Black John

Johnnies, Book 4

By: Amy Lane

Narrated by: Gomez Pugh

John Carey is just out of rehab and dying inside when he gets word that Tory, the guy who loved him and broke him, has removed himself from the world in the most bitter way possible - and left John to clean up his mess.

Forced back to his hometown in Florida, John's craving a hit with every memory when he meets Tory's neighbor. Spacey and judgmental, Galen Henderson has been rotting in his crappy apartment since a motorcycle accident robbed him of his mobility, his looks, and his boyfriend all in one mistake. Galen's been hiding at the bottom of an oxy bottle, but when John shows up, he feels obligated to help wade through the wreckage of Tory's life.

The last thing John needs is another relationship with an addict, and the last thing Galen wants is a conscience. Both of them are shocked when they find that their battered souls can learn from and heal one another. It doesn't hurt that they're both getting a crash course on how growing up and getting past your worst mistakes sure beats the alternative - and that true love is something to fight to keep if your lover is fighting to love you back.

©2015 Amy Lane (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

Ugh! This destroyed me...in the best way.

ok so I put this book off for a long time. I read/listened to the others of the series (my favourite Amy Lane series btw) so John, where he leaves off in Dex's book, not my favourite person, and i approached this like a end cap chore...i was WRONG! this book is amazing, the characters are wonderful, and i haven't cried so much since Chase in Shadow...but aways with the happy ending. That's what Amy is good for, putting characters through all the emotional and physical wreckage and then HAPPY ENDING!

Brilliant narration - wonderful hurt/comfort!

Any additional comments?

While the players and the setting changes, the game remains the same. Gomez Pugh picks up the narration for the final installment of the Johnnies series, and does it beautifully. Pugh consistently delivers a dynamic and impressive performance.

While the other three books in the series focused on the Johnnies set and life in and around Sacramento, Black John focuses more on the characters, on Johnnies owner, John Carey, in particular, and is set mainly in Florida.

John has just completed a stint in rehab for a long-time cocaine addiction when he receives word that the first person he ever loved, Vittorio "Tory" Petrelli has taken his own life and left a will asking John to release his ashes into the sea.

When John arrives back in Florida to clean out Tory's apartment and get rid of his stuff, he meets Tory's next door neighbor, Galen Henderson, who helps John with the apartment cleanup, and emotional support. The two work their way through Tory's things, and piece together his final days.

In the process John and Galen grow closer and fall in love. Unfortunately, Galen is battling his own demons and has been hooked on painkillers since a terrible motorcycle accident left him with crippling pain, a limp, and scars.

One of the things that nearly killed me was just how good the hurt/comfort is in this story. THIS is the kind of hurt/comfort I love, with fallible characters bringing a measure of something they've never had before to one another.

The characters are human, and flawed, and it's a sweet story at the base watching these two broken in different ways men come together and make a new life full of hope and possibility. Full of emotion, hope and hurt/comfort this final book in the series is a winner!

Recommended.

Narrator pulls you in

An unsympathetic character in the previous books of the series becomes the main focus of this book. And I think it makes for one of the best books of the series. In large part this is due to great narration by Gomez Pugh. Particularly good is the soft Southern accent of Galen. These are flawed men who help each other become happier and stronger. There are flashes of humor done with a deft touch by Gomez. The sex scenes are also well done. Interesting characters are made better by a talented narrator.

Different from the other Johnnies, but great!

What made the experience of listening to Black John the most enjoyable?

The narrator. This is the first Johnnie's he did and he did a great job

What did you like best about this story?

It was nice to get John's history, tied the whole series together. This is one of my favorite series EVER

Have you listened to any of Gomez Pugh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He is great, I first listened to him in Camp Hell Series Psycop

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no it took a few. It was long.

New narrator takes the reigns of this dark series.

If you could sum up Black John in three words, what would they be?

