Fish on a Bicycle Fish Out of Water Book 5
M/M Romantic Suspense
Dreamspinner Press
October 15, 2019
342
Dual Review!
Fish on a Bicycle (Fish Out of Water Book 5) By Amy Lane
REVIEWERS: SHE SAID – GLORIA LAKRITZ / SHE SAID – MELISSA BRUS
Jackson Rivers has always bucked the rules—and bucking the rules of recovery is no exception. Now that he and Ellery are starting their own law firm, there’s no reason he can’t rush into trouble and take the same risks as always, right?
Maybe not. Their first case is a doozy, involving porn stars, drug empires, and daddy issues, and their client, Henry Worrall, wants to be an active participant in his own defense. As Henry and Jackson fight the bad guys and each other to find out who dumped the porn star in the trash can, Jackson must reexamine his assumptions that four months of rest and a few good conversations have made him all better inside.
Jackson keeps crashing his bicycle of self-care and a successful relationship, and Ellery wonders what’s going to give out first—Jackson’s health or Ellery’s patience. Jackson’s body hasn’t forgiven him for past crimes. Can Ellery forgive him for his current sins? And can they keep Henry from going to jail for sleeping with the wrong guy at the wrong time?
Being a fish out of water is tough—but if you give a fish a bicycle, how’s he going to swim?
SHE SAID – GLORIA LAKRITZ
REVIEWED BY GLORIA LAKRITZ
SR. REVIEWER AND REVIEW CHAIR FOR THE PARANORMAL ROMANCE GUILD
Amy Lane is one of my five favorite authors. Where do I begin? How to explain to someone why they should read an Amy Lane book?
First, Amy writes characters that become real. Very real! The object of her stories is all about love…. finding your heart. The characters she brings to the page might be plain, injured, sickly, mean, sexy, pretty, flawed, needy, but she goes straight to the heart of who they are, then who they can become. It’s like a painter with a blank canvas painting the Mona Lisa.
Her second wonderful attribute is melding one series into another, keeping timelines straight and having her set of characters interact with another flawlessly is genius. Fish out of Water is one of those Series.
We did begin with a great book called Racing for the Sun, starring Ace and Sonny. It lead to Book# 2 Hiding the Moon continuing with Ace, Sonny, introducing Burton and Ernie ….It was merged into the Fish out of Water Series Book #4 with Ellery and Jackson calling upon Ace and Sonny and Burton for help in catching a serial killer, Following now?
Soooo, this next Fish Out Of Water #5, has Ellery and Jackson opening their own offices after all that nastiness and horror that almost killed them both in our last book. Ellery and Jackson have been living together and trying to heal mentally and physically for the last ten months. And here we begin….
Dex’s brother Henry is being questioned for the murder of another member of ‘The Johnnies’ group….. Jackson sees ‘something’ in Henry…..and takes the case. This book is two-fold, number one it is another seriously dangerous murder mystery, number two catching up with our Johnnies guys (see another melding of series?????) and (another wonderful Amy Lane Series) which through the years I’ve enjoyed immensely!!!!
Most of all, the heart of this story is Ellery and Jackson and once you start this, you will never put it down. I have watched through these books, how Ellery Cramer is persnickety…..always fashionable, has his lists and goes through life neatly. It is not until he meets the tornado of a man Jackson Rivers; who was wounded since birth, felt unfit to even exist, and realizes he has been waiting for this storm all of his life.
I am so touched by one scene in this book Ms Lane when at the final get together to celebrate the Grand Opening of their business; Ellery looks around and remembers when he has never had that many people in his house EVER and Jackson looks around telling Ellery to look around and see all of Ellery’s friends. You smile along with Ellery as Jackson has no idea of the love and respect he gives out to these people to want to come for HIM…. and you shiver with the love you feel that Ellery knows the truth and in knowing that truth he never wants to be alone again and ever be without this man.
Brilliant Amy Lane!
SHE SAID – MELISSA BRUS
REVIEWED BY MELISSA BRUS
MEMBER OF THE PARANORMAL ROMANCE REVIEW TEAM
I truly thought that I loved Ellery Cramer and Jackson Rivers. I thought I loved their chemistry together. And then Amy Lane went and wrote this book. And dang-it-all, I love them so much more now. The blurb should have warned me that these two were gonna through some stuff in this book. Goodness knows, they have had a tough time of just being able to be a couple of guys falling in love without regular visits to the hospital. But when things happen in this one, there even is a moment where advice is sought out from Lucy Satan…..yep….let that sink in. The adventure and escapades are captivating from page one and do not let you take a deep breath until the end. Ellery and Jackson’s growth together as a couple is so genuine and real. They make mistakes. They forget to communicate. But through everything they do, there is a natural and abiding love that just reaches off the page and into the reader’s heart.
One of my favorite aspects of Amy Lane’s writing is the consistency in her characters. Whether they are the main character, a supporting character, or they only have a quick one sentence moment, they are true to themselves- even if they show up in a different story in the future. Speaking of which, I love all the cameos from other books. Seeing Dex and Kane and others from the Johnnies series, and mentions of Outbreak Monkey from the Beneath the Stain series, was great for fans of Amy Lane. As this is truly a series, I highly recommend reading the others before this one. This series tackles some hard subjects. There are gritty hard moments where black and white are not even options let alone clear to the characters or the reader. Yet in the midst of all of that chaos, the love story is still so very strong and clear. And I really do love Ellery and Jackson. Even more now thanks to Ms Lane. What in the world are they gonna do next?
Questions for Amy Lane:
When you write scenes where the characters are making a wrong, or questionable, decision, do you ever just take a minute to yell at them as the author??? Specifically the table scene with Jackson and Ellery.
LOL—no, actually I’m so caught up in why each person is doing the thing he’d do, and what the reaction would be on a human level, that I can’t think to yell at them. But writing that scene was hard—they both hurt each other so badly, with mostly the best of intentions.
I love seeing glimpses of characters from other series in your stories. How do cameos work in your process? Do they happen organically or do you plan them out?
Mostly it comes from the assumption that the world is just very small as a whole. If you go into any specific field – pornography, law, teaching—there are going to be circles where people inevitably bump into each other. What helps is that I’ve got a couple of famous people in my imaginary roster. If you have a band that everybody has heard of, it’s going to bring people together.
Is Jackson ever going to let himself heal physically? I think the next book, yes. He’s going to have to. He’s made so many promises. And he’s got a protégé now, and it’s time for Henry to get a little bit battered.
If Ernie was going to make you a pink box of yumminess, what would be in it? Whipped cream filled maple logs. (I know… so many double entendres. But I love them!)
Will Henry get his HEA? Will Henry be Jacksons work Partner now?
Yes and yes! Shades of Henry will be out next March, and Fish 5 is going to have Henry doing the leg work while Jackson recovers. I have the feeling Jackson is going to have to get back into it toward the end, but like I said, he promised!