Kingsley and I: Together by Gary Martine

[reviews_and_ramblings]

“Kingsley and I Together”, like its predecessor, is not just another m/m erotic romance. “Kingsley and I” was a first point of view so centred around the main voice that the reader had very few change to realize that there was a world outside. The reader was so sucked inside "I"'s body that sometime I felt like captive of him, I was feeling what he was feeling in good and bad: "I" was feeling like his body betrayed him, his body craved Kingsley almost without "I"'s permission, and so was me, that was feeling "I"'s uneasiness. The fact that "I" remains without name is also a right choice since we don't think to ourselves with a name, and since reading the book we are "I", it's not necessary to have a name.

For almost all the first book, Kingsley and I remain inside their personal world, without interaction with the outside world, and so we have very few hint of their "public" life; but at the end of the book, they spent a weekend in a B&B along the coast, and they "tested" their relationship... now they need to decide if it's time to commit or to end things. Obviously since there is a second book, and it's called "Together", the decision is to give a chance to their relationship.

From the first book, the reader could have the idea that "I" was entirely dominated by Kingsley, he changed his life according to Kingsley's desires and needs, he becomes the "recipient" (more than the receptive partner) of Kingsley's love and lovemaking, and he considers himself the "female" of their relationship.

Kingsley is gay, yes, but his partner, "I," still considers himself not "gay," and although he is willing to accept the idea of bisexually, truth be told he thinks of himself more like a straight man who happens to love another man...but only Kingsley. "I" has not desire for other men than him. Recalling his past relationship with women, "I" remembers that he was always shy and that he never ignited the relationships or the sexual encounters, even if he appreciated the women and was flattered from their appreciation... and here we start to understand better "I". He considers himself shy, but in front of a mirror, he is the epitome of an hedonist, he likes his body, he likes to take care of his body, and he loves offering his beautiful body to Kingsley... this is not the behaviour of a shy person! We also have another detail on "I" that allow the reader to know him better: he is a professional dancer, and so it's obvious that he likes his body and he loves to groom himself, his body is at the same time his business card and his work tool. So, is "I" really shy or an hedonist in disguise?

And what about Kingsley? What we at first believe was Kinsley's overwhelming persona, that almost crushed "I"'s fragile ego, is not instead a form of worship? Is he, as he at first seems, the master of their relationship or is he actually more like the priest to "I," the God of Love? When "I" so carefully prepares his body for the upcoming sex with his lover, he is so meticulous that all the scene is almost clinical, "I" has total power on his body, but then, when Kingsley arrives, he seems to suddenly loosing that control, he is swept away by Kingsley's forceful behaviour. But at the same time also Kingsley seems to be unable to control himself: Kingsley, "the King," and "I" together are swept up in a greater force that drives them both relentlessly on.

Reading this second book I really changed my idea of “I”, I no more see him like an unsecure man who needs the steady figure of Kingsley beside him to be happy; “I" is a Bermuda Triangle, safe and innocent alone, but deadly when near, and Kingsley and the reader with him, must struggle not to drown in the deep sea that is "I". The more I read, the more I realized that, whether enthralling or dangerous, one cannot remain indifferent to the power of "I" and their growing relationship. I look forward expectantly to the next in the series.

http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?book=KINGS002

Buy Here

Amazon: Kingsley & I: Together

Amazon Kindle: Kingsley & I Together

Series:
1) Kingsley & I: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/295791.html
2) Kingsley & I: Together

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Comments

[tc-blue.livejournal.com]

I've never read either of these books, though it's entirely possible that I will, in future, but...

I think what puzzles me is that "I" doesn't have a name. For two books. I mean, even written in first person, it seems like someone would have said his name, thus sharing it. A friend, his lover, whatever. I mean, does everyone say "Hey, you" when they're talking to him? Or are the stories that short on dialogue?

Sorry. Not saying it's a sticking point, but it seems sort of odd to me. LOL

~Tis

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes actually is quite strange... there are scene in which they are in company but in a way or the other they always manage to not "call" him. And most of the book you are inside "I" mind. I have to re-read the book from that perspective to understand how the author manages it. Anyway it's not the first time, also in Vintage by Steve Berman, the main character has not a name. Elisa