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In the Company of Shadows #0.2
The Julian Files
A series set in the past from In the Company of Shadows, focusing primarily on Private Investigator Julian 'JJ' Jones, but including Cedrick and his family.
Note: CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED ICOS!
Note: CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED ICOS!
- GenresM M RomanceDystopiaLGBT
Online Read
First published August 25, 2013
4 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Ais
24 books743 followersHey! I write LGBTQIA+, usually with a twist. My solo works are mostly fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural, or similar. Currently working on Wildwood Rising, a long LGBTQIA+ fantasy series; first book written/being edited: Incarnations.
Helpful links? Helpful links!
-My masterlist of original writing: http://aisylum.com/writing-masterlist/
-Some of my favorite solo stories: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mik...
-My patreon- $1 for all but most things are eventually free for those who can't/won't pay: patreon.com/ais
-My site: http://aisylum.com
By the way, you may know me because I co-wrote In the Company of Shadows.
PS: I can be chatty so if you have questions, feel free to ask! Have a lovely day! <3
Helpful links? Helpful links!
-My masterlist of original writing: http://aisylum.com/writing-masterlist/
-Some of my favorite solo stories: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mik...
-My patreon- $1 for all but most things are eventually free for those who can't/won't pay: patreon.com/ais
-My site: http://aisylum.com
By the way, you may know me because I co-wrote In the Company of Shadows.
PS: I can be chatty so if you have questions, feel free to ask! Have a lovely day! <3
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 13, 2023
✰ 2.75 stars ✰
“You shouldn’t throw away your talent.”
“But it’s pointless. Once it’s done it’s like it was never there. Why do you want to keep garbage, daddy?”
“Because I want to remember you when I’m not home.”
“Oh.” Boyd’s voice had been so quiet, so confused but also—Cedrick had been sure of it— quietly pleased. It had to have been the case, because Boyd’s little hands had clutched Cedrick’s shirt and he had pressed his cheek into Cedrick’s chest.
“Do you have any drawings, dad?”
“No, son. I’m not a good enough artist like you. Why?”
“Because I want to remember you when you’re gone, too.”
While it was simply a look into a few incomplete thoughts and tidbits of what The Julian Files could have offered a look into Boyd's father's life had the authors continued it, I still very much enjoyed the brief looks that we got to see of Boyd's father, Cedrick and the days before his untimely death. 🥰
Cedrick is the sweetest of souls - so very hard-working, so steadfast and supportive of his son, Boyd - he just emanates so much love for him that it warmed my heart and hurt me to know what fate awaited him. And as much as I despise Boyd's mother - Cedrick was so soft and gentle with her - so caring and kind. It pained me to see the strained relationship Boyd had with Vivienne, but Boyd's hopeful yearning with his father was so tender and full of love. 🥹🥹 He had such a playful innocence about him with his father - Cedrick would sacrifice anything and everything to keep Boyd safe and with a smile on his face. It warmed my heart so much and how special their father-son relationship was. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
And Boyd as a child at school - seeing him bullied liked that - I was seeing red! My poor precious baby - he didn't deserve to be treated like that - I hated those kids so much - they were so cruel and spiteful and hateful, uff, when I get my hands on them!! 😡😡 There was so much pain in his heart - so much loneliness and hurt, described so poignantly here, 'Boyd stepped out into what he thought of as the ‘quiet sunlight;’ one of those days where the clouds were heavy but the sky wasn’t dark, and everywhere he looked he could see easily but everything also felt dull and hollow.' It's just the small hints of what kind of person he was going to grow up to be - a conscious of righteousness, but still hurt and traumatized by the wrongdoings of others. I just wanted to give him even more hugs - even if Cedrick was doing his very best to lighten up his son's world. 😟
“You’re wearing your Friday jeans on a Saturday, your shirt is rumpled despite how you obviously tried to smooth it, and I can see a hickey by your collar.”
Julian wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of the kind perceptive bastard he usually was to others, and found he didn’t much like it.
Accurately reading huffiness in Julian’s silence, a flicker of a smile crossed Ced’s features.
“One would think I was the PI and you were the journalist,” Cedrick said.”
Julian was a character that really piqued my interest. He had so much promise and potential to be such an intriguing character - the dynamic he had with Cedrick even more fascinating to me. There were the subtle hints of such a valued and trusted friendship - the start to an intriguing mystery that would test their friendship and force them to examine things in a different perspective. 🤔 The level of trust and loyalty that only Cedrick would bring out of Julian, a hard-hitter closed-off PI - never one interested in commitments or assistance.
