Book review: backlog edition, part 2

[rainwaterspark]

Prodigal by TA Moore

Genre: Adult MM romance

I'm honestly not sure whether to categorize this book as "contemporary romance" or "romantic suspense." I guess it's not as action-packed as most other romantic suspense novels, but there is a central mystery to this story.

The basic plot is that when Boyd Maccabbee was a kid, his best friend, Sammy Calloway, disappeared. That disappearance has haunted Boyd and everyone who lives in the town of Cutters Gap ever since. Fifteen years later, Morgan Graves, a petty criminal with a troubled past, is confused when his DNA is run and is found to be a match for Sammy Calloway's. He's brought to Cutters Gap and interacts with Boyd and the members of Sammy's family while everyone tries to figure out whether he's really Sammy or not...and, of course, there's romantic and sexual tension between Morgan and Boyd.

Honestly, some of the writing in the book was fantastic. The plot moved slowly, but the mystery of whether Morgan is Sammy or not keeps you reading, since Boyd wants Morgan to be Sammy while Morgan keeps insisting that it's all some big mistake.

But here's what annoyed me about this book: The ending. The freaking ending.

Which is going under a spoiler cut, obviously.
 

** SPOILERS BELOW **






So in the end, we find out that Morgan really is Sammy. But we don't find out how that's possible, especially since Morgan has zero memories of his life as Sammy.

This was just...so incredibly unsatisfying. The reason why the plot felt unpredictable is that you want to know how Morgan can be Sammy if he has no memories of Sammy's family, and all he remembers is being in the foster system, but you also want to know, if Morgan isn't Sammy, then what happened to Sammy. For the book to not answer that central question was infuriating.

It felt a bit like maybe the book was trying to save those answers for a sequel (and it seemed like it was maybe setting up the sequel to focus on Shay, Sammy/Morgan's brother), but there doesn't appear to be any sequels planned. Even if there was, this is just not how you end this kind of book.




Dead Man Stalking by TA Moore

Genre: Adult paranormal romance, romantic suspense

Content warnings: Graphic violence, blood play

Oh man.

 

When I first read the synopsis, I was like “Gimme!” Elite human agent copes with PTSD from getting turned into a vampire against his will? And has a complicated relationship with his vampire commanding officer? Sign me up!

 

Plus, I was really fascinated by the worldbuilding in this book. I love takes on vampires that aren’t just vampires hiding from society, but vampires are actually integrated into society.

 

Having said that, something about the way the book was written felt very distancing for me—not necessarily in the lack of explaining the world (I’m used to other fantasy books that do that), but in the fact that I had a hard time following the central mystery and how characters were led from one step to the next. Though, speaking of the worldbuilding, similarly to Prodigal (by the same author!), this book seems to be setting up for a series—there are some bombs dropped near the end that I guess are supposed to be Big Deals, except it felt like I didn't have enough worldbuilding context to really wrap my mind around what those bombs actually meant. And, just like Prodigal, it doesn't seem like there are plans for publication of any sequels at this point, so that's just disappointing.

 

But my main problem was that around 33% of the book, Took/Luke goes from “There’s a chance Madoc was the one who had me kidnapped and turned into a vampire” to “Eh, but he’s hot I guess so I’m gonna sleep with him.”

I mean.

It totally breaks immersion for me because I’d think that normally, someone in Took/Luke’s position would at least try to clear Madoc as a suspect in his traumatic kidnapping and torture before jumping his bones?

Especially since it’s mentioned that Took/Luke was uncomfortable with Madoc’s romantic/sexual advances pre-vampire turn, and it’s not explained at all why his opinion suddenly changed.

And about two sex scenes later, they’re both confessing their love for each other.

*deep, heavy sigh*

(On the topic of the sex scenes, the blood play grossed me out a little. I don't mean that in the "I don't like that kink" way (although I don't), but rather in the "I don't understand how cutting your tongue on your fangs whenever you kiss is supposed to be sexy" way.)

(Also, as per usual, even though the synopsis makes it seem like Took/Luke has PTSD and is coping with it, there is almost no discussion of that in the book. *another sigh*)