Beyond Ecstacy: Hawk/Jeni, Kit Rocha, Beyond Series
* With this one I’m here for the plot rather than the porn. The plot is getting all dramatic and tense and dark just like I like it!
* “concealing generosity under a veneer of selfishness was practically Dallas's trademark”: which is why we all love Dallas.
* Look, I could go on about these two, but the whole thing is so awkward and ass backward and I’m not a fan. I’ll just focus on the rest of the story. But I do really hate that Hawk is forty. He comes across as younger/more immature in his approach to Jeni. In his twenties or thirties? Sure. I assume also that, based on her shows and stuff, he knows already that she likes a little bit of pain and dominance? So he’s not just foisting his fantasies on who he thinks she is? Also, he basically proposed to her, having romanced her in his head for months, but she’s barely spoken to him. Why she doesn’t go screaming for the hills I don’t understand.
* Now Alya and Shipp is totally worth it. Older woman who’s been crushed and not allowed to flourish, younger guy who comes in blazing and determined who upends their world and gives them hope and purpose for something better? And then he has to pursue her to convince her to give him a chance? And he’s totally worth it? Yeah, that’s definitely a book I would read.
* I appreciate the acknowledgement that herbs are medicine and as a result can have side effects that should be monitored for, and that dosage is important.
* “He wove the rest of the O'Kanes into this fantasy future of his so easily.” I do like Hawk’s sappy dreams about a wonderful future.
* I bet Tatiana will want to have a word with the guy who kneed Zan in the crotch.
* The creepy/sad suicides-by-Eden’s-death-wall were pretty terrible. But it turning out they were the murders of spies when Eden was cleaning house? Uff.
* Making emotionally charged decisions in the middle of a disaster? Terrible idea.
* Not Shipp! 😭😭😭
* Ashwin continues to be cool. First, Bren was the scariest guy on the compound, then he yielded the title to Cruz. And Cruz is nervous around Ashwin.
* “You ruined us,” he rasped. “You killed us both.” Well that’s a terrible line, Hawk.
* People making snap decisions under the threat of life or death and assuming they can’t walk them back when the circumstances change.
* Big John's gaze sharpened. “That's rough.” This has big Zuko-to-Sokka energy, lol.
* “When you tried to save my life, all I could hear was you saying that I'd be fine without you. But you were also saying that you loved me too much to let me die. And if we love each other that much, so much we'd die for it, then it seems pretty stupid not to try to live for it, too.” See what not being in the middle of a crisis and having a chance to think about what you want to say will get you, Hawk?
* Ok, the wedding at the funeral was very sweet.
* “Shut them down. Start with the power grid. Let's see how those fancy motherfuckers like the dark.” Love how this series starts with a barbarian king who likes to host orgies and drinks whiskey like water, but evolves into everyone becoming a whole lot more!
Bottom line: the romance is fine in the end, but Hawk comes on waaaay too strong at first. But the drama! War! Bad guys are really bad! The good guys have to pull together and it’s time to fight! Love it.
Rating: four out of five shots of O’Kane’s best whiskey (for the plot advancement!)
