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Guntram de Lisle #1
The Substitute
"I understand this is all new to an inexperienced youth like yourself. I was half expecting your rejection, but I'm willing to wait, that you become my lover. I will provide, take care and see that no harm falls upon you, as long as you respect me and behave according to your status. As I said, you are the most adorable thing that had caught my attention in years. You have to be mine and I have every intention to win you over."
"I'm 44 and way past the age for playing. You are everything I've dreamed of for a lover and a companion in life. Your beauty and innocence makes you perfect for me."
With these words, Konrad von Lintorff, a Swiss German banker declared his intentions to a 19 years old penniless student. Guntram was young, kind hearted and exactly looking as Konrad's former lover. Can a young sweet boy survive the High Finance World and the love of a possessive and violent man? Follow Guntram's diary through a story of intrigue, love, sex, betrayal, secret societies, deceptions and murder.
"I'm 44 and way past the age for playing. You are everything I've dreamed of for a lover and a companion in life. Your beauty and innocence makes you perfect for me."
With these words, Konrad von Lintorff, a Swiss German banker declared his intentions to a 19 years old penniless student. Guntram was young, kind hearted and exactly looking as Konrad's former lover. Can a young sweet boy survive the High Finance World and the love of a possessive and violent man? Follow Guntram's diary through a story of intrigue, love, sex, betrayal, secret societies, deceptions and murder.
500 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2010
46 people are currently reading
1269 people want to read
About the author
Tionne Rogers
9 books160 followersI was born many years ago, but not that many, in Buenos Aires. I studied Political Science with a Master in Defence Studies. I live in Madrid since 6 years, married and with one child. Author (yes, I plead guilty) of "The Substitute", "Do not Feed the Platypus, please" and "Into the Lion's Den". Those are Slash Novels for adults... so little children, go home!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
December 20, 2010
The Substitute left me very confused. It’s really hard to rate the book or write a review on it because my mind is full with conflicting thoughts and emotions.
It was cliché, over the top, silly at times, but then again: I found myself engaged by the plot and rooting for the main couple …eventhough those two were the pinnacle of an unhealthy relationship.
My first problem was the English. Mind you: I’m not a native English speaker myself, but I had a hard time trying to overlook all the inaccuracies in language. Some (technically harder) parts were beautifully written while some easy bits were full of mistakes. It was distracting at first, but since the main character is not a native English speaker himself and the story is told through his diary entries, it ended up working for the story.
The main character, Guntram, is nineteen when the book starts. He is young, extremely innocent -to the point of being almost childlike. This leads to a naive and susceptible word view, and us readers are seeing the world through his eyes. We encounter Dukes and Mafiosi, bodyguards and butlers, evil mothers, fairy godaunts, family tragedies, secret societies… Any other book would have had me roll my eyes at yet another cliché, but reading it through Guntram’s point of view really helped just accepting it all.
Guntram himself however, got on my nerves on more than one occasion. This boy grew up in a boarding school full of spoiled little rich kids, but he had no knowledge of social games, scheming and pretense. He believed in the kindness of people. No matter if said people had just hit him over the head with a metal chain.
I understand that the writer wanted to portray Guntram as innocent and angelic, but it just goes to show that there’s a fine line between innocence and stupidity. I also couldn’t appreciate the lack of consistency, when Guntram ended up having a few ghetto tricks up his sleeve near the end of the book.
Konrad, the love interest, was the opposite of Guntram. Twenty five years his senior, a cool, hardened and aloof businessman.
Konrad was a naturally dominant character while Guntram was naturally compliant. One could argue that the men would be a good match because of those traits, but past fears, obsessions, a lack of communication and stupid reasoning made their relationship difficult. Very difficult. There was a lot of pain, heart ache and (physical and sexual) violence in this book. It was hard to like Konrad and understand Guntram. Their relationship was a train wreck, but there still was something strangely engaging and beautiful about it.
Despite the story being interesting, it didn’t really capture me until the second half of the book. The plot thickened, there were a lot of surprises and revelations, a huge amount of angst and psychological warfare and I was on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out who was a friend and who was a foe. I suddenly found myself really caring for the characters and desperately hoping for a happy ending.
Unfortunately, the ending itself felt a bit rushed. Too many plot lines were resolved at once, some in a very convenient or even offhand manner. I wouldn’t have minded 50 more pages so everything could have been worked out in a more believable pace.
All in all, The Substitute turned out to be a very engaging read. I hope the book gets republished in the future, so -with the right editing to correct the English and balance out the flow of the book- it can be lifted from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’.
3,5 stars.
It was cliché, over the top, silly at times, but then again: I found myself engaged by the plot and rooting for the main couple …eventhough those two were the pinnacle of an unhealthy relationship.
My first problem was the English. Mind you: I’m not a native English speaker myself, but I had a hard time trying to overlook all the inaccuracies in language. Some (technically harder) parts were beautifully written while some easy bits were full of mistakes. It was distracting at first, but since the main character is not a native English speaker himself and the story is told through his diary entries, it ended up working for the story.
The main character, Guntram, is nineteen when the book starts. He is young, extremely innocent -to the point of being almost childlike. This leads to a naive and susceptible word view, and us readers are seeing the world through his eyes. We encounter Dukes and Mafiosi, bodyguards and butlers, evil mothers, fairy godaunts, family tragedies, secret societies… Any other book would have had me roll my eyes at yet another cliché, but reading it through Guntram’s point of view really helped just accepting it all.
Guntram himself however, got on my nerves on more than one occasion. This boy grew up in a boarding school full of spoiled little rich kids, but he had no knowledge of social games, scheming and pretense. He believed in the kindness of people. No matter if said people had just hit him over the head with a metal chain.
I understand that the writer wanted to portray Guntram as innocent and angelic, but it just goes to show that there’s a fine line between innocence and stupidity. I also couldn’t appreciate the lack of consistency, when Guntram ended up having a few ghetto tricks up his sleeve near the end of the book.
Konrad, the love interest, was the opposite of Guntram. Twenty five years his senior, a cool, hardened and aloof businessman.
Konrad was a naturally dominant character while Guntram was naturally compliant. One could argue that the men would be a good match because of those traits, but past fears, obsessions, a lack of communication and stupid reasoning made their relationship difficult. Very difficult. There was a lot of pain, heart ache and (physical and sexual) violence in this book. It was hard to like Konrad and understand Guntram. Their relationship was a train wreck, but there still was something strangely engaging and beautiful about it.
Despite the story being interesting, it didn’t really capture me until the second half of the book. The plot thickened, there were a lot of surprises and revelations, a huge amount of angst and psychological warfare and I was on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out who was a friend and who was a foe. I suddenly found myself really caring for the characters and desperately hoping for a happy ending.
Unfortunately, the ending itself felt a bit rushed. Too many plot lines were resolved at once, some in a very convenient or even offhand manner. I wouldn’t have minded 50 more pages so everything could have been worked out in a more believable pace.
All in all, The Substitute turned out to be a very engaging read. I hope the book gets republished in the future, so -with the right editing to correct the English and balance out the flow of the book- it can be lifted from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’.
3,5 stars.
July 8, 2015
How the fuck do you even rate a book like this? There are so many problems, deal-breaking, ruinous problems.
Most reviews justifiably mention the language, though in fact it didn’t bother me. I tend to hear what I read, so I was able to sink into Guntram’s peculiar brand of non-idiomatic English without any trouble. My larger problems were with the depiction of the female characters, most of whom were slutty, deceitful, vulgar harridans. Just as serious, Guntram’s irresistibility and his virtue are both (non-ironically so far as I could tell) traced to his noble birth (refined by the church militant of the Counter-Reformation), lending the book an anti-egalitarian ideology that would be at home in the fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea.”
But but but…. talk about rabbit holes. This book pulled me in so thoroughly, I devoured 682 pages of a horrible PDF, immediately moved on to two of the author’s (equally mammoth) other books that were blessedly available for Kindle, and then shelled out $36 for a fucking paperback! which is the only way to obtain The Substitute 2.
What can I even say? Rogers has created the ne plus ultra of a particular fantasy—the young, naïve and oh-so-meek virgin effectively seized by a (much older) abusive, possessive, supremely bossy crime lord. It’s the European version of the yaoi classic, Finder, Volume 1: Target in the Finder, but more fucked up if that’s possible, since Konrad is a control freak, who manipulates, deceives, gaslights, and physically abuses as needed to maintain total control over Guntram, who has almost no life outside of what his lover permits him. Not for everyone, certainly, but I couldn’t get enough—literally as evidenced by my devouring about 1600 pages of Rogers’ work.
And ultimately, it’s hard not to feel like the book’s flaws are inextricable from its virtues. There is a lack of irony which speaks to a fundamental and rare absence of inhibition when it comes to creating these characters, a willingness to just let their relationship develop according to its own insane logic, without getting hung up on the old canards of morality, probability, or even basic English grammar. For a certain type of reader, I’d even posit that the mere act of pushing through the objectionable elements almost guarantees a high rating, because the problems end up being the measure of just how powerful and erotically charged Guntram and Konrad’s relationship is.
Bottom line: if you're one of those unfortunate souls who is unbearably turned on at the prospect of an authoritarian hero manipulating and abusing his pathetically naive lover, and a complete lack of editing doesn't bother you, then welcome to your new favorite book.
Most reviews justifiably mention the language, though in fact it didn’t bother me. I tend to hear what I read, so I was able to sink into Guntram’s peculiar brand of non-idiomatic English without any trouble. My larger problems were with the depiction of the female characters, most of whom were slutty, deceitful, vulgar harridans. Just as serious, Guntram’s irresistibility and his virtue are both (non-ironically so far as I could tell) traced to his noble birth (refined by the church militant of the Counter-Reformation), lending the book an anti-egalitarian ideology that would be at home in the fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea.”
But but but…. talk about rabbit holes. This book pulled me in so thoroughly, I devoured 682 pages of a horrible PDF, immediately moved on to two of the author’s (equally mammoth) other books that were blessedly available for Kindle, and then shelled out $36 for a fucking paperback! which is the only way to obtain The Substitute 2.
