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A review by bookish_notes
The Same End by Gregory Ashe
4.0
Initial Reaction:
WHAT IS JOY. WHAT IS HAPPINESS.
yes, this has a HFN but AT WHAT COST
Review:
This book did me in. This book does end with an uplifting enough HFN where it doesn't seem like a cliffhanger, but at the same time it was like the joy got sucked out of me. This story goes to some very, very dark places and this might be THE Gregory Ashe book that had me sobbing the most? And that's saying something since the likes of the Hollow Folk series and the DuPage Parish Mysteries are also what I would consider very, very dark reads. I mean, all of his books contain a certain level of angst, but remember how I felt about the despair of the first book in this series - The Same Breath? This is that times 100. I was thankfully reminded that there IS a short story that takes place after this book in a short story book collection, which I will definitely check out because I definitely need to see Jem and Tean be happy and feasting on McDonalds or something to make up for this ending.
Content notes include sexual harassment, mentions and graphic description of rapes, assault, emotional abuse, manipulation, ableism, mutilation, mentions of animal cruelty, violence, PTSD, police corruption, homomisia, death, and depression.
This book is about people from Jem's past who comes back to haunt him. He met these guys back when he was in Decker, a group home. There have been small mentions about the likes of Tanner, Blake, and Antonio in the previous books, enough for readers to guess what they did to Jem. But in this book, it gets very, very graphic. So, do take care when reading this book and put it down if it gets to be too much. Because this is a LOT.
The mystery aspect of this book is confusing, because there's so many moving parts and people, and lies. And when you're trying to balance all that out with the love triangle (but not really because we knew the entire time who's the endgame here), then there's a lot going on at the same time. Even though I got confused between all the cops and detectives (or whoever) was getting tangled up in this mess, the climactic scene at the end is INTENSE. Very dark, very frightning for Jem and Tean, and just...a lot. This book has a lot of violence and death in it.
You might think, "hey, maybe Ammon wises up and is less evil now that he's come out." BUT NO. He's still a shit to Jem and a manipulative asshole to Tean. Sure, he's their contact with the cops when it comes to solving these mysteries (and quite frankly, doing Ammon's job for him every single time). But Ammon hiding behind JUST being diagnosed as a "sex addict" isn't the full story and until he gets help from a therapist that can unpack his anger management and abusive nature, I'm going to need him to back off and stay away. Ammon has been so awful this entire series, but seeing him manipulate Tean's family into thinking he's some great guy is THE WORST. The absolute breaking point for me (and thankfully Tean as well) is when Ammon wouldn't take no as an answer until Tean literally ran from him because of commotion with Jem, and then Ammon not letting Tean have his glasses back and proceeding TO BREAK THEM? That was the LAST STRAW. It was so heartbreaking because who breaks someone else's glasses except a complete and utter asshole? I thought Tucker from the Borealis Investigations books was the most abusive piece of shit ever, but NOPE. Here I present Ammon. They would be friends.
This puts into perspective that anytime there's a sexual scene (even if it's just a kiss), Jem ALWAYS asks Tean for consent. Which is growth from the uncomfortable hugs Jem was always pulling Tean into in the last book. It's been interesting how this book and the relationship between these two men is somewhat backwards than how most romance books play out. There were probably more sex scenes in the first book? And then Jem and Tean became best friends (or JUST normal friends as Tean would say), and then they FINALLY learned to love one another for real.
Tean might've come out to his friends and family many years ago, but he's never really had the support of his family and his closest friend was always Ammon, who used him for his own gain without any consideration for Tean's feelings. So, obviously Tean had a lot of baggage and self-doubt to unpack, but I'm just glad we finally get to see him choosing Jem and realizing what a piece of work Ammon really is. Every time Tean yelled at Jem for something Jem didn't even DO made me sad. But at least Tean finally found out the truth and apologized to Jem.
This is even more reason for me to read the short story that follows after this book! It's unknown at this moment whether we'll really get a sequel series with these two since I know the author is constantly juggling a lot of books and a lot of series at the same time, but I hope we DO get to see more of Jem and Tean. I just want them to be crime solving sleuths and fully in love and in a relationship (and whatever angst that means between them because Gregory Ashe always knows how to work in some angst in an established relationship).
I think it's super cute how we see Jem warm up to Scipio (Tean's dog) throughout the series. We know that animals have a very keen sense in detecting people who are pure in heart (Jem) versus people who mean harm (Ammon). Scipio always growls when Ammon is at the door, but flies towards Jem and almost knocks him down for pats on the head or belly scratches whenever Jem walks through the door. In this series, Scipio is the smartest one of all.
I really hadn't listened to J.F. Harding as a narrator too much before starting this series, but I really like him? It's been awhile since I listened to anything by him because he just doesn't really narrate audiobooks I was interested in reading. But he does do the First Quarto books by Gregory Ashe, so I'll definitely be listening to those. There ARE some instances where I think the voices J.F. Harding does winds up getting confused between the narration of the characters and who's actually speaking, but it's probably not too noticeable? It's just here and there throughout the audiobooks but doesn't last very long before the voice is correct to the person speaking or thinking again.
Kind of off-topic, but I think this series should be sponsored by McDonald's due to all the free advertisement they're getting from Jem here. Makes me crave some fries!
Overall, I think this book is sad, and this series is sad. There are great moments between Jem and Tean, and I'm just happy that they finally realized how fantastic they are together and admitted their feelings for one another. I would be delighted if we get a sequel series, because I would love to see more of them!
