Dreampsinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6302
Blurb
John Carey is just out of rehab and dying inside when he gets word that Tory, the guy who loved him and broke him, has removed himself from the world in the most bitter way possible—and left John to clean up his mess.
Forced back to his hometown in Florida, John’s craving a hit with every memory when he meets Tory’s neighbor. Spacey and judgmental, Galen Henderson has been rotting in his crappy apartment since a motorcycle accident robbed him of his mobility, his looks, and his boyfriend all in one mistake. Galen’s been hiding at the bottom of an oxy bottle, but when John shows up, he feels obligated to help wade through the wreckage of Tory’s life.
The last thing John needs is another relationship with an addict, and the last thing Galen wants is a conscience. Both of them are shocked when they find that their battered souls can learn from and heal one another. It doesn’t hurt that they’re both getting a crash course on how growing up and getting past your worst mistakes sure beats the alternative—and that true love is something to fight to keep if your lover is fighting to love you back.
Review
(Book reviewed on this site previously.)
Where to start….
Well, first we all know Johnnies right – the made up porn studio that introduced us to Chase and Tommy, Dex and Kane, Ethan and Jonah and in a related way, Alejandro and Donny. We LOVE Johnnies. John… we don’t love so much. He was a coke head, douche in Dex in Blue and though he had glimmers of the kinda guy Dex might befriend, by the time we actually meet him, he’s gone over the edge.
This is his story.
We start out with John getting out of rehab, he’s still pretty shaky, but determined, only to find out that this newly sober John has to fly to Florida (across the world practically) to help clean out the apartment and distribute the remains of his first (and only?) love who has committed suicide.
Uh…Thanks Amy for taking it easy on us. NOT!
Tory and John grew up together, realized they were gay together, started doing porn together but I can’t really say they loved each other because Tory never treated John like someone he loved.
As time passes Tory descends down a spiral of sex and drugs and after years and three trips to rehab John decides Tory needs to do it on his own, cause whatever John is doing, isn’t helping.
Thus the birth of Johnnies.
Flash back to today, John is at Tory’s apartment where he meets the neighbor, Galen. Galen is a lawyer who had a terrible accident three years ago, and has since been caught up in a cycle of depression and pain med addiction.
So… of course John is super attracted to Galen, but really – can he? Should he? Is it remotely smart for him to take on another addict?
**
If I were to rank my favorite Johnnies books the order would be Dex, Super Sock Man, Chase, John, Ethan…. Black John is a good book, Amy doesn’t write anything bad. The angst is so painful. Tory hurt John so much. Dex (inadvertently) hurt John so much. But… the one piece I missed with Black John that Chase and Dex and even Super Sock Man had was a bit more of a connection between the lovers.
I loved that John could finally help Galen and that Galen wanted to be strong enough to show John he deserved someone whole. But I didn’t see them as a couple long enough to feel as attached to them as I have in other Amy Lane books.
On the other hand I absolutely loved that we got to see more of Dex and Kane again!
There is a bonus epilogue found here: http://lovebytesreviews.com/2015/02/02/bonus-epilogue-for-black-john/ that really wraps things up nicely – Thanks Amy!!!
Audio
Gomez Pugh is amazing! I love this new addition to the Johnnies series! Gomez has a great voice and does a tremendous job at differentiating the different characters. OMG! I was cracking up at his version of Tommy and Kane. Tommy has this great Boston accent and Kane has a sweetly Hispanic lilt. John is dry and self-effacing, Galen is deliciously southern, Dex is quiet and stern, Ethan is deep and rumbly… it goes on and on. Though I loved the narrator for the previous books (Sean Crisden is one of my favorite narrators!) I really loved these added touches. It absolutely bumped this great book to amazing and I highly recommend listening to this if you are a fan of the series. It was delightful!
6 of 5 hearts!
