Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Review of Heaven by Jet Mykles for the DIK Book Reading Challenge


Jet Mykles
Heaven (Heaven Sent, #1)

Loose Id - May 30, 2006 - 123 pages - ISBN 9781596322677


Genre & Keywords
: Gay, Contemporary, Rock stars, Yaoi-inspired, GFY (Gay for you)

Rating: êêêê
Heat level:
¹¹¹


The Back Blurb:

The Weiss Strande Hotel is in trouble. Business just isn't what it used to be when Tyler’s father ran the family-owned hotel. On top of business being down, dad's sick with cancer and bills have skyrocketed.
Desperate to save his family interest, Tyler and his best friend sink their hopes and what's left of their money into a new venture: a nightclub at the hotel. It's imperative that the White Room is a success, or else the hotel will go under. Lady Luck seems to be with them, however, because they manage to sign the mega-popular rock group Heaven Sent to play the grand opening.
Already a huge fan of the group, Tyler couldn't be more excited to welcome them to his hotel. He's not at all prepared for the bomb of lust that hits him when he's finally face-to-face with the painfully gorgeous lead singer, Johnnie Heaven. No, it couldn't be lust. Yes, Johnnie's probably the most beautiful person he's ever seen, but Tyler is straight. It must be a misguided form of hero worship that he's feeling.
Tyler finds out that he and Johnnie share an obsession: video games. When Johnnie invites Tyler to his room to play, Tyler jumps at the chance. Who wouldn't snap up the opportunity to spend time with their idol? He and Johnnie have a great time with the games, but Tyler soon discovers that Johnnie's got more in mind. The rock star's aims to introduce Tyler to a whole new level of game play.

I’ve read this book for the DIK Book Reading Challenge.


This is the very enjoyable first book in the Heaven Sent series which is about a rock band. In this first installment we meet the lead singer of the group, Johnnie Heaven. He and his group are booked to play at the opening of this new nightclub at the Weiss Strande Hotel. Tyler’s family owns the hotel and he’s running it since his father is sick with cancer. The nightclub is a new venture that should keep the hotel in business and it’s huge that they managed to book Heaven Sent.
The opening of the club is not only a success, his acquaintance with Johnnie is pretty big too, because Tyler, who always thought he was straight, feels attracted to the very sensual and handsome Johnnie. The singer feels the same towards Tyler and tries to seduce him. Tyler is reluctant and hesitant but Johnnie is very persuasive. Therefore the sex scenes bordered on non-consensual. And although I haven’t actually read yaoi yet, but I did read about it here, I did get a feeling that Heaven is somehow yaoi inspired, with a seme (attacker) and uke (receiver) as the two participants in the relationship. The seme is in yaoi the stronger one and always on top, which makes Johnnie here the seme and Tyler the uke. It’s probably this casting that made their encounters a little bit more black and white than in the usual m/m romance.

Still, Johnnie had his insecurities. Being the famous rock star, he has to deal with the fact that he never knows if someone likes him for him or only for his fame. He has much fun in the bed room with a lot of people but almost never for more than one night. Tyler is different, his reluctance is new for Johnnie, which makes him want Tyler the more so as it assures him that Tyler is not in for the fame aspect. I liked this concept. It gave Johnnie somewhat more depth and made his eventual love for Tyler understandable.
Aside from that Heaven is a lovely Gay For You themed story. Before he met Johnnie, Tyler never felt attracted to guys. He even was engaged with a woman until a short while ago. And of course, after he has been with Johnnie, he’s not interested in other men either: just in his rock star. I gotta admit that I’ve developed a soft spot for Tyler. I felt for him and his doubts about his feelings and it was funny how he initially explained away his behavior when he went for the sex with Johnnie. Those sex scenes were pretty hot too, by the way.

I was not only totally involved with these likeable main characters and their gradually developing romance, I also appreciated the glimpse I got from the secondary characters. Heaven does have a nice cast with quite a lot of characters, but although they played a part in the story, the focus was on Johnnie and Tyler throughout the book. That’s how I like my romances best. The other band members had my interest though, since they all get their own book in this series. I look forward to the other books and the extra shorts regarding this rock band. Although I’m not sure if I’ll read the last book (Revelations) which tells Gretchen’s story, the band’s manager, and is a m/m/f ménage as opposed to the other stories that are all m/m romances.

