Review: Falling for Him by C.L. Mustafic

Doctor Gavin Addison’s marriage didn’t end on the friendliest of terms, and his estranged wife’s continual harassment has the local police visiting his home so often they’ve started calling him “the doc.” One of those cops, Officer Lex Turner, has a crush on the handsome doc, even though he knows there’s no chance the doc would ever consider dating a man.

A chance encounter on a crowded dance floor ends with both men in the same bed with the same woman—but with questionable results. When the doc wants to try that again, Lex becomes more involved than he’d dreamed possible as he helps his new friend navigate the kinkier side of sex. Knowing it’s just sex for Gavin, Lex finds it hard to keep his feelings hidden. But when Gavin finally figures out he has feelings for Lex that go beyond what a guy should feel for his buddy, will he let Lex convince him to take a chance with him—even if it turns both their lives upside down?

I know my updates prolly lead people to believe that I hated this book. I didn't. I have two main problems with it and a few quibbles which I will get to in a minute, but for a first book it's really not bad. The plot is straightforward slice of life friends to lovers, one of whom discovers he's bisexual. On paper it sounded like it was meant for me.

Gavin is in the midst of a divorce and his soon to be ex-wife is a crazy ex which is how he meets Officer Lex Turner. I'm not a fan of the crazy ex-girlfriend plot device in general and it went on far too long for my tastes.

Furthermore, it leaks like a sieve. Not to jump too far off the diving board but she's pretty much always been a bitch on wheels and Gavin just fooled himself into believing she's misunderstood or some such nonsense. But this level of unhinged? I didn't buy that she could stalk and harass him for months on end without him taking more drastic measures to protect himself, like hiring a private investigator to get her prosecuted sooner or installing a security system or maybe acquiring a guard dog. She's a menace and her antics escalate to ridiculous levels taking her from villainous to caricaturish quicker than you can say Ice Queen. Her motivations for harassing Gavin in the first place are thin and most of this struck me as added drama for added drama's sake which these two did not need, but I'll come back to that.

Now Gavin... there's a part of me that pities him and part of me that wanted to nut punch him. He's wishy washy, temperamental and milquetoastish, a trifecta I'm not crazy about. His character and the relationship altogether felt very m/f to me with the coquettishness, abundant giggling and the crying.

I'm pretty sympathetic to a wide range of human emotions and I know everyone needs a good cry once in awhile especially when there are hurt feels but MOTHER OF GOD! I know. I know. I sound hella bitchy when I say that but at some point I thought he'd realize it's not a productive use of time. Of course he didn't and reading about Gavin's mantears and hurt feels wore me out.

His relationship with Lex is fraught with hurdles. One too many hurdles if you ask me. Gavin wends up in a threesome with Lex and this is how their relationship begins. So be forewarned m/f sex occurs on page. Being a fan of the ménage I found these scenes possibly the hottest of them all. Through these interludes Gavin realizes he's attracted to Lex. Then the troubles began. Communication issues, misunderstandings, Lex is not out at work, the crazy ex again and again, Gavin's mother turns out to be a bigot which led to more dramatics that didn't add up for me which led to yet another big misunderstanding and so on and so forth. So many external dramatics that were unnecessary. They had enough to deal with within their relationship, so all the external kerfuffles were superfluous and skirted the soap opera line.

I could go into all the specifics of why some of these things seemed fabricated, but I think it can all be summed up by saying this book is trying too hard. I completely understand the desire to be thorough as someone who's quite verbose herself. I also appreciate the lure of dramatics to keep the pace uptempo but sometimes less is more. Many of the conversations became monotonous, didactic and even preachy at times. There are details upon details of every single minute of Gavin and Lex's lives that killed the pace. Making it tighter would've gone a long way towards making it a more successful read for me.