What can I even say? Rogers has created the ne plus ultra of a particular fantasy—the young, naïve and oh-so-meek virgin effectively seized by a (much older) abusive, possessive, supremely bossy crime lord. It’s the European version of the yaoi classic, Finder, Volume 1: Target in the Finder, but more fucked up if that’s possible, since Konrad is a control freak, who manipulates, deceives, gaslights, and physically abuses as needed to maintain total control over Guntram, who has almost no life outside of what his lover permits him. Not for everyone, certainly, but I couldn’t get enough—literally as evidenced by my devouring about 1600 pages of Rogers’ work.
And ultimately, it’s hard not to feel like the book’s flaws are inextricable from its virtues. There is a lack of irony which speaks to a fundamental and rare absence of inhibition when it comes to creating these characters, a willingness to just let their relationship develop according to its own insane logic, without getting hung up on the old canards of morality, probability, or even basic English grammar. For a certain type of reader, I’d even posit that the mere act of pushing through the objectionable elements almost guarantees a high rating, because the problems end up being the measure of just how powerful and erotically charged Guntram and Konrad’s relationship is.
Bottom line: if you're one of those unfortunate souls who is unbearably turned on at the prospect of an authoritarian hero manipulating and abusing his pathetically naive lover, and a complete lack of editing doesn't bother you, then welcome to your new favorite book.
May 16, 2011
4.5 stars - Yes, this is going to be a long review. You have been warned :P
The best way to describe this book is as surprising.... and frustrating. I had this idea in my mind of how this story was going to be that was completely wrong. I purposely didn't read any reviews about it a few months before I read it because I didn't want to be spoiled or have some subconscious expectations placed on it. So, all I knew about the book was what the blurb explains and the fact it's poorly translated with bad editing. (Yes, I am one of those readers who can read a review on a certain book and forget about everything I learned from the review weeks down the road lol)
The first fifty to a hundred pages of it are the most brutal to go through. Not because they consist of violence (even though they do) but because of the poor translation. If you can get past those (and I strongly recommend you do) then it is easier to read the rest of the book because you get kind of used to it. You start filling in the words that should be there, replacing the correct gender words in your mind and understanding what is ultimately being said. It's not easy, that's for sure. I couldn't fully immerse myself into the story like I would have preferred (although I think if I did I would be a wreck right now considering how deep of the emotions I already felt would have been tripled at least!) because I had to read 'lightly' so I wouldn't constantly falter at the errors :'-(
This book is twisted because Konrad makes it that way. He's a powerful man in a powerful position. He's cold, brutal, obsessive and ruthless. He doesn't care who he hurts or how he does it. He's manipulative, unstable, deranged, deceitful and always needs to be in control while never showing weakness. He's the type of man you do not cross because he will retaliate in a much worse way than how you actually deceived him. However, he's loyal, sticks (mostly) to his word and respectful. From the moment he saw Guntram, he fell head over heels in love. Guntram is kind, sweet, innocent and lovable but a bit insecure. He has a heart of gold, who only wants to help out the poor. He's physically fragile because of his heart condition, beautiful and an amazing artist. He has an 'old soul' as they say, having better manners than even the oldest of aristocrats and treating everyone with respect no matter their position, power or title. He also, unfortunately, attracts the 'love' from all the predators. He's gullible in the sense he always sees the best in people and accepts their words as truth. He will believe almost anything but he's stubborn and loyal and there's no swaying him on certain things. He is the perfect Consort.
The start of Guntram and Konrad's relationship is rocky at best. They go through a lot of ups and downs because of Konrad's possessive, controlling nature making Guntram into the perfect obedient boy. In my opinion, they are both idiots and fools. They caused a lot of useless grief and aggravation, making me get so frustrated I wanted to make them real to strangle them both! They forced themselves into situations that only made their trust in each other falter. They brought it upon themselves and then only made the situation worse by how one or the other reacted. I either loved one and hated the other or I hated one and loved the other. There's no other word for it but frustrating.
Some might say Konrad took advantage of Guntram at a tender time but I honestly don't believe that. Konrad was more besotted with Guntram than Guntram was with him. Konrad needed Guntram in the beginning whereas Guntram did not need a thing. If Konrad wasn't so persistent, Guntram would have left Konrad for good. As the story progresses, though, Guntram falls deeply for Konrad. However, no matter what the surface says, Guntram still holds all the cards in their relationship and the ability to make their lives miserable. Konrad might look as if he rules Guntram but Guntram can do more damage mentally to Konrad than anyone else. Konrad still needs Guntram to be mentally happy. He makes Konrad calm and less vindictive and crazy. Guntram, however, does not need him. Want him, yes, but he does not necessarily need Konrad to survive life and move on whereas Konrad would eventually go crazy and do something exceptionally stupid and get killed. :-(
There are a lot of things I'm leaving out of this review. Mainly all the conflict with The Order and their problems, Konrad's enemies and the things Konrad did when he went temporarily crazy with the belief he could make Guntram jealous enough to take him back. I'm not explaining them because I don't feel they were the focus of the story. To me, the story revolved around Guntram and Konrad and the other stuff is just details. The things Konrad did, did not rate high enough on my 'to care' meter to mention. Lol. Others might disagree, though.
The secondary characters were some on my favorites. I loved Guntram and I loved Konrad even though they were both idiots. People like Ferdinand, Friedrich, Michael, Heindrick, Alexei and Goran were right up there as my favorites, too. They were actually a valuable part to the story, though. They kind of push Guntram and Konrad into some problems but they also played a major roll in getting them back together and showing Guntram he has the power to make or break Konrad. And I just want to say how cute their nicknames for Guntram were ^_^
I want more than anything to give this book five stars because to me it was an exceptional read but I can't. I loved this book in every possible way but the poor translating and editing plus the more than occasional inconsistencies with hair colors, eye colors and names grated on my nerves a bit. Along with that, I want more of Konrad and Guntram. The ending was a bit unsatisfying. I mean, on one hand, Guntram finally accepts he loves Konrad and wants to be with him as an equal but then on the other hand, that was it. A few sentences of them heartfully telling each other they will be together for ever (a bit corny, yes, but I thought it was sweet ^_^) and that's it. I want more :-( I want to know how they cope now their relationship is back to being an intimate one and Guntram isn't punishing Konrad by being cold and distant. I want to know if Konrad keeps his word to Guntram about being equals and accepting he can't boss Guntram around like he did when Guntram was still young and naive. I want to know more. I demand more.
Oh, and I desperately wanted to label this a sweet read because underneath it all, it was. Konrad was hopelessly in love with Guntram from the moment he saw him (like a love sick teenager). He was a sweetheart during the times he wasn't making Guntram miserable and acting like a complete douche bag. So, that explains the 'a-sweet-cute-read' shelf in case any of you were wondering. :P
Overall, I absolutely recommend this book. Some might not like it, after all Konrad is violent, possessive and aggressive, but others who like those types of traits in their stories will. Like I said, though, the editing and translating have a lot to be desired and some might give up just because of that but I strongly recommend, if you do read it, to try to look past those errors and see the beautiful story underneath.
The best way to describe this book is as surprising.... and frustrating. I had this idea in my mind of how this story was going to be that was completely wrong. I purposely didn't read any reviews about it a few months before I read it because I didn't want to be spoiled or have some subconscious expectations placed on it. So, all I knew about the book was what the blurb explains and the fact it's poorly translated with bad editing. (Yes, I am one of those readers who can read a review on a certain book and forget about everything I learned from the review weeks down the road lol)
The first fifty to a hundred pages of it are the most brutal to go through. Not because they consist of violence (even though they do) but because of the poor translation. If you can get past those (and I strongly recommend you do) then it is easier to read the rest of the book because you get kind of used to it. You start filling in the words that should be there, replacing the correct gender words in your mind and understanding what is ultimately being said. It's not easy, that's for sure. I couldn't fully immerse myself into the story like I would have preferred (although I think if I did I would be a wreck right now considering how deep of the emotions I already felt would have been tripled at least!) because I had to read 'lightly' so I wouldn't constantly falter at the errors :'-(
This book is twisted because Konrad makes it that way. He's a powerful man in a powerful position. He's cold, brutal, obsessive and ruthless. He doesn't care who he hurts or how he does it. He's manipulative, unstable, deranged, deceitful and always needs to be in control while never showing weakness. He's the type of man you do not cross because he will retaliate in a much worse way than how you actually deceived him. However, he's loyal, sticks (mostly) to his word and respectful. From the moment he saw Guntram, he fell head over heels in love. Guntram is kind, sweet, innocent and lovable but a bit insecure. He has a heart of gold, who only wants to help out the poor. He's physically fragile because of his heart condition, beautiful and an amazing artist. He has an 'old soul' as they say, having better manners than even the oldest of aristocrats and treating everyone with respect no matter their position, power or title. He also, unfortunately, attracts the 'love' from all the predators. He's gullible in the sense he always sees the best in people and accepts their words as truth. He will believe almost anything but he's stubborn and loyal and there's no swaying him on certain things. He is the perfect Consort.
The start of Guntram and Konrad's relationship is rocky at best. They go through a lot of ups and downs because of Konrad's possessive, controlling nature making Guntram into the perfect obedient boy. In my opinion, they are both idiots and fools. They caused a lot of useless grief and aggravation, making me get so frustrated I wanted to make them real to strangle them both! They forced themselves into situations that only made their trust in each other falter. They brought it upon themselves and then only made the situation worse by how one or the other reacted. I either loved one and hated the other or I hated one and loved the other. There's no other word for it but frustrating.
Some might say Konrad took advantage of Guntram at a tender time but I honestly don't believe that. Konrad was more besotted with Guntram than Guntram was with him. Konrad needed Guntram in the beginning whereas Guntram did not need a thing. If Konrad wasn't so persistent, Guntram would have left Konrad for good. As the story progresses, though, Guntram falls deeply for Konrad. However, no matter what the surface says, Guntram still holds all the cards in their relationship and the ability to make their lives miserable. Konrad might look as if he rules Guntram but Guntram can do more damage mentally to Konrad than anyone else. Konrad still needs Guntram to be mentally happy. He makes Konrad calm and less vindictive and crazy. Guntram, however, does not need him. Want him, yes, but he does not necessarily need Konrad to survive life and move on whereas Konrad would eventually go crazy and do something exceptionally stupid and get killed. :-(
There are a lot of things I'm leaving out of this review. Mainly all the conflict with The Order and their problems, Konrad's enemies and the things Konrad did when he went temporarily crazy with the belief he could make Guntram jealous enough to take him back. I'm not explaining them because I don't feel they were the focus of the story. To me, the story revolved around Guntram and Konrad and the other stuff is just details. The things Konrad did, did not rate high enough on my 'to care' meter to mention. Lol. Others might disagree, though.
