In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers–and their penchant for making good music when they weren’t getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends–especially Grant Adams–made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that … means staying behind.
Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he’s hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn’t flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that’s not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav’s help–but Trav’s not sure he’s going to survive falling in love with Mackey.
Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn’t do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey’s past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.
2015 Rainbow AwardsThe William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance& Best Gay Book
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If I could give this book ten stars, I would. I’ve read it four times and I know I’ll read it again.
On a basic plot level, the story follows a (literal) band of brothers starting when the leader of the band, McKay, is 14 and first brings his brothers together and following their rise to international stardom.
But it’s so much more than that. The characters are so real, and so unique. Not one character is generic or cookie cutter. The reader becomes so drawn into the hearts and souls of these boys. I cried quite a bit, and laughed, and never wanted the story to end.
All I can say is READ IT. But be prepared to spend the day doing so!
Amy Lane’s character of Mackie is amazing, a rock and roller, sweet and young can make you laugh one minute and cry the next. If you only read one m/m book in your life then read this one. You want regret it.
Excellent! Amazing characters. Wild and moving plot. So many deep feels.
This book is pure angst and pain, but it’s oh so good.
I’m almost certain that Beneath the Stain is one of the best, if not, the best book that I’ve ever read. In true rock and roll fashion, this was a raw, gritty, no holds barred and in-your-face story about a band of nobodys who became somebodys. The lessons that were learned, some unbearably painful, the discovery of what’s over the rainbow and growing up to finally appreciate the meaning of family, friends, true love, and loss is what made this book a treasure. I’m not sure why it took me such a long time to get through this read; maybe subconsciously I didn’t want to see it end or I was trying to grasp every chapter as if I’d never get to read it again. It was a privilege to do so ~ Amy Lane just blew my mind … This book is a MUST READ …
I’m not sure I have ever loved a book this much.
The competition is strong, but… I think this one’s the current front-runner.
There is so much, so many layers, good, every-day, bad, serious, hilarious, heart-breaking, profound, dorky, sweet, loving. Unusual, unique. Real.
I’d love to see this done as an animated series. It’ll never happen, the music rights alone would price it out of the market. But it could be awesome, particularly Mackey composing. It looked really cool in my mind while reading!
Highly recommended. Particularly if you grew up poor in a backward little town.
SIX incredible STARS!
We all have a friend (some of us more than one) that is a proud Potterhead. Obsessed with Harry Potter, has collected all things related to HP, read the series countless times, and can quote HP at the drop of the hat. A friend that will overlook the fact that you’ve never read (and have no intention of ever reading) the series, because “It’s not my genre”, and will not hold it against you. When one such friend insisted that I read a book she said she “might” love more than HP (I have screenshots of our conversation. Just saying), I jumped at the chance to redeem myself.
She didn’t steer me wrong, I absolutely loved Beneath the Stain! She asked me to write my own review and showed me hers. It had one word. No, it wasn’t a mistake, it had only ONE word. I read it and thought how do you top that? What could I say, she’d said it all? Well it turns out she knows me very well and knows I love to give my opinion on everything. So, here goes…..I’ll try to do her review justice. The very first thing I want to rave about is the name of each and every chapter! Be sure to pay close attention to them.
At fourteen, McKay “Mackey” Sanders, is the lead singer of Outbreak Monkey. The group he, his two older brothers, Jefferson and Kellogg, and their friends, Stevie Harris and Grant Adams formed, while in high school. The boys grew up together in the backwoods town of Tyson, California, population ten thousand. The Sanders brothers were raised by their single mother, Heather, a waitress, in a small, two-bedroom apartment. They also had a younger baby brother, Cheever, who was in kindergarten. The boys were well known in the small town, four brothers with four different fathers, their unusual first names were the last name of their biological fathers. The brothers had met Grant and Stevie when their mom had cleaned their houses, while pregnant, and needing extra money. Grant came from money; his dad owned a car dealership, and Stevie’s parents were comfortable.
“Their mom wanted to be a good mom. She wanted to be a good mom. She wasn’t always there, and they spent a lot of time in charge of Cheever and a lot of time worrying about money to keep their shitty little apartment. He knew that some of their Christmas presents came from coat donation and that most of their clothes came from Goodwill, and he knew that their birthdays were usually celebrated with cake a book—one book, new—because that’s all she had. She bought school supplies in gross when they went on sale and had cleaned the church lady’s house so they could have music lessons, and her temper was short when she came home late and her boys were still up.”
Heather had arranged for Mackey and Jeff to take organ classes in church to keep them busy. The boys had decided 4 years ago to play rock band and never quit. Since then, with Mackey working at a music store and getting used and broken instruments, they’d taught themselves how to play bass and drums. He had a way with words, well known for his smart mouth that kept him out of fights. They discovered he had a talent for singing and writing songs, too. He became the unofficial leader of their band.
Mackey also knew, at twelve, that he was attracted to Grant, a secret he kept to himself. So, it came as a big surprise the first time Grant kissed him, two years later. Especially since Grant had a girlfriend, Samantha, which he’d been dating for years.
The boys make their grand debut as Outbreak Monkey at Kell and Grant’s senior prom, in front of two hundred and fifty people.
“Grant couldn’t stop bragging about you, he thinks you’re a genius. He keeps saying about how you’ll put our little town on the map, and I’m like ‘Mackey? If he’s smart, he’ll just forget we were ever here’”
When the band gets their big break, a few years later, instead of celebrating it’ll be a time of heartbreak. I don’t want to give too much away, just know that this is an epic tale of love, heartache, loss and redemption. I think just about everyone knows someone who’s gone through some kind of problem with addiction and known the how hard it is to break the habit, either through rehab or, cold turkey. It’s painful and not always successful. But if they do, it helps to have someone waiting for you.
This book has everything we readers love in a romance novel, but extra special due to the twist. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to mention that it’s an M/M love story, if you’ve never experienced one; this is the one to read! I wanted to wrap my arms around Mackey and never let him go. The real hero is Trav Ford, I absolutely LOVE him! There were moments I cried tears of real sorrow (I still get teary-eyed thinking about it!) and had sighs of joy! I wish I could hand everyone I know a copy and say “Here! Read this, now!”
I’m seriously rethinking my resistance of never reading a HP book. Maybe. Someday! OK, maybe I’ll finally watch the movies. Well, a movie. Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering what my friend’s review said, it was just…… “WOW”.
I second that!