The series contains:
#1 – Heaven (Johnnie & Tyler)
#1.5 – Pretty Red Ribbon (Johnnie & Tyler)
#2 – Purgatory (Lucas & Reese)
#2.5 – Sexy Spring Surprise (Lucas & Reese)
#3 – Hell (Brent & Hell)
#3.5 – Feisty Little Firecracker (Brent & Hell)
#4 – Faith (Darien & Chris)
#4.5 – Sly Spectral Trick (Darien & Chris)
#5 – Genesis (all 4 gay couples from the first 4 books)
#6 Revelations (Gretchen, Owen, Archer – f/m/m)

22 comments:

  1. Oh my, this series has more releases then I thought. I've got two, two in one books in this series which contains the first four stories. I read the first two (do I still make sense with all those numbers LOL) and loved the setting, which was very new to me and the characters, you gotta love rock stars! You remind me I need to crack the spine of HELL and FAITH soon :)

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  2. I have this earmarked as a series to read..

    I am not so much a fan of musical plot books - but it does sound good and it does come highly recommended.

    E.H>

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  3. The first and second books in this series are my favs. The gay for you theme never gets old for me.

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  4. Huh, I didn't realize there was a 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5. I'll have to look for those. I did enjoy the series and it's not realistic, everyone is impossibly beautiful, talented and rich, but that's part of the fun. I think I liked #2 best.

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  5. I started to read Yaoi after reading this series, but now that you mention it... there are a few similarities. :D

    Glad you are enjoying the series. If anyone is interested, here is a link to my reviews.

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  6. @Leontine: I've got the first three novels as an ebook and can't wait to start the second book. If you love rock stars, you definitely have to try S.J. Frost's Conquest and No Fear about Jesse and Evan! :)

    @EH: The music bits were not a big part of this book. I don't know about the rest of the series though. I think you'll enjoy this one, hon!

    @KC: I'm a big fan of the GFY theme as well! I look forward to the next book.

    @Tam: Glad I could help you to that information ;) I actually found out about it at Miranda's blog a while back (see her link in her comment). You're right, the unrealistic bit is fun!

    @Miranda: I'm glad you see the similarities with yaoi too. :)
    Your reviews are fun to read, very to the point! If I remember correct they piqued my interest for this series in the first place! :D

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  7. I skipped Revelations, and I've not regretted doing so. :)

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  8. I really enjoyed this one but have liked subsequent books in the series more. I haven't gotten to Gretchen's story either but maybe some day. :)

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  9. I didn't get Revelations either Chris. I never cared about Gretchen enough anyway, she was just "there".

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  10. Plus, you know, girl cooties. ;)

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  11. @Chris: Lol! Okay, the girl cooties are not that big a problem for me, but I'm afraid for the ménage not working for me. I'll let it depend on the other books if I'm gonna read it.

    @Tracy: I'm kinda curious about Lucas and Reese's story :) Gretchen not so much (yet) ;)

    @Tam: I know, it was like that in this first book. Gretchen didn't catch my attention at all. And when it stays that way in the other books...
    But maybe the two guys she gets involved with are too hard to resist though ;) We'll see, I have a lot of other books in the series to read first.

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  12. I am so behind on my reading, you all are reading so much more cool stuff than I do :)

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  13. @Blodeuedd: You know, I'm reading more since I don't want to review every book anymore. It helps... Of course now I'm behind on the reviews I do want to write, but alas. :D

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  14. The Heaven series is definitely yaoi inspired. The author is well know for this and combining it with the GFY theme. :)

    Great review, Janna!

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  15. I really enjoyed this series. I've read them all except for the last two. I've had Genesis in my TBR for a while now but the last one I'm skipping. Not into the 'girl cooties' as Chris said. :)

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  16. @Kris: Thanks, Kris! :) I love the GFY theme.

    @Lily: *g* I know you're not into the 'girl cooties' either, lol! Genesis seems to be a nice looking back on all the couples though.

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  17. I've not started this series. :( For lack of time, not for lack of wanting though. xoxo

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  18. I love the Heaven Sent series. I've read the first 3 I think, maybe 4. Could be my fav. gfy series. Maybe.

    Have a great weekend :)

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  19. I just bought the first one in the FW sale...and it sounds like I made a good decision :) Thank you!

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  20. @FV: I know how it is... I have so many series still unread on my ereader I could cry ;)

    @Amora: LOL, maybe, huh? I can see how it'll become one of my favorite series too. Maybe. ;)

    @orannia: You did! I think you'll like it. :D

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  21. Great review, I just loved these books. I've got them in ebook AND paperback. She's fab is Jet! :)

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  22. @Sarah: Thanks. :) This was the first book I read from Jet Mykles, but definitely not the last. :D

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