The secondary characters were some on my favorites. I loved Guntram and I loved Konrad even though they were both idiots. People like Ferdinand, Friedrich, Michael, Heindrick, Alexei and Goran were right up there as my favorites, too. They were actually a valuable part to the story, though. They kind of push Guntram and Konrad into some problems but they also played a major roll in getting them back together and showing Guntram he has the power to make or break Konrad. And I just want to say how cute their nicknames for Guntram were ^_^
I want more than anything to give this book five stars because to me it was an exceptional read but I can't. I loved this book in every possible way but the poor translating and editing plus the more than occasional inconsistencies with hair colors, eye colors and names grated on my nerves a bit. Along with that, I want more of Konrad and Guntram. The ending was a bit unsatisfying. I mean, on one hand, Guntram finally accepts he loves Konrad and wants to be with him as an equal but then on the other hand, that was it. A few sentences of them heartfully telling each other they will be together for ever (a bit corny, yes, but I thought it was sweet ^_^) and that's it. I want more :-( I want to know how they cope now their relationship is back to being an intimate one and Guntram isn't punishing Konrad by being cold and distant. I want to know if Konrad keeps his word to Guntram about being equals and accepting he can't boss Guntram around like he did when Guntram was still young and naive. I want to know more. I demand more.
Oh, and I desperately wanted to label this a sweet read because underneath it all, it was. Konrad was hopelessly in love with Guntram from the moment he saw him (like a love sick teenager). He was a sweetheart during the times he wasn't making Guntram miserable and acting like a complete douche bag. So, that explains the 'a-sweet-cute-read' shelf in case any of you were wondering. :P
Overall, I absolutely recommend this book. Some might not like it, after all Konrad is violent, possessive and aggressive, but others who like those types of traits in their stories will. Like I said, though, the editing and translating have a lot to be desired and some might give up just because of that but I strongly recommend, if you do read it, to try to look past those errors and see the beautiful story underneath.
October 9, 2012
That's it. I give up. I gather that this book has kind of a cult status on GR, and it's why I started reading it in the first place. The premise is one I could see myself enjoying and I love the beautiful European setting, but my brain hurts from all the malapropisms and syntax problems. Yes, I know English is not the author's first language, and a very valiant effort is made in writing in English, but I think it takes a stronger person than I to make it through the grammatical morass. So, after many many wasted hours and much dawdling over this book, I'm cutting it loose.
July 8, 2017
No rating.
I can't make heads or tails (!) out of the book because I'm having to translate it, edit it, and somehow make sense of it. This isn't something I'm prepared to do for a book that I purchased with my very own United States dollars.
I can't make heads or tails (!) out of the book because I'm having to translate it, edit it, and somehow make sense of it. This isn't something I'm prepared to do for a book that I purchased with my very own United States dollars.
July 29, 2013
This is a preliminary review on the free beta version downloaded from a link on the author's blog;
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3Z7...
Unfortunately, the author has decided to have paper copies only (no authorised ebook version), so now I'm waiting for my copy to arrive from Lulu for a re-read. I may decide to edit this review after reading the cleaned-up version.
The Beta has all the terrible English language issues that the comments complain about. It's definitely a "very good" to "amazing" level story for me. But if you are disturbed by bad grammer & abuse of proper English, then you should go straight for the 100 page preview sample on Lulu, which has had the text (somewhat) cleaned up. Personally, I didn't have too much trouble with the grammer after the first 10 pages or so. I suspect the author is multilingual with Spanish and/or French first language like the protaganist, Guntram (also knowing English, maybe German and Italian). Certainly, the English grammer/language errors are consistent throughout the book, and it was easy to mentally correct the text while reading - I didn't have trouble with comprehension because of the language. In fact, I found the oddly "non English" turn of phrases to be very humourous and charming - you won't ever forget Guntram's not thinking in English.
The form of the book is in diary entries, and almost completely Guntram's POV. Since Guntram's access to information is very strictly controlled, the reader mostly only knows what Guntram is told or learns by accident. There is no real way to confirm if conflicting information is true or false, and Guntram is too naive to properly analyse most of it. So a lot about what is happening in the background is left open to the reader's imagination.
This is a major strength of the story, it's extremely personal, but also like reading a (murder) mystery, thriller, whodunnit.
Unfortunately, it's also almost completely one sided, and the reader instinctively mistrusts a lot of Guntrum's interpretation of what happens. The result is you'll keep reading desperately to catch the next hint to the mystery, for some 700 pages!!
Personally, I think 700 pages is too long. But then again, the detailed descriptions of locations, social situations and people are also part of the attraction of this story. Five countries in two continents - if I were living at any of the locations this story takes place, I would want to walk down the same roads and visit the same museums and restaurants (I assume they are all real locations?). I think this is a book that has to be read at least twice. The first time skimmed through to get the gist of the plot, and the second time read slowly to enjoy the fine details.
I strongly recommend the "alternate timeline" story; "Into the Lion's Den", after reading "The Substitute". It's a much more balanced story told from multiple POV's, and clarifies many issues the reader can only guess at in the original.
EDIT: July 2013. Have finished reading the cleaned-up, 2nd Ed version for the second time, and decided I really had to bump my rating up from 4 to 5 stars. A most amazing, utterly gripping story. I still can't believe this book has become a comfort read for me - 650 plus pages is ridiculously dangerous for just-before-bedtime reading!
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3Z7...
Unfortunately, the author has decided to have paper copies only (no authorised ebook version), so now I'm waiting for my copy to arrive from Lulu for a re-read. I may decide to edit this review after reading the cleaned-up version.
The Beta has all the terrible English language issues that the comments complain about. It's definitely a "very good" to "amazing" level story for me. But if you are disturbed by bad grammer & abuse of proper English, then you should go straight for the 100 page preview sample on Lulu, which has had the text (somewhat) cleaned up. Personally, I didn't have too much trouble with the grammer after the first 10 pages or so. I suspect the author is multilingual with Spanish and/or French first language like the protaganist, Guntram (also knowing English, maybe German and Italian). Certainly, the English grammer/language errors are consistent throughout the book, and it was easy to mentally correct the text while reading - I didn't have trouble with comprehension because of the language. In fact, I found the oddly "non English" turn of phrases to be very humourous and charming - you won't ever forget Guntram's not thinking in English.
The form of the book is in diary entries, and almost completely Guntram's POV. Since Guntram's access to information is very strictly controlled, the reader mostly only knows what Guntram is told or learns by accident. There is no real way to confirm if conflicting information is true or false, and Guntram is too naive to properly analyse most of it. So a lot about what is happening in the background is left open to the reader's imagination.
This is a major strength of the story, it's extremely personal, but also like reading a (murder) mystery, thriller, whodunnit.
Unfortunately, it's also almost completely one sided, and the reader instinctively mistrusts a lot of Guntrum's interpretation of what happens. The result is you'll keep reading desperately to catch the next hint to the mystery, for some 700 pages!!
Personally, I think 700 pages is too long. But then again, the detailed descriptions of locations, social situations and people are also part of the attraction of this story. Five countries in two continents - if I were living at any of the locations this story takes place, I would want to walk down the same roads and visit the same museums and restaurants (I assume they are all real locations?). I think this is a book that has to be read at least twice. The first time skimmed through to get the gist of the plot, and the second time read slowly to enjoy the fine details.
I strongly recommend the "alternate timeline" story; "Into the Lion's Den", after reading "The Substitute". It's a much more balanced story told from multiple POV's, and clarifies many issues the reader can only guess at in the original.
EDIT: July 2013. Have finished reading the cleaned-up, 2nd Ed version for the second time, and decided I really had to bump my rating up from 4 to 5 stars. A most amazing, utterly gripping story. I still can't believe this book has become a comfort read for me - 650 plus pages is ridiculously dangerous for just-before-bedtime reading!
October 12, 2013
Rating: 4.5 stars (I couldn't decide if I wanted to rate this a 1 star book, or a 5 star book; so I settled. :) )
So I started reading the unedited PDF version online up till chapter ten, then bought the physical book on Lulu to prevent my brain from overloading. The book was expensive, but in the end, I was happy with my purchase. The Substitute is probably one of the most fucked up piece of fiction I have ever had the pleasure to read. There was so much I HATED (which I will get to later in this review). When I think about it, there really wasn’t that many good points. Yet despite my bickering thoughts throughout my reading (just check my status updates if you haven’t already), I had to re-evaluate how I felt. What was that cliché? Love and hate tread a fine line? So I let me start by describing the premise of this book:
The story is told through journal entries from Guntram (Guti for short), a 19 year old orphan who visits Europe with his best friend. The entries date back from 2001 and chronicles to the year 2008. The book is divided into three equal parts: The Duke, The Order, and The Griffin. Each part is around 200-250 pages each. By the time you get to the third part (The Griffin), you get brief journal entries from a secondary character that helps to give some diverse perspective to the story. For better or for worst, most of the story is told through dialogues between characters, or Guntram’s own thoughts. There isn’t much description of the physical world except for certain architecture and basic things (e.g. a lake, a cloudy day, or the warm sand; nothing too descriptive). I count this a blessing since the author’s use of the English language might have made things difficult if she tried to go in great details of the physical world.
So now, I will list my dislikes:
1) Grammar Nazis, beware! It is quite obvious that the author’s native language is not English. Parts of the PDF version that I read (up to chapter 10) had many errors: punctuation, incorrect spelling, incorrect use of articles, incorrect sentence structures, many inconsistent verb tenses, incorrect verb/noun usage, and just strange use of the English language. The physical version cleaned up a lot of the punctuation and misspelling and such (but still had them). To me, it made a big difference in my ability to read the book. However, if you aren’t bothered by these nuances (or go in with the right frame of mind), then the PDF version may be fine with you. The story is understandable even with the butchering of the English language, but it kind of ruined some moments for me (like awkwardly spelled out love confessions, sex scenes, or tense moments) i.e. “I love you” replied with, “I also" or "what have you being doing here?" (these were repeated mistakes too).
