…and All Shall Fade to Black Blurb:
Moving into his new apartment, Jax never expected to have to break up a fight between his new neighbors, resulting in a physical altercation and a visit from the cops. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that it would lead to him meeting Danny, the cute theater manager and playwright that lived next door. Unfortunately, his first impression of Danny and the way he’d cowered away in the fight with his ex, wasn’t exactly a favorable one. Jax already has his own issues to deal with, between his past problems with his mother and the chain of men who’ve floated in and out of her life, his new job as a piercer in his sister’s tattoo shop and his struggles with an eating disorder; the last thing he plans to add to it is a relationship.
Yet Danny isn’t so easy to ignore and when they find themselves bonding after Danny shows him around town, and more when Jax offers to help with sets for his latest play, it becomes harder and harder for him to ignore the connection forming between them. As Jax’s insecurities and food issues grow more and more out of control, he finds himself turning to Danny for help, rather than his longtime friends Callum and Max who lives just downstairs. Danny’s mix of patience, stubbornness, and tough love make it harder and harder for Jax to keep his distance, and somewhere in the course of their daily lives, they find themselves moving from being friends, to being more.
REVIEW
I have to admit right off the bat
that this is not the kind of book I usually read. There is a certain amount of
darkness about it – well okay there’s quite a lot of darkness but not the kind
I usually go for – and at its heart it’s a rather sweet, slow-burn love story.
However, I was pulled in without too much resistance as it has a very strong
story with plenty of interesting details to keep me amused.
I loved Danny from the start. He’s a
playwright who’s basically married to his job, and thankfully not to his abusive
boyfriend, Sean who soon became his ex. He can be awkward and uncertain, but he
knows what he want and can be uncompromising in holding to his ideals.
I didn’t warm so quickly to Jax,
mainly because he was being a judgemental asshole. Thankfully, he grew on me,
especially when we started to see his vulnerabilities and how hard he was
struggling with his issues, a struggle that got harder through the book. By the
end, I was invested and shared every hurt and triumph
The supporting characters were awesome.
My favourites were Jax’ sister, and Herman, Danny’s best friend. Steph’s
sarcastic humour appealed to me, and Herman was just hilarious.
The story itself wasn’t complex, but
there were a lot of little details that made it full and rich. I enjoyed watching
Danny’s play come together and Jax’s inner journey was compelling. There were
surprises and not-surprises and plenty of interesting little nuggets of
information, fun facts that made me think. The best thing about it was how real
it felt. There was nothing contrived and gave the feel of peeping into the
lives of two interesting people.
We had to wait almost right to the
end for a sex scene and when it came it was hot and sweet and fit the story
perfectly.
On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed
the story and would certainly read a sequel.
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About the Author
LAYLA DORINE lives among the sprawling prairies of Midwestern America, in a house with more cats than people. She loves hiking, fishing, swimming, martial arts, camping out, photography, cooking, and dabbling with several artistic mediums. In addition, she loves to travel and visit museums, historic, and haunted places.
Layla got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists, musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years. Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes its aliens crash landing near a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she can often be found curled up with a good book and a kitty on her lap.
Layla Dorine can be found at:
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