Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: New Tricks
SERIES: Ace’s Wild #10
AUTHOR: Davidson King
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 100 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 26, 2019
BLURB:
After thirteen years together, Malcolm and Embry are all too familiar with their differences. Malcolm is free-spirited and spontaneous while Embry prefers having everything planned out.
A road trip to spend Thanksgiving with Embry’s family is met with a broken-down car, an unfamiliar town filled with amazing people, and one very interesting store that leads to a bet which could change their lives forever.
This year, Malcolm and Embry share a Thanksgiving like no other and discover that, even though they’ve been together for thirteen years, it’s never too late for some new tricks.
PLEASE NOTE for the first 90 days of this title’s publication, all sales and page reads will be donated to the It Gets Better Project.
New Tricks is part of a multi-author series of books that take place in the same fictional town. Each story can be read in any order. The connecting element in the Ace’s Wild series is an adult store owned by Ace and Wilder. The main characters from each book will make at least one visit to Ace’s Wild, where they’ll buy a toy to use in their story! The only characters who crossover to each book are Ace and Wilder. And with various heat levels, there’s sure to be something for everyone!
REVIEW:
Before we get started, I do want to warn you there is a bit of homophobia in this one. From parents. And talk of a hate crime from another set of parents in reference to their son. It’s not real descriptive, but it’s enough I just want to give a warning. Other than that, it’s actually a beautiful and yet a bit sad of a story. And I loved it. I was sad a few times but then so proud and happy at how it turned out.
For Embry, life has to be controlled and just so. It comes from constantly having disapproval from his parents. So when he chose that he was going to marry Malcolm, when that didn’t go over well, his control became worse. Not in a bad way. But just that he was stressed a lot. And Malcolm was his complete opposite. But for thirteen years, they’ve laughed, cried and loved. After 5 years of not speaking to his parents, Embry was finally invited to his parents for Thanksgiving, but he knew it was going to be bad because they were already excluding Malcolm, like they always do. So when the car broke down, Embry’s stress levels went in overdrive and Malcolm finally decided he needed some new tricks to help him. After visiting Ace’s Wild, they had new tricks and things began to change. Life started to have new meaning to Embry, and it was time for some major things to shake up. Which turned out to be the best Thanksgiving he ever had. Now if he can get past his nervousness to make it even better.
You know, it’s funny because I just had a conversation like this with my mother. Who I love dearly, but growing up in a Christian household, sometimes acceptance is a rare thing. And I told her it shouldn’t matter if I was gay, purple or whatever. Parents should love their children no matter what. It doesn’t mean we won’t disappoint them, but a parent’s love should never be conditional. So for me, that was the sad part of this story and made me want to hug Embry so bad. And then hearing another story of homophobia, made my heart break. We were all made to be different so it breaks my heart when it’s not accepted. Who cares what someone wants to do in their bedroom or church or whatever. That’s what makes us all different. If we weren’t all different, this world would be a very boring place.
But what I loved even more about this book, is Malcolm. Knowing he wasn’t accepted by Embry’s parents never even was a blip on his radar. He loved the man no matter what. No matter how structured or in order he had to be. No matter his parents. No matter what. Embry was it for him. All he wanted to do was take the man’s pain away. And he found a way to do so. He never gave up, he just tried something new and it worked. It strengthened their bond and made the love between them that much stronger. And I loved Malcolm for having that much patience and love for his man, that he wasn’t deterred by something trival. And for Embry, he finally realized how freeing he could be.
RATING: 
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