The Dark Side Book Club: February Discussion of Sinner's Gin by: Rhys Ford

Hey everyone and welcome to our first book club discussion! I'm really excited to give you my review of February's pick, Sinner's Gin by Rhys Ford, because I'll be honest, it was one of the best books I've read all year.  :D      But before we begin I wanted to give you all a few details on how this will work.

PLEASE READ BEFORE LEAVING A REVIEW

Please leave your review in the comments section.  You may do this anonymously or provide your name/online handle.

Please refrain from bashing the author, even if you didn't like the book.  There are tactful ways to deliver your review without trashing someone.  It's okay if you weren't fond of the story.  I'm just asking that you have a point to why you didn't like it without swiping the authors face on the floor. You know what I mean?  Keep it clean boys and girls. ;)

We'll be rating the book on a five star scale, five being you loved it, one being you did not.  You can include your rating with your review.

If you have not read this book, please try not to skip down to the comments section.  This is your warning that there will most likely be spoilers.

If you have read this book and intend to leave a spoiler, please write SPOILER at the beginning of your review for the naughty ones who have not read this book.  ;)  I'm just kidding.  But no, seriously, label your review SPOILER.

When you're done with the discussion, please take the time to post your review on Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, or even at the main publishing site should they allow reviews.  This helps the author out by giving new readers a glimpse of what they're in for and boost sales, not to mention leaves warm fuzzies for the author to see.  It will only take a minute to copy paste your comment from here to there.

The last thing I ask is that you guys suggest a book for next month along with your review.  I'm looking for books that have been published this year or will be out by the first week of March 2013.  All suggestions must be M/M. When I have enough suggestions, I'll post them in a poll next week.

Thanks so much you guys!  Now on with the show...

Set in San Francisco, the story centers around wounded rockstar Miki St. John, and SFPD inspector, Kane Morgan.  After a tragedy leaves Sinner's Gin front man, Miki, without a band, and without the only family he ever knew, he holes up in a converted warehouse to lick his wounds in solitude.  Kane rents an art studio next door, oblivious to his neighbor Miki until one day Miki's dog, Dude, comes by for a visit, stealing a piece of wood from Kane before running back to the safety of his home.

The two main characters finally meet, Kane pissed off about the dog and Miki who could care less, sparking a sexy attraction between them.  But Kane has no idea what he's in for with Miki.  The young rockstar has a broken past in need of healing and is blindsided by the way he feels for Kane.  In turn, Kane is dumbstruck over the sexy rock star with a limp.  He suddenly feels protective over Miki, but he has no idea how much protecting Miki actually needs until a dead body, a ghost from the past, ends up in Miki's GTO.

A full blown investigation ensues, pinning Miki as the number one suspect.  But the SFPD soon learns that Miki is in fact the next victim if they don't act quickly.

This story pulled me in all different directions, each of them wonderful and poignant.  Miki is mourning the loss of his best friend, Damien.  He feels like he'll never be the same without his brothers, his band, until Kane ignites his soul again.  Miki is one of those wounded boys that you feel for so deeply, that your heart hurts.  He's also one of those boys that never had a choice over his past and is terrified when offered a fresh start, and even more terrified by the prospect of love because he's never had it before.

His past is shaky, and that's putting it lightly.  The victim of sexual abuse at an early age, he's haunted with the memories of another's mans hands on him, and is scared that Kane won't be enough to shake his ghosts, no matter how much Miki wants him.  Kane on the other hand, was raised in a large Irish family.  He has an abundance of love and support around him, and wants nothing more than for Miki to experience the same kind of love.  He's determined throughout the entire book to make Miki feel something other than pain and it's a truly beautiful story.

I love, love, love crime dramas and I think the author did an amazing job of blending a realistic crime tale with some heart thumping romance.  Sometimes I read books where the investigation overshadows the romance plot, but not in Sinner's Gin.  The crime sleuthing aspect was well written.  All the little details of the investigation put me right there with Kane, from the little neighborhoods and eateries, the different cultures, to the actual technical what have yous of an ongoing case.  The mystery surrounding the murders blended with Miki's background perfectly.  I appreciated the creativity and the spot on timeline the author was able to portray.

Also, this book was chock full of musical references. We all know I'm a huge music geek, and I sat there smiling at Miki's dialogue half the time because of his love for music.  At the beginning of every chapter, there was a few lyrics of a Sinner's Gin song or a memory from the band writing music.  It just added that perfect touch to Miki's background and if you read them all, they offered insight into his mind.  *Sigh* I love those little things in a book that further your love for a character.  

Probably my favorite scene, though, besides the sexy, sexy stuff, (UNF) was when Miki was kidnapped by Kane's mom and brought to the Morgan's house.  I almost died laughing at Miki's attitude towards the entire ordeal.  I won't post any lines from the book, but I was seriously cracking up.  Miki, despite his depression, was one hella funny character. And I like how Kane never batted at an eye at Miki's out-of-the-box way of thinking.  These two were meant for each other from page one and I scarfed this book down like a piece of chocolate cake.  It was sexy, romantic, feel good, and a thriller that left me wanting more.

But one last thing... can we talk about the ending!!!!  Holy crap!  Rhys Ford just set a whole new bar for an ending twist.  I can't actually tell you what the twist was, in case some of you haven't read it yet, but holy shit! Let's just say there's a sequel ahead and I'll be first in line to buy it when it comes out.

Five stars for me folks. This book was awesome and then some.

Now it's your turn.  What did you guys think??? :D

~xX Night