Dark, emotional, passionate.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The secondary character of addiction, and his cousin recovery. Lane did such an amazing job at staying true to the brutal reality of addiction and the hard road of recovery that never really ends, it took on a life of it's own in the story.

Which character – as performed by Gomez Pugh – was your favorite?

Galen. He is this southern boy through and through. He is possessive and jealous and loud, in your face honest.

Who was the most memorable character of Black John and why?

John. He grows exponentially throughout the story.

Any additional comments?

Why can't I give this book 10 stars?!?!?!

John Carey came dangerously close to losing both his best friend and his business, snorting it up his nose. Instead, Dex stood by his side, only took a small percentage of Johnnies and shipped John off to rehab. Just when John thinks he has a handle on his addiction, he learns that the man that tore him apart, broke him down and made him the unfeeling bastard he is today is dead. And just like when he was alive, Tory has dropped his baggage at John’s feet.

Galen Henderson was a successful lawyer who had a home, a partner and a job he loved. One mistake left him unemployed, single and forever scarred. His lover of over four years came to visit him in the hospital after the wreck just long enough to tell him he had moved him out of their home and into a shitty apartment, oh, and dumped him before Galen could even get his feet under him again. Misery loves company so of course Galen became friends with his new neighbor Tory, who was even more messed up than Galen was. When Tory’s old boyfriend John shows up after Tory’s death, Galen is determined to hate the big time porn star that dropped Tory on his ass to go off and make a name for himself. Galen wasn’t prepared for the truth, and he definitely wasn’t prepared to fall in love with John.

The two bond over their addictions, the pain of losing Tory and a mutual attraction that leaves them both sweaty and breathless. And while you would think an addict that is fresh out of recovery would fall right into one of Galen’s pill bottles, John will surprise you. He readily admits the nagging pull he feels to that bottle, that little voice inside his head that is screaming for a fix. But he doesn’t succumb to it, for reasons beyond John’s comprehension at the start, he feels this need to try and help Galen. As well, Galen is drawn to John’s pain and inserts himself into the red heads life, helping him clean up the mess Tory has left of it.

They try very hard not to love each other, and oddly it is the shared grief over Tory, the disgusting and painful time they spend cleaning out Tory’s apartment, watching the goodbye video he left for John, that sends them over the edge. And once they admit their feelings the hard part begins.

It’s hard to put into words how much I loved this story. It is a cesspool of dark, dank, emotional turmoil that only Amy Lane could write and make you fall in love with these characters that are so broken by their own hand, even root for them to just shut up and love each other. While the previous books in this series have always had the secondary character of the porn world, the life the guys lead on and off camera, this story replaced that aspect with the seedy world of addiction. And let me assure you that Lane hit that nail on the head. There is a part in the story when Galen winds up in the hospital and he is being treated poorly simply because of his addiction. This really hit home for me, my sister is a recovering addict who was recently is a bad car wreck and received piss poor care in the ER simply because she was honest with the staff and told them she was recovering. That one five minute rant from John when he went off on that nurse gave this story an edge of reality that made my skin crawl. Perfection Amy, just perfection!

Now when I first qued up this audio on my I-pod, I was disappointed that Sean Crisden wasn’t continuing his role as narrator, he has been replaced by Gomez Pugh. I didn’t want to like him. Over three books I’d gotten used to Crisden’s tones and inflections for these characters. Well, Pugh quickly wormed his way in there and took control of the story with his cocky, self assured but slightly broken tones for John. Or his completely country bumpkin portrayal of Galen that had me laughing out loud. John and Galen are probably the most volatile lovers in the series to date and Pugh truly conveyed those emotions, right down to every little moan, groan and scream. There is a scene where John is making a video for Galen while he is in rehab… God almighty Dayum, that was hot! The perfect merging of Lane’s writing and Pugh’s vocal chops really brought this story to life for me.

I could write a book on how much I loved this book. Well written and narrated, in depth, dark, emotional, passionate, sometimes quirky and funny. Just go buy a copy so I can stop rambling, kay.