DEVIL'S BREW

DEVIL’S BREW by Rhys Ford

Pages: 65

Date: 18/06/2014

Grade: 5

Details: no. 2.5 Sinners

            Received from Dreamspinner Press

            Through Love Romances and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“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.”

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My thoughts:

This was, for me, the perfect novella. I knew nothing about the characters before I started reading yet found myself deeply in love with them within minutes.

Miki broke my heart and lifted my spirit at the same time. It is impossible not to be taken in by this man who has a very low opinion of himself yet never stops trying to be the best he can possibly be for those he loves.

 “If he looked hard enough – really not that hard, actually – he felt stupid. Worthless.”

His friendship with Damien is beautiful and heart-warming while the conversations between them move from heartbreakingly deep and sad to laugh-out-loud funny. The way Miki talks about his lover, Kane, and the depth of his feelings for the Irish cop took my breath away.

“I knew I loved him when I realized he was going to be inside me – no matter where he was, I’d always have him there.”

Miki’s unfamiliarity with Valentine’s Day was as funny as it was sad. His quest to find the perfect presents for the man he loves endeared him to me as few characters, especially in shorter books, have.

And Kane and Miki together, well that has to be poetry in motion. They are tender, loving, funny and smoking hot.

I think this is my second encounter with Rhys Ford’s words and I have to say I’m liking her more with each new encounter. Her writing is wonderful and paints vivid pictures while her dialogue sparkles. I could hear the Irish brogue (yes, I’m sure living in Ireland helps, but still) and fall for the lure of it along with Miki.

I’m convinced I would have gotten even more out of this story if I’d read the first two books in this series, ‘Sinner’s Gin’ and ‘Whiskey and Wry’, first. It speaks volumes about the author’s talent that I didn’t feel I was missing anything while at the same time realising that it is only a matter of weeks before I’ll have to read those earlier titles. I’m pretty sure those first two books are going to break my heart, regardless of the fact I now know where they’ll eventually take me, but this story, these characters...Yes, I need more.