Genre: Dark, Contemporary, Thriller
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon
About The Book
Sometimes the only person you can trust is the one person you despise the most…
Caleb and Preston have hated each other for years. It began in high school with Caleb bullying Preston, then escalated when Preston began fighting back – well, if you call passive-aggressive, sneaky little tricks, fighting – then yes, Preston retaliated against the man who brought him nothing but misery.
In a cruel twist of fate, the unthinkable happens. Caleb and Preston are kidnapped and forced into a deadly competition for their lives. It’s a battle between good and evil, brains vs brawn.
Their captor has made it clear – there can only be one victor in this game. One will leave the game standing, the other will leave the game in a body bag.
It’s only through these nightmarish trials that we are able to see what’s truly in a man’s heart.
Will Caleb and Preston be able to put aside their hatred for one another and work together to survive this deadly competition? Or will their fates be decided by whoever wins this sick man’s game?
This is an MM Dark Romance. Read trigger warnings before reading.
The Review
Caleb Jones was abused by an alcoholic father. Even though his Uncle George tried to help his other and older brother Robbie, they would always end up going back to his father. Then one day his Mother just left and never looked back.
Even though Robbie was still around, it didn’t help Caleb. His father was useless – he had no money, provided no food, and stole from Caleb. But the boy did what he had to do to survive. So he grew up to be a tough guy and a bully.
Preston Montgomery came from a wealthy and loving family. He could have gone to a better school, but chose to stay where he was. He thought he had friends there, until he realized they only liked him because he came from a wealthy family. Preston was always harassed by the school bully, Caleb, who called him “pest-peston.”
At the age of eighteen, Caleb and Preston both happen to be at the same hospital at the same time, for different reasons. Preston is volunteering there to help further his career goals in nursing. He finds heartwarming joy in the job, especially on art and music day, where he gets to interact with the children in the cancer ward. He loves playing the piano and singing, and getting the children to participate.
Caleb is there doing community service. He does the work that was assigned him, and keeps to himself. He doesn’t want to get involved with anyone. Until one day he meets little Cory in the cancer ward.
Cory is getting ready to go to music day, hoping to play the drums. Cory invites Caleb along, and he sees how much joy it brings all the children. Especially the piano player, who knows how to brighten the children’s day and get them involved in the activities.
Caleb enjoys the piano music too, until he gets a look at the piano player. Preston is just as shocked to see his archenemy, Caleb.
Caleb finishes his daily assignments and heads to his car. When he comes too, he finds himself in a glass cube. Even worse, he hears a moan, and when he looks for the source, he finds Preston in the glass cube attached to his.
Where are they? What’s happening? Who’s doing this to them? They soon find out that they will have to competing against each other in a life or death struggle. Who will survive?
Matthew Dante has written another psychological, gruesome, dark and intense thriller. His writing gets better and better with each story. As Caleb and Preston work through their dire situation, lessons are learned and feelings revealed. The author digs deep into the psyche of both characters, and eventually things will take a turn.
Being an avid follower of Dante’s work, As I Say reminded me Alex and Marc from the “Fractured” series. I thought I had an idea of what was going on, but then the author surprised me.
I was impressed with As I Say. If you love stories that are high in suspense and keep your nerves on edge, grab a copy of this one. You won’t be sorry.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