“But not Cedrick.
Never Cedrick.
He felt the pain of innocents more than anyone Julian had ever met. The man had more compassion in one day than Julian had felt in his entire life, and somehow—somehow, it meant Julian never felt alone.
The days Julian felt overwhelmed by life, he knew somewhere out there was Cedrick, ready to take on that anger and pain along with him, if he just needed it.
If he only asked.”
It's a real shame the volume wasn't completed - there was a setup to a potentially very interesting storyline, and I wanted to see it explored in depth even further as Cedrick and Julian would combine forces and skills to work on a current case. But, alas, I'll take the little that I could - and just wonder about all the possibilities that could have been. 🥺
“You shouldn’t throw away your talent.”
“But it’s pointless. Once it’s done it’s like it was never there. Why do you want to keep garbage, daddy?”
“Because I want to remember you when I’m not home.”
“Oh.” Boyd’s voice had been so quiet, so confused but also—Cedrick had been sure of it— quietly pleased. It had to have been the case, because Boyd’s little hands had clutched Cedrick’s shirt and he had pressed his cheek into Cedrick’s chest.
“Do you have any drawings, dad?”
“No, son. I’m not a good enough artist like you. Why?”
“Because I want to remember you when you’re gone, too.”
While it was simply a look into a few incomplete thoughts and tidbits of what The Julian Files could have offered a look into Boyd's father's life had the authors continued it, I still very much enjoyed the brief looks that we got to see of Boyd's father, Cedrick and the days before his untimely death. 🥰
Cedrick is the sweetest of souls - so very hard-working, so steadfast and supportive of his son, Boyd - he just emanates so much love for him that it warmed my heart and hurt me to know what fate awaited him. And as much as I despise Boyd's mother - Cedrick was so soft and gentle with her - so caring and kind. It pained me to see the strained relationship Boyd had with Vivienne, but Boyd's hopeful yearning with his father was so tender and full of love. 🥹🥹 He had such a playful innocence about him with his father - Cedrick would sacrifice anything and everything to keep Boyd safe and with a smile on his face. It warmed my heart so much and how special their father-son relationship was. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
And Boyd as a child at school - seeing him bullied liked that - I was seeing red! My poor precious baby - he didn't deserve to be treated like that - I hated those kids so much - they were so cruel and spiteful and hateful, uff, when I get my hands on them!! 😡😡 There was so much pain in his heart - so much loneliness and hurt, described so poignantly here, 'Boyd stepped out into what he thought of as the ‘quiet sunlight;’ one of those days where the clouds were heavy but the sky wasn’t dark, and everywhere he looked he could see easily but everything also felt dull and hollow.' It's just the small hints of what kind of person he was going to grow up to be - a conscious of righteousness, but still hurt and traumatized by the wrongdoings of others. I just wanted to give him even more hugs - even if Cedrick was doing his very best to lighten up his son's world. 😟
“You’re wearing your Friday jeans on a Saturday, your shirt is rumpled despite how you obviously tried to smooth it, and I can see a hickey by your collar.”
Julian wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of the kind perceptive bastard he usually was to others, and found he didn’t much like it.
Accurately reading huffiness in Julian’s silence, a flicker of a smile crossed Ced’s features.
“One would think I was the PI and you were the journalist,” Cedrick said.”
Julian was a character that really piqued my interest. He had so much promise and potential to be such an intriguing character - the dynamic he had with Cedrick even more fascinating to me. There were the subtle hints of such a valued and trusted friendship - the start to an intriguing mystery that would test their friendship and force them to examine things in a different perspective. 🤔 The level of trust and loyalty that only Cedrick would bring out of Julian, a hard-hitter closed-off PI - never one interested in commitments or assistance.
“But not Cedrick.
Never Cedrick.
He felt the pain of innocents more than anyone Julian had ever met. The man had more compassion in one day than Julian had felt in his entire life, and somehow—somehow, it meant Julian never felt alone.
The days Julian felt overwhelmed by life, he knew somewhere out there was Cedrick, ready to take on that anger and pain along with him, if he just needed it.
If he only asked.”
It's a real shame the volume wasn't completed - there was a setup to a potentially very interesting storyline, and I wanted to see it explored in depth even further as Cedrick and Julian would combine forces and skills to work on a current case. But, alas, I'll take the little that I could - and just wonder about all the possibilities that could have been. 🥺
August 10, 2015
Just wasn't enough....I loved ICOS, so this was barely a taste - Please, write more Ais?
