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Zero at the Bone (Zero at the Bone #1)

Jane Seville

Start date: January 1, 2012

Finish date: January 31, 2012

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May 09, 2010 Dina rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, romantic-suspense

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book has a great premise and based on the raving reviews I'd read, I was sure it would be a sure winner. Well, I'm sorry to say that I failed to see what all the fuss was about...

Dr. Jack Francisco has the misfortune of witnessing a mob murder and has his life turned upside down. These particular mob murderers have been escaping the law for years and they've managed to be acquitted from every crime charged against them, as witnesses of those "alleged" crimes always disappear mysteriously be This book has a great premise and based on the raving reviews I'd read, I was sure it would be a sure winner. Well, I'm sorry to say that I failed to see what all the fuss was about...

Dr. Jack Francisco has the misfortune of witnessing a mob murder and has his life turned upside down. These particular mob murderers have been escaping the law for years and they've managed to be acquitted from every crime charged against them, as witnesses of those "alleged" crimes always disappear mysteriously before they get the chance to be called to testify. The DA isn't going to take any chances this time, so Jack is put under the FBI's Witness Protection Program. Jack knows that his life as he knows it is over, but he's a good, law-abiding citizen and wants to do the right thing.

D is an assassin for hire - an "eccentric" one, some would say. He has his own moral code and only takes jobs where the targets are bad guys themselves. One can think of him as a vigilante, only that he doesn't kill people out of some twisted sense of justice. He does it for money, period. He's offered the job to kill Jack, but he refuses because Jack isn't one of the bad guys. However, D's "employer" doesn't take "no" for an answer and blackmails him into doing it. Even so, D can't make himself kill Jack and decides to take the unfortunate doctor under his protection, knowing that other hit men will be called to do the job as soon as his blackmailer finds out he didn't do it.

That's how Jack and D meet and begin their journey together, dodging bullets, hiding and trying to stay alive long enough to allow Jack to testify. Will they make it? Or will they take the easy way out and choose to hide forever, letting the mob murderers go free? What about the growing attraction between them? Jack is an openly gay man, but D is straight... or so he keeps saying to himself. And what about D's "profession"? How can a law-abiding citizen like Jack accept what D does for a living? It doesn't matter that D claims to kill "only" the bad guys. Who's he to decide who's good and who's bad?

This was an uneven read to me. I loved the beginning and the way Ms. Seville set the story up with a few pages. Her writing was concise and direct, conveying all the necessary information with precision. Each scene was tightly woven, the action was riveting and non-stop. Then, once Jack and D had to stop and hide for a while, the tone and the pace of the story changed abruptly. That's the point when Jack started to probe into D's feelings, forcing the cold-hearted hit man to open up. I believe those moments were supposed to be emotional and all that, but I didn't get it. Sorry, I didn't feel the connection there. And when they finally became intimate, it felt like an act out of desperation, not love.

The story picked up some pace again when Jack and D worked their way through the tentative relationship and the mushy stuff was out of the way... or so I thought. My reprieve was brief, because Ms. Seville inserted another twist in the story and I had to deal with the Long Separation plot device and a lot - I mean, a lot! - of pining and internal whining from Jack (mostly) and D. Oh boy, I did not needed that so close to the end of the book! At one point, I was ready to kill myself if I found another italicized sentence in the book.

Anyway, they managed to clear everything up and the story came to an end... or so I though, again. I was quite satisfied reading the last chapter's final paragraphs, thinking that that was a surprisingly beautiful (even though far-fetched) HEA. Then I started reading the epilogue... WTF?!? It was the most depressing epilogue I've ever read. It erased the HEA and I was left full of doubts. An epilogue is supposed to give readers the assurance that the H/h are indeed living HEA, but this book's epilogue turned a satisfying HEA into a doubtful HFN. :(

As for Jack and D, I liked them but I didn't love them. D was a very tortured hero, but not the kind I wanted to hug and never let go. I don't know, he didn't have that special something that makes me love a tortured hero. Jack was your average nice guy. He was way more open than D - duh! - but somehow I didn't get to know him as well as I got to know D. Over the course of the story, D's past is revealed piece by piece, allowing me to understand why and how he had become who he was. I got nothing from Jack. I knew he had a family, but not who they were. Were his parents still alive? Did he have any siblings? Aunts? Cousins? Did he care about them? I'm hard pressed to say no, seeing that he didn't spare a single thought to them throughout the story.

