Reviewed by Dan

This is a Series Review of Trainwreck (Books 1 & 2) 

CONTENT WARNING:

This one contains so many I can’t list them all.  The big ones would be child rape, foster child abuse, child abduction and child murder.

 

AUTHOR:  Michele Michael Rakes

PUBLISHER:   Self-Published 

SERIES REVIEW:  

I had to debate with myself and discuss it back and forth with Dani on whether or not to bring you, the loyal readers of the Love Bytes blog, these reviews.  The books are a very hard read in places, containing a serial killer crime story, a very twisted masochistic cop, and a lot, and I mean a lot, of heterosexual sex. As you all know, we at Love Bytes are a Same Sex review blog, so this one was questionable.  The main character is a bisexual man, and it takes until near the end of Book Two before we actually start seeing the gay side.  That side is supposedly more prevalent and there is a triad somewhere in the upcoming books, so I decided to continue, and decided finally to bring you these reviews and let you make up your own minds.

The two books in this serial review contain the first two sections of what is, in truth, a huge book that has been chopped into 5 pieces.  Book One ends with a cliffhanger, as does Book Two.  Book Three will start immediately after the end of Book Two and contain the next section of the serial.  It is a very heavy BDSM serial, and there are references to dubious consent and non-consensual sex, including foster child rape by foster fathers.  There is also on-screen torture of kidnapped girls by a heinous serial killer.

I’ve read the first two Books now, and I have to say that there is some pretty twisted stuff in this one folks.  It is definitely not for the weak at heart, or, as the author clearly states in the blurbs…the squeamish.  It has just about every trigger known…tucked somewhere in the first two installments.  I can only expect that it will continue to shock with the other three installments still to come.  There is a lot of heterosexual activity in Book One, and also in Book Two, but there is a bisexual/gay storyline developing by the end of Book Two.

If you are a fan of serial books, particularly very, very dark books…and you don’t mind waiting for the next installment to come out, I would recommend reading both these installments immediately.  Even if you’re not a fan of waiting, I would still say to read them soon, as Book Three is due soon, and honestly, you will need time to digest between the books. I’ve read a couple light young adult dragon fantasy books since finishing these two, and I still have a book hangover from Trainwreck 1 & 2!

Continue down the page to see my reviews of the individual books. 

SERIES RATING:

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TITLE:  Trainwreck Book One

LENGTH:     374 Pages

RELEASE DATE:   January 25, 2016

BLURB:

Detective Sergeant Vincent Sweetwater hates dead bodies. That’s why he’s an undercover narc and not a homicide dick. So why is he standing on a sandy beach in California staring at a lifeless body—oh yeah, the suicide attempt. Lieutenant Hanson is making a statement. Something about life worth living. Shows what he knows.

As Vince examines the tortured body, he feels an empathy and déjà vu for the victim, her wounds are similar to scars he has only a vague memory receiving. An intense desire to find her killer fills his queasy belly as a dark game of cat and mouse begins.

The young woman’s death forces Vince back into a secret life dominated by sex, perversion, and sadomasochism. Estranged from his wife he still loves and longing for the man who possessed him once, Vince buries his torment deep inside meaningless sex.

*Warning: This book contains adult content and situations. NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.

REVIEW:

I literally feel bruised.  What a story.  I want to say right up front that I was warned by the author that this one was dark.  It is actually VERY dark.  There are references to child rape, there are murders, there are instances of teen abduction, torture, sexual assault and murder.  There are flashbacks to horrific events that occurred in the past.  This book is not for the light-hearted.

The other thing I was warned about was that most of this first installment is heterosexually oriented.  There are references to some mysterious man named Greg that the MC, Vince, formerly had some BDSM dealings with, but we don’t learn any more in this installment than those brief references.  There is a LOT of hetero sex, so if vaginas offend you, you should probably skip this one.  As I said, the author warned me about that, and that is why I’m reading and reviewing both Book One and Book Two in this series review.

In this first installment in what is going to be a five part serial, we meet our main character, Vince.  We meet Vince as he barely survives an attempted suicide on his motorcycle.  We don’t understand until further in the volume though, what drove him to that dark place.

