About
Slaying Isidore’s Dragons
5 Best friends
4 Vicious brothers
3 STD tests
2 Guys in love
1 Car bombing
&
Nowhere to run
Follow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives.
Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish
and one American. He is ‘out’ to his parents but to no one else. French-born
Jean Isidore de Sauveterre is also the son of two ambassadors, one Catalan and
one Parisian. His four half brothers have been told to cure him of his
homosexuality. Both teens have lost a parent in a London car bombing.
5 Weeks of hell
4 Attempts on their lives
3 Law enforcement agencies
2 Dead high school seniors
1 Jealous friend
&
A love that won’t be denied
Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their
senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is
immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor.
Isidore wants to keep what is left of his sanity and needs Declan’s love to do
it. One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped.
They are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none
of it compares to running for their lives. When the headmaster’s popular son
attempts suicide and someone tries to assassinate Declan’s mother, they are
thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual
coercion, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them
killed.
5 New family members
4 BFF’s
3 Countries
2 Extraordinary Psychologists
1 Courageous Mother
&
A new beginning for two young men in love
Thanks for hosting me today, Helena, it's great to be here! Congratulations on your newest book, Strangers in the Night!
Following
is an exclusive excerpt and it shows how Declan and Isidore find out that Mason
Brassington attempted suicide. Following, Isidore and Declan are asked
sensitive personal questions by their friends and they both step up to support
each other and answer honestly.
ON TUESDAY morning, Declan retrieved what he needed
from his locker, closed the door, and reminded himself that having a hard-on at
school was a living nightmare. Be easy, dick. Don’t wreck my day. Great, now
I’m talking to my dick.
He didn’t want to see Mason and dreaded going to homeroom. Isidore at
his side, his warmth, his comforting scent, all helped him remain steady and
calm.
“Declan,” Isidore whispered.
“What?”
“Look. They look upset.”
Declan followed Isidore’s gaze. Caleb and Ethan approached, worry all
over their faces. What now?
“What do you think it is?” Isidore asked.
“We’ll find out.”
“Do you wish me to leave?”
“Absolutely not,” Declan whispered before turning to greet them. “Hey.”
“Did you hear what happened?” Caleb asked.
“About what?”
“Mason tried to kill himself last night. He’s in a coma. They don’t
think he’ll make it,” Ethan said.
Declan’s nerve endings ignited like a fist full of Fourth of July
sparklers. “What?”
Caleb lowered his voice to a near whisper. “Ethan and I got calls from
him right before he did it. He apologized for…. Well, you know, and said you
made him see the light.”
Declan was rendered momentarily speechless. “I told him to get help and
gave him the number of my shrink. He’s gay, and I thought he could help Mason
out.”
“You have a gay shrink?” Ethan asked, incredulous.
“Yeah.”
Caleb turned to Isidore. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” Isidore asked.
“That you tried to kill yourself and got sent away to a mental
hospital.” Sincerity radiated from Caleb as he asked the question.
Isidore searched Caleb’s eyes, and he nodded once. “Yes, after my
mother died.”
“Not ’cause, ah, well, ’cause of—you know? We heard what Pierre said during the
fight,” Ethan said.
“It was a combination of things,” Declan interjected. “What’s your real
question?”
Ethan’s voice dropped to a whisper again. “There’s an investigation,
and the police are here at the school talking to people. Caleb and I want to
know how much trouble we’re in if we say what Mason did to us.”
Declan guided them into a nearby alcove. “Why would you be in trouble?”
“Look what happened to him. He was sent away.” Caleb gestured to
Isidore.
“His circumstances were totally different. You guys have good parents.
Talk to them.”
“We can’t. Our dads are attorneys, and they’ll sue everybody.
Everything will come out,” Caleb said.
Declan shook his head more to himself than to anyone. “Just because
Mason did what he did doesn’t make you gay or anything. You’re victims.”
“I’m gay,” Caleb said quietly.
Though Isidore had supposed this, it still surprised Declan.