Overall, this was an OK read. The good parts were great, but the bad parts were blah. She's got some short stories (featuring Jack and D) available on her website and I plan to check them out. Maybe I can get a better feeling of closure reading them.
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Dec 01, 2011 Trish rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m

loved it. great build up to the characters and their back stories, etc. the relationship wasn't shoved down our throat... and best of all there was no wishy washy back and forth.. none of those... "i want to, i can't, i won't, i have to, buti shouldn't".

characters were confident, not perfect and committed. what a great combo. the love was hot, intense, fun and endearing. so yeah, overall was a great book. ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Susinok rated it it was amazing

Shelves: suspense, contemporary, glbt, romance

Holy crap this book is so intense! Emotion, action, angst, everything. It makes me want to take away a star from every other romantic suspense I've ever rated. ...more

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Jul 03, 2010 Tara rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2010, romance-contemporary, m-m, bom-mm

Zero at the Bone is the story of Dr. Jack Francisco, a man who witnesses a crime committed by a notorious mob family. He is put into protective custody to await the trial that he is to testify at, leaving behind all he worked so long and hard to become. D is a hired gun that has been blackmailed into taking the hit to silence this witness forever. When the time comes instead if killing him, he saves him and they begin the long journey to keeping themselves alive and possible to finding a whole n Zero at the Bone is the story of Dr. Jack Francisco, a man who witnesses a crime committed by a notorious mob family. He is put into protective custody to await the trial that he is to testify at, leaving behind all he worked so long and hard to become. D is a hired gun that has been blackmailed into taking the hit to silence this witness forever. When the time comes instead if killing him, he saves him and they begin the long journey to keeping themselves alive and possible to finding a whole new life together.

I really liked this story and the characters... for about the first 200 pages, then their story got to an ending and the book went on, then came to another ending, and then a 3rd, and then there was an almost 40 page epilogue, and finally 180 pages after the first ending the book was complete, but now it seemed to be in the middle of their second story. The problem was that it just went on and on and on, and I started to get bored. Which is weird because I like what I was reading, it just interrupted the flow of the story I had sat down to read. Around page 200, things could have ended with an epilogue. As I continued, I could almost see how some of what was happening was important, but the large amount of detail was making it feel bogged down. By page 300, I just didn't care anymore and I wanted the story to conclude.

Basically after the warehouse scene (I won't say what happens there), the book could end with a sort of cliff hanger that makes you want to come back to these guys again. And everything that happens after that would be a great novella. And it would set up nicely what is clearly going to the sequel.

I have also read all 3 of her short stories and I really believe the next book could be great as well, as long as it ends at the end of the story.

Finally I have to say, I had wanted to read this for a while, but I decided to read it now because it was chosen as a BOM for the m/m group. This month's theme was gay for you. I have to say while I do really like the GFY stories and I did really like this story, it didn't seem like it was a gfy book, since they had both had some m/m experience previously. Not as intense of course, but it had happened.

Overall I'd say read this book and be prepared to feel like you stayed just a little too long at a party.
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Apr 11, 2010 Kirsten rated it liked it

Generally an interesting story-- good plot, interesting side characters, but the main characters were a bit over the top. D was kind of annoying, especially the way his dialogue was written: ...somebody out there wants ta make me suffer for it, so they made me take yer contract. Reckon if I’d a done the job, they’d a made sure I went ta the chair... It got very old after about 20 pages and it was hard to focus on it and read it. I often found myself skimming it.

And the other main character Jack ...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Julia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, cop-pi-spy, doctors-emt-paramedics, favorites, mystery-suspense-thriller

Good God. I loved this story on every level. Tense, hot, sweet, and even funny in places. Hell, it even made me sniffle. I was totally engaged and couldn't put it down. The writer's style is incredibly good too. There are some breathtaking lines in this book. ...more

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