “Can I not be hungry?” he said and raised his attention to Dominic. “Go on. You can eat. I just want to be with you,” he lied with an expert smile. He wrapped his arms around Dominic’s middle and pressed his ear to Dominic’s silent heart. “I just want to be like this forever,” he murmured, and the image of Jack flashed in his mind.

Sevon realized his mistake in the embrace.

Dominic spun him around and forced Sevon to his knees over Redcap. Sevon stuttered a gasp as Dominic shoved Sevon’s face into Redcap’s bleeding corpse.

Pre-Order Now From:

Dreamspinner Press in Paperback or eBook!

Click to enter Lex’s Bundle O’ Books Rafflecopter Here!

You can win one personally signed copy of the Chasing Sunrise Paperback!

Or an eBook copy of Chasing Sunrise!

Ooooor hey, hey, I did write a series about superheroes before! Yes! You too can win the entire Checkmate Trilogy!

About the Author:

Lex Chase once heard Stephen King say in a commercial, “We’re all going to die, I’m just trying to make it a little more interesting.” She knew then she wanted to make the world a little more interesting.

Weaving tales of cinematic, sweeping adventure, epic love—and depending on how she feels that day—Lex sprinkles in high-speed chases, shower scenes, and more explosions than a Hollywood blockbuster. She loves tales of men who kiss as much as they kick ass. She believes if you’re going to going to march into the depths of hell, it better be beside the one you love.

Lex is a pop culture diva and her DVR is constantly backlogged. She wouldn’t last five minutes without technology in the event of the apocalypse and has nightmares about refusing to leave her cats behind. She is incredibly sentimental, to the point that she gets choked up at holiday commercials. But like the lovers driven to extreme measures to get home for the holidays, Lex believes everyone deserves a happy ending.

Lex also has a knack for sarcasm, never takes herself seriously, and has been nicknamed “The Next Alan Moore” by her friends for all the pain and suffering she inflicts on her characters. She is a Damned Yankee hailing from the frozen backwoods of Maine residing in the ’burbs of Northwest Florida where it could be 80F and she’d be a popsicle.

She is grateful and humbled for all the readers. She knows very well she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them and welcomes feedback.

You can find her on those social media things at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LXChase

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lex_Chase

Tumblr: http://lexiconofkittens.tumblr.com

Find her blog at http://lexchase.com or drop her an e-mail at lex.a.chase@gmail.com.

Chasing Sunrise Tour Stops:

7/13 – Chris T. Kat – The Power of Androgyny

7/17 – Michael Rupured – Whispering for Help: Chasing Sunrise Goes Viral

7/19 – Lily Velden – Don’t Lose Your Way

7/20 – Jaime Samms – Screw Sparklepires! Meet the Aisa

7/22 – Aidee Ladnier – Were…what? Meet the Shifters!

7/24 – Grace Duncan – Walking the Runway with Sevon

7/26 – Shira Anthony – When Disaster Strikes: Natural Disasters in Fiction

7/25 – Chasing Sunrise Release Day!

7/29 – Dreamspinner Twitter Takeover with Charlie Cochet

7/30 – Live Your Life, Buy The Book – “I loved you before Nazareth.” Meet Bianca and Chaney

8/2 – Chat at the Dreamspinner Press Facebook Page

8/8 – Charlie Cochet – The Catharsis of Lovers Shirts

8/13 – Gay List Book Reviews – The Necessity of Brutality

8/16 – Tali Spencer – The Shape of Things to Come: Glass Moon

New Pretties

So, I sort of fail at being consistent, huh? In my defence, I’ve been busy….

To prove it, I thought I’d share a few projects I’ve completed. I’ve been making purses and such, and I love the way they come to life from a ball of pretty yarn and a few scraps of material. It’s also nice I can do this while I’m working.

And finally, this is not my creation, this lovely cover art, but it does compliment the book beautifully. Voila! The cover for Scars on his Heart, due out August 4, 2014.

Movie Talk: Three for One day

So about a week ago, a friend on Facebook asked around for some good movie recs and I happened across the thread, which steered me to Netflix. Now, Canadian Netflix is not like American Netflix. We have about half, *maybe* of what you Yanks have on your site, and a lot of it sort of sucks, so the gay romance selection is largely abysmal.

If the movies are gay themed, the protagonists are angsty, haunted and broken men who don’t deserve Happily Ever After, or don’t believe they deserve it, and so sabotage themselves, sometimes literally, to death. It’s depressing. Why are there not more well-acted, witty gay rom-coms out there?

