Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Adrien English series challenge #1: Fatal Shadows
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LOL, Sara!
You know, it wasn't exactly difficult to lure you in... :-D
Johanna wrote: "Sara wrote: "Well, if you insist....."LOL, Sara!
You know, it wasn't exactly difficult to lure you in... :-D"
Haha, you know my weak points! :D
It will be a pleasure to re-read these books with you all <3
This is a great idea. I stille don't know how much I'll be able to actively join the discussion, for sure I'll lurk in the shadows ;-)
Woo hoo! I JUST finished 'Fatal Shadows' on audio last night. I just love it. Can't wait for a discussion.
What a great idea! I love to see every angle of this story.
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We thought this would be the perfect way to prepare ourselves for a brand new Adrien English story! Plus Josh says it'll be helpful for her to revisit Adrien and Jake with us while she's writing the AE Holiday story. :-)
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Talk about perfect timing, Steve! :-D
Well, I've been looking for an excuse to get these in audio(yeah, I know, as if I need one).
Well. If there's a story that shows us that even after the biggest despair there is hope at the end. I'm in.
And I'm sorry Johanna but Icelanders never really caught on that week thing like Scandinavia. Week 46? What is that? ;)
Yay! I get to rage at Jake all over again! :D
I re-re-re-re-re (OK, lost count of how many times now) listened to the series over the summer, but it's sure no hardship to do it again. :-) Been a while since I've been in a discussion about it - excited.
I've just read about this in the Facebook group. I'm in! I'm always willing to re-read my favourites!
Debbie wrote: "Yay! I get to rage at Jake all over again! :D"I know, right? Can't wait!
Melissa wrote: "Debbie wrote: "Yay! I get to rage at Jake all over again! :D"I know, right? Can't wait!"
:D
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I added the dates to the first post of this topic. :-)
It will be so awesome to reread this!!! My most reread of the series. This and A Dangerous Thing. The last reread was actually a listen, and i remember exactly where i stopped - at that most emotional of moments in Book 5 (well, one of those most emotional of moments), (view spoiler).
Do you remember how it felt to read Fatal Shadows for the first time? When we didn't know Adrien yet? And that other guy...what was his name again...? ;-)
Johanna wrote: "Ame wrote: "And I'm sorry Johanna but Icelanders never really caught on that week thing like Scandinavia. Week 46? What is that? ;)"I added the dates to the first post of this topic. :-)"
Aaww thank you Johanna for the thoughtfulness. I probably could have googled it though if I weren't so lazy ;)
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Awesome to see so many enthusiastic faces here!!! :-)
Calathea wrote: "Do you remember how it felt to read Fatal Shadows for the first time? When we didn't know Adrien yet? And that other guy...what was his name again...? ;-)"It was love at first sentence :-)
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I added the dates to the first post of this top..."
No problem, dear! :-)
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It was love at first se..."
Yes! This!!!
Sara wrote: "Well, if you insist....."LOL my thought exactly
Debbie wrote: "Yay! I get to rage at Jake all over again! :D"LOL yes!
God, when I read FS first time, and started ADT right after, I thought-how come I found this author so late? The only good thing is that I came across of AE after #5 was out so I read the series in something like 10-12 days. I just couldn't put it down. By far, my favorite comfort read. Reread is a must one a year :). No trouble at all :).
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I'm in... this was one of my first MM books and I've never gotten that rape scene out of my memory. It was so poignant and sets up Adrien's character so perfectly... just one of those moments you never forget, ya' know? I fell in love with Adrien and I've been his advocate for so long, I'm still not convinced Jake is good enough for him. And don't get me started on Lisa.
Trio wrote: "I'm in... this was one of my first MM books and I've never gotten that rape scene out of my memory. It was so poignant and sets up Adrien's character so perfectly... just one of those moments you n..."Adrien was one of my first as well, in fact it was my sedond. I loved him from the beginning, but I never hated Jake. I think they are good for each other (at least at the end), and that he loved Adrien from the start but was so very fragile... (my poor Jake... I always feel like protecting him. He did behave as jerk, but he suffered for it... a lot)
Susana wrote: "my poor Jake... I always feel like protecting him. He did behave as jerk, but he suffered for it... a lot"That’s exactly how I feel about Jake.
He broke my heart with his choices and I wanted to slap some sense into him so many times while reading the books, but then I thought about how he must have felt, living with that kind of self-loathing, conflicted about his own nature all his adult life and wasting so many years of his life hiding so much of himself.
That doesn’t mean that he didn’t scarred me for life, though. :D
I remember reading Somebody Killed His Editor dreading that J.X. would turn out to be another “harsh” closeted cop (or ex-cop, in his case).
I should have known better than to doubt Josh. ;)
If I find the courage to put myself through the emotional carnage that this series is, I’ll join you in this re-re-reading. It sounds fun. :)
Yeah, I'm still not 100% behind J.X. either...Jake gave me so many *grrr* >:/ moments he will have to be incredibly good to Adrien for a very long time for me to ever forgive him.
As an aside though, how awesome was their cameo in The Boy with the Painful Tattoo (it was that book, wasn't it?). Jake was being so sweet and protective and it was wonderful to see it through Kit's eyes.
Haven't re-read this book in a while...too long. So I will gladly read it again.I think Jake is one of those characters that is so easy to hate, yet I never did.
I haven't read the Boy with the Painful Tattoo yet. It's on my list though. Seeing their cameo will be so cool!
Trio wrote: "Yeah, I'm still not 100% behind J.X. either...Jake gave me so many *grrr* >:/ moments he will have to be incredibly good to Adrien for a very long time for me to ever forgive him."
