Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Anyone But You

AUTHOR: Brien Michaels

PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing

LENGTH: 223 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 9, 2019

BLURB:

Murder is one hell of a drag.

Jack Kieza has a problem. He’s deeply attracted to men, but his homophobic family has left him too afraid to act on it. With his thirtieth birthday around the corner, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he finds himself at a gay club. After spending a fiery night with drag queen Sheila Saltue, everything changes. Especially when he discovers her alter ego: his boss, Ryan Swift.

Ryan knew he should’ve said no the second Jack approached him. Now he can’t stop himself from texting Jack every chance he gets. But Jack won’t let him take the wig off during sex, and being Sheila off-stage is wearing thin.

The more time they spend together, the more intense their feelings get, but Jack isn’t ready to date a man yet. When drag queens start turning up murdered, it forces Jack to reexamine his feelings, because what if Ryan is next? While Jack wants their burgeoning relationship to work, it would mean having to admit who he is to the world. And that’s an idea as frightening as death.

REVIEW:

This is such a good story. It’s a murder mystery as well as a romance and I will tell you now, it’s kind of harsh. It deals with very severe homophobia, severe bigotry towards trans, drag queens and such. There are beatings that are severe, murders, etc. It’s a damn good story of coming out against a family like that. Two families in a sense (you’ll see what I mean) and a story of find oneself and being free. It’s a story of two worlds colliding and finding love where you least expect it. A story of second chances. But they come at a cost.

Everyday Ryan, is a lawyer, just trying to live his life. At night, he’s Sheila Saldue, beauty drag queen extraordinaire. But Ryan’s day life and night life have just collided and he wants to tell the truth to the man who is currently giving him the time of his life. But Jack can’t handle the truth right now. The homophobia his family has spouted his whole life, leaves Jack unable to be with a man as a man. He finally had to follow through with it with a drag queen. Who is none other than his boss. Ryan doesn’t mind playing Sheila for a bit to help, but it’s getting old not being able to be himself and feeling like he has to hide. And as much as Jack is trying to not be that way, it’s not working and time just keeps ticking on. But to make matters worse, Ryan’s drag sisters are being brutally murdered and Ryan feels like his time will be soon. And Jack better make up his mind soon or everything may be over for good. 

Growing up myself in a bigoted, homophobic family, I get what it’s like. And I’m not even even fully gay. More like bi/ace, but still. The fact that I dated outside my race, didn’t help. So it irritates me greatly how parents can be. It’s supposed to be unconditional love for your children, no matter what they turn out as. It doesn’t mean you may not have disappointments at times, but they are still your children. When Ryan and Jack’s story unfurled, the more sick I became. For both of them. Ryan’s family may have been more accepting in some ways, but weren’t in others. And Jack’s story was downright horrifying. But what got me the most, is parents don’t realize the effect they have on their children as they age. Hate is not something you’re born with. It’s learned. And sometimes it becomes self hatred. Because those who are gay, trans or whatever, end up having to hide everything about who they are and they hate themselves for being different. So this story broke my heart in a lot of ways. But it was still so well written. The thing is, Jack and Ryan found something in each other that they couldn’t get anywhere else. Ok, it’s possible they could eventually, but they got each other to a point. It didn’t mean there weren’t hurt feelings or points where enough had to be enough. But when push came to shove, they fought. They fought for all they were worth in the ways that mattered. And it is what made every difference. 

Like I said, it’s not a easy story to read, but it is a good one. I’m so happy I got the chance to read it.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

riptidepublishing

amazon