Reviewed by Sarina
This is a Series Review of the Chess Series (Books 3 – 5)
AUTHOR: Sean Michael
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
SERIES REVIEW: I really enjoyed the serious turn these three books took; I found the characters had more depth to them and I loved seeing something other than the ‘happy, sex all the time’ interactions between them. I never did get to see the Jason/Knight time that I desperately wanted so that was a little disappointing; I’m sure I’ll get over it eventually. Honestly, the biggest problem I had was with how the couples drifted from each other in the fifth book. Relationships evolve as people and situations change, however, and I can understand why the author went in the direction he did. I don’t necessarily have to like it but I understand. Lol Overall I enjoyed the end of this story arc and I’ll read these again for sure. If you like Sean Michael but would like something that doesn’t have as much sex as the first two books in the series, I’d give these three a chance; there’s still sex but the story and character development are the focus instead of the in the background.
TITLE: En Prise
LENGTH: 120 pages
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Just when things seem to be at their best, disaster strikes. Will all the men of Chess survive?
It’s the holiday season and Jason is having the best Christmas he can remember in a long time. He’s in love with Rook and settling in with Bishop and Knight, figuring out where he fits and learning to love their appetites. He might even be feeling like he belongs.
Holiday bliss is followed by disaster, though, when Knight is involved in an accident and is hospitalized. Will Jason, Bishop and Rook be able to rally around their lover and each other? Or will the strain put on their relationship tear them all apart?
Follow the moves made by the men of Chess and find out…
REVIEW:
In this next installment of the series, Jason is finally beginning to feel as though he really belongs with the three men that have changed his life. He’s happy with the decision he made to stay and this holiday season is shaping up to be the best he’s ever had. While still somewhat reserved, Jason continues to grow and flourish under the attentions of Rook, Knight and Bishop. When disaster strikes, however, its Jason who knows what has to be done but is he strong enough to keep everyone together right when everything is falling apart?
I adored this book! You really get to see a different side to all of the characters here; Bishop goes from being the group’s rock to needing the support of someone else while Rook just seems to collapse in on himself. Jason was really the star of this one, however, as he shows what he’s made of outside of the bedroom. This isn’t the happy sex filled continuation of the series and I appreciated that. Don’t mistake me, there is sex here but its muted and the focus is really on the injuries Knight sustains and how those around him try and deal with it. I really felt the connections between the characters in this one and it just made them more real than they were in the previous books. This was a good start to the next story arc with these characters and I liked it quite a bit.
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TITLE: Helpmate
LENGTH: 138 pages
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Knight is home from the hospital, so everything should be back to normal, right? Things are never that easy, though, and the men of Chess must fight to get their lives back.
Knight has returned home from the hospital, but is far from recovered. Things seem to be going well, but depression slowly winds its way around Knight, and he spends all his time in bed sleeping, slipping farther and farther away from his lovers and life.
Rook just wants everything to go back to normal now that their lover is home and Bishop is out of his depth when it comes to Knight’s depression. Can Jason figure out what’s wrong and take the steps needed to help Knight find himself again?
The struggle has just begun in Knight’s recovery—are the men of Chess up to the task? Find out in this fourth installment of the Chess series.
Publisher’s Note: This book was previously released under the same title. It has been expanded for re-release with Pride Publishing.
REVIEW:
Knight is finally home from the hospital but the road to recovery is a long one and he’s just started on that road. Disinterested in everything, even his art, he starts to slip into depression and stops even trying to get his life back. What he doesn’t count on, however, is how much the men in his life love him and they’re determined to bring him back to the land of the living; even if they have to do it with him kicking and screaming along the way.
This is a direct continuation of the previous book, En Prise, and won’t really make much sense unless you’ve read that one first. Recovery can be a long hard road and that’s illustrated quite well here; Knight was seriously injured and even though he’s been released from the hospital, he still needs to fight his way back to where he was before the accident. At times you see him frustrated, at others angry. Most often, however, Knight displays a lifelessness on par with how hopeless he finds the entire situation. I felt as though this was a more serious book than the last, especially with how Knight is a more active participant in this one. Jason still managed to shine with his knowledge of what Knight needs to heal and progress while Bishop and Rook defer to him. Nothing is as easy or perfect as it was before but the men in the book were still determined to work through the difficulty; I really enjoyed seeing the love and support between them and it was great getting to see Knight come back to himself. I think this may be my favorite book in the series so far.
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TITLE: End Game
LENGTH: 114 pages
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Things are changing again for the foursome. Can they weather these changes as they do everything else—together?
Things are changing again for Bishop, Knight, Rook and Jason. Not only is Jason going back to school, but Knight has bought a cottage on a lake several hours away, and none of them are quite sure what it all means for their family of four.
As Knight loses himself in his art at the cottage and Jason begins the hard work needed to keep up with school, Rook and Bishop call each other often to stay in touch, but it isn’t the same thing as all four of them being together.
Could this be the beginning of two couples and the end of their foursome just when Jason was settling into being a part of this weird but wonderful family? Or will they find a way to make it work just like they have everything else?
Reader Advisory: This book contains use of urethral sounds and foursomes. It is best read in sequence as part of a series but can be read as a standalone.
REVIEW:
My, how things can change between one book to the next! Knight has recovered and in doing so, found his art again. The catch? His muse is attached to the beach house he’s just bought outside of the city and he plans to go there alone. While Bishop manages to tail along with Knight, Jason and Rook are left at home while Jason begins working towards a degree in physio. The men all still love each other but long distance relationships are hard between two people, let alone a group of four and as the distance stretches between the two, it becomes apparent that if something doesn’t give, they’ll just snap apart.
And this officially ends the story arc between Bishop, Jason, Knight and Rook. Things have changed a great deal between the first book and now though that isn’t more apparent than in this installment. The four main characters weren’t together that much here and the focus instead flips between Bishop/Knight and Jason/Rook. This really threw me off my stride, I’m not going to lie. I’d come to really enjoy seeing all of the men together and with various combinations between them and I wish I could’ve had more of that here. Even when they all came back together at certain points in the story, I just felt the disconnect between them and I hated that. The ending did redeem the book somewhat in my eyes but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the rest of the series. It did wrap things up nicely though, and I feel good with how this part of the series ended.
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