My review:
First up, I have to confess – I disliked this story – nonetheless, it’s still worth reading because it’s well written, surprisingly well-characterised, and intriguing. I disliked it because I disliked the narrator, Jeremy, who’s intended to be unlikeable – he’s a spoiled, self-indulgent, whiny bastard who treats people like shit and manipulates people – and I like my narrators to be nice (my personal kink). But the two brothers, Vaughn and Gabe, make up for him – they’re real, vibrant and fascinating, and one of the two serious criticisms I have of this two is that the narrative ends before the real story gets going (this seems to be a feature of this author’s writing). I wanted to know so much more about these two, their backstory, what happened to them etc, and I felt cheated. Maybe the writer will come back to them. No idea. But like all good stories, it makes you care about what happens next.
The other big criticism is that the women in this story are cariactures, cruel harridans who are unworthy of the men they are trying to claw to their bosoms. I really hate that in slash – making women harpies so the men cling together out of a common need to protect themsleves. Jeremy’s mother just never felt real to me. But it might bother me more than it would bother other readers. I really think it’s worth giving a try, anyway.