Oh, no, I love J.X., he’s wonderful with Kit.
I was only worried at first because of my Jake-related trauma and the fact that he was keeping his distance in the first book. Spoiler about Somebody Killed His Editor:(view spoiler)
Jake was a jerk in many, many occasions, but he suffered for his mistakes as much as anybody else, if not more.
He did start to be very good to Adrien in The Dark Tide, though, didn’t he? ;)
And you’re absolutely right, it was lovely to see them from the outside as a couple in The Boy with the Painful Tattoo.
Kit’s description of them was very apt. Soldiers at peace after a long war.
K. wrote: "I think Jake is one of those characters that is so easy to hate, yet I never did.”
Neither could I, no matter how much of a jerk he was sometimes.
I wonder how much of that depends on the fact that we always see him through Adrien’s perspective. A lot of it, I suppose.
I started a reread of the series during the spring. Read FS and ADT and then found I couldn't face THYS, and I really like that book! But poor Adrien. Well, time to get back on that horse.
I'm happy to see so many participants here already!I started a relisten today on my drive back home. It's still interesting to me that I never saw the hints on a developing interest (at least) between Adrien and Jake on my first read. It's there, though. Adrien mentioned very early how thought Jake was very attractive. :-)
woho! so In. I'm an audio girl when it comes to Adrien, somehow it soothes me :)
Haldis wrote: "I started a reread of the series during the spring. Read FS and ADT and then found I couldn't face THYS, and I really like that book! But poor Adrien. Well, time to get back on that horse."
THYS needs to be approached with caution.
Calathea wrote: "It's still interesting to me that I never saw the hints on a developing interest (at least) between Adrien and Jake on my first read. It's there, though. Adrien mentioned very early how thought Jake was very attractive."
It was the same for me.
Not so much on Adrien's part, that was pretty obvious, but Jake's interest came out of the blue for me.
I still remember being very surprised by the "okay, baby?" at the end. It immediately put a huge smile on my face.
Elena wrote: "Neither could I, no matter how much of a jerk he was sometimes. I wonder how much of that depends on the fact that we always see him through Adrien’s perspective. A lot of it, I suppose. "
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Yes, I think that has a lot to do with that. Infact I believe Josh has mentioned that POV characters are not always the most reliable source of information. Or something along those lines. (Maybe I remember that incorrectly, but still.)
I always though that Adrien knew what he was getting into. Deep down he knew and he chose to turn a blind eye.
K. wrote: "I always though that Adrien knew what he was getting into. Deep down he knew and he chose to turn a blind eye."I agree. He hoped for a different outcome, but he was aware of the risks.
This is already developing as a great discussion. The appearance of them in the other series was such a great and lovely surprise.
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And now I want to reread Kit and Ajax so I can see that scene again with Adrien and Jake. :-)
Jordan wrote: "I seem to recall being very upset with Jake, perhaps even disliking him a lot in my first few reads. But the more I reread, and the more I catch the little things, the tiny hints Jake gives, I bega..."I think the first moment that made me warm up to Jake considerably was when he wakes up Adrien after Adrien faints at the apt; there's subtle humor and a smiling-inside kind of feel to that scene, on Jake's part, plus he noticed Adrien's eyes. :-)
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Josh takes us right in the middle of it all so skillfully, without a hint of info-dumping. The story flows so wonderfully and I'm only at page 18! :-) As a reader it's so lovely to catch all the little nuances which already at this point tell us so much about Adrien's character — not to mention Jake!
Also, I don't think I've ever noticed before that the first time Jake calls Adrien Adrien — not Mr. English — is as early as in chapter two (page 18, Just Joshin edition):
Chan intervened, always urbane, easy. "Why don't you come downstairs where we can talk, Mr. English? Figure out who might have done this."
Riordan said, "Give me your keys, Adrien. I'll check out upstairs. Make sure nobody's hiding under the bed."
Jordan wrote: "He's trying so hard to be the right person for everyone else in his life, except himself."Yes, that’s Jake. And you’re right, that comment on fearful dogs fits him perfectly.
KC wrote: " I think the first moment that made me warm up to Jake considerably was when he wakes up Adrien after Adrien faints at the apt; there's subtle humor and a smiling-inside kind of feel to that scene, on Jake's part, plus he noticed Adrien's eyes. :-)”
He was ready to take care of Adrien for the very beginning, wasn’t he? :)
All of your comments are so making me want to re-read this series.
Can I come here and cry on your shoulders when it’s time for THYS and DOAPK?
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Absolutely! In fact, we've purchased a couple of extra Kleenex packages especially for this reading challenge... :-D
Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
Fatal Shadows / A Dangerous Thing (other topics)Stranger Things Have Happened: An Adrien English Write Your Own Damn Story (other topics)
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo (other topics)
Here there be dragons (other topics)
Fatal Shadows / A Dangerous Thing (other topics)
More...
We'll make it a five-week reading challenge (one AE book per week) and when we're done re-reading and discussing, it's almost time for the Adrien English Holiday story So This is Christmas to come out! Perfect timing, right?! :-)
Here's our schedule:
Week 46 (Nov. 14 - 20): Fatal Shadows
Week 47 (Nov. 21 - 27): A Dangerous Thing
Week 48 (Nov. 28 - Dec. 4): The Hell You Say
Week 49 (Dec. 5 - 11): Death of a Pirate King
Week 50 (Dec. 12 - 18): The Dark Tide
Feel free to use the weekends as 'flexible sliding' to the next book and to the next discussion topic.
Josh is going to pop in the AE challenge discussion topics every once in a while with tricky (?!) questions for us, so prepare yourselves! :-D