Well, after all those lovely Lanyon novels and novella's, this one was a wee bit disappointing because the story seemed to be a bit chaotic and those flashbacks didn't make things easier. So I had to face a tormented actor who is stalked by a lunatic and who falls in love with the handsome detective but all of this is described in flashbacks during the second part of the plot after Sean, our hero, had an accident and suffers from amnesia. And now he has to rediscover the things that happened and to understand them, while the question comes into mind whether his so-called accident really was one. This could have worked well in a novel but 100 pages might be too little to cover all the aspects. We learn next to nothing about Dan, the detective, and too little about Sean and his sad personal history. I would have loved to hear more about them because they seem to be great and interesting characters. ( )

Really disliked the format of this one. I would have preferred this to be split into a prequel dealing with the whole stalking incident and how the MCs met, and a sequel focusing on the trip to Wales and the drama surrounding that. Both story lines felt very rushed here. ( )

Really disliked the format of this one. I would have preferred this to be split into a prequel dealing with the whole stalking incident and how the MCs met, and a sequel focusing on the trip to Wales and the drama surrounding that. Both story lines felt very rushed here. ( )

The Dark Horse was the first book I read by Josh Lanyon... yes I know, I haven't read the Adrien Mysteries series, at least not from the beginning, and I know that is wonderful, too many people keep saying it to me, but at the time, I was more hooked by that story on a movie star and the detective who helps him against a crazy stalker. Probably I was expecting hot sex behind the scenes and the usual media scandals, maybe even the classical Hollywood scene of the red carpet where finally the actor admits his love for a man... and instead I found a couple in the aftermath of something huge, the stalker is already dead, the two heroes started a not simple relationship, and apparently Sean, the actor, is becoming crazy, if he wasn't yet crazy even before.

In the previous book we discovered that Sean is not imagining things and that there is another stalker in his life, someone he would never suspect. Dan again becomes his hero, but at the same time he is his worst enemy: Dan is not accepting that Sean is playing the role of the perfect balanced man. Sean has problems, bigger ones, he is in denial; he faces them in his own way, forcing himself to accept things that his mind is trying to refusing, like sex with a man, and running away when faced with the true.

The second book starts with Sean who is another time in danger, but this time he is far from Dan... he ran away, as usual, with the excuse to filming a movie in Galles. Even if before leaving he played the role of the lover who couldn't understand why Dan wasn't accepting, it's quite obvious that it was the perfect chance for Sean to not face again the truth; it was unthinkable for Dan to leave his work for more than three months, and Sean made everything possible to put Dan in front of an accomplished fact. Now in Galles Sean was victim of an accident, or maybe of an attempt murder, and he lost his recent memory; the only thing he remembers is that he loves Dan and he wants him near him, and Dan arrives, without questions or delaying.

Sean is again all sweetness and words of undying love, but Dan this time doesn't buy it all; I like this double face of Dan, strong an unyielding in front of Sean, wanting from him to admit his mistakes and take measures for them, but at the same time protective and gentle, never leaving him alone. One of the fault I probably found in the previous book was that Sean and Dan's outside images were sometime stronger than their private side: this was maybe the reason why I felt the need to read something more on how they met and fell in love, and the reason for why they decided to live together. The second book fills completely that void, giving to Sean and Dan's feelings and reasons a main role, and letting the mystery in the background, almost nonexistent.

During Sean's recovery, he replays in his mind two different timeline of his life with Dan: their first moment together, before the events that took place in book 1, and the aftermath of that book, when they tested their living together and Sean's inability to admit that he needed help. Don't get me wrong, it seems quite like Dan is the perfect knight in shining armor and Sean a shrinking violet who needs a shrink (pun intended); it's not exactly like that, Sean has only had very bad and negative experience with the doctor professional category and he needs time to trust them again. Dan on the other side is the perfect partner, supportive and attentive, with the right dose of protectiveness; maybe he should have more faith in Sean, and doesn't worry too much if the man goes 3 months away for work. But also Dan has to have some faults, a too perfect hero would be too much boring, so he is instead a knight in shining, and a bit cracked, armor, that is even better.

Again the book is not what I was expecting (no big Hollywood scenes) but nevertheless a book that got me hooked till the end. And this time for me it's complete, not loose ends, the love story is full, developed and nicely tightened up.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/582504.html

t’s a Hollywood cliché: the hot and handsome bodyguard. But in the case of LAPD Detective Daniel Moran, it’s all true. Dan is everything Sean ever wanted in a leading man, but Dan’s kind of an old-fashioned guy. It’s his job to keep Sean safe and in one piece — happy is someone else’s problem.

As tension mounts, Sean can’t help turning to Dan, while Dan is finding it harder and harder to say no. Their only chance of a happy ending is if Dan can keep Sean alive — but what happens when he uncovers the secrets Sean is trying hard to conceal?
From Loose Id.

It has been a while since I have read anything by Josh Lanyon. I read the 1st book in this series, Dark Horse, early last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The characters are incredibly compelling. Sean is so broken and I love the authors ability to portray the damaged hero so strongly without him becoming too much of a whiney pain in the ass. Sean tries hard to fix himself with varying degrees of success and this is what appealed to me so much in the 1st book. He has some fairly ingrained issues with control and even though there is a sense of completion in the 1st book, it is the 2nd book where you see more of Sean slowly letting go and trying to move on, it’s just so very human. He knows Dan loves him and is only trying to help, but it is only through ultimately trusting someone else that he can move on and these two strong willed people can learn to live and be together. Love it. The titles are astute too.

What also appeals is the humor within the book. Those sardonic moments that sneak up on you, like Dan being a black belt? heh. They catch you by surprise and make you snigger quietly to yourself. It’s clever humor and I like that kind of internal dialog from a character.

I am used to hot, but not gratuitous sex in Lanyon’s books. They often have a lean, pared down feel that is always intense, but some of the scenes in White Knight took me a bit by surprise. (No more sticky pen for you!) They were intense and loving, with much hot tub goodness. Noice.

Compelling and beautifully written, it’s books like these that stay with you. More please.
http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/dark-horse-and-the-white-knight-by-josh-... ( )