Crucify my Love: Gay Book Reviews: [95-ENG] Review: Complementary Colors

Series: -

Volume: 1/1
Publisher: Self-Published

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance

Length: -

Pages: 362

Read in: English
Review copy format: epub

Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✰

In the eyes of an average person, Paris seems to be a slightly eccentric but talented artist who has everything he wants and can have anyone he wants. In reality, however, he is a lost young man who hides so many secrets that the demons of the past torment him constantly and sometimes don't let him live normally. His life is controlled by his overbearing, violent sister, who is not only his agent, but also a tormentor, a prison guard, a person who determines his life.
Everything slowly begins to change when Paris meets Roy Callahan. A man who doesn't matter to the world, but who gradually begins to be more and more important to Paris. At the same time, the artist's difficulty with silencing the voices from the past is increasing and makes him go crazy as he hears them in his mind.

There's no doubt that "Complementary Colors" is not a novel you read in one sitting and then go straight to something else. No, this story stays with the reader for a long time, and this is because it's not only very serious, but above all it's deep, and in a sense heavy. On the one hand, it affects the reader's emotions, on the other hand, it touches their psyche. It may sound strange, but while reading this novel, we really have the impression that Adrienne Wilder reaches deep into our being and starts to poke the protective barrier of our mind. What I want to say is not that we are going crazy. As you know, some stories move us deeply in the emotional sense, and it's similar with "Complementary Colors", but it affects us in, let's say, the psychological sense. I think that's how we can explain the influence the novel has on the reader. This is probably due to the fact that our insight into Paris's life and mind, which in fact appears to be like some kind of a separate organism, is really deep, and what is happening there is like a true Wonderland.

The secrets play a huge role in "Complementary Colors". They are important both for the story presented here and for the plot of the novel itself. They make the readers so hooked that they "devour" this book with bated breath and want to put together all the hints they constantly receive while reading as soon as possible. What is more, the secrets make Paris their prisoner, they make him a puppet, they strangle him and drive him crazy, they are the invisible wall between him and Roy. In fact, in this novel, the secrets seem to play the role of deus ex machina. Their role is so significant that they seem to be like a creeper that encircles all the characters and all the topics we can find in the novel. I admit that I really like it. Even more so because reading this story I was constantly trying to solve the mystery of this book, as if I were reading a crime novel.

To be honest, the thing that probably moved me the most and made reading "Complementary Colors" harder than I thought, was a very graphic and rich in detail representation of a mentally weak and, in a way, broken man. As I usually feel all of the novels I read with my whole being, "watching" Paris was like a real torture for a while. At this point, I would like to stress that it's not a bad thing, on the contrary. Because his weakness was like rubbing salt into the wound, I experienced the story presented in "Complementary Colors" deeper and stronger. It is undoubtedly worth noting that Paris is a character who is changing, who starts to rebel, starts to fight. What initially seems to be the destructive behavior transforms into an attempt to free oneself from the oppressor's shackles. It really makes a great impression on the readers, because in the beginning Paris is weak and broken, so every change that takes place in him is perfectly visible and quite significant. In short, the creation of this character is really, really good.

Another advantage of Adrienne Wilder's novel is that it presents lovers from two different worlds. I admit that we can find a lot of books that use a similar motif, but in "Complementary Colors" the thing that makes this thread unique is the fact that in some ways it differs from the well known pattern. First of all, Roy may be poor, but he is also fully aware that he has something to offer that money will not buy, which he emphasizes at some point. He knows the value of his feelings and is not afraid to initiate a relationship with the richer man. Another thing is Paris and his rather ignorant approach to wealth. Well, it's not like money doesn't matter to him. It's handy, and he's used to it, just like we are used to having hot water in the tap. Thus, although the characters belong to the two worlds, sometimes we simply forget about it, because they also don't focus on it. Sure, the difference in social and financial status is uncomfortable, but it's not the end of the world. And that's what I like so much in this novel.

In conclusion, "Complementary Colors" is a really great and memorable novel, which draws us in and keeps us hooked to such an extent that every break we take is a torment. The story written by Adrienne Wilder engages us completely in the action, while the characters arouse in us thousand different feelings, so some of them we worship, while others we hate. In short, "Complementary Colors" is a remarkable novel which deserves our attention.

Headcanon: Roy manages to fatten Paris enough to notices small heaps of fat.

Fanfiction idea: Roy has the flu, so Paris decides to take care of him. However, after two days, the artist has enough of sexual abstinence, and his caring looks more like bullying.

AU idea: Paris has an ability to see ghosts, unfortunately his family doesn't believe him and commits him in a psychiatric hospital. One of the nurses is Roy, who is followed by a ghost of his dead wife. Paris decides to prove him that he is not crazy to have him on his side.

______________________________________

Here's some more about:

Book Title: Complementary Colors

Author: Adrienne Wilder

Cover Artist: Adrienne Wilder

Trope/s: From different worlds

Themes: mental illness, PTSD, HEA

Heat Rating: 5 flames

It is a standalone story.

