AJ Sherwood

Oh, lovely. Yes, lots of sex, explicit and non, but this is most definitely a story about building a relationship. Luca is willing to settle for a husband, since all the women he's considered are too well trained as submissive idiots - he needs a marriage partner who can stand beside him. Noe is actively gay, attracted to Luca, and very interested in the sort of partnership in marriage Luca is offering. They're already friendly acquaintances; Luca tests the waters of this gay stuff with a show more date... And things go well and better and best. But they've both got family and cultural opposition to deal with, and their own trained responses to same - both of them have to make some changes in order for this relationship to work. Some real idiots, some great supporters, and some true friends around them. And an utterly lovely HEA (with lots of hard work attached). It's also incredibly funny - I was laughing at so much of it. The banter between them, and Ren and Arman, and Luca's men, and...A perfect AJ story. The only thing is... Looking at the book lists in the back, I've _read_ all but one of AJ's books (and that one's here waiting)! One more coming at some point. Ah well, I'll just have to reread until the writing catches up - having read this, I of course want to reread the first two, and then all the rest over again...(All the names, not just AJ. They're all good).
Yes. It's a quick reread (a whole month later, almost), but the story's a lot richer when I've just read the first two books. Worth it. show less

Interesting! The romance - and it is that - and the mystery/job plots intertwine nicely. Ren is great, on so many levels - from his parkour to his reaction to Giles. Arman is more opaque - it's hard to understand a man who doesn't speak. We do get some of his internal thoughts, though, which helps. And the fact that they had a very strong relationship before sex became involved at all is just what I like. Physical attraction alone is a very poor basis for a marriage; these two have a lot show more more than that. The culture clashes are also interesting and beautifully done. Princess Alexandria pivoted very quickly, but then things happen fast in a pressure chamber. There's a lot more story, both before (we do get some stories told) and after - looking forward to the next book. The title of this book is very amusing, though I don't understand the series title (yet). Oh, duh, finally figured it out - Lobe den Herren, Love of Men. OK, that makes more sense.
Reread, only a few months later. Still lovely. I read Starfire and discovered I'd forgotten details, and besides I needed a good, fun book after a string of - not dark, but dense books. For all the politics, including assassination attempts, this is much lighter than my last few. Next! show less

Oh, that's lovely. Gage and Logan have many of the same problems, in slightly different ways, so they know just how to support one another. They also both understand the value of therapy - use it themselves and suggest it to others who need it. Two seriously screwed-up families, two younger siblings who need help of very different sorts, and two found families that offer the support they need. I wish we got to see more of Logan's friends - Silas and Nathan are the only two whose names I even show more know and while Gage hung out with them at least once we readers weren't invited along. I suppose it would have expanded the character list a bit much, but still. There's a lot of kissing and ..I think only one actual sex scene? Lots of times they go off together, but again the readers aren't invited along - perfect for my tastes. Their senses of humor match perfectly. And this story is so much about building relationships, and breaking ones that aren't working - again, perfect for my tastes. Logan had a bit of "I am not worthy" going on but it mostly comes out in retrospect, when he admits he thought Gage was out of his league - but he says that after they're solidly together. Didn't stop him trying, thank goodness. The conversations they have, defining their relationship so no one gets blindsided, are a textbook of how to build a relationship. Love it. I hope the next story doesn't take quite as long to show up, but I'll wait if I must - want more of this! show less

Oh, this is one of the good ones. It is a gay romance, M/M/M - but the first kiss is more than halfway through the book, and the one explicit sex scene even later. We get to meet and know all three men, their abilities and hangups and hopes, and see why they want to be together. It's not just physical attraction, it's rich, complex, interesting characters who happen to fit together amazingly well. And there's a full story, with depth and complexity (and not _too_ much politics) as well as show more the romance. All three of them have trauma, of different sorts, in their pasts; Dag and to some extent Stefan also have active enemies now (Mikkel has too, but only because he's aligned himself with the other two. At least, as far as is shown here - I'm really hoping for more in this universe and Mikkel no doubt has made enemies). The world is fascinating, and nicely introduced to the readers - small infodump in the intro, giving the foundation for understanding who and what and how for Dag, and then Stefan, and then Mikkel. Love it. More, please! I finished the book and immediately wanted to read it again...may do that.

Yep - I lasted a whole four months before rereading. I do hope there will be more in this universe soon. show less