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Casa Rodrigo
Genre: LGBT Multicultural Historical
On a lush, tropical island inhabited by rogues, thieves and villains, where men take the law into their own hands, a father and son are thrust into tumultuous events that will change their lives forever.
Bernardo de Rodrigo is proud of his son. Alonso is handsome and winning, and everyone he meets is instantly drawn to the tall, warm Spaniard. But how could either of them have known that a forbidden love is about to claim Alonso's heart?
Arbol, the charismatic male slave who was saved from the clutches of Raul Ignacio Martin, feels an instant connection with Alonso, the moment he looks into Arbol's eyes, the moment they touch.
Bernardo has other things to worry about, however. He's trying to exorcise himself of an intensely gratifying yet shame-filled sexual affair with Raul, who secretly adores Bernardo but doesn't know how to show it.
When Raul blackmails Bernardo, their dark and sordid relationship not only threatens the bond between father and son, it places Arbol's life in danger. Now Bernardo must make a difficult choice that could further alienate his son while Alonso must find a way to keep the man he loves.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, male/male sexual practices.
On a lush, tropical island inhabited by rogues, thieves and villains, where men take the law into their own hands, a father and son are thrust into tumultuous events that will change their lives forever.
Bernardo de Rodrigo is proud of his son. Alonso is handsome and winning, and everyone he meets is instantly drawn to the tall, warm Spaniard. But how could either of them have known that a forbidden love is about to claim Alonso's heart?
Arbol, the charismatic male slave who was saved from the clutches of Raul Ignacio Martin, feels an instant connection with Alonso, the moment he looks into Arbol's eyes, the moment they touch.
Bernardo has other things to worry about, however. He's trying to exorcise himself of an intensely gratifying yet shame-filled sexual affair with Raul, who secretly adores Bernardo but doesn't know how to show it.
When Raul blackmails Bernardo, their dark and sordid relationship not only threatens the bond between father and son, it places Arbol's life in danger. Now Bernardo must make a difficult choice that could further alienate his son while Alonso must find a way to keep the man he loves.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, male/male sexual practices.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 11, 2010
1 person is currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 2, 2010
As expected, this was not an easy book to read. Slavery isn’t a simple topic to deal with, and seeing what it can do to a family doesn’t make for your “standard romance story” (if there is such a thing). Johnny Miles did an excellent job at portraying not only the physical environment of the island most of the story takes place on, but also the attitudes and beliefs of 17th century people. It included a lot of violence and cruelty, but no more than necessary to make the story setting convincing.
What I loved about the book was the descriptions of Spain (where the story starts in 1647) and the tropical island where most of the story takes place (in 1666). The characters were “real” to me, and the storyline was plausible for its time. It would never work in today’s day and age and I suspect many people won’t like the fact that Alonso doesn’t stand up for himself and Arbol more than he does.
The relationship between Alonso and Arbol is problematic but very emotional. Alonso struggles to admit that he loves Arbol, where Arbol is very sure from the start. I didn’t expect a Happy Ever After, that wouldn’t have fit with the rest of the story. I did get an emotionally satisfying glimpse of hope that they’d be able to lead a life together, as much as possible in their circumstances.
I thought Casa Rodrigo was a good book, full of vivid descriptions and a historically accurate story, but it is not for the faint of heart.
What I loved about the book was the descriptions of Spain (where the story starts in 1647) and the tropical island where most of the story takes place (in 1666). The characters were “real” to me, and the storyline was plausible for its time. It would never work in today’s day and age and I suspect many people won’t like the fact that Alonso doesn’t stand up for himself and Arbol more than he does.
The relationship between Alonso and Arbol is problematic but very emotional. Alonso struggles to admit that he loves Arbol, where Arbol is very sure from the start. I didn’t expect a Happy Ever After, that wouldn’t have fit with the rest of the story. I did get an emotionally satisfying glimpse of hope that they’d be able to lead a life together, as much as possible in their circumstances.
I thought Casa Rodrigo was a good book, full of vivid descriptions and a historically accurate story, but it is not for the faint of heart.
Read
August 17, 2010With the lack of Gay Historical romance out there, I’m surprised that Casa Rodrigo had not a much wider word of mouth, above all since it’s also set in a not so common period, the XVII century in La Española, one of the major islands in the Caribbean.