There are sweet and heartfelt moments between them and through the dual POVs it's clear they both care for the other and want to make it work. The author did a good job of fleshing out these characters as well as some of the secondary ones. The sexual chemistry is there, though I found some of the sex scenes somewhat awkward.

I have read, and quite liked, the short story by this author so I think much of this is firstbookitis. I would read something else by her and I would encourage anyone interested to go for it. If you like Gavin I think the read will be more successful for you than it was for me.

A review copy was provided.

Series Review: Immortal Dragons 1 & 2 by Ophelia Bell

Even immortal dragons can have crazy exes.

Three thousand years ago, immortal blue dragon Belah and her old lover took their kinks just a step too far, and she's been trying to get over it ever since. The problem is that her ex is still out there wreaking havoc on her world, while Belah spent the last three millennia in hiding.

With her race's world changing, it's time for Belah to show her face again. Finding a new mate should be easy for a dragon as powerful as her, but "baggage" is an understatement when your ex is your race's mortal enemy, and he's just let you know he wants you back.

Determined to move on, Belah finds Lukas and Iszak North--not one, but two gorgeous, musically talented, and especially kinky brothers from one of the dragons' sister races. The pair are perfect for Belah. Their race of falcon shifters mate for life--one look at Belah, and both North brothers know she's their One. The problem is, they have baggage of their own, and Belah's old lover is at the center of it. The brothers can't help but love her in spite of her past, and when Belah answers their mating call and gives herself to them completely, they would do anything to keep her, even forgive her connection to their enemy.

When Belah's old lover calls in a promise, she and her new mates learn there is more at stake than love, and it might take more than fancy knots and an adeptly wielded whip to find true happiness.

average for series

2 Hearts 

When I picked up Dragon Blues I believed it to be MMF. It is not and apparently wasn't tagged as such either so I can't really knock it for not being something it never claimed to be. I can say I was a wee bit disappointed, though. There is one FF scene that is over in a blink and I believe Lucas could claim heteroflexiblity, but in a nutshell this book isn't really appropriate for this blog. However the stories interconnect and come as a package, so let's keep this short, shall we?

Belah is an immortal dragon shifter who's been around since forever. She's got a crazy ex-boyfriend and is missing a couple "babies" (actually adults) that she'll do just about anything to find but is also longing for a mate. As lucky would have it, she finds two (Lucas and Iszak) who are falcon shifters and brothers which, I suspect, is why they don't cross the streams. They fall in instalove which works considerably better for me in shifter stories, but I still find it jarring when there's minimal supporting evidence of said love. Not only was there no relationship development or showing their connection but they're almost immediately spouting off about impregnating her!  

Erm... Not a fan of this sort of thing in my reads, particularly not my kinky/porny reads, though this was less porny than I envisioned (hoped).

There are a few meager attempts at worldbuilding that are pedestrian and a whole gaggle of borderline bizarre plot twists that I hope to all that's holy are going somewhere. And not somewhere hokey either. The character voices were my biggest stumbling block, especially Belah's. For someone who's ancient she's not very wise or mature, though none of them are well developed nor are they eloquent which I found odd.

The kink is good, though. I particularly liked the suspension bondage scene. That merits a star on its own.

A woman born on the wind... 

A Turul princess, Evie North has waited long enough for her “one true love” — a man she’s stopped believing truly exists. She throws caution—literally—to the wind and decides to take matters into her own hands. She chooses a handsome stranger from a crowd and falls into bed with him, hoping love might find her in his arms. 

A human man drawn to powers beyond his comprehension... 

The only thing Marcus Calais knows is that he’s likely to die in a pointless war but also honor-bound to run into battle. At least until he meets an angel named Evie in Central Park who incites stronger desires than he’s ever had and whose songs drive him to levels of passion he never imagined. After just one night with the lovely, waifish beauty, he discovers he has so much more to live for. Will he sacrifice his principles to stay alive for her? 

The immortal dragon who owns both their souls... 