“I’m not,” Ethan said. “Well, maybe I’m bi, but my parents will think
I’m gay if they find out what Mason did.”
“Does your mom know about you guys?” Caleb asked gesturing to Isidore
again.
“My mum has no problem with me being gay, but she doesn’t want it
public knowledge,” Declan answered honestly.
“She knows?” Ethan was aghast.
“Yeah, she knows. I told her and Dad last year before Dad died.”
“Did your dad freak?” Caleb asked.
“For about half an hour.”
“That’s it?”
Isidore explained. “Madame de Quirke explains it like this. A man
blames himself if his son is not like him. She said Declan’s father was
disappointed in himself at first, and Madame de Quirke told him Declan was like
him and was not excused from grandchildren. After that, all was well. This is
the story.”
Declan stared at Isidore. “You know more
about it than I do.”
Isidore gave a small shrug.
Enjoy Slaying
Isidore’s Dragons!
About Cody Kennedy
Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a
Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Cody doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic
awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In
a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Cody contemplates such
weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the
straight people come from? When not writing, Cody can be found taming waves on
western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the
much maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling
at all things ordinary.
Stop by Cody’s Blog with questions or
comments, or simply share what’s on your mind.
My thoughts:
I’m
not entirely sure what to say about this amazing book. Slaying
Isidore’s Dragons took me for a
wild ride and forced me to experience every single emotion in my arsenal in
rapid succession. I found myself going from broken hearted to laughing out loud
in the space of one paragraph. The danger the characters faced would make my
heart race only for my breath to be taken away by the love story half a page
later. Rollercoaster doesn’t begin to describe the reading experience this book
gave me and it’s going to take me a while before I settle down again. It’s
going to take me a lot longer to stop obsessing about the story.
I
have to be honest. Reading about Isidore - his
past and his present - nearly broke me. There were sections of this book I
wanted to read with my eyes closed. That’s on me, not on the author. I don’t
deal well with stories of abuse, especially when it involves kids. They make me
angry and leave me feeling frustrated and helpless. But, I took my cue from
Isidore and kept my eyes open and the pages turning.
“Tiny
tendrils of courage brushed his heart, causing fear and courage to war within.”
I
have to admit though that despite the addictive storytelling, wonderful
characters and suspenseful plot I was continuously tempted to skip to the end.
From the moment I started reading, ALL I wanted was a happy ending for Isidore.
No, that’s not entirely right. What I wanted to do was dive into the book, wrap
him in my arms, and keep him safe from the world. Thank God for Declan and
Sorcha, who did just that and—for a long time—were the main reasons I was able
to continue turning the pages. Just as they were also the reasons Isidore was
able to continue living at first and start to trust again later on.
I
think Cody Kennedy has done something amazing with this book. Not only has he
given a realistic but hope-filled book about abuse and its consequences for
those who are suffering or have suffered it themselves, he’s also written a
story that might give other youngsters, those lucky enough to grow up in stable
surroundings, an insight into the pain and consequences of abuse. You may say
I’m a dreamer...but I’d like to hope that as a result, real-life Declans may
emerge.
Isidore’s
journey in this book was anything but magical and all the more beautiful for
it. There are no miracle cures and none are promised for the future either. And
yet, the Isidore we leave with Declan when the story ends, is miles away from
the Isidore we meet when the story starts. It may have been a case of—as Declan
says—two steps forward, one step back, but Isidore is growing and slowly
starting to trust again. Trust Declan and Sorcha to love and look after him;
trust that maybe he isn’t completely ruined by what he’s suffered and trust that
things can get better. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, because Declan
beholds him with love and admiration in his eyes, Isidore has to at least
consider that he’s not worthless.
I
must apologize. I’ve written a rambling collection of thoughts rather than a
review so I’ll try to summarize my thoughts.
Slaying
Isidore’s Dragons is an action-filled
thriller dealing with important and difficult issues. It is a story filled with
emotion and humour, pain and love, danger and domesticity. It broke my heart
and put it back together. Slaying Isidore’s Dragons
gave me a reading experience I treasure and a story I won’t forget any time
soon.