July 17, 2017
4.5 Stars!
Just like 180 Proof Vega I want to give it a full 5 stars but THIS IS FAR FROM COMPLETE!!!
And, sadly, I think this will take even longer than Santino's stuff to be finished.
*hear me crying*
I loved this, I really did. I wasn't expecting to get so... captivated as I did.
Five year old Boyd is just the most adorable thing ever. I just want to hug him and protect him. Seeing him also made me really sad... his home life... my poor sweet Boyd.
Julian is interesting and bless him for that small gesture he did for Boyd.
This has so much potential, please Ais, please keep writing, please.
On another note, I've been trying to figure it out something for awhile, and maybe this review is not exactly the right place to write about it but where else could I do it?
Anyway, once I started reading ICoS and got totally fascinated by the writing, world and characters, I picked up a few (I haven't read all of them yet) of Santino's solo works and found out that although I enjoyed them there was always something missing.
I felt the same while reading 180 Proof Vega, not as intensely as with other solo books but, the writing was not exactly the same as I was used to for a ICoS work.
This was the first solo from Ais I read and it gripped me. I admit I wasn't expecting it, but it really did. It's so good.
Which made me think that Ais writing completes Santino's in a way I can't explain.
I mean, this can all be in my head, I don't even know how they wrote ICoS together, I have no clue about their dynamics as co-authors, I just feel like my brain can "sense" something different from one author's writing to another. I just can't explain it.
Just like 180 Proof Vega I want to give it a full 5 stars but THIS IS FAR FROM COMPLETE!!!
And, sadly, I think this will take even longer than Santino's stuff to be finished.
*hear me crying*
I loved this, I really did. I wasn't expecting to get so... captivated as I did.
Five year old Boyd is just the most adorable thing ever. I just want to hug him and protect him. Seeing him also made me really sad... his home life... my poor sweet Boyd.
Julian is interesting and bless him for that small gesture he did for Boyd.
This has so much potential, please Ais, please keep writing, please.
On another note, I've been trying to figure it out something for awhile, and maybe this review is not exactly the right place to write about it but where else could I do it?
Anyway, once I started reading ICoS and got totally fascinated by the writing, world and characters, I picked up a few (I haven't read all of them yet) of Santino's solo works and found out that although I enjoyed them there was always something missing.
I felt the same while reading 180 Proof Vega, not as intensely as with other solo books but, the writing was not exactly the same as I was used to for a ICoS work.
This was the first solo from Ais I read and it gripped me. I admit I wasn't expecting it, but it really did. It's so good.
Which made me think that Ais writing completes Santino's in a way I can't explain.
I mean, this can all be in my head, I don't even know how they wrote ICoS together, I have no clue about their dynamics as co-authors, I just feel like my brain can "sense" something different from one author's writing to another. I just can't explain it.
February 23, 2020
Even though this novella isn’t finished yet the stories in it explain so much about the future characters mannerisms and their thoughts. Boyd’s character now in the main series is so much clearer with this short background and how he felt around his parents ever since a young age. I would definitely recommend reading it for extra background and also because Cedric is amazing and Boyd is the cutest. Vivienne isn’t that terrible either.
September 2, 2024
I don’t know why I’ve put this off for so long. Anyway I finally started reading it today. I loved it. I loved young Boyd. I loved the kindness Julian showed him and although I can’t stand Vivienne it was good to see a slightly more vulnerable side to her.
Just wish there was more.
Just wish there was more.
September 9, 2017
i forgot to mark it as i was reading it so i don't remember much but i know i cried and i adored it, of course.
December 23, 2015
A prequel to the In the Company of Shadows but must read it after reading all of ICOS. I hope this author write more mm stories. THIS is the writing style that I enjoyed most about ICOS.
I loved reading about little Boyd :-) I had completely forgotten who Bell was at first, took me a moment to remember.
I hope more is written because it would make a great mystery with them putting all of the pieces together about the Agency and Boyd's life from childhood to traumatized young adult.
I loved reading about little Boyd :-) I had completely forgotten who Bell was at first, took me a moment to remember.
I hope more is written because it would make a great mystery with them putting all of the pieces together about the Agency and Boyd's life from childhood to traumatized young adult.
January 13, 2015
Intriguing side story. Waiting patiently for more =D
wfltwnf
August 24, 2018NR
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews