Scan barcode
teresab78's review
3.0
I hard a hard time believing that this place could exist, and the first part dragged a bit for me. Edward was sweet though, and I liked him and Julius together. The second part seemed odd with a different couple's story thrown in. Overall entertaining.
kaje_harper's review
4.0
One of the things I like about M/M (among many) is that our characters are allowed to have pasts that they don't necessarily have to apologize for or atone for. This is another book with a rent boy as a MC, this time set during the Prohibition era in the US. Although the reasons that Julian and his friends got into turning tricks early make sad reading, I do like that they own what they did, whenever it was a choice, and don't apologize. The men they love must take every part of their past as it stands, if they want to create a future. Good for them.
If you haven't read the first story in this series, [b:Roses in the Devil's Garden|13665323|Roses in the Devil's Garden (Fallen Rose, #1)|Charlie Cochet|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337207881s/13665323.jpg|19285771], you should do so. It's free, excellent, short, and sets the stage for this one. While this book has new MCs, you will meet the guys from that story and enjoy it much more if you know who they are.
In this book, Edward is a young man who is heir to considerable wealth, but his heart and mind were shattered by serving with an ambulance corps during WWI overseas. He's spent five years abroad, putting himself back together. And when he finally comes home, his best friends drag him out to a hidden, gay club for a night of 30th birthday fun. There he sees Eros, the beautiful young man who headlines the show, and who is available, for a price. He's dazzled, but unsure of how to go about meeting Eros in a way that doesn't make himself just another client. Still, for the first time Edward is looking forward with hope, not back with regret.
Julian has done everything from blow-jobs on his knees in a dirty gutter, to rising to the top of the stable of performers in the Pantheon night club. He's as much artist and performer as whore; he finally gets to pick and choose, to decide whom to favor and what to allow. Up to a point. He can't afford to quit, he is determined never to let any man touch his heart, and there is one customer, Ares, who is too powerful and dangerous to refuse. Still, he feels like he has his life at a manageable stage. At first, Edward seems like just one more fan, smitten, wanting a piece of Eros. But the way Edward goes about being with him is slow, gentle, and confusingly personal. And despite all Julian's resolve, it feels more important than just another trick.
The period details in this story give it flavor different from many of the other rent-boy-finds-true-love stories. Everything from the food to the language feels authentic. The story itself is sweet, with clear villains and heroes. It's almost too clear-cut. I'd have liked the MCs to be more flawed (Edward's friend Maxfield was actually my favorite - a man who screwed up and hid what he felt.) I wished for the rent boys to have a sharper, darker undertone to them.
The story really picks up when we meet up again with Harlan and Nathan from the first book. These are rougher and more complex men, with hidden intensities, and they breathe unexpected life into what had been a more straightforward tale of good versus evil. The MC's passivity was nicely balanced by these two Prohibition Agents. The ending is a rip-roaring adventure, and leaves things in a satisfactory place.
If you enjoy historical detail, very sweet rent-boy romance, and a bit of thriller-adventure, this is well-written and worth a read.
If you haven't read the first story in this series, [b:Roses in the Devil's Garden|13665323|Roses in the Devil's Garden (Fallen Rose, #1)|Charlie Cochet|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337207881s/13665323.jpg|19285771], you should do so. It's free, excellent, short, and sets the stage for this one. While this book has new MCs, you will meet the guys from that story and enjoy it much more if you know who they are.
In this book, Edward is a young man who is heir to considerable wealth, but his heart and mind were shattered by serving with an ambulance corps during WWI overseas. He's spent five years abroad, putting himself back together. And when he finally comes home, his best friends drag him out to a hidden, gay club for a night of 30th birthday fun. There he sees Eros, the beautiful young man who headlines the show, and who is available, for a price. He's dazzled, but unsure of how to go about meeting Eros in a way that doesn't make himself just another client. Still, for the first time Edward is looking forward with hope, not back with regret.
Julian has done everything from blow-jobs on his knees in a dirty gutter, to rising to the top of the stable of performers in the Pantheon night club. He's as much artist and performer as whore; he finally gets to pick and choose, to decide whom to favor and what to allow. Up to a point. He can't afford to quit, he is determined never to let any man touch his heart, and there is one customer, Ares, who is too powerful and dangerous to refuse. Still, he feels like he has his life at a manageable stage. At first, Edward seems like just one more fan, smitten, wanting a piece of Eros. But the way Edward goes about being with him is slow, gentle, and confusingly personal. And despite all Julian's resolve, it feels more important than just another trick.
