First off, I should note that there might be triggers for people who have experienced – or don’t like reading about – sexual assault/sexual violence, homophobia, physical/mental/emotional abuse.

Now that I’ve covered that, I’d like to say that while I liked Anyone but You, it’s more of a solid three-star read than something I’m gushing about left and right. I really felt for Jack, who knows he’s bisexual, but he can’t get over all the hateful things his family has said about anyone LGBT+. He knows it’s wrong, but it’s stuck in his head. And whoo boy – you get to meet Jack’s family in the book and they really are horrific people. At the same time, I really felt bad for Ryan too. He’s a drag queen, but he’s not transgender. He doesn’t want to be Sheila all the time. When the two start developing even deeper feelings, it becomes tough to keep up the “charade” if you will.

Along with all of this, there is a mystery, which I really loved! Someone is out there murdering drag queens – people that are friends of Ryan’s, and he’s also very scared he’ll be next. The book gives you the point of view of the killer a few times, which was chilling, but intriguing nonetheless. I had no idea who the culprit was until the big reveal, and man, I was shocked! Definitely a great mystery.

Anyone but You was a rough read for me, which is too bad because I was really intrigued by the blurb.

I'll admit that murder mysteries and suspense are not my favorite genres, but drag queens, baby... that was hard to resist. I also wanted to take a shot at a new-to-me author, but it didn't pan out the way I was hoping.

Anyone but You has two unlikable MCs with lots of issues, including painful to read internalized homophobia, general asshole-ary, unprofessionalism at work, and so much more. I struggled to find anything I liked in either one of them. In addition, the relationship development was rocky and not very compelling, leading to a romance that I didn't care much about.

I like either one POV or alternating POVs, but more than that and you've lost me. I can't even express how much I loathed the chapters from the killer's POV. Unnecessary and too show-y writing for me.

Add in a little TSTL action by one of the characters and you've lost me. I read this story quickly and felt motivated to finish, and that's the only thing keeping my rating above one star.

Sorry, not my bag.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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Jack Kieza is a man with a secret: he is gay. If that should ever come out, Jack is scared that his life will come crashing down around him. It all becomes complicated when he hooks up with a drag queen who turns out to be his boss.

As a stand-alone ‘thriller’, Anyone But You is not a bad book. However the narrative is uneven. It’s also sometimes rushed. That was a big issue in character development and holding my attention. It did grow on me in the last 1/4, but by then I was not as interested as I could have been.

However I would read the author again.

My first reaction when I finished Anyone but You was that “this one grew on me… slowly.” It’s not that I didn’t like Jack and Ryan, it’s just that I spent a lot of this book wondering how a relationship between them was going to work.

Ryan really had the upper hand in their “hook-up”. After all, he knew who Jack was from the beginning and knew exactly how complicated things could get. He couldn’t help himself though and even when Jack figured out who Ryan/Sheila really was, he couldn’t either. Ryan wanted more though and even his growing feelings for Jack weren’t enough to risk getting hurt in the long run.

Along with the burgeoning romance, there was also a mystery and a touch of suspense that kept the pages turning.

This was my first Brien Michaels read, but I’ll be on the lookout for more.

Anyone But You was a good suspense novel, but I found it a bit lacking in the romance department.


I felt as if parts of it were too rushed, and there was a lot of skipping. I mean, they went from first meet to almost dating between two scenes and I felt like that was a bit too long of a jump.


Overall though, I enjoyed reading the book, especially the thriller aspect of it.

This is a new to me author. I had a hard time fulling getting into it. I had to put it down and come back few times

Being true to yourself can sometimes be deadly. This thoughtful, tension-building romantic suspense grabbed my eye when I read the blurb and kept my attention for nearly a one-sitting read.
Review

Anyone But You is a standalone and explores the world of office romance, drag queens, finding and acknowledging the truth about one’s self, and standing up for belief and happiness in the face of acute danger.

Jack Kieza is successful in the eyes of his family and the disinterested public as he establishes himself at a good legal firm and is quite attractive. But, Jack has a problem. He’s hiding his true self for fear of losing his family and this constant tug o’ war inside him has led to problems in the bedroom. He’s attracted, he’s ready, and its all systems go… until its not and he can finish. He’s determined that he will fulfill a private need before he turns thirty and that is to be with a man. He’s bi and is attracted to women, but its a man he really wants to share his life with. One night at a night club where drag queens perform and one performer in particular show him just the missing piece in his life. If only he didn’t fear losing everything to be with Sheila and didn’t fear losing Sheila because he’s afraid to let her take the wig and make-up off.