In any case, I braved the wasteland of Netflix gay romance movies and found a few that looked like they had some potential and put them on my list. So far, I’ve watched three of them: The Perfect Wedding, E-Cupid and The Men Next Door.

This was my first pick. I’d noticed it before and it looked like it might be fun. The concept is kind of interesting, I guess. No more far-fetched than any other romantic comedy scenario, so let’s run with it. Disillusioned guy downloads an app on his phone because he thinks he might want something new in his life beyond his seven-year relationship with his sweet, hard-working, dedicated, successful boyfriend. Poor guy.

[I don't believe I'm spoiling anything here, as the movie is pretty transparent and predictable] Even still, if you worry about that sort of thing, skip this next part.

The app proceeds to re-write his life, eventually showing him how he already has everything he’s ever wanted. Cute. Massive suspension of disbelief, but ok, I’m in it to be entertained. The final verdict, though is that I think better actors might have managed to almost pull this fiasco off. The ones in the movie didn’t sell it for me, probably because every time I was about to fall into the movie, a character began elucidating for me, explaining all the things the character was learning thorough his adventures, I guess in case I hadn’t picked up on the underlying message on my own. it sort of annoyed me the way the movie preached like a two-by-four to the head. I felt a little bruised by the message, even if it was a really good one.

But all ended well, and I truly sympathized with the main couple navigating hard lives and trying to stay connected and in love in a world that just sort of runs you the hell over every time you stop and try to kiss your guy. So I ended up glad they worked it out.

This was my second viewing, and it was…cute. Happy. The acting was stiff and the plot was sort of puzzle-pieced together, like I was seeing the seams between each section, rather being shown a whole picture. Still, the main character was honourable and trying to live a better life, and the guy he fell for was truly sweet.

I have to say that I think my favourite character in the movie was the father. He was the kind of man everyone wants in their life, and no one ever wants to loose, especially to the cruelty of years and age. That part of the movie was bittersweet, but the love stories (it’s about the gay couple, but there are three love stories taking place) were all touching and real.

This is, in fact, my favourite of the three movies, It’s overacted in places, but overall, the performances are better than the other two. The story is a simple one, and the message is one I liked. That love is hard, you have to work at it and for it, and in the end, the love that lasts is the one that makes you comfortable, lets you be you, doesn’t ask you to be other than you are.

After watching all of these, I wish one thing for these movies: bigger budgets. One of the most marked things, especially in the last one, was no extras. No background motion of life happening around these guys, and it sort left the movie feeling a little empty, like a work in progress. I think a bit more money would fill out the world with the rest of us who walk the same streets and share the lives of men flaling in and out of love. We all share one world, after all.

TV Talk: Game of Thrones

Can someone please explain? As far as I can tell, this series is six minutes of watching a perfectly nice, dysfunctional family get along and live happily and in tune with their pet Dire Wolves and then four seasons of watching them dismembered and killed, one at a time. Slowly. While the others watch.

I’m not seeing the joy in this, people. There is no joy. There’s no good guy. The bravest character I an find is an abused bastard son who thinks he’s worthless, but was nice to the bullied kid. The most honourable one is a manipulative dwarf who’s best characteristic is that at least he’s open and unapologetic about being a jerk-wad, and the nicest one never speaks and thinks his wife is property. (We won’t even talk about his brother-in-law who needs beating with a hurt stick)

The only characters I like are canine or pre-teen. And they killed one and maimed another. Seriously? The hell?

And okay, so I’m only four episodes into season one, but I’m not seeing this going anyplace good. Just sayin’

Of Google searches and accidental writing

Sam Elliott

It amazes me that I can type a search for “Older rugged cowboys” into a google images search and still get a picture of a girl in a bikini on the first page. I mean, sure, I also got the Marlborough Man, Sean Connery, Tim McGraw and this guy. (Who is Sam Elliott, BTW. I had to look him up because I know his face but never could remember his name.)

But a girl in a bikini? Why? Is the objectification so ubiquitous that “rugged Cowboy” = “scantily clad woman”? Because that sort of sucks.

Okay. So anyway. Little rant there, because it’s not the first time I’ve observed that phenomenon. It bugs me. Obviously.

But about the accidental writing bit. So my process pretty much consists of a very few steps.

1) Open Document.

2) Write.

3) See what happens.

