Double Review: Dex In Blue by Amy Lane

Reviewed by Hannah
Dex In Blue (Johnnies #2) by Amy Lane
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 350pgs
5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Ten years ago David Worral had plans to go to college and the potential for a beautiful future in front of him. One tragic accident later, he fled to California and reinvented himself as Dex, top porn model of Johnnies.

Dex’s life is a tangled mess now, but the guys he works with only see the man who makes them believe even porn stars can lead normal lives. When Kane, one of Dex’s coworkers, gets kicked out of his house, the least Dex can do is give him a place to stay. Kane may be a hyperactive muscle-bound psycho, but he’s also a really nice guy. What could be the harm?

Except nothing is simple—not sex, not love, and not the goofy kid with the big dick and bigger heart who moves his life into Dex’s guest room. When they start negotiating fractured pasts and broken friends, Dex wonders if Kane’s honest nature can untangle the sadness that stalled his once-promising future. With Kane by his side, Dex just might be able to reclaim the boy he once was—and if he can do that, he can give Kane the home and the family he deserves.

Review:
Wow. Just wow. This book is fantastic. Be prepared to completely fall in love with Dex and Kane.

I got 3% into this book and Amy Lane had managed to send me from ‘Holy crap this book is hot’ to ‘oh my god, this is so heartbreaking’ with tears streaming down my face, 3% in! I don’t know where that kind of talent to write comes from, but I’m sure glad people like Amy choose to share such talent with the world.

Dex and Kane *sigh* prepare to fall hard. These two characters practically come off the page. There is nothing better from a book, than when you are so immersed in it, it is like the characters are flesh and bone, you somehow become part of their lives, and they are right there on your sofa (insert correct word here for different nationalities, what, couch?) next to you.

I didn’t want to let these two go. Their was such tenderness to their relationship that the reader falls head over heels for them, and you just want to keep reading, to keep being by their side as life showers them with the happiness they deserve.

This book isn’t an easy ride. Dex and Kane have to battle through some personal issues and emotions, that impact their ability to be there for each other, each with their own insecurities, but what the reader realises before they do, is that really, what they both need is to let someone take care of them, and eventually they open up to that idea.

It is the most heart wrenching parts of this book, Dex’s confrontation with his family for example, or Kane trying to fix his sisters life, that you see THEIR life, Dex and Kane’s, at its best, how they manage to envelop the other with love and support that will leave you a gooey puddle as you feel privileged for getting to be front row for such a love story.

Kane is considered a ‘simple’ person, whilst Dex likes to plan, and deconstruct situations; however that would be far too simple a way to look at these characters. Although it is Kane’s simple way of dealing with life that makes him someone so approachable to the reader, he has insecurities that open him up to be more than just the easy going guy in this relationship, and he has wisdom beyond his years, and more insight than he would ever give himself credit for, when it comes to taking care of Dex’s heart.

Seriously, this book actually makes me want to whimper at how much I love these two characters. It carries over so much of what was sheer brilliance in ‘Chase in Shadows’. You get more than the love of a couple; you get to see a family. How this group of guys from ‘Johnnies’ makes sure that everyone is always taken care of, which makes this book even more heart-warming, as you find so much of the story and so many of the characters have grabbed your heart, away from just Dex and Kane.

Not many writers have the skill to make sure that you understand each character they are writing about, to explain to the reader why each character away from the main arc is worth caring about, but Amy Lane does, making her reads always that bit more special.

This book is easy to read, because through the pain, confrontations, and regrets there is always love, always hope, meaning the reader can always find a way to smile, and keep their heart light.

Read it, enjoy, and just bask in the love. Seriously, these guys will just make you swoon.

5 Pants Off

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Reviewed by Buggy

Review:

Opening Line: “It was okay right?”

I absolutely adored Chase In Shadow, so how happy was I that Amy Lanes latest book Dex In Blue brought us back into that same world. Yup we re-enter “Johnnies” gay-for-pay porn with David ”Dex” Worral, who makes this book a true companion piece by going through parts of Chase’s heartbreaking story all over again from his own POV. Thankfully Dex’s story isn’t as emotionally exhausting or angst filled as Chase’s, I mean it has its moments (this is Amy Lane after all) but I didn’t feel like I’d been hit by a truck and needed therapy after this one -and I mean that in the most fan-girly way:) I also already knew the large cast of characters going in so I didn’t have to struggle sorting out their dual names again. And Dex, well I kinda loved him plus there’s his boyfriend Kane and he’s such a laid-back, unassuming sweetheart that you can’t help but smile at his view of the world. There are also some really funny bits…

“Could you come and help me edit this last frickin’ video. You’ve fucked girl’s right? You know what a pussy is supposed to look like? Dex winced “Yeah sort of.” “Excellent. I need someone who can tell me if this shit looks hot or just weird.”

David Worral’s life has just been shattered; his best friend, love of his life and first and only male lover has just been taken from him in a tragic accident, destroying his once limitless future and compelling David to flee Montana and its memories. Reinventing himself in California starts out innocently enough, when his parents can no longer afford his college education, and on the suggestion of a girlfriend he arrives at Johnnies, a gay-for-pay porn company. David wasn’t gay but his alter ego “Dex” sure as hell was and Dex was going to make him very wealthy.

8 years later and David/Dex is essentially running Johnnies, spending as much time behind the camera now as in front of it. He’s the go-to guy, the fix it guy, the guy with the plan especially when the owner has a nose full of blow. Dex has finally admitted to himself that he’s gay after having his heart broken by another Johnnies model and is lonely. He needs a friend, someone else in his beautiful empty house and that’s how he finds Kane.

Carlos “Kane” is young, hung, gorgeous, living in the moment and needing a place to crash. He also likes sex, I mean that’s how he ended up doing porn (might as well get paid for it right) who cares if it’s with a man if it feels good. Kane is also a nice guy to a fault, paying for his nieces hospital bills with what his sister dubs his “dirty” porn money and even giving her his apartment so she can avoid an abusive boyfriend. (I really wanted to slap the sister)

“Dex laughed a little. “Aren’t you supposed to be straight? He asked, but his body relaxed into Kane’s, and that made Kane happy. “I am straight”, Kane mumbled. “Except when I’m fucking guys, “I’m plenty straight. Now shut up and sleep. And don’t feel bad. That was amazing.”

So Kane and Dex are playing house, sleeping in the same bed while Kane’s pets take the spare bedroom. I mean they’ve done it at work so they might as well take comfort in each other here too. What starts out as friends with benefits quickly changes into something else though and it’s interesting how Lane manages to make the sex scenes in front of the camera so different from the ones behind closed doors. She also creates a real sense of family within the Johnnies staff and all the obstacles that life throws at them. The HEA here is awesome although if I’m honest a little far-fetched. I mean as nice as it was and as much as I wanted “that” to happen there’s just no way the powers that be would let it.

“God made me gay. Dex made me realize it wasn’t a bad thing” *sigh*

Cheers

4.5 Pants Off

Review: Book #1 Chase in Shadow