Title: Because of Jade
Author: Lou
Sylvre
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Rating: 4.5
Blurb:
Because
of Jade (Vasquez & James #5)
A
Vasquez and James Novel
Luki
Vasquez receives the news he’s still cancer free after five years, and he wants
to celebrate with his whole family. He and his husband, Sonny James, take a
road trip south, intending to gather at the home of his nephew Josh, Josh’s
wife Ruthie, and Jade—a little girl who was still in the womb when she and her
mother helped Luki beat lung cancer.
Halfway
to their destination, Luki learns Josh and Ruthie have met a tragic death. The
horrible news lays Luki low, but he pulls himself together in time to be the
family’s rock and see to the dreaded business of tying up loose ends. The most
important business is Jade, and when Luki and Sonny head home, they take Jade
with them.
Luki
and Sonny must combat self-doubt and fear and help each other learn to parent
an unexpected child—and they must also nourish the love that has kept them
whole for the past ten years. A relative’s spurious claim to Jade threatens the
new family, and even if they prevail in court, they could lose their little
girl unless they can rescue Jade from evil hands and true peril
Review:
“You, Sonny Bly James,
are the most beautiful thing that ever happened to the world.”
As many hundreds
of times that Luki had said those very words, Sonny never got tired of hearing
them and never got the feeling Luki meant them any less than with his whole
heart. But there was more to the refrain, and Sonny wanted to hear the rest. He
smiled back, and then said, “And?”
“And I love
you.”
Sonny laughed.
“I love you too, husband.”
Sonny
James and Luki Vasquez are back. These two men have been through hell and high
water in this beautifully written, engaging series by Lou Sylvre. Now it is
time for some happiness and peace in the final book of the series. In typical
Sylvre fashion though, the road to happiness has a few potholes along the way.
“Sonny knew the
instant the phone rang that something had happened, something dreadful. By
thirty seconds into the call, Luki’s face was turning to pale stone, his
eyes—Sonny could see in the mirrors—had gone wide and unblinking as if they’d
been propped open with toothpicks. Luki’s part in the conversation consisted of
whispered, “Yeah… okay… right,” and then he ended with, “On our way now.”
Luki fumbled
with the phone, apparently managed to end the call, and sat back in his seat so
straight-spined, so still, Sonny wasn’t sure he was breathing. He started to
feel panicky. What could it be that affected Luki this profoundly? What could
he, Sonny, ever do to take care of Luki—who appeared to need caring for at the moment?
He was just deciding whether he should pull off at the next coffee shop or rest
area, when Luki started pointing frantically toward the side of the road.
“Pull off…. Sonny,
pull off!” His voice barely had any air behind.
In
the previous books in this series, Sonny and Luki have been shot at,
threatened, kidnapped and lost loved ones close to their hearts. Luki, the
badass, has put his life and heart on the line for Sonny at every turn. The
gentle and lovable Sonny became the strong caretaker as Luki battled cancer and
depression. There is an intense bond between Luki and Sonny, and the reader
becomes a voyeur to this passionate connection thanks to Sylvre’s talents.
Because of Jade reunites readers
with this couple who has now been married for 10 years. At the beginning of the
book, Sylvre lulls the reader into a sense of peace. Luki and Sonny are a
loving couple who seem as affectionate with each other now as they did at the
beginning of their relationship. The heat is still present with some sweetness
and romance thrown in for good measure.
Luki
floundered. Unsure why the news should have hit him that hard — he cared, of
course he cared, but he was used to dealing with bad news and unwanted
developments. But whatever the reason, when Kaholo broke the news to him, it
felt like a razor split him in two. His mind floated while his body panicked: heart
racing, breath fled, limbs numb, and gut roiling. He didn’t feel the ground
when he hit it, but after he vomited, he became aware of where he was and how
he got there.
Thank
all the saints for Sonny. For his care, his touch, his voice. His fucking
persistence.
If
Sonny had not held him and pushed and pulled until he came back to reality,
Luki wasn’t sure he would have come back. He might have been content to stay
there on the ground, on all fours like an infant or an animal, for hours. Days.
