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Ben Rider and Nikolas Mikkelsen learn that danger comes in all shapes and sizes and often in places you least expect it. Nikolas’ dark past calls to him, inexorably dragging him back into its seductive embrace.
While he goes on an errand of mercy to Russia, Ben travels to Denmark to learn Nikolas’s language. Convinced Russia’s vastness will swallow Nikolas, Ben doesn’t see the enemy much closer to home. Thinking he has lost Nikolas, Ben then makes a terrible decision that threatens to destroy everything they have together.
Focused on this very personal horror, bound by a new level of commitment, they have no idea that a greater threat is coming. And when it arrives, it changes everything – even the definition of commitment.
Rating: Narration – A; Content – B
When I reviewed Love is a Stranger, book one in John Wiltshire’s More Heat Than the Sun series, I said that I suspected I was in for a run of enjoyable hokum over the course of the set of (so far) eight-books – fast-paced and frequently bonkers plotlines that require a large suspension of disbelief and an epic love story featuring two complex, damaged individuals. Well, now I’ve listened to book two, Conscious Decisions of the Heart, I can say with certainty that’s definitely the case. The plot moves swiftly and is twistier than a twisty game of Twister, the connection between Ben and Nik is growing deeper, they still have lots and lots of sex (although Nik, despite his immense fortune, never seems to buy any lube), and while they aren’t always nice, they’re nonetheless completely irresistible. But there are a few things in this one that made me more than a bit uncomfortable; there are a couple of mysoginistic rants that are not cool and an instance of non-con which is kinda shocking. The pacing around the middle flags a bit, the plot meanders, and Ben and Nik are emotionally exhausting, but despite all that, I’m completely addicted.
This is a series which should be listened to in order, so there are likely to be spoilers for the previous book in this review.
As is the case in the other instalments in the series, Conscious Decisions of the Heart is a book of two halves. Or in this case, three parts. The first sees Nik (and despite the discovery of his true name and identity in Love is a Stranger, he’s mostly still referred to as Nik throughout the series) returning to Russia in response to a request from someone from his past. Ben isn’t completely happy about it, but he does sort of understand Nik’s reasons. After his lover’s departure, Ben, at something of a loose end, decides to travel to Denmark (accompanied by their dog, Radulf), to the town Nik grew up in, to immerse himself in the culture and learn the language, as a surprise for Nik. Ben settles in well and ends up staying with Ingrid Jacobsen, who turns out to have been Nik’s primary school teacher. Ben makes friends among the locals, but he misses Nik dreadfully, although being in Aeroe helps him feel a little closer to him.
Nik and Ben don’t see each other again for several months – although Nik is never very far from Ben’s mind so it doesn’t really feel like a months-long separation – and their winter reunion is wonderfully unexpected, joyous and predictably lube-free! But something has undeniably shifted between them; Nik is making a determined effort to share more of himself with Ben, both of them have acknowledged what they mean to each other (the “L” word has come into play) and they’re inching closer to behaving like a couple in public – even though neither of them thinks of himself as gay (!!) There’s never any doubt that these two are completely head-over-heels for each other, or that they have come to know each other incredibly well and know exactly which buttons to push; they tease and snark and prod and cajole, winding each other up in (mostly) harmless ways that are both funny and revealing. But Nik and Ben are trouble magnets, and their blissful love-fest is brought to an abrupt end when, after a vicious (verbally and physically) argument, Nik suddenly disappears.
To reveal more about this plotline would be spoilery; suffice to say that it’s difficult not to get caught up in the craziness that is Nik and Ben’s life and there’s plenty of drama (and violence) before our heroes are reunited once more.
Then we segue into a meandering middle section in which Ben and Nik return to London for a while, Ben discovers some interesting information about his past and Nik seems to be struggling to come to terms with what happened in Denmark (the resulting health issues he appears to be experiencing are suddenly swept under the carpet); then he decides that what they really need is a luxury holiday somewhere with “a beach, a lagoon, a hut over the lagoon and guaranteed sun.” But as this is Ben and Nik we’re dealing with, it will surely come as no surprise when I say that the luxury holiday doesn’t go according to plan.
Unlike the first book, which was (of necessity) related entirely from Ben’s PoV, the author includes Nik’s this time around, exposing some of his deeply buried insecurities and making it easier to understand just how deep his feelings for Ben go. Nik’s horrific past continues to make its presence felt, especially in the first part of the book, but Ben’s unwavering faith in him is helping him to come to terms with it and to believe that he really does deserve the love and happiness they’re finding together. It’s not easy for him to accept, but it’s clear that he very much wants to, and in this book we see him making progress on that; it’s baby steps but they’re steps in the right direction. As for Ben, well, he continues to be the light to Nik’s dark most of the time – although they both have their moments – and I really like his good-humour, his sense of the ridiculous and his ability to burst Nik’s bubble when he gets too far into his own head. There’s a lot of character and relationship growth going on here, although sometimes it’s hard to spot in amongst all the insanity of their lives; it’s only when you take a step back that you can see how far they’ve come from where they started in Love is a Stranger.
Gary Furlong once again delivers an absolutely stupendous performance – I honestly can’t think of a single thing about it that doesn’t work. He’s a superb vocal actor with the ability to convey even the smallest of emotional nuances to the listener, and his comic timing is excellent, enabling him to bring out the humour in the story (and there’s plenty of it, despite the sometimes dark turns it takes), from Ben’s cheeky snark to Nik’s dry wit. As in the first book, his portrayal of both leads is outstanding; Nik and Ben are brought to life – complete with all their complexities and vulnerabilities – with incredible skill, and their deep emotional connection comes across vividly. There’s a fairly large secondary cast here which includes some recurring characters, all of whom are portrayed consistently from book to book, but my favourite by far has to be Ben’s old army mate, Squeezy, who cracked me up every time he opened his mouth!
While the plot is OTT and the storyline sometimes veers into melodrama, Ben and Nik are such compelling characters and their epic romance is so, well, epic that once I started listening, it was impossible to stop! The story is a bit uneven; I liked the first half more than the second, so my grade is a compromise, but Gary Furlong’s amazing performance is more than worth the price of admission and earns Conscious Decisions of the Heart a definite recommendation.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals.
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