I'm trying to tackle and fight myself into a new path in life. In doing so, I've adding more things to my To Do lists and more things to my TBR lists. BUT that also means more ARCs for me! :D Here's Caz May's "Malicious Desires." It's a Romeo and Juliet retelling (with a happier ending??), and it debuts June 4, 2024.
["In beautiful Vemore our story begins, where a family feud spanning generations is about to shatter when two young men, forbidden to associate fall in love.A Romeo & Juliet mm reimagining
Reece
I’m a monster. A killer for hire by my father.
And I kill the enemy. The scum of Vemore, those by the name of Capullo or those who side with said scum.
And despite hating the man my father has forced me to become it’s never been an issue until now.
Because I kissed the enemy. And I’m breaking every rule set out by my name being Montserrat just for another tempting kiss, for his forbidden touch.
Jasper
I’m an artist.
A lover of history and following the rules.
And I strive to do the right thing. What my father wishes.
But he doesn’t know the real me. The man my father knows is the good boy, he doesn’t know the man I really am so I’m unavoidably staying deep in the closet.
It’s never really been an issue until I was kissed by the enemy.
And I’m sinning over and over with him, begging him for any scrap of attention he wants to give me, giving into his tempting kisses, and longing for his forbidden touch.
Falling for your enemy is the biggest sin one can commit, and
I’m a willing victim to that great temptation."]
Goodreads is divided on this one (as am I). I looooove me a good retelling. At points, this one seemed a little too formula, a little too on-the-nose, a little too copy-modernize-paste. The writing itself (including some of the formatting) could use some work, as parts of just needed rewritten or flushed out or made less awkward. But, devil's advocate, I do have an ARC, and it isn't necessarily the Final Copy.
The storyline though?! My. Fucking. God. Bi Shakespeare himself would be dancing in his grave (though I think I read somewhere that his body wasn't in his grave?--ignore that detour). This was dark as fuck (a classic tragedy--and a modern dark romance) and spicer than Shakespeare ever had words to describe (though, maybe he could have; that man did invent over 1700 words). It was beautiful and protective and weird and flirty and messy and wow, just Wow.
Trigger Warnings: non con, blood play, knife play, gun play, drug (marijuana and prescription) and alcohol use (and misuse), overdose, hospital stay, on page torture and murder, on page graphic violence, religious themes, bigotry, and more.
#maliciousdesires #cazmay #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
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