Miki St. John’s life has been turned upside down but it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
His best friend, Damien Mitchell, is back from the dead. He has a dog named Dude. And more importantly, he and his lover, SFPD Inspector Kane Morgan, now share Miki’s converted warehouse.
For the first time ever, Miki’s living a happy and normal-ish life but when Valentine’s Day rolls around, Miki realizes he knows next to nothing about being domestic or domesticated. Nothing about the traditional lover’s holiday makes sense to him but Miki wants to give Kane a Valentine’s Day the man will never forget.
Can he pull off a day of wine and roses? Or will his screwed up childhood come back and bite Miki in the ass?
Again.
Our boys
from the Sinner’s Gin band are back and they are better than ever in Rhys Ford’s
The Devil’s Brew. Miki
St. John may have found the love of his life in Kane Morgan but loving
his cop
and becoming part of the massive Morgan clan didn’t come with an
instruction manual. Being in a loving relationship and part of a
supportive family is something that Miki doesn’t have a frame of
reference for
and it doesn’t come easy for him. Most of
the time Miki is white knuckling his way through and letting the three
men that
mean the most to him: his best friend, band mate, and brother Damien
Mitchell, his
sweet Irish love Kane and Kane’s father, the strong and steady Donal
Morgan
guide him through the choppy waters of domesticity and family. But now
Valentine’s Day has come, love is in
the air and Miki is in a panic because he’s on his own with this stupid
holiday
and as usual, when it comes to “normal”, Miki is convinced he has no
idea how
to do it “right”.
The Devil’s Brew takes us into Miki’s head and it’s not
the easiest place to be. Miki’s had to
fight his entire life—and he’s got the battle scars to prove it. He struggles with his self-esteem and
self-worth and even though he knows he has love in his life (romantic love with
Kane, platonic love from Damien and familial love from Donal, Brigid and the
rest of the Morgans) he has a difficult time accepting that he deserves
it. It humbles him. It terrifies him. And because this is Miki we’re talking about
here, it pisses him off that he can’t do any of it right.
And I think
that’s the thing that makes Miki such a relatable character. We all want to get it right but where most of
us have some sort of a frame of reference for what getting it right should look
like or feel like, Miki’s flying blind.
Before Kane nothing, save his music and the family he created with
Sinner’s Gin, has ever been right. And
now Miki has his man, he has his music, he has his Damie, he has a family, he’s
even got Dude the dog and it’s all so good and he’s doesn’t know what to do
with any of it. And most of the time, that’s okay because if
he stumbles Kane or Damie or even Donal is there to catch him before he falls
but now with this whole Valentine’s mess he’s sure that he’s on his own and he’s
having a TMZ worthy internal freak out because of it.
But in his
panic Miki’s forgotten that Valentine’s Day is all about love…and while he may
not always know what do with it or feel he deserves it, he has the love of
three very good men and they all step up to the plate to help Miki knock it out
of the park.
First up is
Damien and while his relationship with Sionn isn’t quite the same as Miki’s
with Kane it’s similar enough that he gets it.
And more importantly, he gets Miki.
The conversation that Damien and Miki have is a tear jerker. Their relationship isn’t sexual or romantic
but the depth of their devotion to one another would rival that of any
lovers. So Damien, because he knows Miki
down deep to his soul, knows exactly what Miki needs and he makes sure that he
gets it. They have one of the most achingly honest conversations about where
they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going and by the end of it Miki’s
head was above the water but I was drowning in a sea of feels.
Then there’s
Donal. Donal Morgan is the best dad who
ever did the dad thing. Donal has won
the title and the crown, everyone else can sashay away. When Miki falls –hilariously and hard—Donal does
what all great dads do. The way he
handles Miki and what transpires between them is a reminder that familiar love
is a beautiful, powerful thing and just gave me all the warm and fuzzies.
Then comes
Kane and while the love he and Miki share is vastly different from what Miki
has with Damie, it’s no less capable of anchoring Miki when he feels like he’s
drifting. Miki and Kane are by turns
funny, sweet, and scorching hot. They
slot together like puzzle pieces. Damien
may be the guy that keeps Miki’s head above the water but Kane is the one that
scoops him up out of the sea and sets him on dry land. Miki and Kane are perfect for each other.
And speaking
of being perfect, what Miki ultimately ends up giving Kane for Valentine’s Day
is PERFECTION. Miki manages both a sentimental nod to their
past and swoon worthy celebration of their present (and future).
Don’t let
the page count fool you. Rhys Ford is
one of those brilliantly talented writers that manages to craft a tale full of
richness and depth and feels utterly, totally complete and then pack it into a
limited number of pages. It’s more than
a skill; it’s an art form and Rhys Ford does it masterfully.
If you’re a
fan of Sinner’s Series, prepare to fall in love with Miki and Kane and the Morgans
all over again. I would give this book
all the awards but Donal and his epic dadness already walked away with them all.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
~Guest review by Shelley~
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