Title: City of Soldiers
Author: Sam Burke
Genre: Contemporary, Kink
Length: Super Novel (320pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (21st June 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½ – 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Sean Gordon returns from the war in Afghanistan with a bad leg, no job, and a heart grieving for lost friends. Lonely and searching, he’s interested in exploring his submissive side but can’t even tell his own family he’s gay. He’s unable to find a strong man to fulfill his deepest, most shameful fantasies and sees only a bleak, unhappy future.
Everything changes when he meets Roman Mahoney, part of a secret group of former soldiers who live in Philadelphia’s forgotten underground and protect an ancient secret. Roman is asexual and proud of it, but yearns for romance with a man who will tolerate the lingering effects of his head injuries and not pressure him for sex. He ends up emotionally caught between two dominating men—the disgraced veteran who cares for him and a Philly cop with a love of bondage. Slowly Sean and Roman begin to connect, adding fuel to the fire of old rivalries and insecurities.
With a serial killer on the loose and targeting homeless veterans, Roman, Sean, and their friends struggle to meet across sexual divides. True love awaits—but so does a killer’s vengeance.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3908
Review: After returning from Afghanistan with a bum leg, no job and images of friends burned into his memory Sean doesn’t know what he is going to do next and has no real interest in anything, until he gets drunk one night, falls down a manhole and wakes up to Roman. Roman is a wounded ex-soldier who is part of a secret group of former soldiers who live in the forgotten underground tunnels. Roman has no interest in sex, but he wants a relationship for the love and comfort, which is something nobody else really understands. Kristian is in charge of their little group and is very protective of Roman. Detective Michael Brackett is a friend to the homeless soldiers. A serial killer is on the loose and homeless veterans are being targeted, there are very few clues but Roman knows more than he thinks and when he begins to remember, all their lives are in danger.
This is a great story of homeless veterans who have basically been forgotten by their government, who all have their own nightmares and injuries and come together to support each other. Sean returns from the war with no clue as to what to do next, meeting Roman sets him on a course he would never have ventured on before and he meets men that has him exploring something that he never knew he wanted. Roman has a very faulty memory as a result of a war injury; he is asexual and has many good friends. Kristian is a protective man he will do anything to keep his friends safe and when he discovers that another homeless veteran, a man who he called a friend, has been murdered he tries to keep a closer eye on all of them. Brackett is a detective who was once close to Kristian, now they are at loggerheads, but when Roman asks for his help Brackett is introduced to Sean and he introduces Sean to rope-play.
This is a brilliant written story, dragging us into the underground of Philadelphia and the lives of a group of veterans who live there. The relationship aspects of the story are jumbled and confusing, not just to us but to the men involved as well. Finding friendship, sex, and love and mixing it all together to give us a complex storyline that isn’t quite resolved at the end of the story. The murder side is very interesting especially as bits and pieces of Roman’s memory flashes giving him hints that he knows more, and then we have the mystery water and its magical healing powers, a very interesting twist.
All the characters are good and we get perspectives mainly from Sean and Roman, although we do get brief perspectives of others. There is some casual sex in this story but not much on page, we do get some wonderful rope-play scenes and great descriptions about how Sean feels about it. But what I loved about this story is that it doesn’t pull punches about how the veterans are treated and ignored by the government they fought for. I loved the incredible descriptions of Roman’s memory when we see through his eyes. I loved the descriptions of the underground, being taken down into a world that has been long forgotten.
I recommend this to those that love veterans finding a way to survive, a murder mystery that’s interesting, damaged men who are just trying to find something better and finding friendship, and companionship and love.