- "We're getting the band back together."Those six words send a chill down Miki St. John's spine, especially when they're spoken with a nearly religious fervor by his brother-in-all-but-blood, Damien Mitchell. However, those words were nothing compared to what Damien says next."And we're going on tour."When Crossroads Gin hits the road, Damien hopes it will draw them closer together. There's something magical about being on tour, especially when traveling in a van with no roadies, managers, or lovers to act as a buffer. The band is already close, but Damien knows they can be more brothers of sorts, bound not only by familial ties but by their intense love for music.As they travel from gig to gig, the band is haunted by past mistakes and personal demons, but they forge on. For Miki, Damie, Forest, and Rafe, the stage is where they all truly come alive, and the music they play is as important to them as the air they breathe.But those demons and troubles won't leave them alone, and with every mile under their belts, the band faces its greatest challenge overcoming their deepest flaws and not killing one another along the way.©2016 Rhys Ford (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press
- Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon Audio | Audible | iTunes
- Tams gives this one 5 stars...
If you could sum up Absinthe of Malice in three words, what would they be?
Intense, psychotic, brilliant.
What other book might you compare Absinthe of Malice to and why?
Any other book written by Rhys Ford. She's brilliant and emotional and it conveys in her stories, radiates within her characters.
Which scene was your favorite?
How about all of them. Yeah, that one.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
You can't read or listen to a Rhys Ford book and not be moved, just like with the previous question, all of them (?) With this story being about all 4 members of the new band, there are multiple moving moments. I will say that I quite liked the way Donal got Mickie to open up to him, that was beautiful and raw and perfect.
Any additional comments?
As Brigid Morgan might say... Jesus, Mary and Joseph! These children of hers, not all by birth but loved unconditionally none the less, could find trouble if they were locked in a padded cell, alone, and tied up in a straight jacket. I honestly don't think a damn one of them would know what to do with themselves if someone wasn't trying to kill them.
Narrated by Tristan James and lord do I love his Irish brogue. There are a LOT and when I say lot I seriously mean, a fuck ton a lot of characters and each and every one has their own distinct tone. There are also multiple accents he has to translate and he flows through a conversation with multiple characters without missing a beat.
I love this series and this motley crew of characters that are full of piss and vinegar, but love so fiercely that you can't help but be drawn into their web. I think I will have to have a good cry when this series comes to an end.
Tams E-book review from June 2016
Now that Mikie and Damie have found a drummer and a bass player, Damie is ready to take their newly formed band, Crossroads Gin, on the road to tour. He wants to keep it simple, no big tour bus with all the amenities, no five star hotels. No one star hotels either if I'm being honest. Damie is certain that the bond the four of them have formed will only be strengthened by traveling and doing what they love, playing. Here's the problem with this scenario... It may be a mutual love of music that brought these four men together, but it's the love of the four big, brooding Irish men that have captured these misfits and outcasts hearts that keep them all sane.
They aren't on the road for twenty four hours when the shit hits the fan at their first venue on the tour, landing Mikie in the hospital and Kane is fit to be tied, gunning to take his frustration out on the guy who's brilliant idea this hot mess was... Damie. These two are going to have to learn to share the person they both love endlessly before they drive him mad. Damie puts on a brave front, the man is stubborn, hard headed and loyal to a fault. But Damie has his own demons that need to be laid to rest, as does Rafe.
Let's talk about that for a minute shall we. Who's brilliant idea was it to take the recovering drug addict on tour without a chaperone? So yes, there are problems and issues and concerns from the start, but the guys are determined to follow through and finish the tour. If they can keep away from the crazy man that likes to play with sharp things and stalk equally crazy lead singers that may be five foot nothing, one hundred pounds dripping wet, but wicked dangerous I assure you.
What I love most about this series is this larger than life family, The Morgan clan, and how fiercely protective they are of their own. That now includes Mikie, Damie, Forest and Rafe, whether they like it or not. Brigid and Donal Morgan will put everything on hold and call down the wrath of the Gods to protect their own and that really comes across in the way they are written. Then there is the banter back and forth between family, friends and lovers that is absolutely hysterical. You get to pull back a few more layers with Mikie and Damie in this book and more questions are answered. Why does Mikie go off on these occasional pissed of tirades? And what in the blue hell was Damie thinking with the dilapidated van and back woods, cockroach motels for the tour? Sionn has to dig deep to get that burr out of his lovers butt, but he does and it really explained a lot, answered some lingering questions, for me at least.
While Forest and Connor stole the show hands down in this book, they are so beautifully written together, the passion and the connection these two share really jumps off the page. I think my favorite part was when Quinn had to be the tree for Rafe. Strong as on Oak, but flexible, Quinn took on the protector role in this book for his lover and it was absolutely amazing. The way Ford wrote the entire scene, the inner monologue from Rafe, Quinn steadfast, loyal and listening... just listening and loving. When I finished the book, I went back and read that part and the part with Forest and Connor on the tour bus, cause, dayum!
A must read for fans of the Author or the series. Non-stop action; murder, mystery and mayhem the likes of which we have come to expect from Rhys Ford with the perfect blend of passion, love, camaraderie and comic relief.- Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and was a 2016 LAMBDA finalist with her novel, Murder and Mayhem. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.Twitter: @rhys_ford
She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal and really, who doesn’t mention their cats, dog and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Yoshi, a grumpy tuxedo cat and Tam, a diabetic black pygmy panther, as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people
Website: http://rhysford.com/
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Rhys Ford is such an amazing author. I love her books. Especially the Half Moon Bay series. Mystery romance at its best.
ReplyDeletelove rhys's stories
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I would love to listen to the audiobooks of this series.
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Thank you for introducing me to this book, it sounds like something I'd really enjoy reading!
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