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Blurb

My sister Julia manipulated my life into a prison to keep me silent about our dirty family secret. Her greed made me a slave and circumstance left me with no way to escape.
Trapped, the only way I could silence the nightmares driving me to insanity was to wrap them in color, hold them with shadow, and stitch them to negative space with line.
But no matter how bright the pigments, no one could see my confession.
Except for Roy Callahan.
I thought he was just another nameless one-night stand in a long line of many.
But I was wrong. Roy could see past the façade of my life and through the veil color over the canvas. He could see what the world couldn’t.
And with him I’d find the courage to tell the truth about the boy.

The boy who kissed me.
The boy who loved me.
The boy whose name I couldn’t remember.

Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Excerpt

Chapter One

I knew he didn’t belong the moment I saw him.
He wasn’t cut by money or shaped by political interests, and the rental he wore was a bad joke in the ocean of Versace suits and Chanel ball gowns, fitting him tight across the shoulders and short in the arms. A belt held up his pants, and the waves of extra fabric did nothing to accentuate the ass I knew was just as perfect as the rest of him.
I drank my champagne while the stranger picked his way through the clumps of people gathered in front of the hideous paintings I had on display.
“Paris, darling, Mr. Darcy was asking you about one of your works.” Julia put her hand on my arm. I ignored my sister and Mr. Darcy. Whatever it was he wanted to say to me, I’d heard it before; Mind-blowing, so unique, see the passion, the fire, and my favorite, it speaks to me.
Bullshit.
Only one person could see the dirty secret hidden within the lines, the color, the violence.
Me.
I handed Julia my empty glass.
She tightened her grip on my arm. “These people came a long way to meet you.”
They always came a long way to meet me. Even if it was a block away.
“Bathroom,” I said. Julia frowned. I think she knew I was lying but didn’t want to call me out on it in front of her friends. I peeled away her fingers. “If you don’t mind, of course.” I slipped into the crowd.
Julia would give Mr. Darcy and his flavor-of-the-year wife some excuse on my behalf. Then she’d slay them with her silver tongue, and by the end of the night, they’d write a check for some ungodly amount and buy a piece of hell I’d spewed out into the world.
They’d hang it in their country home or put it in their yacht. They’d smile and laugh and remain deaf to the confession screaming to be told.
Heat from the track lighting pressed down on my shoulders. Greetings cast out by guests floated in shades of black and gray.
I followed the stranger’s trail of color all the way to the back of the gallery. He disappeared around a partition and through a door. I checked to see if anyone was watching before I went in.
Cold fluorescents replaced track lighting, and the hum of the ventilation system snuffed out a burst of laughter. There were only two doors in the maintenance hall, besides the one that shut behind me.
A deep mechanical sound chugged from behind the one left open. I slipped inside and turned the knob so I could control the catch.
The man crouched beside an opening in one of the large metal units. Even on his knees, I could tell he was about my height, but his shoulders were wide, and his limbs were thick.
I hoped that trait didn’t stop at his legs and arms.
After a few minutes, he seemed satisfied and replaced the panel. When he stood, I had a brief glimpse of the curve of his ass when his slacks tightened.
He turned and dropped the tools he held. His hip hit the metal hull of the unit, and it boomed.
“Jesus Christ. You scared the shit out of me.”
A five o’clock shadow dusted his jaw, hardening his features enough to make him look dangerous. And there was already no doubt left in my mind that he could kill me if he wanted to.
He wiped his hands with a rag from his pocket. Scars crossed the knuckles of his callused fingers. The thought of his rough grip on my body left me hard.
“I replaced the coil.” The sound of his voice wrapped me in red and tied me up with gold. “That should relieve some of the strain on the unit. It’s pretty old, though.” He put his tools into a toolbox. “You might want to consider replacing it.”
I engaged the lock on the door.
He followed me with his eyes as I made a half circle around him. His physical appearance didn’t make him alluring. It was how he carried himself. Like a man who was one with the world and not above it. I grazed a look up and down his body.
“I’ll send you a bill.” He reached for his toolbox.
I got in the way, trapping him against the air-conditioning unit.
“Is there something else you ne—” He cleared his throat. “Need?”
“Are you afraid of me?”
He pulled himself to his full height. “Do I have a reason to be?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On how much the idea of fucking me appeals to you.”

About the Author

I am a writer of contemporary and speculative fiction and artist of all things monster. I live to create new worlds and the people in them. Several of my books have been best sellers both nationally and internationally. I have also been a finalist in the LAMDA awards, the "Oscars" of gay literary works.

I do my best to write original stories with powerful characters and emotion as well as a fast-paced plot. My goal isn't just to deliver a good story but to take the reader into the story and let them experience the characters as if they are right there with them.

While almost all my books have a romantic element, I will be the first to admit, they are not traditional romance. In fact, I'd like to think there is nothing traditional about them. And the stories I paint are done so way outside the lines of traditional genres.

One of my favorite things to do as a writer is push the boundaries of what makes a story and to deliver the unexpected and maybe even change the perspective of the reader.

My characters are more often than not, beautifully flawed, not always the good guy, and make mistakes. Their stories will take dark turns which, in the end, make the light at the end of the tunnel all the brighter.

If you're looking for something different, exciting, and unique, my books are for you.

Check out my website for updates and how to contact me. I love hearing from fans.

Author Links

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