2) Guntram. Sorry to all the Guntram fans, but I just really disliked him. He is a 19 year old boy with an “innocent” heart that can only be labeled as really, really, really x 1000 naïve. He is bratty and picks verbal arguments that felt…well, stupid. For instance (this doesn’t spoil anything, but I know some people are touchy about that kind of stuff), . Not only that, but he constantly makes the same mistakes over, and over, and over again. Maybe it’s just me, but it was EXHAUSTING being in the mind of a 19 (to an immature 25) year old for 650 pages (can you imagine if the ICOS was solely written from Boyd’s perspective?).
3) This book was just too long. I didn’t skim (even though I wanted to at times), but this could have probably been 200 pages less. It seemed like the meat of the story was in the The Griffin, but that in itself could have probably been reduced to 50-100 pages. And most of The Order also seemed like fodder material.
So I’ve written paragraphs of what I disliked, and some of you may be wondering: why did I rate this book so high? Especially if I really disliked the protagonist, from which this story is told from (1st person POV, no less). Well, here’s why:
1) The plot. Holy shit, this was the biggest clusterfuck of a story I have ever read. You think the basis of the relationship between Boyd and Sin, or Vadim and Dan, or Warrick and Toreth, or Laurent and Damien were complicated? Well, The Substitute has so many twists and turns, lies, deceptions, and betrayals that it made all other relationships look like a blind date at McDonalds (well, maybe Laurent and Damien from Captive Prince are a contender, but still…). Just when you think things are settled, you’re smacked in the face and land bare-assed on the floor. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of fodder material throughout the story so it takes a lot of reading to unravel the complicated crap that happens. But you’ll get bits and pieces of things that will slowly add up until the end.
2) The relationship. How does it work between a naïve 19 year old orphan, who is dirt poor and a rich and violent 45 year old Swiss German banker? Add to that secret organizations and a very dark and twisted plot, and my answer is: it doesn’t. And that’s the premise of why this book is so exhausting, yet delicious: to try and make this relationship work (and my whiny Guntram-hating voice tells me that it’s mostly his fault). This relationship is chalked full of love, hate, deceit, VIOLENCE, and is so much god-awful shit that it made my dark little heart pulse in a flutter of happiness. But seriously, even though I dislike Guntram, I loved seeing the dynamics in his relationship with Konrad.
3) Good secondary characters. Though they never took center stage, the secondary characters were meaningful and had a good supportive role in the whole scheme of things. I liked them more than the main character himself!
So if you’re still with me at this point, I will also say that despite all the BAD things, I still could not put this book down. I needed to know how things played out. It was a constant itch on my mind: what else will happen? How are these events related? Even though my brain hurt from all the auto-correcting it had to do, and the Vodka I had to drink to get through Guntram’s naïve rambles, I had to keep reading. And that driving passion to read every page is what made me realized how much I love this book.
Will I read the sequel? I don’t know. The ending is a HFN, which was all I could hope for with the direction it took towards the end. But the sequel sounds like round two of the same thing (except with more pages, and possibly more infidelity based on the blurb). I don’t want a repeat of other series where quitting on the first book would have been better than reading the sequels. I will wait and see!
So I started reading the unedited PDF version online up till chapter ten, then bought the physical book on Lulu to prevent my brain from overloading. The book was expensive, but in the end, I was happy with my purchase. The Substitute is probably one of the most fucked up piece of fiction I have ever had the pleasure to read. There was so much I HATED (which I will get to later in this review). When I think about it, there really wasn’t that many good points. Yet despite my bickering thoughts throughout my reading (just check my status updates if you haven’t already), I had to re-evaluate how I felt. What was that cliché? Love and hate tread a fine line? So I let me start by describing the premise of this book:
The story is told through journal entries from Guntram (Guti for short), a 19 year old orphan who visits Europe with his best friend. The entries date back from 2001 and chronicles to the year 2008. The book is divided into three equal parts: The Duke, The Order, and The Griffin. Each part is around 200-250 pages each. By the time you get to the third part (The Griffin), you get brief journal entries from a secondary character that helps to give some diverse perspective to the story. For better or for worst, most of the story is told through dialogues between characters, or Guntram’s own thoughts. There isn’t much description of the physical world except for certain architecture and basic things (e.g. a lake, a cloudy day, or the warm sand; nothing too descriptive). I count this a blessing since the author’s use of the English language might have made things difficult if she tried to go in great details of the physical world.
So now, I will list my dislikes:
1) Grammar Nazis, beware! It is quite obvious that the author’s native language is not English. Parts of the PDF version that I read (up to chapter 10) had many errors: punctuation, incorrect spelling, incorrect use of articles, incorrect sentence structures, many inconsistent verb tenses, incorrect verb/noun usage, and just strange use of the English language. The physical version cleaned up a lot of the punctuation and misspelling and such (but still had them). To me, it made a big difference in my ability to read the book. However, if you aren’t bothered by these nuances (or go in with the right frame of mind), then the PDF version may be fine with you. The story is understandable even with the butchering of the English language, but it kind of ruined some moments for me (like awkwardly spelled out love confessions, sex scenes, or tense moments) i.e. “I love you” replied with, “I also" or "what have you being doing here?" (these were repeated mistakes too).
2) Guntram. Sorry to all the Guntram fans, but I just really disliked him. He is a 19 year old boy with an “innocent” heart that can only be labeled as really, really, really x 1000 naïve. He is bratty and picks verbal arguments that felt…well, stupid. For instance (this doesn’t spoil anything, but I know some people are touchy about that kind of stuff), . Not only that, but he constantly makes the same mistakes over, and over, and over again. Maybe it’s just me, but it was EXHAUSTING being in the mind of a 19 (to an immature 25) year old for 650 pages (can you imagine if the ICOS was solely written from Boyd’s perspective?).
3) This book was just too long. I didn’t skim (even though I wanted to at times), but this could have probably been 200 pages less. It seemed like the meat of the story was in the The Griffin, but that in itself could have probably been reduced to 50-100 pages. And most of The Order also seemed like fodder material.
So I’ve written paragraphs of what I disliked, and some of you may be wondering: why did I rate this book so high? Especially if I really disliked the protagonist, from which this story is told from (1st person POV, no less). Well, here’s why:
1) The plot. Holy shit, this was the biggest clusterfuck of a story I have ever read. You think the basis of the relationship between Boyd and Sin, or Vadim and Dan, or Warrick and Toreth, or Laurent and Damien were complicated? Well, The Substitute has so many twists and turns, lies, deceptions, and betrayals that it made all other relationships look like a blind date at McDonalds (well, maybe Laurent and Damien from Captive Prince are a contender, but still…). Just when you think things are settled, you’re smacked in the face and land bare-assed on the floor. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of fodder material throughout the story so it takes a lot of reading to unravel the complicated crap that happens. But you’ll get bits and pieces of things that will slowly add up until the end.
2) The relationship. How does it work between a naïve 19 year old orphan, who is dirt poor and a rich and violent 45 year old Swiss German banker? Add to that secret organizations and a very dark and twisted plot, and my answer is: it doesn’t. And that’s the premise of why this book is so exhausting, yet delicious: to try and make this relationship work (and my whiny Guntram-hating voice tells me that it’s mostly his fault). This relationship is chalked full of love, hate, deceit, VIOLENCE, and is so much god-awful shit that it made my dark little heart pulse in a flutter of happiness. But seriously, even though I dislike Guntram, I loved seeing the dynamics in his relationship with Konrad.
3) Good secondary characters. Though they never took center stage, the secondary characters were meaningful and had a good supportive role in the whole scheme of things. I liked them more than the main character himself!
So if you’re still with me at this point, I will also say that despite all the BAD things, I still could not put this book down. I needed to know how things played out. It was a constant itch on my mind: what else will happen? How are these events related? Even though my brain hurt from all the auto-correcting it had to do, and the Vodka I had to drink to get through Guntram’s naïve rambles, I had to keep reading. And that driving passion to read every page is what made me realized how much I love this book.
Will I read the sequel? I don’t know. The ending is a HFN, which was all I could hope for with the direction it took towards the end. But the sequel sounds like round two of the same thing (except with more pages, and possibly more infidelity based on the blurb). I don’t want a repeat of other series where quitting on the first book would have been better than reading the sequels. I will wait and see!
April 17, 2013
I hated this book and yet I loved it enough to give it 5 stars.
This book was... I am having a hard time, even after such a long period of nothing to describe this book. It was brutal! I have never, ever read a book like this before and the fact there are sequels have kind of made me stop and wonder about my sanity. There is so much to say about this book and I am not the person to take advice from. I will warn you that this book has an ability to destroy you. I have actually regretted reading this book.
For 500 pages I was put through so much and I came out the other end raw and disturbed. My first warning about this book would be that there is abuse. Horrible, disgusting abuse. My head was telling me that I should not love this book and yet my heart and my darker side enjoyed this book immensely. It's disturbing me to say I enjoyed it. It's not my usual sap and comfort read. This is powerful and sick!
There was a huge age difference and a lot of lies and deceit in this book. Konrad was an almost evil man, I hated him, I loved him and I felt sorry for him in many ways. It left me with a blank feeling when I would read a scene where he was abusing Guntram. I wanted to murder the man, but he was different to most of my hated characters. I will never understand how.
Guntram, how can I describe this man? He was a boy who was too innocent and naive to know what he was getting himself in for and it was sad to see him enter such a violent, unfriendly world. But I hated him too, he was weak and left me frustrated much like Konrad and he pissed me off just as much. His character though was safer to like and safer to connect to. Even during the good moments I knew none of it would last.
This book has two MC's that cannot speak very good English. In fact none of them were the greatest, that appealed to me though. There were many things that appealed to me and in a sad way that was why it destroyed me the way it did. I never wanted to read a book like this and love it, I never thought I could. But, it happened and I cannot say I'm happy about it.
For me to tell you that this book is a lovely romance would be wrong. This book had a violent relationship built on abuse and lies. If you have issues with this book like I normally do, stay away. I would not like to see people read this because they want a flowery romance with some angst. Nothing I have read compares to this. It's more unique than I care to admit.
With that I leave you with this. It's a long, tough and brutal. I want to say more and I can't. This book was such a sick read and I have actually shocked myself by reading it. Leave with the warning that this book would murder you!
Cannot recommend it, but can tell you if willing you should give it a shot!
This book was... I am having a hard time, even after such a long period of nothing to describe this book. It was brutal! I have never, ever read a book like this before and the fact there are sequels have kind of made me stop and wonder about my sanity. There is so much to say about this book and I am not the person to take advice from. I will warn you that this book has an ability to destroy you. I have actually regretted reading this book.
