Obsession is a book and a half. From the afterword I learned that the title was forced on the story by the publisher and Ramsey Campbell wanted "For The Rest of Their Lives". While Campbell's preferred title would have grabbed me more quickly, I do think "Obsession" suits the story, which deals with the destructive power of an obsessive idea - that having wished for an received something four children would spend the rest of their lives repaying, well at least in the case of one of the four.

<spoiler>Peter is a hero when he saves his grandmother's life, but when she moves in with him and his parents life becomes difficult for all of them. He wishes she would leave, and she does so by dying. The guilt he carries poisons his adult life and drives him to do terrible things.</spoiler>

It's powerful stuff and the clever twist makes it tragic. So much is lost and so little gained for a moment's breathing space. The maxim "Be careful what you wish for" has never been more apropos.

I read this as part of Halloween Bingo. Assuming it is called the planned square is SMALL TOWN HORROR.

I love Ramsey Campbell. Many of his books are magical and demonic including this one about a group of four friends who wish for something as children and have to repay as adults. My favourite line so far is - "his rooms suddenly felt large as loneliness".

I am reading this one as part of Halloween Bingo - probably for the Small Town square.

In the first book of the series, Weir’s Katherine of Aragon saw Anne Boleyn as a petty, vindictive avatar of evil incarnate. I was super curious how Weir would depict Anne in her book. Every one’s the hero of their own story, so how would this historical “villain” see herself? I’m not sure how Weir feels about Anne Boleyn personally, but for fictional purposes she seems to have taken a more sympathetic stance than historians usually do.

Weir’s Anne Boleyn is a complicated woman. She’s skilled in “the game of courtly love” (or “harmless flirting” as it were) and also zealously guards her virginity. She’s a feminist who wants to see more women in positions of power. She chafes under the double standards women are subjected to (which is a nice touch considering one of those double standards gets her executed for adultery while her serial philanderer husband is free to marry his new mistress). She has no romantic feelings and little respect for Henry VIII and doesn’t try to attract his notice, but when he notices her anyway and relentlessly pursues her (for years) she decides “What the hell, I’m gonna get me a crown and be one of those women in positions of power I want to see more of. And I’ll make Henry reform the super corrupt Church while I’m at it.”

She then proceeds to nag her way into a crown and then nag her way straight back out of it. Anne sees what a shrew she’s becoming, and she occasionally tries to correct her behavior. But as Henry’s divorce proceedings drag on year after year, and as her enemies begin to vastly outnumber her friends, the strain of her increasingly untenable position erodes her self-control until there’s almost nothing left but her sharp tongue and bitterness. Her favorite nagging subjects involve punishing people she feels have wronged her, and considering her targets include some of Henry’s favorite people on the planet, it’s quite amazing to me that he didn’t kick her to the curb long before he found himself threatening his first wife and daughter, executing his most loyal advisors, and risking excommunication by the pope and war with his in-laws.

The overlap of this book with Katherine’s manages to be interesting rather than repetitive, though I’m not sure I’d feel the same if I’d read the two back to back. Events of course look slightly different from Anne’s point of view. I liked Anne’s story more than Katherine’s for the simple fact that Anne was more proactive and lived a more interesting life. Five hundred pages of waiting and scheming beats five hundred pages of waiting and praying.

I’m anticipating Jane Seymour’s book will overlap both previous books as she served both queens as a lady in waiting. Weir’s Anne Boleyn declared her someone who was “sly, deceitful and never had a word to say for herself!” I’m looking forward to seeing how she’s portrayed, and how she feels about being the next chosen one after personally witnessing Henry getting rid of two wives in increasingly cruel ways.

This author did a wonderful job continuing the story of Clover, Pyro, Drake, Boar, and Tank. It's a little bit dark and a little bit bloody, but a whole lotta awesome! We get to learn more about all the guys in this book. Some issues come to light during this story within the group and some bad things happen. I really liked the interactions between the 4 guys and Clover. I was really happy to see that Clover got his vengeance. The story flowed really well and sets up the last book to hopefully resolved everything. The end broke my heart and I am really counting on the author to put it back together in the next book.

@SignalBoostPR, @paula_ridge, @KA_Merikan, #Dark #MMMMM (#Harem) #Romance, 3 out of 5 (good)

--- Loved. Protected. Shattered. ---

Clover has found love with not one man, but four. He never imagined such a relationship could work, let alone that he’d be at the center of it, but a year later, his bond with the four mercenaries is stronger than ever.

Each man in Clover’s life completes him in a whole different way. Where Drake teaches him shibari, Boar always showers him with cuddles. Where Tank is strict and protective, Pyro takes Clover on wild adventures.

To truly become a part of the mercenary crew, Clover chose to train under the guidance of his men. He’s itching for action to prove to himself and to others that he can handle the toughest jobs. 

But through violence and mayhem, Clover will be tried in ways he never wished for. Old enemies resurface, bonds are tested, and one wrong move can mean death.

*

THEIR OBSESSION is a dark gay harem contemporary romance, book 2 in the “Four Mercenaries” trilogy. The story contains scenes of explicit violence, offensive language, morally ambiguous characters and lots of scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

Themes: polyamory, mercenaries, bounty hunters, albinism, commitment issues, dark past, male bonding, human trafficking, size difference, danger, alpha male, found family, size difference, distrust, shared, victim and protector, revenge, organized crime.