Genre: Action/Adventure, Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Ulysses
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About The Book
What if Robin Hood was still around, humbling the rich and evening the score? The immortal Lord of the Greenwood calls upon his merry men when it’s time to bring the wealthy to heel, particularly billionaire Leander de Lisle….
Vampire Alec Alendale (aka Alan-a-dale) is a troubadour before he’s the lead singer in a famous band, so when Robin calls, Alec responds. It’s an issue of loyalty—and a chance to go another round in his centuries-long love/hate relationship with Sonny.
Much the Miller’s Son has had many names. Now calling himself Sonny Miller, he’s never met a subject he couldn’t master—except Alec—and since he’s a vampire, he’s had the time. His current passion is computer science, which plays into Rob’s plan.
Stealing the Belle Etoile diamond was only the first step, but to bring down de Lisle, they need help in the form of computer security specialist Ethan Bishop. He gets drawn into their scheme, and into bed with Sonny and Alec, because yeah, his only rule is there are no rules, and the two vampires get along better when there’s someone in between them.
When Alec goes missing, the fight with de Lisle gets personal. Rob’s anger makes him volatile, so Sonny and Ethan go all out to find their missing Merry Man. After all, they’re the ones who have the most to lose.
Because sometimes two plus one adds up to much more than three.
Wrecked is the second book in the Soulmates: City of Angels series, and this one features a gloomy emo vampire, a boundary pushing rock star, a bossy bottom hacker, robbing from the rich, and betrayal! Kidnapping! And ghosts! Three guys get their happy ending, but Rob’s battle with Leander de Lisle will continue for one more book. Happy reading!
The Review
The second in this new trilogy from Liv Rancourt is even more fun than its predecessor. It builds on the set-up established in “Stolen.” Robin Loxley has moved from the Greenwood to Los Angeles, and has joined forces with his ancient friend John Naylor and others of the once-upon-a-time Merry Men. Their new task is to confront the evil doings of Leander de Lisle, known in the past as the Sheriff of Nottingham. In this present moment de Lisle is a tech billionaire out to rule (or at least ruin) the world (a clear avatar of Elon Musk for the time we live in now). The idea of the evil Sheriff of the medieval past being a recurring villain that forces John and Robin out of retirement is both absurdist and brilliant. We all want to feel that there are forces of good waiting to fight forces of evil.
The first book focused on getting hold of a great diamond with powers that Robin could not allow de Lisle to acquire. Somehow John drew the attention of a young computer programmer, Marcus Collins, to help them hack into de Lisle’s financial network. Now, the fact that the in which Robin and John have reappeared is a world filled with paranormal beings is rather taken for granted. Both John of the Greenwood and Marcus are werewolves, and the fated mate trope kicks in. Marcus is, shifter aspect aside, an ordinary American guy, and this fraught pairing becomes the emotional centerpiece of the first book.
The goal of the resurrected Merry Men in the second book is to attack de Lisle’s global network, but between magic and technology even Robin Loxley’s safe house is vulnerable. The emotional focus of “Wrecked” is on two of the erstwhile Merry Men, Sonny Miller and Alec Allendale—who have become vampires in the past several hundred years, and have their own complicated relationship of long standing. Another long-standing couple from the Greenwood past are Tucker Frye and Will Scarlett, both magical. It’s a lot.
Marcus brings in a college friend, Ethan, who is an expert hacker—but entirely unmagical. Tatted pansexual Ethan instantly draws the attention of the vampires, and that trio becomes the romantic core of the narrative. Alec (once Allan a Dale, the troubadour) is currently living his life as Jameson McCoy, the lead singer of a globally famous rock band.
To complete the mashup scenario, de Lisle is now in alliance with Fritz (Marion Fitzwilliam), Robin’s onetime partner, a betrayal that deeply rattles the Greenwood band. The multi-faceted weirdness of the plot is underscored by Robin’s meeting with de Lisle in a vast modernist cathedral, Our Lady of the Angels—which is a real place (I googled it). It’s presence in the story is a vivid reminder that the Merry Men are all sworn to the Virgin (our Lady), because their medieval context kept them in the sway of the Church. They are an ancient band of men who take from the rich and give to the poor. The world is different, but their mission is unchanged—vampires and werewolves notwithstanding.
It’s crazy and filled with surprising emotional heft. Rancourt knows her way around fantasy. And there’s a third instalment in the offing. See you there.
Five stars.
The Reviewer
Ulysses Grant Dietz grew up in Syracuse, New York, where his Leave It to Beaver life was enlivened by his fascination with vampires, from Bela Lugosi to Barnabas Collins. He studied French at Yale, and was trained to be a museum curator at the University of Delaware. A curator since 1980, Ulysses has never stopped writing fiction for the sheer pleasure of it. He created the character of Desmond Beckwith in 1988 as his personal response to Anne Rice’s landmark novels. Alyson Books released his first novel, Desmond, in 1998. Vampire in Suburbia, the sequel to Desmond, is his second novel.
Ulysses lives in suburban New Jersey with his husband of over 41 years and their two almost-grown children.
By the way, the name Ulysses was not his parents’ idea of a joke: he is a great-great grandson of Ulysses S. Grant, and his mother was the President’s last living great-grandchild. Every year on April 27 he gives a speech at Grant’s Tomb in New York City.