For 500 pages I was put through so much and I came out the other end raw and disturbed. My first warning about this book would be that there is abuse. Horrible, disgusting abuse. My head was telling me that I should not love this book and yet my heart and my darker side enjoyed this book immensely. It's disturbing me to say I enjoyed it. It's not my usual sap and comfort read. This is powerful and sick!
There was a huge age difference and a lot of lies and deceit in this book. Konrad was an almost evil man, I hated him, I loved him and I felt sorry for him in many ways. It left me with a blank feeling when I would read a scene where he was abusing Guntram. I wanted to murder the man, but he was different to most of my hated characters. I will never understand how.
Guntram, how can I describe this man? He was a boy who was too innocent and naive to know what he was getting himself in for and it was sad to see him enter such a violent, unfriendly world. But I hated him too, he was weak and left me frustrated much like Konrad and he pissed me off just as much. His character though was safer to like and safer to connect to. Even during the good moments I knew none of it would last.
This book has two MC's that cannot speak very good English. In fact none of them were the greatest, that appealed to me though. There were many things that appealed to me and in a sad way that was why it destroyed me the way it did. I never wanted to read a book like this and love it, I never thought I could. But, it happened and I cannot say I'm happy about it.
For me to tell you that this book is a lovely romance would be wrong. This book had a violent relationship built on abuse and lies. If you have issues with this book like I normally do, stay away. I would not like to see people read this because they want a flowery romance with some angst. Nothing I have read compares to this. It's more unique than I care to admit.
With that I leave you with this. It's a long, tough and brutal. I want to say more and I can't. This book was such a sick read and I have actually shocked myself by reading it. Leave with the warning that this book would murder you!
Cannot recommend it, but can tell you if willing you should give it a shot!
January 7, 2012
This review is about how I felt about the book and MCs, see other's reviews for more about the story.
I loved reading the book. It is my first paper book in about 6 months and its 656 pages long! The longer the better.
I was fascinated with the story, well maybe it should be called a written Opera. The drama and turn of events are amazingly operatic and majorly melodramatic. At times I was racing thru the book happily reading which alternated with wanting to throw it out the window! The MCs and most of the supporting cast are maddeningly juvenile yet I had to know what would happen next. Amazing story.
A few things the author got right and wrong about the characters in the book.
I personally know several Billionaires and I can confirm Konrad's personality and sexual appetite.
Anal sex without lube could cause anal tears and is incredibly painful. You at least need saliva! A totally dry fuck is a total turn off to me. No animal magnetism there. Women writing a gay story need to get the sex at least partially right.
Could someone like Guntram really exist with that amount of naiveté?
The pedophile incident was a major turning point in the story and it was not resolved, yet all the characters continued as if it had been satisfactorily dealt with.
How many grammatical and editing errors can exist in one novel? This was pathetic. Yet I was able to overlook it to read the story. I'm not usually obsessive about this, but my oh my, someone should have looked at this.
I want to give this 5 stars for the entertainment value but I must take off 1 star because someone should rescue the grammar and give it a basic edit
I loved reading the book. It is my first paper book in about 6 months and its 656 pages long! The longer the better.
I was fascinated with the story, well maybe it should be called a written Opera. The drama and turn of events are amazingly operatic and majorly melodramatic. At times I was racing thru the book happily reading which alternated with wanting to throw it out the window! The MCs and most of the supporting cast are maddeningly juvenile yet I had to know what would happen next. Amazing story.
A few things the author got right and wrong about the characters in the book.
I personally know several Billionaires and I can confirm Konrad's personality and sexual appetite.
Anal sex without lube could cause anal tears and is incredibly painful. You at least need saliva! A totally dry fuck is a total turn off to me. No animal magnetism there. Women writing a gay story need to get the sex at least partially right.
Could someone like Guntram really exist with that amount of naiveté?
The pedophile incident was a major turning point in the story and it was not resolved, yet all the characters continued as if it had been satisfactorily dealt with.
How many grammatical and editing errors can exist in one novel? This was pathetic. Yet I was able to overlook it to read the story. I'm not usually obsessive about this, but my oh my, someone should have looked at this.
I want to give this 5 stars for the entertainment value but I must take off 1 star because someone should rescue the grammar and give it a basic edit
March 18, 2018
This is one of my most favorite books. The depth of this book is amazing. You go through the whole range of emotions from warm & fuzzies to outrage to heart break. It's written in the form of a diary kept by Guntram starting at age 19 and his life and relationship with his lover Konrad who is 44. It's a book of secret societies, German aristocracy, life with a multi-billionaire. Domineering Konrad and sweet and shy Guntram are very much in love, although plot twists have them both separated through part of the book. They both act pretty twisted in the things that they do, especially Konrad in his desperation to have Gutram back at his side. You want to choke both of them, but the ending is a sweet one...a nice happily ever after.
Having sang my praises, the only thing that annoyed me at first was the extremely poor grammar which at first made me consider not reading the book. It's obvious that English is not the first language of the author and that the publisher didn't require the book to be proof read. I read on though because everyone said the book was so good. One example being, using perspired instead of transpired. Sometimes you had to re-read sentences to get the meaning because the wrong word was used. But it turned out that it worked out really well because Guntram is Spanish and Konrad is German so when you read it, you're reading it from their perspective and they are speaking somewhat broken English so it makes sence. So it worked for this story. So don't let the poor grammar bother you, it's a story worth reading...over and over again. I know I will.
Having sang my praises, the only thing that annoyed me at first was the extremely poor grammar which at first made me consider not reading the book. It's obvious that English is not the first language of the author and that the publisher didn't require the book to be proof read. I read on though because everyone said the book was so good. One example being, using perspired instead of transpired. Sometimes you had to re-read sentences to get the meaning because the wrong word was used. But it turned out that it worked out really well because Guntram is Spanish and Konrad is German so when you read it, you're reading it from their perspective and they are speaking somewhat broken English so it makes sence. So it worked for this story. So don't let the poor grammar bother you, it's a story worth reading...over and over again. I know I will.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2011
4.5 stars.
WTF! All this angst and heartache and worrying and wondering and it finished like that, with those cheesy lines. I'm disappointed.
Welcome to "The Substitute" alternate reality. It was like a soap opera: bankers, secret organizations, mobsters, scheming bitches, triple play. You name it, you get it. It's not a book that you can read looking for a resemblance to reality, because it takes place in a world that is like a different galaxy. Guntram de Lisle is thrown into this mess, or it's better to say that he was born into it and he is re-introduced in it in a very traumatic way.
Guntram is a delicate flower, shy, beautiful, gentle, with an artistic talent and a heart condition. He is also a little bit dumb, sorry kitten, because he gives his trust freely to everyone when you can see from a mile away that the people he trusts are scheming against him. But for all the people trying to bring him down there are lots of people protecting him. He is a little lamb, and he attracts the biggest predators.
One of them is Konrad von Lintorff, a banker and the head of an order (THE Order) of financial tycoons. Konrad sees Guntram and he wants him and he gets him, simple like that. The way he courts him, with all his antics, is extremely erotic (the glove scene at the beginning was incredible), but Guntram is a stubborn young man (19 years old) in a world of sharks, and Konrad can't help displaying his possessive nature and he forces himself on Guntram. If you were in a normal world, Guntram would run away and hate him, but Guntram falls in love with Konrad. I don't think Guntram's love for the man is really ever explained. Since the book is Guntram's personal journal, he probably didn't feel the need to really explain it, he simply reacted to Konrad, felt for Konrad, it was the ultimate attraction. And it spelled a lot like abuse. It's not Konrad's violence that brings them apart, it's Konrad's deceit on Guntram's past.
Konrad is a powerful man, psychologically unstable, immature. I didn't even find him so attractive, but he kept Guntram in his grip, manipulating everything: friends, environment, truth. Can you feel my frustration? Guntram tried to set himself free a few times, but Konrad was always able to bring him back, blackmailing him into submission. When Guntram rejected him, he rubbed his lovers in Guntram's face, he even got married, the bastard. And yet Guntram can't understand he is the one who has Konrad's life in his hands. Everything is twisted, frustrating to the point of being unbearable. The only thing that balances this situation is that for all of Konrad's wealth and power, he totally depends on Guntram for his own mental stability and happiness, he feels only Guntram can give him the love he needs.
I agree with other reviewers that this book needs editing and proofreading. I had to sit on my hands the whole time to refrain from taking a pen and correct the sentences directly on my Kindle screen and I am not even a native speaker. In a sense it's justified, because Guntram says that he thinks in Spanish and the contruction of the sentences reflects it. I wish the author found someone to fix it. Plus there is a geographical error that ripped me out of the story, but it's because it's Italy and I am Italian. And there aren't many doves on Piazza San Marco, they are filthy pigeons, and I lived there and had to cope with them on a daily basis. But these are details.
Another thing that bothered me was that there was no satisfactory explanation for the photos' scandal. It was a huge mess, but there was no follow up, I think it was important.
This book kept me awake and it obsessed me. Like I said in my comments, my rational side tells me I shouldn't like this book so much, because it has the exaggerations I usually complain about, but I accepted everything hook, line and sinker. I am not giving a full rating only because the last pages were disappointing. I was expecting something more intense. Dear Author, please, give me 500 pages more of a satisfying ending.
WTF! All this angst and heartache and worrying and wondering and it finished like that, with those cheesy lines. I'm disappointed.
Welcome to "The Substitute" alternate reality. It was like a soap opera: bankers, secret organizations, mobsters, scheming bitches, triple play. You name it, you get it. It's not a book that you can read looking for a resemblance to reality, because it takes place in a world that is like a different galaxy. Guntram de Lisle is thrown into this mess, or it's better to say that he was born into it and he is re-introduced in it in a very traumatic way.
Guntram is a delicate flower, shy, beautiful, gentle, with an artistic talent and a heart condition. He is also a little bit dumb, sorry kitten, because he gives his trust freely to everyone when you can see from a mile away that the people he trusts are scheming against him. But for all the people trying to bring him down there are lots of people protecting him. He is a little lamb, and he attracts the biggest predators.
