Reviewed by Tammy
TITLE: Remy’s Painter
SERIES: Werewolves of Manhattan, #2
AUTHOR: A.C. Katt
PUBLISHER: MLR Press
LENGTH: 172 pages
BLURB:
Ian Sullivan is being chased by a mobster and has to come up with five thousand dollars he doesn’t have. His only hope is an estimate for a large house. Little does he know that the house belongs to a loup garou who just happens to be his mate.
Ian Sullivan is in trouble. His father and brother died because his brother gambled and owed money to a mobster. Now Sal Ferrara want to collect from him and if he doesn’t, he’ll take Ian as his boy toy instead. Ian’s only hope is getting a job from an estimate his father had outstanding for a seventy-eight hundred square foot house. Little does Ian know that the house belongs to a Remy Clavier, a loup garou who meets Ian and knows he’s found his mate. Now all Remy has to do is take care of Sal Ferrara and convince Ian, a human, to accept both him and his wolf.
REVIEW:
Ian Sullivan has just found out that he is now personally responsible for his dead brothers gambling debt, the one that started out as a $25,000 loan and has now turned into over $100,000 and he has to have $5,000 by the end of the week or Sal Ferrara the mobster who loaned him the money will take it out “in trade”. Now, Ian might be gay but he definitely will not be allowing Sal to collect from his body! The only hope he has of being able to pay the money back is to estimate and get the contract on a seventy-eight hundred square foot house.
Remy Clavier is the owner of the seventy-eight hundred square foot house and he just happens to be a loup garou and Ian’s mate. Remy has recently taken over as Alpha as a favour to his friend, the house he wants painted is a remnant of the past and it needs a complete makeover. When Ian comes to the door to have a look around so he can give an estimate Remy is shocked, after seventy years he’s found his mate. Remy gets his men to investigate the reason behind his mates’ extreme fear and sadness. When Remy finds out that Sal Ferrara is holding Ian responsible for his dead brothers’ outstanding loan and if he doesn’t pay he’s going to make him his boy toy he sends his men to pay the debt which is refused. That’s when Remy gets serious and puts men on Sal to make sure he doesn’t make a move on his mate. Remy convinces Ian to live with him in his friends’ house so he can be protected while he paints the house. Remy then makes it his mission to woo Ian with everything he’s got, he finds out when Ian’s birthday is and sets everyone up to get him most of what he needs as what he’s got is that old it’s on its last legs. When Ian comes home from work and discovers that they’re having a birthday party for him he’s overwhelmed.
Ian hasn’t had his birthday acknowledged since his mother died seven years previous because very soon after his mother was buried his father destroyed all of his art books and paraphernalia. Ian’s father kicked him out of the house and made him live in the “apartment” over the garage when he came out three years ago. He went out of his way to disparage Ian and put him down every chance he got, he paid Ian below minimum wage once he turned eighteen even though the boys had worked for him since they were fourteen. Even with all that Ian still managed to save over $16,000 in the seven years since his mother died so he could go to art school, all of it went to pay for his brother and fathers funerals.
Both Ian and Remy settle into a routine where Ian goes to paint the house and Remy spends every lunch with him until the day an enforcer of Sal’s decides to try to grab Ian. As things deteriorate from that point Remy’s friend the Alpha Armand La Marche who happens to be on the Werewolf Council is called home from his honeymoon. When Armand gets home he demands that Remy explain to Ian everything about himself and the fact that he is the Alpha Mate. Ian takes everything surprisingly well, he doesn’t freak out when Remy changes into a huge wolf but he does freak out when he’s told that he is Remy’s mate because he knows he’s not good enough for someone as good-looking and as rich as Remy. Luckily Armand knows Sal’s uncle who happens to be the Don. When he finds out what his idiot nephew has done and the fact that he’s gay as well he puts his own enforcers on Sal to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid and if he does, kill him!!
Remy’s Painter is an incredibly good story the way it’s written unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired! Throughout the entire book both Remy and Ian spend a good portion of the time reminiscing and going over and over things from the past. Ian gets incredibly annoying with his constant self-recriminations and putting himself down constantly. Remy starts calling Ian his baby right from the word go and just gets more sickly sweet but he doesn’t say a word to Ian about anything until he’s forced to by Armand! Despite being disappointed with the way the Remy and Ian were portrayed I did enjoy the overall story.
RATING:
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