Title: Phoenix Rising: Strongman Author: Denise Rossetti Publisher: Ellora’s Cave Publisher: http://www.ellorascave.com/ Genre: Fantasy M/M Length: Novel Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Before Fortitude McLaren joined the Ten Nations Fair as a roustabout he had had a varied career as a mercenary and a commander for 20 years. His air of command and toughness draw the other men at the Fair to him as their natural leader. The first time he meets Griffid Ringman, tumbler and circus acrobat extraordinaire, he knows right away he is in trouble and out of his depth. Griff is like his own personal drug that he is high on all the time and can’t get enough of. When Griff tells Fort that he is attracted to him Fort is offended and makes it clear that he does not do men, but he is fighting a losing battle. Griff wants Fort and he is single minded in his pursuit.
Fort had spent his childhood living with a father who was a bigot and who committed acts of brutality against members of his own family. The Straight Church to which his father belonged preached that manlove was a mortal sin; anyone caught engaging in the act was hanged. Fort’s father took him to see a hanging before he was10 years old to make sure he got the message. Despite his upbringing and feelings of guilt, Fort is attracted to Griff and when they come together in the hidden valley, the sex or Crookedness as the Straight Church referred to it, is glorious and hot enough to melt metal.
Griff and Fort are wonderful together. These two characters are really likeable, with Fort being protective and wanting to take care of Griff who shows him that he is quite capable of looking after himself as well as look out for Fort. When Griff is almost killed by the Hssrda, Fort is devastated as he cares for him, realizing that he loves Griff and life without him would be meaningless.
This book has everything, hot men and even hotter sex, a terrific story, fantasy creatures – some good (those wonderful Aetherii men with wings and a tail), some horrible like the Hssrda, great adventure and, even better, rough sex that becomes tender when you least expect it.
Strongman is the third book in the Phoenix Rising series. Denise Rossetti has done her usual remarkable job of bringing a foreign environment to life with characters like Fort, the complicated hero, Griff who is sex on a stick, and an imagination that does not take a back seat to any other author on the scene today.
This book contains scenes of graphic violence and may not be suitable for the faint of heart.
This book was previously reviewed for Literary Nymphs Reviews
I know, I went way back to answer a recent poll. I was surprised to see this book had no comments, but then I looked at the April date. It has to be one of your earliest posts. I loved this book. It was "Tailspin" the book before "Strongman" by Rossetti (set in the same world)that had me thinking about your menages poll. I AVOID menage book but have read a few. The only one I could come up with I really liked was Rossetti's "Tailspin". As usual, I am at a loss of words to explain why, but Fledge did not bother me as most females do that disrupt a male pair. I wish I could articulate their relationship & why this one actually worked for me. I know it has to do with 1. How the background of the 2 males is developed, 2. How the female gets involved by saving the youngest male (obviously bi), 3. Then how she is saved by the older male (who has no idea who she is or who she knows), 4. How each is truly willing to bow out because of their love for the younger of the males, 5. How each sees a deep abiding love for the younger male in the other, & use this bond to develop their own relationship. 6. How each one's fears are slowly overcome together but never just "magically" gone.
Even with how much I liked this particular one, I absolutely do not care for them as a whole. I would have never read this one, except I liked Strongman enough, & I was curious about the backstory of these characters who also appeared in Strongman.
I have only been reading m/m since April (maybe it was destiny I later found your blog :o) Even though I have read voraciously, I still have many in my TBR pile as I catch up. But, I will be highly unhappy if the time comes & I find my fave genre polluted completely by menages. (Feel free to move this post to the poll. I just wanted Rossetti to have a comment)