In the Flesh (Flesh, #1)

Original rating: 4 stars
Re-read rating: 3 stars

Slight spoilers ahead~

I got stuck at 54% in the re-read and I was dreading going back to the book, so I gave it up.
I'm not sure exactly why I rated it so highly the first time around. All I can say is that right now, for me, this book has nothing going on to keep my attention.


Lot's of soap opera-ish reactions form various characters in the book, lots of bad porn flick moments. And LOTS of inconsistencies.

The MC Christian Flesh is supposed to be a hot-shot detective, very young for the position, yet at every step he shows us it's a wonder he's still alive.

He's supposed to be brutally honest, but he comes off as creepy, immature, and inappropriate.

He's charged for murder, yet all he show more thinks about is where he'll stick Flesh Jr. next.

He's supposed to be badly traumatized, hurt enough that he limits himself to meaningless sexual encounters, and self-imposes rules about said encounters (no kissing, no sleepovers, no relationships etc) to guarantee he won't get anything resembling an emotional connection. Yet he breaks several of the rules after knowing the other MC for a few days and sleeping with him once.

The more I read the more I was irked by the story. So I'm just gonna quit now. I'm lowering the rating to 3 stars and not 2 because I didn't finish re-reading it, so I'm potentially missing out on some redeeming qualities I just don't have the patience to find out about. show less

I have to admit that cop novels are not usually my cup of tea, even if I can sympathize with the imaginary seeing a cop like a perfect lover. But this cop in particular, Cristian Flesh, or simply Flesh, is at the opposite of your common idea of a police detective: unapologetically gay, and that is the point I liked the most, he is also pretty open on what he likes and doesn’t like; he likes sex and more is good, and so, probably for the first time in a novel, I found a detective that slept at least once with co-workers, victims, suspects, defensive lawyers… in a way the reader could guess who was involved in the plot by the fact that Flesh has slept with him.

When Flesh is asked to investigate on an attempt murder, he has to show more renounce to the case since he slept with the victim; then, on a short distance, he sleeps with two of the suspects and when he is framed with a crime, he sleeps with his lawyer (plus other non-important men in the middle). If at the beginning I was wondering if I liked Flesh, one night stand by one night stand I started to realize that, even if it sounds odd, he was sleeping with all these men to take a distance from them. Lowering everything to an “only-sex” level it allowed Flesh to convince himself these men were not touching him.

That is another point I noticed, Flesh has an “untouchable” aura: not only on the physical side (bald head, white skin, no body hairs), he is also aloof and distant; Flesh put everything on plain air, his body, his personal life, so that no one can accuse him of hiding something, but in reality, he is firmly protecting what is most important for him, his heart.

Colby, the lawyer who has to help Flesh, is more or less at the opposite: apparently more open than Flesh, kind and compassionate, warm against the ice that is Flesh, he is instead deep in the closet. For various reason, his job, his friends, Colby doesn’t want to come out and in doing so, he doesn’t allow Flesh to do his “trick” with him; Flesh is not “allowed” to sleep with Colby as soon as they met, and in this way, Colby is able to insinuate in Flesh’s heart a little bit. Once there, it will not take long before the breach will break Flesh’s protective shield.

While the first part of the novel was about sex with strangers, and while good, it didn’t do much for me, once Flesh and Colby start their relationship, the sex turned in very good and hot. Flesh in bed was as complex as he is out of it, strictly a bottom, he was not though weak, and in a way he managed to be in control also in that position. Again it was an odd thing, since usually when someone tries to protect his heart, I usually link it with a refusal for the bottom position, but again the author prepared the scene for a right and good explanation of also this point.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/161581552X/?tag=elimyrevandra-20 show less

ElaineY did such a great review, most has been said already there. I definitely agree about the TSTL moments, but I take on board Ethan's excuse. Maybe the heart did rule the head.
Like others I also enjoyed his "voice" and the balance of suspense to romance.
There were a few issues he dealt with throughout the story which lifted this above the run-of-the mill romance. Coming out, hypocrisy of some religious characters, reactions by peers. As one who has never witnessed it, his depiction of the casual hook-ups and behind closed doors in clubs scenes all rang true to me and added that layer of reality to his story.
I thought he did a good job with the side characters, Gabe, Violet, Annabeth, Hillary, Lex, and Kenny all seemed real and show more didn't overpower Colby and Cristian, but made it feel like his main characters were a part of the real world.
The start was good. Rules did govern Cristian's life.
The writing flowed very well craft wise. A good balance of backstory, description, inner thought, action and dialogue.
The inner thoughts matched the dialogue. (One of my pet peeves when it doesn't).
I'll definitely be looking out for other books by Ethan when when they come out. show less

Strong start but weaker ending. I liked the cold hard boiled style of Flesh and his many rules. I loved how fearlessly out he was, though being a detective with his background (not the bing out but the disjointed and difficult childhood) at age 25 was pushing it a bit. However, it started to bog down as he got closer to his lawyer. It's like the book lost it's edge, the author could do cold and unfeeling but got less energized when it came to love. If the end had been as strong as the start it would be a definite 5 star, but as is, it's a good enough 3 stars...

A terrific mystery story with an intriguing protagonist. It's fast paced too, which makes for a good read.

4.5 Stars An intense, thrilling read. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommend.