Review: More Heat Than the Sun, Books 5-8 by John Wiltshire

Reviews

More Heat Than The Sun Series, Books 5-8
by John Wiltshire

Book 5: The Bruise-Black Sky

Released February 5th

It's either a brave or a stupid person who threatens anything Nikolas Mikkelsen loves.

Ben usually overlooks Nikolas's occasionally jarring dissonance. Not this time. A deep rift, a terrible lie, separates them. Eleven thousand miles from Nikolas, in New Zealand, it's bitter winter as Ben films the tragic story of a post-apocalyptic gladiator, a victim of his own personal darkness. But on receiving a death threat, Ben suspects the truth of actor Oliver Whitestone's suicide. Someone doesn't want this movie made. It's fortunate for Ben, therefore, that dissonance is a state of unrest, a longing for completion. As if Nikolas would stay at home in disgrace while Ben Rider-Mikkelsen becomes the target of a crazed stalker...

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MY REVIEW

In The Bruise-Black Sky, Nik finally comes to a realization, one he honestly should have come to much, much earlier, but he is Nik - stubborn, petulant, narcissistic Nikolas, so it took him a long while. But the road to that realization was a long, windy, kinda crazy road. I felt in a lot of ways that perhaps this installment was just a stop-gap between the first half of their journey and the last half, so it kinda meandered a bit. I can't say this was my favorite installment of this epic series, but it is still what I have come to expect from this author and this couple - a bit twisted, sexy, with action and two men driving me crazy, mostly in a good way, but still driving me mad. Now I'm onto part 6 with hopes that their relationship continues to grow and they continue to be one of my favorite, if maddening, couples.

Book 6: Death's Ink-Black Shadow

Released February 12th

“Learn to love death's ink-black shadow as much as you love the light of dawn.” Yeah? Well, Nikolas doesn't do early mornings.

It takes a certain kind of courage to live as if favoured by the Gods, ignoring the ever-present ghosts of your past--or perhaps not bravery, but arrogance. And maybe not even that. Ben genuinely believes that the past is behind them—that they deserve to enjoy the life they have created. So it's not hubris that leads him to overlook the signs that Nikolas does not share his faith, it's love. But Nikolas knows something is coming. He can't stop it; he can only decide how he will choose to face it. And without Ben's support, he is entirely alone.

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MY REVIEW

Nik, Nik, Nik...once again manipulative, vain, and egotistical, but redeemed by the strength of his irrevocable love for his soulmate, Ben. In Death's Ink-Black Shadow, Nik once again comes to a realization, but this time he doesn't come to it until the end when Ben does something for him that he never expected. But honestly? I can't believe these two, who have been in a relationship for years, know each other so little. Nik SHOULD have known Ben was quite capable of this, after all, the man is ex SAS, and those guys are not special forces for nothing, so Nik really should not have had his world rocked quite so thoroughly by what Ben was capable of, because Ben had the training, AND he loved Nik just as much as Nik loved Ben. Sigh...

I liked this installment more than the previous one, it feels more like them, moves a bit faster, and I loved the revelation at the end. Their relationship is of course, still hot, and the realizations keep coming for Nik.

Book 7: Enduring Night

Released February 19th

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Nikolas has always liked art. You'd have thought that Ben and Nikolas would have learnt that their romantic holidays inevitably end up as disasters. A short break on the polar ice sees them trapped in a nightmare of murder and deceit. Neither of them, however, foresees the long-term impact that endless winter has on their relationship. They return with a metaphorical darkness that threatens everything they have created together. Desperate and fearing for Nikolas's life, Ben makes a bargain with a surprising ally. For the first time, Nikolas meets an enemy more powerful than he is. But fortunately, not as sneaky...

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MY REVIEW

Well shit...this installment almost had me throwing my Kindle across the room! Ben and Nik have the nerve to go on vacation, forgetting, or maybe trying to forget, that vacations don't end well for them. And of course, things go drastically, epically wrong for them while on the vacation. Because of what goes so drastically wrong, Ben makes a serious promise to do something if someone will just give him what he's asking for. I know, I sound ridiculous, but I'm trying not to spoil. Needless to say, the course Ben takes because of this fulfilled promise about kills me. I shouldn't have doubted though, because by the end, I was feeling less stabby 🤣.

Ben and Nik are still one of my favorite couples, and this series is one of my favorite MM series, and I love how far they've come by the end of Enduring Night. I have heard that the next installment is the last, and it saddens me tremendously.

Book 8: His Fateful Heap of Days
Out Now

Released February 26th

“Into his fateful heap of days the soul of man is cast.”

Only a few months from his fiftieth year, Nikolas is feeling a distinct wobble in his formidable certainties. Aleksey Primakov appears to have become irrelevant. All he needs, therefore, is to be dragged into an adventure with Devon's answer to the three musketeers. How many times can he tell Ben and his moronic friends that a mutilated body buried on Dartmoor has nothing to do with them? ut not only does this desecration slowly become their business, it cuts to the heart of the life they have created together. It's just as well, perhaps, that generals never do actually retire...

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MY REVIEW

A trip with friends Squeezy (!!), Radulf, and Tim leads to some crazy ass stuff, but ultimately leads Ben to a realization of his own. Of course, it happens while in the midst of something horrific, as this series is wont to do, but it's a serious growth point for Ben, so I applauded it even while cringing.

Their relationship has soldiered on steadily over the last 7 installments, and I felt here they were about as steady a couple as can be found. They've got each other, their friends, their dog, and their growing family. They couldn't ask for more, and they know it, revel in it even. If this is the end, which I doubt now that I've seen the To Be Continued line, it's a fine conclusion, but I'm hoping for more of my maddening, so in love couple and their circle of loved ones.

About John

John Wiltshire is the pen name. The author was born in England, but she travelled widely whilst serving in the British Army, living in the States and Canada and Europe. She retired at the rank of Major, and finally settled in New Zealand.

To date the author has written 14 novels.

Connect with John
http://johnwiltshire.co.nz
https://www.facebook.com/johnwiltshire.nz
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