John Wiltshire (2)

John Wilshire is an intriguing author. At first I thought, mmm, interesting, one of these m/m novels written by a man, someone who's served in the British Army for 22 years. But no, the name is called a "pen name and fictional persona" in the Amazon blurb. The author has decided to use what to all intents and purposes is a completely male name. I don't think I've come across that before among the many authors I've now read in this sub-genre. To use a pen name that is both a male and female show more name is common enough and I'm a bit cynical about why one would attempt some ambiguity like that. But that's a long way from taking on a male persona. More power to her though. She has her reasons.

Wiltshire has created two unforgettable characters - in Ben and Nikolas - and adventures - surviving a plane crash into a lake in Siberia and a band of brutal, dehumanised gulag escapees - it's not your usual romance novel setting.

But holy cow, crikey! the MCs love affair is possibly the most powerfully written of all the relationships I've lived through since I took up this hobby a few years ago, ie reading romance. The cut and thrust of their duelling personalities, the pull and push of their tender and not so tender love making, their care for each other and their courage in coming to the other's aid. It's non-stop - how they live entirely for each other even while they are busy in the world, with their "projects". Whew!

Unfortunately, my library didn't have #2 in the series, so I jumped from #1 to #3, and while I'll read #2 as soon as it comes my way, I was surprised how seamless it was to pick up Ben and Nikolas's story. Their relationship has come so far since the first book.

They'd known each other four years by the time book #1 started, at Nikolas and his wife Philippa's country house, with those memorable scenes of them horseback riding. Nikolas was so aloof and arrogant, with flashes of cruelty.

Now Ben has excavated the man from within the calculated, opaque and mysterious Nikolas persona. Nikolas is in love with Ben! It was always true but he was never going to reveal it. Also we see Nikolas fall back to his Alexei persona to lead survivors away from the extreme terror of their Siberian nightmare.

OMG, Gary Furlong! Heard him many times but here! he is beyond good in bringing Nikolas and Ben to life. show less

Ex-SAS soldier Ben Rider never expected that when he joined a secret intelligence department that he would fall in love with his boss. After all, Sir Nikolas Mikkelsen is married to a beautiful woman, but he's so intriguing that Ben doesn't really stand a chance. He might feel bad about carrying on an affair with a married man, but he's never felt anything as intensely as what he feels for Nik. But the life of a shadow operative is a dangerous one, and things can change so quickly one show more doesn't know where to turn. And when such a turn happens that might allow Ben and Nik more time together, Ben is cautiously optimistic. He really shouldn't dismiss the cautious part of that optimism, though, because he beings to realize more and more that he really doesn't know much about Nik at all. Well, except that he knows Nik is his soulmate. But is that enough to look past any dark secrets that might be lingering in Nik's past?

I had a hard time putting this one down. There's such a great combination of relationship development between these two and suspenseful plot elements, that when I wasn't caught up in Ben and Nik, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for what would happen next. There's some complex history that lingers underneath the surface for both of these guys, and neither of them is really willing to confront it. And even when Ben does start to learn the truth, I felt like his reaction was very authentic and made a lot of sense for him as a character.

The only thing that really bugged me about this one--and it's what brought this very quickly down from four stars to three stars--is the ending. There is a great deal of build toward the ending--chapters, even--and then it cuts off RIGHT before what should be the climax of that aspect of the plot. I know this is part of a series, but it was such an abrupt ending that it was jarring; it didn't really feel like a cliffhanger, either. It would have been smoother to cut it off a bit sooner and leave some lead in to start the next book. show less

Good title!

Had forgotten what a good narrator Gary Furlong is. He masters Nikolas' accents. At least it seems so to me, without knowing a Danish English accent except from Borgen! Also, the book won a 2021 SOVAS award.

This is a long, slightly confusing novel (9 hours on audio) - understandable in some ways, since, who is Sir Nikolas Mikkelsen? he hardly knows himself, he's worn so many aliases. That is where the novel ends, but there is a sequel, maybe more than one - fortunately, as the show more novel is shocking, absorbing, intriguing, and has plenty of tension of both the sexual and thriller kind. Turns out there are at least 9 in the series, yeh! and 16 of Wiltshire's books on Audible.

Ben Rider is a gifted soldier, ex-SAS - and he's been having what seems to be an abusive sexual affair with his boss, Sir Nikolas Mikkelsen for four years, when we meet the two after Ben has experienced the horrific death of his friend/lover in a house fire.

Never heard of author John Wiltshire before this, despite regularly reading lists of recommended MM Romance reads. I think I chose this based on the cover and the rating, ie 4.1 on Hoopla - though my usual cut-off is 4.2! Ha ha.

Library Thing has this snippet about the author: John is an ex-army officer who currently lives in South Island New Zealand. He's been writing for many years and has a number of novels published. Much of his fiction is based in England, particularly Devon, where he grew up. When John isn't writing, he can usually be found at the beach, surfing.

Goodreads has this: John Wiltshire is the fictional persona of the author of the More Heat Than The Sun series. After spending twenty-two years in the military perfecting the art of looking busy whilst secretly writing, John left as a senior officer
when a hastily dug tunnel was ready for use. Now living in New Zealand (at least until enough money can be raised to leave) John has no plans to return to the army. Unless the world situation gets considerably worse, that is.

Love Is a Stranger deserves a solid four rating, ie 4.5, for the intrigue and intensity. show less

3.5 stars

This took me ages to get through (nearly 2 weeks) and this is why I rounded down to 3 stars. Whilst I enjoyed the story line, I found the untangling took quite a while even though it really needed to take the time to explain all the nuances. I guess I'm just impatient ;) It didn't help that this is the sort of book that you can't just pick and put down; you need to commit to reading the portions of this book.

I will continue with the series though :D Gotta find out how this continues show more to play out! show less