“Ked” is what his five siblings call him, but others simply refer to the huge black dragon as The Void. He is darkness personified, but nothing is darker than the enemy he is up against. It will take true darkness to fight the evil permeating his world, and to save the female Fate intended for him. But Fate has a funny way of switching things up when he least expects. What will he find when he ventures forth into the enemy’s lair in search of love? 

What other surprises does Fate have in store? 

Publisher's Note: Dragon Void is a full-length novel with a complete resolution between the characters involved. They get their Happily Ever After, but sometimes Fate doesn't make it easy.


1 Heart

Two words: Hot Mess

The second in this series didn't work for me at all. On any level. It's not my place to tell anyone how to do anything, particularly an author but I can say (until the cows come home) that this story is not what I wanted to read.

I would ask that you to read the blurb. I'll wait.

Now, tell me doesn't that blurb read like a ménage romance of some sort? Show of hands? Me too! Do not be hoodwinked like I was because Dragon Void isn't a romance and, yeah, I'm kinda fussy about that.

The trouble is I'm not quite sure what it is or what it wants to be. The worldbuilding gets no better in this book. I let it slide in book 1 because it was more urban fantasy but this is rife with fantasy possibilities and I found the lack of worldbuilding hugely disappointing. There are several mentions of an organization called the Ultiori but no real explanation of what they do or why they're so dreaded. There's a dragon monastery in this one! A. Dragon. Monastery. that just sits there like a... well, like a... like a monastery, I guess. 

I would *think* a triad romance would primarily build the triad, show how they all contribute and bring something to the relationship, develop these characters and maybe delve into how they might work out the logistics of a potentially tricky endeavor. I would be wrong. 

It took them to almost the 40% mark just to get Evie and Marcus back to the Dragon Monastery! That's just travel time, folks. Most of which one or the other of them were passed out cold from their injuries, the rest of the time is spent rehashing recent events. We got up to well past the 60% mark with flashbacks of Evie and Marcus's history which is bursting with 1960s draft remembrances and a whole lotta Vietnam era sentiments which came across slightly didactic and largely pointless considering we already knew they had history as a couple.

I thought for sure once they reached the monastery they would start coming together as a triad. Nope. I mean, they take a few trips to the bone zone and the word "mate" is bandied about but sex doesn't equate to a long-lasting relationship nor does it make a romance. Instead time was spent head hopping between the three of them with more 60s flashbacks and we even head hopped to Nikhil (Belah's ex) who's on a mission to find whatever possessed him, complete with time jumps and some clunky, quasi-forced efforts to shoehorn him into Belah's triad.

Also, did I mention that Evie's knocked up BEFORE the 50% mark? Yeah, super happy about that plot development which actually morphed into the death knell for this book. 

So... SPOILERS!

Since Marcus was made immortal by Ked and his brother's blood and Marcus knocked up Evie, Evie's baby has special "needs". Namely the semen of all of them. 

I'll let that sink in for a minute.

In the hands of a different author this plot twist might've worked for me, but given the fact that the three of them hadn't even convinced me of their commitment to each other to then have the female lead hit the bone zone of her brand new mate's two brothers seemed like random squirrelly storytelling to me and not really that romantic either.

Last but not least, the sex wasn't that hot. The MM scenes were vaguely insulting. I'm not going to go into specifics but there were some poorly chosen words IMO, things that made me twitchy with regard to Marcus's deflowering and just generally the whole kit and kaboodle had the words 'get correct' rumbling through my head. To add insult to injury, no kink!

The narrative is too busy for me, much of it doesn't make sense and the writing is amateurish. I highly doubt I'll be reading anything else by this author in the future nor would I recommend this series to others.

Review copies were provided.

Review: Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

Le Carré meets Cabaret in this debut spy thriller as a gay double-agent schemes to protect his smuggler lover during the rise of a fascist government coup

Welcome to Amberlough City, the illustrious but corrupt cosmopolitan beacon of Gedda. The radical One State Party — nicknamed the Ospies — is gaining popular support to unite Gedda's four municipal governments under an ironclad, socially-conservative vision.