That’s pretty much it. So when I got to be three chapters into this new story, I realized I had the basic idea who these two guys were, Eddie, washed-up-before-he-started, in-the-closet-door-slightly-ajar actor, and Pike, well-adjusted-but-prone-to-crushing-on-guys-he-can’t-have stunt cowboy. So the potential is there, right? Put them in the same paddock as Pike tries to teach Eddie to ride, and watch the sparks…smoulder. So far. Not flying sparks yet. Eddie’ being a jerk.

But there needs to be more conflict, so the sometimes step four of my process is what I call ramble-write until something happens. Most of what is produced in a ramble-write is often discarded. It’s just me getting to know the characters. But sometimes, something comes up that slots perfectly into the “I need a conflict” hole in my plot.

Meet Tim. Disrepute. Drunk. Unreliable. Deep in denial, but willing to let a guy suck him off if it means he doesn’t have to jack himself off. He’s sort of a prick. Pike has worked with him just enough to know he doesn’t like him. Eddie is just desperate enough for a drink….insta-bad-decision.

Book Talk: Button Down by Dawn Kimberly Johnson

And here I was all set to actually like Royston. Too bad he turned our to be as much of a bastard as his father, maybe. This story is heading into territory where all the straight men in Ford’s life only seem to be able to make good emotional decisions if the women in their lives coach them along a pretty obvious route. It sort sucks that they aren’t more multidimensional. But then, I have to say, I like the women, smart, sassy and determined. They possess that rare quality that not many writers can pull off: strong and capable center inside a shell of wise goodness with a sweet-to-their-men icing that could easily come off as fake or weak, but doesn’t in this book.

I have to say, it’s rare that I come across a gay romance in which the stand out characters are the women, but this is shaping up to be maybe the first one of it’s kind I’ve read. Not that I don’t like Ford and Gus. I do. But they both seem to need a woman’s touch to nudge them in each others’ direction. I’m not quite sure I’m buying it. But then, I’m not done the book yet, so we shall see. If nothing else, I do love the gals

Blurb: When he finds himself captivated by a movie-star handsome stranger he meets in a bar, lawyer Ford Reilly watches a simple one-night stand develop into a taste of what living honestly might bring him.

Out and proud Gus Hansen has built a small architectural firm from nothing, but could lose it all as he tries to break a contract he signed before knowing about the project’s antigay ties.

After Ford discovers he spent a passionate night with the man on the other side of the dispute he’s handling, he finds himself in more than one quandary. He can either maintain the status quo, enforcing the contract to the letter, or he can defy his overbearing father and break free of the closeted life he’s built for himself in order to be with Gus.

Gus has his own choices to make. He knows the sting of loving a man who hides himself, but the longer he lingers in Ford’s presence, the more difficult it becomes to deny their attraction.

Book Talk: When Love Takes Over by Jacob Flores

I’ve never been to Provincetown, so I have no idea if this depiction is accurate, but even so, the picture Jacob paints of the colourful place caught me up. I felt like I was reading an endless party and it so often had that same wide-eyed OMG reaction I probably would have had if I’d been there. I think I like that as one of my favourite aspects of this book. The town itself became a character, and made the book that much more interesting.

The characters themselves were also interesting. Zach especially made me want to pet him a bit, both because he was so clearly lost after the breakup and because he was so enviably brave to take such a trip by himself with no idea what he was in for.

The whole book was  both a romp and a heart-warmer, and that’s really hard to do.  I snickered out loud more than once, and I cheered for the guys to get it right and let love take over. This is one of those books I will read again when I pick up book two, just to get to know them again. Like revisiting the scene of the best vacation ever

This narrator also happens to be one of my favourite, so that, I’m sure upped my enjoyment of this book a lot, though I’m pretty sure I would have loved reading it myself. It’s just a lot of fun.

The Blurb: Provincetown: Book One (click on the cover to go buy the book)

Zach Kelly’s life is a shambles. His boyfriend of three years dumped him, and his writing career is going nowhere. On a whim, he heads to Provincetown, Massachusetts, to nurse his broken heart and figure out his next step. He’s expecting to find rest and relaxation on the sandy beaches of Cape Cod. Instead, Zach meets a hunky porn star during a chance encounter at a leather shop he mistakes as a place to buy a belt that is definitely not for whipping.

Van Pierce is smitten when shy and inexperienced Zach crashes through a shelf of fetish gear. Though Van’s got an insatiable appetite for men on and off the set, his porn persona, Hart Throb, hides a broken heart. He’s struggling to find the reality the porno set doesn’t offer, and Zach is fighting to find the fantasy that will set his writing on fire. The odd goofball and the suave beefcake may either find love amid Provincetown’s colorful pageantry where summer never seems to end—or more heartbreak than either can imagine.

