COUNTERPUNCH

COUNTERPUNCH by Aleksandr Voinov

 

Pages: 200

Date: 28/09/2014

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 2 Belonging

           Received from Riptide Publishing

           Through NetGalley

Kindle

The blurb:

“Brooklyn Marshall used to be a policeman in London, with a wife and a promising future ahead of him. Then he accidentally killed a rioter whose father was a Member of Parliament and had him convicted of murder. To ease the burden on the overcrowded prison system, Brooklyn was sold into slavery rather than incarcerated. Now, he's the "Mean Machine", a boxer on the slave prizefighting circuit, pummelling other slaves for the entertainment of freemen and being rented out for the sexual service of his wealthier fans.

When Nathaniel Bishop purchases Brooklyn's services for a night, it seems like any other assignation. But the pair form an unexpected bond that grows into something more. Brooklyn hesitates to call it "love"—such things do not exist between freemen and slaves—but when Nathaniel reveals that he wants to help get Brooklyn's conviction overturned, he dares to hope. Then, an accident in the ring sends Brooklyn on the run, jeopardizing everything he has worked so hard to achieve and sending him into the most important fight of all—the fight for freedom.”

My thoughts:

Anybody keeping an eye on my reviews may have noticed that I’m a fan of Aleksandr Voinov. He’s on that list of authors whose books I buy without second thought, even without reading the blurb in too much detail, secure in the knowledge that I’m going to love what I’ll find between the covers.

Counterpunch was no exception to that rule. And, up to a point, that’s surprising. I’m not a fan of boxing, to put it mildly. I actively avoid having to watch it and would, under most circumstances, stay away from it in my reading as well. But, just as Aleksandr could make me read about World War II when I’d sworn I’d leave that subject alone, he could make me read about boxing and enjoy the story.

Counterpoint contains a very nice mix between alternate universe circumstances and celebrities and situations we recognise from our own reality. Being able to recognise so much of the world Brooklyn and Nathaniel live in, made this story real and therefore more heart wrenching than it would have been in a outright fantastical setting. It didn’t take a huge imaginary leap to believe the slavery premise of the story. In fact, slavery is only taking community service combined with a security bracelet one step further, isn’t it? I mean we’ve all seen the protests where police forces are attacked by those marching. Accidents happen. A policeman killing one of the protesters has happened and is bound to happen again. In our world the guilty cop might not end up in slavery, boxing to stay alive, but he might well be ostracised and end up living a life he’d never imagined in his worst nightmares.

Because it was all too easy to read this story as if it were taking place in the world I live in, because it stayed close enough to reality to make me forget it was fiction on one or two occasions, Brooklyn’s story took a hold of my heart. I completely got the constant battle between anger and frustration. I understood how dangerous it was for him to hope or to trust his emotions when the merest slip could bring him face to face with torturous punishment.

The story is told from Brooklyn’s perspective which means that the reader is as much in the dark about Nathaniel’s motives and feelings as Brooklyn is. As readers we might be a bit more inclined to be optimistic about the eventual outcome than Brooklyn is, but Nathaniel’s actions were mysterious enough to keep me on my toes and racing through the words towards what I hoped would be a happy ending.

Aleksandr Voinov’s writing voice is one that appeals to me. I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is that works so well for me but every single book I’ve read by this author has drawn me in and captured me, regardless of the setting or subject matter. The books almost read themselves. All I have to do is show up and the stories take over, the characters come alive and I can hear their dialogue in my head. Aleksandr is one of a few authors I’ll be forever grateful I’ve found as well as one I’ll continue reading as long as there are new (to me) stories to be found.

MAYBE THIS TIME

MAYBE THIS TIME by A.M. Arthur

 

Pages: 168

Date: 10/08/2014

Grade: 4

Details: No. 2 Belonging

            Received from Carina Press

            Through Love Romances and More

Kindle

The blurb:

As a regular at gay hotspot Pot O Gold, Ezra Kelley avoids his tangled emotions with the simplicity of one-night stands and attachment-free hookups. Until the night bartender Donner Davis picks him up off the floor after a misunderstanding and too much tequila. Ezra can't remember the last time someone was…nice. It's more than he deserves.

Witnessing his lover's death two years ago has Donner trapped in a holding pattern, living in his sister's basement, working at the Pot and flirting with the customers. He's not above spending a night with the gorgeous Ezra, but love is not in the cards. That's more than he's ready for.

A passionate night leads to a connection neither man expects, and they take the first steps to something that looks like a real relationship. But Ezra's been running from himself so long he doesn't know how to live any other way. And Donner can't risk his heart just to lose everything again. They'll both need the strength to let go of the past if they want to get it right this time.

My thoughts:

When I started this book I didn’t realize it was the sequel to ‘No Such Thing’ and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself spending more time with Jaime and Allessandro, even if they only play a supporting role in this book. The two characters taking centre stage this time, Donner and Ezra, are as fascinating as their two predecessors. They come with enough baggage to make connecting with each other harder than it should be which makes their hesitant relationship fascinating to follow. They don’t always deal with their issues in the best possible way which makes them relatable characters.

None of the issues the characters face are new to the reader. We’ve read books about parents rejecting their child before. There’s nothing new about being reluctant to commit to someone new after you’ve lost the love of your life. And yet nothing in this story felt rehashed. Their story may not be unique, these characters were and they are what made this a beautiful and hard to put down book.

It was impossible to not fall for Donner almost from the moment he is introduced to the reader. He is one of those characters who is aware of his issues, struggles with them but tries to stop himself from allowing his past to interfere with his future. Ezra on the other hand is a bit more of a handful. Younger than Donner he hasn’t yet learned to separate his past from who and what he is. His constant struggle between wanting to connect to Donner and being afraid of what it might cost him in the long run was at times heartbreaking. Watching him as he takes small steps towards a happy future was beautiful.

