From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Shades of Gray

Brooke McKinley

Start date: January 1, 2012

Finish date: January 31, 2012

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

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Book of the Month Club

* Candidates for Next Month's Read
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What Members Thought

Mar 10, 2011 Emanuela ~plastic duck~ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: glbt, rainbow-gay, romance, action-crime-suspense

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

"Well then, it was a choice he made, wasn't it? So that just means he loves you more than doing the right thing all the time."

I like questionable characters who make questionable choices and who then are able to come out of the other side stronger for it.

Both Danny and Miller are men who had a difficult youth: Danny wasn't loved by his family, but he knew what he was; Miller comes from a family who loved him, but there was something in him that he wasn't able to explain or he refused to see. Whe

"Well then, it was a choice he made, wasn't it? So that just means he loves you more than doing the right thing all the time."

I like questionable characters who make questionable choices and who then are able to come out of the other side stronger for it.

Both Danny and Miller are men who had a difficult youth: Danny wasn't loved by his family, but he knew what he was; Miller comes from a family who loved him, but there was something in him that he wasn't able to explain or he refused to see. When they meet, Danny and Miller are on opposite sides of life, because Danny belongs to a criminal organization and he's good at his job, while Miller is an FBI agent who's trying to frame Danny's boss. Their profession is not black and white and even if from the reader's point of view Danny is the one who represents black - he's a drug dealer with no apparent remorse - Miller's profession brings him to use people for his own goals, promising protection in exchange for information even when the outcome could be more difficult and tragic than what he lets people know.

Danny stirs in Miller thoughts and feelings he has suppressed for his whole life. I don't think Danny seduces him: since the beginning it's clear that Miller is at a point in his life where there's only denial and dissatisfaction. Miller lets Danny seduce him, he lets himself be freed by the other man.

Their journey is full of angst and emotional and physical pain, but also of sweetness and warmth. There is a lot that they have to rid themselves of and they have to find the strength to go on, to embrace their destiny, in themselves. I really appreciated that the plot revolved more around the relationship between the main characters than on the criminal plot. There is an element of suspense, but it's in the choices Danny and Miller have to make rather than in the story. The two protagonists have to find what they are ready to compromise for to find their peace, to find a way to forgive themselves.

When they are together, Danny and Miller are in their own world, where desire, love and tenderness keep the self-loathing away. It's easy for them to be together, so I was glad the author made the protagonists separate to make their life right before allowing them to be together again. From a reader's point-of-view, it made me know them better and appreciate them more.

At one point in the story I was very doubtful that the author would be able to wrap up the story giving the main couple their happy ending and solving everything, but I wanted too much: the bad guy in prison, Miller solving the case, Danny being finally free of his past. This is not how life works, there is no painless choice, but that's why hard earned things are the most precious. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2011 Mandy*reads obsessively* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-faves, m-m, ebook-owned, hurt-comfort-disability

Wow! This is a book that will stay with you long after reading it!

4 likes · Like · see review

May 03, 2011 Mtsnow13 rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, m-m, erotica, fbi-agent-detective, romance, contemporary, suspense, less-than-300-pages, dreamspinner, own-read

Currently listening to the audiobook as a reread.

Read this a few years ago, and surprised how much I forgot about this story. It's an emotional ride with some difficult choices having to be made. There are some intense scenes of torture that made me tear up. The southern accent is taking some getting used to, but by the end of the story, I was okay with it.

Not a bad audiobook..recommend ;) ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 24, 2011 Calathea rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, mystery-suspense-thriller, contemporary

I liked how the story started and all the possible conflicts it promised. And then there was this part towards the end where Danny tries to overcome his past starts a new life.

All in all I think it would have worked better as two shorter stories. There was a long stretch in the middle where (imho) nothing really happened and I skipped and skipped and looked for the point where the action took up again. After three quaters the story reached its natural end and for me that would have been enough ( ...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Lyn rated it it was ok

I couldn't get into this for some reason. What I did read I liked though. ...more

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Jun 03, 2011 Stephanie marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: cops-private-eyes-bodyguards, gay-for-you

I read to the 45% mark on my Kindle and had to skip to the last chapter because the story seemed to move too slow for my taste and was a bit boring. I really lost interest in what happened in between them having sex for the first time and their reunion in the end. It was very well written though. I loved the ending.

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