Not everyone agrees with the Ospies' philosophy, including master spy Cyril DePaul and his lover Aristide Makricosta, smuggler and emcee at the popular Bumble Bee Cabaret. When Cyril's cover is blown on a mission, however, he must become a turncoat in exchange for his life. Returning to Amberlough under the Ospies' watchful eye, Cyril enters a complex game of deception. One of his concerns is safeguarding Aristide, who refuses to let anyone – the crooked city police or the homophobic Ospies – dictate his life.

Enter streetwise Cordelia Lehane, top dancer at the Bee and Aristide’s runner, who could be the key to Cyril’s plans—if she can be trusted. As the twinkling lights of nightclub marquees yield to the rising flames of a fascist revolution, these three will struggle to survive using whatever means — and people — necessary. Including each other.

Stunning

True story. I chose this book because the blurb sounded like MMF with espionage and what's better than that? It is not MMF, just so you know. I think Amberlough should be categorized as gay lit which typically connotes to me a lack of romance. It's true, Amberlough doesn't focus on a romantic plotline per se, but the relationship between Cyril and Aristide is one of the most heartbreakingly romantic and timeless ones I've ever read. They're rarely together but tethered regardless of time or distance.

Amberlough definitively is a wonderful melange of an alternate universe with historical undertones and contemporary sociopolitical overtones. It's magnificently written-evocative, emotive and quieting bewitching. These three characters are beautifully crafted, complex and nuanced, as are the secondary cast all of whom play their roles impeccably. They are flawed, some deeply so, but they were so very affecting.

Aristide Makricosta was my favorite, though.

Aristide is one of those characters that draws me in like a moth to a flame and it's not just because he's a drag queen. He's unscrupulous yet trustworthy, manipulative yet honest, aloof yet caring-a classic paradoxical character. He's got his fingers on the pulse of Amberlough and is whip smart. I think the only person he lets in even to a degree is Cyril.

Cyril Depaul is his lover and a spy. His past is somewhat murky but on a mission he was compromised, nearly killed. Understandably shaken he has been relegated to desk duty since. Nevertheless he's chosen to go undercover for another mission in Ospie held territory just prior to a momentous election and everything goes to shit. Literally. I empathized with Cyril. I didn't always agree with him, but his rationale is undeniably pure, or at least, pragmatic.

When he returns to Gedda Aristide sets him up with Cordelia Lehane. She's his beard to pass Ospie inspection, for all intents and purposes and unbeknownst to her. She is a firecracker and figures out quickly that Cyril isn't interested thus they become friends. She's streetwise, cunning and she'll do what she has to do to survive. Brash and maybe a little uncouth but she makes no apologies for who or what she is and I liked her chutzpah. 

This will likely shock no one but Amberlough, in my mind, became pre-WWII Paris-hedonistic and fabulous. Amberlough and, in particular The Bee, are lively, colorful, artistic and chockablock with Bohemians. But with that sort of freedom and vitality there's always a dark underbelly and a conservative faction ready to rally the disenchanted. The Ospies are eerily reminiscent of the Nazi rise to power just prior to occupying France for four long years in that they surround Gedda. The Ospies rule with an iron fist and have zero tolerance for anything or anyone they perceive as deviant. Some Amberlinians can see the handwriting on the wall while others are caught unawares, peaceably living their lives while something wicked this way comes. 

Donnelly did a brilliant job contrasting the lush colors of Amberlough with the dreary, lifeless gray of the Ospies. The occupation divested France of it's rosy hue and its joie de vivre as is the Ospies' objective in Amberlough. They are myopic and their laws draconian, but through those long years of occupation the French Resistance held out hope for a better tomorrow, maintaining a covert offensive against the occupation and Amberlough seems to have a similar fortitude. Amberlough may have lost the battle but the war is far from over. 

