Series: -
Volume: 1/1Publisher: SGK Publications
Genre/s: MM Romance, MM Historical, MM Gothic Romance,
MM Paranormal Romance
Length: -
MM Paranormal Romance
Length: -
Read in: English
Review copy format: pdf
Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✮
England, times of Queen Victoria's reign.
Gabriel and Henry, two respectable middle-aged friends who occupy quite a high position in the social hierarchy, lead a well-organized but very lonely life. When they were young, there was a passionate intimacy between them, but now they are forced to keep their deeper feelings in check, as society doesn't look favorably upon homosexual relationships. As if that was not enough, the passing years have an impact not only on their bodies, but also on their well-being and self-esteem, which ultimately shakes their world and turns everything upside down. It turns out that when the midlife crisis coincides with a great mind and lust for youth, it could turn into something wicked and twisted.
Gabriel and Henry, two respectable middle-aged friends who occupy quite a high position in the social hierarchy, lead a well-organized but very lonely life. When they were young, there was a passionate intimacy between them, but now they are forced to keep their deeper feelings in check, as society doesn't look favorably upon homosexual relationships. As if that was not enough, the passing years have an impact not only on their bodies, but also on their well-being and self-esteem, which ultimately shakes their world and turns everything upside down. It turns out that when the midlife crisis coincides with a great mind and lust for youth, it could turn into something wicked and twisted.
We can undoubtedly write a lot of good about "The Man Inside Me" as it is a novel filled with many different advantages. For example, it can delight the reader from the very first sentences. That's why in this review in the first place I would like to focus on the thing that caught my eye right away. Well, it's about a language. Although English is a foreign language for me and I constantly learn it, it doesn't change the fact that the author charmed me at the very beginning of my adventure with this novel. "The Man Inside Me" was written in a marvelous, beautiful language, almost poetic one, which immediately reminded me of the classic literature books, although it's certainly better than many works of classic writers. All descriptions are unbelievably graphic, masterly depicted, as if the author didn't write, but painted with words, and each sentence is characterized by a unique melody and poetry. Thus, reading this book I would compare to admiring art. If I, a Polish girl, have managed to see all of this, how much stronger the language of this novel will appeal to English speakers. It is really worth reaching for this book, even if just for a simple pleasure of reading it.
I have already mentioned that in "The Man Inside Me" I managed to see its connection with the classic literature and this is the subject I want to develop a little more precisely. It turns out that this novel not only refers to the classics in terms of its fantastic style, but also in relation to the characters presented here. I admit that it was a huge, and without doubt positive, surprise for me. I won't lie, when I started reading this novel, I was expecting something like "Portrait of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde and at first I completely didn't link Sean Kerr's characters with those originally created by a completely different, very popular nineteenth-century writer. I discovered it a little later. However, I won't mention his name, nor the title of the work that became the base of "The Man Inside Me", because I would like you to discover it yourself. In the end, the author certainly had some sort of a goal in giving us just some hints for a great part of his novel, instead of immediately revealing its whole secret. So I'm not going to spoil the fun that Sean Kerr has prepared for us all.
Another advantage of the novel is the way in which the author shows the characters. First of all, he clearly highlights those personality traits that make them who they are and which distinguish them from others. On the one hand we see it in the conversations they have, and on the other, in the narrative. It is worth noting that we are not dealing here with only one narrator, but there are several of them, and sometimes the narrative structure also changes, which helps the reader to look at the characters from a completely different angle. The perfect style of presenting the protagonists is also affected by the fact that the author allows us to look deep into their psyche, thoughts, fantasies, bigger and smaller sins. As the characters are very effusive and allow us to get to know them better than anyone else. All this makes this novel really electrifying and addictive, and we quickly feel a close connection between us and the characters.
At the end I would like to write something about the story itself. It must be admitted that Sean Kerr really has known how to direct the plot for the reader to quickly become addicted to his book. On the one hand he used the well-known nineteenth-century novel in a fantastic, twisted, intelligent and clever way. On the other hand giving us the insight into the characters' psyche, he partially reached to its bright, positive side, and above all to the darkest secrets of their souls. What is more, he managed to charge "The Man Inside Me" with such a dose of tension, including the sexual one, that the reader seems to breathe it in from the first to the last page of the novel. In short, the story as a whole looks perfect, for it is absorbing and I am sure, it will stay in our memory for a long time.
In conclusion, "The Man Inside Me" is a real marvel. This is a fantastically written, intriguing, hot and dark novel that surprises you, makes you addicted and exposes the human soul. I strongly recommend this story and assure you that you won't regret reading it. It's a masterpiece!
Headcanon: Henry is a source of crazy ideas, which is why Gabriel often has to cool his enthusiasm.
Fanfiction idea: Henry claims he had a prophetic dream that would change the face of humanity and now wants to play Dr. Frankenstein.
AU idea: Harry Potter! AU, Henry is an ambitious student who experiments with transmutation, elixirs and herbs. When his experiment gets out of control and threatens the entire school, his best friend Gabriel must help him overcome this crisis situation.
Here's some more about:
Blurb
By night I am an Author, and I am very proud to be an author for Extasy Books. It took me some years to get to this point. I spent a very long time trying to get an agent because I thought it was the right thing to do, and after a heck of a lot of refusals, I nearly gave up. I came so close to hitting the delete button on Dead Camp 1 because I thought I did not stand a chance. At the very last moment, I decided to have a go at approaching a few publishers directly, and I sent the manuscript to six. Within two weeks, I had offers of publication from three! Let’s just say that there may have been tears lol. It was my chance, at last, to become a part of a world that I have always loved and admired from a distance, and it is one of the very best things to ever happened to me.
Book Title: The Man Inside Me
Author: Sean Kerr
Cover Artist: SGK Publications
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Release Date: 31st September 2018
It’s a standalone story.
Victorian London is a difficult place to be when you are gay, as Henry and Gabriel know all too well.
When they were young at Oxford University, Henry and Gabriel’s love burned hot and bright, and they thought to change the world together until a devastating tragedy ripped them apart.
Now, as youth fades away, Henry can no longer stand to see his own reflection in the mirror. All he sees is a sad, tired old man whose body has betrayed him. He craves the touch of another, to feel attractive and vital once more but his obsession with finding a cure for insanity has stolen his life away, and now his work has taken on a dark and sinister dimension. How far will he go to recapture the passion of his lost youth?
Gabriel fears that Henry is losing his mind, and when a brutal killer invades their lives, they are thrust into the dark depths of Victorian London in a fight for their very lives.
As their friendship is tested to its limits, Gabriel cannot help but wonder if there is still a chance for love. Can they move beyond the friendship that has spanned over thirty years and find the love that once made their hearts beat as one?
You may never be too old to find love, but will you be able to survive it?
When they were young at Oxford University, Henry and Gabriel’s love burned hot and bright, and they thought to change the world together until a devastating tragedy ripped them apart.
Now, as youth fades away, Henry can no longer stand to see his own reflection in the mirror. All he sees is a sad, tired old man whose body has betrayed him. He craves the touch of another, to feel attractive and vital once more but his obsession with finding a cure for insanity has stolen his life away, and now his work has taken on a dark and sinister dimension. How far will he go to recapture the passion of his lost youth?
Gabriel fears that Henry is losing his mind, and when a brutal killer invades their lives, they are thrust into the dark depths of Victorian London in a fight for their very lives.
As their friendship is tested to its limits, Gabriel cannot help but wonder if there is still a chance for love. Can they move beyond the friendship that has spanned over thirty years and find the love that once made their hearts beat as one?
You may never be too old to find love, but will you be able to survive it?
About the Author
Hi everyone, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Sean Kerr, and I am a 49-year-old gay man living in Cardiff, Wales with my husband of 28 years, Derek. We have two cats, Rita and Harry, and a host of tropical fish.
I worked on building sites for years, and I used the money earned from that to put myself through college, specialist paint techniques etc. I trained in fine art, and then I went out and painted murals on client’s walls, and created Roman Bathrooms and fantasy hand painted bedrooms, all the rage back in the late eighties and nineties. I then became an Interior Designer for a large DIY chain. For the past thirteen years I ran my own Interiors business, and while that is no longer in existence, I am now looking for my next challenge in life!
By night I am an Author, and I am very proud to be an author for Extasy Books. It took me some years to get to this point. I spent a very long time trying to get an agent because I thought it was the right thing to do, and after a heck of a lot of refusals, I nearly gave up. I came so close to hitting the delete button on Dead Camp 1 because I thought I did not stand a chance. At the very last moment, I decided to have a go at approaching a few publishers directly, and I sent the manuscript to six. Within two weeks, I had offers of publication from three! Let’s just say that there may have been tears lol. It was my chance, at last, to become a part of a world that I have always loved and admired from a distance, and it is one of the very best things to ever happened to me.
Dead Camp is the first series I ever wrote, and then there is my short novella called Hush Little Baby. Dead Camp is my take on the Vampire genre, an MM Paranormal Romance series that is set against a backdrop of World War 2. However, the series uses key moments from History to tell one enormous saga, and I have loved every single moment of writing it. There are five books in the Dead Camp series.
Hush is a pure horror story with more than a nod towards such classic programmes as The Twilight Zone and Tales of The Unexpected. The project happened just after I completed Dead Camp 3 and it is a story that I had to get out of my system. It’s definitely a different beast to my Vampire saga, and I hope it will make you go to bed with the lights on lol!
I recently ventured into the world of self-publishing, and as such, I have just released my first independent book series, The Last Child. The Last Child is a horror series that is in 3 parts dealing with the occult. It has a definite Dan Brown vibe in that I love conspiracy stories, so I have used religion and some intriguing legends as the backdrop to this contemporary supernatural thriller that tells the story of a female protagonist trying to protect her young student. Neither of them realises how their lives, and indeed their histories, are intertwined in the most horrific and tragic ways.
My latest book, ‘The Man Inside Me’ is an MM Victorian Gothic Romance, and I think it is the favourite thing I have written so far. It deals with two men in their fifties trying to find love again, a subject that is very close to my heart as I approach that milestone. It is a very important book to me, and while it has some very ‘KERR’ twists and turns, it is, at its heart, a very romantic tale that deals with middle age. I am particularly proud of this book, and it is a very different spin on the MM genre.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to meeting you on social media.
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