Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Beneath the Stain

SERIES:  Beneath the Stain #1

AUTHOR:  Amy Lane

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:  352 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 17, 2014

BLURB:

In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers—and their penchant for making good music when they weren’t getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams—made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind.

Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he’s hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn’t flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that’s not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav’s help—but Trav’s not sure he’s going to survive falling in love with Mackey.

Mackey James Saders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn’t do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey’s past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.

REVIEW:

I don’t know where to begin with my praise for Beneath the Stain, a devastatingly beautiful romance that holds a special place in my heart. Along with Nicky James’ Love Me Whole, it is my very favorite of the  somewhere around 1,500 MM romances I’ve read. I’m so excited to share it with you today. This book is the pinnacle of hurt/comfort novels, a raw and gritty rock and roll saga about family bonds, friendship, love, heartache, healing, and hope. Always hope.  

Beneath the Stain is the story of Mackey’s seven-year journey from life in a dead-end town, including his first experience with young love, the anguish of heartbreak and the destruction it left in its path. He finds his way as an adult and discovers love again – a mature love that has what it takes to go the distance. Along the way, this young man struggles through bigotry, addiction, abuse, the pressure to live up to the hero worship of his fans, and the weight of keeping his family afloat.  

Mackey Sanders’ whole life is about writing songs and making music. He embodies music. He is driven by it and compulsively writes songs because it’s the only thing that gives him hope: hope that he and his brothers and friends can escape their bigoted, conservative hometown; hope that his boyfriend Grant will never stop loving him; hope that Jefferson and Stevie can be somewhere safe to express their unusual brand of love; and hope that his mother can live a more comfortable, worry-free life. He writes songs for all of them to be free. But being the cornerstone of their band, Outbreak Monkey, puts a lot of pressure on a teenaged boy’s shoulders and he crumbles. 

This is Mackey and Trav’s love story. When Travis Ford steps in as Outbreak Monkey’s new manager, he becomes Mackey’s rescuer, his caretaker, and protector. He is there to catch Mackey when he stumbles again and again and again, and to help him heal and find his own strength. Trav is attracted to Mackey but allows the time for Mackey to get well, to be strong and independent. Conscious of their age difference, Trav waits for Mackey to be his equal, not just the boy he takes care of. 

It’s also a story of familial bonds that can’t be broken. Trav must pull on his strength of character and military experience to hold these boys together, to keep Mackey from shattering into pieces, and to take care of this family he’s grown to love. Every last one of the characters in this book is a standout, each thoroughly developed with backstory, motivation, and a unique personality. The story comes full circle when the brothers – in blood and friendship – are once again strong and return to Tyson to make the ultimate commitment to one of their own. Yes, I know that’s vague but you really don’t want this spoiled. 

This is a true rock star book with lots of on-page band dynamics, practices, song writing, and concert performances. The lyrics Amy Lane wrote for Outbreak Monkey are beautiful and haunting, and it shows that this wordsmith can conquer both poetry and prose. During rehab when Mackey was first recognizing his feelings for Trav, he wrote him a song.  

Trav thought of the song—his song—and the cry from the invisible boy who slept in forgotten corners and lived to make people love him or hate him or anything so long as they didn’t forget his name. 

“It’s beautiful,” he said, his voice thick. God. This kid. This man. Trav could hardly speak. “The things in your heart, Mackey. They’re beautiful.” He was undone. All Mackey’s words about being friends, and this was about the most poetic thing Trav had ever seen. It wasn’t platonic. It was the song of lovers who hadn’t touched. 

Amy Lane is often cited as the MM romance queen of angst, and Beneath the Stain is proof of that title. The sadness is profound, but Mackey is an irrepressible force and never gives up. It’s Grant’s story that’s the most heart-wrenching of all. By staying behind in Tyson, he never knows happiness, never experiences love again, and it shredded me. Near the end, Ms. Lane wrung the tears and a couple of sobs from me, but a few pages later, well-placed moments of levity made me laugh out loud. It was like a release valve for my grief. Ms. Lane demonstrates well-balanced writing, offsetting the anguish with Mackey’s playful exuberance so the story never languishes in despondency. She doesn’t shy away from exposing the hard edges of Mackey and Trav’s relationship, but ultimately, it’s the tender moments, the intimacy, and the sexy times that prevail. 

While this is a review of the book, I would be remiss not to mention the extraordinary audio book narrated by the esteemed Nick Russo. He turns a nearly flawless book into a superb listening experience.  I hope you enjoy Beneath the Stain as much as I do.  Mackey is one of my favorite characters ever – real, flawed, confounding, frustrating, jubilant, even a touch ethereal at times. Allow him to burrow deep into your heart and experience the joy of Mackey and Travis finding each other. They fight so hard for their happily-ever-after and it’s immensely gratifying. 

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press