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gillianw's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this one. Christopher is such a pill! I think living with him would be like having your own personal drama llama but J.X. appears to (mostly!) enjoy their life together even if Kit seems determined to see the glass half empty on their relationship. I loved the pillow talk between them in this book. You really get the sense that J.X. has loved and wanted Kit from the moment they met and has put a lot of thought into the things that Kit needs - even when Kit can't admit to needing them.
I can't wait for more adventures with these two! 4 stars
I can't wait for more adventures with these two! 4 stars
a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
4.0
4 Stars!
Poor Kit. He just cannot catch a break - a break from finding dead bodies, that is. He and JX have made that ultimate relationship step and have newly moved in together, but a murdered victim found in one of their packing crates is not a great way to start their new life together.
As with this particular series, Kit is ever the neurotic fussy guy, full of insecurities and a tendency toward introversion, all of it marked with sarcastic humor and a fatalistic attitude that lends itself to some very entertaining moments. Though I would've preferred to have more on page JX time, it is actually their relationship that takes center stage this time, in and around the murder shenanigans. Despite their best efforts, these two are still on shaky ground due to Kit’s fears. Though frustrating, I enjoyed seeing him argue with himself and trying to overcome his own personal roadblocks, wanting a happy ending with JX, but not quite sure how to achieve and maintain that. JX in return is solid, but also desperately trying to hang on by any means possible.
Always interesting, smart, and full of that wry and sardonic wit that can be so prominent in a lot of Lanyon’s works, I often found myself suddenly snorting or bursting out in laughter. This was good reading, as yet again, Kit solves the murder whether he wants to or not. He’s quite the unconventional hero, but there’s definitely something there that makes you want to be in on the inside jokes with him; his “brilliant criminal mind” notwithstanding. This series is never overt in the smex, but what little we got quite satisfies (though I will never turn down more), and delved deeper into the romantic and intimate, vulnerable dynamic between these two complete opposites. Luckily we get another entry to this great series, and I’m definitely looking forward to it!
Poor Kit. He just cannot catch a break - a break from finding dead bodies, that is. He and JX have made that ultimate relationship step and have newly moved in together, but a murdered victim found in one of their packing crates is not a great way to start their new life together.
As with this particular series, Kit is ever the neurotic fussy guy, full of insecurities and a tendency toward introversion, all of it marked with sarcastic humor and a fatalistic attitude that lends itself to some very entertaining moments. Though I would've preferred to have more on page JX time, it is actually their relationship that takes center stage this time, in and around the murder shenanigans. Despite their best efforts, these two are still on shaky ground due to Kit’s fears. Though frustrating, I enjoyed seeing him argue with himself and trying to overcome his own personal roadblocks, wanting a happy ending with JX, but not quite sure how to achieve and maintain that. JX in return is solid, but also desperately trying to hang on by any means possible.
Always interesting, smart, and full of that wry and sardonic wit that can be so prominent in a lot of Lanyon’s works, I often found myself suddenly snorting or bursting out in laughter. This was good reading, as yet again, Kit solves the murder whether he wants to or not. He’s quite the unconventional hero, but there’s definitely something there that makes you want to be in on the inside jokes with him; his “brilliant criminal mind” notwithstanding. This series is never overt in the smex, but what little we got quite satisfies (though I will never turn down more), and delved deeper into the romantic and intimate, vulnerable dynamic between these two complete opposites. Luckily we get another entry to this great series, and I’m definitely looking forward to it!