One of them is Konrad von Lintorff, a banker and the head of an order (THE Order) of financial tycoons. Konrad sees Guntram and he wants him and he gets him, simple like that. The way he courts him, with all his antics, is extremely erotic (the glove scene at the beginning was incredible), but Guntram is a stubborn young man (19 years old) in a world of sharks, and Konrad can't help displaying his possessive nature and he forces himself on Guntram. If you were in a normal world, Guntram would run away and hate him, but Guntram falls in love with Konrad. I don't think Guntram's love for the man is really ever explained. Since the book is Guntram's personal journal, he probably didn't feel the need to really explain it, he simply reacted to Konrad, felt for Konrad, it was the ultimate attraction. And it spelled a lot like abuse. It's not Konrad's violence that brings them apart, it's Konrad's deceit on Guntram's past.
Konrad is a powerful man, psychologically unstable, immature. I didn't even find him so attractive, but he kept Guntram in his grip, manipulating everything: friends, environment, truth. Can you feel my frustration? Guntram tried to set himself free a few times, but Konrad was always able to bring him back, blackmailing him into submission. When Guntram rejected him, he rubbed his lovers in Guntram's face, he even got married, the bastard. And yet Guntram can't understand he is the one who has Konrad's life in his hands. Everything is twisted, frustrating to the point of being unbearable. The only thing that balances this situation is that for all of Konrad's wealth and power, he totally depends on Guntram for his own mental stability and happiness, he feels only Guntram can give him the love he needs.
I agree with other reviewers that this book needs editing and proofreading. I had to sit on my hands the whole time to refrain from taking a pen and correct the sentences directly on my Kindle screen and I am not even a native speaker. In a sense it's justified, because Guntram says that he thinks in Spanish and the contruction of the sentences reflects it. I wish the author found someone to fix it. Plus there is a geographical error that ripped me out of the story, but it's because it's Italy and I am Italian. And there aren't many doves on Piazza San Marco, they are filthy pigeons, and I lived there and had to cope with them on a daily basis. But these are details.
Another thing that bothered me was that there was no satisfactory explanation for the photos' scandal. It was a huge mess, but there was no follow up, I think it was important.
This book kept me awake and it obsessed me. Like I said in my comments, my rational side tells me I shouldn't like this book so much, because it has the exaggerations I usually complain about, but I accepted everything hook, line and sinker. I am not giving a full rating only because the last pages were disappointing. I was expecting something more intense. Dear Author, please, give me 500 pages more of a satisfying ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2015
DNF at 13%.
I'm going to stop pretending I'll finish this book someday. Nope. Will never happen. I shudder just remembering those first chapters...when one MC abuses another, and has the gall to call it love. And the other is such a weak doormat he swallows that behavior and even apologizes... And everyone around them thinks this situation is okay...
Just kill me now.
I'm going to stop pretending I'll finish this book someday. Nope. Will never happen. I shudder just remembering those first chapters...when one MC abuses another, and has the gall to call it love. And the other is such a weak doormat he swallows that behavior and even apologizes... And everyone around them thinks this situation is okay...
Just kill me now.
January 6, 2013
I had to stop many times my reading of this book because there are so many mistakes that it is unbearable. There is a not to bad plot. We do not know if Konrad is just a crazy rich banker or if he is a mafioso or something like that. The author inserted clues all along the story and we do not know yet where they will lead. Is Guntram just a very naive young guy or more? Why exactly Konrad, who is supposed to be so smart, never doing anything without weighing carefully his decision, spoked to the young stranger (Guntram) on the street? Is it just because Guntram looks like his previous lover? I doubt it.
Anyhow, as a chess player, the author put all his pieces in place and we are waiting to see who will be defeated.
How someone could think all of this about his lover and still believe he loves him? Guntram is an emotional dependant?
Furthermore, they have nothing in common. The count has on his shelves old potteries and porcelain ornaments dating back several centuries and given by princes or kings to his great grand father or great grand mother. Guntram want to dislodge them to put in place his Star Wars action figures.
I do not know why they love each other, especially when Konrad beat and raped Guntram more than once and keeps him under his thumb as if he were a porcelain figurine.
Anyhow, I will read part 2 to know what is behing all the mysteries.
Anyhow, as a chess player, the author put all his pieces in place and we are waiting to see who will be defeated.
You [Konrad] have no mercy, compassion or kindness in your heart. You think that possessing someone to be your puppet is love. And when you don't get your way, you resort to violence, threats or bribery.
I [Guntram] am officially insane; lusting after the man who raped me yesterday. Stockholm Syndrome it's called.
I [Guntram] am only thinking how to survive this psycho [Konrad]!
Well, that's called bipolar disorder in my town.
He's a spoiled brat; a selfish child who, by some whim of fate, has taken a liking in me most probably because I look like his past lover - the one who really put him in his place.
He is a person who would really need to visit a shrink on a weekly basis and I believe he deeply knows it and has placed himself into a incredible set of rules to make his existence simpler. Within the boundaries he sets for all of us, you can move freely, but don't move a single thing out of place because he goes into panic and with fear comes violence.
In a way, I would have never wanted to have his place in the world. He's like a big child with many responsibilities, the intelligence to overcome any situation, but none of a mature personality skills required to cope with them.
How someone could think all of this about his lover and still believe he loves him? Guntram is an emotional dependant?
Furthermore, they have nothing in common. The count has on his shelves old potteries and porcelain ornaments dating back several centuries and given by princes or kings to his great grand father or great grand mother. Guntram want to dislodge them to put in place his Star Wars action figures.
"Yet your figurines still have to make it to Zürich," he trailed maliciously.
"I have no concerns. They're good, hard American plastic. Classical, all of them."
I do not know why they love each other, especially when Konrad beat and raped Guntram more than once and keeps him under his thumb as if he were a porcelain figurine.
Anyhow, I will read part 2 to know what is behing all the mysteries.
November 14, 2010
I read this one a while back, but it stayed with me for a long time. Long enough to recommend it to a lot of people and say a lot of good things about it. It's on my list with the best m/m books and I'm not sure if there is but a few that top it.
The story is developed in such a way that you have to keep reading. It goes in all the unpredictable directions and contains a lot of things some readers might frown upon. Still, the relationship between Konrad and Guntram is quite unique. There is hate and violence throughout the book, but underneath it all there is always love, no matter how unconventional it might be.
Konrad is a character who you want to hate from the first aggressive scene, and you pass through it thinking how the guy just has to change. But he never does. After you swallow all those 600+ pages, he is still the same bastard he was in that first scene, but you can't force yourself to hate him. Much like the rest of the book, it's a hate-love relationship, and it that order.
Guntram is much the same. He is the softer one of the two characters, and one you are more likely to love. But that doesn't mean he is flawless, far from it. He has a certain stubborn streak and a certain way of seeing things that clashes with the usual way others pass through life.
The biggest flaw is probably the spelling, and it forces people to think about continuing with the reading, but I can assure you, it is well worth the time and the frustrations it might cause.
Again, I warmly recommend this book, as one of the best I've read with the an m/m relationship that will surely stay in your memory as one you wish to read at least another 600 pages about.
The story is developed in such a way that you have to keep reading. It goes in all the unpredictable directions and contains a lot of things some readers might frown upon. Still, the relationship between Konrad and Guntram is quite unique. There is hate and violence throughout the book, but underneath it all there is always love, no matter how unconventional it might be.
Konrad is a character who you want to hate from the first aggressive scene, and you pass through it thinking how the guy just has to change. But he never does. After you swallow all those 600+ pages, he is still the same bastard he was in that first scene, but you can't force yourself to hate him. Much like the rest of the book, it's a hate-love relationship, and it that order.
Guntram is much the same. He is the softer one of the two characters, and one you are more likely to love. But that doesn't mean he is flawless, far from it. He has a certain stubborn streak and a certain way of seeing things that clashes with the usual way others pass through life.
The biggest flaw is probably the spelling, and it forces people to think about continuing with the reading, but I can assure you, it is well worth the time and the frustrations it might cause.
Again, I warmly recommend this book, as one of the best I've read with the an m/m relationship that will surely stay in your memory as one you wish to read at least another 600 pages about.
August 23, 2015
О книгах.
Утроенный объем каждого тома. Уйма затянутостей. "The Substitute" часто напоминает мыльную оперу а-ля "Бедная Настя", только с "темным" оттенком. Временами, когда раскрывается истинное положение вещей, действие оживляется, но потом опять неизбежно вязнет.
Главные герои.
Конрад, на мой взгляд, не такой уж и злодей (бывало и хуже), но вот Гунтрам - один из самых непоследовательных персонажей, какие мне встречались (это в нем Стокгольмский синдром говорит?). И уж точно он самый святой и наивный. Есть же какой-то предел тому, что ты способен простить или чего не замечаешь, потому что видеть не желаешь! Из-за этих его раздражающих особенностей сопереживать ему получается меньше, чем, например, героине "Consequences".
Вторая часть.
Многочисленные противоречия, натяжки, изменения характеров и воскресшие родственники активно намекают на то, что всего этого изначально не планировалось. И, честно говоря, лучше бы я вообще не бралась за продолжение - кроме постоянного расстройства оно не принесло ничего. "Dark", определенно, не мой жанр. Если в первой книге автор угробила Гунтраму физическое здоровье, то во второй добила еще и психическое, заставив пройти через ад. Боюсь, в третьей она просто убьет парня. Но это уже явно произойдет без меня.
P.S. Редкий случай - русские имена-отчества написаны правильно, спасибо.
Утроенный объем каждого тома. Уйма затянутостей. "The Substitute" часто напоминает мыльную оперу а-ля "Бедная Настя", только с "темным" оттенком. Временами, когда раскрывается истинное положение вещей, действие оживляется, но потом опять неизбежно вязнет.
Главные герои.
Конрад, на мой взгляд, не такой уж и злодей (бывало и хуже), но вот Гунтрам - один из самых непоследовательных персонажей, какие мне встречались (это в нем Стокгольмский синдром говорит?). И уж точно он самый святой и наивный. Есть же какой-то предел тому, что ты способен простить или чего не замечаешь, потому что видеть не желаешь! Из-за этих его раздражающих особенностей сопереживать ему получается меньше, чем, например, героине "Consequences".
Вторая часть.
Многочисленные противоречия, натяжки, изменения характеров и воскресшие родственники активно намекают на то, что всего этого изначально не планировалось. И, честно говоря, лучше бы я вообще не бралась за продолжение - кроме постоянного расстройства оно не принесло ничего. "Dark", определенно, не мой жанр. Если в первой книге автор угробила Гунтраму физическое здоровье, то во второй добила еще и психическое, заставив пройти через ад. Боюсь, в третьей она просто убьет парня. Но это уже явно произойдет без меня.
P.S. Редкий случай - русские имена-отчества написаны правильно, спасибо.
June 4, 2016
Got to 12% of this long novel. The grammar was just too bad throughout, couldn't continue..
"As I said, you are the most adorable thing that had caught my attention in years. You have to be mine and I have every intention to win you over."
"As I said, you are the most adorable thing that had caught my attention in years. You have to be mine and I have every intention to win you over."
abandoned
April 19, 2015I've decided that this is just too difficult to read in the unedited electronic form. It's too bad because there were a few things that piqued my interest (e.g. the Catholic church). And it's too bad that the author doesn't want to offer an ebook for sale.
July 30, 2010
This book is very different from the usual m/m romance fare. It should be sold with a warning. It is very long, very complex and very, very compelling. Highly recommended that you take a sick day off work so you can finish it without interruptions. And keep a box of tissues handy too.
The book covers seven(?) years of a stormy relationship between Guntram, a penniless, French/Argentinian nineteen year old student and Konrad a german billionaire banker and control freak. Set mainly in Europe, during a decade of world economic history, money markets, secret societies, russian mafia, argentinian politics and other current affairs. To the credit of the author, moral questions are raised repeatedly rather than glossed over or ignored.
If it works for Jane Eyre... The basic storyline premise could be lifted from an old-fahioned category romance with its emphasis on money and power. It has all the elements - a may/december relationship; the brooding, wounded hero who has been cruelly betrayed in the past; the lying, conniving other woman; the orphaned child-like "heroine" alone in the world with no money or friends, who has to prove his/her innocence and purity of heart over and over again; everyone turns out to be an aristocrat or of royal blood; and even babies!! It's very dark in places with elements of domestic violence. But "we always hurt the one we love", right? I totally loved it.
I do have some reservations. When I'm reading the news, listening to the tv, making general conversation, I have a bad habit of subsituting genders in my head. It's a test of equality and I imagine minorities do it too. Would this have been said if the person was a ...? So I have to ask the question - If Guntram had been a girl, would anything in the story have changed? And I find it disturbing that I think the answer is not much. It isn't just a question of whether Guntram behaves and thinks in a "feminine" fashion, which he does. It is also that except for the occasional use of the angry word "faggot", everyone is so accepting of the gay relationship. It just doesn't seem to matter to anyone - even those from traditional, Christian institutions. Konrad is bi-sexual and Guntram doesn't seem to have a strong sense of sexual orientation. Is this some European sexual utopia or is it a denial of gay experience?
Second caveat - the English needs correction. The author is not a native speaker. This could have been a bigger problem, if English had been the first language of any of the characters or the book had not been (mainly) Guntram's diary. I found it quaint - "as I'm" instead of "as I am", "no" used when it should be "not", "sensible" instead of "sensitive" and so on.
Tour de force!
4.5 stars
The book covers seven(?) years of a stormy relationship between Guntram, a penniless, French/Argentinian nineteen year old student and Konrad a german billionaire banker and control freak. Set mainly in Europe, during a decade of world economic history, money markets, secret societies, russian mafia, argentinian politics and other current affairs. To the credit of the author, moral questions are raised repeatedly rather than glossed over or ignored.
If it works for Jane Eyre... The basic storyline premise could be lifted from an old-fahioned category romance with its emphasis on money and power. It has all the elements - a may/december relationship; the brooding, wounded hero who has been cruelly betrayed in the past; the lying, conniving other woman; the orphaned child-like "heroine" alone in the world with no money or friends, who has to prove his/her innocence and purity of heart over and over again; everyone turns out to be an aristocrat or of royal blood; and even babies!! It's very dark in places with elements of domestic violence. But "we always hurt the one we love", right? I totally loved it.
I do have some reservations. When I'm reading the news, listening to the tv, making general conversation, I have a bad habit of subsituting genders in my head. It's a test of equality and I imagine minorities do it too. Would this have been said if the person was a ...? So I have to ask the question - If Guntram had been a girl, would anything in the story have changed? And I find it disturbing that I think the answer is not much. It isn't just a question of whether Guntram behaves and thinks in a "feminine" fashion, which he does. It is also that except for the occasional use of the angry word "faggot", everyone is so accepting of the gay relationship. It just doesn't seem to matter to anyone - even those from traditional, Christian institutions. Konrad is bi-sexual and Guntram doesn't seem to have a strong sense of sexual orientation. Is this some European sexual utopia or is it a denial of gay experience?
Second caveat - the English needs correction. The author is not a native speaker. This could have been a bigger problem, if English had been the first language of any of the characters or the book had not been (mainly) Guntram's diary. I found it quaint - "as I'm" instead of "as I am", "no" used when it should be "not", "sensible" instead of "sensitive" and so on.
Tour de force!
4.5 stars
November 17, 2013
Like many other's I could not decide what to rate "The Substitute." I was on the edge of anger and annoyance thru about 85% of this book. Yet, I still could not put the damn thing down. If I had the time, I think I would have sat and read this straight through.
Because I think all the previous reviews from mine have outlined what was wonderfully awesome and excruciatingly terrible about TS- and the small blurb about the book basically sums up the basic story concept... let me just give some fantastic life lessons I have learned from the book.
Life Lesson's brought to you by 'The Substitute':
1. Find a wonderful person to marry. But make sure you find an even better consort. Don't worry. Your spouse doesn't care about monogamy either.
2.When someone is pissing you off, obviously the best way to resolve it is too cause a major car accident where they die. Sure, it seems dramatic- but they will learn their lesson.
3. Whoever said money can't buy happiness is an outright liar. And clearly didn't own an estate in every country.
4. Bankers are the devil's minions.
5. There is no problem too small that can't be resolved with a little violence.
6. The most attractive quality a person can possess is ignorance and naivety. If you have these 2 qualities any billionaire mobster will want you.
7. Never trust a man twice your age. Unless you want to be spoiled rotten. Then I guess....scratch that. Always fall for the guy twice your age, he has no hidden motives.
8. Whoever said, "do it for the children!" didn't understand the gravity of the thought. Don't worry, the kids are young they don't absorb anything.
9. If 100 people including the Pope tell you that you are an amazing artist. Shut the fuck up and believe them.
10. Never marry a virgin.
**I am sure I could go on and on, but I'll cut it there...
The subtle nuances of the terrible grammar actually stopped bothering me a couple chapters in. I accepted it, and I think I enjoyed it more with the little irritations.
If you are looking for a steamy m/m read this isn't it. The sex is boring. I tried to picture it in my head better than what it was on the pages. The author had a very sterile way of describing things. (this may have been a language barrier?)Sometimes, I get tired of the word Penis- come up with something more fun...
I will say this though, the characters are complex. Somewhat annoying, and always exhausting. This book is a cluster-fuck, yes- but the insane storylines are worth your time.
<3 <3 This message was sponsored by the Guntram Hate Group <3 <3 Donations welcome.
Because I think all the previous reviews from mine have outlined what was wonderfully awesome and excruciatingly terrible about TS- and the small blurb about the book basically sums up the basic story concept... let me just give some fantastic life lessons I have learned from the book.
Life Lesson's brought to you by 'The Substitute':
1. Find a wonderful person to marry. But make sure you find an even better consort. Don't worry. Your spouse doesn't care about monogamy either.
2.When someone is pissing you off, obviously the best way to resolve it is too cause a major car accident where they die. Sure, it seems dramatic- but they will learn their lesson.
3. Whoever said money can't buy happiness is an outright liar. And clearly didn't own an estate in every country.
4. Bankers are the devil's minions.
5. There is no problem too small that can't be resolved with a little violence.
6. The most attractive quality a person can possess is ignorance and naivety. If you have these 2 qualities any billionaire mobster will want you.
7. Never trust a man twice your age. Unless you want to be spoiled rotten. Then I guess....scratch that. Always fall for the guy twice your age, he has no hidden motives.
8. Whoever said, "do it for the children!" didn't understand the gravity of the thought. Don't worry, the kids are young they don't absorb anything.
9. If 100 people including the Pope tell you that you are an amazing artist. Shut the fuck up and believe them.
10. Never marry a virgin.
**I am sure I could go on and on, but I'll cut it there...
The subtle nuances of the terrible grammar actually stopped bothering me a couple chapters in. I accepted it, and I think I enjoyed it more with the little irritations.
If you are looking for a steamy m/m read this isn't it. The sex is boring. I tried to picture it in my head better than what it was on the pages. The author had a very sterile way of describing things. (this may have been a language barrier?)Sometimes, I get tired of the word Penis- come up with something more fun...
I will say this though, the characters are complex. Somewhat annoying, and always exhausting. This book is a cluster-fuck, yes- but the insane storylines are worth your time.
<3 <3 This message was sponsored by the Guntram Hate Group <3 <3 Donations welcome.
October 27, 2010
One of the greatest books I've read so far. It was more than 600 pages and I already want to read more of Konrad and Guntram. Normally, I prefer stories told in 3rd person but a very selfless and optimistic 1st person is OK too.
I don't understand violence btw males and I am definitely not into unequal relationships. However, the one with the upper hand in this relationship was not Konrad. I don't want to consider Guntram a weakling as he deserves some credit. His biggest weakness was his unconditional love and pure heart, too good to hurt anyone.
I don't understand violence btw males and I am definitely not into unequal relationships. However, the one with the upper hand in this relationship was not Konrad. I don't want to consider Guntram a weakling as he deserves some credit. His biggest weakness was his unconditional love and pure heart, too good to hurt anyone.
January 17, 2017
First time finished this book: July 21 2010.
I have reread this book over 10 times since then .
Just finished my x reread and still loving it a lot.
I have reread this book over 10 times since then .
Just finished my x reread and still loving it a lot.
February 12, 2015
4.5 Stars. Unforgettable characters!
Full review:
This book/story felt epic - though I’m not sure if it’s because this book is 500+ pages long or because the characters are living a multi-billionaire lifestyle. The best thing about it is watching a boy go from being a nobody to someone who will likely be carved in history for his art, his family’s life story, and how he brought a goliath of a man like Konrad to his knees. It’s like watching a Cinderella story that is also a biography of a legend but the difference is at the beginning we don’t know that Guntram will grow up to be this great man. Guntram was born with a bad heart, but he was blessed with his parents’ kindness, unbending morals, and a strong spine to withstand a man like Kondrad; note that his strength doesn’t become obvious until later and I found him weak in the beginning. G is also talented but with great humility to not let any of his good traits go to his head. He follows his gut and heart and although it gets him in trouble, he’s always going in the right direction.