Words of caution: there is on page torture and violence. It gets ugly as all wars do.

I snooped and it seems this will become a trilogy. I will be there. I will gird myself. I will remain optimistic. I will remember that it's always darkest before the dawn. I will hope Donnelly doesn't crush me again.

For a book that started off slow it certainly left an impression . After finishing it I felt fragile and raw yet paradoxically hopeful and above all, heartbroken. I do not cry, but I cried. Ugly cried. There was just a little... nothing, a moment in a day. It truly was nothing I didn't know already anyway, but that drop of sand in the hourglass at the 75% mark was the beginning of the gutting process. So, yeah. Have tissues handy. It's so worth it, though. I wouldn't change a thing and I'm glad my own deviance brought this incredible book into my life.

A review copy was provided.

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Audiobook Review: Opposites by T.M. Smith

In the year 2081 our planet survived global warming of an apocalyptic scale. When the dust settled and the water receded Dr. Anthony Smith, one of only a few hundred survivors of GWI, started society anew. Having come to the conclusion that injudicious breeding played a huge role in the destruction of Earth as we knew it in the twenty first century, he worked closely with other survivors to isolate the Dionysus gene. This gene has the ability to manipulate human DNA to ensure that all male children be born gay, and all female children be born lesbians. A new society is born.

In the year 2300 Dr. Smith’s descendants are ushering in the twenty fourth century having maintained control of the government that still rules society. Twins Aiya and Aiyan are preparing to meet their matches and take control of House Gaeland, the current ruling House. But not everything is as it seems.

Love is Love.. it knows no gender and doesn’t conform to restrictions and boundaries. Aiyan has found his soul mate in Kaden, the prince of House Devi that he is matched with and eventually marries. But when the person Aiya falls in love with tests the boundaries put in place after GWI, all hell breaks loose. And in the midst of one secret unraveling, another will emerge. There is a growing anomaly that threatens to destroy over two hundred years of progression. This anomaly is known as Opposites.

*WARNING* Opposites is a majorly M/M New Adult novel that contains explicit sexual content and relationships between gay, lesbian and straight couples.

Listening Length: 6 hours and 16 minutes
Narrator: Greg Boudreaux

There is a lot going on in this story, and I felt it difficult to follow the sudden change in point of view between a lot of characters. While a scene played out, it switched to each character pov as the story moved around the scene. Almost like a movie panning to each character and then going inside their mind. It took a few chapters to get used to this type of story telling, and was a bit disconcerting. This follows eight characters during their visit to House Gaeland, so once the names of each character is familiar, it is easier to follow. It is not my preference in point of view in storytelling, but I made the effort to enjoy the story anyway.

This world, as described in the blurb, is a same-sex pairing world. Women and men procreate through contracts, and each family has four parents in two same sex pairings. As this was a character based story, and not a lot of worldbuilding outside of character relationships, there is a thorough culture built around the ideals of gay relationships within this high bred society, and why these relationships are considered the norm. I’m not too clear on whether the couples have to go through heavy screening in order to conceive, or whether the DNA is altered in any way.

The society works on a base level of Eugenics, and gene manipulation, which of course is problematic. Being royalty, there is no mention of how the general world deals with the way this society procreates, and whether money is involved in the process, so it was difficult to gauge how well this world worked in full.

The relationships were swift between a few people, and I found it very fluffy and mushy. Again, not my favourite thing to read/listen to. I like a build up, and while there was a decent amount of tension with the potential straight couple, Aiyan and Kaden seemed to have sex at every opportunity, and I didn’t find their relationship development strong enough.

Opposites - the title of the story is pretty indicative of the direction of main plot point. The couple who are Opposites have to sneak around, fear persecution, and feel abnormal. Generally I enjoyed the story and found it interesting for the role reversal of society. It just wasn’t complete. It’s an interesting perspective, if a bit black and white. I prefer more diversity in my stories as a general rule, and there was no mention of sexuality as a spectrum, but this is only the beginning of the series so this may change as the series progresses.