kberry513's review against another edition
3.0
After rereading, I decided to take it down to 3 stars instead of 4. The first time I read this, I was under the incorrect assumption based on the author's name that it was written by a man with a very high likelihood of them being gay or bi or pan so I was willing to overlook some of the things I felt off put by in their sexual dynamics, seeing as I was reading this thinking it was an Own Voices situation. I have since discovered that Josh Lanyon is a woman and (rightly or wrongly) it has changed my perspective on how I'm rating her books. The main issue I have is that Kit explicitly tells JX in the moment he's uncomfortable with what they're doing and asks to change it up (even though internally he is admitting he enjoys it, he still finds it overwhelming and uncomfortable) and JX's response is "I know you love it, you're just a control freak and you need to learn to let go" and continues to do what he has been explicitly told is making his sexual partner uncomfortable. I'll be honest, the way she writes sex scenes does nothing for me in general (she uses the word moist far too frequently and the descriptors she uses often feel like an odd choice, but that is true of 99% of the sex scenes I read so that's not my complaint here) I read her books for the mystery combined with the romantic storyline and I tend to skim. Also, I'm personally not super in to dominance/submission stuff. But I have seen it written well and even though what's going on here is very lightly dom/sub it is extremely uncool to ignore your sexual partner's hangups. You don't get to decide you know what someone else likes and ignore what they are explicitly telling you even if there's a possibility you're right. It's clear Kit has hangups and he outright admits it. And that's okay. It's also okay for JX to question it and for them to have an open conversation about it. It is not ok to simply tell someone you know what they like best and proceed after they've asked for a change. It's a completely different story if you have had a conversation prior to this encounter where you agree that you want to be pushed out of your comfort zone or you want the other person to ignore your soft no. But that's a pre-sex negotiation and absolutely not what happens. And Kit is still uncomfortable with it afterwards even though he enjoyed himself. Just bc the hangup is irrational doesn't mean it shouldn't be respected.
Overall I don't love the way JX treats Kit. He steamrollers through his sexual hangups, pushed Kit to move in very early in their release, continues to lecture Kit on his career when Kit has made it clear he wants to figure it out himself, and is pushing his family on Kit. I feel like during their fight about it, way too much emphasis is put on how "selfish" Kit is, but realistically JX is the one being selfish. JX married his dead brother's pregnant fiance and didn't divorce her for three years. Even though they had a platonic relationship the whole time, it is extremely clear she's in love with him and that it makes Kit uncomfortable to be around them, but he doesn't begrudge JX having a close relationship and he helps out even though the family don't like him. JX continues to force it and just bc Kit doesn't acquiesce, apparently he's being selfish. I did appreciate that in their fight/make up at the end, Kit is honest with him about that and how JX has to understand he doesn't have the same kind of family relationships....but then caves and goes to the zoo anyway. I'm not saying that it wouldn't be a problem in their relationship if he was refusing to ever spend time.eith JXs nephew/stepson. But they have only been dating for real for like 4 months and then moved in together. And the zoo is not the place to take a guy who doesn't enjoy kids to bond with a kid who outright does not like him.
I still like the book, I just struggled with some parts of it.
Overall I don't love the way JX treats Kit. He steamrollers through his sexual hangups, pushed Kit to move in very early in their release, continues to lecture Kit on his career when Kit has made it clear he wants to figure it out himself, and is pushing his family on Kit. I feel like during their fight about it, way too much emphasis is put on how "selfish" Kit is, but realistically JX is the one being selfish. JX married his dead brother's pregnant fiance and didn't divorce her for three years. Even though they had a platonic relationship the whole time, it is extremely clear she's in love with him and that it makes Kit uncomfortable to be around them, but he doesn't begrudge JX having a close relationship and he helps out even though the family don't like him. JX continues to force it and just bc Kit doesn't acquiesce, apparently he's being selfish. I did appreciate that in their fight/make up at the end, Kit is honest with him about that and how JX has to understand he doesn't have the same kind of family relationships....but then caves and goes to the zoo anyway. I'm not saying that it wouldn't be a problem in their relationship if he was refusing to ever spend time.eith JXs nephew/stepson. But they have only been dating for real for like 4 months and then moved in together. And the zoo is not the place to take a guy who doesn't enjoy kids to bond with a kid who outright does not like him.
I still like the book, I just struggled with some parts of it.
scarletcat13's review
4.0
I liked seeing Adrien and Jake from an outside perspective...it also makes me miss them. Also.... interesting how JX seems to be putting his family before his partner. He loves Christopher and has good intentions but seems to forget that Kit doesn't really know how to create a healthy relationship. Not to mention expecting people to get along when they are forced together.
scarletcat13's review against another edition
4.0
I liked seeing Adrien and Jake from an outside perspective...it also makes me miss them. Also.... interesting how JX seems to be putting his family before his partner. He loves Christopher and has good intentions but seems to forget that Kit doesn't really know how to create a healthy relationship. Not to mention expecting people to get along when they are forced together.
teresab78's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars! I had some laugh out loud moments with this one. So very witty. I enjoyed this the most of the series!
liza5326's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this addition to the Holmes and Moriarity series! There was a lot of development to Kit and JX's relationship as they move into their new home. And, as is par for the course, mystery and murder follows Kit wherever he goes, even in his new home, where he finds a body in one of his crates while unpacking. The mystery was a lot less confusing than the first two and almost took a backseat a lot of the time, which was great, because there was more time spent on Kit and JX's relationship. Loved this book!
beecycling's review against another edition
5.0
I might raise the star rating on a reread or after the audiobook. I did feel there wasn't enough of Kit and J.X. actually together for me - because I love their interactions. But it's an excellent book and Kit's always an entertaining narrator. I did lots of highlighting of snippets that were just really vivid or funny. Oh and the very special guest appearance of a couple of characters from a certain other Lanyon series is great fun.
daydreamer45's review against another edition
4.0
I rarely feel such kinship with fictional characters as I felt with Kit in this book. I certainly didn't feel that much in the previous two ones although that might change upon a reread.
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo is special for me and not to be easily forgotten for several reasons:
1. kinship with Kit
2. I waited for it for so long (a year and two months, at least, I read All She Wrote last August and have been waiting ever since. There was also some bother with pushed back release date, which... bummer) and it still didn't disappoint. Kit was Kit and J.X. was J.X., both perfectly imperfect and painfully in love.
3. The sexy times. Reading about Kit bottomming works for me - almost as much as it works for him. Scorching hot. I still hope he gets to top sometimes, not on the schedule he was planning but because of his own peace of mind.
4. This book is the first m/m I've read for months, fanfics nothwistanding, so it's responsible for breaking my non-m-m trend. Not that I am diving back into m/m - that would require time, and time is a luxury I do not have :( - but it's nice to come back to the genre and not be disappointed.
5. “All that you have to say has already crossed my mind.”
J.X. replied tersely, but right on cue, “And possibly your answer has already crossed mine.”
What I didn't like.
- The cameo. I don't really remember the significance of the mushroom pie and I don't want to care. It was good to see, regardless. IDK. I don't pretend to make sense.
- how obviously creepy was.
- ugh... I'm too lazy to think of other points. :D
That means... I enjoyed it quite a lot, and I'm going to reread it. It was worth the wait. I might even go back and reread the first two as well.
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo is special for me and not to be easily forgotten for several reasons:
1. kinship with Kit
2. I waited for it for so long (a year and two months, at least, I read All She Wrote last August and have been waiting ever since. There was also some bother with pushed back release date, which... bummer) and it still didn't disappoint. Kit was Kit and J.X. was J.X., both perfectly imperfect and painfully in love.
3. The sexy times. Reading about Kit bottomming works for me - almost as much as it works for him. Scorching hot. I still hope he gets to top sometimes, not on the schedule he was planning but because of his own peace of mind.
4. This book is the first m/m I've read for months, fanfics nothwistanding, so it's responsible for breaking my non-m-m trend. Not that I am diving back into m/m - that would require time, and time is a luxury I do not have :( - but it's nice to come back to the genre and not be disappointed.
5. “All that you have to say has already crossed my mind.”
J.X. replied tersely, but right on cue, “And possibly your answer has already crossed mine.”
What I didn't like.
- The cameo. I don't really remember the significance of the mushroom pie and I don't want to care. It was good to see
Spoiler
Adrien and Jake- how obviously creepy
Spoiler
Jerry The Creeper- ugh... I'm too lazy to think of other points. :D
That means... I enjoyed it quite a lot, and I'm going to reread it. It was worth the wait. I might even go back and reread the first two as well.