Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: A Madness Most Discreet

AUTHOR: Laura Lascarso

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 296 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2020

BLURB: 

When a struggling writer finds his muse in the form of a high-paid, mysterious escort, madness soon follows…

Michael D’Agostino, a bestselling mystery author, is suffering from writer’s block when he meets Arden Evans, a beguiling male escort and catalog model who is attempting to write a memoir of his own.

Captivated by the young man, Michael finds Arden to be refreshingly honest and authentic. When Arden asks that they “keep it simple” with a no-strings-attached relationship, Michael readily agrees. Their arrangement becomes increasingly complicated, however, as Michael begins to want more from his enchanting lover.

And then there is the matter of Arden’s finances. The young man is drowning in debt, but is so fiercely private and prideful that he refuses to discuss it. This same debt is what obligates Arden to his wealthy benefactor, much to Michael’s suspicion and vexation.

Arden isn’t used to being loved and cared for, doesn’t understand that emotional intimacy isn’t just an obligation for Michael, but a deep desire. Michael wants their love affair to last, but how do you hold onto a man whose gaze is forever fixed on the horizon?

A MADNESS MOST DISCREET is a contemporary M/M romance centered around class differences and set in New York City. Both characters live a fairly libertine lifestyle that involves sharing and exhibitionism. There is no cheating in the traditional sense, but Arden is sex worker throughout. Trigger warning for sexual assault. The story ends with an HEA.

REVIEW: 

Laura Lascarso’s A Madness Most Discreet is a beautifully, almost poetically, written, if heavy, MM romance. Lascarso recently re-released the book with a new cover but with the same content as its initial publication in June 2020. This is the first book I’ve read from Lascarso, and I am now compelled to pick up more of her work.  If she was writing such well-constructed, layered stories with amazingly complicated, multi-dimensional characters in such gorgeous prose two years ago, her craft could have only improved since then.

In A Madness Most Discreet, Lascarso paints a disquieting picture of two men, Michael and Arden, who come from very different backgrounds and economics. Michael is a wealthy, uber-successful author.  Arden is an aspiring author with high hopes to write his own memoir.  In the meantime, he leverages his own body as currency. It’s clear that Arden doesn’t think much of himself. Instead, he’s bought into his own rhetoric about his worth (or purported lack thereof) based on the things he’s needed to do to survive.   

Arden improbably, unexpectedly, becomes Michael’s muse. Michael’s attraction and fascination for Arden begin to morph into obsession. Suffice it to say that both of these men have serious issues to work through. Lascarso makes that abundantly clear. They aren’t in a healthy place individually and certainly not as a couple. The story arc is entirely character-driven, and it’s deep and probing, presented in a unique flashback-esque format that leans into Arden’s memoir writing.

Despite the excellent writing from Lascarso, I struggled with this story.  It’s quite depressing, even painful at times, and I felt challenged connecting with Michael and Arden. The secondary characters are awful people. I wanted to jettison every one of Michael’s arrogant, entitled friends.  The sexual behavior on display here (and I mean that literally and figuratively) can make the reader feel uncomfortable – it certainly did for me – and I think that’s likely what Lascarso is going for. Note, though, that some of this content may not be palatable if you are sensitive to specific triggers.  Heed the warnings at the front of the book.

I’m not sure how Lascarso accomplished it, but she managed to pull off a believable HEA for Michael and Arden. The tone and content of the story had led me to abandon hope for a positive outcome, especially in the dark depths of the middle of the story. Lascarso brings A Madness Most Discreet to a satisfying conclusion, but getting there is not an emotionally easy road. 

RATING:   

BUY LINK: 

Amazon