Absinthe of Malice

*Audible code provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my listening pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Absinthe in Malice is Book 5 in Rhys Ford’s Sinners series and it absolutely must be read in the appropriate order with all the other books. This book is about the couples from the first four books, so you have eight POV’s. This is about four couples in established relationships.

Crossroads Gin is going on tour and this book follows their tour. Damien has pushed for the tour to allow the band to connect with each other. But, as typical of the previous books, nothing is ever as easy as it should be. Damien thinks the band must start at the beginning and play in dives, stay in cheap rooms and travel in a used van with the guys taking turns driving it. Each band member has their own struggle that they must work through, and lucky for them, their man is always available to pick them up when needed.

I probably would have enjoyed this more had I been reading it instead of listening to it. For me, all the points of view and characters were impossible to distinguish from the other. And, Ms. Ford, I just want to ask, what do you have against Miki? 😉 Can’t that guy catch a break? Sure, you gave him Kane but, come on, the rest of the guys got their man and don’t face constant attacks and threats to their life. I just want Miki to get a little break. 😊

The narrator of this story is Tristan James. I think the narrator did a good job with the story for the most part. As I mentioned previously, there were a lot of point of views so it made it hard for me to distinguish between couples without being told who was speaking. There were long pauses at the end of each chapter, sometimes long enough that I checked to make sure it hadn’t shut down. But, Tristan brought the characters to life. When I read the first four books, in my head, I didn’t realize that the accents would be so thick, so that was surprising when I first started listening.

There is a mystery running throughout this storyline and a cliffhanger to that mystery so you’re not going to find any easy answers in this book. And though there isn’t a lot, because this story is focused on the band and their touring, you get some sweet moments between the band members and their men. Don’t tell anyone, but Forest and Connor are my favorite and I loved them in this book. They are the decadent sauce that transforms a good dessert into an out of this world dessert!

Overall: 4 stars
Performance: 4 stars
Story: 4 stars

I was so happy to get more the all the guys in this one. I think Rhys did a wonderful job showing us the beginning of what is sure to be an amazing band. I liked that we got to see this start from all four band members perspectives. And of course if wouldn't be a Rhys Ford book it there wasn't a little bit of mystery and mayhem. Whether it be personality clashes between band members, or crazy people trying to hurt the band. One part of the book in particular made me cheer and smile(you'll know when you read it). Miki, Damon, and Rafe all had ghosts to face in this book. Forrest didn't really have anything to face, other than missing Conner. Miki had a breakthrough moment that made my heart smile, and gave me hope for him and his happiness. Rhys did a wonderful job showing us Crossroads Gin's growing pains. I like that it isn't all easy peasy at the beginning, it makes it feel more real. The end of the book got to me though, Rhys as she sometimes does, leaves us with questions until the next book.

For the fifth book in the Sinners Series, Ford changes up the style and expectation, leaving me a bit… let down. There isn’t a new love story here, more of an update on how the four members of the band are doing once they decide to go on the road.

It was fun learning about where they are all were, but nothing really happened throughout the book - well, minus Miki’s life being in danger several times. It took me a few chapters to get into the update plots, but once I did I was hooked on hearing how it ended. And that was the biggest disappointment of all - nothing was solved and it clearly ended with the door open for yet another follow-up book (my guess is it’s going to be focused on Miki and why his life is being hunted).

I’m rating it a four because while the book had a few disappointments, the characters were fun as always - and it felt a little bit like coming home with them, being able to reconnect and see how the band was actually working out. It’s a great read for anyone who loved the series - don’t expect another cute-meet, but just more of the guys you’ve learned to love.

https://threebooksovertherainbow.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/pre-release-review-absinthe-of-malice-by-rhys-ford/

There are so many things I like about this book and of course the whole series, but firstly I loved that we got a bit of everyone, whoever your favourite couple was/is you get to meet them again, nobody is going away disappointed, the author ensured that.
Secondly, this book is a roller coaster of emotions. By now you would assume that the worst is behind them, they’ve moved onto the right path and it’s plain sailing, you relax your guard and then out of the blue, something happens and everything changes again.
They’ve formed their band “Crossroads” and the boys now ready for their first tour. It should be effortless, but do you remember what happened during Miki and Damien’s last tour? Do you really think that it would be that easy? Of course not and if you did, you don’t know this author at all.
I loved how Kane, Connor, Sionn and Quinn understood their lovers and allowed them to peruse their dreams, this is what real love is all about. They tried not to interfere, but were there to help when needed.
On stage everything is magic, but off of the stage they still struggle with their problems. Especially for Miki. He realises that what happened in the past is still affecting him and he has a lot of work to do to get over his demons.
The author gave us the perfect blend of suspense, action and romance and as I’ve already said, it’s a roller coaster of emotions, with the romance and sex being marginal.
Please don’t expect all the questions to be answered, as I warn you now, that we are left with a massive cliffhanger – yep, the author is making us suffer until the next book which will be the last book of the series.


***I would like to thank the author for the privilege and opportunity of reviewing this ARC. My review was an honest opinion of the book***

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Damien decides to take Crossroads Gin on tour. Miki, Forest and Rafe all have their own demons to chase, as does Damien but he hopes this tour will bring them closer to each other, to get back what they had with Sinners Gin. The further along the tour they go, the more those demons push and torment. Will it bring them closer, or push them further apart?

Oh I LOVED catching up with these boys! And I do mean everyone. We get some of each couple, Miki and Kane; Damien and Sionn; Forest and Connor; Rafe and Quinn and even Ma and Da pop up along the way.

Each member of the band struggles in their own way being separated from the other halves of their souls. Miki really goes through the wringer here and Rafe is pushed to his very limits.

Its full of soul searching, deep and painful, spaced with a reunion of each pair at various points. ( I found it to be not as explicit as some of the other books, but thats not a bad thing, not at all!) It has each band member's feeling about being on tour and on stage. It has each band member's reaction to everything that happens.

It also has a CORKER of a cliff hanger! I mean a freaking corker that was like SAY WHAT NOW?!?!?!?!?

I need to listen to this too. I could hear Tristan James in my head while reading but I'll say the same as I did in my read review for Sloe Ride. I'm not hearing the VOICES correctly, and it was doing my head in. So much so, I went back and listened to some of Sloe Ride, just to get everyone right. Still need to listen to it though!

I'll not say anymore, because I don't wanna give spoilers. BUT! If you are a follower of the Sinners Gin series, you'll need to know this: One more time. Just one more time we'll get to catch up with these guys. Just the one. And I'm sad about that but equally, I know the series end is gonna be awesome!

5 stars

** same worded review will appear on Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Dreamspinner Press**