A Beneath the Stain NovelEverybody thinks Mackey Sanders’s Outbreak Monkey is the last coming of Rock ’n’ Roll Jesus, but Cheever Sanders can’t wait to make a name for himself where nobody expects him to fill his famous brothers’ shoes. He’s tired of living in their shadow.Blake Manning has been one of Outbreak Monkey’s lead guitarists for ten years. He got this gig on luck and love, not talent. … gig on luck and love, not talent. So hearing that Cheever is blowing through Outbreak Monkey’s hard-earned money in an epic stretch of partying pisses him off.
Blake shows up at Cheever’s nonstop orgy to enforce some rules, but instead of a jaded punk, he finds a lost boy as talented at painting as Mackey is at song-making, and terrified to let anybody see the real him. Childhood abuse and a suicide attempt left Cheever on the edge of survival—a place Blake knows all too well.
Both men have to make peace with being second banana in the public eye. Can they find the magic of coming absolute first with each other?
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This was a long-awaited book for me. At the end of Beneath the Stain, I really became attached to Blake. When I read that he and Cheever would be involved I was seriously worried. I didn’t know that I could ever even LIKE Cheever based on his past behavior. However, the evolution of Cheever as a character was exciting, heartbreaking, and joyful in this book. I hope to eventually hear more from these guys!
This is the second book in the Beneath the Stain series. It is a MM story that deals with some very deep subjects. The characters are complicated and wonderful. The pace is magnificent, it was hard to put down. This story has a happy ending, but there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get there. A wonderfully emotional read. Though it is the second in the series, I feel it can be read as a standalone book, but the first book is also excellent so you probably should read them both.
Beneath the Stain, by Amy Lane is one of my all-time favorite MM books. It made me laugh, it made me cry (a lot) and it made me swoon. It also had the perfect amount of angst for me. So it was in one word wonderful. Finding out that Cheever was getting his own book….was even more wonderful, because it meant I was getting a chance at revisiting all my favorite characters.
Remember that spoiled little shit in Beneath the Stain ?? Well, he is all grown up now and he isn’t as spoiled as everyone thinks he is. Sure he has a whole bunch of stuff his brothers never had, but that doesn’t mean he is happy. He might not have financial problems but he is very much alone.
Growing up without all his brothers around to protect him, like they used to, isn’t easy. And having a famous brother who came out as being gay isn’t easy either….it gives people certain ideas…
Cheever never thought being gay was a problem…I mean he grew up around Grant and Mackey, and he has seen more things than they know. It isn’t until other people make problems, that Cheever realizes that being gay might not be okay…and if that is the case…does that mean that there is something wrong with him…
But with Mackey coming out first and things going to shit for him at school… He keeps falling deeper and deeper into the rabbit-hole. So Cheever just locks everything inside… where it can’t affect anyone else.
And when he gets the chance to leave his home town…he takes it in a flash.
Maybe he can be an awesome artist…make something of himself. Something that has nothing to do with any of his brothers…Something just him.
For nine long years, Cheever has kept his distance from his brothers. But when the future he was hoping for falls to pieces, so does he…in a spectacular and tragic way. Thankfully Blake is right there to pick up all his pieces and glue them back together again.
But Blake had plenty of issues of his own…so the question is. How will two such screwed up people make this work? The answer, however, is quite simple… LOVE people !!!
I absolutely loved Cheever’s story, though I have to say that it had a ton of similarities with Beneath The Stain. Not that I minded since it is one of my favorites.
ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review
Yes, thank you, FINALLY Cheever’s story. I read Beneath the Stain as a serial and loved it, Paint it Black is awesome, don’t miss out.
So first off, I would not call this a standalone. I highly suggest you read Beneath The Stain First, since you meet all the characters there, some of the story overlaps a little and the other characters play such a big part. there is plenty of backstory, but I do not think it is enough to give you the full gist of the book. That is my opinion.
This is Cheever, Mackey, Kell, and Jefferson’s little spoiled brother’s story and more of Blake.
Cheever has lived in his famous bothers’ shadows most of his life. they gave him everything they didn’t have growing up, except the one thing he craved…being with them. Now 21, broken alone in art school he faces a downward spiral killing himself with drugs and sex. With Mackey in the hospital after a bad accident, Blake is sent in to find Cheever and help him. Both men lean on each other then give into an attraction but will this break Blake?
All I can say is OMG!!! This book was fantastic. I read it with tears in my eyes or fanning myself most of the time. Amy Lane creates the best characters and can tell such a believable story you feel right there in it and it has so much feels, the emotion sweeps over you like a tsunami. And heat? Oh Yeah, this book is full of that too!
So if you like lots of emotion, dealing with addiction, Age gap, rock stars, family and hot man-sex this is for you! Highly recommended!