Ryan Swift, partner in a law firm and one of the best lawyers in the city by day, is Sheila Saltue by night. He is afraid of losing his steady career if anyone discovers this, but also wishes that the side of him who is Ryan were as brave and brazen as Sheila. Then the man he is secretly crushing on at work wants to be with Sheila. Ryan is Jack’s boss. He can’t, no, not even…. and he does. What is he to do with this new situation of wanting to be with Jack, but wanting Jack to want and acknowledge both sides of him. He wants to give Jack time, but how long will it take if ever, and besides, its downright dangerous to dress in drag as a serial killer is loose and taking out drag queens left and right.

I was attracted to this story because it offered a complex romance with character-driven issues that were challenging on the romance front while it also offered some action and suspense with the serial killer element. The coming out part to obnoxious family is, unfortunately, nothing new, but the added layer of just how much harder it becomes when the gay person is like Ryan and not a ‘man’s man’ so to speak is what made this thought-provoking and, for my part, an educational talking piece.

This is not a long story and trots along at a goodly pace, but it doesn’t shirk on building the world, the characters, and the relationship brick by brick. I liked that it had split narration so both Ryan and Jack’s perspectives gave me more access to what was going on with them as they felt their way through this beginning relationship.

There was also short interludes with the killer. This heightened suspense and curiosity and gave nothing away until the big reveal at the end. Honestly, I felt there were several nasty customers within easy reach of both of them that could have done the deed because their vitriol toward both men made me cringe. While this had a strong suspense element, the romance and personal needs of the lead pair drove the story rather than equal or more toward the other.

The focus at first for Jack is on his sexual frustration of needing a man, but feeling so wracked with guilt that he needed to visualize a woman when he was with a man. His anguish came through and he was not demanding that Ryan like it or lump it which was what kept me rooting for him even as I really wanted him to give Ryan the dignity and respect of being accepted wholly as himself and the joy of a real, open relationship. Now, granted, Ryan wanted to be open as a gay man, but was terrified to let people see further that he was a gay man who liked to dress up and perform as a girly-girl woman. For all their struggles, this pair were sizzling hot and my heart broke with theirs when the inevitable happened and I anguished until all was good.

All in all, I thought this first-time read by the author was abso-fab and I want to read more of his work in future. Those who enjoy m/m romance with a thoughtful focus about gender and a strong suspense element should give this one a go.

My thanks to Riptide Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jack has been scared of following through on his attraction to men due to his extreme upbringing, making him feel sick whenever he thinks about acting on his impulses. He finally decides to throw caution to the wind when he pursues drag queen Sheila Saltue. He realises he can cope if his date looks like a woman, however this means he has to convince Sheila to stay in drag for all their encounters which soon starts to get old. Things get scary when it becomes unsafe for drag artists, a serial killer is on the loose causing Jack to fear for Sheila’s safety. Gripping and moving, proving the adage its your family that muck things up.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an interesting mystery, but I must admit I didn't really feel the way the romance worked. It wasn't that it was too fast or too... anything I can really put a finger on, really. It just didn't flow well to me. The ending was very abrupt and I would have liked a bit more there.

Author Brien Michaels has a created a really interesting addition to the M/M Romance genre with unique and fascinating characters and subplots that work together flawlessly in an intriguing story. I thought it was a clever choice to tell the story with a somewhat startling POV change interjected throughout.

The characters of Jack and Ryan bring together some past history and current challenges in a way that feels fresh and new. Through them, the author takes us a little deeper in to their minds than most authors in this genre. I only wish Michaels had slowed down the ending and given us a little more in the climactic resolve.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Romance, serial killers and drag all in one book!?!? It’s all my favourite things!! I struggled with one aspect of this book, but it was obviously necessary to the plot and obviously meant make the reader feel as I did. Hot and suspenseful, I was left guessing at the murderer’s identity right until the bitter end. Totally great book!

I wasn’t sure about the premise of Anyone but You when I first saw it, but it sounded interesting, and I was eager to check out another “new-to-me” author. Having had a short time to think things over, I can say, without hesitation, that it’s not like anything I’ve read before. And while I wasn’t able to stay rooted in the narrative throughout, I did fall into the story closer to the end.