Until more or less the date when this novel start, La Española was a Spanish colony, but it was also a dangerous place to do business. The author probably chose this set to justify the not so clear business of two Andalusian men, Bernardo and Raul; apparently the worst of enemies, they are linked by a destructive passion. Even if Raul is the villain of this story, I can understand him a bit; he is probably a man that, if lead by someone with high principle, would have been better. Instead he fell in love with Bernardo and Bernardo “betrayed” him to follow the strict rules of their time, marry and have an heir.
Years later, Bernardo has two sons and a dwelling business; Raul comes back to him with a devil pact, something Bernardo is not able to refuse. As Raul is not entirely bad, Bernardo is not fully an hero: it’s true that he saved a little slave from Raul’s wrath, Arbol, but he actually hasn’t done anything else for the boy. Arbol spent the first five years of his life hidden in an attic to then become a field slave in La Española; the only good memory is his friendship with Alonso, Bernardo’s son, 7 years older than Arbol.
When Bernardo brought Arbol home, Alonso took care of him, but not like a brother, more like a cherished pet; and when five years later Bernardo decided to leave Arbol in La Española, it didn’t take much time to Alonso to forget about the boy. 14 years later, when both Bernardo than Alonso are coming back to La Española, Alonso has no memory of the boy, while instead Arbol has dreamt about Alonso.
Arbol is an innocent man, in many aspects; he is not cultured, refined, but he has a good heart. He thinks to Alonso like a prince, like the man who will allow him to have a better life, but Arbol has no dream of freedom, since he doesn’t know what freedom is. Arbol wants a little home, a comfortable bed and that is enough for him.
On the other hand, even if Alonso is the hero of this story, I found him a spoiled brat. He wants Arbol like he would have wanted a new toy; maybe later in the story he falls in love, but in any case I have the feeling that what he wants is still more important than Arbol himself. And this is probably his best feature since it’s perfectly in line with the time and his upbringing. Alonso is a middle class man who basically hasn’t a trouble in his life; he will inherit his father business, he is not against the idea and so he is good with that. He has no desire to “escape”, he doesn’t feel constrict by the society he is living in. Maybe he was a little too naïve for his age, 25 years old in the XVII century was almost middle life, and indeed his father took him in his first travel when he was barely 11.
The novel pushes also a lot on the sex and its description, and again, I think it was quite right with the setting; men at the time were more instinctual, there was very little romanticism, if not for some poems, like the one Bernardo likes.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607377357/?...
Until more or less the date when this novel start, La Española was a Spanish colony, but it was also a dangerous place to do business. The author probably chose this set to justify the not so clear business of two Andalusian men, Bernardo and Raul; apparently the worst of enemies, they are linked by a destructive passion. Even if Raul is the villain of this story, I can understand him a bit; he is probably a man that, if lead by someone with high principle, would have been better. Instead he fell in love with Bernardo and Bernardo “betrayed” him to follow the strict rules of their time, marry and have an heir.
Years later, Bernardo has two sons and a dwelling business; Raul comes back to him with a devil pact, something Bernardo is not able to refuse. As Raul is not entirely bad, Bernardo is not fully an hero: it’s true that he saved a little slave from Raul’s wrath, Arbol, but he actually hasn’t done anything else for the boy. Arbol spent the first five years of his life hidden in an attic to then become a field slave in La Española; the only good memory is his friendship with Alonso, Bernardo’s son, 7 years older than Arbol.
When Bernardo brought Arbol home, Alonso took care of him, but not like a brother, more like a cherished pet; and when five years later Bernardo decided to leave Arbol in La Española, it didn’t take much time to Alonso to forget about the boy. 14 years later, when both Bernardo than Alonso are coming back to La Española, Alonso has no memory of the boy, while instead Arbol has dreamt about Alonso.
Arbol is an innocent man, in many aspects; he is not cultured, refined, but he has a good heart. He thinks to Alonso like a prince, like the man who will allow him to have a better life, but Arbol has no dream of freedom, since he doesn’t know what freedom is. Arbol wants a little home, a comfortable bed and that is enough for him.