The period details in this story give it flavor different from many of the other rent-boy-finds-true-love stories. Everything from the food to the language feels authentic. The story itself is sweet, with clear villains and heroes. It's almost too clear-cut. I'd have liked the MCs to be more flawed (Edward's friend Maxfield was actually my favorite - a man who screwed up and hid what he felt.) I wished for the rent boys to have a sharper, darker undertone to them.
Spoiler
The symmetry of all three friends falling for the three rent boys who are life-long friends also seemed a bit pat and convenient. Julian and Edward were rather perfect, and never had a conflict that wasn't about protecting someone from getting hurt. (I'd have liked to see Julian have more trouble with continuing to work after falling in love.) There is a bit of story from Ares POV, which missed a chance to redeem him in some way, to make me feel conflicted about this antagonist of the piece, but just confirmed his villainy.The story really picks up when we meet up again with Harlan and Nathan from the first book. These are rougher and more complex men, with hidden intensities, and they breathe unexpected life into what had been a more straightforward tale of good versus evil. The MC's passivity was nicely balanced by these two Prohibition Agents. The ending is a rip-roaring adventure, and leaves things in a satisfactory place.
If you enjoy historical detail, very sweet rent-boy romance, and a bit of thriller-adventure, this is well-written and worth a read.
the_novel_approach's review
5.0
4.5 Stars
It’s no big secret I love historical romance, but it wasn’t until I’d read Charlie Cochet’s free novella Roses in the Devil’s Garden some years ago that I realized what a scarcity there was of stories set in the 1920s, a time when Prohibition and gangsters in the United States created a matrix of cause and effect. When liquor was criminalized by the 18th Amendment and, therefore, became profitable to make and sell illegally, a hotbed for organized crime was created. What a great time in history to set a romance novel, as the roaring 20s just resonates with its own special brand of romanticism.
Not written as a sequel to but a complement of Roses in the Devil’s Garden (though Harlan and Nate do make a cameo appearance near the end of the book, and it was a treat to see them again), A Rose by Any Other Name is set within the decadence of a gentlemen’s club, where wealthy men come not only to indulge in a little illegal imbibing but also to appreciate the beautiful performers who also satiate their patrons’ carnal needs. Charlie Cochet has brought the Pantheon to life on the page, the opulence, sex and debauchery creating the perfect backdrop for the gangster who has taken a dangerous interest in Julius Knight, the gorgeous Eros to the criminal Ares.
Plucked from the gutters and polished to become the flawless diamond in the Pantheon’s collection of prostitutes, Julius is at once the practiced seducer, artful performer, and the jaded young man who understands he has few options in life other than being a plaything for wealthy men who want to use his body and then shower him with meaningless trinkets to remain in his good graces. This sets up the conflict from the start, for when Edward Joseph Clarence Jr., heir to the Clarence department store fortune, enters the picture, Julius’s cynicism of Edward’s sincerity makes for some necessary tension between them, something that Charlie Cochet builds on and then deconstructs as their story moves forward.
As the relationship between Julius and Edward strengthens and becomes something more than simply that of courtesan and client, the danger to Julius and Edward escalates in the form of the man everyone knows only as Ares. The depth of his criminal activities aren’t entirely spelled out in the storyline, but it’s sufficient to know that he will stop at nothing to keep from losing what he sees as his, namely Eros. Ares’ interference in Edward’s personal life, dredging up the pain and loss in his past to use it against him, is where A Rose By Any Other Name reaches its climax and hits its emotional pitch, and Charlie Cochet hits it spot on.
I loved a couple of the side characters in the book, who each play a significant role in Julius and Edward’s relationship, and I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll be getting their own stories; if not full length novels, then at least novellas. I’d also love to see much, much more of Harlan and Nate, as they’re the reason for my love of this series to begin with. Edward’s father was also an unexpected but wonderful surprise in Rose, entirely because of the depth of his love for his son. Their relationship played beautifully in my ideal of a father’s unconditional love for his child, even though the time in which the story is set would make the senior Clarence an exception rather than the rule.
Overall, A Rose By Any Other Name is the building of a sweet romance that’s tempered by fear, jealousy, and danger. The descriptions and details Charlie Cochet offers make it easy to picture the Pantheon in one’s imagination, and its atmosphere, combined with its 1920s setting, plays like a classic film in the heyday of Hollywood’s most decadent days.
