I've read the previous installments two years ago, and though I remember I loved them, I don't remember too many things. It quite annoyed me frankly to have all those characters I remember yet I don't remember ENOUGH to feel comfortable with the setting. With Reg and Bobby, frankly I don't remember anything about them. So in a way it was like starting anew.
Both Reg and Bobby's life stories are difficult and complicated. It was so hard to read about how USED Vern was in his life back in the small village where he grew up. He had so much on his shoulders at a very young age. Finding a job at "Johnnies" is not what he was looking for in the city but that's where he finds himself when Dex spots him working in a cafe.
For Reg it's even worse, He has been taking care of his mentally ill sister since he was 16 years old when their mother left. He can barely manage her especially since she can become violent easily. It doesn't help with him being slow mentally himself.. Which is no surprise then that almost in his 30s he has been working for "Johnnies" for almost ten years now. He always says he isn't smart and it shows with everything he says and does. I couldn't connect with him and I felt his situation with his sister is just going to get worse and I just didn't feel I wanted to keep on reading and getting the whole story. Without continuing on I KNOW this book is going to be angsty as hell and the sister is bound to be a major conflict since it prevents Reg to even leave the house if it's not for a few hours a day. With his slow wits it's even worse. He doesn't have any options because he doesn't even consider looking for ones. He asks for a bit of help from the guys but he basically lives with a sister he can't manage in a life he can barely manage on his own.
I haven't really gotten to know Vern but his life isn't easy as well but I guess he is more optimistic about getting "there" if he puts the work needed. The one thing going for him as he accepts the job at "Johnnies" is the size of his dick.. Frankly, I found it to be so very juvenile that each character was mostly introduced with an added bonus of dick size.. (Vern being the most "blessed" one among all of them) Vern didn't "catch" my interest in the little I've read of him. He was a kid trying to make life work for him with zero skills. Porn seemed doable..
I had a problem with the denial BOTH guys had about being gay or bi. After 10 years Reg doesn't get he is TRULY interested in men? If he feels attraction while having sex with them than, well, he is attracted to men. It's simple, even to someone as simply as him. For Vern, we can give him the benefit of the doubt because he sucked a lot of dicks but he is still quite young so been confused about his sexuality is acceptable with his living environment
.
These two felt so CLUELESS to me. Both about their sexuality but mostly about themselves. Reg is too slow. I'm not even sure if he is THAT stupid or he doesn't even TRY to understand life around him, he just says - I'm not good at that - and that's it. Vern seems like a nice guy who had a difficult start to his life but I'm not sure I'm really into seeing him grow sexually right now and especially into Reg's hands.
So I don't know. I don't want to continue reading this story. It's only been 17% but it was enough for me to realize this book is going to be a long AGONY for both characters dealing with life and trying to build their own. But not connecting to Reg is my main issue actually. I don't think I can read a whole book about him, especially a long one.. I don't like to quit books, and mostly not that little into the book but this one just doesn't work for me which is a DAMN SHAME since the previous ones were GREAT! I'm a fan of Amy's books, I've read more than 50 (!) or hers but I've already realized not just from reading her, that not EVERY book by an author I love can deliver what I'm looking for and it's best to accept it as it is and not think too much of it. I'll auto-buy Amy's next book for sure because this instance does nothing to discourage me from reading more by her. It's just this book wasn't for me is all.
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Rating:
★★★ DNF 17% |
E-Book
Edition |
371
pages
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Read on:
12 February 2018
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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 difficult / 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 difficult / 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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