Title: Music of the Night
Author: M.L. Rhodes
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Allure
Amazon:
Genre: Contemporary M/M
Length: Novella
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Review summary: An enjoyable romance that combines a wonderful setting with an exciting story and two characters that I thought suited the City of Light.
THE BLURB
Jared Ross is at Carnevale to do a job. It’s the culmination of two years of blood, sweat, long hours, and agonizing patience waiting for his target to finally make an appearance. If he screws this up, he may never get another chance, and his mark, a man called Maestro, will once again disappear into the night. Jared can’t afford to let anything distract him from his elusive prize—not even the sexy stranger with the quick wit, the sinfully delicious mouth, and the bedroom eyes.
Sam Aubrey recently turned his back on his career. After years of having others dictate his every move and direct him like an unwilling marionette, he’s determined to live his life on his terms, and what better place to start over than at Carnevale, where he can become anyone he chooses. He wants no complications, and definitely no romantic entanglements with a hot hunk who has a questionable agenda and whose Southern drawl makes Sam ache in all the right places.
Sometimes, however, the best-laid plans take unexpected twists, and surprising complications are exactly what a man needs even if they’re not what he thinks he wants. After all, everyone should have a little unexpected music in his night…
THE REVIEW
The man had commanded Jared’s attention for at least an hour and a half before he decided to approach him. Was the man in the volto, a full face mask, the person he was there to follow in hopes that he would lead him to his target? For two years Jared had been waiting for an opportunity to finally catch the master criminal called Maestro who was responsible for the death of his friend and fellow agent. On the one hand the stranger fit the description he had been given, but he didn’t fit the profile of one of Maestro’s criminal associates. When he eventually spoke to the man Jared was even more confused by his seeming innocence. He couldn’t rationalize his attraction to this person who should be his enemy.
Sam had left his old life behind because of the betrayal of his former lover and the pressures of a career he didn’t want. Appearing at Carnevale was a way to pass the time while he decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Then he saw Jared, someone who was out of his comfort zone, but to whom he was irresistibly drawn. Their meeting started out as a teasing flirtation but there was an instant connection between them, and after a bit of frotting on the dance floor they decided to take the action to somewhere a lot more comfortable, Jared’s apartment.
Jared didn’t let his attraction to Sam sway him from the primary purpose of his visit to Carnevale, and he kept reminding himself that he didn’t really know Sam and he could still be Maestro’s courier, even though it seemed more and more unlikely as the evening progressed as he fell more in lust with his companion. Could Sam be the real deal or was he a tool for the powerful Maestro?
I love M.L. Rhodes’ books for many reasons: Her characters are always well drawn and vibrant. She gives readers fully sketched out backgrounds of her MCs so that it’s easy to understand and believe their motivations. Sam was a musician who had been controlled for much of his life by his parents and then his ex, and this trip to Venice was a first step towards regaining his independence and deciding what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. The much older Jared had been an Intelligence Agent working undercover for many years and had always put the job first, except this time he had an unexplainable lust for a man who didn’t look at all like his usual type.
In Music of the Night the setting is Venice which is lush and romantic just like a picture postcard and I could imagine myself in the world M.L. created for Sam and Jared because it was so vivid. Sometimes called the Queen of the Adriatic or the City of Light, Venice drew tourists in droves, but it was also a place where one could find all kinds of decadent pleasures and intrigue, which definitely suited this romance.
The story had a lot of highs including the exciting takedown, and although I did guess Maestro’s identity before the final reveal it was still pretty exciting as this author has a knack for making her plots and the action sequences riveting.
M.L. Rhodes’ writing is always engrossing and when you pick up one of her books it’s hard to put it down. If I had any criticisms about Music of the Night it’s that the story may have benefited from being longer so that I could have spent more time with the protagonists. The actual story took place over a couple of days and even though there was enough back story about the MCs I would have liked to get to know them a bit better in present day. The romance was believable and the sex was incredibly hot – vintage Rhodes. However, Jared’s career seemed to be the entire focus of his life before he met Sam, and I wondered how that would play out in a relationship over time since he and Sam were so different. Also I thought that Sam was a little too laid back in accepting his horrible life and I would have liked to see him show more backbone by demanding answers and kicking his ex to the curb WAY before he did.
Despite my few quibbles, M.L. Rhodes has written another excellent story with three dimensional characters that I enjoyed very much, and I especially loved Sam.
Definitely recommended whether or not you’re a fan of this author.