On the other hand, even if Alonso is the hero of this story, I found him a spoiled brat. He wants Arbol like he would have wanted a new toy; maybe later in the story he falls in love, but in any case I have the feeling that what he wants is still more important than Arbol himself. And this is probably his best feature since it’s perfectly in line with the time and his upbringing. Alonso is a middle class man who basically hasn’t a trouble in his life; he will inherit his father business, he is not against the idea and so he is good with that. He has no desire to “escape”, he doesn’t feel constrict by the society he is living in. Maybe he was a little too naïve for his age, 25 years old in the XVII century was almost middle life, and indeed his father took him in his first travel when he was barely 11.
The novel pushes also a lot on the sex and its description, and again, I think it was quite right with the setting; men at the time were more instinctual, there was very little romanticism, if not for some poems, like the one Bernardo likes.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607377357/?...
September 27, 2011
While the blurb may say it's about Alonso and Arbol, there are many layers to this story. Yes, Alonso and Arbol are one story line. They were friends as children then Arbol was taken to the plantation on La Espanola in the New World. Alonso comes back to the plantation as an adult and they are attracted to one another and act on their attraction, remembering their past. But it is also a story of fathers and sons, husbands and wives, pasts, forbidden passions, and forgiveness. Alonso's father, Bernardo, has been having an affair with Raul, a neighbor from Spain, who also owns the plantation next to theirs in the New World. Raul gave Bernardo the money to purchase the plantation. Bernardo is ashamed and humiliated when he and Raul are together but he cannot let go of the sex between he and Raul. Bernardo's wife, Adelina, though only in the story for a short while but talked of often, has a strong influence on Bernardo but not strong enough to keep Bernardo from going to Raul when the family might have starved. When Alonso learns of his father's past he is angry and that anger makes him foolish. The mid-1600's were an interesting time when slavery and humans clashed. There is the idealistic side and the reality side of issue. It's not pretty and Mr. Miles does not make the subject pretty but he does handle it well. I wanted to see what would happen. I liked the contrast of Alonso and Arbol against Bernardo and Raul. The young men see nothing wrong with their love while Bernardo sees only the shame and humiliation and fear of discovery of his affair with Raul while Raul sees Bernardo's marriage as betrayal. I hated Raul as most in the story did but Raul became more human and less of a characature when his pain over losing Bernardo causes him to let Perez leave his home without being abused. He never does become a good guy though. He truly is a perverted SOB but so is Perez. I would like to see what happens with Alonso and Arbol in the future. This is a good read--one I could not put down and didn't, reading it in one evening.
February 3, 2012
Casa Rodrigo deals with the harsh realities of the evil that men do to each other, and there were parts that made me wince, cry, or growl in righteous indignanation, but throughout, Johnny Miles painted a very vivid picture of planation life without glossing over the cruelty of human enslavement. It's a hard book to read at times, but a great example of self-sacrifice for the sake of love.
Arbol stole into my heart from the moment he was taken from his dying mother's arms and placed into Alonso's, and Alonso joined him there shortly thereafter. The characters, whether primary or secondary, were all three dimensional, with flaws, strenghts, and everything in between. Even the monstrous Raul had enough gray area to make me wonder if he'd have been a better man if he and Bernardo could have been truly together, though I wanted to whack both men with the frying pan used on Perez. But in the end, I'm glad father and son reconciled their differences, Raul was a menace no more, and Arbol got a chance for a better life. I'm hoping the ending means things improved for all who lived at Casa Rodrigo.
This book is different from so many m/m romances I read in that the environment is as much a character as our heroes, Arbol and Alonso, and the story is driven by rich descriptions of another time and place. Warning: it contains scenes of torture and cruelty in keeping with the story, none gratuitous.
I hope that Mr. Miles will follow up this novel, for I so want to see what the future holds for these two men.
Arbol stole into my heart from the moment he was taken from his dying mother's arms and placed into Alonso's, and Alonso joined him there shortly thereafter. The characters, whether primary or secondary, were all three dimensional, with flaws, strenghts, and everything in between. Even the monstrous Raul had enough gray area to make me wonder if he'd have been a better man if he and Bernardo could have been truly together, though I wanted to whack both men with the frying pan used on Perez. But in the end, I'm glad father and son reconciled their differences, Raul was a menace no more, and Arbol got a chance for a better life. I'm hoping the ending means things improved for all who lived at Casa Rodrigo.
This book is different from so many m/m romances I read in that the environment is as much a character as our heroes, Arbol and Alonso, and the story is driven by rich descriptions of another time and place. Warning: it contains scenes of torture and cruelty in keeping with the story, none gratuitous.