It’s no big secret I love historical romance, but it wasn’t until I’d read Charlie Cochet’s free novella Roses in the Devil’s Garden some years ago that I realized what a scarcity there was of stories set in the 1920s, a time when Prohibition and gangsters in the United States created a matrix of cause and effect. When liquor was criminalized by the 18th Amendment and, therefore, became profitable to make and sell illegally, a hotbed for organized crime was created. What a great time in history to set a romance novel, as the roaring 20s just resonates with its own special brand of romanticism.
Not written as a sequel to but a complement of Roses in the Devil’s Garden (though Harlan and Nate do make a cameo appearance near the end of the book, and it was a treat to see them again), A Rose by Any Other Name is set within the decadence of a gentlemen’s club, where wealthy men come not only to indulge in a little illegal imbibing but also to appreciate the beautiful performers who also satiate their patrons’ carnal needs. Charlie Cochet has brought the Pantheon to life on the page, the opulence, sex and debauchery creating the perfect backdrop for the gangster who has taken a dangerous interest in Julius Knight, the gorgeous Eros to the criminal Ares.
Plucked from the gutters and polished to become the flawless diamond in the Pantheon’s collection of prostitutes, Julius is at once the practiced seducer, artful performer, and the jaded young man who understands he has few options in life other than being a plaything for wealthy men who want to use his body and then shower him with meaningless trinkets to remain in his good graces. This sets up the conflict from the start, for when Edward Joseph Clarence Jr., heir to the Clarence department store fortune, enters the picture, Julius’s cynicism of Edward’s sincerity makes for some necessary tension between them, something that Charlie Cochet builds on and then deconstructs as their story moves forward.
As the relationship between Julius and Edward strengthens and becomes something more than simply that of courtesan and client, the danger to Julius and Edward escalates in the form of the man everyone knows only as Ares. The depth of his criminal activities aren’t entirely spelled out in the storyline, but it’s sufficient to know that he will stop at nothing to keep from losing what he sees as his, namely Eros. Ares’ interference in Edward’s personal life, dredging up the pain and loss in his past to use it against him, is where A Rose By Any Other Name reaches its climax and hits its emotional pitch, and Charlie Cochet hits it spot on.
I loved a couple of the side characters in the book, who each play a significant role in Julius and Edward’s relationship, and I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll be getting their own stories; if not full length novels, then at least novellas. I’d also love to see much, much more of Harlan and Nate, as they’re the reason for my love of this series to begin with. Edward’s father was also an unexpected but wonderful surprise in Rose, entirely because of the depth of his love for his son. Their relationship played beautifully in my ideal of a father’s unconditional love for his child, even though the time in which the story is set would make the senior Clarence an exception rather than the rule.
Overall, A Rose By Any Other Name is the building of a sweet romance that’s tempered by fear, jealousy, and danger. The descriptions and details Charlie Cochet offers make it easy to picture the Pantheon in one’s imagination, and its atmosphere, combined with its 1920s setting, plays like a classic film in the heyday of Hollywood’s most decadent days.
rissa53's review
5.0
A very enjoyable sequel! ♡
I liked reading about Julius and Edward but also about Lawry and Maxfield and Terry and Albert! I love the historical aspect but I also love the theme of friendship and family with the two groups of three! I love the shoutout to Jacky! And it was lovely seeing Nate and Harlan again!
:)
Bad guys were bad and I wonder about David...
I liked reading about Julius and Edward but also about Lawry and Maxfield and Terry and Albert! I love the historical aspect but I also love the theme of friendship and family with the two groups of three! I love the shoutout to Jacky! And it was lovely seeing Nate and Harlan again!
:)
Bad guys were bad and I wonder about David...
ariadna's review
2.0
New York City, 1927. Edward, sole heir from one of the wealthiest families, has returned home after dealing with a tragic event in Europe. As part of his homecoming/birthday celebration, his cousin and best friend take him to a super exclusive club/brothel that caters to queer men.
Initially scandalized by all the goings on, Edward is soon infatuated with Eros, a young man who is the star of the club. He decides to begin courting him. But the road to true love has many obstacles on it, the largest being a very dangerous gangster only known as Ares...
Gonna try to make this one as short and sweet as possible.
