Title: Beneath the Stain
Series: Beneath the Stain serial package part 1
Author: Amy Lane
Genre: Contemporary with an edge
Length: Serial/Novella (78 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (part 1 August 29th 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers– and their penchant for making good music when they weren’t getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams–made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind.
Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he’s hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn’t flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that’s not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav’s help–but Trav’s not sure he’s going to survive falling in love with Mackey.
Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn’t do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey’s past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5313
Five Ways to Buy
1. Serial Package
•Automatically get each part with special content on your bookshelf as it is released and the digital novel upon release. Serial runs 8/29/14-10/10/14. Novel releases 10/17/14.
•$12.99. This option only available through dreamspinnerpress.com.
2. Serial Deluxe Package
•Automatically get each part with special content on your bookshelf as it is released and the digital novel upon release. Serial runs 8/29/14-10/10/14. Novel releases 10/17/14.
•Also received a signed paperback mailed to you upon novel release.
•$24.99 +shipping. This option only available through dreamspinnerpress.com.
3. Serial Only (7 parts)
•Buy individual parts with special content weekly for $1.99. Serial runs 8/29/14-10/10/14.
4. & 5. Novel
•Purchase the complete novel in eBook or paperback, no special content included. Pre-sales begin 9/17/14. Novel releases 10/17/14.
•eBook $6.99, paperback $17.99
•Upon complete novel release, the serial will no longer be available.
Review: *Note. This review is of part 1 of the serial*
Young Mackey Sanders is only certain about two things… He lives to write songs, and he’s damn good at it. And he is in love with his brother’s best friend Grant. For a while, the two skirt around each other and their mutual attraction that is dangerously close to reaching the breaking point. When they finally share that first kiss, it is explosive, electric, animalistic and raw. From that moment on they can’t get enough of each other, crave each other. Stolen moments in dark corners and alleys or behind a closed door at Mackey’s house are all they have for a while.
Mackey and Grant are forever making music.
Out in the open as friends and band mates when they are with the other guys, or the songs that Mackey writes with Grant in mind, pouring the feelings he can’t share out in the open into the words of hauntingly beautiful songs centered on his feelings for Grant. And then there is the sweet music they make when they are alone, that only the two of them can share. Mackey hopes for a future with Grant, but Grant refuses to hold Mackey back. So when an opportunity presents for the band to go all the way, Grant steps back and pushes Mackey ahead, kicking and screaming.
Fast paced, intense and harsh… that is what this first look into the world of Outbreak Monkey, the band, is. The way these two love each other is almost dangerous. Forced to keep their affair a secret because of Grant’s family and obligations, as well as Kell’s, Mackey’s older brother and Grant’s best friend, seemingly homophobic nature. So Mackey channels the words and emotions he wishes he could say aloud to Grant in public into his music. Whether he realizes it or not, it’s what he has been doing since before they even became lovers. It is what attracted Grant to him in the first place.
The story ends with a cliffhanger, dammit! Outbreak has finally gotten their big break, but at a cost. Grant either can’t or won’t go with them, maybe a little of both, and Mackey is crushed because of it. I’m anxious to see where this story goes when Mackey gets to the big city and doesn’t have to hide so much anymore. When new opportunities present themselves to him, will he stay true to his love for Grant? Or will he continue to explore his newfound freedom?
Lane is a very raw, realistic and gripping writer. Her stories are always intense and dramatic, but they engage you early on you quickly become invested in the character’s she creates. This promises to be another great series for her, and I’m excited to see where Mackey, Grant and the rest of the guys go next!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *