Beneath the Stain – Part Six by Amy Lane

Title: Beneath the Stain – Part Six
Series: Beneath the Stain serial
Author: Amy Lane
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella (75 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (October 3rd 2014)
Heat Level: Mild
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: For as long as Trav Ford has known the Sanders boys, one name has haunted the entire band. Their first lead guitarist and Mackey’s first lover has left a stamp on the kids he’s known as a family, and now Grant has one last chance to hurt the people Trav cares for most.

Except Grant isn’t the monster Trav made him out to be, and coming home is harder on the band, and Trav, than he ever could have anticipated. When Trav is confronted with the reality of what Mackey and his brothers left behind, and with what they’re about to lose, he has to seriously reconsider if he’s strong enough to deal with everything that Mackey and Outbreak Monkey have come to represent. Fortunately for Trav, Mackey’s learned a lot in the past year, and one of his best lessons is how to hold on to the people he loves.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5313
Review: *Note. This review is of part 6 of the serial*
Trav and Mackey have been through a lot together whether it is on the business end, as a couple or as individuals. You would think by now Trav would have learned that they deal with issues best as a couple, but following Mackey and the band back to Tyson opens some doors that were probably best left shut. For starters, Grant is not the demon that Trav has convinced himself the man had to be. He deserted Mackey and the band, he lives his life in the closet, and worst, he hurt Mackey to a point that the scar will never heal. But seeing Grant at his most vulnerable state, so open, honest, and frail, shows Trav that he is just a man like the rest of them.

Then when the band holds a concert at the place where they launched their careers, the end result is a disaster, showing Trav exactly how hateful and ignorant the people who Mackey and his brothers grew up with are. In a moment of weakness brought on by confusion and utter exhaustion, Trav escapes and leaves Mackey alone with his family. It could have sent Mackey into a tailspin, but thank Christ, Mackey realizes how important his family, sobriety and Trav are to him. So he goes after the man he loves, determined to bring him back, kicking and screaming if he has to.

This wasn’t my favorite installment in this serial. It just didn’t have the same feel to me that the other parts have as I’ve taken this journey with Mackey, Trav and the band. But, that could be the purpose, Lane’s mind set for where she is going to take us in part 7. That being said, this is still a very well written and thought out story, and I’m so invested in these characters that I’m sitting here, waiting, with bated breath for the next installment!

If you like dark and dangerous stories that grab you, twist you up and make you crave more than this is a must read. Be sure to start with part 1, as each story is a continuation of the last. Only two more parts to go, I can’t wait to see where this ends. Will Trav and Mackey find a way to deal with the demons of the past, and build a future together? We shall see.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

Beneath the Stain: Part 5 by Amy Lane

Title: Beneath the Stain: Part 5
Series: Beneath the Stain serial package
Author: Amy Lane
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Serial (95 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (September 26th 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: Mackey is great at taking a leap of faith into a crowd –but taking one into a relationship and a future is a totally different animal. When he and Trav decide to take a risk that Mackey’s healing can hold up to them together, they know it’s going to be a long, difficult road. Mackey proves he can handle the stress of performing on his own, but when it comes to the demons that broke him in the first place, that’s a whole other song.

The first time Mackey tries to go home, it sends him into a palm-sweating, stomach heaving anxiety attack, and Trav has to concede that Mackey is still on loan from the things that almost wrecked him when he was still a kid. When news arrives that affects the entire band, Mackey can either go home and face his demons, or let them haunt him forever.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5606

Review: *Note. This review is of part 5 of the serial*
In the last installment of this series, Trav and Mackey finally established themselves as a couple, loud and in living color. Mackey has a long road ahead of him before he or anyone else can declare his road to recovery a success though. He is emotionally shattered and a recovering addict and as much as he would like to think that Trav’s love is enough to get him through anything, he is at least realistic. As unintentional as it is, his reality sometimes hurts the man he loves.

Trav knows that Mackey is far from whole, but there is something about the battered and broken young man who is so beautiful to him, that he can’t help but love him. When Trav has to leave Mackey to go overseas for a few days to check on the upcoming tour, he worries how his lover will cope without him there to hold him together. As hard as it is to hear, Mackey is honest with him when he feels the urge to use, and strong enough for now to resist it.

Mackey is determined to be strong and stay clean. For himself, his band, his family and most importantly for Trav. While Mackey still struggles with his addiction and the pull to use, he manages to stay clean, for now. Some harsh news from home threatens his newfound sobriety, and just might push Mackey over the edge.

Each installment of this serial only ups the ante. The writing is intense, emotional and captivating, pulling me further in with every dark twist of Mackey’s story. My fear now is that his relationship with Trav has become so intense that it could implode around them, and take out everyone they love in the after math. Then on the other hand, I don’t see how either of them couldn’t be right for each other, because I don’t think they could be right for anyone else. Mackey doesn’t do anything half way, and loving Trav is no exception. There love is equal parts frantic, insane and endearing.

I’m seriously sitting here biting my nails right now in anticipation of part 6. I have a few days to brace myself because I have a feeling the shit is about to hit the fan, but I’m holding out the hope that Mackey and Trav make it through this field of land minds together.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

Beneath the Stain: Part 1 by Amy Lane

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 *

Tag: GLBT Serial Review

Beneath the Stain – Part Six by Amy Lane

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