What I liked
+ The first 40% or so of the story.
In the beginning, it was a really entertaining read. You had dapper gents who like other gents, the hustlers whose most precious possession were their hearts, plenty of naughty scenes, and snappy dialogue. In some ways, I'd almost say this was the M/M romance version of a screwball comedy from the 1930s.
+ Some aspects of Edward and Julius' relationship
Edward and Julius played off really well off each other at first. Each man fulfilling different wants in each other (unrepressed sexuality in Edward, emotional comfort for Julius). It was neat that they both acknowledged Julius' job as a sex worker without having to play the shame/sinful card. Another thing I appreciated was that Edward never gave Julius any kind of ultimatums (something I despise in both books and real/offline life).
What I didn't like
- Everything else about Edward and Julius
Considering their ages and their experiences, it was a huge disappointment to see both of them become incredibly sappy once they became a couple. Like, to the point that I was embarrassed by what I was reading because it read so syrupy that it made cringe.
Even more annoying was that all that frothiness turned what had previously been a v. fiery chemistry into something toothless and flat.
- The rest of the book
Somewhere near the 53-55% mark, the book took one turn into several side streets culminating in Drama Llama Boulevard (with bonus!cheesy scenes).
At one point, there was this ridiculous and long scene (I want to say in either chapter 20 or 21) in which two characters break into the villain's place to retrieve some information. Rather than, you know, go in, snag what they're looking for, and get out, the two characters have a lengthy and flirty conversation without a care that they might get found out at any second. It wasn't suspenseful, just stupid.
Then, the villain roared, the cavalry was rallied, and it all culminated in a generic Hollywood ending.
Including such things as: everyone getting paired up exactly the way you'd expected, minor villains being punished in OTT ways, cameos from characters from the (way better) short story (only this time those guys are comic relief), total disregard for the way laws work (gotta say, I'm not surprised by this one BUT STILL).
TL;DR: I was really impressed by the prequel (the short story) as well as the first half of this book. But then, the plot went down the drain and my frustration grew all the way to the last page. Can't recommend.
Initially scandalized by all the goings on, Edward is soon infatuated with Eros, a young man who is the star of the club. He decides to begin courting him. But the road to true love has many obstacles on it, the largest being a very dangerous gangster only known as Ares...
Gonna try to make this one as short and sweet as possible.
What I liked
+ The first 40% or so of the story.
In the beginning, it was a really entertaining read. You had dapper gents who like other gents, the hustlers whose most precious possession were their hearts, plenty of naughty scenes, and snappy dialogue. In some ways, I'd almost say this was the M/M romance version of a screwball comedy from the 1930s.
+ Some aspects of Edward and Julius' relationship
Edward and Julius played off really well off each other at first. Each man fulfilling different wants in each other (unrepressed sexuality in Edward, emotional comfort for Julius). It was neat that they both acknowledged Julius' job as a sex worker without having to play the shame/sinful card. Another thing I appreciated was that Edward never gave Julius any kind of ultimatums (something I despise in both books and real/offline life).
What I didn't like
- Everything else about Edward and Julius
Considering their ages and their experiences, it was a huge disappointment to see both of them become incredibly sappy once they became a couple. Like, to the point that I was embarrassed by what I was reading because it read so syrupy that it made cringe.
Even more annoying was that all that frothiness turned what had previously been a v. fiery chemistry into something toothless and flat.
- The rest of the book
Somewhere near the 53-55% mark, the book took one turn into several side streets culminating in Drama Llama Boulevard (with bonus!cheesy scenes).
At one point, there was this ridiculous and long scene (I want to say in either chapter 20 or 21) in which two characters break into the villain's place to retrieve some information. Rather than, you know, go in, snag what they're looking for, and get out, the two characters have a lengthy and flirty conversation without a care that they might get found out at any second. It wasn't suspenseful, just stupid.
Then, the villain roared, the cavalry was rallied, and it all culminated in a generic Hollywood ending.
Including such things as: everyone getting paired up exactly the way you'd expected, minor villains being punished in OTT ways, cameos from characters from the (way better) short story (only this time those guys are comic relief), total disregard for the way laws work (gotta say, I'm not surprised by this one BUT STILL).
TL;DR: I was really impressed by the prequel (the short story) as well as the first half of this book. But then, the plot went down the drain and my frustration grew all the way to the last page. Can't recommend.
More...