Along the way through this story, we are dragged through some horrific events.  Tortured young girls, a shadowy killer…who might have ties to Vince, Vince’s on the rocks marriage…which we learn is because of his daughter’s death in an accident.  A dead girl, with a message for Vince contained in her corpse.  The list goes on.

This book is a psychological crime thriller, with cops, severely broken psyches, dead children, the hidden killer, lots of drama, and lots of heterosexuality.  As I said above, if that isn’t for you then this book might not be for you.  The author assures me the overall series is actually bisexual, but there will still be a lot of male/female sex I’m assuming.

In summary, as I said at the top, I feel bruised.  I actually just reviewed my upcoming reviews list to see if there was anything I could read quickly in between these two books…but I’ve decided to soldier on.  I feel like I’m standing at a gate reading a big sign with Dante’s quote…  “All hope abandon ye who enter here.”

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon

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TITLE:  Trainwreck Book Two

LENGTH:     227 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 18, 2016

BLURB:

A missing girl turns up dead in a public bathroom not far from the dumping place of Anna Marie’s body. Two dead girls and Vincent Sweetwater is sent out of one tailspin into another. Clues linking Vince to both crimes convinces him the killer is from his past. Perhaps a former associate of his father?

To solve this crime, he’ll have to confront his father in prison. With IAD looking over his shoulder, a trip to the state prison could be more of a risk than Vince is willing to take, but the innocent victims drive him to do what is most painful. The more Vince learns from his father, the more he understands the kind of man he truly wants to be, and determines to fix all his relationships. If he survives this investigation.

The young woman’s death forces Vince back into a secret life dominated by sex, perversion, and sadomasochism. Estranged from his wife he still loves and longing for the man who possessed him once, Vince struggles with his self-destructive nature. Vince punishes himself by giving his body over to someone who doesn’t have his best interests at heart.

After Mica has a close call on the job, Vince realizes all he wants is to patch things up with his wife. Although, the man he left behind is always on his mind. A man he doesn’t believe he can have and a life only real in his fantasies, Vince slips back into his masochistic mentality. Even if Mica accepts his submission, he knows she’ll never accept his sexuality.

The only hope Vince has is that he’ll catch this killer before the bastard kills again.

*Warning: This book contains adult content and situations. NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.

REVIEW:

If Book One left me feeling bruised, I would have to say that Book Two started out drawing blood immediately.  I’m going to come right out and tell you that if you are squeamish, heed the warning in the blurb.  The first 10% or so of this second installment was some pretty graphic heterosexual BDSM, with our main character, Vincent, showing just how masochistic he actually is.  I’ll be honest and tell you I actually put the book down, told Dani that I couldn’t do it, and got ready to put it on our rejected list.  Then, since I hate to quit anything, I reconsidered and decided to try again.

I’m glad I did.  After that graphic BDSM was past, the rest of the book was quite readable.  As I said, this is all one big book, so it was no surprise that Book Two picked up a page flip after the end of Book One.  I’m happy to say that in this one, while we still have a lot of heterosexual sex, we start to see and read more about Vince’s bisexual side as well.  It turns out the female he turned to for his punishment is a poor substitute for the man who is his true master.

Vince is still seeking pain to pay himself back for the dirty things he feels that he has done in his life.  He still is investigating the murder of the girl from Book One…and now another murdered girl has shown up, and the dead body will have another message directed towards Vincent.  Who is the killer and how is Vincent involved?  I’ll be honest, by the end of this installment I think we know who the killer is.  But that doesn’t mean the tension of the chase isn’t still there.  Will they catch the guy?

Plus, someone is killing young gay men.  I have my suspicions of who that new killer is, but I’m not telling because I could be wrong!  This story is so convoluted that anything is possible.

What will happen when Vince runs into his former master?  No hints, but it flows into Book Three, so I’m hoping we see that soon!  OK, I do have to tell you a little…the master is a gay man…turns out that Vincent isn’t so straight after all.  Thankfully!  I’m rating this one a half point lower because of the first chapter.  It horrified me…which is saying a LOT!

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon