Reviewed by: Sue Eaton

TITLE: Make Like Mountains

SERIES: Liquid Onyx #2

AUTHOR: B L Jones

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 470 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2023

BLURB:

Four months ago, Rexley Nova exploded into Danger City, fought some villains, saved some people, and became the vigilante known by the media as ‘Wrath’.

Alongside the superpowered friends he grew up with and Danger’s resident hero, Polaris, Rex is doing his best to protect the city and save the world on the regular, while also attempting to curb some of his more violent tendencies and figure out what the villainous group of Mages he’s been fighting are up to.

Through all this, Rex has to contend with his feelings for two men; Damon, a dangerous and aloof superhero, the one person who understands what being a vigilante means to Rex, and Jamie, his best friend’s older brother who he’s felt an intense connection with almost his entire life.

Rex battles violent superhumans, saves snarky children, gets himself a sidekick, deals with his extremely weird family, goes on a disastrous date, and continues to fistfight his own anxiety. #Traumaisthenewblack.

REVIEW:

I was glad to be back in Danger City and see how Rex was dealing with the aftermath of the Mages attack in the park.  In a nutshell, not well, nightmares, panic attacks the whole 9 yards.  It is understandable after such a traumatic time that he is trying to make sense of the world after the attack and it feels very different.

The heart of this book is the ongoing attraction Rex has to Damon, and this fledging relationship is central to the story.  The attraction between the two of them is undeniable but they both have so much baggage, from the past.  Rex’s father killed Damon’s parents and Damon killed Rex’s father and if that isn’t enough there is the whole being a superhero dynamic.  Rex feels like a ticking timebomb and his anxiety over whether he can control his powers is never ending.  It is a classic will we, won’t we, shall we, should we, Rex is so confused by all the different scenario’s running around in his head.

Rex is still the same snarky character who delights in teasing and twisting his words around, so his friends don’t know if they are coming or going.  I really liked that as this book progressed Rex’s emotional journey progressed as well, the honesty portrayed about his anxiety and how it makes him feel, his inability to understand and process his emotions and feelings and the very evident confusion over his attraction to Damon.  Is it better to just leave well enough alone or take the risk of exposing his heart and hope that Damon is open to caring for it.

Damon is wonderful and it was great to see behind the stoic mask of the superhero persona, the fact he can open up to Rex.  That he is brave and willing to take a risk by cracking open his façade and letting Rex look inside.  That he takes the leap of faith, that Rex is struggling to do.  Their first date was awesome and awful in equal measure but exactly what you would expect of these two.

Rex was hilarious when he starts to get glimpses into Damon’s life and meets his secret friends, who Damon is adamant that they aren’t secret.  It was a wonderful mix of snarky Rex and the sweetness of Damon that he hides from the world but lets Rex in to see.

They are a great couple, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

RATING:

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