I'll start with a warning - do NO read this book if you haven't read the previous ones in the series - first, it would be a shame because they are GREAT! and second, this story has a very close time-line to the previous installment (also overlapping the first) which naturally means a LOT of spoilers... In all books the MC seems to "shadow" what is going on with other couples, as Kane and Dex's relationship was forming while Chase and Tommy had other issues to deal with.. then in Kane and Dex's book we know Ethan is interested in Jonah but we know very little of the subject and we don't know a relationship is building up while Kane and Dex are trying to solve their problems.
Ethan grew up in the prefect family up until he was five when his whole world changed. From this point he and his sisters somehow became "captives" of his over controlling mother and he started his years of therapeutic sessions which helped him a lot and yet left him still craving the one thing he was missing from his life - touch. not just any human touch but a caring one. He found that in the guys working with him at "Johnnies" and so he stayed having no reason to even try hard(er) at his studies in college.
Jonah has a very loving family and yet dealing with his sister's illness (CF) is draining the family. His father isn't living in the house because he feels he is making things worse, his mother is just so damn tired, he himself lost interest in doing anything personal besides being there for his sister who isn't even fighting, she just lives day by day, fighting THEM on all her restrictions. It was so sad and heartbreaking. In the beginning you want to hate Melly, and yet as the story progresses I think it's easier to understand her which makes it even MORE heartbreaking and the end? there are no words..
Ethan and Jonah form a fast friendship based on their mutual love of comics. Yet though Ethan wishes he could be with a guy like Jonah he doesn't believe he can stop working in "Johnnies" not trusting he'll receive the right kind and amount of physical touch he craves. Also who would want to date a whore? But since it's difficult to turn down Jonah's friendship he keeps it especially as his family is breaking apart over his mother crazy actions concerning the separation of his big sister from her husband (also there's a baby involved in the mix..). In the end Ethan does what is best for his family, but not necessarily what's best for himself or maybe he knows that his REAL family is the guys from "Johnnies" and so he accepts the reality and the choices he has to make. While Ethan finds it hard to share his life and past with Jonah, what Jonah is dealing with is quite obvious, his sister is getting worse and hope is running out. Ethan does his best to stay by Jonah's side even though it also means he is unable to stop himself when it comes to touching and kissing Jonah - moving their relationship to the next level even though in his head he wants them to be just friends (his heart? a different matter!). Jonah uses every "crack" in Ethan's defenses to form a real relationship between them.
It was so damn sweet! Jonah, the virgin, is the one navigating this relationship, and Ethan in a way is as inexperienced as he is - neither one of them had anything like it before (though Ethan DID have a sort of girlfriend in high school). I loved that. I loved how Jonah saw what Ethan was just from looking at him, seeing who he is and how he is. There is VERY little Ethan had to actually say for Jonah to understand who he is from the inside and THAT'S what mattered to him. Ethan is SUCH a gentle soul. What he wants from people around him, from life, is so simple, so human, it's wrecking to realize and seeing him with Jonah make it so clear.
I LOVED this book, I'm wondering if I loved it best out of the three, but they are so different it's really hard to chose! It was a bit long, which was something I felt with the previous ones as well, yeah we got everything - Ethan's past, them dealing with their lives' problems and forming a beginning of a future together (giving up also a little glimpse into one of the previous couples future as well). This whole series is HIGHLY recommended. Yeah it's Erotica and if you are not used to the genre you might write it off, but please don't! I somehow feel it's more of a New Adult novel - dealing with life, putting the past behind, growing up I guess :) Beautiful. Grab the first one and start reading! oh, and grab your napkins.. you'll need them.. ;
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 350 pages, 7-11 March 2016 / On GoodReads
ABOUT THIS SERIES
"Johnnies" is a MM Romance series by Amy Lane. Defining what KIND of romance is a bit difficult.. They are somewhere between New Adult and Contemporary (depending on the novel) with a good pint of Erotica in the mix.
"Johnnies" is a Gay Porn company, in each book one (and sometimes two) star(s) finds his/their HEA. Though it's definitely on the Erotica side sex-wise the focus is on the emotional side with a very clear feeling of "coming of age" or dealing with the past which is more often than not VERY diffifult / painful. But though the stories each of the characters have to tell make these books angsty, it doesn't feel OTT or too much, on the contrary, I always find a sort of hope to the story because though the past brought them to the place they are now, the present, the current love interest as well as "Johnnie's" guys are always there to make it better.
I loved this series so much I truly can't recommend it enough! Though it's Erotica, dealing with porn there is so much more to the series with the beautiful friendships, the forming of a relationship and the story that starts with a sad note and ends with a sweet smile. Yet grab a napkin, you'll need it with everything Amy puts her characters through..
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Books:
0.5. Super Sock Man [Donnie Armstrong & Alejandro "Yandro" Castellanos] (published 15 July 2011) ★★★¾
1. Chase in Shadow [Chase "Chance" Summers & Tommy "Tango" Halloran] (published 23 February 2012) ★★★★
2. Dex in Blue [David "Dex" Worral & Carlos "Kane" Ramirez] (published 30 September 2012) ★★★★½
3. Ethan in Gold [Evan "Ethan" Costa & Jonah Stevens] (published 3 October 2013) ★★★★½
4. Black John [John Carey & Galen Henderson] (published 26 January 2015) ★★★★★
5. Bobby Green [Vern "Bobby" Roberts & Reg Williams] (published 6 February 2018) ★★★ (DNF 17%)
"Johnnies" is a Gay Porn company, in each book one (and sometimes two) star(s) finds his/their HEA. Though it's definitely on the Erotica side sex-wise the focus is on the emotional side with a very clear feeling of "coming of age" or dealing with the past which is more often than not VERY diffifult / painful. But though the stories each of the characters have to tell make these books angsty, it doesn't feel OTT or too much, on the contrary, I always find a sort of hope to the story because though the past brought them to the place they are now, the present, the current love interest as well as "Johnnie's" guys are always there to make it better.
I loved this series so much I truly can't recommend it enough! Though it's Erotica, dealing with porn there is so much more to the series with the beautiful friendships, the forming of a relationship and the story that starts with a sad note and ends with a sweet smile. Yet grab a napkin, you'll need it with everything Amy puts her characters through..
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Books:
0.5. Super Sock Man [Donnie Armstrong & Alejandro "Yandro" Castellanos] (published 15 July 2011) ★★★¾
1. Chase in Shadow [Chase "Chance" Summers & Tommy "Tango" Halloran] (published 23 February 2012) ★★★★
2. Dex in Blue [David "Dex" Worral & Carlos "Kane" Ramirez] (published 30 September 2012) ★★★★½
3. Ethan in Gold [Evan "Ethan" Costa & Jonah Stevens] (published 3 October 2013) ★★★★½
4. Black John [John Carey & Galen Henderson] (published 26 January 2015) ★★★★★
5. Bobby Green [Vern "Bobby" Roberts & Reg Williams] (published 6 February 2018) ★★★ (DNF 17%)
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