Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Fool’s Gold
SERIES: Two Tribes
AUTHOR: Kristian Parker
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 211 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023
BLURB:
Book one in the Two Tribes series
Falling in love can be a deadly business.
Liam Moseley has been living a lie ever since he joined Manchester’ s notorious crime boss Jonny Wellingham ten years ago. Liam is gay, and that could get him killed in the deadly world he has fallen into.
When he meets handsome Italian Marco Ponti, Liam’ s whole world is turned on its head. Marco is in town looking for business opportunities for his uncle in Rome, and makes Liam see his life in a brand-new light.
But all is not as it seems, especially when Marco shows Liam the past isn’t always as it appears and the future can change in the blink of an eye. In a dangerous world where each job could be Liam’ s last, he finds himself fighting for love as well as survival.
Liam will have to put everything he holds dear on the line to make his dreams come true.
REVIEW:
Liam has been with the local crime boss for 10 years – meaning he started in this game when he was still a teenager. His mother had issues and took off. His brother has moved away to Blackpool and wants nothing to do with Liam since he’s chosen to stay in this life. He holds out hope that someday his mother will return so he’s not leaving Manchester. He’s gay but he keeps that under wraps because Jonny, the boss is a big ole homophobe. He keeps his outlet to quick hookups from apps – and never where anybody else from the gang would spot him. Then he hooks up with an Italian guy who is in town for a while. It’s unlike anything he’s ever experienced. He gets called away for business though and never expects to hear from the guy again.
Marco is intrigued by Liam. The chemistry is off the charts. He wants to see him again, and so he calls. They meet up and Marco takes Liam to the apartment he’ set up in. They enjoy each other’s company and Liam can’t believe his luck in finding a guy like Marco who actually seem to be interested in him. But Liam has to go back to work 🙁 And when he does, well he gets the surprise of his life. Because Marco is not who he seems to be either. And their connection could be the ruin of both of them if they don’t figure a way out of the very situation they’ve gotten into. Liam realizes he can’t trust anyone except his bestie Claire. She is ready for a change too and maybe they can all work together and leave the past behind them.
Well this book is quite the roller-coaster ride! Up one minute and then diving over the drop the next. I wasn’t sure if I was coming or going about half the time. Liam and Marco certainly don’t have luck on their side. I was surprised by all the twists and turns that kept my heart racing a little bit fast with each new discovery. Liam really didn’t want the life he had but he hadn’t seen another way out and he was holding on to a past that wasn’t real. Marco was trying to redeem himself with his family in Italy, but he really was in over his head and didn’t seem to figure things out very quickly. He struggled with balancing his feelings for Liam and his need to prove himself. Liam is sick and tired of being used and betrayed and he’s ready to get out of this life. There are threats to him, to Marco, to his few friends and family. It nearly costs him everything.
As described in the book description, this is book one of two in this series. That means things are left very much in the air. Marco and Liam are not in the clear. In fact, they are rather waiting for the other shoe to drop as it were. The battle is definitely not over and danger lurks around every corner. These guys are going to need some help to make the changes they want to see and move on with their lives. I am anxiously awaiting the next book. I will say that I tend to avoid books with a great deal of violence these days given the state of the world and if you are worried about that, I will just say that the violence is not terribly graphic but it is on page, so if that is triggering for you, take care. This is the third series I’ve read from this author and it’s quite different to the other two. I recommend this for those readers who particularly enjoy a grittier tale of less than perfect MCs who still strive for a happy life and a meaningful parntership.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Reviewed by Sadonna […]