I hope that Mr. Miles will follow up this novel, for I so want to see what the future holds for these two men.
June 23, 2010
I don’t usually read historical romances as a rule—they don’t much appeal to me—but something about Casa Rodrigo caught my interest and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Casa Rodrigo is a suspense-filled story with strong family ties and engaging romance.
The relationship between Alanso and Arbol is very dangerous, not just because of the times, but also because of who they both are: Alanso a slave owner and Arbol a slave. Their relationship is very emotional and draws you in right away...
see the review in its entirety at
http://ebookaddict2.blogspot.com/sear...
The relationship between Alanso and Arbol is very dangerous, not just because of the times, but also because of who they both are: Alanso a slave owner and Arbol a slave. Their relationship is very emotional and draws you in right away...
see the review in its entirety at
http://ebookaddict2.blogspot.com/sear...
December 16, 2015
First of all, this isn’t a particularly easy story to read or listen to. It’s a historical tale set in the 1600’s and deals with slavery. It’s not easy reading about men who keep slaves, even if they are better than others depicted in the story.
There are a couple different stories going on here, the first of which deals with Alonso de Rodrigo and a slave named Arbol. Alonso and Arbol are drawn to each other the first time they’re reunited as adults, but their stations in life, among other things, keep them apart.
The chemistry between Alonso and Arbol is smoking right from the start and the sex scenes were unbelievable.
Another plotline in here is the one between Alonso’s father Bernardo and Raul Ignacio Velasco. Raul is a disgusting, vile human, but the author manages to show us even he has a heart. Alonso and Bernardo are having an affair and it’s filled with rough sex and nasty words. Not what most people would call a love connection, but deep down Raul loves Bernardo, he just doesn’t know how to show it. Kudos to Miles for not flinching away from showing the hard truth about not just slavery but also how gay men must have felt during that time period.
There are a couple different stories going on here, the first of which deals with Alonso de Rodrigo and a slave named Arbol. Alonso and Arbol are drawn to each other the first time they’re reunited as adults, but their stations in life, among other things, keep them apart.
The chemistry between Alonso and Arbol is smoking right from the start and the sex scenes were unbelievable.
Another plotline in here is the one between Alonso’s father Bernardo and Raul Ignacio Velasco. Raul is a disgusting, vile human, but the author manages to show us even he has a heart. Alonso and Bernardo are having an affair and it’s filled with rough sex and nasty words. Not what most people would call a love connection, but deep down Raul loves Bernardo, he just doesn’t know how to show it. Kudos to Miles for not flinching away from showing the hard truth about not just slavery but also how gay men must have felt during that time period.
March 3, 2011
Casa Rodrigo let me count the ways this story rocked my world. It’s not everyday you read about men finding love during a time of slavery. Johnny Miles homoerotic love story included all the things I seek in a good book sex, betrayal, love and conflict; a story of passion and love which was well done. Reviewed by Dana Breen
DIVA RATING: 3 Divas
HEAT RATING: Flame
Link:http://www.deviantdivaseroticbookrevi...
DIVA RATING: 3 Divas
HEAT RATING: Flame
Link:http://www.deviantdivaseroticbookrevi...
May 11, 2011
Review by Markie:
Getting the era and setting right for a historical is always important, and this author manages to do it in such a way that draws you into another time and place.
This is my first time reading anything by Johnny Miles, but it won't be my last. Casa Rodringo, is a unique tale and very well-written.
The romance between Arbo and Alonso is believable and while they go through their share of tribulations, it all makes for one heck of a story. If you love historical romance, then give Casa Rodringo a try.
A
Getting the era and setting right for a historical is always important, and this author manages to do it in such a way that draws you into another time and place.
This is my first time reading anything by Johnny Miles, but it won't be my last. Casa Rodringo, is a unique tale and very well-written.
The romance between Arbo and Alonso is believable and while they go through their share of tribulations, it all makes for one heck of a story. If you love historical romance, then give Casa Rodringo a try.
A
May 21, 2010
I actually got to ~180 pgs and couldn't finish it. I didn't find anything sexy or romantic about this. Instead it's disturbing and uncomfortable to read about slavery and men who are too weak to do anything about it.
March 2, 2011
I liked this book. The author's style of writing is so simple and graceful. The characters draw you right in. I hope that there are future books planned.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews