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A review by kaje_harper
A Rose By Any Other Name by Charlie Cochet
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.