Kage Unmasked

This is a combined review of all three books in the series.I could be snide and point out all the crazy, unrealistic, melodramatic parts of this series but I'm going to be honest and say that I loved it! Yes a good part of the love comes from [a:J. F. Harding 15672022 J. F. Harding https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] A masterful narration. Every character gets a distinct and believable voice. And what feeling! Awesome.This series sits firmly in the FSOG genre: a babe in the woods gets introduced to the world of money and non vanilla sex, here in M/M form, and kudos to [a:Maris Black 7222957 Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1381280754p2/7222957.jpg] for taking that mold and making it infinitely better by having much more appealing leads and way better writing. I won't do a synopsis ‘cause hey you can read it for yourself, I'll just point out the things I liked.Jamie and his friends are perfectly normal, nice college students (special shout out to Trey) and so is his girlfriend Layla who in my opinion deserves her own book. Jamie's family is composed of recognizable people and not your usual bigoted cardboard cutouts but a working class mother and father who love their children and want the best for them. For that matter aside from the uncle and one of his minions no one here is overly concerned about the “the gayness” and boy is that a breath of fresh air. I also like that Jamie is self aware enough to recognize his physical appeal and how to use it to his best advantage. Yes he is young and maybe a little sheltered, he's only about to turn 21, but he's not dumb. And that brings me to something that we as readers sometimes forget in these types of books: the protagonists are generally quite young and so naiveté at that age is not unrealistic.[b:Kage 28268831 Kage (Kage Trilogy, #1) Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450822369s/28268831.jpg 45008840] ends in a pretty bleak cliffhanger but book 2 [b:Kage Unleashed 28268873 Kage Unleashed (Kage Trilogy, #2) Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450822664s/28268873.jpg 45416474] picks up exactly where we left off. Nothing happens off page. Also in book 2 we finally get Kage's POV and that is great because a) we realize that he too is young, 24, and trying to make it out of the reach of his sinister, possibly mafiosi uncle and weighed down by psychological burden of a traumatic childhood and b) he too has moments of self doubt and insecurities. Yes we get the possessiveness, the domineering hot and rough sex and the occasional dumb behavior Jamie letting himself be taken to the private room at the club but who hasn't done dumb shit at that age or worse, as I was reminded by a recent conversation with a girlfriend, at any age. When we are stupid in love/lust anything and nothing is enough. As far as sexual kinks to each his own and here it is made clear that both parties are fully desirous of the sex they're having. If I reflect on it I think part 2 was my favorite not only because we have both POVs but it is where the relationship between Jamie and Kage is most fully fleshed out.[b:Kage Unmasked 28083311 Kage Unmasked (Kage Trilogy, #3) Maris Black https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450822771s/28083311.jpg 46118613] is the necessary reveal of Kage's past which is of course brutal but there's also a bit of shark jumping Dr. Tanner letting Jamie witness the hypnosis session, Kage basically becoming "cured" after remembering, the fairly easy disposal of the evil uncle with no loss to Jamie or Kage but I don't think anyone is reading this for verisimilitude but rather for the feelings conjured and those I liked. That heady almost drunkenness of first love, the feeling of invincibility and the wanting to be with that person to the point of becoming part of them were all convincingly brought forth. I also liked that though Jamie is nominally the submissive party in the relationship he's no doormat and Kage needs him just as much. Jamie even gets to top!Do I believe that these two will still be together in 20 yrs.? Maybe. By the end they seem to have settled into a domesticity reminiscent of traditional roles, Kage out in the world and Jamie taking care of the home, which in their case is a HotelThe romantic in me will say yes. Why not? Let the love birds live long and prosper and may we all have a Michael Kage in our corner. ;-)

Right off the bat, I'll say that this was my least favorite of the trilogy, but Kage in this one is my most favorite. Down bad Kage? I'll take 2, please.

And yes, I know he's always been the one who didn't care about coming out publicly and shit, and book 2 had him agonizing over the idea that Jamie was ashamed of him but I love what he does about it in this one.

Do I care that he didn't really talk about it with Jamie first? No.

Am I giggly about the fact that he was balls deep when Jamie got to know about it? Absolutely.

"All these men have someone to go home to after the fight. They've got their baby, I've got mine."

Tell themmmmmm. AND. WHAT. OF. IT?!

Kage and Jamie were still quintessential Kage and Jamie in this for the most part. Aside from some soapy shenanigans that occur in the latter third of this book which I won't get into.

But IMO, we see more growth from Kage in this one. We get to find out the truth about his past (which wasn't all that hard to guess at), we get to see him break some patterns.

"If you realize you made a mistake and want to come back, and I know you, Jamie—you can't stay away, I'll be waiting for you. But the minute you fuck another person, I'll never touch you again."

Lol is this sick that I found this both endearing and a reasonable boundary? I expected mans to lose his shit in never before seen ways.

But also, proud that instead of an immediate tweak out, he had the presence of mind to suspect shit. Book 2 Kage would never.

Yes, he needed a nudge, but don’t we all?

Will I read the Santori trilogy? Most probably not. 6 books about the same couple is pushing it a bit(for me) and I can't say I'm really open to the idea of a humanized Peter Santori.

Also, I feel like I can already guess that the other 3 books are about Kage going a little too far, Jamie freaking out and running away, then running back to him later regardless.

It's their thing.