Greg Boudreaux is a pretty solid narrator, with a very pleasing cadence, and can do some decent accents. His performance in this audiobook is pretty great, but then he is one of my preferred narrators, so clearly I am bias.

While the story is set in a futuristic time period, it has a very medieval feel to it, with the royal Houses. It also felt quite isolated and there was barely any contact with the general population. Some more attention to the wider world details would have made the story richer.

Recommended for those who enjoy stories set in a futuristic setting with an old world feel to it. There is explicit content between MM, FF, and MF couples.

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Guest Review: Misfit (Death Dwellers MC #6) by Kathryn Kelly

Ophelia Donovan wants to move past the loves of her life, two badass bikers in her brother’s MC. When she gave Cash “Ghost” McCall and Louis “Stretch” King, an ultimatum of bringing their relationship out in the open or she’d walk, they chose separation. It crushed Ophelia’s dreams of having a happily-ever-after and family with Ghost and Stretch.

Stretch lives with guilt and pain from the death of his former lover and the injuries he received the same night. For a while, Cash and Stretch worked fine. They’d agreed to choose a woman together to bring into their relationship. Instead, Cash brought Outlaw’s sister in, intending to use her as a shield for Cash’s growing feelings for both Stretch and Fee. The dissolution of their relationship because of Fee’s goading leaves Stretch angry with both of his lovers.

Ghost doesn’t do relationships. He doesn’t have the confidence in himself that he’s equipped for something meaningful. He only knows he loves both Stretch and Ophelia. She wants kids, a house with him and Stretch, and, most of all, an open relationship with them, so open she expects Ghost to go to her brother—his club’s president—and confess all. Even if he did do commitment, he wouldn’t be alive to see it through. Outlaw would kill Ghost, especially after already warning him away. Thanks to Cash’s outrageous plan to throw Outlaw off, he raises the man’s suspicions instead.

Christopher “Outlaw” Caldwell knows Ghost is about fun and fucking. He’s in charge of the Bobs, those women trotted out for pleasure at special club occasions. Outlaw’s little sister wants a family and he refuses to allow her to waste her years on a man who’ll walk away in the end. Outlaw’s life has been quiet recently, with every known club threat removed, giving him plenty of time to focus on family.

A biker from a rival club uses Ophelia to get on Outlaw’s good side, leaving her gravely injured, Outlaw in jail, Stretch admitting how important both she and Cash are to him, and Cash determined to never deny his love again.

Warning: Not suitable for anyone under 18. Contains excessive swearing, graphic sex between MMF, taboo subjects, and…Kendall at her finest.

Reviewer: Shee Reader

Well, this story was just amazing. I hadn’t read any of the previous books in the series (this is the sixth and final one) but it works fine as a stand alone.

As I was late to the party, it didn’t surprise me that it took me a while to get into the book. The writing is clear, engaging, atmospheric and at times gripping, but the huge array of characters did take me a while to get used to. It didn’t help that all the brothers had their given names and road names, and there were lots of scenes with everyone talking and arguing. As I got into it, though and learned everyones multiple names it was easy! The writing style drew me in, even as the stilted spoken style of the bikers took some getting used to. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot which kept me turning the page (well, tapping the screen on my kindle) as this is one of the longest books I’ve read recently.

The story centres round Ophelia (Fee) and the two loves of her life Cash (Ghost) and Louis (Stretch) who were a secret couple before they met her. The story has many supporting characters that are woven together to produce a robust tale, that sees these two very different men come to terms with the fact that they’ve fallen in love with the same woman, and that she loves them right back. The over-arching problem of them being in the Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club, which is run by Fee’s big brother Christopher (Outlaw) and that the relationship Cash and Stretch have would cause them to be killed if anyone found out. Of course, the leading bad-guy in the book (who is in fact a bad-girl, Kendall who is the old lady of the deputy leader of the Death Dwellers), finds out about the taboo relationship and blackmails Fee with disastrous effects. Cash and Stretch are both batting their own demons and have given up on what they really want, a meaningful relationship for both them and Fee together.

