Tuesday, October 20, 2015

A Dangerous Thing (Adrien English #2) by Josh Lanyon

I don't know.. I liked the progression of Jake and Adrien's relationship, I really did! and yet the story itself just didn't "grip" me - I was struggling with it most of the way. This time I guessed (right!) who the villain was, but I wasn't that interested in the whole way the story portrayed / mystery unraveled. The main thing I enjoyed was witnessing Adrien and Jake getting closer. 

The previous book concluded with a sort of a "promise" from Jake that there is more to come between him and Adrien. Jake really WANTS Adrien, yet he is still reluctant to part with the way he sees his ideal life - with a wife (a female one..) and kids. Yet he truly cares about Adrien and everything he does in general and specifically FOR Adrien shows exactly that. Adrien is walking on egg shells when Jake's homosexuality is concerned and yet it's clear to him that no matter what, Jake is a really good friend even if he is struggling with his true desires. 

The book begins with Adrien being restless, from the writer's block he is in, from Jake's behavior and the fact that there is no relationship to speak of between them - so he goes on "vocation" to the house he inherited from his beloved grandmother.

Since this is Adrien we are talking about, when he arrives at the house the first thing he encounters is a dead body, but after calling the police and returning to the point he saw the body - it's gone.. Then while snooping around he gets hurt which alerts Jake to the fact that Adrien is NOT home and is in the hospital with a head injury. He comes for the rescue. This time together, in a big house and a time out from their lives and mainly from "society's eye", allows Jake and Adrien to be more domestic. I don't think their relationship could have progressed that much if they were both home with their everyday life. 

A nice enough read. I'll be continuing to the next one. I sure hope it's going to be better. I've heard SO MUCH about this series I'm going to read it all anyhow. But I want to be pleasantly surprised and be able to add another author to my reading list.


Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 236 pages, 17-19 October 2015 / On GoodReads
 
 
 ABOUT THIS SERIES
 
Adrien English is a MM Romantic Suspense series by Josh Lanyon. The series follows Adrien who is a mystery book store owners as well as a new writer. Adrien stumbles on crimes too often and since he IS writing mystery and he IS a very curious guy he also finds himself smack in the middle of it, and probably accused of the crime himself..

In the first book we are introduced to Jake Riordan a police detective that slowly becomes Adrien's love interest. It doesn't go well at first with Jake being more closeted than a closet can offer.. and yet he sees something in Adrien he can't put aside and so he struggles with his identity and desires and tries to give a true chance to him and Adrien.

The series contains 5 full novels (yet quite short ones) each of a new mystery with an ongoing relationship buildup between Adrien and Jake.  

Though this is a well known and generally appreciated series I can't say I truly enjoyed it. For me the suspense was a bit too amateur-ish and the romance was VERY lacking. We get the HEA in the end, but I'm not sure I would have invested in the series knowing what I do know. I should say that the writing is witty and very enjoyable! In one word - Superb! So if you're into amateur sleuthing and not very much into romance it would be right down your ally.  The only book I truly recommend is the forth one, but be advised you won't get a HEA but maybe a promise to one. So guess maybe the 4th+5th is the better bet.

Books:
1. Fatal Shadows (Published 1 May 2000) ★★★★
2. A Dangerous Thing (Published 1 November 2001) ★★★½
3. The Hell You Say (Published 6 March 2006) ★★★
4. Death of a Pirate King (Published 13 September 2008) ★★★★
5. The Dark Tide (Published1 December 2009) ★★★ 
 
 

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