“Flaws are only part of a person. Our pasts are another part. But the most important part is our present. It’s the guy you are now and the guy you’re going to be down the road.” - Donner

The author pulls no punches in this book. We’re given a clear picture of everything that can and does go wrong in relationships, families and the world at large. The fact that this is a positive and ultimately uplifting story despite all the darker details proves A.M. Arthur has found the right balance between gritty realism and beautiful romance.

The writing in this book was smooth and at times awe-inspiring. The dialogue between the characters sounded real and the descriptions left me with a clear picture of Donner, Ezra and the world they live in. I’m pretty sure there will be more titles coming in the ‘Belonging’ series – I even have my suspicions about the character the next book might focus on – and I will most definitely be reading it when it comes out.

“Because nothing worth doing is ever completely easy. It’s like falling in love. You have to risk getting hurt in order to get the rewards, and usually the rewards are so fucking amazing and totally worth it.” – Donner

NO SUCH THING

TITLE: NO SUCH THING

AUTHOR: A.M ARTHUR

Pages: 221

Date: 23/02/2014

Grade: 4+

Details: No. 1 Belonging
            Received from Carina Press

            through Love Romances and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“Twenty-two-year-old Alessandro Silva knows that returning to tiny Perch Creek to help his foster mother was the right thing to do. With no degree and a delinquent's reputation, he's lucky to have landed a job waiting tables. But not everyone is happy he's back, and the only thing keeping his move home from being a total bust is his boss's hot brother.

Jaime Winters spent most of his life watching the world go by, first from a series of hospitals and then from behind big stacks of textbooks. Studying is easier than facing the fact that years of heart failure means he's still a virgin at twenty-three. 

Until the new waiter in his sister's diner awakens desires he'd long ago given up on.

The last thing Alessandro wants is to fall for someone as fragile as Jaime. And Jaime may have a new heart, but he's scared of what giving it to another person would mean. Their no-strings-attached, instructional approach to sex keeps emotion safely at bay, until a secret from Alessandro's past forces them to confront their feelings in the present…”

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My thoughts:

‘No Such Thing’ was a very pleasant surprise. Having never read the author before I had no idea what to expect other than what the interesting sounding blurb told me. I was hoping for an gripping love story and that was exactly what I found, as well as a whole lot more.

Alessandro Silva (Alè) has grown up in the foster-care system and spent most of his youth being an angry young man. The last family he was placed with saved him from ruining his life, and now that is foster-father has died he has returned to the small town where he spent his teenage years to help his foster-mother and the two children she’s caring for. Luck seems to be on his side when he immediately finds a job in a local bakery and that is before he sets eyes on the owner’s younger brother.

Jaime Winters hasn’t really experienced his teenage years. Years of heart failure have kept him in bed and in hospital. Although it has been two years since he had a life-saving heart transplant, Jaime is still keeping a low profile. Pretending that he’s too busy with his studies to date is easier than having to admit that aged 23 not only is he still a virgin, he hasn’t properly kissed anyone yet either.

The attraction between Jaime and Alè is instant and Alè is more than open to introducing the inexperienced but very sexy Jaime to the delights of intimacy and sex. It is to be a no ties, no emotions involved affair between two men who like each other but both have good reasons for not looking for anything more permanent.

When Jaime and Alè start to get closer despite their attempts to keep things casual, small town bigotry and bad decisions Alè made in the past intrude, putting both their budding relationship and their lives at risk.

This book had it all. There is, of course the charming romance between the experienced Alessandro with his bad reputation and golden heart, and the outwardly fragile but very determined Jaime. But there is so much more. From the start there’s the mystery of what exactly happened in Alè’s past, as well as the building tension as that past seems to catch up with him.

Alè is a good man with a dodgy past. The care he takes of his foster mother after she’s widowed and the two young foster children living with her was heart-warming. In the hands of a lesser author the way this character wants to blame himself for everything that happens to others would have been irritating. In this book it completely worked, as did the way it was dealt with.

“Do you think you can change what a jerk you were as a kid by saving Tony from doing the same things?” Jaime to Alè

And the same was true for Jaime and his hang-ups about his medical past and the scar he wears as a result of it. It could have been frustrating but was beautiful instead.

“Do you know why this scar is beautiful? Because it’s proof you’re alive, that the doctors could fix you. Without the scar you wouldn’t be here.”

I loved Jaime and Alè’s relationship. The sexy scenes between them from the very first kiss to the exhibitionistic scene later on were beautifully written and very hot. I loved that Alessandro, despite his growing feelings for Jaime, still wants to make sure the novice gets his chance at experimenting, even if it means letting him go. And the fact that Jaime, despite his attraction to Alessandro, has doubts about diving headlong into a steady relationship with his very first partner only made the book more realistic.

“What do you want, Jaime?” Alessandro whispered, his breath hot on his lips. “Tell me.”

This book dealt with a lot of heavy topics – foster care, health issues, gay-bashing and violence – without ever getting too heavy or taking anything away from the love story.

“I lived in fear of dying for same many years Alè. I don’t want to be afraid all the time anymore. I got a second chance at life, so I want to live.”

And some of the scenes in this book were so hot I had to put the book down to catch my breath before reading on. For those who are sensitive about such things I should probably add that those scenes are rather explicit, although for me that only added to the beauty of them.

“Dancing was an amazing kind of foreplay. Bodies rubbed together, pressing close, moving to a beat that pulsed in your spine, dick and balls.”

I discovered a sequel to this book will be released in July and I will be keeping an eager eye out for that one. I’ve fallen in love with Jaime and Alè and can’t wait to spend more time with them.

“I promise to take care of your heart, if you promise to take care of mine.”