The women are strong and feisty, and handle their men with skill. The men themselves were strong, sometimes brash and crude, often violent but still likeable. It is a testament to the skill of Ms Kelly as a writer that I really did like and root for these men, especially Christopher despite him being a scary individual of great power. I think his most endearing quality was his huge love for his wife Meggie, and honest admittance that she had him wrapped around her pinky.

The book had me gripped from the beginning, and I loved that there was drama, intrigue and suspense, but also humour and a kick-ass happy ending. The epilogues were my favourite bit. Each character had their own epilogue and they were all brilliant, answering more questions than they asked, and I even liked Kendall by the end.

Kathryn Kelly is a new-to-me author but I will definitely be looking out the previous five books in the series, and other books by this author.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads.

Tag Team Review: Max by Bey Deckard

Novella (49,000 words)
Genre(s): transgressive, psychopath, dark erotica, QUILTBAG

Fresh out of school, Dr. Crane takes on a new patient who both intrigues and unnerves him. Charming, manipulative, and amoral, Max has exactly the sort of mind Crane finds himself drawn to with fictional characters.

As Max weaves himself into Crane's life, Crane realizes that while fiction might be safe, Max certainly is not.

When the professional line between them thins, who gets to define where one man ends and the other begins?

Sara - 4.5 Hearts

I’ve said it more than once, I’ll read anything as long as it’s written well even if it’s dark, depraved and full of the folks being debased and this book, it’s written brilliantly.

You liked it. I swear. I didn’t push you into anything. You wanted it.

This book is loaded with psycho sexuality, with moral ambiguity, with pure WTAF-ness and I couldn’t get enough. We begin the story with fresh faced and new to the practice, Dr. Dennis Crane with one Max. Crane wants to be the type of professional to be – professional – and yet when Max flirts with the chance to get an upfront and personal look into the workings of his mind, it’s an offer Crane can’t refuse.

I love that Dr. Crane has doubts but he also has the kind of curiosity that could very well kill the cat. That we know what movie and what character gave him the push to be a shrink of the minds and get inside people’s heads. When Max starts to twist things, to make Max want things he’s never wanted before, even I started to wonder…

… the mysteries of the human mind are both multitudinous and rather fascinating,n’est-ce pas, mon cher?

Max is the type of character that always intrigues me. It’s a sick curiosity of the mentally twisted, the master manipulators and how they do it. I mean, to a point a good number of sexual predators and serial killers and a charming skill that lures their victims in and makes them vulnerable. Here, we have Max who uses his own knowledge of psychology, though a bit depraved and turns the tables on the Doc so much that you wonder who really is analyzing whom?

Though certain lines reminded me of movies and/or songs, the lyrics added to the unease of the unknown. At one point, I started to wonder if I was actually enjoying the story or if this was my reader’s version of dub-con. My own hearts filthy lesson at wanting to take a trip to the dark side. The twists in the story are amazing. Just when I thought I knew what was up, I would turn the page. Just when I thought I had a handle on what was the true reality, Crane would snap out of that one into another or he would get a text from someone I should not have forgotten about because, fuck! OMG!

It was madness, but it was a beautiful fucking madness indeed.

There is a soundtrack to go along with the story that, as a professed music nerd, makes it even better. I mean, anyone who can make a playlist with Marc Almond singing about making scenes, being a team and making headlines sound like a dream, is a-fucking-okay in my book but music and books have always been the heart of my life so I love the soundtrack. Listening to it gave the story a cinematic quality reminiscent of some deep and disturbing films that I happen to find, interesting. I have to add a few lines from a song that wasn’t on it though because for me it was on repeat when I would think of how lost or maybe just how found Crane was becoming all because of Max. It’s a bit less, transcending than that on the soundtrack but, for me it’s that deep part of Crane that can’t figure out which side of the looking glass he is on.

