Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: King Mai
SERIES: The Lost and Founds #2
AUTHOR: Edmond Manning
PUBLISHER: Pickwick Ink Publishing
LENGTH: 322 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2013
BLURB:
Adopted from Thailand and never one to fit in with the local bubbas, life has been rough around the edges for Mai Kearns, even before he came out of the closet. Now, almost ten years past the torture of high school, Mai still can’t catch a break: he and his parents stand to lose their beloved farm. How will a “King Weekend” help change Mai’s fate? What has narrator Vin Vanbly been up to for the four weeks he’s been sneaking around Mai’s hometown? At the urging of a ransom note from ‘The Lost Kings,’ Mai embarks on an impossible treasure hunt chasing mystic poetry, Fibonacci Hopscotch, ancient prophecy, the letter ‘x,’ and a confounding, penguin-marching army. The stakes are high: if Mai fails, the Lost Kings will permanently claim him as their own. Finding the treasure may unlock the secret to saving his family farm. But can this angry farmer risk opening his broken heart before the weekend is over? Mai Kearns has 40 hours to get very, very curious in this second installment of The Lost and Founds.
REVIEW:
If you guys are not reading this series, I will be disappointed. This series is amazing. I know I get emotional with a lot of books, but this book, this series…..it will rake you over the coals. It pulls you in so many directions and makes you think hard about your own life. I am loving every page. (Although I still want to throat punch Vin.)
Mr. Vin Vanbly is back and it’s time to bring another Lost King home. Hopefully. Vin realizes not all Lost Kings become Found, and this is going to be a tough case. Mai is a beautiful young Thai man. Adopted by his American parents living in the middle of farm country on a farm of his own, he hasn’t had it easy. He’s been bullied for his race, the fact that he’s a farm boy and that he’s gay. His one true love left him because everyone found out about them and the guy wouldn’t come out. So he buried himself in work and the internet. Now he’s learned his farm is forecloses and someone bought their farm. All his and his parents hard work will be gone. Over. But Vin comes in to give him a weekend. He tries to refuse but Vin has a way of persuading. Instead of a weekend full of sex and other things though, Vin slickly tells Mai of a ‘treasure hunt’ where the deed to the farm is. Of course, Mai is pissed. Vin pulls him through the ringer off anger and much more this weekend. But it’s a time for reflection and healing. And hopefully time for a new King to emerge.
Oh Vin. I am telling you, there are characters that enrage me, annoy me etc, and Vin is one of them. When all is said and done, you understand what he was doing and why he did it the way he did, but during the process, he is so infuriating! I want to throat punch him so bad! Lol. Grrr. But with each weekend, there is a lesson involved, should the ‘Lost King’ choose that path. Vin chooses for them regardless, but their choices sometimes make things less difficult. Sometimes. We actually go back in time with this one a bit. So we find out who the guys are and their background from Perry’s story. We also find out a tad bit more about Vin and ….wow. Needless to say, I was bawling and look at Vin a little more differently than before. Yes, Perry’s story revealed some bad stuff in itself, but we learn even more and it’s heartbreaking. I want someone to settle him. But I guess he’s not ready. Even though he wants so desperately to be. And Mai. Geez. He goes through some tough stuff on his weekend. But that’s the way it is. You have to buff out every imperfection to get at the heart and make it whole. He goes through loads of anger and fear. Heartache and triumphs. But he learns. Even when he doesn’t want to, he does. And he finds more than he ever dreamed of.
We have to be like diamonds a lot of time in life. Every rough edge buffed and polished down to find that glow. That inner beauty and perfection. It hurts. It’s painful. But when you truly let go, it’s freeing. Pick these books up. Be free.
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