Plenty of times I was frustrated to no end with G’s innocence and naïveté – but really it was just a side effect of his youth and inexperience mixed with his strong outlook in life to believe in the good in people. For me, it wasn’t until the kids were born that G transformed because his whole being was tied to “his babies.” With the kids, there was something more than K to stand up for and boy did he ever! Konrad’s world was shifted when G entered his life. I greatly enjoyed watching K falter and become vulnerable by his love for G. Plenty of times his bad temper and pride made me hate him. I still can’t forgive what he did to G in Buenos Aires.
In between the 500+ pages, a lot happens. Their off again/on again, sometimes violent, romantic, passionate, frustrating, Master/servant relationship plays out. They even spend two years pretending to be broken up and acting like children, to everyone’s chagrin and devastation. In the end, we’re left with a HEA, however abrupt.
I greatly enjoyed this story and I was sucked into their world – which felt very unreal to me. Just a warning that the English/writing of this book is full of mistakes. This took a little time to get used to but it also made the story feel more genuine that the characters are not native English speakers but are multi-lingual and multi-cultured. Surprisingly, the reason I docked it a half star has nothing to do with the writing but with the holes in the story and the frustration I felt many times with the plot and actions of the characters – both lead and secondary.
I’m definitely interested in reading the second book and the related books – but because of the difficulty (impossible really) in being able to purchase this in ebook format, there is a good chance I may have to pass. I’m a fan of this story, but I’m a fan on a budget and my desire to read the following books is unfortunately not enough to read books that are 450-700 pages long in hardcover and pay $30! Perhaps one day I’ll check out the author’s blog when I start to miss Guntram and Kondrad.
Full review:
This book/story felt epic - though I’m not sure if it’s because this book is 500+ pages long or because the characters are living a multi-billionaire lifestyle. The best thing about it is watching a boy go from being a nobody to someone who will likely be carved in history for his art, his family’s life story, and how he brought a goliath of a man like Konrad to his knees. It’s like watching a Cinderella story that is also a biography of a legend but the difference is at the beginning we don’t know that Guntram will grow up to be this great man. Guntram was born with a bad heart, but he was blessed with his parents’ kindness, unbending morals, and a strong spine to withstand a man like Kondrad; note that his strength doesn’t become obvious until later and I found him weak in the beginning. G is also talented but with great humility to not let any of his good traits go to his head. He follows his gut and heart and although it gets him in trouble, he’s always going in the right direction.
Plenty of times I was frustrated to no end with G’s innocence and naïveté – but really it was just a side effect of his youth and inexperience mixed with his strong outlook in life to believe in the good in people. For me, it wasn’t until the kids were born that G transformed because his whole being was tied to “his babies.” With the kids, there was something more than K to stand up for and boy did he ever! Konrad’s world was shifted when G entered his life. I greatly enjoyed watching K falter and become vulnerable by his love for G. Plenty of times his bad temper and pride made me hate him. I still can’t forgive what he did to G in Buenos Aires.
In between the 500+ pages, a lot happens. Their off again/on again, sometimes violent, romantic, passionate, frustrating, Master/servant relationship plays out. They even spend two years pretending to be broken up and acting like children, to everyone’s chagrin and devastation. In the end, we’re left with a HEA, however abrupt.
I greatly enjoyed this story and I was sucked into their world – which felt very unreal to me. Just a warning that the English/writing of this book is full of mistakes. This took a little time to get used to but it also made the story feel more genuine that the characters are not native English speakers but are multi-lingual and multi-cultured. Surprisingly, the reason I docked it a half star has nothing to do with the writing but with the holes in the story and the frustration I felt many times with the plot and actions of the characters – both lead and secondary.
I’m definitely interested in reading the second book and the related books – but because of the difficulty (impossible really) in being able to purchase this in ebook format, there is a good chance I may have to pass. I’m a fan of this story, but I’m a fan on a budget and my desire to read the following books is unfortunately not enough to read books that are 450-700 pages long in hardcover and pay $30! Perhaps one day I’ll check out the author’s blog when I start to miss Guntram and Kondrad.
dnf
January 8, 2019DNF@7%
A very bad case of mine Mine MINE syndrome where twinks are overpowered by sexy looking angered daddies and there is no way around it but to suck cock while crying and finding the taste of interest. I imagine how wonderous that experience would be! Then the paranoia of abuse that ensues whenever an old man finds a young traveller appreciating the sites. And that young traveller is moralistic to say the least. He just doesn’t know that he’s being abused is the only thing. Hah!
Man I’m tired of these tropes. Grow up! Because the worst part is that in the end they do become a couple (I skipped and read the ending cos I just couldn’t not). What a horse load of baloney!
And I wonder why these books have cool breezy covers?
A very bad case of mine Mine MINE syndrome where twinks are overpowered by sexy looking angered daddies and there is no way around it but to suck cock while crying and finding the taste of interest. I imagine how wonderous that experience would be! Then the paranoia of abuse that ensues whenever an old man finds a young traveller appreciating the sites. And that young traveller is moralistic to say the least. He just doesn’t know that he’s being abused is the only thing. Hah!
Man I’m tired of these tropes. Grow up! Because the worst part is that in the end they do become a couple (I skipped and read the ending cos I just couldn’t not). What a horse load of baloney!
And I wonder why these books have cool breezy covers?
June 9, 2012
This is one story plot despite grammer errors that hooked me from the beginning to the end. Intense push and pull between two main characters that span several years.
Update
I bought a paper back version of TS 1 and notice that this version is so much better. The story flows smoothly despite retaining almost the whole original version. Recommended to buy the hard cover though coz it's 700 plus pages and paper back unfortunately can't hold the pages properly. A big lesson for me to learn. >__<
Update
I bought a paper back version of TS 1 and notice that this version is so much better. The story flows smoothly despite retaining almost the whole original version. Recommended to buy the hard cover though coz it's 700 plus pages and paper back unfortunately can't hold the pages properly. A big lesson for me to learn. >__<
January 16, 2016
What can I say? I love this book. I could complain for many things: how was writting (I don't know if was bad edition or wrong grammar), Guntram's passivity, and some plots holes. But in reality all those things don't matter to me.
I hang for every word, i felt joy and sad whith Guntram. The Duke is a very complicated caracter. I love/hate him. Really, my feelings towards him are more confuses than Guntram's.
I really looking forward read the second book.
I hang for every word, i felt joy and sad whith Guntram. The Duke is a very complicated caracter. I love/hate him. Really, my feelings towards him are more confuses than Guntram's.
I really looking forward read the second book.
August 8, 2024
Aside from the many grammatical errors, this book was fantastic! All fans of Consequences and M/M romance, this book is for you!
June 11, 2016
DNF at 17%.
Stockholm Syndrome in all its glory. In this book we have a gay version of a sadly common trope: a poor, young and naive doormat heroine and a rich, overbearing, abusive alpha-hole. I hate this trope with a fiery and burning passion, so I'm not going to finish this book.
Stockholm Syndrome in all its glory. In this book we have a gay version of a sadly common trope: a poor, young and naive doormat heroine and a rich, overbearing, abusive alpha-hole. I hate this trope with a fiery and burning passion, so I'm not going to finish this book.
September 21, 2016
It was a great start, like a good-written-delicious-novel start, which is a rare for MM books. And then Guntram met Konrad and I was like WTF? The book is far too long and things got really meaningless and I just don't know. It could have been a better book after all.
November 27, 2017
Main Characters: Guntram de Lisle and Griffin of the Order, Konrad von Lintroff
Key Themes: Nobility, Men with Children, Abduction and Stalking, Age Gap, Bisexual, GFY, Dark, Illness-Disease
Location: Europe, Argentina, New York
I am finding it really hard to rate this book. As I thought about how I would describe my experience reading this story, all I could think of was how it must feel trying to hold on to a huge jellyfish whilst swimming in the ocean.
Painful.
Exhausing.
Frustrating.
Futile.
Still, I could not put the book down. It has all the elements for a compelling love story; super rich, powerful, supremely flawed, and gorgeous older man falls in love, against his will, with a beautiful, artistic, naive, and frail young man.
There is so much wrong with the book; the grammatical errors, the 'inhuman" main characters (who gets slapped in the face time and time again and says nothing about how much it hurt), characters constantly shouting at each other for what seems like no reason, an obstinate MC that is unable to forgive and forget…..until the last few pages of the book.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would......BUT with a disclaimer that reading it may cause you to hate yourself.
Key Themes: Nobility, Men with Children, Abduction and Stalking, Age Gap, Bisexual, GFY, Dark, Illness-Disease
Location: Europe, Argentina, New York
I am finding it really hard to rate this book. As I thought about how I would describe my experience reading this story, all I could think of was how it must feel trying to hold on to a huge jellyfish whilst swimming in the ocean.
Painful.
Exhausing.
Frustrating.
Futile.
Still, I could not put the book down. It has all the elements for a compelling love story; super rich, powerful, supremely flawed, and gorgeous older man falls in love, against his will, with a beautiful, artistic, naive, and frail young man.
There is so much wrong with the book; the grammatical errors, the 'inhuman" main characters (who gets slapped in the face time and time again and says nothing about how much it hurt), characters constantly shouting at each other for what seems like no reason, an obstinate MC that is unable to forgive and forget…..until the last few pages of the book.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would......BUT with a disclaimer that reading it may cause you to hate yourself.
December 4, 2017
Not bad enough to rate under 3 stars, not good enough to rate over 4 stars.
I give it a solid 3.1,
Good points: long, entertaining and crazy. It managed to surprise me, at one point too... And I went all, how didn't I see it before?!
Bad points: yeah... I could go on and on and on... Perhaps the worst of all the lack of character grow and the constant going in circles of the protagonists relationship.
I give it a solid 3.1,
Good points: long, entertaining and crazy. It managed to surprise me, at one point too... And I went all, how didn't I see it before?!
Bad points: yeah... I could go on and on and on... Perhaps the worst of all the lack of character grow and the constant going in circles of the protagonists relationship.
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