Book Talk: Dirty Secret by Rhys Ford

I had the honour of meeting Rhys Ford recently. We write for thee same publisher and I had a chance to go out for dinner with the author. It was an interesting and entertaining experience, for sure. I’d do it again.

Now, about the book. I had already read the first book before meeting Rhys, and thought it was fantastic. After the meeting, I find now I can definitely hear the writer in the prose. If anything this has me appreciating book two even more. Plus, there is the way this narrator voices Jae-Min’s voice is positively sinful.

Rhys has created some great characters, too. Like Mike, the main character Cole’s brother. He is awesome. So very  awesome. I’ll tell you what. When he stood up for Cole, I wanted to stand up and cheer. I maybe did a little fist pump in the air. It was epic. I was a fan.

Then Rhys did this thing that had me texting Mary with “Why????? Why, Mary, why do that?” Of course, I can’t tell you what it was, because as River would say:

I will say, at about two thirds of the way to the end, I’m really enjoying the read.

Random fun stuff and things

As a writer, there are always ways to procrastinate. Here are just a few.

If Fine Art is more your style, then check out this series of genderswapped Disney characters. 

Sakimi Chan has a ton more art on this Diviant Art page

Book talk (Amy Lane and the Johnnies Boys) and Shoe shopping

Not that the Book talk has anything to do with the shoe shopping, but hey. Check this out.

Cute Shoes. ‘Nuff said

On to Amy lane and the boys from Johnnies.

I’ve read the three current offerings. I had put it off a long time because of the talk around how heart-rending Chase, from Chase in Shadow was rumoured to be. And yes, he was sad, confused and, bless him, pretty fucked in the head. Not a huge shock for an Amy Lane Character, truth be told. I was surprised that I managed to like him, though. I sort of thought I might have a hard time empathising, what with the girlfriend and the boyfriend at the same time, but Amy is kind of magical in that, as it turns out, liking him was not at issue. Also, I’ve been suicidal, so I get that. And I thought the book would be too much. It wasn’t. In fact, it turned out to be one of those instances where I thought…this is what all the angst and fuss has been about? Really, my heart kind of broke for Tommy more than for Chase. In the end, turns out, I was procrastinating for nothing. It was a fantastic book and I loved it, and it really didn’t angst me out all that much.

Enter Dex. Chapter one broke my ever-lovin’ heart. But having seen so much of Dex in Chase’s book, I already knew he was sort of on his feet, if not quite perfect. So the heartbreak was not as deep as it might have been if I didn’t already know the man who’d grown from the boy in the first chapter of his own book. And Kane. I mean seriously. I want a Kane. There is nothing not to like about Kane. He’s thoughtful, sweet, bossy, temperamental, maybe a bit unfocused and hard on himself, but overall, he’s pretty damn near perfect. And from the first time getting to know him, there was never really a doubt in my mind that Kane was going make Dex a safe and secure place to not be in charge of every damn thing and person around him. They’re just an awesome couple, and really, this was a truly feel-good book for me. Of all of them, this will be a re-read, for sure.

Ethan. Dear, sweet, broken, lonely Ethan. Just when I thought I was getting out of an entire Amy Lane series intact, along comes Ethan. And does anyone ever think to warn a girl about him? No. For the love of all that is sacred, people, why the hell not ?!?! Where is the solidarity? Where the compassion for your fellow readers?

I knew, from Chase and Dex’s books, that Ethan was fragile and needy. Just the glimpses were enough to know that about him. But it didn’t prepare me for the desert of emptiness that surrounds the man. From the moment we meet him as a five year old boy to the day he bumps into Jonah at the pet food store, there is a no-man’s land of nothing around him. And that, my friends, is the thing that ripped me open and made me bleed. Like Kane, I never doubted Jonah for even a single moment. But unlike my certainty for Dex, I had moments where I wondered if even Jonah could cross that arid plane of ALONE to reach Ethan and make his world right. And you know that with Amy, sort of like with Joss Whedon, there’s never a guarantee everyone makes it out alive, let alone unscathed. Certainly, I never get to the end of her stories unchanged as a reader. That, right there, is sort of what frightens me about her books, and, of course, what I cherish about her writing. The Johnnies Boys are no different. I’ll be bracing myself for John himself. When his tale is told, I’m pretty sure it’ll be a doozie.