Heaven help me for the way I am
Save me from these evil deeds before I get them done
I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand
But I keep living this day like the next will never come

-“Criminal” by Fiona Apple

Max is a twisted mind fuck of story that will have you guessing and more than likely getting it wrong each and every time. Toward the end I was lost and confused and really stuck with needing to know the truth just like David Mills needed to know what was in that box delivered to the middle of the desert. I needed to know and what I got… man, that end. I almost wish it went darker… yeah, I just said that but at least there is some sort of breathing room now that it’s over and maybe I can leave the dark side and go home too. No? Kay? I have friends on this side anyway and they have snacks.

SheReadsALot - 4.5 Hearts

There was no climbing back out of the rabbit hole; he was fucked and fucked good, but at least the company was interesting.

Down the rabbit hole indeed...

What a twisted, psychological thrilling roller coaster of a ride Max turned out to be.

I'd rather warn potential readers there are triggers in here: rape, dubious consent, unethical practices, cheating, some violence. (A checklist of sorts that guaranteed me reading) And I don't consider this a trigger by any means, but there are readers who don't like vaginas in their fiction *gasp*...whelp, there are few in here (put to good use might I add. I mean it is a Bey Deckard title *grin*) Is Max dark? I don't think so. On a scale from 1-5, maybe 1 or 1.5? It's more a head game...a devious fucking head game.

Lying.

There's oodles and oodles of lies. And I've read this 1.5 times, and I'm trying to figure out where all the truths were.

Set in Montréal, Dr. Dennis Crane is a newly minted psychologist, married and seems to have a normal life. Enter his patient, young Max, who he can tell has a madness in his eyes, that Max is hiding something. But Dr. Crane is drawn to the younger man. Maybe he can diagnose him, fix Max. He doesn't even realize he's been ensnared in the spider's web and Max is running the show.

"Are you afraid of me, Dennis? You shouldn't be. I'm trying my very best to make you understand that I like you. And I'm offering you the very thing you desire the most: me. You know I'm a fine specimen of amorality. I'm giving you the opportunity to look behind the curtain. No holding back."

I believe I've made it known I enjoy reading the cray crays, especially when they're well written. Psychopaths, sociopaths, amoral puppet masters that treat others they encounter as their toys...I enjoy reading them.

This is Max.

He's a level 7 on my scale, 100%.  And I was plugged in for his show. Really enjoyed that twisted fucker.

Reading Dr. Crane lose more of himself to the miasma of the depravity that reeks from Max, and you read it as Crane knows and still can't help himself. *claps hands wildly* That was everything. The story is told in a journal style, from Dr. Crane's POV. Max and Dr. Crane's interactions starts with sessions, and steadily moves from the doctor's practice, taking over Crane's life. A mild mannered man who develops kinks he didn't even know existed. The sex was scorching hot, while the lines between doctor and patient blurred, melded and made new definitions.

"I've opened you up to a whole new range of experiences. Once you get acclimatized, you'll see it the way I do."

I had minor quibbles.  I wanted to know more. What exactly happened during the missing days? There are hints, subtle hints dotted in between the lies. It's a little frustrating not knowing. Maybe there'll be a B-side to Max? Maybe not. Who knows if the world's ready to know what's going on inside that "lizard brain" of Max's. *wink*

The ending is...I'm still a little wide eyed after that ending. I don't know what else to define it other than a little sad, yet fitting.

Recommended for readers who like amoral liars, characters who don't care to define their sexuality and twisted psychological erotica.

Watch your step.

That rabbit hole, man...it's a helluva ride.


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