MONSTER
AUTHOR:  Joely Skye
PUBLISHER:  Samhain Publishing PUB DATE: 
GENRE:  Romance w/ Spec Elements ISBN: 
REVIEWED BY:  Joyce Ellen Armond on 09/01/06 EISBN:  1599981300

Mistrust fuels the conflict between the two heroes in Joely Skye's MONSTER, while the emotions burn hotter than the sex. And I mean that in a good way.

Human mutants called Minders can influence thoughts, make you do and believe whatever they want. Consequently, they are hunted down by a government who fears - and manipulated by unscrupulous intelligence agencies that want access to -- that ultimate power.

Mercenary Joshua Mackay is recruited to re-capture Kir, a Minder kept alive for research purposes. All other tactics to bring Kir in have failed, so his handlers hope that Josh, who's gay, can lure Kir, who's also gay, with the promise of sex: a timeless spy gambit.

Josh captures Kir easily. But when he returns Kir to his handlers, he becomes enraged by the abuse visited on the Minder the agency calls a monster, but to Josh's eyes looks just like a raped and tortured young man.

Josh frees Kir and together they run for Kir's life. But how many of Josh's actions are of his own free will, and how many are the result of Kir's Minder magic? Was Josh moved to save Kir because he couldn't stand the savage treatment he witnessed, or because Kir ordered him to? Are Josh's emotional and physical attractions to Kir his own feelings, or did Kir manipulate him into bed?

Be warned up front: MONSTER is the first installment in the trilogy of Josh and Kir. I didn't realize that when I opened the file, and consequently found the cliffhanger end to be something of a jolt. I was expecting resolution.

Nevertheless, it's an effective first installment. It's refreshing to see the paranormal element complicating the emotional aspect of the leads' relationship, instead of just creating an excuse for acrobatic sexual exploits. And the characters work well together. Josh is an alpha male without being a jerk: he's noble, capable and action-oriented, but also generous, kind and tender. (You know, the kind of hero I wish I could find in a straight romance.) Without his Minder powers, Kir might have been too passive and submissive. But his abilities and his ambivalent feelings about using them for his survival lent him complexity as the tale deepened. His struggles in a world that seems completely hostile and without safety tugged at my heart -- and made the barriers between Josh and Kir getting together all the more poignant.

As MONSTER reached its cliffhanger, the author gave a few peeks into the dark sides of Minder culture. I took it as a promise that the two future installments will explore those shadows further. I look forward to the trip.


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