Black Mahogany by Emily Carrington

Title: Black Mahogany

Series: Previous book: Heartwood

Author: Emily Carrington

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (199pgs)

Publisher: Loose Id (25^th June 2013)

Heat: Low – Moderate

Heart:  3 ½ Heart 

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Can marriage be a shield, sword, and healing balm? That’s Aidan’s hope: use marriage to get out of town, preserving his relationship by saving his lover’s mind.

When the man who molested Aidan’s lover escapes a pedophile charge, Aidan will stop at nothing to keep his lover, Mike, safe. But Mike can’t imagine leaving the town he’s lived in all his life. Just as he can’t imagine letting go of self-recriminations or sharing his nightmares with Aidan. If they can’t find a way through this, their fledgling relationship will die before it can grow deep enough roots.

Warning: This story has flashbacks to sexual abuse and mentions of sexual abuse of children.

Review: This story is part of a series and must be read in order. Aidan and Mike are struggling to keep their relationship on an even keel, which is difficult when all Aidan wants is to leave town and Mike struggles with his doubts about his molestation. Aidan has dreams of changing the world with politics and is offered a dream job in DC, but Mike doesn’t want to leave his home town even with the difficulties that he faces. Mike is filled with doubts both about his sexual orientation and with the abuse he suffered, his abusers words still ring in his head, haunting him and taunting him. Both men have to work out just what they want before it is too late and their fledgling relationship crumbles around them.

This is a good story about support, love, finding your confidence and what you truly want. Black Mahogany continues on not long after Heartwood finished, it continues the story of Mike and Aidan as they make decisions for the future and the repercussions of Mike coming forward with the truth about his abuse. Mike and Aidan’s relationship has many ups and downs, as Aidan tries to convince Mike to leave town and Mike tries to pretend that the abuse hasn’t left him scarred.

Aidan wants to get Mike out of town and getting a job offer in DC is the answer to his prayers, but Mike doesn’t feel the same way. Mike still isn’t convinced that he is gay and that he only wants Aidan, but his abusers words keep taunting him and he begins to believe the abuse was his fault. We see a whole run of emotions as these two young men try to find a way to stay together, even as they seem to push against each other and rub each other up the wrong way. Mike and Aidan both discover much about themselves in this story and that their love can’t be easily broken or ignored.

I recommend this to those who love broken men finding themselves, discovering their faults and accepting them and a loving troubled relationship finding solid ground.