Forever. But Sonny touched him, held him, and insisted with his questions, until
Luki regurgitated what he knew. And it was that moment, when his own voice made
it real, that he came back to himself. Like an old man, he let Sonny—sweet,
young, Sonny—help him up and dust him down and get him back into the car.
Just
as the married men are ready to slide into their comfortable lifestyle, tragedy
strikes, again. In a bittersweet irony, the sadness brings something wonderful
into their lives in the form of a little girl: Luki’s niece Jade.
Luki and Kaholo
had gathered the fixings for a meal from Ruthie’s supplies—surely she had
shopped for them the previous day, looking forward to their visit. They’d prepared
a variety of dishes, and everyone had gathered around the table to fill their
bellies. As food does, it brought them together and made their situation
somehow tolerable. But not easy. Brian was on his way from London after all,
but hadn’t arrived yet, and Jackie seemed to be hanging on by a thread. He shook
all the time, he hadn’t slept. He was the first to mention how wrong it felt to
be there in Ruthie and Josh’s home—just an apartment, more or less low rent
with Southern California’s ubiquitous palm trees, hibiscus, jasmine, and
oleander on view from the windows. But the young couple had made it a home in
the truest sense of the word. And now they were gone. Leaving their home
intact, untouched by disaster. Leaving their child, sweet, precocious, precious
Jade alone with a gaggle of men who had never been parents trying to determine
how to save her future.
Sonny
and Luki welcome Jade into their homes and lives with some angst and a lot of
love, but, as usual, outside forces try to break up their happy family. The
drama that follows is heart wrenching.
They were all quiet for a moment. It seemed
an odd puzzle, and clearly Mavis harbored ill will, but why? Luki dismissed it
with some effort, telling himself she was simply one of those people that never
had and probably never would get rid of their homophobia. At fifty-one years
old, he’d certainly endured hate before. Her vitriol felt strong, but he
honestly didn’t think she had any power to hurt him or his family.
So, when Lula said, “Just don’t pay her any
mind—she’s just a bitter woman. The world is full of them,” Luki nodded and
smiled, winked at Sonny, and got out his reading glasses. Sonny snorted, hiding
but not hiding a chuckle, which Luki knew was a deliberate tease about the
pince-nez. Which were silly, but no matter, they helped him see.
Of
course, just as in real life, hate causes tears, anxiety and chaos. Hate, intolerance
and violence, once again, cause havoc to the James-Vasquez household, but Sonny
and Luki are fighters and refuse to allow others to take what they love. Just
like Sonny does with colors, Sylvre weaves an intricate and wonderful story
with her words that keeps readers on the edge of their seats and, at some
points, reaching for the tissues.
That night Luki lay awake next to his
husband, the most beautiful person the world had ever seen, and cried. Silent.
No racking sobs. Simple tears falling one after the other to wet his pillow. He
couldn’t have explained exactly why, what, or who the tears were for, and for
once he didn’t have enough fight to try to stop them. They became oddly
comforting to him, like friends, so that after each one melted away he had to
mourn its passing with another, and another. An endless
chain. He wasn’t sure if this condition,
crying for something indefinable, might be permanent.
He had hoped Sonny wouldn’t wake, wouldn’t
know. That was either too much or too little to hope. Of course Sonny knew, and
as Sonny sometimes did, he limited his response to that which was wise. He
turned toward Luki and lifted a hand to cradle his head, letting his long,
beautiful, expressive thumb gently wipe back and forth where the tears rolled
down. And he said, “Husband, I’m sorry it’s all dark and you hurt. I’m here. I
love you.”
Because of Jade
is
a beautifully written story, and Sylvre’s writing talents shine on every page
of this novel. From the descriptive prose and engaging dialogue to the words of
endearment and hot sex scenes, this is a wonderful ending for an engaging
series.
Thank
you to Lou Sylvre for providing an Advanced Review Copy of this
title in exchange for my honest opinion.
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