***Thanks to the author for giving me an e-ARC and audiobook to read and review!***
WHAT IS JOY. WHAT IS HAPPINESS.
yes, this has a HFN but AT WHAT COST
Review:
This book did me in. This book does end with an uplifting enough HFN where it doesn't seem like a cliffhanger, but at the same time it was like the joy got sucked out of me. This story goes to some very, very dark places and this might be THE Gregory Ashe book that had me sobbing the most? And that's saying something since the likes of the Hollow Folk series and the DuPage Parish Mysteries are also what I would consider very, very dark reads. I mean, all of his books contain a certain level of angst, but remember how I felt about the despair of the first book in this series - The Same Breath? This is that times 100. I was thankfully reminded that there IS a short story that takes place after this book in a short story book collection, which I will definitely check out because I definitely need to see Jem and Tean be happy and feasting on McDonalds or something to make up for this ending.
Content notes include sexual harassment, mentions and graphic description of rapes, assault, emotional abuse, manipulation, ableism, mutilation, mentions of animal cruelty, violence, PTSD, police corruption, homomisia, death, and depression.
This book is about people from Jem's past who comes back to haunt him. He met these guys back when he was in Decker, a group home. There have been small mentions about the likes of Tanner, Blake, and Antonio in the previous books, enough for readers to guess what they did to Jem. But in this book, it gets very, very graphic. So, do take care when reading this book and put it down if it gets to be too much. Because this is a LOT.
The mystery aspect of this book is confusing, because there's so many moving parts and people, and lies. And when you're trying to balance all that out with the love triangle (but not really because we knew the entire time who's the endgame here), then there's a lot going on at the same time. Even though I got confused between all the cops and detectives (or whoever) was getting tangled up in this mess, the climactic scene at the end is INTENSE. Very dark, very frightning for Jem and Tean, and just...a lot. This book has a lot of violence and death in it.
You might think, "hey, maybe Ammon wises up and is less evil now that he's come out." BUT NO. He's still a shit to Jem and a manipulative asshole to Tean. Sure, he's their contact with the cops when it comes to solving these mysteries (and quite frankly, doing Ammon's job for him every single time). But Ammon hiding behind JUST being diagnosed as a "sex addict" isn't the full story and until he gets help from a therapist that can unpack his anger management and abusive nature, I'm going to need him to back off and stay away. Ammon has been so awful this entire series, but seeing him manipulate Tean's family into thinking he's some great guy is THE WORST. The absolute breaking point for me (and thankfully Tean as well) is when Ammon wouldn't take no as an answer until Tean literally ran from him because of commotion with Jem, and then Ammon not letting Tean have his glasses back and proceeding TO BREAK THEM? That was the LAST STRAW. It was so heartbreaking because who breaks someone else's glasses except a complete and utter asshole? I thought Tucker from the Borealis Investigations books was the most abusive piece of shit ever, but NOPE. Here I present Ammon. They would be friends.
This puts into perspective that anytime there's a sexual scene (even if it's just a kiss), Jem ALWAYS asks Tean for consent. Which is growth from the uncomfortable hugs Jem was always pulling Tean into in the last book. It's been interesting how this book and the relationship between these two men is somewhat backwards than how most romance books play out. There were probably more sex scenes in the first book? And then Jem and Tean became best friends (or JUST normal friends as Tean would say), and then they FINALLY learned to love one another for real.
Tean might've come out to his friends and family many years ago, but he's never really had the support of his family and his closest friend was always Ammon, who used him for his own gain without any consideration for Tean's feelings. So, obviously Tean had a lot of baggage and self-doubt to unpack, but I'm just glad we finally get to see him choosing Jem and realizing what a piece of work Ammon really is. Every time Tean yelled at Jem for something Jem didn't even DO made me sad. But at least Tean finally found out the truth and apologized to Jem.
This is even more reason for me to read the short story that follows after this book! It's unknown at this moment whether we'll really get a sequel series with these two since I know the author is constantly juggling a lot of books and a lot of series at the same time, but I hope we DO get to see more of Jem and Tean. I just want them to be crime solving sleuths and fully in love and in a relationship (and whatever angst that means between them because Gregory Ashe always knows how to work in some angst in an established relationship).
I think it's super cute how we see Jem warm up to Scipio (Tean's dog) throughout the series. We know that animals have a very keen sense in detecting people who are pure in heart (Jem) versus people who mean harm (Ammon). Scipio always growls when Ammon is at the door, but flies towards Jem and almost knocks him down for pats on the head or belly scratches whenever Jem walks through the door. In this series, Scipio is the smartest one of all.
I really hadn't listened to J.F. Harding as a narrator too much before starting this series, but I really like him? It's been awhile since I listened to anything by him because he just doesn't really narrate audiobooks I was interested in reading. But he does do the First Quarto books by Gregory Ashe, so I'll definitely be listening to those. There ARE some instances where I think the voices J.F. Harding does winds up getting confused between the narration of the characters and who's actually speaking, but it's probably not too noticeable? It's just here and there throughout the audiobooks but doesn't last very long before the voice is correct to the person speaking or thinking again.
Kind of off-topic, but I think this series should be sponsored by McDonald's due to all the free advertisement they're getting from Jem here. Makes me crave some fries!
Overall, I think this book is sad, and this series is sad. There are great moments between Jem and Tean, and I'm just happy that they finally realized how fantastic they are together and admitted their feelings for one another. I would be delighted if we get a sequel series, because I would love to see more of them!
***Thanks to the author for giving me an e-ARC and audiobook to read and review!***