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MM Good Book Reviews - Thommie's Books

I'm a crazy chick who somehow ended up a volunteer reviewer for Miss Portia de Moncur. I read m/m books and review them as honestly and passionately as I can.

Under the Rushes - Amy Lane http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/

Ever wonder what heroes are made of? No? I had this question hammering my head while I was reading this book and every page, every paragraph answered that for me. Pain, Agony, Betrayal, Disappointment, Frustration, Anger, Unworthiness, Guilt, Loneliness, Hatred, Kindness, Unselfishness, Love… And this is how Nyx is born.
Yes, you got it right, this is the story of a hero; a story that will break your heart and then elate you, and then break it some more before finally giving you a very realistic end in a very fiction story.
Dorjan is raised by wonderful notions, too good, too trusting, too full in his ideal beliefs. All those come crushing down on him when his bubble shatters after being betrayed by his own country. Suddenly he stands eyes wide open and sees the ugly truth for what it really is. They are being played, like pawns, for the convenience of one man who craves more…
Ten years later Dorjan and his best friend, Areau, are still suffering the scars, inward and outward, created by that awful day when they chose to trust a little boy over their idol, their superior officer. Guilt and desperation are Dorjan’s constant companions while he tries to bring some semblance of justice in Thenis, their capital, hidden in the shadows, becoming the unlawful hero that people will come to call Nyx.
This story reminded me of Batman, yet it can stand on its own due to the wonderful world Lane created. Like Bruce Wayne, Dorjan has a heritage to defend, being a Forum Master by day battling the politicians and a shadowy figure by night defending the helpless, and striking down the criminals and the corrupted. Unlike batman though, our Nyx does not go back into a welcoming mansion, he doesn’t go back into a shelter to rest and recharge. Dojan returns every night to the biggest battle of his life, a battle against and for his best friend. In the end Dorjan’s worse enemy resides in his cold, dusty house. Ten years of the most impossible torture he could stand, and when Dorjan truly believes it’s the end of his path a person emerges for the shadows. A simple act of kindness when all are dark and ugly, two amazingly beautiful midnight blue eyes reaching down in the depths of his soul and a reason to live again.
Yes, Taern remembers. He remembers the soldier stepping out of formation to talk to him. He remembers him leaping in action in a futile attempt to save his home. He remembers he failed. At first there was anger, but the stories reached him. He heared how that soldier tried and failed to save his people. He heard how he was punished for taking the word of a strange boy over that of his officer. He hear how he prayed his price. Taern also learned about the new masked hero emerging in the night to save the poor and helpless. The second rate citizens. People like him. And when he came face to face with that hero all he wanted was to give something back. Oh and how much that lonely soul needed something. But when Taern sees that his long lost soldier and this lonely punisher of the shadows is the very same person, he is shattered to the core by how much Dorjan is sacrificing for his people. It becomes Taern’s need to see that Dorjan gets something back. The only thing Taern can give him and he will not take no for an answer.
Between battling Areau’s darkness and addiction, and his own inner demons, Dorjan has to come face to face with the corruption of his former idol. The war that for ten years was ripping their neighbors apart turns its ugly face toward Dorjan’s own Keep and the consequences would be terrifying if that was to happen. Despair hangs in the air as world as they know it is in danger of utter destruction and Dorjan is going to need all the strength, intelligence and love of his family in order to succeed.
I think I fell in love with this story; can’t help my poor heart when it comes down to gorgeous, noble, suffering men. And this story had it all. An incredible storyline that unraveled itself slowly, marking each layer with intense emotions in its path. A solid plot, no matter how you see it, no questions were left unanswered. Amazing characters, with looks, strength and depth that leave you no other way but to bond with them, love them and adore them. Even the bad guys, and for me this was very important, were incredible. The emotions emanating from their actions were the best and the worse and made for actually living the story to its core, living the life they lived and diving in this world with no chance of resurfacing before hitting “the end” line.
I could keep on going about the beauty of the author’s writing style, I could keep on going about the sensuality of the characters lovemaking hidden in the cruel facts of their lives, I could keep on going about the addictive feeling that this novel leaves you with and the many wishes I went that this is going to have a follow up, a sequel, because this world was just too good, I could keep on going…
Instead I’ll only say that for me this book earned each and every of the five hearts I gave it and frankly I wish I had more.