I’m going to repeat a complaint I’ve made before about trigger warnings. The publisher’s website lists them clearly on the story’s main page and includes the option to view more details with a click—which is very much appreciated. Still, I didn’t see any on the Amazon or GR pages, which could be a problem for some readers who rely on them. I’ve seen warnings added as a preface within the blurbs for other books, I just don’t think it’s done often enough.

Of the two main characters, Ryan was my favorite. In particular, I liked that the author was very specific with regards to the distinction Ryan makes between himself and Sheila. Ryan’s confusion isn’t about who he is, just about how much of a risk he’s willing to take on Jack, which is a completely legitimate question for him to ask. That Ryan’s submissive streak and affinity for really rough sex runs counter to his professional position of authority was another interesting aspect of his personality. Ryan’s shaky self-confidence is also mostly treated as a separate matter, which I felt added more dimension to the character.

Jack, on the other hand, is a mess for most of the story, but, given his (sometimes) violently homophobic family, that’s not a surprise. Even so, I really had hoped he would make a stand for Ryan sooner, at least behind the closed door of the bedroom. But, my biggest difficulty regarding Jack was that I found the repetitious back-and-forth between his determination to be honest about what he wants and needs and the immediate abandonment of the idea difficult to sympathize with after a time.

However, nothing in Anyone but You gave me as much trouble as a particular scene just past the midway point that nearly caused me to stop reading entirely. Not only did it strain the trigger warnings that were listed, but I believe it did so for reasons I still can’t understand. That it was a break from the killer’s pattern wasn’t even an intentional attempt to obfuscate his trail, but was, rather, an afterthought. And without a clearer motive, it seemed gratuitous. It might have been one scene, but it cast a shadow over the rest of the narrative for me.

Overall, I found Anyone but You to be an interesting introduction to this author that left me conflicted. On the one hand, I had some issues with the narrative as mentioned above, as well as a few less-important matters that didn’t really affect my conclusions, in general. On the other, I enjoyed reading about the lives of these two characters as a unit, and Ryan, more specifically. I also feel that the author has a good sense of where to leave breadcrumbs for his audience to follow, and am curious to try another of his stories in the future.

2.5 stars rounded up

I found the main characters to be unlikable. Ryan is too whiny and a doormat. Jack is a major jerk to Ryan, no matter how he tries to justify his actions to himself and the reader. He has way too much internalized homophobia. Both MCs mention killing themselves when things get tough, and that bothered me a lot. I don't think that's exactly what the author meant, but suicide isn't something that should be mentioned nonchalantly. The family members were unlikable as well.

The blurb hooked me, the story disappointed me.

Jack and Ryan have secrets but once they are honest with each they try to make their relationship work. Jack is not out and is afraid of his family's reaction. Ryan is a drag queen is hiding it from his coworkers.
Someone is killing drag queens and this hits close to home. Anyone but You have romance, a lot of angst, very intense moments and I truly enjoyed this book. There's a lot of twists and turns that will keep guessing.

4.5* This may or may not be a debut (I nosed about the author, but couldn't find much) book, and either way, I'm impressed.

It's always a good sign for me if, during reading, I pause to go and nose about the author. Here, I found a not-really-active website and maybe a hint of a previous tale, but I can't find anything published. And the note in the bio about LA Witt/Laufren Gallager had my mind putting two and two together and getting my sums wrong. Will something be revealed idc?

Anyway, as for the tale? It's really well done, and I liked the ways in which the author gave the leads pretty much equal page-time. I ended up liking them equally, but with Jack, because he seemed to be getting his cake and eating it more, it took a certain confrontation for me to fully like him. And feel sorry for him and understand him.

The identity of the killer was a secret until pretty much the end, when I had a eureka! moment and thought it had to be the less obvious of the two red herrings that the author had introduced. I think one came just a teensy weensy bit too late for it to be entirely believable, and my brain just went to the other.

There were emotional losses and gains, emotional growth and freedom in in this tale. I loved Ryan as much as Sheila, and when Jack finally realised what he was doing to them, a little too little too late, it was heartbreaking. But, I think Ryan did the right thing for them both, without putting any pressure, or making any demands, on Jack. A few tales I've read recently have had one lead giving the other an ultimatum or a timeframe to out themselves, and I am so glad that didn't happen here.

I can't wait to read more from this author.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Riptide Publishing, for my reading pleasure.